Sound and Graphic Tech Report

In Video Games and often overlooked part of the gaming experience is Sound. Sound is a more integral part of gameplay experiences than most players realize. 3D Audio and Surround Sound are both technologies in audio, used to create better experiences in games. 3D audio and surround sound are really two different things. The 3D audio technologies are basically a means of simulating a surround sound effect in stereo headphones, while 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound configurations don’t necessarily need 3D audio effects since it typically involves the use of discrete speakers. This means they are not easily compared but this does not stop the debate over which is better.

One user on Reddit said “Personally, the interactivity and immersion that comes with 3D positioning is invaluable, it creates a whole new experience that is almost unmatched. The ability to deliver audio to a user the way we can with VR is unprecedented and completely unrivaled: it blows Surround Sound formats out of the water.” I am inclined to agree. This comparison (although unfounded) is valid and I believe that the sound quality in a game greatly changes the experience overall.

In the visual world of computer gaming, the word “graphics” is thrown around all the time. The question is though how graphics improve games. The phrase graphics refer to the visual element of Video Games, more specifically how “good” the visuals look. The quality of graphics is affected by the graphics card running it.

The Games Industry Value Chain

The Games Industry Value Chain is a crucial part of all game production it starts with…

The Investment Layer

The Investment Layer is the part of the process where a person or company decides how much money they will give to the game developers to make the game. This is the starting point for all games and it can affect the rest of the process significantly. The investor then gives responsibility to design the actual games to…

The Design and Creative Layer

The Design and Creative team conceptualize the game and design the game, this can be gameplay all the way to actual character design. A lot of publishers have bought existing developers so sometimes this can all be done in-house at a publisher. After the game has been designed it needs to be created to a playable standard, the designers hand this task off to…

The Production and Tools Layer

The production of the game is very important but they still need to be wary about cost because the publisher is looking for a return on investment. The cost can be managed by project managers whose job is to track costs and resources used. There is an almost infinite amount of tools and resources at the fingertips of people who make games (because people are constantly creating new things). These could be game engines for consoles, mac and pc software etc.
After the creation of a game, the producers give the responsibility of marketing the game to

The Publishing Layer

The publishers have the task of marketing and distribution. The publishers traditionally distribute new games to supermarket and game stores. In recent years, however, games publisher have been distributing to digital retailers such as Steam or in some cases distributing straight to consumers.

The Hardware Layer

The hardware layer refers to the piece of hardware the end-user would play the game on. Before 1998, the main platform on which gamers played games was the PC. Since then consoles such as the companies Xbox and PlayStation or even Nintendo that was prevalent since the 80s.

The End-User Layer

The End-User will always affect the rest of the games industry. Users are inclined to try free games so developers adapted to that and games like Fortnite have been released for free and gained a cult following through free content but the game also has a paid section that lots of people have now bought because they have played the free part and enjoyed it.

Evaluating the Design of Fallout 4 and Super Mario Bros

The design stage of a game is integral in making a good game. In this report, I will be evaluating the design elements in the video games, Fallout 4 and the original Super Mario Bros.

Fallout 4

This game is a post-apocalyptic RPG focusing on a user-created character that completes tasks for people and fights gangs of thugs and mutated animals.

Element 1 – Objective
There is no clear objective in Fallout 4. This should be a blessing or a curse in a game. In this game, in particular, the freedom the player has in the actions of the character enhances the game infinitely.

Element 2 – Conflict
One of this game’s main mechanics is the VATS system which lets the player slow down time and select parts of the enemy to shoot with their (customizable) weapon. This brings a whole new dimension to the regular shootouts and therefore the game succeeds at its goal to revolutionize combat.

Element 3 – Rules
In Fallout, Bethesda (the developers) set out to make an adventure game and they seemed to do this without implementing too many rules. This makes the experience more fluid and interactive, creating a better game.

Element 4 – Resources
Fallout (along with most RPGs) has a lot of resources that the player must monitor. The main resource is health which can be raised by eating and drinking, it can be lowered by being attacked by an enemy. Secondary to health the player must monitor stamina and RADS. Stamina affects the player’s ability to sprint and jump. RADS refers to the radiation that a player has taken in the wasteland.

 Super Mario Bros

Element 1 – Objective
The objective in Super Mario Bros is very obvious. The goal of the character is to rescue Princess Peach and the objective of the player is to get to the flag at the end of the level (without dying too much).

Element 2 – Conflict
The conflict in Super Mario Bros is a very basic system where if Mario touches some sprites he dies and if he jumps on top of them they die. This is a very rudimentary and outdated mechanic but it is excusable as the game was released 33 years ago.

Element 3 – Rules
In Super Mario Bros, there are a lot of rules and they are all mandatory. This makes the game more contained. This does not bring the game down though, the use of rules by Nintendo has created a game which millions of people know how to play.

Element 4 – Resources
In Mario, he has hearts he dies when he has none left. This is an integral part of the game.

Emerging Technologies in Gaming

In the last few years many technologies that have worked in theory for years became a (very successful) reality.

For example, Augmented Reality games have been lurking in relative obscurity for years. But in 2016, Niantic released a game in partnership with Nintendo and the Pokémon Company named Pokémon Go.  Pokémon Go is the most popular AR game in existence. The games popularity has propelled the technology into the light and minds of developers and it is expected to bring a rise in augmented reality gaming.

For example after the initial release of Pokémon Go, there was an outcry by fans of the game for other pop culture franchises to be turned into AR games. Like Harry Potter or Star Wars. After this a very clever app developer decided to create Maguss. Maguss is what some would describe as Harry Potter Go. It is an AR game for the Microsoft Hololens that centres on casting spells and capturing magical creatures.

Another emerging technology that will impact the future of video games. Is Facial Recognition. Facial Recognition is the tech that uses cameras to read facial expressions and even recognize and distinguish between different people. This can be used in many ways to enhance a gaming experience, from having a character in a game copy the players facial expression to even have the character move and talk like the player in multiplayer games. This tech has been shown to be very effective by Face2Face. Face2Face is a collaboration between computer scientists at Stanford University, the Max Planck Institute, and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. The effectiveness of this makes me sure that this tech will change the gaming scene forever.

Here is the video of proof of concept these incredible scientist released.