For the past five years I have been a regular ten to twelve cigarettes a day smoker. Starting monday the 7th of June I become a non-smoker. In the past eight days or so I have not had a single cigarette.
The experience of quitting smoking has provided a drastic illustration of how addicted my body had become to smoking and regular nicotine. The removal of this chemical has effected my body significantly and it's rather disturbing how much one chemical which is not natural to the body can affect a person.
Inability to focus, broken sleep, mood swings, random hunger and urges to eat and a constant mental battle with your brain as you convince yourself that you don't need to smoke has been my challenges in the past week. Even now the cravings remain and I find myself irritable and lacking focus.
One thing has come from my past weeks experience. After putting up with what feels like a week of self torture I very much do no want to do it again and thus the notion of smoking again is very unlikely.
Tuesday, June 15
Sunday, June 6
Gaming - Deus Ex 3
http://ve3d.ign.com/videos/play/73548/PC/Deus-Ex-Human-Revolution/Trailer/E3-2010-CG-Trailer/Flash-Video
Watch the video. The first game in this series was an amazing adventure; the story of Deus Ex 1 was so deep and enthralling that I use it as a benchmark of gripping tales.
It makes me very happy to know that the third game looks to be returning to the roots of the series and using the plot lines that are both relevant to modern day society (technological implants and enhancements are coming in time, it's just a question of when) and still deeply captivating.
Watch the video. The first game in this series was an amazing adventure; the story of Deus Ex 1 was so deep and enthralling that I use it as a benchmark of gripping tales.
It makes me very happy to know that the third game looks to be returning to the roots of the series and using the plot lines that are both relevant to modern day society (technological implants and enhancements are coming in time, it's just a question of when) and still deeply captivating.
Saturday, June 5
Reading - Keith and the Girl's - What do we do now?
This is a book I recommend. I've been reading a friends copy and I would thoroughly recommend it to any down to earth couples (or singles) that could use a healthy dose of reality to answer to assist them in making their relationship better.
It's a book i'll be keeping on hand for my future.
Film - Nightmare on Elm Street
One two, freddies coming for you
Three four, better lock your door
Five six, grab your crucifix
Seven Eight, better stay up late
Nine Ten, never sleep again
This movie is average at best. I felt thoroughly let down by this "reboot" of the franchise. The saving grace is Jackie Earle Haley (freddy) doing an excellent job with a really average script. While freddy was always infamous for his cheesy one liners this particular reboot lost a lot of the sinister character that he demonstrated in his previous films. The other characters were throw away and people who have seen the original seven movies will scoff at the quick once over they give the freddy story. The plot was the usual elm street plot so I can neither pick on that or sing it graces.
Compared to A New Nightmare this move felt weak and designed to simply be a generic "shock flick" for a teenage audience. A summer movie to take your girlfriend to, shock her a few times and then be on your way.
It had the compulsory end of movie scream that was decent. If you're a fan of the series - go see it but don't expect anything amazing.
What disappointed me most is that this series which I adored in my childhood wasn't given the same budget, planning, time and care to reboot this franchise like so many others have been given. How can you make Nightmare on Elm street feel like a throw away movie? See it at the cinemas and see for yourself.
Friday, June 4
World of Warcraft - World of Drama
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=25171928012&sid=1&pageNo=1
I play World of Warcraft. Until recently I was raiding in a top end australian raiding guild (one of the guilds mentioned in the thread above). For those not in the loop. Guilds of players vie for world first / US first or european first of boss kills on the hardest difficulty. Often there are egos involved; In this case there are many egos involved as two guilds enter into a slagging match.
I play World of Warcraft. Until recently I was raiding in a top end australian raiding guild (one of the guilds mentioned in the thread above). For those not in the loop. Guilds of players vie for world first / US first or european first of boss kills on the hardest difficulty. Often there are egos involved; In this case there are many egos involved as two guilds enter into a slagging match.
Level Design - Part Two
It's been a hectic week at work and I'm glad it's over. During this week I have spent time working on this level. In my screenshot today you can see that a second tier has begun to form that overlaps the first. There will likely be two or three more tiers that sit in between to give an interesting height variation.
I have added a few static meshes about to give an idea of scale and feel. Just for fun I put in a basic light, some fog and a skybox (which can't be seen from this angle).
I have also added a matinee camera and locked it away into a separate layer; future updates will all be taken from this camera perspective to show the development of this area over time.
Monday, May 31
Level Design - Part One
I've begun working on a new level using the latest UDK. I'll be posting updates as I go through the process of turning this rough idea into a full fledged level which I will release.
While it looks very basic at the moment, the core gameplay idea is already firmly in my mind. I am currently working that gameplay into the visuals that I want to present to the player.
At present this level is not lit or textured. I find working up the lighting or texturing too early distracts from the roughing out of the movement paths.
Thursday, May 27
Music - Pendulum - Immersion
The third album from Pendulum. It maintains the distinct pendulum sound while giving the group a lot of room to experiment. Many of the tracks feel slightly out of place and gives the whole composition an almost messy experience when compared to their previous album "In Silico". I tend to "grow" into albums so it may be better after some more time spent with the album.
