LO4 - Platform considerations

We decided to make the game available on current generation consoles like the Xbox One or PlayStation 4. This is down to a number of reasons, one being the more advanced technology involved and available to use to develop the game itself. This means the game can have clearer graphics, smoother animation, more receptive movement and many more improved elements.
We also feel the game would work better on a console like these because of the way the game is controlled. The handsets offer the right sort of control we think the game would need, such as a joystick to move characters around. Depending on what the character is doing in-game, each button would conform to an action, for example making the character run, jump, inspect an item or talk to any other characters  they might come across. For controlling the dragon the button functions would be different, for example picking objects up and dropping them, breathing fire, changing direction and altering the speed at which the dragon is flying if it is in the air.
Another reason we chose to use these consoles is because of the user experience the player would gain from playing the game. With a bigger screen than a computer, tablet or phone, the game could give a sense of immersion that would make it that much more enjoyable.
These consoles also offer a connection to the internet, which would create a possibility of a multi-player mode in the future. It also makes it possible to release updates, and bug patches if needed.

LO4 - Character design and gameplay visuals

These are the characters we designed as concepts for the main character. This is the character that the user would play as. We designed a male and a female character, so that the player has a choice. The choice the player makes does not influence the narrative or gameplay in any way.

These are examples of the sort of gameplay visuals we would be going for. This would make use of the new modern technology with graphics and visuals to make the game appear as professional as possible.

LO4 - Budget, Finance and Market Competition

Many things have to be considered when making a professional, current-generation video game.

Development

• Salaries for developers
• Music and soundtrack
• Licensing

Promotion

• Online advertisements
• Print adverts
• TV adverts

Distribution

• Disk production
• Online distribution

In a realistic situation, with an established games design company, these costs regarding a large project on a new current-generation game can stock up to as much as £40 million. Simpler games, smaller projects and games using older software can be completed for as little as £2.5 million.

Competition

There are many games that centre around the destruction of humanity in a dystopian setting, such as Final Fantasy, The Last of Us, Half-Life and Portal. Our game fits easily into this genre, but it is a new, fresh game that will be using the current-generation graphics and quality to create a cutting-edge new game. The idea of being able to fly over large distances is also another unusual concept, which separates the game from others similar to it. In terms of advertising, we would need to find a way to promote both the similarities to the genre, as well as the differences.

LO4 - Realistic game production schedule

The production of the game would take place over approximately one year.

PRE-PRODUCTION (approx. 3 months)
Pre-production would consist of elements like research, where we would look at things like how objects would behave according to the laws of physics. This would include fire, explosions and realistic robotics, but our main aim of this would be to simulate the most realistic portrayal of flight as possible.

Concept art is another fundamental part of pre-production; concept artists would work from the brief to create their ideas of how the game would look. The director would work with them to move them towards the sort of idea they, as the director, have.
Different concept art would include concepts for levels, characters, structures and locations. These all go towards how the game will ultimately appear.

Pre-production is also where the game objectives and scenario are planned out; the plot-line so to speak. The director would talk with the game designers to come up with a fun and exciting plot and storyline.


PRODUCTION (approx. 6 months)
During production, the main bulk of the design takes place. This is when all of the concepts designed in pre-production are transformed into actual components of the game. This is when designers simulate how things will interact, like characters and other characters, characters and objects, and objects with gravity. The more scientific elements of this would be based on the research conducted in pre-production.

Once the basic forms are constructed, they are moved on to the people who add textures to the models to make them realistic to the style of the game. Once these are all rendered they are moved on to the lighting department, where the way light hits any component including characters and structures is simulated and rendered.

This is the most lengthy part of the production schedule. It contains the main elements of the game and is important because it's how the gameplay will appear to the gamers.



POST-PRODUCTION (approx. 3 months)
In post-production, testing of the program takes place. Testers "play" the game to find bugs and glitches that would spoil the game, and then continue to fix them.
The game may be redesigned in certain areas at this time.

The packaging is designed in this section, and the game is promoted to the public with the release date displayed.

After that the game is launched to the public.

LO4 - Plot synopsis

In a world where destructive artificial intelligence reigns, you must survive and aim to bring peace to the now dystopian world for the last remaining humans.

