A2 Computer Project Report

Joe CURRY Game Title: Lost Memories14/10/2015
Joe CURRY " Computing " September 16, 2015Joe CURRY " Computing " September 16, 2015Game Title: Lost MemoriesComputing ProjectGame Title: Lost MemoriesComputing Project
Joe CURRY " Computing " September 16, 2015
Joe CURRY " Computing " September 16, 2015
Game Title: Lost Memories
Computing Project
Game Title: Lost Memories
Computing Project



Table of Contents
3.4.1 Definition, Investigation and Analysis 2
Definition – nature of the problem to be investigated 2
Research 3
Personal Information 3
General Research 3
Specific Research 4
Other Comments 4
Research Results 4
Quantitative Results 4
Qualitative Results 6
Game Plan 7
Requirements 9
Hardware 9
Software 9
3.4.2 Design 10



3.4.1 Definition, Investigation and Analysis
Definition – nature of the problem to be investigated
In 2014, the top 10 best-selling games were: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Madden NFL 15, Destiny, Grand Theft Auto V, Minecraft, Super Smash Bros, NBA 2K15, Watch Dogs, FIFA 15, and Call Of Duty: Ghosts. None of these games allow the user to expand their mind in a way that would be useful for everyday life; with the exception of Minecraft if you are an architect or something similar. NBA 2K15, Madden NFL 15, and FIFA 15 are all sports games which are better for the mind than the more violent games such as Grand Theft Auto V and Call of Duty: Ghosts, in terms of behavior. This was proven by Jo Frost on her opening episode of 'Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance'. "Together with Dr Doug Gentile she orchestrated an experiment in which 40 boys were asked to play games for 20 minutes – half played a football sim, the other half "a first-person war game". They then had to view some violent news footage. Throughout, each participant had their heart rate monitored. At the end, the figures showed that the boys who played the violent game retained slower heart rates during the news footage." (Stuart, 2010)
Due to the amount of violent games that have made their way into the top 10 of 2014, I have decided to make a game that will stimulate the mind and hopefully help people to gain better logical abilities. I will create a game using Unity that will consist of a number of logic puzzles. The player will need to complete the puzzles that are found throughout the game to complete it. As an incentive I may add a feature that will make the player want to reach the end; such as a hoard of treasure or a person to save. I will make it either 1st person, 3rd person, or possibly both; so the player can switch between views. If it does include a 3rd person aspect, I will have at least two characters that the user can play as; a male and a female character. This will make the game less biased and will allow a wider range of people to want to play.
My target audience for the game will be students, both male and female, between the ages of 16 and 21. This allows the game to be slightly harder and less childlike as people over 16 would probably not respond well to a childlike game as it would make them feel as though the game was demeaning and not created for them. If they thought like this they wouldn't want to play the game.
To determine whether or not this is a good idea, I will create questionnaires for my target audience, and for teachers and lecturers. This will not only give me an idea of what the users want but also what the educators think should be included in terms of the puzzles. I will use a mixture of quantitative and qualitative questions to get a better understanding of what people think but also be able to quantify certain results for easier research; for example if I get results from 16-17 year olds saying they don't like the game but 18-21 year olds say it is a brilliant idea, then I can aim it more at the 18-21 year olds as they are the market that are more likely to purchase the game. I will also use sources from the internet to determine where the game would be better aimed in terms of demographics and psychographics.
Games similar to mine include: Portal, The Talos Principle, Kairo, Fireflies, A Story About My Uncle, Trine 3, and Dream. However all the puzzles in these games are strategy based whereas mine would be logic based.


Research
My questionnaire was split into 4 sections: Personal Information, General Research, Specific Research, and Other Comments.
Personal Information
This was for demographic use. I asked for the Age, Gender, Postcode, and Occupation of the person answering the questionnaire. This gives me a better look into who my target is and where they are. This information will allow me to target my game at the right people, at the right times. Some of the information may not be 100% relevant to the game itself but will come in useful when it comes to advertising and other marketing strategies.
General Research
This was to get an understanding into how people play games; when they play, what platform they play on etc. This would be helpful because I could include aspects from these in my game or make sure it is available on the correct platforms. The questions were:
What is your preferred gaming platform?
PlayStation
Xbox
PC
Other
What is your favourite game genre? (Pick up to 3)
Adventure
Action
Shooter
Puzzle
Sport
MMORPG
Roleplaying
Platform
Simulator
Other
On average, how many hours do you spend playing games per week?
None
1-2
3-4
5-6
7-8
9 or more
How much money are you willing to spend on a single game?
Describe your ideal game.

