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05 // Storytelling in Video Games

Video games really come to life when they have a great story. It’s like the difference between a fun game you play for a while and one you can’t stop thinking about. You know how some games, especially RPGs and adventures, really focus on the story? That’s what draws players in, gets them talking about it online, and sometimes, it’s even why people buy the game in the first place.

But not every game is all about the story. Take the Mario games, for example. Their plot is pretty simple – Mario’s always trying to save someone – but that simplicity works. It gives you a clear goal and keeps you playing to find all the secrets.

Think about „Tomb Raider“ and its story. You’ve got Lara on this epic quest to find a lost kingdom. Her ship sinks, and she ends up on this mysterious island, dealing with all sorts of dangers, including getting captured and having to escape a cave. It’s this kind of adventure that hooks you and keeps you playing.

What’s cool is that games can do more than just entertain. They can make you think and feel things. Developers use stories to explore deep stuff like love, loss, and even big issues like politics and the environment. When you’re playing, you’re not just moving a character around; you’re actually getting into these themes, which makes the game more meaningful.

by sarah.molinari -

04 // Game Genres and Platforms

The world of gaming is a vast and dynamic landscape, offering a diverse range of experiences across different genres and platforms. From action-packed adventures to mind-bending puzzles, and from the comfort of your living room to the palm of your hand, there’s a game for everyone. In this blog post I will go through the most popular game genres and the diffrent game platforms.

Game Genres

1. Action/Adventure:

Action/adventure games combine elements of both genres, offering thrilling gameplay with a focus on exploration and narrative. Titles like „The Legend of Zelda“ series and „Assassin’s Creed“ exemplify this genre, blending combat, puzzles, and rich storytelling.

2. RPG (Role-Playing Games):

RPGs immerse players in expansive worlds where they can assume the role of a character, shaping their journey and experiences. Games like „The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim“ and „Final Fantasy“ series provide deep narratives, character customization, and decision-making that impact the game world.

3. FPS (First-Person Shooter):

FPS games put players directly into the action, experiencing the game through the eyes of the protagonist. Titles like „Call of Duty“ and „R6 Siege“ deliver intense, fast-paced combat, emphasizing skill and strategy.

4. Strategy:

Strategy games challenge players to plan and think strategically to achieve victory. Whether building an empire in „Civilization“ or engaging in tactical battles in „Starcraft,“ strategy games test decision-making skills.

5. Simulation:

Simulation games replicate real-world activities, allowing players to experience everything from running a city in „SimCity“ to managing a farm in „Stardew Valley.“ These games offer immersive, often relaxing experiences.

6. Sports/Racing:

Sports and racing games provide an adrenaline rush for enthusiasts of competition. Whether scoring goals in „FIFA“ or racing at breakneck speeds in „Mario Kart,“ these games capture the excitement of real-world sports.

Gaming Platforms

1. PC:

PC gaming offers a vast library of titles, extensive customization options, and often leads in graphical fidelity. Platforms like Steam and Epic Games Store provide access to a wide range of genres, making PC gaming a versatile choice.

2. Consoles:

Consoles, such as PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, bring gaming to the living room with exclusive titles and user-friendly experiences. Each console caters to a unique audience, offering a blend of performance and convenience.

3. Mobile:

Mobile gaming has exploded in popularity, providing access to games on smartphones and tablets. With titles like „Among Us“ and „Clash Royale,“ mobile gaming is accessible, casual, and perfect for on-the-go entertainment.

4. VR (Virtual Reality):

VR gaming takes immersion to the next level, placing players directly into virtual environments. With platforms like Oculus and PlayStation VR, gamers can explore new worlds and experiences with unprecedented realism.

by sarah.molinari -

03 // Game Engines

A game engine, also known as a game architecture or framework, is a software environment for developing video games. It simplifies the process by providing essential tools like a 2D or 3D graphics rendering engine, a physics engine for real-world simulation, AI for responsive gameplay, and a sound engine for audio effects. Key engines include Unreal Engine, Unity, GameMaker, CryEngine, RPG Maker, Godot, and Lumberyard, each with unique features suitable for different gaming projects.

Unreal Engine

Pros:

  1. Cutting-edge graphics.
  2. Blueprint visual scripting.
  3. Active community and documentation.
  4. Vast Marketplace.

Cons:

  1. Steep learning curve.
  2. Resource-intensive.
  3. Royalty fees for successful games.

Best For: High-end, visually stunning AAA games, especially those with complex graphics and realistic environments.

Unity

Pros:

  1. Cross-platform development.
  2. Asset Store for resources.
  3. User-friendly interface.
  4. Large and active community.

Cons:

  1. Graphics may not match Unreal.
  2. Some assets on the store can be expensive.
  3. Visual scripting not as powerful as Unreal.

Best For: Versatile development across various platforms, indie games, mobile games, and virtual reality experiences.

