Specialism: Ballerina Silhouettes

I've started this specialism project slightly later than I would have liked to ideally, due to some issues that have come up but I'd like to think I am now bringing myself into the swing of things so it will be okay-ish.

Out of the 3 ideas I have, I have chosen what could be considered the more ambitious of the ones to start off with. However, I have chosen to do this idea as I would have to practice drawing all parts of the body as well as the whole body itself. These practices will be helpful in creating the other paintings too.

Another reason as to why I chose the ballerina option rather than any others is simply that I have more of an idea as to what I want to do and achieve with this one.

To begin with, I set about copying a few poses of photos of ballerinas in different positions and stages of jumping or dancing etc. I wish I could use one of these copies as the pose I would be using, however it would probably be best to use one of mine own 'original' poses. Although I'm not sure any pose will particularly be original, so I may adapt my piece so that the direction goes more towards the copied figures.

Creating the original poses has helped me become more confident in drawing figures with hopefully correct body proportions.

The second piece just shows where I want the arms, legs and head to be, and what direction I want the figure facing etc. as some of the silhouettes don't show it clearly enough and are slightly confusing.

My next step is to practice drawing individual parts of the body. I'd like to practice hand positions, legs, backs and feet etc. the curves and directions etc. basically all the things that would help me in drawing the figures.

BA2a Specialism

BA2a Specialism
I'd like to base my project over the next 3 weeks on applied anatomy.
My anatomy and life drawing skills as a whole and in general are not very good, so I'd like to use this project to expand and improve on that.
I'll be producing small sketches of body parts and focusing on proportions before creating a series of digital paintings exploring the physical attributes of different people doing various jobs or hobbies. My plan so far is to create one of an intense gamer, one of a ballerina and perhaps one of someone just lounging and watching TV. My goal is to be able to convey the different forms and feelings a body can convey through the bodies as well as the surroundings.

Game Jam
For the (less than a) week long Game Jam, I helped create a game called Hot Plate, in a group called Profasianals with 4 other people.
I focused more on the UI/Graphics and Art side of the project rather than the 3D and game engine side. I really enjoyed the experience and working in a team, given one specific type of role and working with that. I got given things I was comfortable working with and therefore could work quickly and effectively.

Progress Report
I've put the door project and the game on the back burner for now. I have fallen behind on doing the weekly summaries however I'd like to start again during this new Specialism project. I still have the notes and ideas of what I want to do, and having completed the Game Jam, I think it will help me finish my game, and hopefully the door...

Overall, there have been ups and downs, less down type of downs but more frequent downs than ups. But I am taking steps to improve my mood and my work, and I have regular trips to the doctors now. I just need to figure out times to take some trips to student support or one-to-one sessions with any of the tutors or lectures.

Review: End of week 7

Since my last post, I have taken another hiatus as my mood has fluctuated an enormous amount and my health as gone downhill quite a bit, however I am planning on working so very hard to get my things done.

By the end of the weekend I will like to have completed (seperated by days) -

• The UI template
• At least the first level in UE4, including text etc

• Practice, in forms of artist studies, from at least 2 Pinterest inspirations
• Finish the lecture notes

• Create colour palette for the glows
• Create colour palette for the background/spikes

I also need to find the time to read and put together my bibliography submission.

Books I have in my possession right now:

Playing Catch-Up: A List of Possible Achievements

Hopefully, this will be a small post to give a brief idea of possible achievements.

One of the appeals of having a game on a platform like Steam is the points, cards or achievements the player can unlock by playing the game.

Hopefully I can add to this post when I start doing the art by creating trading cards as well as the pictures that pop up when the achievements do, along with the names of these achievements.

Parts of these achievements may be spread over all the levels, or over a set few levels, as in there may be 10 levels in 1 set.

• Completing the first 3 levels (tutorial)
• Collecting all the Glows
• Collecting all the health relics
• Taking no damage
• Having completed 'milestone' levels
• Having completed some of the 'sets'
• Having completed a % of the levels
• Collected all the Glows of one colour
• Collected at least ____ number of a each coloured Glow

Possible achievements that are undecided because elements of the game are undecided right now

• Unlocking all the story elements (glows unlock animals)

Playing Catch-Up: Map Out Game Levels

These are very simple level map... prototypes... They're basically 2D block outs. I want to do at least 5 levels; the first few being tutorial levels.

Level 1

I have created these in monochrome and simple shapes to get a quick and basic idea of how I would like the levels to be.

These three levels have the tutorials incorporated inside them so that the player can throw themselves into game-play straight away, rather than just reading about how to play.
Doing it this way allows players who don't want to sit through a tutorial to not have to, but also gives the information needed for anyone else who would like it.
The text will not say exactly what is written on these mock-ups.

