#the character that you control is your main tool for immersion inside the game world

[als-basement]

You (the player) killing Doey was the final straw for me tbh

Also there was some unfortunate timing to Ollie’s character reveal

Right around the time fnaf: security breach’s dlc was released

Spoilers: For those who don’t know the character guiding you and being helpful through the entire dlc is actually a super intelligent robot/animatronic who can mimic voices (sounds familiar?) impersonating as the protagonist’s friend

That’s the big twist lol

Everyone was super paranoid about ollie after that…

So I'm watching SuperHorrorBro's playthrough of Poppy Playtime Ch4. And. Do you guys remember A Rabbit's Foot For Good Luck you probably thought I'd forgotten, but I do remember, oh very much so

If you've read it then you will understand when I say that I like Doey immediately

silly

cartoony

casual about eating people

an ally!!

He meets all my standards for a companion through The Horrors

[kuiperblog]

Deathloop sure is a video game

Every October, there's pop-up entertainment venues like "haunted houses" (or other haunted attractions) that attempt to artificially recreate the motifs common in horror movies, complete with live actors who are dressed as vampires or zombies or serial killers or whatever who leap out and scare the guests who squeal in delight, if only because it gives them an excuse to tightly cling to their partner.  It's more exciting than going to a horror movie, because it's a more tactile experience, so you're mostly just there to experience the various horror motifs without being concerned about a plot.

The thing is, there are actual horror movies that are set in haunted attractions.  And while this does make for some fun early reveals (like when the teenagers laugh at the knife-wielding man who they assume is an actor and part of the attraction, only to realize that he's actually a homicidal madman), the very idea of a horror movie set in a haunted house kind of feels like cheating.  Haunted attractions are, in a way, a simulacrum of a horror movie, which I suppose is an odd thing to say considering that haunted attractions are real and the events in horror movies are not, but I think that is the main level on which most haunted attractions are designed: a haunted attraction is a "horror movie IRL," so to then make that the setting of your horror movie “horror movie IRL but in a movie” is like a simulacrum of a simulacrum.  It’s shortcutting past the part where you would ordinarily come up with some kind of lore-based explanation for why the teenagers are hanging out in a creepy house and why there’s a demented killer or vampires or whatever who are trying to kill them.

I sort of feel this way about one of the first levels I played in Deathloop, which is a video game both in medium and form. It's a bit like Dishonored (one of Arkane's earlier titles) in the sense that the core objectives boil down to identifying an assassination target, and hunting them down in their mansion or laboratory or whatever.  The first target I assassinated was a fellow by the name of Charlie Montague, who is obsessed with games, and has populated a section of the world where you can speed-run an obstacle course to be rewarded with a gun, because this is a first-person shooter video game that is set on murder island, where everyone's favorite hobby is killing each other because they’re in a timeloop where everyone will revive the next day.  However, when I found Charlie Montague, he was in the middle of a LARP session.  This is literally how the game describes it: Charlie is hosting a game where he invites guests to participate in a game somewhat akin to a murder mystery, or maybe more like Among Us. When I arrived, Charlie announced over the loudspeaker to all of his guests that the killer monster (me) had arrived, and the objective was now for them to hunt me down.  (I, for my part, did my best to avoid the guests, but I had to gun down the entire party before finally getting to Charlie at the top floor.)

So, this is a video game level that felt very much like a video game level.  Which I don't really mean as a knock against it -- it was a fun environment, I had fun hunting down the game designer Charlie Montague and murdering his LARPing buddies, and the environment was set up in a way that made the confrontation with Charlie himself interesting, since Charlie possesses the blink power that lets him teleport across gaps and between floors.  But it kind of feels like cheating to have a video game level where the setting premise is, as explained by the game's fiction, literally a game created by a game designer (as opposed to trying to sell you on the idea that the level you're traipsing through is just some rich dude's mansion, or a military base, or whatever).  It is the video game equivalent of setting your horror movie in a haunted house attraction.

As an Arkane Studios fan (who started with 2006's Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, and counts Dishonored among my personal top 10 games of all time), I quite enjoyed Deathloop.  But it is by far the most video game video game that they've ever released.

Games like Dishonored and Prey (2017) exist in what is sometimes described as the "immersive sim" genre, where there's a big emphasis on player choice and giving the players a bunch of tools to approach objectives without giving them a prescribed route through the game.  Dishonored pushes you in the direction of being stealthy and quiet (with a "chaos" system that causes the world to become more desolate if you kill too many enemies in each level), but there are many routes through the levels -- and sometimes, you'll find your way to an objective through what feels like it isn't a prescribed "route" at all. The objectives are often quite simple -- "infiltrate, kill a dude, exfiltrate" -- but a level that could be completed in just a few minutes might take an hour to complete the first time you play it as you spend time scoping out the target, gradually getting a feel for the environment and learning which parts of the level have lots of enemies and which parts are safe and easy to stealth your way through.

The immersive sim's emphasis on carving your own way through levels leads to a phenomenon where a lot of the progression that you make is "meta" progression that exists entirely outside of your avatar -- you might spend an hour prowling around a level, and your character hasn't gotten any stronger (apart from maybe finding a few optional collectibles), but you as a player have "leveled up" to the point that you now know the level like the back of your hand, which is how you have people who spend hours exploring a level in Hitman so that they can do a perfect 5-minute speedrun of that level.

Sometimes, this sense of "meta-progression" is further emphasized by making some of the collectibles information that you as a player can store.  I remember a part in Dishonored where I found a locked safe, and I had to root around the game environment and find the code to the safe before I could come back and get the goodie inside.  But if I wanted to, I could write that number down so that on any subsequent playthrough, I could just go right to the safe and open it right away -- which feels a bit like cheating, but it's no less cheating than sprinting through a specific route through a level because I know from previous playthroughs that the path I'm taking has no guards.

Deathloop isn't quite like that: the game is filled with combinations and whatnot (in one "puzzle" I had to insert specifically-labeled tapes into a machine in a specific order), but all of these are generated randomly: you can't take that information with you across playthroughs, and you can't look the number up in a walkthrough like some older immersive sims would let you do. But Deathloop takes this meta progression and makes it actual progression: it's a time-loop story, and your character (Colt) remembers everything that he encounters across playthrough, so when you find the combination to a door, Colt will make a mental note of it (no need to bust out your pen and paper), and the next time you come to a locked door that requires that combination, you don't even have to punch in the numbers: just hold the triangle button on your Playstation controller and Colt will automatically punch in the numbers that he learned during an earlier loop.

Deathloop is full of little things like this that, on first glance, almost just feel like QoL improvements.  But there's something that feels very different about how things are done in Deathloop: in gameplay terms, it basically boils down to, "Go to this place and press square to read the password, then go to this other place and unlock the door," which is really not that different from "go to this place and press square to pick up the key, then go to this other place to unlock the door."  The "passwords" that exist throughout this game are basically just keys that Colt can store in his brain and take with him whenever you advance to the next loop.

And to be clear, that's not necessarily a *bad* thing.  In fact, immersive sims are kind of a niche genre that don't have a very big audience, so anything that helps streamline and make it more like, well, what you'd expect from a "video game," is probably going to make the game accessible to a lot more people.  And they streamline a *lot* in this game.  The game is all about planning the "perfect loop" where you manage to kill the 8 big baddies in a single day, and everything before that point is just preparing for that final loop.  Even though that seems like an abstract thing that might require you to hold a bunch of disparate information in your head, the game is actually *really* good at making it so that Colt is already mentally mapping out the game plan as you go, to the point where you can just go into the quest book, select a thread, and then just follow the waypoints.  Colt is planning for the "perfect loop" and collecting all the information he needs (including passwords, and memorizing information about how to get certain bosses to go to certain areas where they'll be vulnerable), and Colt is so good at remembering these things that the player never has to: you can play the entire game from start to finish just by traveling from waypoint to waypoint and stealthing or shooting your way past anything that stands in your way.

That is, of course, incredibly reductive.  The process of getting from point A to point B in Deathloop is fun for the same reason that getting from point A to point B is fun in any other game.  The guns feel good to shoot, the levels are interesting to navigate, and the game lets you earn the ability to take certain pieces of gear with you between loops so it always feels like there's forward progression.  But I think that there's a critical thing that's missing:

Immersive sims aren't just about getting from point A to point B.  Before you can get to point B, you have to discover where point B is.  *Where* in this mansion is the assassination target?  Better spend some time skulking around and listening to his staff gossip about his daily habits so you know which parts of the mansion he's likely to appear in.  Oh wait, I don't want to just get in the same room with this guy, I want to get myself in the same room with him *when he's not surrounded by his guards*.  How do I do that?  Better do some more snooping.  And in a sense, Deathloop *sort* of does this.  Before you can follow the waypoint objective marker to your target, you have to find out where they are.  But the "find out where they are" is often, "follow this *other* waypoint objective marker to find the slip of paper that tells you where they're going to be, at which point you can follow the waypoint objective marker to their exact location!"

And to be fair to Deathloop, it's not *all* like that.  There are some times where the game sort of just points you in the right direction and leaves you to figure it out, like one dude who has hosted a masquerade party where he and his guests are all wearing the same masks, and so you have to figure out a way to ferret him out.  (Or you can just murder everyone at the party to figure it out by process of elimination -- which is actually much easier said than done, because this is murder island and everybody is packing heat, and this is an exclusive party so his guests are the type of people who carry around heavy weapons.)

