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Discussing Feedback Loops in Overwatch

Overwatch officially released two videos in the past ‘Developer Update: Let’s Talk Netcode’ before the Open Beta and ‘Developer Update: High Bandwidth Update’ shortly after the launch which discuss in detail about how they dealt with certain network performance issues. The following are some of their motivators for supporting the game design:

Overwatch’s key motivation in its design is to:

1.       Favour the shooter

2.       Increase the responsiveness of the game

3.       Have server authority of the game

Here are some of the Technical Design systems they applied to mitigate network performance:

1.       In the shooter’s perspective, they have applied an adaptive interpolation delay.

Pros: Goes one update back in time and shows the target smoothly transitions to the next update

Cons: Players may find it unfair when they have clearly missed the bullet but still taken the hit.

2.       Match-making is done through among players with the same ping and same skill.

Pros: The game feels fairer for players mastering different heroes

Cons: For a group of 6 there will be long waits to find a fair competitive match

3.       Figure a way out to adaptively tell if your connection can handle appropriate amounts of packets coming in to run your game which can downgrade or upgrade your quality based on the performance of your connection

Pros: Avoid getting hit blindly around corners and more chances of avoiding Roadhog’s hook

Cons: Poorer match-making for people with bad connection

4.       If players have put the crosshair over their target while hitting, they will hit the character.

Pros: encourages players to take aim

Cons: Players on low connection cannot take advantages of predicting a move

5.       The server will interpolate the position of the client in case of discrepancy.

Pros: The game’s balancing is maintained for the game and the dependency of lag to predict shots is reduced

Cons: Players with poorer ping cannot take advantage of predicting attacks

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After a long time...

So I recently finished “The Witness”... looks like I completed only 60% of the game. :(

Initially, I was extremely bored. But when I decided to pick up the game 3 months later, I was addicted to it.

Here, I just feel proud being nerdy and geeky for the first time. :D

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Credits: Eurogamer

Sound design in Overwatch, the game I always find time to play. I knew these things but its really exciting to go through each of these finer details.

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Our Indian National Anthem

On this day, I’d like to mention about most the beautifully composed national anthem I have heard.

Credits: Koyyada Dinesh

Yes, this is the national anthem you hear in the beginning of a film. I personally find this medley of Indian instruments bring out the charm of the song. Honestly, being an Indian I feel bad how dully the National Anthems have been sung in schools or in a choir on hoisting the flag. I want to appreciate this composition as an effort to bring in the spirit of India.

I really love how the great musicians have played the anthem bringing the true essence of each part of the music. The song heard over a million times throughout your childhood suddenly is pleasing to the ears. I really loved how it has been conceived with the instruments. It has been conceived and directed by Pushkar Sudhakar Shrotri. 

An imminent fact I notice about Indian instruments is the fluidity in their notes which (I may be wrong) I have not observed in other forms of music. I like how there is serenity in the combination with high notes. From my knowledge, I have a particular likeness to half-tones in music. I am talking specifically with my background in playing the harmonium. Raga Bhairavi is my first favorite because of this very reason. It is very pleasing to listen to. These artists have implemented this very thing which makes the music so fruitful.

Unfortunately I can speak no more for my knowledge has stunted. But my pursuit to study music will continue.

And:

Artists: Bansuri - Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia santoor - Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma Veena- Vidwan Shree Ananthapadmanabhan violin N Rajam & Sangeeta Shankar Sarod - Ust Amjad Ali Khan Ghatam - Pt Vikku vinayakram Sitar - Ust Shahid Parvez Mohan veena - Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Tabla - Ust Zakir Hussain Sarangi - Dilshad Khan

Thanking all these legendary Indian Musicians for a mind-blowing performance to honor the spirit of India. Truly... I have no words!

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Here I’d like to once again mention ‘To the Moon’ a game developed by FreeBird Games, music composed by Kan Gao and Laura Shigihara, a real masterpiece. I found this talk delivered by Kan Gao at CasualConnect Seattle in July 2012. Here he talks about composing music, musical narratives and games.