I think Immerson a good album with some particularly good tracks that I'll give credit - Watercolour and the Island part one are easy radio favourites.
General - This Blog
Tired of facebook and micro-blogging; I decided to make this blog my creative outlet to the world. I feel the world deserves more blogs with more content and less 240 character posts that tell you nothing. Books are not written in SMS language or in tiny chunks and they tell the most captivating stories of all.
To that end expect many more posts on this blog. The world is an interesting place and I intend on sharing my part of it.
To that end expect many more posts on this blog. The world is an interesting place and I intend on sharing my part of it.
Game Dev - Recruitment and difficult studios
Getting work in the game dev industry isn't easy; it often takes months of searching, emailing and waiting until you finally get the offer you want. Game studios on a whole are fairly relaxed and casual people. Occasionly you will encounter a studio that is difficult for one reason or another.
Wednesday, May 26
Film - Iron Man 2
This movie is about robots. There is a plot somewhere yet it falls by the wayside to the clear and simple fact that robots in large quantities are worth more than a story or plot development.
Tuesday, May 25
Saturday, June 10
Game Dev - Imperial Hope
This is a second idea that I developed while sitting on the train heading home from work one night. As always, all readers are free to use / improve or embellish this idea as much as they like, as long as it inspires people.
Quick synopsis: Rogue Merceneries have captured an Imperium frieghter. With only 30 minutes until the mercs can jump away the imperium has contacted local merc fleets to attempt to reclaim the frieghter.
Imperial Hope
Quick synopsis: Rogue Merceneries have captured an Imperium frieghter. With only 30 minutes until the mercs can jump away the imperium has contacted local merc fleets to attempt to reclaim the frieghter.
Game Dev - Attack on Ions: Dropping the Glass
This is part of what I hope to be a long series of ideas that I have never implemented into a level design of any variety.
Sunday, March 19
Design Woes & Documentation
Documentation. This word tends to inspire some scorn amongst level designers, a few will turn their noses up and close this page, and others will wonder why on earth I would write about such an uninteresting topic, and a few will read on in the hopes that the topic was actually a cunning ploy to throw others off the trail of a potentially brilliant piece of information.
Wednesday, February 1
How to create a level
In a forum I frequent the question was posed 'How do I create a level?'. I wrote this long response. I feel it is relevant to all level designers or budding level designers.
Monday, January 30
Pre planning. The difference between level editors and designers.
During my past week I have spent a considerable amount of time developing my own levels, which brought upon this rant.
Saturday, January 21
Level Design and the importance of environments
I want to rant a bit on this subject.
As with all my rants, this is a draft rant. I am not intending on abusing anyone or attacking anyone specifically, merely I am pondering a topic that will aid level designers in their thoughts towards developing better content.
The visual quality level of games climbs higher and higher with every iteration. We are finding methods of squeezing out more polygons from our hardware, and producing environments that are quickly becoming very very real.
I am in the firm belief though that level design is still quite some time behind the artists and the graphics coders.
With each game I play, and I'm specfically targeting single player first person shooters in this rant, I find that while visually levels are very impressive, levels are no closer to becoming environments.
The key to environments is a good collection of interactivity and scripted sequences that both makes the player feel comfortable and in a sense 'fits' with the environment and also detracts from the players importance in a game.
After developing many single player levels for my current project. I have noticed more and more the game mechanics becoming exposed to the player. It becomes obvious when you walk into an area and trigger off a sequence. Doom3 is infamous for this behaviour.
Now this is fine, triggering off sequences is a time honoured tradition. Now while these sequences are very cool, It is often very apparent to the player that if they do not move within the radius or location of the trigger, nothing will happen. This is what breaks the game world and causes a level to lose it's immersive nature.
If a player is permitted to stand around for an infinite amount of time without anything happening, this is a bad environment. I know all you level designers out there will probably say 'there is only so much a level designer can do'. However I do think that level designers should keep this element in mind.
What I would like to see is more levels designed that really take the extra care when developing their levels. There are a few elements that should always be kept in mind.
Time. As humans, we all have the idea of time constantly in our minds, we are surrounded by clocks are computers that can keep us up to date. Thus when playing games we always have this element in the back of our mind. As such. Having levels where the player can stand around for an infinite amount of time with nothing happening is a big no no. In first person shooters this needs to be paid attention to moreso due to the immersive nature of first person games.
As level designers, we should attempt to bring this into our levels, if a player stands around for a period of time, try to implement various ambient options dependant on the situation. In outdoor areas have clouds moving, sun(s) moving, or stars moving. All these things are familiar and natural to us and it breaks the immersiveness to not pay attention to these details.
The situation we have put the player in. I think this is best illustrated in the first few levels of half life 2, inside city 17.