Specific Research
This was to get information into how people may feel about my game in particular. I wanted to know whether or not my game would be a good idea and what people may want included. The questions were:
Do you think there are enough puzzle/logic games available that are suitable for students/young adults?
Yes
No
Would you like to see more puzzle/logic games suited for students/young adults?
Yes
No
If you were to create a puzzle/logic game, what would you include and why?
Other Comments
This section was included so that people could say things that my previous questions didn't address or simply to expand on some of my closed questions. This is valuable information as it would be really in depth because there are no limitations on what the can write. It has the same benefits as an interview but it has been added to a questionnaire which keeps it quick and cheap.
Research Results
In this section, I will display both my quantitative findings and qualitative findings. I will use column charts and pie charts to display my quantitative findings. I will summarise my qualitative findings in a few paragraphs. Both sets of results will help me to develop my game.
Quantitative Results


From this information, I will make my game suitable for PC gaming as it is the most popular. If need be it can be optimised for other platforms at a later date.


Qualitative Results
Under the "If you were to create a puzzle/logic game, what would you include and why?" question, a couple of people have suggested a leader board to add a sense of competitiveness to the game. This would be a good idea as people tend to enjoy a game where they can try to be better than someone else. This is practically the basis of level based MMORPGs, people want to be a higher level than anyone else as it would mean that they were more powerful and could get better stuff. They also suggested that there be increasing difficulty levels, which is a good response as I was intending to do this anyway.
Someone else said that there should be more than one character. This was going to be my intention with the game if I was to have it in a 3rd person view. I could potentially include the character selection even if the game was in 1st person as people would still feel like they have a choice and therefore more control over the game. I could then use the figure in cut scenes if I decide to include any. They also want a good art style which is fairly easy to achieve and I will try to match the characters to the art style of the rest of the game.
I gained a variety of responses under the "Describe your ideal game" question. Most people wanted a Grand Theft Auto style game with the addition of destroyable buildings. One of the aspects of GTA is the open world aspect. I could try to implicate this into my game though it may come with a few issues, especially as I would like to make it level based. I could design it like The Talos Principle where it is a bit of a combination of the two.
Some people would like an MMO or shooter style game. Although this would be an interesting concept, I don't think it would be a good idea to try and combine it with my initial idea of a puzzle game; and seeing as a high number of people would like to see more puzzle games, I intend to keep with my initial idea.
Game Plan




Requirements
Hardware
The character in my game will be controlled using the WASD keys and the space bar. A keyboard will be required for a lot of my game for controlling the character, opening the in-game journal, answering puzzles, interacting with items and NPC's, and accessing the menu. The mouse will be used to look around the map and rotate the character. It will also be used for some of the more visual puzzles for drag-and-drop activities. The mouse is also used to select items on menus.
My suggested minimum system requirements would be:
CPU: Dual-core 2.0 GHz
RAM: 2GB
GPU: DirectX 10 class GPU with 512MB VRAM (nVidia GeForce 8600 series, AMD Radeon HD 3600 series, Intel HD 4000 series)
DX: 9.0c
HDD: 8GB available space
Sound: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Sound Card
These are only estimates and may change when the game is completed. I have chosen these specifications based on the specifications of similar games. This is because until the game is complete I will not know the exact requirements as there will be different variable such as sound, graphics, the size of the map, and the size of the game overall. A higher quality CPU, RAM and GPU will allow the game to run smoother and with better graphics. A better sound card will improve the quality of the music and ambient noise.
Software
I recommend that this game be run on Windows 7 or higher as I find they are better at running games on than any Windows version that is Vista or older. It will also not be coded for iOS so will be unable to run on an Apple Computer without additional software to make it compatible.
It has been suggested that the game should have a leader board system. If this is implemented, an internet connection will be required to link the games together along with an online database containing the top scores globally. If added, there will still be an offline mode that will save the players' scores locally.


3.4.2 Design




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Are there enough puzzle games aimed at young adults and should there be more?













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