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Game Music

intWith a few games I have played, these were the best game soundtracks I personally liked so far. Share your thoughts about other games you like!

I have never played Dragon Age: Inquisition but have been sitting around long enough until 6 am in the morning with my college friend, Akanksha to watch her play the game. And I fell in love with the main theme music of the game. The game is developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. The music score is composed by Trevor Morris who speaks here about the making of the music.

Credits: ChandlerUSMC

The next soundtrack I really appreciate is Ori and the Blind Forest. A lot of people I heard cried in the opening cinematic of the game. The game is developed by Moon Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. The composer of the music score of this game is Gareth Coker.

Credits: XBox

I love the beautifully orchestrated game music. Each piece brings to visualization the era in which the game world exists.

And lastly, the game which I am currently addicted to, introduced by the same friend of mine, Overwatch.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd8K7Dr_yKJU3lB-lDrXZKSEBo04rx4gr

I guess you will enjoy the soundtrack probably if you did play the game since they are in-games audio tracks. I will mention it, none the less:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd8K7Dr_yKJU3lB-lDrXZKSEBo04rx4gr

Extremely addicted to Overwatch at the moment so this came to my mind. Check out the victory and overtime soundtracks, fan favorites.

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Edit:

Hey, I forgot to upload the main soundtrack of the games requested to me by a dear friend of mine.

Dragon Age Inquisition: Original Main Theme Soundtrack

Source: Hikaru Kuma

The extended version of the same soundtrack which I listen to often:

Source: Agent Sambora

Here is the compilation of the Ori and the Blind Forest Soundtrack. I listen to it while I work. Hope you enjoy it too:

Source: inter230407

Enjoy!!

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Game Titles, and a Story

The game titles named in the story:

(Try it yourself, follow to receive 15 game titles and write a story including them!)

1. Age of empires

2. Dream

3. Mad Max

4. Wasteland

5. Terminator

6. Doom

7. Portal

8. Call of Duty

9. Battlefield

10. Destiny

11. Heroes of the Storm

12. Evil Within

13. Ride

14. Threes

15. Alien

Excerpt:

This is the age of empires, a time when all the civilizations from outer space were at war. The empires stretched to the far reaches of the galaxy. This is a story about two have-beens lazing in their farmhouse in the heat of the setting sun. “Are we living in the apocalyptic world, Calysso?” Max asked his friend who was shifting his paws on the soil. Calysso’s moist skin cleaned the soil under him. He turned to Max, “I wonder why has the world come to so.” Calysso said, his big black eyes staring at Max. “Why don’t Stoireses like humans?” Max asked humbly taking in a long drag of his cigarette. “Like I speak for them.” Calysso said wiping the spit drooling from the sides of his mouth. Calysso’s paws looked like they had been carved out of flippers and his skin was that of a heavily poisoned amphibian. He was just not human, an alien, yet he fit in. “You belong there. They need you.” Max said, after a long pause. “Go fight for them.”

“If I so much as happened to fit in with ‘them’, I wouldn’t be here with you.” Calysso yelled at Max and broke the silence. “I could never dream of going back with them. You are mad, Max.” He said in frustration. Just then, a heavy bag came crashing down on Max’s face. “You don’t think we’d be resting here all night?” Trevor said. He too had fit in here. He had managed to keep away from the human empire and all the experiments they might have conducted on him. “When did you for once want to stay away from your pile of junk?” Max asked, throwing the bag aside. “That’s not for me to decide.” Trevor said leaning over to search something from his storage. “I thought this wasteland was your world and ‘you’d never leave until the war subsides’.” Max chimed. “Hey, I don’t talk like that.” Trevor paused his search and gave a disinterested look to Max. “What are you to the world anyway?” Max barked at Trevor who wanted to ignore him. “Hey, that’s mean.” Calysso said. He grabbed Max’s arm with his flippers and moistened them. “If you know the answer why do you ask?” Trevor tried to ignore Max.  “So you don’t have an answer, huh?” Max raised his voice. “Don’t get at him dude.” Calysso held Max’s arm tighter. “I don’t care if I don’t have a heart! I was born with emotions and that’s why I do care, Max.” He paused and you could hear the whistling of the steam escaping the engines. “Unlike people who were gifted with a heart.” He turned silently back into his storage and removed a small red toolbox. “Correction, you were made with emotions.” Max taunted him. “That’s enough, Max. You’ve hurt him enough.” Calysso burst suddenly. “Why are you so angry anyway?”