Another way that Deathloop takes the "meta progression" inherent to immersive sims and makes it explicit in-game progression is by having a time loop where you can encounter and kill the same targets over and over again.  That's the kind of thing that tends to happen in immersive sims across multiple playthroughs -- Hitman doesn't *require* you to play each level multiple times, but you generally want to, because each level is filled with tons of different routes to explore and different ways to deal with each of the targets.  But that's all on the player: it's not as if in the fiction of the Hitman universe, Agent 47 is repeatedly murdering a bunch of people who magically revive so that he can kill them again, whereas in Deathloop, that is very explicitly what is happening.

The thing is, because Deathloop is kind of designed with the assumption that you'll kill each target multiple times, the first time you encounter them and blow their head off, it doesn't feel like the grand emotional climax.  In fact, in a way, it feels like the *start* of a relationship.  "Goodbye, Charlie Montague.  I hardly knew ye.  But I'm sure I'll know you better by the third time I'm leaving your LARPing session with that slab upgrade you're carrying."  I feel like that robs the kills of some of their impact, and maybe that's just inherent to what kind of game this is: in Dishonored, you feel as though over the course of a level, you get to know your target as you snoop through their quarters, overhear what their staff have to say about them, read the journals of their rivals while looking for possible weaknesses, and so on.  Because it's a stealth game, it makes sense to hide in the background and learn about their life.  Stalking a character through a level while waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike can actually feel incredibly intimate, because as  the eponymous Visible Man in Chuck Klosterman’s novel says, to truly know who someone is, you have to see them when they’re alone at home; their behavior anywhere else is just a performance.

But when I'm chasing down Charlie Montague with an SMG in one hand and a pistol in the other, the only thing I really know about him is what he's announcing over the loudspeaker.  (I don't really remember exactly what he said, but the subtext is that he's mentally unstable, and he's obsessed with games.)  And even though Charlie Montague was shouting at me what kind of person he said, I feel like I never really got to *know* him like I got to know some targets in Dishonored.  In fact, the moments when I got to know Charlie best weren't when he was yelling at my over the loudspeaker as I ran through his level as Shooty McFPS guy, but the moments when I got to read his notes or chat correspondence (which is *entirely optional*, because even if I don't learn the relevant facts from Charlie Montague's notes, Cole will -- and he'll verbally narrate the cliffsnotes version of them as I'm headed to the next objective)

Despite feeling like a clear descendant of Arkane’s earlier titles, Deathloop feels neither "immersive" nor "sim."  It's constantly doing things that remind me that I'm playing a video game -- which, to be clear, is not a bad thing!  It’s fun to be Shooty McFPS guy without worrying about hiding guards bodies or making noise. More than any other Arkane Studios game, it does everything it can to minimize player frustration, whether that means feeling lost, or feeling like you're not making forward progress, or feeling like your progress is being gated by a huge spike in difficulty.

Dishonored is a game that rewards patience.  This is one of my favorite things about it, but the fact that it rewards patience so generously means that it also *asks* patience of the player in order to get its best moments, which means that some players will never experience them.  Deathloop asks very little from the player.  Deathloop is a very "even" and "smooth" experience, but that's both for better and for worse.  The lows aren't as low, but the highs aren't nearly as high. Deathloop is a good game.  And it will probably be a "good game" to a greater number of people than Arkane's previous titles, but it didn’t have nearly the same impact on me.

Anyway, more than anything, my time with Deathloop has convinced that I should go back and play Prey (2017).

[sarcastic-pasta-games]

Any motivation or advice for one man team developers? Sorry if this has been asked already

Hey! I’ve been working on a solo fangame project for too long almost 3 years, while working on The BOSS & Glitch In The System. I have no clue if this’ll help or if this is the type of advice you wanted, but here you go. The things written here can apply to non-fangame projects, too! 

(Warning: lots of text ahead - and take this with a grain of salt; I’m not an expert.)

General: 

You are going to have to plan in advance and organize absolutely every single thing about your project. Don’t just make an outline for your story. Create concept art for your characters, figure out what makes your game story unique, figure out the mapping and game mechanics early.

Make sure you know your options. If you’re really good at one thing (writing,art,music,code) and everything else is a bit new to you, there are free and paid resources out there. Don’t feel bad for using them. 

If you’re a perfectionist, make sure the tools you use are quick. Do not spend a week on one room design, or a month on one song. You will never finish your game, even if it’s super short. 

Kinda joykill advice, but I don’t recommend making your dream project first unless you fully KNOW how to start making your project on your own (which even then, you’ll need to organize everything for it to work). Make something silly, or try joining game jams. 

External feedback is even more important when working on your game. Get playtesters or people willing to help give feedback to you early on, or midway through development. 

Figure out how much energy you can devote to your project. If you want to be ambitious, that’s great! But overworking yourself is a horrible idea. 

If you want to change something fairly major about your game, you should probably only do it if you’re below the 30-40% mark. Otherwise you’ll forever drive yourself insane by changing anything when you’ve made that much progress on your project. You can always improve on certain aspects for future games. 

Especially for fangames: don’t take everything you make seriously. 

Games can still be considered solo projects, even if the developers got help for stuff like art, music, and code. You don’t have to do every single thing by yourself. But if you’re stubborn like me about this and still want to do everything, that’s cool too.

Back up your game or forever suffer in developer hell. Yes, I’m serious. I’ve seen projects get cancelled because they couldn’t afford to get a backup drive (or even a USB key) and it’s miserable.

Don’t act like you’re above other game developers. This applies for anyone, really. Support the other people around you, too! 

Visuals:

If you have absolutely no passion or desire to do your own art assets, premade resources are your friends. However, you need to really focus on your other game aspects in other for your games to stand out. To The Moon used a lot of pre-made RPG Maker XP resources but had a phenomenal soundtrack and used that + its visuals to make the game feel more cinematic than most RPG Maker games.

If you feel like you suck at art or don’t have money for expensive drawing tools, but want to make all of the game assets, then do it! Even with simple/free-to-use tools, your can make game art that’ll be unique and memorable. example / example / example 

Keep backups of every single one of your original art asset files.

If you want to do pixel art for your game, 1: Always avoid coloring with pure black. Your game will look disgusting. 2: Programs like Asesprite are useful for animations. 3: Make sure it’s proper pixel art. Using AA brushes, the blur tool (etc) will completely ruin that.

Video cutscenes aren’t 100% necessary. Certain game devs make it a goal to never include cutscenes to create a certain atmosphere, or for the game to feel more interactive for the player. (ex: Night In The Woods)

Pretend the player can’t listen to game audio while playing. Keep the visuals interesting and make your game feel alive! Whether it’s through tiny animations, window animations, etc. 

For 3D Games: motion blur =/= super cool polished game. >:(

It depends on your game’s style, of course, but usually it’s not a good sign if you can tell your project is made by someone with default assets and doesn’t try to work beyond that (for any engine, 2D or 3D). 

If you want to do regular art for your game: make sure you know what resolution your game is going to be at its absolute highest, and always work with bigger than that. 

Keep your visuals consistent! If an early area looks unpolished/different from the final maps, then fix it. 

I’m going to skip music advice because I 100% suck at composing and don’t know what I’m doing yet. Just make sure your audio files are lossless, even if it adds a bit to your game’s file size. 

Audio: 

Use the same logic like in one of the points for visuals: Pretend like the player can’t see any of your cool visuals or fancy animations, and is just left with blocks for character sprites and very shapes for maps. Make your game convey emotion through audio, even if it’s through tiny sounds, or really quiet environment sounds. 

Voice acting: Don’t even bother if you can’t find people who have good microphones or can’t afford/know how to properly remove background noise. You’ll just be left with really bad quality audio that won’t help immerse the player at all. 

There can be a theme to your audio, much like there can be a theme to your visuals. Whether or not you decide to contrast the visuals with your audio or pair them up is up to you. It can give the game a whole new tone, depending on how you approach sound design.

Audio cues are good for puzzles, but again, don’t just rely on that only to indicate to the player that an objective has been completed. If they have the game on mute, they’re just going to be left wandering around.

Binaural audio can be cool, if you want to try doing that. 

Writing: 

Don’t write game dialogue at 4 am. It never works. 

Game writing is VERY different from what you might be used to. Keep in mind that for the most part players want to interact with an environment, not just only hear what characters have to say about a certain event or area. Forcing them to go through giant dialogue cutscenes every time is not a smart move to make. (Obviously, visual novels and text adventure games are an exception to this)

Not that you only need to have 4 words in your entire game! But there is a chance someone will download your game and just not enjoy the writing. Think ahead of time if you really feel like every game puzzle, every important cutscene needs to happen after giant walls of text.

If you have the ability to make visuals that can be paired with writing, you don’t really have an excuse for avoiding that. Especially if the cutscene 

Proofread every single thing, or get someone else to do it. If you can export all your game dialogue into text files, that could be helpful. 

If you’re trying to write a serious game (with lighthearted moments or not), chances are that adding that one dumb inside joke with your friends in-game could ruin the immersion for the player.

Only time I think the developer should focus more on their own opinion than the players: create as much atmosphere as you can. Figure out the things YOU like about a game world, and focus on that as much as you can. Don’t worry about making it appeal to all/certain audiences. 

Don’t act like every single player in the world will like all of your characters. Even if they’re nice, someone could absolutely despise your main characters, or find themselves liking the antagonist more.

Dumb character ticks and speech mannerisms can still work.

Not everything about a Serious Game™ has to be gritty and all that. Me and Katie wouldn’t recommend making a completely serious fangame anyway, but that’s another topic. 

You’re probably not going to ever write a game that has absolutely no tropes in it whatsoever, so give up on that. 

You can make a character dislikeable but still charming. The other way around works too. Not everything has to be clear-cut right and wrong.

