Studio Game Project-Creative Process

In the beginning, every group member was allowed to think of their own game ideas before having a vote for the best idea. After many debates among ourselves and consultations with the lecturers, we settled on the simple idea of using sunlight as a resource for creating a concentrated beam to burn enemies to death. It was a simple idea that I had initially thought wouldn’t go that far, but instead turned simple gameplay elements into creative ones. One example is the level design. Because the player’s weapon can only be fired when standing under sunlight, and enemies appear around the level, the battle becomes a very intense fight inside what little area of sunlight there is. And because of that, we were able to catch the player in a number of gripping situations.
We weren’t rash on our decisions on ideas to improve gameplay but argued over how the player would react to these new elements. We also questioned the creativeness of these elements, whether the player would find it new and interesting or generic and useless. Creativity in our game is subtle and not prominent except for the main mechanic. But that is because we do not wish to stress our programmer too much as it is our first time constructing a 3D game, and the idea isn’t a casual game. I wouldn’t say this is a generic shooter game, but a creative product of our group’s collaboration of ideas.

RECOMENDATIONS: Paprika & The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Heya,

If you're bored right now and wanna watch something fun. Take a break from those books and watch-

PAPRIKA:

Paprika is a Japanese animated film about a research psychologist who uses a device that permits therapists to help patients by entering their dreams.
If you like Inception, then get ready for a ride of MindFK watching PAPRIKA.

Unfortunately, the writer/producer of the movie died a few months ago... do his grave a favour and watch one his his best films. Soundtrack is good too.

THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA:

It's anime revolving around the most interesting character yet. First off, it looks like one of those 'school life' animes. But that's just the norm of the story disguising the true out of this world adventure. I have to warn you that the episode arrangment is... messed up by Haruhi herself, so I hope you will be able to follow. The first few episodes seem like they're stupid stuff such as fanservice (not excessively), but after a while... things get much more complicated and... weird.

The story is of Haruhi who can unconsciously change reality... nuff said.
Go watch it. I'm still watching it so I'm not sure if it gets more interesting later... But its getting all sci-fi'y lately.

ALCHEMY- Faris Lecture

Alchemy was a transformative process which will change lead into gold, or otherwise, to purify one’s soul through the body and its senses beyond the material world to a spiritual transcendence. During the Renaissance, a new generation of designers emerged as erudite, philosophical, and learned in the form of art and architecture. Art and architecture was proved to be an original science based on Greek philosophy, Christian Faith and Roman ambitions. The soul was greatly valued and medicine evolved into a medium for art. The doctors are also artists who believe that the right medicine for the soul would be to channel heaven’s divine energy through the eye to the soul. The patient’s medicine would then be to study pieces of art related to the divine by sight. How does this relate to DGDD? The artists of the Renaissance age weren’t only learned in the arts, but in science as well. Games have the potential medium to perform “alchemy”. People find enjoyment in games, so can games cure illness or purify our soul? Games may actually be a medicine already. Without the entertainment industry, where would our souls be? We wouldn’t be exposed to the divine and wondrous realm we call the alternate universe, which we can find so easily in entertainment. Games may be the most direct medium with the alternate universe, because of that, we can create games to actually benefit us beyond entertainment. Games can appease our souls to realize the ‘if’ of reality.

Pervasive Games and the Future of Gaming

A pervasive game is a game that has one or more salient features that expand the contractual magic circle of play socially, spatially, or temporarily. Pervasive games exist in reality where there is no specific platform, genre, or location to limit the entertainment that it will bring. Examples of pervasive games are the Amazing Race and Singapore Idol where they break they expand the boundaries of traditional games. Although the future of gaming is uncertain, we can see how games can develop. Casual games are a popular industry for being enjoyable while utilizing simple gameplay at an accessible time. The media is changing, games are transforming into other forms of media or vice versa. Games will be used for enhanced interaction, and educational purposes. The interaction with games will improve when we wouldn’t need to use a controller to control the way we interact within a game. Even our daily lives will become a game. In the future, games will become an essential part to our way of living whereby we not only have fun, but we benefit from it in reality.