GameMaker

Pros:

  1. Ease of use.
  2. Rapid prototyping.
  3. Cost-effective.

Cons:

  1. Primarily for 2D games.
  2. Limited AAA capability.
  3. Advanced customization challenges.

Best For: 2D games, especially indie developers and those focused on quick prototyping and cost-effective development.

CryEngine

Pros:

  1. Stunning graphics.
  2. Realistic environments.
  3. AAA capabilities.

Cons:

  1. Steep learning curve.
  2. High hardware requirements.
  3. Licensing costs.

Best For: High-end, visually impressive AAA games, especially those emphasizing realistic graphics and environments.

RPG Maker

Pros:

  1. Simplicity.
  2. Community resources.
  3. Quick RPG development.

Cons:

  1. Limited to RPGs.
  2. Shared visual style.
  3. Perceived limitations.

Best For: Creating classic 2D role-playing games with a focus on story and simplicity.

Lumberyard

Pros:

  1. AWS integration.
  2. Graphical capabilities.
  3. Multiplayer features.

Cons:

  1. Learning curve.
  2. Growing, but smaller community.
  3. Limited platform support.

Best For: Games with cloud integration, multiplayer experiences, and projects leveraging Amazon Web Services.

by sarah.molinari -

02 // Game Design Document

About the GDD

As mentioned in the blog post “Indie Games”, a Game Design Document, or GDD for short, is typically a detailed guide that can be used to keep track of the core themes, styles, features, mechanics and ideas of your game project. [1]

The main purpose of a game design document is to communicate the details of your project to either yourself, as you work on your game over time, or to other people, such as team members, publishers, stakeholders or people who will be playing your game, as part of a crowdfunding campaign or early access product. [2]

Put simply, it’s the tool that you’ll use to manage and develop the concept of what your game is, how it’s supposed to work and how it will be built. [3]

A GDD usually consists of:

  1. The Game Overview

This section gives the reader the introduction to the document. It contains the target audience and platforms, feature set, game genre, game flow summary, and project scope.

“The Overview section in a Game Design Document (GDD) serves as a concise and essential introduction to the entire project. This serves as a compass that guides the development process and ensures everyone involved is on the same page.” [4]

2. The Game Story and Setting

This section describes the story of the game and its setting. The story is one of the key elements of a game and it needs to be well defined for the game to work. Here it is necessary to define the games genre.

3. Defined Gameplay

This section describes the core mechanics of the game, camera view, primary objectives and goals, secondary objectives and goals, game progression, players journey, player rewards, penalties, play flow, and interactivity mechanics.

4. Defined Visual Identity (art and design)

This section contains the game vision mood board, audio, music and sound effects.

5. Technical Stack

“A tech stack, short for „technology stack,“ refers to the combination of software, programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and tools used to build and run your game.” [5]

This section contains the target hardware, development hardware, and the used softwares.

There are also some development procedures and standards one needs to follow. These are scripting language, version control, coding standards, and external libraries/plugins.

6. Marketing and Monetizing

This section contains target marketing and demographics, competitor and market analysis, pricing and distribution strategy, future opportunities, marketing plan, and marketing channels.

7. Milestones

Milestones make it easier to have an overview of all the things that need to be at a certain time and contain all deadlines. Possible milestones could be game engine design, character concept art, background concept art, level design etc.

8. Budget

When budgeting for game development, it’s crucial to make sure your financial plan is comprehensive and realistic. Common one-time costs are asset creation, software and tools, licensing and copyrights, legal and intellectual property, initial marketing, testing and QA setup, localization, and prototyping.

9. Team

The team section usually contains all the team members with their defined roles and responsibilities, their qualifications, and the communication plan.

[1] French 2022

[2] French 2022

[3] French 2022

[4] Au 2023

[5] Au 2023

References

by sarah.molinari -

01 // Indie Games

What is an Indie Game?

Indie games are created by independent game developers, rather than those who work for large development studios or publishers. [1]

As an indie game developer one does not have to work alone. Of course you can do the whole process by yourself, just like the Stardew Valley developer Eric Barone. But on the other side one can hire multiple team members to bring their project to life. This team can consist of designers, programmers, artists, and sound designers. [2]

How to make an Indie Game?

For creating your own Video Game, you have to first come up with the basic idea of your game. Usually, one would start by creating his own Game Design Document. For that many templates can be found but it should contain all the necessary information of a game.

A Game Design Document, or GDD for short, is typically a detailed guide that can be used to keep track of the core themes, styles, features, mechanics and ideas of your game project. [3]

One also has to decide what engine will be used for creating the game. There are many options from Unity, Unreal Engine to Gamemaker and RPGMaker. It is important to choose the right engine before you start programming your game. A lot of research has to be done to find the right one which suits your needs and can bring your game to its full potential.

It is also important to decide if the game will be 2D or 3D and what genre it will be. When deciding what format to use (2D or 3D) the artstyle has to be defined. With that, one can create the needed game assets that will be used in the game. Those can be made with different softwares like photoshop, aseprite, blender and other design tools.

