Seventh Week Game Progress

For this week, I spend most of my time studying for midterms. I had little time to work on the game. I did reorientation the tracks I made so they are facing the correct direction and did some work to the HUD. After midterms are finished, I will be able to focus more of my effort onto the game. I also believe the game will start to come together and the final product will start to become realized.

Sixth Week Game Progress

This week has been the slowest in terms of progress ever and I don’t see next week getting any better. With midterms coming up, it is hard to work on the game. I was still able to get some sound effects as well as find new textures for objects. Work for the game doc was also done. This slowdown has happened with our other games in the past because of midterms, so it is not that big of a concern. I do know that after midterms, progress of the game will go much faster

Fifth Week Game Progress

For this week, we implemented the FMOD code I created last week into the main game and I completed the track I started last week. We also worked on the game doc. Progress of the game is becoming a standstill as many of our assignments are piling up and midterms are coming up.  

Forth Week Game Progress

I created some pseudo code for the AI and other systems. I also created the environment for one of the tracks. I also upgraded the model on my vehicle (so it was less blocky). I was also able to get a key piece of functionality working for FMOD, which means that my group can now implement Ben’s artwork. I have also started working on another track.   

Vehicle still needs some work.  

Alan Wake Game Critique (Homework)

The title of the game I am critiquing is Alan Wake. The game itself covers many genres which include third person shooter, action game and psychological thriller. It was published by Microsoft Game Studios and was developed by Remedy Entertainment.

In the game you play as Alan Wake, who is trying to find this wife that has been taken by the “darkness”. The “darkness” posses as the enemy in the game as it manipulates the world around Alan in order to destroy him. The player’s objectives are to usually reach check points without being killed by people posses by the darkness. Other times the objective is to kill all of the posses or “taken” people in a certain area. The overall goal is to progress the story and reach the end of the game.[1]

In order to attack one of the “taken” you must first douse them in light, making them venerable, then shoot them. The light is emitted from Alan’s flashlight. The light must be rationed as if it runs out the player will be defenceless agents the enemies. Ammunition must also be rationed as it too can run out leaving the player unarmed. The player must also traverse and navigate the environment, trying to get to the required location.

The player’s character represents someone who believes they are losing their mind. This can be shown though the light and dark themes. The light is a metaphor for Alan’s sanity, which is what he uses to fight the darkness. [2] The darkness represents his insanity, which is what is fighting. They player is also the “hero”, as they are trying to rescue Alan’s wife.

The “information types” I could identify are the amount of supplies the player has. Things like how many batteries, ambition, flash bangs etc. All these greatly affect how the player can perform. There is also the type of enemy the player is facing. The stronger the enemy, the more complex the strategy the player will need. There does not seem to be any hidden information or emergent rules/behaviours.  

On the menu mode, the thumbstick is used to move the cursor up and down and the “A” and “B” buttons are used to select and cancel the different options. In gameplay, the main buttons that are used are the left trigger which is used to aim, the right trigger which is used to fire. Other buttons during gameplay are the “A” button which is used jump, the “Y” button which is used to insert batteries and the left and right thumbsticks are used to move and control the camera. [3] 

I personally felt that the controls where perfectly mapped for this game. I never found a spot in the game where I felt my experience was hindered by the controls. They felt very fluid and responsive. At times enemies would appear out of nowhere, I was able to react quickly to attacking enemies because the controls were so smooth. This help keep the game fair as the player has the ability to react to such sudden attacks.  

The sound plays a major role in Alan Wake’s experience. There is no much music during gameplay, but the sound effects are properly used to set the mood of the game. As the player walks though the forests, the trees rustle, the wind howls, etc. The voice work makes the characters feel believable, which is important for a story driven game. The enemies also have impressive sounds associated with them. The “taken” speak with distorted voices and poltergeist objects emit unnatural cries when they attack. Also, the sound of emitting light on the enemies is also entertaining, as you can hear the sound of their “shield” being burned away, which is ultimately satisfying.  

                                            Alan using light on a "taken"

Special features of the game for me were the games environment, story, and graphics. I thought the environment was very impressive as in encompassed such as large area of forest. I found it impressive how the game could work so well in such a large environment (enemies never got stuck, camera worked correctly). Another big feature was the game story. The game is a physiological thriller, so the story itself is every important. The story was written by Sam Lake who wrote for the Max Payne games. [4] The graphics were also very impressive, which is to be expected as it used a very power engine which was developed just for Alan Wake. The engine uses Umbra Software rendering technology [5].

The game seems very similar to other third person shooters, only that Alan Wake contains the features such as the massive forest environment and a physiological thriller story. It also feels a lot smoother than other third person shooters, which might be thanks to the wonderful controls.

I believe the intended audience are players who enjoy action games, but want compelling story and a unique environment. The story plays a very important role as it is the main push to finish the game. I personal found when playing it that I could not put the game down because of the story. The story, mood, graphics and control are essential to this game. Things that were not essential were the some of the games extras. They could have left out some of the “driving” positions of the game as well as some of the supporting cast. I would personally not change much in the game, but I would have made it longer. The game had a weak ending, but then offered DLC. I would have also expanded the weapons to have more variety.  

The learning curve of the game was quite small as most of the new features are introduced slowly. They are also thoroughly explained. Someone who has played action games before should have no problem. Those who don’t will simply take longer to learn the game.

 The NPC’s perform perfectly; they follow the player correctly and fight alongside them without any problems. They enemies sometimes will sneak behind the player, but the camera will pan letting they player know they are there. The A.I seems to be at the appropriate difficulty for the different parts of the game. I have never seen an NPC run into the wall or get stuck on something.         

[1] "Alan Wake." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Wake>.

[2] Snider, Mike. "Six Tips for Deciphering 'Alan Wake' - Game Hunters: In Search of Video Games and Interactive Awesomeness - USATODAY.com." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. <http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2010/05/six-tips-for-deciphering-alan-wake/1>.

[3] "Alan Wake - Controls." Allgame. Web. 01 Feb. 2011. <http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=49854&tab=controls>.

[4] "Sam Lake." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 28 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Lake>.

[5] "Umbra Software - Newsdetail." Umbra Software - Company. Web. 01 Feb. 2011. http://www.umbrasoftware.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=41&cntnt01origid=51&cntnt01returnid=54.