Game design / Programming: 

If you ever use shortened names for certain switches, variables, etc - or have a complex system for one game feature, write down what all of it does somewhere. You don’t want to screw yourself over months after you implemented something because you forgot what one button does, or what another variable is for. 

Bite the bullet. If there’s an area you restrict access to for the player purely for the sake of not having to deal with coding it, that’s no fun.

You can never make a game with endless options/possibilities.

If there’s something buggy in your absolute basic gameplay mechanics (movement, UI) just change it and don’t focus on anything else before it’s fixed. There’s no excuse not to.

Make sure your game UI is bearable to look at. Please.

You don’t have to add 50 game options or features for your game to stand out. Unless you know it’ll encourage the player to keep playing or will help the player enjoy the game, then there’s no real use for it.

If you can ever optimize your game (frame rate, controls, etc) do that too. Having a simple 2D game running at 15fps one second and 60 the other won’t make your players happy. 

Personally, I’d rather play a working puzzle even if it’s a bit boring, over something that’s super creative but buggy as hell. 

Color puzzles aren’t going to work for colorblind players, and if you have an aesthetic (super tiny) game font, people with bad eyesight won’t be able to play. Give people options! 

“Choices in this game matter” if you know they don’t matter whatsoever for the ending or for a majority of the game, then don’t say that. This also ties into the branding section.

Making band-aid fixes for every single one of your game bugs is a really bad idea. If you can take some time to fix one bug fully rather than relying on workarounds, do that. 

Back. Up. Your. Code. Files. Especially if you’re planning on making major changes to it. It can be very useful to have old pieces of code to fall back on if your changes don’t work as planned. 

Figure out what you can and can’t do with an engine. There’s a section in The Beginner’s Guide that talks about the limitations certain engines can pose to developers, and how certain engines are just better fit for certain tasks than others. You won’t be able to include or make everything for one project. (Chances are, that wouldn’t work well anyways). 

Don’t expect the player to only behave one way to your game’s design, puzzles, or mapping. Again, give people options. There can be some fun in giving the player different results for different puzzle solutions. 

Presentation: 

You don’t have to reveal every single thing about your project online-  but on the other hand, keeping everything to only vague/abstract teaser posts isn’t very helpful to people, either. 

Social media is your friend. Twitter, tumblr, youtube, etc- Find different audiences through your games there! 

Figure out what sites you want to put your game on. There are tons of options: Itch.io is my favorite. But sites like Gamejolt, indiedb, rmn.net, Steam (more for commercial games), etc can work for you. You can always just upload it for yourself online (mediafire, google drive, dropbox) too, if you dislike all of those sites or prefer doing it through direct download links. 

Don’t self promote your game on other people’s games or accounts…

Even if someone is hoping to see something really specific in your game, your project will get out of hand if you just add in what every single person wants. Convince people that your game will be worthwhile even if a feature or a character doesn’t appear in it. 

Remaining transparent with your audience will help you a lot.

Keep things easy to access and read/look at for potential players. Make sure people can find something about the game quick. Things like FAQs, “About this game”, external links, etc are very helpful. 

Apologies in advance for any embarrassing typos that I may have missed.  

One last thing: Focus on making something that you ultimately like. It’ll be much easier to handle any sort of obstacles during/after development that way.

There is so much more I want to cover on this, but this should give you some basic things to work with. Hope this helps!

[androidmodx]

Scary Teacher 3D v5.15.1 MOD APK + OBB (Free Purchase/Unlocked)

Scary Teacher 3D will offer intense fun while getting chased around by a frightening teacher, just like they always do in childhood. Games like Granny or Evil Nun are horror titles that many players experience, and they feel entirely the level of challenge it can bring. Players will always find a way to discover what’s inside where they are imprisoned and avoid the scrutiny from two evil characters. This way of playing completely gives the impression that you will always be afraid of being chased and will always be motivated to achieve the game’s goal. That will ultimately appear when you experience a game that is Scary Teacher 3D although it is not in the horror genre. EXPLORE AN OPEN WORLD Scary Teacher 3D brings you a world full of various details that anyone will be impressed with. It is a campus of a large house where you will try to explore them to achieve the game’s goals. Simultaneously, all the elements are carefully designed, and you’ll be completely immersed in that world when everything is happening so quickly, and you can’t stop for a second. There will be two main characters in this game: you and an old lady like the game mentioned. That house is where she lives. You will be able to go anywhere in the building to play the game and avoid being caught by her. When you look at the left corner of the screen, you will see that she is always on the move, and that’s why you don’t waste a single moment. Simultaneously, in the middle of the screen, a good text will appear, and it is the tool that ultimately helps you in this game. Like many horror games, you will control the character according to the first perspective; the perspective creates a thoroughly suspenseful feeling for the player. You’ll take part in a game where you’ll explore and feel captured at any moment. At the same time, with this perspective, you will be a part of the game world, and all the experiences that players get are enhanced and make them completely fascinated. TEACH THE WOMAN A LESSON Scary Teacher 3D brings you two characters, as mentioned above. One of the reasons this game plays out is that our main character is a genius student who meets a harsh teacher. This teacher always brings physical punishment, and she also lives next door to the protagonist’s house. So the game has one goal of making jokes and teaching this character a lesson. The gameplay of this game sounds simple, but it will take a lot of time to prepare and need specific care. Specifically, you will break into this house to execute your scheme, and you will also know what actions to do through the information provided through the text in the middle of the screen. Simultaneously, these lines will tell you a lot of information, such as what to do or what the woman’s following actions are to take. Once you have this information, then you will ultimately begin to have a base and formulate a plan and break into the house. It is a world where players can interact with environmental elements. So you can pick up items for your quirky trick or open up some rooms or opportunities to break in. At the same time, it is inevitable in this game to avoid letting her catch it. You will not need to worry about this game’s gameplay because it gives you a superficial training level to grasp the game’s mechanics. After getting used to it, players will surely enjoy their intrusion screen. The player will try to do these maneuvers quickly in a nervous state as you won’t know what will happen and when she might show up. Therefore, this is the attractive feeling that any player can experience. MANY RACES THAT YOU CAN DO Scary Teacher 3D has a lot of places where you will explore; there are 15 different rooms. Each room will have its functions and things that you can take advantage of to do your naughty job. Simultaneously, the disturbing elements all need to be done in an entirely particular way because they cannot appear in front of this woman ultimately. Therefore, it is indispensable to generate ideas to complete the level. Your goal is to mess around in this woman’s house, but it does not just have a single job. It has many things that you can do that are similar to the emission mechanism. They will happen entirely in a row, and you will need to update quickly to get to the next place. At the same time, this game still often has updates to provide more levels for players. So it’s hard to take your eyes off this game. THE GAME BRINGS EXCITEMENT TO THE PLAYER Scary Teacher 3D gives players a simple but no less challenging gameplay when applying what they have to do. You will be able to explore a house with many different areas, and each has its characteristics. The necessary information is also something that you can get when you experience this game. So you will have a great time experiencing the fun pranks that you find. Read the full article

[enterinit]

New Xbox One Games for June 2 to 5

New Xbox One Games for June 2 to 5.

Strawberry Vinegar – June 3

Sakuraba Rie, aged nine, is a cynical and grumpy girl who cares little for her fellow classmates, and does not have a single friend. That is, until a self-proclaimed demon from the deepest, darkest pits of Hell suddenly appears in Rie's kitchen and steals a tray of cookies. What will happen between these two young girls? Will friendship blossom between them, or perhaps something more? Features: Succulent, mouth-watering art of food80,000 words long with 6 different endingsA unique tale of friendship between a young girl and a demonUpdated blinking sprites and UI

Depth of Extinction – June 3

In a flooded future world, killer machines are plotting mankind's demise. As the sole defender of humanity's last government, only you can create the ultimate squad and save humanity in this turn based, tactical RPG with roguelike elements. Features: Explore a sunken world and build your own storyFamiliar tactical options with a few new twists including action refunds, stealth positioning and ambushesCreate the ultimate squad from 10 different character classesOutfit your team with 115 different weapons, armor, and itemsFight 30+ unique enemies from 5 factionsPosition your team and then get the kill with stealthControl the leader and the other characters will follow (and pick up loot) using an advanced AI

Awesome Pea 2 – June 3

Awesome Pea 2 - next chapter of classic platformer game. Greedy Pea is back in the game! Now with even more dark dungeons, deadly traps and gold! What you will definitely find in this game (again): Pixel gameboy-style graphics (when everything is green)25 different levelsRetro soundtrack (sounds like your old computer)Lots of shiny coins

Tour de France 2020 – June 4

Experience the intensity of the Tour de France! Compete against the peloton in all 21 official stages of the Tour de France 2020. To wear the yellow jersey on the Champs-Elysées, you will need to take risks, attack, sprint and perfect your race tactics. New features: • All 21 official stages of the Tour de France 2020 • The classic Liège-Bastogne-Liège race for the first time in Tour de France • Redesigned, more realistic time-trials. You must manage your stamina and riding position to improve your aerodynamics and achieve the best time • New first-person camera for greater immersion • More attacking and opportunistic peloton • Improved race interface with more details about your surroundings (competitors, route, descents, etc.) • Online mode: redesigned matchmaking system

Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio – June 5

Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio is an 8-bit, 2D platformer. It’s a challenging, non stop action experience that incentivizes quick thinking, platforming precision and memorization. Like older 8-bit games, it’s a game that’s meant to be replayed over and over again until mastered. Quick reactions and timing are necessary for success in the game. Levels – which are in the form of rooms – are short and require you to quickly scan to find a way to get to the next room, which is either a doorway that requires a key found within that room or a black hole Visually and from an auditory standpoint, everything about the game is designed to look and feel like an old school 8-bit game. Features: 2D platform game, perfect for classic Famicom/NES game fans!Graphics and sounds inspired by 8-bit aesthetics.2 game modes, "Classic" and the brand new "Try harder".65 rooms of progressive difficulty.Easy to learn, simple gameplay.