Video Games in reality?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeNr33gIhIM

Sharing dreams to create a reality- Paprika the movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqg3Sw3s9Wg

Games in Movies

Games have existed in movies where the character follows the hero’s journey and is faced with challenges. The character has a will to win and complete the game, but must keep in the boundaries of the magic circle, which is an area for the game to take place with its own set of rules. Stepping out of the circle would break the magic. In some movies where the character steps out from the magic circle of the game which they are put in, and suffer severe consequences. Why people watch movies instead of playing games is because the game in watching movies is putting themselves in the role of the character in the movie. Movies offer an indirect immersion into an alternate universe while games offer a direct immersion.

The game "Heavy Rain" is an interactive movie where you have to follow the actions of the character.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnck2oXdxMo

PSEUDOscience and FRINGE science

Pseudoscience and Fringe science are quite similar as their ideals are sourced from traditional science. Pseudoscience is usually the unconfirmed and rejected phenomena which we can barely link to our understanding of traditional science. Examples of Pseudoscience are Alchemy, Astrology, and Psychology. Fringe science is usually the partially confirmed phenomena which we can link to traditional science, but remains impossible because of the limits of current technology. Examples of Fringe science are hypnotism, psychic phenomena, and dimensional travels. Pseudoscience and Fringe science have developed throughout history as myths and speculations. Now in modern media, we have an idea of how we may reach the frontier of traditional science to develop into Pseudoscience and Fringe Science. As a conclusion, traditional science limits our capabilities, but not the creativity of the mind to wonder how the impossible can become reasonable.

Time Manipulation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXUO8l5NCIY

Philosophy of the World of Warcraft

The World of Warcraft is an immensely popular massive multiplayer online game. Gamers play the game for its epic gameplay elements. The common topic concerning the World of Warcraft though is Nihilism, which means nothingness and pointlessness, whereby gamers who play the game are doing it for a lost cause. These gamers may think that life and reality is pointless, play the game to give themselves a virtual purpose, realize that the game is pointless as well, but continue playing anyway because they feel fulfilled with a sense of satisfaction. Because the characters in the game are played by real players, the personalities of everyone are similar to reality. Even attributes such as racism, politics, and morality come into play in building an alternate universe. In truth, there is no war in Warcraft, but the game elements make the player believe there is. Although the World of Warcraft is a virtual universe which doesn’t reward the player in reality, it has become a popular game as an escape from the sad reality. It is up to the player to decide whether to devote to his/her real life or his/her virtual life.

Them Warcraft players
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-0EePhJEfw

ANIME & MANGA

Manga is a style of comics created by the Japanese. It is drawn in black and white, and tells a story through the visual use of panel after panel of story progression. Mangas also specialize in effects to catch the reader’s attention such as sound effects, and facial expressions of the characters. The Japanese had also invented the term Anime in around 1917. Anime is defined as animation where cartoons have motion. Anime is a style of Japanese animation, and is not the same as other styles of animation. Anime has become a hit in the media industry and it has branched out into the gaming department. A game can take the theme of the anime, and vice versa. These creations have become part of the modern Japanese culture. Cosplay, also known as costume play, is a major impact of Anime and Manga, whereby fans would dress up as fictional characters as a means for entertainment. Merchandise relating to Anime and Manga is collected by fans. Anime and Manga had created a cultural impact in Japan, and the craze is spreading all over the world.

Cosplay is fun, you gotta admit it, just wait till the ending XD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQKbolMVLwk&playnext=1&videos=wsi1HdWAItU

Anime is not all about fighting and violence ^_^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss8sq6o61u0

Sword and Sorcery

Sword and Sorcery is a sub genre of fantasy. During the hero’s journey in a game, he/she is bound to encounter conflict that would force him/her to fight physically. That is when the hero would rely on his/her Sword and Sorcery to overcome the obstacle. The Sword of the hero may not be literal as it is but a general term for the hero’s weapon. Anything can be used as the hero’s Sword, even a coin or silverware can be used. Sorcery gives the hero a special ability which defines who he/she is. Sorcery depends on the world setting and acts as the science in the fantasy world. Sorcery can be implemented into objects such as ancient artefacts that in turn would contribute to the story. In the case of the hero’s journey, the situations of the story, such as the obstacles the hero will face, must be appropriate for the hero to apply his/her skills. In the process, the hero will ‘level up’ by defeating enemies who have their own special abilities to counter the hero. The medium of anime has used this to its advantage whereby the enemies would have an unbelievable power, and the hero would have an even more outrageous power. Sword and Sorcery in games play a major part in gameplay as the character’s abilities as well as making the setting, battles, and story far more engaging.