The first level consists of no danger. All the player has to do is guide a floating ball to the shrine to finish the level.

Level 2

The floating player is surrounded be a glow, which radius can be increased by pressing the space bar to illuminate the surroundings. The glow lasts (perhaps) 2 seconds before being reduced back to the normal area and going on a 3 second cool-down.

The second level introduces dangers and something for the player to collect. It is suggested that the player has to collect the Glows but some levels will have them away from the End-Level-Shrine, and out of the way. Some levels won't have Glows at all.

Level 3

In both these levels, I have tried to suggest the players to go down rather than up when they spawn. Although I am aware that the first spike might deter them to go further, I am hoping the text being in that direction might influence the player to continue. If they don't, they won't see the instructions about the Glows and may miss out, but might find them later on.

The third level is a slightly more complex version of the second but it should be fairly simple.
The Glow is deliberately hidden away so if the player finds it, great, if not then they know they can complete the level without collecting it.
I'm not sure whether or not I want the shrine, or Glows, to glow, how ever faintly, in the distance yet.
This level introduces health relics. With any luck, for me, not necessarily the players, the player will hit a spike along the way, but it is completely possible to avoid them, I don't know if I want to change that or not, and I'm not sure about the speed that the player is travelling yet. It is something I need to test out whilst building the

Level 4

game itself.
The large med kit restores 2 hearts, and the bandage restores half a heart. I'm not sure if I like these numbers yet.

The fifth and fourth levels are here as examples of different types of levels. Some areas would lead into others and some into nothing. Some paths will lead to Glows, others to nothing. I need to figure out a way of making the spikes and flat surfaces clearly different.
These two levels also indicate that the directions and Shrines will not always go in one direction or be in one place.

Level 5

On the UI, the player will see a set amount of hearts, perhaps 4 or 5. Every time they hit a spike, they will lose half a heart. I have yet to create a mock up of the UI but will do soon. I may add a little indicator in the corner of the screen about whether or not the player has picked up a Glow, or however many Glows, in the level, however I'm not sure how this will work as there may not even be a Glow in all the levels and if the player will just keep exploring and become uninterested should there not appear to be one, I will also add a way of counting down the timer for when the player is able to activate the... radiating light around itself.

I also need to come up with new names because everything is being called light or glow. We'll see.
I definitely need to work faster.
There would be achievements on Steam, like finding all the Glows, not taking damage through a set amount or series of levels, not using the light boost (space), etc.

Next task:
Create UI template
Make a list of possible achievements
Begin to make at the first level in UE4

Playing Catch-Up: Plan Blueprints/Controls

• Plan blueprints/controls

1. Standard WASD movement, with controller support
2. Space for jump and double-jump, or maybe space to pulse light...
   If pulse light, the player would be floating rather than jumping and landing
3. Health-bar deterioration upon danger impact, heart system
4. Death upon empty health-bar

• Map out game levels (in this case, what I want to include)

1. [GOAL] Collect balls of light (optional but not really optional)
2. [GOAL] Finish the levels, a shrine for the end of the level
3. Right side and up-ward directions
4. Pick ups for additional health: health kits and bandages

Next task:
Physically map out the game levels, draw them, make examples etc.

Review: End of Week 6

I'm taking things one day at a time, making lists and being realistic and kind to myself. I need to get things done but right now, I need to not put too much pressure on myself, whilst also putting enough in order to actually get things done. Every day I'm listing 2 things to get done, not necessarily from this list, and if I do extra then that's a plus for me.
Instead of writing my plans down on paper for myself, I will be documenting them all in my blog, and maybe that'll help and seem more clearer and easier to read as it will require less messy editing.

Things to Do (In No Particular Order)

• Plan blueprints/controls
• Map out game levels
• Build game levels
• Build blueprints

• Practice paint style
• Create paint palette for lights
• Create background mock ups
• Create signs/text mock ups

• Finish door UV
• Paint door

Recap: UE4 Blueprints

These are the basic character controls I created for my Character 'Meg,' this contains the blueprints for jumping, moving and looking around. The input keys and triggers are set in the Project Settings, under Input. The blueprints retrieve the triggers functions from this input menu.

The default world and pawn is set to mine and CharMeg in this case.
The camera angle or distance from the character that we see in game is decided by the distance the camera is on the spring arm. This can be adjusted to first person, third person, or over the shoulder, however you please. Triggers can also be put in place for the camera to change when something happens.