Outbuddies DX – June 5

Experience real non-linear Metroidvania gameplay and uncover five distinct areas, all with remarkable puzzles, environmental hazards, epic boss encounters and captured Wozan to uncage. Your Buddy unit will procedurally map the area and function as a handy quality of life tool that can be controlled at will to manipulate your surroundings using various abilities like hacking, scanning, and telekinesis. Enter Bahlam, a sunken city of the Old Gods, located deep in the South Atlantic Ocean. Following a shipwreck, adventurer and maritime archaeologist Nikolay Bernstein regains consciousness 36.000 feet under the sea. He's severely wounded and unwillingly connected to a supernatural Buddy-unit. Searching for answers about his displacement our main protagonist digs deep into the lost undercity, gradually realizing an ominous presence hollowing in its shadowed caverns. On your journey home you will share your fate with a friendly tribe of mining creatures, the Wozan, who fear the Old Gods and strive to get back to the surface since their ancestors had been enslaved 5000 years ago. Some of them were able to flee and founded secret colonies deep inside the sunken ruins, others are still exploited by the hostile creatures that have overtaken the city since the Old Gods suddenly disappeared. Explore Bahlam with high freedom of movement like climbing, crawling and diving right from the start. As you progress your set of options will expand by discovering ancient weapon systems, suit upgrades and hacking protocols for your droid. All gear will be carefully balanced in terms of combat abilities and has to be used selectively to overcome specific hazards and puzzles. The local Co-Op option invites a second player to explore and experience this adventure together by taking control over the invincible Buddy unit. Support each other on your journey home, solve puzzles and overcome Bahlam's hostile maze. This will also provide an opportunity for team-speedrunning as a very unique take on the scene. Features: Explore an open vibrant fantasy worldReal Metroidvania gameplay with lots of gear, puzzles and Easter eggsUnique dual-hero scheme with local Co-Op supportEpic boss battles & believable enemy AIsIntriguing narrative and memorable charactersHigh freedom of movement @ 60 FPSHandcrafted pixel artOriginal soundtrack by OGRE music

The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle – June 5

Play to change and make a difference in The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle expansion pack! Move into a community of fellow collaborative makers to help your new neighbors decide on a Community Space Project, reduce your eco footprint, and watch your neighborhood transform. Ready for your Sims to impact their world? Requires The Sims 4 base game to play.

We Were Here Together – June 5

Embark on a puzzle solving adventure in which you and a partner must prove you can communicate and work together to escape the haunted Castle Rock. It all begins with an emergency flare lighting up the sky and a distress call waking you from uneasy dreams. Your fellow Antarctic explorers are in trouble, and the two of you left at base camp must work together to launch a rescue mission. If only you knew what you were getting into… From the research base camp you’ll need to figure out a way to get to the source of the distress flare. Once you’re through the frozen Antarctic wastes, you'll find yourselves separated inside a medieval castle, facing puzzles, secrets, and dangers! You and your partner start out with nothing but your wits and a walkie-talkie each. Observation, smart communication and teamwork will be the only way to escape from the sinister Castle Rock. Your voice will have to lead the way. You and your expedition partner must traverse the Antarctic wasteland and infiltrate a sinister medieval castle. All you start with is a pair of walkie-talkies – will you be able to work together on the same wavelength? Two minds will have to think alike. Immerse yourself in an intriguing cooperative experience as you and your partner puzzle your way through a series of thrilling situations. Discover brand new environments and mysteries, together. We were not alone… Darkness has engulfed the once magnificent Castle Rock and its surroundings. Can you discover the truth behind the grim fate of the fallen citadel and make it out alive… or will the original inhabitants catch you on your way out? PLAY MORE WE WERE HERE GAMES! If you enjoy We Were Here Together, don’t forget to check out the earlier entries: We Were Here and We Were Here Too. Features: Spine-tingling story: uncover a dark history, and become closer acquainted with the malevolent being known only as ‘the Jester’. Who, or what, is he?Walkie-talkie: you must communicate to progress – find out just how good you are at describing and explaining thingsPuzzle packed: work together to solve this captivating digital escape roomMysterious locales: explore the expedition base camp, frozen Antarctic valleys, and the sinister Castle Rock itself https://youtu.be/XhE5mPCHdY4

Rigid Force Redux – June 5

CLASSIC SHOOT’EM UP ACTION IS BACK! Rigid Force Redux breathes new life into the classic side-scrolling shooter genre with its lovingly hand-crafted 3D models, stunning environments, detailed effects and an electrifying Synthwave soundtrack. DEVASTATING FIREPOWER! Arm your fighter with numerous upgradeable weapon systems and supplemental Force Shards! Collect Energy Orbs to fill up your energy supply and eventually unleash an extremely powerful blast against your foes! CONFRONT AN OVERPOWERING ARMADA! Battle it out against huge swarms of enemies, heavy gunships, laser wielding mechs and giant alien creatures. Every enemy has its own unique and challenging strategy, from the tiniest creature up to the largest boss. LOTS OF EXTRAS! Just in case the extensive, action-packed Main Mission is not enough for you, try the challenging Arcade and Boss Rush Modes, defend your ranking in the global leaderboards and grab all 40 achievements. Everything is prepared for countless hours of shooting fun! Features: Classic side-scrolling shoot’em up action with modern 3D graphicsUnique weapon and power-up systemsLots of different enemies, challenging mid-bosses and huge end bossesExciting story mode with animated cutscenes and full voice-oversAdditional Arcade and Boss Rush game modesSix different action-packed stagesChallenging but fair gameplayAdjustable difficulty level - for beginners to experienced playersOnline LeaderboardsOriginal synthwave soundtrack by Dreamtime featuring Michael Chait https://youtu.be/QazNCNWV04Q

Cyber Protocol – June 5

All of the android G0X6’s life processes were shut down. The only way to bring him back is to hack his security system and manually start the recovery protocol. But it’s one hitch… So far, even the largest corporations haven’t accomplished this challenge. Can you save your friend and prove you’re the best hacker in this lawless city? Cyber Protocol is an arcade puzzle game set in a Cyberpunk scenario with a strong and dynamic gameplay. If you want to test your logical skills and reflex, you love the retro style and good energetic music, just grab a gamepad. What can you expect? ABSORBING GAMEPLAY Fast-paced, difficult and fun. You will need to plan carefully but also often think on your feet. VARIOUS CHALLENGES Each of 100 levels brings a new, original challenge. You will face new setups, obstacles and traps with different mechanics, so don’t feel too confident. DIFFICULT: OVER 9000 Still looking for more adrenaline? Try hacking the system in the arcade mode at an increased pace and with limited lives. You can get your place in the top 20 global ranking of cyber hackers, if you good enough. Wish you survive! COMPETITION If playing with deadly AI is not enough, you always can invite your family and friends. Cyber Protocol supports local challenges for even 4 players, but remember—the title of the best hacker can reach only one. RETRO VIBE Miss retro games style? Don’t worry—we got you covered! Travel back in time to the 80’s by changing Cyber Protocol themes and sounds. BEST 8BITS Just sit, relax and listen to the Cyber Protocol’s Syntwave and 8bit soundtracks. You will deserve it. You will need it. Are you ready for the challenge? Read the full article

[oumakokichi]

Do you believe the V3 mastermind was a victim or they are really evil all along?Implying mastermind was brainwashed, I curious if anyone accept them as innocent despite their action.

The thing is, there aren’tany implications that the ringleader was brainwashed. Whether the ringleaderseized control of the game forcibly in order to make a “copycat rendition” ofsomeone else’s killing game, or whether they went up to Team Danganronpa andasked to be made into the ringleader specifically, the implications are stillthat the ringleader was a very deliberate and knowing antagonist who didabsolutely everything willingly, and had funwith it (which is why they’re such a fun character, if you ask me).

I’ll be discussing spoilers for the whole game under thecut, including the ringleader’s identity, so only read if you’re comfortablewith that!

There’s no reason to assume that Tsumugi was brainwashedinto anything she did in ndrv3. The word “brainwashing” certainly comes up afew times in-game, particularly in Chapter 2, but never for anything that hasto do with her. Angie’s art talent is implied to work very similarly to Mitarai’s,and it’s heavily, heavily impliedthat she brainwashes people both on her island and the Religious StudentCouncil into doing what she wants, but that’s about it. And even then, Angie’sbrainwashing is never brought up on as much of a plot-relevant level as Mitarai’s,nor does it seem like it’s infallible, considering Saihara keeps refusing tofall for her gaslighting in her FTEs and prison mode.

But as for Tsumugi, the term never applies to her. There’sno implication of brainwashing or mind control or anything of the sort in herFTEs or her prison mode events; if anything, she’s very obviously pulling thestrings and knows much more about things that are going on with the othercharacters, with Saishuu Academy, and with the killing game. If she wereactually brainwashed or just another poor victim in the midst of the group,that would need to be foreshadowed and clues would need to be presented—consideringthey’re not, I’d say it’s pretty safe to say she does everything of her ownaccord. Tsumugi is a master manipulator, not really one to be manipulatedherself.

I think people still have a mistaken impression that the rememberlights are brainwashing tools the same way that Junko’s and Mitarai’sbrainwashing videos in dr3 were. But that’s not the case. Everything we knowabout the remember lights proves that they work much, much weaker than any ofMitarai’s brainwashing videos.