Damn those petals!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-lbRH6vufo

Traditional Sword and Sorcery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-bV5ktbHfA

NUM83R5 & T4R0T

Numbers as we all know is the basis of mathematics and is used for counting and many other uses. Numbers and mathematics is important for us to make sense of reality. It would be impossible to live our lives as it is without mathematics. Numbers are used for symbolism as well. For example, the number 0 can symbolize nothingness, fairness, emptiness, and pureness. Maths is a language created y humans, and because of our belief that humans are imperfect beings, then that makes math an imperfect product. Is everything wrong? When we define things, we confuse ourselves, so does that mean that simplicity is beauty? If everything is fake, then reality isn’t real. Tarot is a card game played by the people of Europeans in the past. Other than being a card game, it is used by mystics and occultists for divination purposes till the late 18th century. The card game was turned into an occult tool after it was thought that the cards relate to the Tree of Life in terms of the total number as well as the Hebrew letters. The Tree of Life is a symbol used in many religions and cultures to represent the connection of all life on earth to god. Symbolism helps people identify an icon. How can we rely on Tarot cards to predict our future when it could all be pure coincidence? Our belief in Tarot cards makes it such that we can be assured or warned about future happenings, and then we would act to follow the predictions. In the end, our belief these predictions grow. It seems that we create our own reality. Then can we destroy what we have created?

Espionage & Crime

Espionage is the act of stealing confidential information without permission from the one responsible for its secrecy. Crime is an offence against the law of nature and society. Espionage and Crime are related to each other by their similar offence to society. The individuals carrying out the devious act of Espionage are Agents. Espionage existed ever since ancient times such as ancient Egypt where secret societies investigated competing nations. The Cold war was another example where Espionage helped to give the parties at war an upper hand over each other by retrieving special information. In Espionage, it is not only to gain an upper hand to defeat the enemy, but to also be definite of the loyalty of your allies. Modern Espionage concern Industrial Espionage, and hacking. In the media, the arsenal, personality and character of the Agent is taken into consideration to interest the audience. The grand action scenes are highly unlikely in the Agent’s assignment which tends to give people the wrong idea of an Agent. In the end, isn’t an Agent’s main objective Espionage? Why should he be saving the world when all he has to do is steal something important and get away with it?

The Bourne series has always been a realistic story of espionage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJoVljaZP0k

A hilarious take on the spy in the game "Team Fortress 2"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnuYi-nzE90

WAR, TERRORISM, FREEDOM FIGHTERS, AND HOLY WARS

War begins with a change of ideals. War shows how impactful an idea, even from an unconscious state such as a dream, a thought, or visualization. The subconscious mind is independent and absorbs whatever you have experienced. Idealists take the subconscious mind of others to spread their propaganda as they return to their conscious state. As a child, our subconscious mind is at its peak, and that is where we absorb anything our parents teach us. That goes the same to the children whose parents are involved in affairs of war. In war, parties have their own ideals and different perspectives of the situation. It is difficult to discharge what our subconscious has already absorbed, so only will the consequences of war shake people to their consciousness. War has become a familiar thing for us although that isn’t the truth. Games even propagate the false enjoyment that war promises. If we believe that war is a game where you will always win, then chaos will ensue. But does this mean games cannot be violent?

Fun eh?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7qcU_c3aD4

But how do you know you'll be the winner? You may end up like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk9GzQc2s6o

Somethings funny but somewhat true
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skao1oTvjQM

Supernatural

In horror, monsters of the traditional age were abominations of religious culture whether they were cursed, abnormalities or bastard children. Modern horror was a fusion of technology and humans where we are shocked by the deformities of the transformation of a man. In this time, horror relies on the feeling of death. Death is a stage we are uncertain of and because of that, it is utilized in horror where we speculate the darkness that death holds. Ghosts, devils, vampires, zombies, and other horrifying subjects are a common asset to induce horror in media because they are already dead , therefore the audience is horrified of life after death. Gore is also used for the audience to indirectly experience the terrifying pain which the character has to endure. Traditional subject have been used in media and is becoming splurged or originality. Is there a way to go beyond tradition to cook up a new and much more terrifying subject for horror?