This set of commands tells the game to start off with a set amount of ammo, health and stamina and adds the HUD to the view-port.
In the UE4 HUD blueprint, the ammo is set by an integer variable, and the health and stamina are set by float variables.
In UE4, we can create what the HUD looks like in a separate blueprint. We update these by creating widget blueprints in the graph option.

Review: Beginning of Week 6

In one of my previous progress reviews, I had outlined an idea of what I wanted my game to be like. Since then I have encountered many personal problems, had various appointments with doctors and course leaders and tutors.

I have not made a lot of progress, but I have kept up to date with lecture slides and notes, and anything else that has been put up onto the intranet. I have yet to finish my door things and my UE4 things. I will make a post to do with UE4 soon. It may help me clear my head and things to do with my ideas, and perhaps it'll help me remember, by documenting things twice.

This has all gotten me thinking that I may need to simplify my game. I would still like to do the things that I have thought of before, but I may need to change a few things. I'd have to change the way pick ups and colour works. I may be creating it as a regular 2d platformer instead of a maze. I may want to incorporate the colour onto the figure instead of the background. The balls of light may just be balls of light instead of creatures. This is all to be confirmed. But hopefully to be confirmed by next post (next week.)
I will be trying different things to keep on track. I just need to get things done now, and I'm sure it will be fine. Writing these progress reports help me quite a bit, though not necessarily help my actual progress. I would like a minimum viable product created an tested by my next review, at least.

Review: Beginning of Week 5

I need to find a way of keeping track of each week, but if I regularly update weekly and on the same day, it shouldn't be much of an issue.

I have yet to post screenshots of what I'm doing, part of this is because I am still behind, I'm caught up in all my contextual studies and stuff like that, but now my 3D work. So this week will be focused on getting those things done. I have made a list in my own planner, detailing what I'd like to do on each day and should be ready for all my sessions, seminars and lectures. I've missed a few sessions, but I have to catch up, but I think I'm making good time at the moment.

Theme Parks

I'm going to use all the questions posed in the lecture as a platform instead of answering them all individually.
It's pretty difficult to come up with a completely original, or an original at anything game nowadays as "everything's a remix."

So I was thinking about the desolate, abandoned, overgrown theme parks that exist in the world. Disney's River Country has been a big influence in my idea. There was this story of the theme park's waters not being purified correctly and so it had to close down, and there are pictures of their water slides being overgrown after having been abandoned for so long.

Using these stories as inspiration, I came up with a theme park management which is basically just like any other. However, all the events that occur, will mostly be negative and disasters for the player. Parts of the park must go under maintenance (to be fixed/cleaned regularly) every few months or possibly years, although the user will not know the time frame. Maintenance costs, but fixing the park's attractions cost a lot more. I haven't quite figured it out yet but basically, the amusement park will go down hill and deteriorate, the longer you play, the harder it will be, so the player needs to figure it out and keep it going for as long as they can.

Card and Board Games

There are many games which have card versions which work well already, like Pokemon, Magic The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh etc. All these played on the imagination of the player, going by the stats and rules of the game, much like board games. Hearthstone is also a card game but technically not, it's a computer emulated card game, and there are also a lot of these too. These work well as there can be voices and animations added into the game, which can be fun but not essential.

The two games I am currently playing are League of Legends and Overwatch, so I'll be using the games I know as examples in this text. I'll be analysing whether or not they may work as card or board games, or a mixture of both, as a bunch of board games have card game like features, for example, Monopoly.

Overwatch is a cross between an FPS and a MOBA, but more to the FPS side I think, therefore it would be difficult emulating this game in the physical form via cards. as FPS games require aim to be a large part of a game, I imagine it would be less fun, and would take a lot away from the game, and the concept of the game itself by turning it into a card game.
League of Legends, on the other hand, would be easier to recreate as a board game, with cards, like Monopoly. This could work with a map replicating that from League of Legends, on the board and perhaps a Dungeons and Dragons type play-style to determine the chances and stats of casting things with a roll of a dice.

In terms of Ilinx card games, one could be created for a type of truth and dare game, or for a game which incorporates real like actions and movements into the game. So the Ilinx feeling would be a physical one, as it can't be created virtually.

Review: End of Week 3

I've been on the course for 3 weeks so far with seemingly nothing proper to show for it. I feel as though I am behind already. There are a few things I should have done already: the door design and the block out of a few levels I want to create in the game.

My few posts so far have been seminar and contextual blogs, and none have been progress reports, so I'd like to start doing those. I have been reading some books which I've found helpful for the course and my interests in general, I've been watching videos online and doing quick sketches in my book and I've been making notes which have been developing my game idea throughout the few weeks, and I've also kept up with the lectures and lecture notes.