“I don’t want to go to the war!” Max said, stubbing his cigarette in the soil. “Do you realise we’ll all die!” Max screamed, kicking soil into the air. Max was interrupted by Trevor’s smirk. “Humans, it’s so funny to watch them speak of their death.” He said as he plucked out the tools and worked on them with his screw driver. “Ya, says the bloodless half-cyborg whatever-he-is thing.” Max said pointing to Trevor. “I prefer the word ‘Terminator’.” Trevor said. Calysso stood by Max’s side as if to calm him. “Yeah, whatever” Max said, kicking more dust in the air. Trevor arranged all the tools and put it under the hood of the jeep. “Get in and suite yourselves. We have a long ride ahead of us.” Trevor said, throwing in more of their trunks into the car.

 “Can I light one smoke?” Max was lying on the back of the seat, looking at the stars streaming across he night sky as the jeep drove along the dark road. “No.” Trevor said, bluntly. “Quit whining, Max. You’re only making the drive harder for him.” Calysso said. He was sitting on the passenger seat beside Trevor. Trevor could sense Max restless in the backseat. He turned up the radio to distract his mind. Max, on the other hand hated country music. “Shut that crap!” Max he yelled. “Shut your goddamn mouth!” Trevor turned to Max. It was silent once again. Calysso was silent amongst their fight. He was afraid of the war too. After a long pause, Max spoke. “We’re doomed. We’re all doomed.” Max began to sing hoarsely to fill the silence. Calysso couldn’t help suppressing his fear. He looked at the stars which danced in the sky and into his distant planet, which looked prettier in the sky at the moment.

 Trevor swerved the jeep to a halt in an old construction site which had been reduced to rubble at present. “We don’t have much time. We need to work as soon as possible before anyone detects are presence here.” Trevor shifted out of the car and closed the door behind him. Calysso followed him and assisted him in unloading the trunks from the jeep. “Yeah, I know it’s my turn now.” Max spoke to himself and shifted out of the car into the open. It was windy outside and very cold. Trevor and Calysso were kneeling near the stuff they had unloaded. “Quick, Calysso I need you to construct a portal inside that building.” Trevor said pointing to a silhouette of a broken building standing odd against the starlit sky.

Calysso sprinted inside the building as soon as he received his command. “Welcome, Max!” Trevor yelled to overcome the whistling wind as he saw Max limping toward him. “Aye, Aye Captain!” Max said drowsily, lifting his palm to his forehead to indicate his distaste for Trevor’s choice. “I’m sorry Max but we don’t have an option. It’s the call of duty. Now help Calysso with the equipment and please, for once just listen to him.” Trevor said pointing to the house. “What will you do? Sleep?” Max said, in defiance. In reply, Trevor thrusted a walkie-talkie in his hand. He snatched the cell phone from his hand and opened the back cover. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Max felt a need to respond. To his surprise, Trevor pulled out a lighter from his pocket and burned all of its components in its flame. “What the--“ Max yelled and tried to pull Trevor’s wrist. “We don’t have time to discuss this. Hate me later.” Trevor began. “That was my cellphone!” Max shoved him aside with this arm to show his dominance, but failed. “Max, we’re on the battlefield if you don’t realise. You either do or die.” Max remained silent. “Besides, Three’s better than two right?” Trevor said.

