Final Fantasy X - Graphics faults

Charizard Joey uses Flamethrower to allow her to indulge in burninating Square Enix.
Final Fantasy X is an amzing game storyline wise, I love it, I always have and I always will.

But playing the game over the weekend while I was waiting for my laptop to come back with all my new dyslexia software on I couldn't help but notice the faults in the graphics of the game.

Tidus's design is almost perfect, not quite, there is some stretching but not as much as most of the charcaters, however...

The mapping is streched in levels and on charaters clothes, especally Rikku's, there are a couple of places where there are too many ploys in a scene and the renderer in the games system cannot keep up, there is anti-aliasing on swords, and worst of all you can see the anti-aliasing on charcaters!!!!

Square Enix have released Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 2 and I love them for that but for Ra's sake, if you are going to release a game will they bloody well make sure they have all the faults worked out before they bloody release it.

What is worse, most of the gamers who play it won't realise, because I didn't notice until I started Game Art Design, and the faults leapt out at me demanding retribution.

So, Charizard Joey has flown to Japan and is burninating Square Enix.

I wonder who will be next to face my Flamethrower.

Joey

"Just one more thing, those we have lost, and the dreams that have faded...

Never forget them." (Yuna, Final Fantasy X)

Week 11 - The elements of Game Design - Gameplay

Landing on top of the Fletcher Buliding.

"Gameplay includes all player experiences during the interaction with game systems, especially formal games. Proper use is coupled with reference to "what the player does". Arising alongside the development of game designers in the 1980s, gameplay was used solely within the context of video or computer games, though now its popularity has begun to see use in the description of other, more traditional, game forms. Generally, the term "gameplay" in video game terminology is used to describe the overall experience of playing the game excluding the factors of graphics, sound, and the storyline. The term "Game mechanics" refers to sub-elements of the gameplay, but particularly the primary control and movement features of the game (thus excluding things like level design or AI).

Many current game design theorists from the background of art theory argue that gameplay is a largely meaningless or empty term, superseded by other concepts established in the repertoire of perception, anthropology, and general iversified psychology. Others see the very term as an indication that current game design theories remain primitive and underdeveloped noting that, for example, cinema does not require "movie-watch" nor novels "book-read" in order that these (non-interactive) media be described formally. Current academic discussions tend to favor more practical terms such as "game mechanics".

Despite these criticisms, the term gameplay has gained acceptance in popular gaming nomenclature, as it succinctly indicates a domain of perceptual concepts not readily accessible by other phrases. Some gaming reviews give a specific score for gameplay, along with graphics, sound, and longevity. Many consider "gameplay" to be the most important indicator of the quality of a game. Many game critics feel that gameplay in games is analogous with narrative in fiction, and serves as the foundation to which other elements (for example, story) are added. Those who counter the art theory of game point out that games are essentially playing. Playing is as old as or even older than art in the history of humanity. Therefore, it may not be appropriate to define or evaluate games in the same context as art. In fact, a few Japanese gamemakers have their origins in toy making, the most famous being Nintendo. A notable contemporary play theorist is Jesper Juul who works on both pure play theory and the application of this theory to Computer game studies. The theory of play and its relationship with rules and game design is also extensively discussed by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman in their book: Rules of Play : Game Design Fundamentals."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gameplay

English please. No seriously, some of this would be easier explained in English that anyone can understand, not technobable.

What I think it is saying is that Gameplay is the term for the experiance of playing a game and this doesn't include the sound, graphics or storyline. I think it is also saying that experts belive that the term is an empty one and that it proves the gaming industry is still primative because films and books don't need a similar term.

I think that is complete and utter bollocks.

Gameplay is an important feature in games, to me it implys how much a game emerses you in the world and character of the game, films and books don't need these terms becuase you are not interacting with the book or film you are reading or watching it, that is something completely different, obviously these experts don't understand that differences between books and film to games, they come from a background of art theory, not a games design background, otherwise they would understand the subtle differences.

Many games mags give marks to a game for gameplay, and it is a term which covers a whole range of things in a game, and to a gamer gameplay is important because a game with crap gameplay will not be anywhere near as good as a game with good or excellent gameplay. A game doesn't need good graphics or music, though that helps, after all, the difference between movies and games and real life is that real life doesn't have a sound track. However both the graphics and the music help to improve the game as it helps the player basically mentally enter the world they are watching and interacting with.

It is really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, etc, important in games to have good gameplay as it will attract people and they will pass the word onto thier friends and the chain will continue. Gameplay is not something that can be designed into a game, it's something that is created when a games factors join together to create somethng that totally emerses the player into a world and life of someone completely different and causes the player to forget about the outside world.