Traditional Horror in games can be scary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1xQRluXTgk

But a bear?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixvh-8W1OS8

secret SOCIETY

The Secret Society is an organization which keeps its activities secret from non members. A well known Secret Society is the Illuminati which was formed by Adam Weishaupt. The Illuminati studied law, economics, politics and history, but was then introduced to strange topics such as Satasnism, Egyptian cults, and Teachings of Essens. The Illuminati strive for goals to build a world as they see fit, no matter the cost. They cause chaos by having bringing people in to a cause they are oblivious to because of disguises created by the Iluminati. The Illuminati breaks human reasoning to create their new world with an ideal way of leading with freedom and liberation. In games, a corrupted government, much like when the Illuminati takes over the world order, will be a hindrance to the Hero. The hero will eventually destroy the government. In games, we speculate what would happen if the Illuminati wins. Would there be a hero to put an end to their plight?

Assassin's Creed holds secrets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfA1Da8R2pU

A.!. & Robots

A.I. and robots is the imitation of the human. In the past, humans have always explored their own capabilities. From our knowledge about the human mind and body, we imagine how we can create an imitation of ourselves. Alan Turing was a man who observed subjects from an entirely different perspective whereby the human can be defined with the use of mathematics. From his theories, the idea of Artificial Intelligence and Robots spawned. Issac Asimov wrote a short story on Robotics whereby the Robot is a guardian but also a slave to the humans. To the humans, a Robot is a machine that runs on the sole purpose of making life better for the humans. Robots have no soul. Yet one Robot rebels by behaving like a human, and seeking freedom. As an imitation of human nature, will we be ready to deal with a perfect Robot? In games, the enemies are Robots whereby their Artificial Intelligence is finite, and we destroy them without feeling because we know that they are not human. What if there was a game where you played as the Robot, and had to follow by a set of rules? As a human mentally, you would seek freedom from your oppressors. The game itself is a Robot which we interact with.

Meet Milo! Whether this is true or not... Probably not but it'd be cool if it was
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPIbGnBQcJY

If robots were an accurate representation of us...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRnq-PFboMI

Time---------------Travel

Time travel is a hypothetical journey to the past and future through the dimensions of time. The theory of time travel had been thought of by the famous scientist Albert Einstein, whereby if a body moves faster than the speed of light, time would slow down, and time travel would succeed. Another theory of time is that it has no straight path, but the probability of something else happening would create a new branch from the path of time, and that branch will become an alternate universe. Applied to games, it has given the player a chance to play the story as he/she sees fit. When the player has control of time, the player will have special abilities such as slowing down time. Taking control of time is not possible in reality (yet) but that gives games a chance to present the player with abilities which are totally impossible. Games give players a preview of the unlimited possibilities of time control.

A time paradox in the game "Metal Gear Solid"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APH1LIJaq7A

Is Time Travel Possibleah?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X02WMNoHSm8

Space Operaaaa

Space opera utilises the science fiction genre as a platform to build up a dramatic story. It has evolved from the regions of space of which we know, to distant galaxies where our imagination is merely limited by the limitless space. In these fictional galaxies, we create these alien systems such as lifestyle, politics, transportation, and such that would represent our normal human lives in the manner of science fiction. That goes the same for the story where factions of good and evil fight against each other. Elements in drama are also included such as sibling rivalry, power seeking, friendships and romance. These elements fit into the universe by giving these drama situations a body. An example is Star Wars where the protagonist fights the evil empire to regain peace, and in the process, make new friends and fall in love. In some cases, romance may include a mix of other species. The hero’s journey does not change even in a galaxy far, far away. Space opera is simply defined as a story taking place in a new and alien universe where elements of reality remain present for the audience to relate to as humanly possible.