 Trevor watched the stars in silence as he waited outside the building. He looked up at the stars and lay on the grass behind the jeep. The wind whistled as it blew across the vast empty land. Trevor took a moment to sigh of relief. ‘It’s not just you Max who is afraid to see the world end.’ He smiled as he accepted his fear heightening over his rationality. “This is not destiny,” Trevor said softly, “Destiny will come. But not now.” Trevor could feel the icy cold wind make him quiver. The cold began to crawl up the threads of his wires.

 Meanwhile, Calysso escaped the cold by involving himself in crafting the portal. “Can you lend me a hand, please?” Calysso was forced to draw his attention to Max, who was taking shelter from the cold by the heat of the working half of the equipment. “The war’s not my problem.” Max shrugged as he warmed his palms. “Don’t you care about the world, or your planet for instance?” Calysso turned to Max, lounging by a pole. “Nah, I don’t give a damn about the planet. The politics are good dead. I just need a portal to escape into another planet.” Max adjusted his feet so his toes won’t freeze. Calysso was aghast. “God can take Earth to hell. I don’t want to live through this.”

“You’re a devil.” Calysso paused, digesting Max’s words. “It won’t be that easy, I can warn you.” He said. “And I thought you were my friend.” Max said, breaking the silence in a soft voice, after a long pause. “You’re pure evil, Max. Pure evil.” Calysso shook his head. “Desperate times, desperate measures.” Max was not bothered by Calysso’s reaction. “I did not know that you had evil within you. Not after you saved me. Not after you rescued Trevor. Not after you chose to end the war with Trevor.” Calysso was speechless. “I want to go home, for once.” Max stood up for his defense. “I have not been home after the war took all I loved. I don’t care about the people on Earth. I want peace. And since the war, I don’t care how many people lived or died. I just want to find a home. A new home. Something which I can call my own.” Max’s face fell low. Calysso put a soft, warm yet moist paw around his shoulder. It was comforting enough.

  There was light from the interiors of the fallen building and it assured him that the portal was coming out fine. “I don’t want to question my destiny. I know we’ll see the light of the day.” Trevor was comforted from inside. The wind, however, was against him. It stole all the warmth he mustered for himself. “One day we’ll be the three musketeers, the Heroes of the Storm. It’s only a matter of time actually.” Trevor crouched low and shaded himself from the wind by the jeep. And waited.

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Games in Music

Some crazy ideas based on these tracks:

Score 1

Universe:

The universe is mostly dull and filled with grey tones. There is a melancholic mood which is reflected by the colors of the city. Magic in the universe has become scarce. Objects or people with magic have a strange aura emanating from them. Hence they have brilliant colors with a glow to them which makes them stand out from the rest of the people. Others perceive their world and colorless and monotonous. Since magic has been scarce for a long time, some humans have lost the ability to perceive the presence of their weak auras. Some humans who desperately explore their inner worlds or voyage the land to discover these can see them. They develop strange means of noticing these auras. Some perceive them as color, some hear them as sound and some can sense the heat radiated from these to realize the strength.

The world is devoid of this magic. However, they still exist in scarcity in a small town known as Curio City. Here the humans are rare species and the most complex living beings. They experience a complex set of emotions and have the power to wield this magic for eternity. They have a complex thought process and different levels of emotional states which makes them difficult to overpower. Other inhabitants of the town include bobble head dwarves, stuffed bears, jugglers and Barbie’s who experience only one kind of emotion. The sad thing is it is easy for the people to be drawn towards darkness or light by fate. By accessing this magic you can free people bound by their and lift the curse of the existence of these very two extreme states pure darkness and pure light.

Game:

When you acquire some magic they will give you one unique ability. This ability can be of a variety of types. It can be combat specific, support magic or a passive type ability. Using this magic you can engage in combat and unlock new areas in the map. This idea can be expanded as an action RPG to allow this magic to affect player interaction. The player can however keep only a few abilities, the rest he must release to environment. If he releases it to growing plants, the advantage is they can pollinate to grow those plants again in a new area of the map so that you can access that magic again.