That's my opinion, I bet that the rest of the class will have thier own,

And now I'm up to date,

And I know my wings are strong enough to allow me to fly again,

So I will take off from the Fletcher Builidng and look forward to Christmas with my family.

Joey

Week 10 - The elements of games design - story and character

Further up in the sky now, using the thermals to glide : )

Week 10 ->

Characters in games have to have personality to appeal to gamers.

Special effects will no longer sell games...

Well it will but they will not sell well because some gamers will buy them because they look good and return them when they realise what a pile of shit they are. They will then buy a game that isn't as astetically pleasing but the storyline and and characters are much more appealing and keep you hooked until the very end.

http://gamasutra.com/features/20060324/cifaldi_01.html

Gives you the differences between the two main characters of the XBox 360 game, Ninety-Nine Nights. One is cold and almost cruel while the other is more caring and empathic. This is importants as it effects the storyline of the game as while you are the more empathic character, you can choose to go another route and this in turn would change the events unfolding.

This sort of character development and story develo9pemnt appeals much more to gamers then that which is liniar and boring, and for a player to really become a character and fully emerse themselves in the game, they have to be able to understand the emotions of that character, and thier personality and traits, what they say and do, and thier body language displays a whole range of feelings and attracts people.

For example, in Final Fantasy X, which I will rant about later, the main charcater, Tidus, is telling the story of how they get to the point that they are at when the game begins, which is in fact somewhere near the end.

To start off with you really can not like Tidus, because he is a arogant stuck up git, but as the story develops we find out why he's like he is and he changes as the story goes on, acting less like an idiot and more like a person. This Character development is important to the storyline, as when he fades away at the end, when the dreams of the Fayth end, we really care, and we feel sorry for Yuna, who doesn't understand and doesn't want Tidus, who is in fact a dream of the Fayth made real by the power of Sin, to leave.

I find fantasy completely irriesitable because 1. I write it, and 2. I get lost in a good fanatsy, learning about the ways and customs and lives and magic and monsters and... lol, I'm going off on one again.

But the story isn't important if we're not drawn into it by an engaging main character.

That's what I would have said had I not got distracted.

Week 9 - Introduction to Games Technology

Ok, I am really, really behind for more then one reason so I won't list them here.

This Charizard's wings have been injured for a while, but now she's ready to fly again.

So no witty starts, just the task at hand.

Games Technology is completly different now to how it was back in 1967, I have a feeling that if you'd told people then what games today would be like they'd have called you a liar and disbelieved you. The first video game console to work on a TV was called a Brown Box and was invented by Ralph Baer, originally only released with a 'chase' game which showed two squares chasing each other across the screen.

Now if we want a chase scene we have to think about what the two characters look like, and where they are running and what it looks like and if there are any spectators...

See the difference?

This was controled by a box with knobs that you twisted and the squares changed direction.

Nowadays if you want a dude to change direction on screen you just move a joystick.

I think it's very funny that the gaming industry has come full circle, since some of the earliest games systems (The Atari) were controlled using a joystick.

http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050523/console_timeline/

Gives a time line of consoles and I have been rather suprised to find that the Playstation, which became a stable part of my gaming diet, came out over ten years ago... very scary. I was seven years old when it came out, SEVEN!!!!! Gah!

It was funny though to see that buttons are begining to fade out, replaced by joysticks and movement sensors. Games now are completly different from back then, after nearly 40 years games have reached the point where the games look practically real.

A long way from the brick of the Brown Box and it's squares.

Ergonomics have been important in attracting new gamers, the PS One, the little white PS attracted more crowds then the huge grey brick that was the original Playstation, the Gamecube's simple looks attracted more then the black PS2 brick that has recently become the PS2 Slimline.

The weird PS3 controller, is not half as attractive as the nuchucks of the Nintendo Wii, how I want one of those.

As regards to which controller was the easiest to use, while I am a big fan of the Gamecube, I have to say that it's controller wasn't the easiest to use, I do love the controller of the PS2, which is simple and really really easy to use, you just havr to love it really.

In looks for consoles, the Nintendo DS wins. The little handheld looks amazing, and all it's features are brillient, touch screen anyone?

I own a pink one, muahahaha.

And a Slimline PS2, and a Black Gamecube, and a PSP (not as good as my DS) and my pink DS.

A joypad isn't a dying breed I don't think, until they can develop reasonable technology that allows for total emersion in the game. I think the joypad has a long life ahead of it.