The most successful indie games are usually defined by an incredible gameplay element, gimmick, or art style that sets them apart from the competition. Indie devs can afford to be bold, so don’t hold back. [4]

Some of the most famous Indie Games

  • Cuphead
  • Hades
  • Hollow Knight
  • Minecraft
  • Stardew Valley
  • The Binding of Isaac
  • Undertale
  • [1] Ramble 2023c
  • [2] Ramble 2023c
  • [3] French 2022
  • [4] Ramble 2023c

References

by sarah.molinari -

00 // Exploring Different Topics

01 // Animation for Explainer Videos

An animation explainer uses character animations and/or animated text, combined with music and sometimes voice over, to explain a product, service, concept, or process. An animation explainer is one of the most common types of explainer videos, because it’s easy to make and accessible for audiences.

An explainer video is a short, usually animated video, that concisely and clearly explains an idea or concept. They are often used for marketing purposes but can be used for just about anything.

Explainer videos can be used to explain a new product or service, explain how something works, or even explain an abstract concept.

With explainer videos it is easy to explain complex concepts in a simple way. They can be engaging and entertaining, and they are often more memorable than other forms of communication.

There are many types of explainer videos beside the animation explainer videos. Those are live-action explainer videos, whiteboard explainer videos and screencast explainer videos.

For an explainer video one has to create a script, storyboard, voiceover and ad text, music, footage and illustrations.

It is important that the explainer videos are kept short and that there is enough movement so that the audience stays engaged. It is also important that it contains a professional voiceover and good sound quality. Humor and a strong call to action also play a big role to create a successful explainer video.

Explainer videos can be used in all sorts of platforms.

Why animation explainer videos?

With the help of animation, you can show things that are not normally seen with the human eye. One can create difficult to create content with images that help understand different parts of the spoken text. It is also easier to do changes in animations and add details. Lively animated characters in explainer videos can be eye-catching cartoons and they can trigger strong emotions. The characters can do whatever we want them to do, they can fly in space, dive under water, lift heavy objects and take the role of a superhero or alien.

References

02 // 2D/3D assets for Game Design

Game assets are anything that goes into a video game – characters, objects, sound effects, maps, environments, etc. Assets are everything that the player will see or hear during their gameplay.

Steps that are involved in the game asset creation are:

  1. Conceptualizing – researching existing design trends and brainstorming original ideas to be used in the game. It is also important to consider how well their concept will fit into the overall narrative of their gaming experience.
  2. Modeling – after the Concept is finished, game developers begin modeling the actual assets to create dimensions and details.
  3. Texturing – this process is about creating different textures for the models for depth and realism. Textures vary depending on the platform used to play the game.
  4. Animation – Is used if the game assets are meant to move or react dynamically in the game.
  5. Optimization – This process is very important. Game developers conduct a game compression and optimization process, which reduces the size of the model and texture files.

2D assets for games

With 2D assets there is a wide variety of style, from hand drawn to pixel art. 2D assets are more beginner friendly than 3D assets, but still it does not make the workflow any easier.

The process starts with creating a moodboard. After that the first sketches are made with the help of basic shapes. After that the outlines are added and with that colors and shading.

3D assets for games

The 3D process is much more complicated than the 2D process. The steps in the 3D process are drawing the 2D sketch, creation of high-poly model, sculpting, low-poly models, UV unwrapping, baking, texturing, and rigging.

References

03 // 2D/3D Character Rigging for Real Time Face Tracking

Over the past few years, streaming on platforms like YouTube and Twitch has become a new part of entertainment. There is also a new form of streaming – Vtubing. VTubers are fictional characters that can be in 2D or 3D format.

VTuber characters serve as an avatar for streaming, with the help of which streamers can create new personas and perform with them as new persons. The use of VTubers is becoming more and more popular, but their making is very demanding.

As already mentioned, there are two types of VTuber models, these are 2D and 3D. 2D models are usually inspired by the Japanese style of drawing as we know it from manga and anime. This process is the more challenging one out of these forms of creating VTubers.

2D Characters

For 2D characters, the entire character must first be drawn using a digital drawing program such as Photoshop. It should be kept in mind that each part must be drawn individually. For example, hair is made out of several different parts, so that it can behave correctly when the model is moving its head. It is necessary to draw different emotions on the face and adjust the individual parts of the eyes and mouth accordingly. When the character is drawn and its parts properly divided you can start rigging. For rigging there are special programs. With the help of these programs, you can animate the whole character, but it is necessary to take care that all parts match each other correctly.

3D Characters

With 3D VTubers, the process is a bit easier. You need to create a 3D model. Different software exists, with which you can create a 3D VTuber, without modeling or rigging it yourself. You can also model your own character. This can be done with Blender, where the characters can also be rigged. This process is a bit easier than 2D VTuber creation, but it also requires enough knowledge and patience to get to the end result.

Designing VTuber characters is a time-consuming work that requires a lot of skill.

References