Tsumugi herself says that once you know how they work, i.e. by implanting false memories into your mind andtriggering a reaction somewhat like déjà vu, that pretty much negates theireffectiveness. Ouma himself is living proof of this; he obviously doubts theremember lights’ credibility right from the start, and as such, is the onlycharacter early on who doesn’t believe that their memories or backstories arereal. Just by doubting that the remember lights are telling the truth, you canmake yourself immune to their effects. Knowing for a fact that the memories on them are fake means never believing asingle thing they implant into your mind.

As the ringleader, Tsumugi was the one responsible forcreating the remember lights used on the other characters. We know very littleabout how the killing game show works, but we do know at least a few of Tsumugi’sprivileges as the ringleader. The first is that she had access to the secretroom in the library, along with the Mother Monokuma which informed her of allthe goings-on in the school and allowed her to directly control Monokuma. Thesecond is that she could use the remember light setup in one of the classroomsto make new remember lights in plain sight, since even if someone walked in onher using it, it was programmed to close up and hide itself the moment someoneelse’s footsteps approached.

Since Tsumugi was the one programming those remember lights,selecting the memories to input into everyone else’s minds, we know then for afact that she definitely knew how those remember lights worked. There’s no wayto assume she could’ve been unknowingly brainwashed into being the ringleaderor set up to take the fall for someone else while also knowing how to use theremember lights herself. It just wouldn’t add up—therefore, we have to assumeshe was doing everything willingly.

I’ve mentioned it before in a few other pieces of meta, butone of the things I like the most about ndrv3 is how much of an element ofchoice and free will there is among the cast and their decisions. Certainly,the remember lights and their implanted backstories can make certain charactersmore likely to do something or to behave in a certain way. It can influencetheir mindsets, particularly when they don’t know how those remember lightswork, and it can really influence their motivations. But there’s always an element of choice.

Any of the characters had the potential at any point in timeto start acting differently from how they were “scripted” to act on the show.Saihara is perhaps the best proof of this: despite being picked by Tsumugi tobe a detective who was “weaker than anyone,” he changes arguably the most outof the entire cast, putting aside his hat as a symbol of his insecurities andfear of exposing the truth by as early as Chapter 2. Every single time Saiharabecame stronger and more capable of handling the truth he was so afraid of,every single time Himiko began facing her emotions head-on and tackling thingsenergetically instead of using her laziness as an excuse, we’re given proofthat the characters can change at any point in time, as long as they reallywant to.

To assume that Tsumugi was “brainwashed” into being theringleader or was “actually innocent all along” is to deny a huge part of hercharacter, and that takes all the fun right out. Who wants a ringleader or amastermind figure that was only actually doing it because they were justanother pawn in someone else’s schemes? Tsumugi is so incredibly fun andinteresting as an antagonist because she definitelythrives on pulling strings and manipulating scenarios from behind the scenes—sheloves to plant little seeds of doubt, sit back, and observe her handiwork, andyou can really tell on a reread.

Trying to delegate her to the role of “brainwashed victim” alsopretty much ignores all the reasons why it’s heavily implied Tsumugi throwsherself into “the world of Danganronpa” and fiction in general so much. Tsumugiisn’t someone manipulated or forced into the bad guy role. Rather, she’ssomeone who asked for it, whether bydirectly asking Team DR to let her be the ringleader on the show or by puttingon a copycat show of her own as the epilogue implies.

She’s a cautionary tale of the dangers of immersing oneselfin fiction too much. Ndrv3’s ending provides much-needed commentary on the waysin which fiction can and does influence the world around us. Tsumugi has thrownherself so far into fiction that she no longer wants to even interact withreality and willingly chooses to view the people around her as little more thanexpendable fictional characters. She, and the people like her (of which thereare implied to be many in the ndrv3 killing game audience), claim thateverything’s okay “because it’s justfiction.” Fiction is “just a lie,” therefore it “can’t influence reality anyway.”

These words are a reflection of her mindset, and provide uswith a little bit of a closer look at how desensitized society must be in ndrv3in order for this killing game to have thrived for 53 seasons. If Tsumugi is avictim of anything, perhaps she’s a victim of the state of society in ndrv3,which is heavily implied to be bleak and boring and horrible enough that thepressure makes people want to live inside “the world of Danganronpa.” But eventhen, that’s by her own choice.

Characters like Saihara are implied to have been just asdesperate to escape from reality, judging by his audition video, and yet he changedhis outlook and his behavior drastically by choice. So we can assume thatTsumugi remains on the outskirts of things, manipulative and uncaring ofeveryone around her while viewing them all as “fiction” because… she wants to.Because she honestly values the entertainment of the killing game more than thelives of the people she’s with—after all, those lives are completely disposable.As she and Monokuma point out several times in the game, there are plenty of people who would step up totake the characters’ places on the show, who would love to be willing substitutes if it meant getting to be a part ofDR.

Tsumugi is fun as a character because her mindset is soabsolutely cold and removed from everyone and everything around her. The factthat she can’t entirely view them all as fictional characters despite wantingto drives her up the wall in Chapter 6, which is why she becomes so desperateto try and crush their spirits and make themaccept the fact that that they’re “nothing more than fictional characters.”

Since we’re never given any indication at all, not in themain story or Tsumugi’s FTEs or bonus mode content, to think that she wasactually just brainwashed into taking the fall for everything, I would say it’shighly unlikely. And if it did turn out to be the case, I would be incrediblydisappointed, since it would take away everything that makes her so enjoyableas an antagonist. Even in the epilogue, Saihara speculates about how muchTsumugi said was the truth and how much was a lie—but he never once speculates thatshe might’ve been a victim just like the rest of them.

I think people’s refusal to acknowledge Tsumugi as her ownantagonist, and a very different kind of antagonist from Junko at that, islargely because people don’t know what to make of her or the unansweredquestions that she left. But people fail to realize that even dr1 hardlyaddressed all the questions or mysteries by the end of the game. The state ofthe outside world and how much of what Junko said was true or not was left in acatbox at the end of dr1 in very much the same way that Tsumugi’s mysteries areleft in the catbox by the end of ndrv3.

It wasn’t until dr0 and sdr2 that Kodaka decided to providemore explanations about Junko’s motivations, her talent and backstory, and whatexactly happened to the dr1 survivors after opening that door. So in the sameway, I think future side materials will shed a lot more light on Tsumugi—after Kodaka’shad his fun teasing players along for a while, at least.

Anyway, this is my take on it! There’s a lot of room for speculationwith Tsumugi and whether she was lying about certain claims or not, but it’s atleast pretty clear from all the evidence in-game that she wasn’t brainwashed,at least. And that’s something I’m grateful for, really. I’ve had more thanenough of brainwashing subplots thanks to dr3. Thanks for asking, anon!

[ourdelicatestudentpost-blog]

Free of charge Robux Roblox Hack No Survey

Roblox, which markets itself as a gaming site for youths and teenagers, invites kids into a virtual world to create adventures, play games, function play and study with their buddies”. One of many main concern of just about all of the Roblox sport's gamers is that whether or not the use of any hacking device to generate an immense quantity of Robux will probably be protected or not! Roblox is a social platform for play” that enables folks to create games for the general public using Roblox's digital instruments, referred to as Roblox Studio. The enjoyable of taking part in the amazing game of Roblox will increase 1,000,000 times in the event you use hacking instrument to get free robux. ROBLOX launched in 2006, taking its title from a mixture of the words robots” and blocks.” Gamers aged eight to 18 create digital characters and worlds during which they socialize and construct video games. Roblox‘s participant-to-player chat is not the one platform for users to interact in a multiplayer sport app, and nothing suggests it's significantly dangerous for youngsters to use. With the most important person-generated on-line gaming platform, and over 15 million games created by customers, Roblox is the #1 gaming web site for kids and teenagers (comScore). There is a misconception within the minds of a lot of the Roblox game gamers, that use of any hacking device for Roblox may get them block from the Roblox gaming server. Robux hacker permits the Roblox gamers to generate a peculiar quantity of robux and full within the Roblox account, without being noticed by the programmer. With the largest person-generated on-line gaming platform, and over 15 million games created by customers, ROBLOX is the #1 gaming site for teenagers and youths (comScore). Robux and Tickets Generator is a on-line Hack Tool and introducing Roblox Hack Tool Program, a solution to stop stalling throughout game play and benefit from the easy journey with the sport. Roblox is a person-generated gaming platform which permits customers to create their very own games or play video games that others have made. Should parents monitor their youngsters when enjoying Roblox games? However some parents, and even kids, are actually calling Roblox a harmful recreation that sexual predators can enter, portraying themselves as kids, within the virtual world. Our Recreation Design with Roblox course allows students to create 3D platforming based games using editing instruments like Roblox Studio and programming with Lua. Roblox permits anyone, even gamers underneath the age of 13, to obtain Roblox Studio and begin designing games. Roblox refers to this as a "social platform for play." Gamers can play games while seeing the opposite players and socially interacting with them in chat home windows. By default, Roblox employs controls for users under the age of 13 and includes a robust set of features enabling mother and father to intently monitor their children's Roblox activity at all times. Make an account for yourself and add your baby as a friend on the Roblox platform so you possibly can play games collectively.