Mass Effect 2 is a perfect example of Space Opera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx9sPQpjgjU&feature=related

Movie Reviews

Hellboy:
Hellboy is a great example of a movie integrating fantasy into the modern world, and the main character is not something you’d see in an archetypical story. The universe of Hellboy focuses on the supernatural side of the modern world where mythical creatures co exist with us. Hellboy bends more on the side of fantasy than science fiction. Although set in the modern world, the difference lie with the fantasy creatures and environment. No changes in technology from reality are shown.

The Hero, Hellboy, is born as a demon said to bring about the final judgement on humanity. But an incident occurs, and a baby Hellboy is adopted by a scientist who researches paranormal problems- mainly on the experiments of the Nazis. Hellboy’s foster father brought him up as a protector of humanity, and a warrior against the forces of evil and his destiny.

Although he tries to help others and fight against evil, Hellboy’s presence is more rejected as a freak than accepted as a saviour. His motives are more of his personal feelings than what he should be doing to save humanity.

He has cracked down on many situation of paranormal activity, but the final question comes in mind: “Will Hellboy pull the trigger for the final judgement on humanity because of how they treat him so harshly.”
Still waiting for Hellboy 3...

Silent Hill:
As a game and a movie title, it has been a recognizable horror series. Silent Hill is much like a ghost town in another dimension where supernatural activity comes and goes. The character would most likely be alone in Silent Hill with not contact for help at all, giving the player a sense of insecurity. To make matters worse is the existence of grotesque monsters roaming around Silent Hill. Such monsters may consist of human like attributes such as a four legged human with no face. As a mutation of the human body, we are able to recognize it but would be shocked by the unexplainable existence of such a horrifying creature.

Silent Hill utilizes the elements of horror to create a sequence of events. In a dark corridor lighted with a creepy orange light, you can hear the shuffling of feet. Because you know there is no one else in Silent Hill, your imagination gets you to think of the next possibility. You turn the corner and find no one there. A shuffle behind startles you and you turn back to see a human with a skull face and broken limbs limping looming over you.

Horror prevails in Silent Hill as the character tries to survive the unknown depths of the dimension.

My Neighbour Totoro:

THis movie is majorly based on surrelism. The movie is like something out of a child's mind, of the adventure of child and imaginary friend. Transrealism is the appropriate genre for this film. Such things as a cat bus is definitely not a technology inventors would think of engineering, nor is it totally magical. It is more of the ridiculous. It's a charming tale where the producer has brought a child's imagination to life on screen. The innocent mind of a child can present a wonderful source for transrealism- such that most Transreal games are made for the young audience.

Transrealism/Slipstream

This is a special genre which does not concern reality, but more of the total opposite. Science Fiction can be present in this genre as the author tries to make sense of the ridiculous. Slipstream conflicts with reality, making the impossible possible.

A good example is the game Little Big Planet where it is set in a sandbox world where the player can do just about anything with what they are given. Its design side is what we know of foam, fuzz, and sacks, which makes it highly improbable to exist. The science of the game is simple to understand

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

Another game example is the simple VVVVV. Its a simple 2D game where the science is in changing the gravity to evade obstacles. It’s a simple mechanic and so is the art style. Try it out

http://www.kongregate.com/games/TerryCavanagh/vvvvvv-demo

Slipstream is unrealistic and is a good genre where producers can invent new things and it is a genre where it goes beyond reality except by maintaining a small percentage of real life components to give us a loose sense of belief.

Horror

Horror stimulates fear in the audience psychologically. People find entertainment through horror to feel a sense of fear that most probably would not be able to experience in reality. Unexplainable and frightening situations do not happen to the audience, hence, horror in forms of media are used to experience what they would not want to in reality. This is done using elements of the extreme, imagination, sound, lighting, and venue.

Elements of the extreme usually concern gore, where the killer murders his victim in such inhumane ways that our minds wouldn’t be able to comprehend. Violence is prominent in this element as it is brought to a much higher level. Decapitation of the victim and many other forms of gruesome deaths shock the audience, because of the unexplainable physics concerning the dismemberment of the victim.

Imagination is the result of what is played on screen. The horror of what the audience has watched plays in their minds as they imagine such horrors happening in real life. The audience tries to explain the unexplainable but is making it worse for himself/herself in the process as he/she would be led to believe that this could happen to them.