Situation:

The score is suitable for a combat sequence or an intense piece of action which requires heavy music. The emotions of the player during that time would be focused, concentration and determination.

Score 2

Universe:

The mighty priests claim to be connected to God at an astral level. A quinary of priests decided to form a council of and preach their own religion. They have claimed to hear their own God. Each of these priests practice and study different kinds of subjects and also claim to be masters of their own. One studies Medicine and Emotions, the other studies Knowledge and Art, the third studies the balance of Nature with all Living Beings, the fourth studies the Cosmology of the Soul and the fifth is the Messenger.

Due to their great knowledge, none of the Native Americans question their judgement. Hence the people depend on them for their personal needs and advice. They plead for mercy, ask for soul redemption, make offerings all the purpose to serve their God. They have been moved by this idea of God for so long that they have offered their lives in the service to this God. Their God promises to not leave their lives in confusion. He has determined them a definitive purpose before they die. He has shown them the way selflessly along their paths. The native people pray every day to achieve their goal for the day. Some choose to offer their precious belonging in order receive their daily tasks. However, what no one knew was that these priests commanded their own will while teaching their religion. The fate of the people was in their hands. They scripted manuscripts defining the roles of an individual towards his God and how to treat mortality as a gift rather than a burden.

People went as far as questioning their future through their eyes. The Council had become God-like under a fake name. They had written a prophecy wherein a person who defeats this God will be considered God himself. The only way to do so is to challenge God. In return he will be the strongest man on Earth and acquired knowledge on all the five subjects of the priests. These tales made the people yearn to meet this God. Some brave souls trained themselves throughout their childhood to challenge this God and find him. All the adventurers never returned from their voyage, assuming that the God had defeated them in a fair fight. The religion grew more popular among the tribes as years went by.

 However little did they know that one child among their tribe, although among the rest was not one of them. The mark of the child’s baptism never wore off. In fact, it grew into his skin. Little did the tribe know that he was going to challenge God.

Game:

The main protagonist is a boy who is frivolous, energetic and adventurous. He, along with the rest of his friends decides to set on a voyage to find God, against his parent’s will. Like a brave soldier, he has to travel on foot with only one weapon. To face God in a fair fight, it is right to survive like a hero and seek him. There are a lot of things you can do in game to survive. You have engage in combat with wild animals, seek their help and gain their trust. The more you interact with the environment the more you will be able to get nature to your side. You will meet migrants along the way. They will tell you tales from their tribe and narrate old folklore passed on from their tribe. Each of the tales gathered from different tribes will reveal more about the God.

It is eventually for the player to realise that there is never one God. There are many kinds of Gods in this world. To each is his own. The player must collect these story elements to get the correct ending of the game.

Along his journey, he will see his other fellow friends who started the journey with him and get to interact with them. They may either be dead, help him in a quest or fight him.

When the player finishes his journey, it is understood that the player has traveled the whole globe and returned back to his tribe. When he returns, the people are amazed because a part of the prophecy came true. He was the lone survivor in the voyage. He is questioned towards the end how he managed to defeat the God. From here, the protagonist and the player are aware that the God who the young warriors had to fight was their own struggle in survival. Obviously, the natives never felt the need to step out far beyond their tribe to explore the world since they felt comfortable in the vicinity of ‘God’.

The protagonist then realizes that the God is no more powerful than the human. He exists virtually through the people. The God was a name to comfort the restless wants of the people and a medium of manipulation.

The protagonist confronts the Council demeaning the whole idea of the God. He concludes that the God to us is no more than the words spoken from the Council. Hence God is weak since he contacts his followers through the Council. If the Council were dead, the God will be dead along with them. Hence, in the final fight the protagonist must fight the Council all at once.