It's a platform that allows anybody to create a web-based recreation using Roblox's sport design instruments often called Roblox Studio. Mother or father critiques report that many children have been uncovered to adult content material inside Roblox, been bullied on the game play roblox and have been approached and sent messages by creepy players suggesting cyber intercourse. "Every single day, virtual explorers come to Roblox to create adventures, play video games, position play, and learn with their friends in a family-pleasant, immersive, 3D setting.” On daily basis, virtual explorers come to Roblox to create adventures, play games, position play, and study with their associates in a family-friendly, immersive, 3D surroundings. Roblox is a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game and development platform which permits users to create whatever they need. Customers can play Roblox games freed from charge, however they will also buy Robux (our digital currency on Roblox) to buy in-recreation upgrades or accessories for his or her avatar. By creating cool stuff, gamers can earn Robux” (our virtual foreign money on Roblox) to buy avatar equipment, additional skills in-game, or extra tools and supplies to build with. Each month, over 64 million month-to-month energetic gamers come to Roblox to create adventures, play video games, roleplay, and study with associates. Roblox Hack Tools No Survey Generator Apk Games.

[rafaelthompson]

The World of Coffee Talk

Welcome to the video game about barista life with socially realistic conversations.

BY CRAIG BATORY SPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Photos courtesy of Toge Productions

Coffee Talk is the latest visual distraction to take your mind off of being stuck inside. It’s a game about a coffee shop set in a fantasy version of Seattle that mirrors our own current society. The game’s ’90s-inspired pixel art, the lo-fi musical soundtrack, and the complex social issues within the game are enough to immerse you in its alternate reality for several hours.

In the video game, Coffee Talk is an after-hours late night café in Seattle.

Coffee Talk was created earlier this year by Fahmi Hasni, the former marketing manager at Indonesian gaming studio Toge Productions. The game plays more like a visual novel than an actual video game. It takes place in an ethereal yet fictitious Seattle coffee shop called Coffee Talk, which only opens after the sun goes down. As the main character and café owner, you seemingly have no financial worries about running an after-hours coffee shop.

As for the rest of the game, Fahmi and his team created a cast of characters with open-ended dialogue based on his own life experiences. “We wanted Coffee Talk to mirror our real world, and therefore there are many [social] issues being brought up in the game such as interracial relationships or racial bias, immigration, etc.,” says Toge Productions PR manager Lasheli Dwitri Witjaksana. “Those issues can be really sensitive, so we tried to reflect that through the fantasy characters so that the players can take in all the discussions without any judgment and they can feel safe when the topic arises in the game.”

Coffee Talk creates a world of mythological characters, humans, and alien customers engaging about real issues in the café setting.

Coffee Talk certainly portrays a plethora of social issues at every turn. Each situation presented in the in-game dialogue mirrors a past or present happening in our current society. For example, there is mention of a virus outbreak. There’s talk of climate change and environmental issues. There are remarks about gun control, immigration, and union worker rights. “We identified big and common problems in our society, and developed them for Coffee Talk based on our crew members’ life experiences,” explains Lasheli. “For each character, we did internal role-play sessions, where we assign a certain character to one of our crew members who have a similar personality or share the same experience/problems with the character. In each session, we start discussing a certain topic. From there, the conversation became the base of how the story of each character develops. That way, we can have a realistic setting in the game.”

The game is further highlighted by the mythological characters, humans, and alien customers that you engage with. Each has their own dilemma, and you listen as they describe their relationship, their careers, and their life struggles. At times, you provide your own neutral yet optimistic response, as you serve them drinks with your unlimited quantity of supplies. The other main character is a human journalist and aspiring author named Freya who is active in almost every scene. She helps facilitate the complex dialogue between you and the other characters with her own quips and suggestions.

Freya helps facilitate dialogue between a journalist and customer in the game.

Other notable characters include an Elf named Bailey who is dating a demon named Lua against the wishes of his parents. There’s also a famous but lonely vampire supermodel, a disgruntled orc video game developer, and a werewolf hospital worker with PTSD. Each of these characters discusses realistic social issues about their families, their jobs, and life in general. And with each of these complex situations, as a character, you simply listen and whip up lattes—which, arguably, is a mirror image of a barista’s daily routine.

I made a matcha latte for Coffee Talk, and gave it some art, too.

From a coffee-brewing perspective, the game is quite simple. You prepare drinks on an automated espresso machine that has three options for “ingredients.” You can select coffee, chai, chocolate, milk (the list goes on) to craft a specific drink. You punch the ingredients into the machine, and a few animations later, you have your drink. There is also the option for latte art that allows you to “free pour” steamed milk onto the drink. The latte art is certainly fun, though unfortunately the game doesn’t do a great job of simulating pouring steamed milk. Thankfully there’s an “etching” tool that can help you fix any mistakes in your art. You can also “restart” any time you want. In line with the fantasy world that is Coffee Talk, customers never seem to be upset about the quality of the drink, or if it’s prepared incorrectly. They’ll just give a passive-aggressive statement but enjoy their drink nonetheless.

Coffee Talk wears its passion on its sleeve. It dives steadfast into social issues through its direct storytelling, and does a great job of portraying a routine bar shift for any barista. Minus the fact that your character is unperturbed about paying bills and only being open at night, the game is loaded with realism inside its fabricated world. If you like coffee and you like fantasy, this game might be for you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Craig Batory is a coffee professional and digital marketer based in Detroit. When he’s not brewing coffee or designing websites, he’s on his bike with his dog, Angus.

The post The World of Coffee Talk appeared first on Barista Magazine Online.

The World of Coffee Talk published first on https://espressoexpertsite.tumblr.com/

[stephramosanimation]

Modern technologies influencing and enhancing the visual storytelling in the gaming industry

Why I chose this industry

I chose this industry since I have always been interested in creating narratives and the conception of the final product over the product itself. My interests have always been in creating an interesting story that leaves a mark with the person who is going to see it, and I think that games leave the biggest impact on people, based on my experience of playing games my entire life. With the change and development in technology over the coming years I can see the potential that it has towards making the process of creating games a lot easier and different enough to change the scene entirely.

Outcomes/Objectives

With this research and essay I aim to achieve the knowledge in my chosen industry that will help me get a job in the future or at least identify the key skills I have or will need to work on in order to get a job in the future in this industry. I also aim to look at current companies and practices and ways for myself to innovate and bring something new to these companies and practices using the technology I will research.

General statistics 

21 million people play video games in the UK, making it the 5th largest video game market in 2017 based on consumer revenues. The UK consumer spend on video games was valued at £5.11bn 2017 (12.4% increased from 2016: £4.33bn)

There are 2,175 active video game companies in the UK (as of 2017) and 68% of the companies were founded since the beginning of 2010.

Higher education in the UK strongly supports the games industry; 60 universitires provide 215 undergrate video games (in 2014 alone)

23% of courses are in London, 18% in the West Midlands and 16% in Yorkshire.

Trends in Technology

Motion Capture technology (or MoCap) is a method that is used to digitally capture and record human movements. Recorded motion that has been captured is mapped onto a digital model in 3D software (Maya or Unity) so the character then moves like the actor you have recorded. Motion capture can be used for film, video games and VFX.

Examples of motion capture: Andy Serkis in Lord of the Rings, Troy Baker in Infamous: Second and The Last of Us.

Software MoCap can be done in: Xsens MVN, Maya, 3DS Max, Unity.

 At this time the market was “booming for mobile and handheld gaming, so a common trend became the secondary screens for consoles and cross-play.” (Poh, 2018)

The Wii U was announced at E3 in 2011 and wasn’t released until 2012, or really become a leading game until 2013. The Wii U’s main selling point was the additional “controller” which had a screen, giving the players the ability to to play both on the gamepad or the tv, or both at the same time using the gamepad to access inventories the play on the screen.

At the same time, rival company Sony, announced the PS Vita – allowing the main console to act as a second screen through cross play and remote play. This would allow players to play console games away from the console and on the smaller screen to play on the go.

VR became very popular in 2016 when the Oculus Rift was announced and introduced: it aimed to let players experience games they play as if they’re in the world in the game. With it’s design they aimed to make it as comfortable and immersive as possible. Once Oculus released the Rift other companies such as Google and Android also wanted to take advantage of the VR, which welcomed the release of Google Cardboard.

Tools used to create games in VR include:

•       3DS Max and Maya

•       Unity 3

•       Unreal Engine 4

•       Blender

Trends in technology (2016-2017)

VR, AR and “physically collaborative” (Erica Webber, 2016) games are becoming a big trend in 2017. Companies are now trying to find more ways to incorporate the body into gaming but not only as a way to get players more active but to also immerse them in the world they’re in, your body would act as a physical anchor to the game you’re playing.

Pokemon Go, released in 2016 paved the way for augmented reality games on mobile. Created by Niantic with 650 million downloads in 2017 alone, it influenced Google to create augmented reality games on mobile such as: Ghostbusters World, Jurrasic World and The Walking Dead Our World. Even though it didn’t create a surge of AR games on mobile, it did allow Google and Apple to begin development on AR platforms which would allow developers to easily create AR games.

Some tools to create AR games include:

•       Apple ARKit

•       Vuforia

•       Kudan

•       ARTool Kit

•       Augmenta

•       EasyAR

UK based companies that specialise in AR/VR Gaming:

•       Harmony Studios

•       Preloaded

•       Kuju

•       Climax Studios

Rise of indie studios

Rise of Indie studios

Developer platforms have been increasing in the past years considering software available to create games have been more accessible for anyone to create games. Because of this the numbers of indie studios and games have been increasing.

List of Indie games made by UK Companies:

•       Monument Valley

•       Purrfect Date, Surgeon Sim, I Am Bread

•       No Man’s Sky

•       Prison Architect

•       LittleBigPlanet, Tearaway, Dreams

UK Indies:

•       Ustwo

•       Bossa Studios

•       Kuju

•       Introversion

•       Hello Games

•       Media Molecule

•       Hard Light

•       Criterion Games

Free software available for game development:

•       RPG Maker

•       GameMaker Studio

•       Unity

•       Stencyl

•       Unreal Engine 4

New Technologies 

Grease Pencil in Blender

The grease pencil in Blender is beginning to create a change in the way we animate in 2D, by combining 3D features with 2D tools you can make an animation in Blender fully in 2D but on a 3D plane, create visual effects using 2D and rotoscope your 3D animations or combine 3D with 2D. Positioning cameras in conjunction with models and affects can allow the grease pencil to create dynamic animations. When using the tool it also allows for bone rig and model deformers allowing you to change the shape of the objects you create. “Hero” is a short film made in the Blender using the Grease Pencil that shows off it’s true potential and some limitations. Much like Spine, using Blender retains the traditional charm of 2D.