Sound is captured with the sense of hearing and is an important element in the horror genre. Where lighting is scarce, humans would turn to their sense of hearing to aid them. Because hearing is amplified and concentrated on, sounds lead the audience to imagine what might be lurking around the corner.

Lighting in horror tend to be dark to force the audience to use their sense of hearing rather than sight. What scares them in the end is clear visibility of the horror inducing subject.

All these elements eventually build up suspense which is a main part of the horror genre.

Horror comes to life with real life disasters. Terror has become one such example where victims are executed in cold blood, bombs explode in populated areas. We live in fear of these. You ride an airplane, and you hand over your life to the pilot who steers the plane. You are unsure if the pilot is dependable or not and if human intervention causes the plane to crash.
Normally, death would be the real factor behind horror.

Fantasy

The Fantasy genre concerns magic and supernatural themes. Fantasy has a lot of potential to go past what we expect from reality, but eventually we will be anchored by our knowledge of reality. Examples of this are flying without the use of a vehicle, casting fire spells, werewolves, floating castles, etc. Fantasy can be truly called what it is when there are some things which are believable as in reality. Fantasy is a supernatural amplification of our ordinary lives.

In ancient times, Fantasy plays a major factor in entertainment and belief. Legends lead people to believe in another dimension of reality. In truth, people from ancient times took fantasy as their modern fiction, much like entertainment.

Legends such as King Arthur had people believing in a brave king slaying demons and necromancers with a magical sword. Take the sword Excalibur for instance, it’s a common weapon for a medieval warrior, but it has been used as a base for a powerful weapon with magical capabilities.

Modern legend can concern games. Fantasy games such as Legend of Zelda have captured the hearts of many by its simple fantasy setting. It uses the base of the real world for environments, weapons, and characters; talking trees, magical swords, and the main character being an elf.

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

A non-archetype fantasy type can be seen in Howl’s moving castle where it is set in a magical/steam punk era. The setting is much like a dream and so is the adventure. This shows how far fantasy can reach if the creators can be creative enough to think out of the box. Hardly anyone could imagine a castle trudging along the mountains.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howl's_Moving_Castle_(film)

Fantasy does not remain constant as there are many ways components of a fantasy world and adventure can be connected to formulate a new idea. Usually these components are archetypes so the combinations tend to be limited.

Fantasy can be expanded far beyond reality if we let it grow and learn to relate to even the most fantastical of worlds.

Science Fiction

The Science Fiction genre concerns technology myths in a world setting of the future, another universe, or the developing modern world. In the modern world, technology would be attainable in the close future as we foresee it. In the future, current modern technologies are developed even further to what inventors could only dream of creating physically. In another universe, technology can go beyond what we expect from what we have in our world.

An example of modern science fiction is the game Ghost Recon Future Soldier. The game brags a futuristic arsenal given to the character. The technology is said to be what is actually being invented or have already been manufactured.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Clancy's_Ghost_Recon_Future_Soldier

Future modern science can be seen in Halo. Physical enhancements to the soldier, power suits, and advanced weaponry, all of which would provide inventors with inspiration for future technologies. Such technology would most likely be impossible in present times, so inventors can only dream of this technology in the far future.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(series)

Future technology in another universe can be seen in Bioshock. The character’s abilities concern weird science which would be highly unlikely to invent given the unreasonable mechanics behind it. The technology in Bioshock is Steam punk which is also weird science. Future in another universe usually boasts weird sciences that would not be possible in reality due to its limits. This genre can go far beyond the boundaries we have set for ourselves in the real world.

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

Science Fiction is a fascinating genre as it showcases how far technology can go. It serves as inspiration for inventors. We can only hope that science can prevail to bring fiction to reality.

Science Fiction has been argued to be more of Fantasy, but in truth, Science Fiction concerns change whereas Fantasy concerns difference. Some media classified as Science Fiction can have a slight relation to fantasy. Bioshock can be one of them as the character’s abilities mimic magic spells, and the steam punk technology is an exaggerated difference of real technology.

With Science Fiction being the fantasy of inventors, it has a chance to go beyond the boundaries of reality.

Hero Mythology

A Hero is a unique character of every story. He/she would be the one with special powers that he/she would use to make a difference in the story. Such heroes are fantasised characters of the author and audience that would most probably never exist in the real world.