 The conclusion to the story is that the protagonist and demeaned the prophecy in such a manner that he had written a prophecy entirely of his own. He survived a voyage in search for God, reached the God on foot and was the strongest man since he faced all odds. He eventually gained knowledge on all subjects the priests taught since the information was kept secret from the natives so that they were the only ones educated.

The fulfilled prophecy was painted in rock with organic colours so that it could be remembered for eternity.

Situation:

The audio track is ideal for a short teaser trailer focusing mostly on the protagonist. The personality of the character as seen through this trailer would mostly be brave, courageous, focused, determined and strong.

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Music as seen by the Eye

We had an assignment recently encouraging all of us students to imagine a setting for a track we hear and write a one-page description for the same. The setting was supposed to suite a video game universe as well as we had to think of a game inspired from the music. Here were those two tracks:

We were told that Walt Disney’s approach was based on the inspiration of audio tracks as well. We were asked to study the position of each instrument in the track and how each of them stitches the mood of the track from time to time. I was really excited about this idea and approach. It is something I would do in my pass time anyways. This inspired me to listen to a range of orchestral music. I started with popular themes by John Williams, a legendary music composer introduced to me by a friend of mine. I researched about him and similar popular themes written by him.

And the newly found YouTube addiction led me to this video, and I recommend it’s a must see for all Tom and Jerry fans:

Credits: Hans van den Berg

This took me by surprise. I really saw an entire episode run through my head when I saw this video. And definitely how an entire orchestra went berserk with the pace of the music. The music was thriving with energy. Instruments, I personally never saw in other live performances were used. I like how at some point the sounds don’t make sense. Every instrument plays a role, in the setting and the personalities of the characters. Like the xylophone represents Jerry, the mouse while the trumpet represent s the female cat. They just seem to be having so much fun in the music!

I really appreciate this piece performed by the John Wilson Orchestra at the 2013 BBC Proms. For more information visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYrUWfLlYI0

Definately, I grew a fondness for Scott Bradley and all his works. I guess there will be a lot for me to learn from his works.

Speaking of music, another game comes to my mind which delivers it’s entire story through it’s music, ‘To the Moon’ by FreeBird Games. 

Here is the trailer for the game:

Credits: Kan Gao

This game written, directed and composed by Kan Gao is considered a masterpiece. Do not judge it by it’s old school pixel art or the game play videos. The game, released in 2011 has purposefully followed this art style. I can warn all gamers that it’s emotionally compelling point and click game. But I must recommend you to play it rather than watch the videos.

It is important to note the music in the game is telling the story of the game at all times.

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The Didgeridoo

Recently I was asked to play the game ‘Machinarium’ for a school assignment. That’s when I heard this particular composition in the game which I really liked!

I really liked how the low wind instrument drives the song. It fits the role of the small street band in this small steampunk city. For some reason, the tone of the notes sound like its a DIY instrument.

Besides, the composer of this particular composition is Tomáš Dvořák and the game is Machanarium, developed by Amanita Design in October 16, 2009.  Tomáš Dvořák himself is a clarinet player. For more information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinarium

 I researched more about this piece until I discovered a wind instrument known as the Didgeridoo. Here’s what it looks like:

Image Source: Wikipedia

It’s an aboriginal Australian instrument which is considered according to tradition only to be played by men. Read more about it here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didgeridoo

Infact, it even has curative properties for snoring as it regulates breathing. Personally, I enjoy fusion music and I love any composition played with a mix of traditional and western style of music. They marry together somehow.

This instrument is not new and a little down the memory lane, along with some fact finding I discovered the same instrument in this very popular Hindi song!

Credits: T-Series

The same instrument plays right in the beginning. It even follows the traditional style of playing the didgeridoo. The aboriginals accompany the instrument by vocals which has been implemented here. Certainly this song directed by Shanker, Ehsaan, Loy; lyrics by Javed Akhtar and sung by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik is a piece of my childhood. I appreciate these music artists!