Spine – 2D animations for games

Spine is an up and coming 2D software animation tool which allows artists to create animations specifically for video games, whilst utilising a lot of aspects from 3D software. The basis of this software is that it allows you to create 2D animations for video games whilst using a lot of helpful features from 3D software, meaning you won’t need to spend a lot of time animating frame by frame and thus cutting down a lot of time and therefore money. Some main features include:

 •       Dopesheet: allows a detailed view of the layers and timelines, letting animators make fine adjustments in timings.

•       Meshes: as opposed to drawing rectangles the meshes let the artists specify polygons inside the image and increases the fill rate as the pixels outside of the polygon won’t be drawn or selected – which is essential for mobile games.

•       Graph editor: allows interpolation between keys to adjust the timings and create life like movements, like we’ve seen in Maya.

•       Free-form Deformation: allows you to move individual mesh vertices to squash and stretch the image which isn’t possible with regular rectangular images.

Paths + IK/FK: allows your images/2d animations to be rigged with Bezier splines to be controlled using bones, allowing intuitive use of your drawings.

Some companies that have used Spine as a 2D tool:

•       Rocket Punch

•       Game Freak

•       Daedic Entertainment

•       Bee Square

•       Bulbware

Real Time Rendering – Unreal Engine 4

Real time rendering involves “animation that are rendered so fast they appear to be generated in real time.” (What is Real Time Rendering and Why It Matters, 2018) It was created by Epic Games, they unveiled it by showing off three new games that utilised this technology: Fortnite, Kingdom Hearts 3 and Sea of Thieves. Real time rendering allowing designers to create characters and props that would be placed in the world or the stage and it will be rendered immediately, also meaning that any subsequent changes to the characters, props or lighting will also be rendered immediately, thus saving time. Not only does it save time, but it allows great potential for the designers and developers to experiment greatly with the designs, lighting, camera placement and colour effects as they can be rendered in real time and making the process much more intuitive. It “allows the directors to act much like a film director would on a set” (What is Real Time Rendering and Why It Matters, 2018), by cutting waiting time and making almost immediate changes. Other upgrades to this engine mean that games can be created with photo-realistic finishes with characters that are much more life-like. In the future, artists might be required to also know how to use real time rendering and it will most likely become common practice in industry considering how much time it saves.

Places for innovation 

Real Time Rendering saves a lot of time in the development pipeline such as saving time when changing assets or small design aspects, for example, in the development of Ori and Blind Forest, a lot of time was spent on having to re-render the character of “Ori” as they constantly had to change position of his arms to fit the 2D plane of the game. If the team had access to real time rendering, a lot of time could be saved as they could’ve just changed the assets and render them immediately.

Tiltbrush in VR; Tiltbrush is a tool made by Google which allows artists to freely draw in a 3D space in Virtual Reality. It also allows artists to create small animations in VR, Tiltbrush could easily be used to create 3D models, which means they can be done faster and easier, as well as allowing potential for more stylised models. Tiltbrush will let artists cut time and create 3D models and still retain the charm that comes with 2D.

Upon completing this research I have found that I need to develop my technical skills, specifically in terms of rendering assets. As well as this in my future studies I aim to work on my conceptual skills in order to develop my aesthetic and skills. This research has given me an idea of what the gaming industry looks like in the UK and what I should expect to be getting myself into. With this research I have also identified companies I aim on interning at or doing work experience at: Mind Candy, Bossa Studios, Kuju, Jellyfish and The Third Floor. These are pre-viz and video game development companies.

References/Bibliography 

Poh, Michael (2018) Future of Gaming: 5 Exciting Emerging Trends Available at: https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/future-of-gaming/(Accessed: 31 May 2018) 

Sardelis, Cleo (2018) Newzoo’s Trends to Watch in 2018 Available at: https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/newzoos-trends-watch-2018/ (Acessed: 31 May 2018)

Erica Webber, Jordan (2017) The top 10 gaming trends of 2017 Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/21/top-trends-video-games-consoles-2017-gadgets (Acessed: 31 May 2018)

Fahey, Rob (2017) Gaming’s big trends to keep an eye on in 2017 Available at: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-01-05-what-to-watch-for-in-2017 (Acessed: 31 May 2018)

Millicevi, Milena (2017) Virtual reality started in film and gaming industry. What is next? Available At: https://arvrtech.eu/blog/vr-film-and-gaming-the-next-steps (Acessed: 31 May 2018)

What is Real Time Rendering and Why it Matters  (2018) Available at: https://www.easyrender.com/3d-rendering/what-is-real-time-rendering-and-why-it-matters (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Greene, Tristan (2017) Real-time Rendering is the future of computer animation Available At: https://thenextweb.com/gaming/2017/07/25/real-time-rendering-future-computer-animation/ (Acessed: 31 May 2018)

Erica Webber, Jordan, Brewster, Kat(2016) 11 video game trends that will change the future of the industry Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/21/11-video-game-trends-that-will-change-the-future-of-the-industry (Acessed: 31 May 2018)

Chisholm, Lee (2017) The rise and rise of indie games Available at: https://www.yoyogames.com/blog/443/the-rise-and-rise-of-indie-games (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

What is Spine? (2017) Available at: http://esotericsoftware.com/spine-in-depth (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Ukie (2017), The Games industry in numbers Available at: https://ukie.org.uk/research#Market (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Ukie (2017), Gamesmap Available at: https://gamesmap.uk/#/map (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

today Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSTn3ePDt50 (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

CGI Today (2017) Is blender the future of 2D animation? Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Wl3YoRe8w (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Vice Game (2016) virtual reality 3D modelling software will let you design in mid-air Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX4UpMdJkAI (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Tiga (2018) UK video games industry set to grow in 2018 Available at: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/uk-video-games-industry-set-to-grow-in-2018-668257263.html (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

MediaMolecule (2018) Available at: https://www.mediamolecule.com/ (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

OpusArtz (2018) Available at: http://opusartz.com/about/ (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Atomhawk (2018) Available at: http://atomhawk.com/services (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Leading Light Design (2018) Available at: http://www.leadinglightdesign.com/ (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Kuju (2018) Available at: https://www.kuju.com/kuju-games (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Artstation, Edwards, Liz (2018) Available: https://www.artstation.com/lizedwardsvr (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

GDC (2017) The future of art production in games Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rt0wOyCCAI (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

80 Level (2017) 4 Technologies to change art production Available at: https://80.lv/articles/4-technologies-to-change-art-production/ (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Gupta, Kitty (2017) Top games design trend 2017 Available at: https://www.freelancinggig.com/blog/2017/05/09/top-game-design-trends-2017/ (Accessed: 31 May 2018)  

Harris, Miriam (2018) 7 incredible tools that let you paint and sculpt in VR Available at: https://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/hacking-maker/7-incredible-tools-that-let-you-paint-sculpt-in-vr/ (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Kristjan Zadziuk (2016) GDC 2016 Motion Matching, The future of games animation... today Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSTn3ePDt50 (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

Esoteric Software (2015) Spine: 2D animation for games Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RTkImAOJKM (Accessed: 31 May 2018)

[cellerityweb]

Eye Candy – Visual FX in Shadow Tactics

We hardly notice them, when they’re in the game, but we instantly know when they’re missing and something’s off – visual effects are cucial for a game’s atmosphere, no matter their size.

Shadow Tactics is a hardcore realtime stealth game in which you control a small team of specialists, each equipped with a unique skill set. Analyzing the genre, there were quite a lot of cornerstones we had to consider while doing the effects. So, let’s take a look at what these cornerstones were exactly.

Visually comforting

In Shadow Tactics you generally have pretty big maps that take you from 1 to 3 hours to play through. So it’s essential that these scenes feel natural and are visually appealing. The player has to feel comfortable being there, even if the situation itself is hostile. On average, the camera is pretty far away from the characters, so you have to carefully exaggerate certain things to ensure readability and meet the player’s expectations. For example: if a character uses his samurai sword to take out a target, it would look pretty boring from that distance, although it has to feel rewarding. Also, being a tactical game, the player always has to feel in charge of the situation and has to be able to quickly make out what is happening.

1

As we chose a realistic approach for the game, there is no black magic, just an advanced technology to suit the gameplay. One of our characters has a long range sniper rifle with insane accuracy. It’s neither historically correct nor too far off, meaning it doesn’t stand out in a negative way. Considering there’s only limited space, I want to focus on the following aspects:

Environment: – Ambience – Physically based

Characters: – Environment interaction – Blood

2

Let’s look at environment effects first, with »Ambience VFX« that are independent from the player character [1]. Constant movement on the screen is essential for creating a living scenery. You need omnipresent effects that carry the atmosphere of a level. For example, in a war zone there should be a lot of dust and smoke, maybe some ash and embers flying around. Meanwhile, up in the cold mountains, wind is blowing over the rocks, picking up and blowing away the fine powdery snow.

The thing with ambient effects like this in general is that you need a certain level of density to create an acceptable illusion. It needs to feel volumetric. A density that is too low won’t either create the required effect or break the illusion altogether. So how do we achieve the density we need? Well, we could use an emitter [2] that is about the size of the map, but that’s not really an option. Huge map equals thousands of particles at all times, but you only want the ones that you can actually see. So, what about creating an emitter around the camera?