In the beginning you are an ordinary - if not genius - university student, working on your big project you've been keeping a secret from everyone except your professor. In the future robotics technology has greatly advanced, which is how the fall of the human race has come about under the accidental invention of the brutish armoured robots who have become sentient, power-thirsty monsters.
It all happened quite quickly. Within weeks, armed forces were struggling to hold back the robots which had realised their own strength. They were continually pushing back the boundaries, taking over and destroying defences; and human "safezones" were slowly shrinking. It was about this time you realised you would never finish your university course.
About five months later the AI have completely taken over, defences are diminishing and your project is almost finished. Luckily, your university is in the centre of one the remaining safezones. However, danger shows itself sooner than you'd expected and you're forced to flee early. You make your way towards the university, you know your best chance of escape comes from there.
There is a huge crash as the roof of the laboratory shatters. A huge, metal beast surges through the roof and into the air, propelled by huge wings and jets on back feet and spines. It's not quite finished, there's some maintenance you still have to tend to, but it will have to do. As you turn to look back from atop the shoulders of the beast, you see AI droids burst through the door into your laboratory. You got away just in time.
At first it's only about survival; you can only think about getting away from the AI that are ravaging the world. They don't care for remote areas so you make your way towards the mountains. When you get there - it's not that far away - you realise that you're going to need fuel. You never topped up back at the lab.
It's too far to the nearest safezone; you won't last that far without running out. You'll have to find a refuelling station outside the safezones: in AI territory.
You fly to find the station just in time, and you set the dragon up with fuel. As it's filling up, you bust your way into the old shop attached to the station, where there is a little bit of provisions to keep you going. You're on guard at all times as you hear distant booms and crashes in the distance.
You explore the place while your dragon is still refuelling, and you find something familiar discarded on the ground. It's a holographic watch, just like the one your professor owns. The AI are smart, but not smart enough to know the use of some advanced technology, so to them it's junk. You grab it, and punch in your professor's contact details.
Before you can hit ring to talk to your professor, there's a massive explosion and the building you were in just a moment ago erupts in a blast of rubble, flames and smoke. You rush to your dragon and unplug it from the fuel. As you're climbing up the side to sit atop it, you're already taking to the air. Again, you turn to look behind you to see a huge AI drone stood where you just were, filling up on fuel. Suddenly, instead of turning away, your beast whirs around against command and at first you think it's turned on you. But then, it opens its huge jaws and a long stream of fire explodes from the dragon's mouth. It catches the fuel that was left dribbling from the spout when you fled. As the dragon pulls up in a last minute dive, there is the biggest explosion yet and the droid is destroyed.

When you finally get in contact with your professor, he tells you that there is a lab very far north that contains the code the AI survive from, and are programmed by. If you can reach it and destroy it, you can shut them all down forever.
From then on, that is the goal of the game, and you must face many challenges that stand in your way in the process. The challenges get harder as you progress, the AI are sentient enough to realise that the code programmes them and do all they can to protect it.
When you have destroyed the code that the AI run on, they all shut down immediately.
You have won.

LO4 - Target Audience

Our target audience would be males aged 13-18. This is because the game is quite dark and involves battles which, stereotypically, girls and women aren't so interested in. However, we have not excluded females as we offer the option to play the game as a female character. We have chosen this age range because the genre and storyline would appeal to teenagers the most, as you play as a teenage character in higher education. Here I have created a mood board of our ideal audience member.  Steven, who is 16 years of age, has both an interest in gaming and engineering/robotics. Steven’s family would fall under the "settled suburbans" category of the National Readership Survey’s ‘lifestyle’ types. This is because their family is now settled with a home and stable jobs. His family would have the social grade of B in the National Readership Survey's ‘ABC1’  demographics profiling system as his father is a professional and provides the main income for the house.  They would come higher up in the ABC1 system as Sky Duel is designed for current generation consoles. This means that they would have to be able to afford a console in the first place, and also to purchase extra games.

LO4 - Legal and Ethical

Under PEGI rules, a game has to be rated according to content and themes.

This game would come under a PEGI-12 rating because of the content and themes it would contain:

• Violence of a slightly more graphic nature towards fantasy characters
• Mild bad language
• Non-graphic violence to humans

Violence towards fantasy characters includes destroying robots and/or having your own robot destroyed. Mild bad language might include profanities like "crap" and blasphemy. Non-graphic violence to humans will include your own character being hurt and other characters being hurt, without any detail being shown as it will happen off-screen. We originally intended to include content that would make it a PEGI-16, such as graphic violence and intense bad language. However, we thought that would restrict our audience when younger teens would also be able to enjoy this sort of game if we restricted mature content.