I've started a moodboard on Pinterest to try and give a feel to what I want my game to be. This includes the art style, the colours, some possible creatures and texts.

There feels like there isn't enough time in the day to effectively do and achieve what I want, but I will try, and I feel like I am doing better than how I was doing this time during the first year. Although my mouse is broken right now, which is unfortunate, but a new one should be coming soon!

My game idea:

My game is hopefully going to be a 2D slight platforming maze game. I'm hoping the art style will be paint like, with soft-ish colours, (you'll understand what I mean from my mood boards.)
The player will be controlling a form of light, whether it be a calm floating ball or a shooting light. I'm unsure whether I'd let the player customise a character before the game. This would mean that character would appear in cutscenes should I choose to do it that way.


The player has a choice on whether or not to save creatures, from separate coloured balls of light they encounter. Depending on how many they save on each level, the next will be a brighter level, with calmer colours, or the scenery will become more mountainous and/or dangerous and the colours will become darker and more bleak. This will be rather subtle, but still noticeable. This will be subtly hinted at the players, and the choices will affect the ending.

The player is travelling through a forestry area in an attempt to try and make their way home. I'd like to do cutscenes after some milestone levels to explain the story-line, and perhaps these will contain the hints.

On the journey, the hero is embarking on, they'll encounter balls of light and when they 'meet' or 'touch' it, there will be some animation of the light spreading, circling around or upwards around the character before forming a creature which follows the character's movement through the level. These creatures will continue to do so until the end of the level.

The player will encounter some obstacles, where it will be possible for the player, or the creatures to die during these.


At first, I wanted to create some realistic monsters, which you'd eventually find out the backstory to, as the creatures, but they all looked too childish as I did them by drawing shapes and creating them from my mind. So I think I'll try and do something similar but with real like animals as inspiration instead. The images included on this blog posts are very, very quick sketches, purely for the shape so I can then adapt it.

While I have these ideas and I think it's pretty cool, I think it'll be a while and/or take huge amounts of work to get to this point from where I am now.

Universal and Multicursal Mazes

A Universal Maze means that the maze is a 'single line' maze. All the corridors and areas are connected and is more of a labyrinth.

A Multicursal Maze is a maze which branches out with several paths which can end in dead ends.

Pac-Man, Tomb Raider 2 and Bomberman are some games with a universal maze.

The Stanley Parable, Pokemon, Legend of Grimrock, Wolfenstein, Legend of Zelda and Damned are some games with a multicursal maze.




















I feel as though any games which would like to depict any internal struggles anyone would be feeling would put good use to the maze system. These could represent the insides of a person's mind, depending on how you want to show it. Mazes are fun too when your aim is to collect things and find clues etc inside a game. But there would have to be a proper purpose in games like that or mazes would be rather tedious for me.

Design Jam: 12 Game Ideas

Elevator Pitches created during the session:

• Toast Apocalypse: Jam-nado -
  Toast Apocalypse: Jam-nado is a rage inducing platform game on Steam aimed at teenagers or young adults. It is deliberately designed as a casual game for those wanting to pass the time, there is no story or aim but to survive and pass the levels. Using a controller or keyboard, the player must navigate across platforms, avoiding obstacles in the game, and dodging jam bullets! They must complete the level in the time given or they'll find themselves engulfed in different colours and flavours of jam as it fills the screen, however there are platforms going left and right as well as above. Jump quickly to try and find the right direction or it may be too late for you to turn back when the jam comes!
• Space Plankton -
  Space Plankton is a casual game for anyone and everyone! Fly around space eating up the small bits of plankton as a customisable alien, the more you eat, the larger you get and the faster you travel. Tap left and right to move in that direction. Different coloured plankton awards didn't points and eat more in a row to get rewarded with multiplier bonuses! Compete online and with your friends to get the highest score. Don't crash into planets, satellites or anything else floating around space, and avoid any larger aliens, or they might just eat you instead!

My own ideas:

• A labyrinth PC game for anyone who enjoys puzzles! The player must navigate a series of similar rooms in a maze like design to reach the end of the level. They must use the clues given to them to light up certain tiles in a 3x3 area in the middle of the floor. However the pattern of lights can be anything related to what is given.
• Fly on the back of a creature of your choice as you navigate treacherous cliffs and hills dodging any obstacles that come your way. Swoop down and save anyone in danger to earn points and bonuses.
• Float through a mystical forest collecting balls of light which turn into little different minions which follow you for the rest of the journey. Be careful though, if you lose sight of them, they disappear. Don't let them become trapped! A certain number must be collected and kept safe to advance the level. See how many you can save!
• This is a time based challenge game. You play in first person view, with deliberate bad mechanics to make it harder. You will be shown a pattern built with objects and your task is to copy the image as close as you can and as fast as you can. The timer starts once the image stops being projected and the finished designs will be graded with a mark out of 100% as well as A, B, C etc. The patterns will get more and more difficult as the player progresses through the levels. 