What makes a Hero interesting is his/her external and internal status. He/she could be helping those in need, but because he/she wants to be loved. Heroes whose internal status conflicts with his external status makes him/her unique by adding a much more human character. He/she would be believable if he/she was not perfect.

The archetypical Hero’s journey begins with the Hero being an ordinary being until a change of events. The Hero would first refuse his calling for internal conflicts, but would later submit, and enter the climatic situation. It ends when the Hero completes his/her task with a chance of a dramatic price to pay, such as resurrection or sacrifice.

The Hero from the Greek legend of Perseus is an example of the archetypical hero. A sudden incident forces him to take up his sword and stand as a hero to save a damsel in distress. But his internal conflict is to take revenge on the gods who had taken his foster family from him.

A popular adventure of the archetypical Hero is from Star Wars. Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed by the Empire which spark his personal intention of revenge. He learns of his task at hand and proceeds willingly to “save the world”. His strays from his personal intentions of revenge when he learns that the villain he was aiming to kill turned out to be his father. The plot twist led to the tragic death of Luke’s father.

The Hero sets the basis of the story, but has begun to bore the audience to the point that smart authors may choose to appoint the main character of the story as the antagonist instead of the protagonist. This brings the Hero’s journey to a whole new realm.

We can see how the Hero can change his/her character. To construct a believable Hero, the Hero must have a human personality whereby changes occur and he/she is anything but perfect.

I am Andrew Ang

That's mah name!

After all those posts I totally forogt to talk about myself.

Hi, I'm a Year 2 student of Singapore poly taking a Diploma in Games Design & Development. I'm 17 close to 18 (so yeah I couldn't watch Kick Ass T_T)

I don't wanna talk too much on my usual formal profile or my past life, but I'll talk about what sort of person I am.

I have a creative mind! I'm not boasting, but its legit! I can come up with a lot of ideas for stories, game concepts, and a bunch of stuff! I remember in primary school when I was a quiet lad, I just stared at the dirt on the ground and imagined the dirt to take a form of a creature- That is my type of day dreaming (Floor Dreaming)

I have my moments where I can study styles and things people have already created, then as I sleep, conjure up images of what I can do tomorrow. Having a moment to relax is a pleasant treat for the mind.

Now I am currently working in a group of 7 for the main project as a Character Concept Artist, and I enjoy what I do! Putting what I have imagined onto paper! And with so many creative ideas and my adequeate skills of drawing, I can do some awesome work! :)

Call it ego, but I have to be proud that I can do :)

HTI1 Madness

This is a doodle of my experience in HTI1

It starts off in the lecture hall where I sit at the back looking bored and dull, whilst listening to the lecturer Faris teach. He's a very colorful person hence the rainbow Faris, and he's teaching about Plato and his creative ideas.

Next is when I have to brainstorm and try to make sense of the lesson, and usually that would send me into an overload and the crazy ideas begin popping from my head! Just like Plato!

This just goes to show that HTI1 was a mind screwing experience.

Games Break Boundaries

This is my idea of what games are about :)

Games present another dimension to you where it can be totally surreal and unbelievable! What happens in games most likely won't happen to you.
For games to be effective, they have to be immersive, that where breaking the bounderies play their part. In the doodle, a mallet breaks the television screen and releases all the wonders that games have to offer into our dull world (well it isn't that dull)

Hey since this is about breaking the boundaries in games, how about a trailer of one of the most creative games in the Video Game Industry? Little Big Planet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy_a3oCDzRA

Enjoy :D Cuz I don't have a Play Station 3 and I will weep about it T_T

HTI2- Scooooooooooooooore!!!

Hi!

A doodle of what HTI2 would be like if it were a game!

There's the lecturer, Mun Ying at the left :D (or else it looks rather like Chi Yong...)
So he's talking about all his crazy ideas and they're represented by weird shapes and symbols.
So the game is to catch those ideas, and hit them! As in a shoot em' up type of game like Duck Hunt When you hit them, you score points where you make sense out of what MY is saying! Do that and you level up!