If the player remains still, people move, guards interact with people, aircraft moves through the sky, birds fly around, sound travels around with these objects. All of this happens without the player doing anything. This is an excellent example of an environment, as it appears that the player is not the key focus for elements to change in the game world. Not only does it appear that the city is alive and constantly moving, but it removes the player from being the 'hero' and having the world revolve around them. If you play these levels a few times, most of these elements are really quite simple to implement, but gives the world a whole new meaning.
Follow the AI as it walks the streets of city 17, they are following preset paths, but as the player moves through these areas, they don't need to see more than the fact that people are moving and not paying attention to the player. The less attention the player recieves in many situations, the better.
As level designers, we need to keep in mind the importance of removing the player from the 'hero' status. While the player is essentially, the hero. Too many games have used the cliche rambo style dynamic and it wears thin on players. Players enjoy a game where they are somebody normal, or an underdog of some variety, who manages to save the world in a semi realistic fashion.
This is why half life 2 is so enjoyable right from the word go on a level design basis. You are a scientist that is unlucky to get stuck in a facility, but lucky enough to escape. You are nobody special.
This isn't a rant about the great level design of half life 2, but a clear example of the type of gameplay that we as level designers should attempt to emulate and expand upon. Our games and projects would have a lot better recognition if we stopped creating levels, and started putting the focus on creating environments.
For many level designers who are modders or working on multiplayer projects, try thinking about the world you are developing. Levels become environments really quite easily.
Evyn out.
As with all my rants, this is a draft rant. I am not intending on abusing anyone or attacking anyone specifically, merely I am pondering a topic that will aid level designers in their thoughts towards developing better content.
The visual quality level of games climbs higher and higher with every iteration. We are finding methods of squeezing out more polygons from our hardware, and producing environments that are quickly becoming very very real.
I am in the firm belief though that level design is still quite some time behind the artists and the graphics coders.
With each game I play, and I'm specfically targeting single player first person shooters in this rant, I find that while visually levels are very impressive, levels are no closer to becoming environments.
The key to environments is a good collection of interactivity and scripted sequences that both makes the player feel comfortable and in a sense 'fits' with the environment and also detracts from the players importance in a game.
After developing many single player levels for my current project. I have noticed more and more the game mechanics becoming exposed to the player. It becomes obvious when you walk into an area and trigger off a sequence. Doom3 is infamous for this behaviour.
Now this is fine, triggering off sequences is a time honoured tradition. Now while these sequences are very cool, It is often very apparent to the player that if they do not move within the radius or location of the trigger, nothing will happen. This is what breaks the game world and causes a level to lose it's immersive nature.
If a player is permitted to stand around for an infinite amount of time without anything happening, this is a bad environment. I know all you level designers out there will probably say 'there is only so much a level designer can do'. However I do think that level designers should keep this element in mind.
What I would like to see is more levels designed that really take the extra care when developing their levels. There are a few elements that should always be kept in mind.
Time. As humans, we all have the idea of time constantly in our minds, we are surrounded by clocks are computers that can keep us up to date. Thus when playing games we always have this element in the back of our mind. As such. Having levels where the player can stand around for an infinite amount of time with nothing happening is a big no no. In first person shooters this needs to be paid attention to moreso due to the immersive nature of first person games.
As level designers, we should attempt to bring this into our levels, if a player stands around for a period of time, try to implement various ambient options dependant on the situation. In outdoor areas have clouds moving, sun(s) moving, or stars moving. All these things are familiar and natural to us and it breaks the immersiveness to not pay attention to these details.
The situation we have put the player in. I think this is best illustrated in the first few levels of half life 2, inside city 17.
If the player remains still, people move, guards interact with people, aircraft moves through the sky, birds fly around, sound travels around with these objects. All of this happens without the player doing anything. This is an excellent example of an environment, as it appears that the player is not the key focus for elements to change in the game world. Not only does it appear that the city is alive and constantly moving, but it removes the player from being the 'hero' and having the world revolve around them. If you play these levels a few times, most of these elements are really quite simple to implement, but gives the world a whole new meaning.
Follow the AI as it walks the streets of city 17, they are following preset paths, but as the player moves through these areas, they don't need to see more than the fact that people are moving and not paying attention to the player. The less attention the player recieves in many situations, the better.
As level designers, we need to keep in mind the importance of removing the player from the 'hero' status. While the player is essentially, the hero. Too many games have used the cliche rambo style dynamic and it wears thin on players. Players enjoy a game where they are somebody normal, or an underdog of some variety, who manages to save the world in a semi realistic fashion.
This is why half life 2 is so enjoyable right from the word go on a level design basis. You are a scientist that is unlucky to get stuck in a facility, but lucky enough to escape. You are nobody special.
This isn't a rant about the great level design of half life 2, but a clear example of the type of gameplay that we as level designers should attempt to emulate and expand upon. Our games and projects would have a lot better recognition if we stopped creating levels, and started putting the focus on creating environments.
For many level designers who are modders or working on multiplayer projects, try thinking about the world you are developing. Levels become environments really quite easily.
Evyn out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)