The following games have been designed around a single word rather than a phrase:

• Rodents -
  Help your pet find it's way home after becoming trapped in the vents! This game is aimed at young people on any of the Nintendo DS handhelds. Customise your pets and direct them through different maze levels, and bring them home. The different levels will have different mechanics, features and colour palettes. Collect food bowls to reload your ammo to shoot food particles at dust bunnies and use water bowls to regain your health.
• Orphanage -
  This is a VR based horror game, aimed at more mature audiences, which can also be projected onto a monitor so other people can watch and see the reactions of the player. Piece together what happened to the little girl's parents and why she is haunting the orphanage, terrorising the other children. The player must hide from her phantom, as well as other she may have claimed along the way and collect clues to solve the mystery and bring peace to the child's spirit. The longer you take to help her, the more lives she may claim, and maybe yours if you're not careful!
• Daydream -
  This is an Indie Steam game designed for a kind of relaxation and to fuel a creative mind, or anyone who likes pretty things. The aesthetic should look kinda of pencil drawn, like Child of Light. The players start off in a plain white room. As they use the arrow keys to walk around, a stream of colour follows them around. Use the spacebar to 'develop' the area in front of them into something more intricate and detailed. These are randomly generated. Players can walk into the area created by toggling on the 'Explore' function by pressing shift. Come out of the area and into a new canvas by toggling 'Explore' off. Choose to create your world using a select palette or explore with random colours, and watch your world grow.
• Crime -
  This is a side scrolling game for the PC. Play as a detective and solve the crimes you encounter before the timer runs out and you need to move on. The more you solve, the faster the timer counts down. You have 3 chances before you're fired for incompetency and the game is over. Play for the highest score on the leaderboard.

These games are where I start to branch out into more than one word clues:

• Ladybug Guard -
  This is a colourful PC game designed to help children learn maths. They must figure out how many towers are needed to protect their home from various threats! The controls are simple; use the mouse to select the answer and then click around in the fields to build the tower defenses then watch them get to work!
• Summer No Release -
  You're on the verge of failing the year so you must go to Summer School and pass with flying colours or you'll be held back! Manage your time at the school, join clubs, solve problems and gain knowledge points to impress your tutors and your peers. This point and click game will require you to join classes to boost those points which will then unlock more activities.

Analysis of James Newman's 'The Myth of the Ergodic Videogame: Some Thought on Player-Character Relationships in Videogames'

James Newman suggests that, in terms of the features of the game, the visual representation of things do not matter as much as the actual functions the game's mechanics in how it creates a good game. Newman specifically excludes the advertisement and marketing of games, and focuses more on the game-play. He says that the pleasures of video games lie in the mechanics of the game and how it feels rather than whether or not it's aesthetically pleasing, and even so players may not even need to physically play games to enjoy them, but can experience them through different means and by other ways of engagement. The pleasures of games can be felt through sound and visuals as well as the physical control of the game itself. Cut-scenes and stories can also remind us of events in our lives or past, thus further developing a player's experience of the video game.

Newman attempts to right the "mistake [of considering] that [games] present only one type of experience and foster only one type of engagement." He believes that games are not ergodic, meaning not all games possess the same qualities, purposes and ways of connecting to players, yet they all have similar traits in these.

Newman is a professor and senior lecturer in film, media and creative computing who researches and writes about video games. He himself also plays video games, therefore he may be drawing these ideas from his own experiences. He may have played some games from which he may have drawn multiple experiences and emotions from, and may look for a different variety of things in his video games, and base his choices on that. However, there are people who prefer games to be more aesthetically pleasing, and draw more enjoyment through that than any other aspect of a game. They may not mind if the mechanics are simple and instead think the simple mechanics and the way you play the video game contributes to the beauty of the game's visual features.

I personally think I find the author's argument quite persuasive, though perhaps because I had a similar view to these things myself before reading the extract. This is due to the fact that I have enjoyed several different types of games which have given me different types of experiences. I also do not need to only find enjoyment in a video game by physically controlling said game. There are many popular videos of video game play-throughs on YouTube nowadays and I enjoy following a lot of them. While I think people may disagree with Newman's stance on video games, I believe they may see his points but rather argue the point of how important things are to a game.