And everyone enjoys levelling up :)

My Hero's Journey

Well actually there are 2 protagonists to the story. The story is based on the one I am writing for the module of Scipting for Games Design

The present world is being destroyed and is facing a huge problem. The cyan and pink streaks represent the warp in the world that the 2 characters create as they progress in their journey. Along their path, they will meet allies and enemies. Enemies in the complimentary colors and allies in yellow color. To defeat the enemies, the heros have the ability to create a vortex and shoot projectiles as seen from the blue circle in the centre.

That's my hero's journey so far...

The Typical Hero's Journey

(Knowledge) X Creativity = Ideas

THE IDEA OF AND IDEA

From my understanding, IDEAs are part of an equation such as this:
(Knowledge) X Creativity = Ideas
This equation represents the thought process for an Idea. What we start with is KNOWLEDGE. Knowledge is what we understand of the amazing world around us, and we learn it from experiences and lessons. Knowledge is a "substance" in our brain that hungers in curiosity for what we do not know. Reality is the ideal and stable diet if we desire knowledge.
Knowledge is stable and consists of facts. It's difficult to break it, that's when CREATIVITY is used as a catalyst. Creativity bends what knowledge we have of the world we live into something new and extraoridinary. Creativity breaks boundaries, it makes us see beyond what reality has to offer.
Now we have KNOWLEDGE reacting with CREATIVITY- Erm... We'd better retreat to the bunker for a while...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
*Steps out from bunker*
Alright! Finally, the equation is complete. With knowledge and creativity comes the birth of IDEAS. What is this new compound that we have created? It looks totally out of this WORLD! Ideas are alien, new, versatile, and can be used to solve rather impossible and implausible situations. Although Ideas are magnificent, they will falter and disappear if our minds are exposed to hard reality for too long.
******************************************************
An example of an Idea is actually what you've read. I've taken my knowledge of a simple math equation and chemistry to explain my Idea of an Idea.
To further elaborate:
The brackets around knowledge in math terms means you would have to deal with what is within the boundaries of the bracket. Knowledge is like a material that when added with a non-materialistic catalyst called Creativity, is converted into ideas. It may be a long process for the reaction to heat up depending on how much knowledge and creativity one has, but in the end, the idea will turn out to be a huge blast!
******************************************************
Ideas come in many forms depending on the user. As we are all different and have similar and different views, there are conflicting ideas. There are many ideas, they have been differentiated by people to be either good or bad.
Wrong.
Ideas are free and aren't entirely good or bad. At least one person (inclusive of the creator) will see an Idea as a good one, and at least one person (inclusive of the creator) will see the same Idea as a bad one. Opinions are not facts, and as long as the creator is aware of that, he/she should continue striving for an idea that will help gain at least one more appreciator of the idea.
I'm not saying that we can't criticize ideas, I'm saying that ideas will remain equal and stable despite the good or bad opinions being thrown at it. Ideas should develop, and must not falter under the pressure of reality.
I admit that I call Ideas bad.
Take Hitler as an example. His Idea of refining the world was an outrage to the world- I was outraged. His idea sent the world to war and nothing good came from it except a history lesson. What happened to the fall of Hitler was a broken spirit. Majority of the world rejected his idea, and he has to pay the price of death for it.
It was a bad idea. Who wouldn't put a stop to his campaign? It was an idea that was considered to be bad and it broke under reality. If Hitler wanted his Idea to be appreciated, he should develop his Idea to appeal to the audience which he set as the world. He was ambitious, and he had potential, but he was headed the wrong world.
Ideas are meant to change or end under opinions.
Another example of Ideas comes from a man who goes by the name of George Washington Carver, who created 100 products made from peanuts for the house and farm. One fun invention that many people have played with is the Duct Tape, which has been used for more than a hundred purposes be it useful or just for fun. More would be the inventors responsible for Human-Computer interaction which led to what video games are today.
In a final word, I shall state that my concept of Ideas follow the equation of ‘(Knowledge) X Creativity = Ideas’, where Ideas are the product of our knowledge of things developed through creativity of the unthinkable. Ideas can be acknowledged to be either bad or good, but they are neutral and are subject to change to suit the target audience. There have been many ideas considered bad and good, but it all depends on the user. Ideas are ideal tools for the Inventors.