Works fine as long as you don’t move it. When you move the camera, particles cannot respawn fast enough to reach the required density on your screen, especially when the cam covers great distance after rotating it. Even fast particles can’t catch up. Plus, effects on the ground wouldn’t work either. So we went with a grid-based solution [3]. First, you create a

3

2D grid across the map. Then you set up a number of subdivisions. Each of the generated cells will be fitted with a particle system where the box shaped emitter matches the cell size. Then you create a reference point [4] that is parented to the camera. At runtime, the script will ask the reference point for each frame »Hey, where in the grid are you? And are there any neighbouring cells near you? If the answer is ‘Yes’, on turn the related particle systems and stop the ones which are currently out of range.«

  It’s also important to set the particle systems to »pre-warm«. That means the particle system pre-simulates a certain state. An example from Destiny [5] shows what happens if you don’t pre-warm. The waterfall doesn’t start to simulate until you get in range and then slowly builds up. That said, the option to pre-warm doesn’t come cheap. I was skeptical at first but it turned out that the performance cost is well inside an acceptable margin.

4

Be Water, my Friend!

On to the next topic – let’s take a closer look at a few interesting points concerning our water, which uses a second camera to create reflections. Pro: we get accurate reflections Con: it doesn’t work with water on different height levels, because you would get an offset in the reflection.

However, the large water bodies tend to be on the same level. On the smaller ones we then used a generic reflection probe. Also, we don’t have a real depth fade [6]; I won’t go into detail here, just know it didn’t work with our implementation of the enemies’ viewcones. We just used a simple mask to create transparent areas around shallow spots like shores, then we put a simple ground texture underneath. Yes, we did use transparency and yes, there are shadows on the water [7]. The thing is: transparency and shadows don’t get along too well in Unity, which means that you cannot have shadows on transparent objects, at least without pulling some deep tech stunts.

To our advantage, we already had map-sized masks in place for other stuff like blur and fog, so I just used another channel to store a top-down shadow map [8]. Of course we couldn’t have changed the light direction during runtime or have big dynamic objects cast shadows on the water, but that hasn’t been the case, so a static map worked just fine. Unfortunately particles and lighting don’t get along all too well in Unity. However, now we had a shadow map of all the static main geometry of the level at our disposal, so we used it for some particle effects as well.

Physically Based Animations

Solid objects need to behave in a physically correct manner. Pretty much all of these animations are prebaked in Unity, using a small tool. I’ll explain with the help of barrel racks [9][10] . Objects are first fitted with colliders and rigid bodies. During runtime you apply a force and let physics handle the rest. The tool will then just save each frame of the object’s transformations and store them within an animation file. In this case the rack is being pushed by this long box collider with a simple forward motion to make the rack topple over.

But why go through all that trouble and prebake everything? Well, because physics tend to be a bit random. The outcome has to be predictable because every time the player interacts with such an object, it has to react in the same way . It’s crucial that the player is in charge of the situation and able to calculate the result of his actions. For us it’s important, that there are no objects where they aren’t supposed to be any – obstructed pathways for example.

Destructibles – Bringing Us Joy Since …

Destructible objects are a ton of fun, but a nightmare for developers [12] – so much work for only a few seconds of fun. Every object is pre-sliced by using Blender, but there’s still a lot of manual labor involved. You have to prepare the object [13] and make sure that there are no open parts of the model. Also, I had problems with the newly created faces, the tool didn’t really handle the unwrappin in an acceptable way. Eventually I ended up unwrapping every single piece by hand, because I didn’t have the time to look for a better solution. Well, it wasn’t fun …

In general, every destructible object has two states [14]: – whole – destroyed, fragmented

When an object is being destroyed, you simply switch the states and play the prebaked animation.

Of course, later on you don’t have the colliders anymore, that’s why we prebake after all. The gate [13], for example, has a »pusher« object – just like the barrel rack – that drives the other objects in a certain direction. Explosion-like setups are relatively easy to make because every rigid body can be turned on from the beginning. With the force being applied instantly, the objects don’t really have a chance to just drop down like they normally would. Cascading motions, however, are much harder to achieve. If all rigid bodies were turned on and gravity was affecting them from the beginning (which they have to), they would simply fall down.

So, I wrote myself a script that is applied to each rigid body and checks its neighbours for movement. If any of them move over a given threshold, they switch themselves on. Now, when you push away your first object, it cascades from that point over the whole object.

14

Character Related Effects

Next topic: visual effects that are related to characters within the game. First, we will take a look at environmental effects that are triggered by players. Characters always need to feel like they’re connected to world. They should blend in – of course not to the extent that you cannot see them anymore, but just enough to make them look like they belong to where they are. Adding effects that simulate interaction with the environment helps binding them to the world, but it brings us to another problem. When your character stirs up dust while walking, for example, you’d also expect splashes while running through water; the same goes for snowy areas [15]. If that doesn’t happen, it can easily reflect badly on the immersion. That’s where terrain-dependent VFX come into play. Unfortunately, that’s the kind of stuff people hardly notice when it’s there – but it would look and feel strange, if they weren’t.

Nobody will come up to you and say »Hey dude, what an amazing job you did on these dust clouds. They’re absolutely sensational!« Still, most of the times it’s worth going the extra mile for stuff like this, but once you start there’s literally no end [16]. You stumble from one tiny detail into the next one. Fun fact: While preparing this article one of my colleagues came up to me and actually said »Wow, I didn’t know that there were different effects for that.« So much for people noticing.

Let There Be Blood!

17

Talking about complex issues, let’s move on to »blood«. Blood is a fluid and fluids tend to behave in a complex way. When approaching a (fluid) substance like blood, it helps to break it down into its fundamental components and think about their defining characteristics.

Let’s start with a simple blood splash particle [17]. First, I set up a fluid simulation in Blender and created a nice splash shape. Later on, however, we didn’t just want this particle to fade out to make it disappear. It was supposed to dissolve in a more natural way, like getting thinner and reshape into small drops [18]. So, in order to create kind of a dissolving motion, we needed to make a base for a treshold animation in Unity.

For those who don’t know how it works,

18

please let me explain real quick: At the beginning, every pixel that carries a tiny bit of color information will be shown. Over time you raise a value from 0 to 1 and cut away everything that’s lower than this value at this very moment. So, the »brighter« a pixel is, the longer the texture will be shown at the same position (To see how it works in detail, please check out this website: http://www.alkemi-games.com/a-game-of-tricks-iii-particles-fun-part1/)

18

So, I created a mask by spawning metaball particles inside the shape in Blender and animating their size over time with a bit of an offset. What gave me the idea was a talk by Eben Cook about the Blood in »The Last of Us« at GDC. Of course he had different tools like Houdini at his disposal, but it gave me a helping push into the right direction.

If we now take what we already have, throw it into Unity and write a small shader, we’re off to a good start, but it’s obviously not enough. Liquid that sprays into the air splits into small droplets that shape and shift around and – due to constantly changing surface angles – reflect the light in absolutely crazy ways. To simulate this effect I could have used a normal map but that would have eventually been sort of an overkill for such a small splash. Plus, it would have taken up valuable memory space. So I used a simple dotted texture that scrolls around in world space really fast. It’s actually a bit stronger around the edges for which I used another mask, but we can ignore that for explanatory purposes. The good thing is that you can’t really make out what’s happening in detail while playing, because everything happens really fast, but it does a good job simulating the sputtering of droplets in the air.

20 – Drawing blood splashes by hand and making them look realistic would have been very difficult. So, Florian reused some assets he originally created for The Last Tinker, back in his early days at Mimimi Productions. In order to create some special effects, he let watercolors drop on paper, then he scanned the stains. These assets never made it into The Last Tinker, but worked perfectly for Shadow Tactics. The lesson learned: never throw away stuff you created, just because you didn’t have any use for it yet – it might come in handy some day!

We need … more blood!

Yuki’s melee [21] attack was actually the first I created because it has a nice flow to it and was therefore perfect to test things. Once I was finished with the first draft I showed it to my colleagues and they said »Ok, this looks nice, but where’s the blood? There needs to be much more of it!« And I was like: What did they just say? More blood? Well, you don’t hear that every day – but they were right. I first went with a normal amount of blood which was hardly visible from further away, so I had to find the sweet spot between »unrealistic« and »convincing«.

To better illustrate the impact of an attack we used some blood »decals« on the floor. The reason why ‘decals’ is put in quotation marks, is because we didn’t have actual decals. They were just simple quads spawned just a bit above the ground. Whenever one of these blood splashes spawns, a script roughly checks the quad’s bounds for ground underneath – if there’s none, then the splash will not be shown. If the check results come in positive, it will pass the normal version of the surface underneath to the quad and rotate it accordingly. Spawn and despawn are basically done with the same technique that I mentioned before, only with a softer threshold and different maps.

No Gore Fest

We never wanted our game to be a virtual bloodbath. The use of blood was always meant to be justified and to give the game a realistic touch, at least to a certain degree. It was important for us never to use blood for the sake of brutality, there had to be a reason for its use. Like the scene in which a samurai who has brought great shame over his daimyo, is asking for permission to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) and thereby restore his honor – that’s pretty much as bloody as it gets in Shadow Tactics. Yes, it is brutal and messy BUT slicing open your stomach and be being decapitated afterwards … well, that’s exactly what it is: messy and gruesome. It simply underlines how desperate someone must have been to go through with an act like this. So much from me about VFX in Shadow tactics – hopefully I did not bring shame over my house.

About the Author:

Florian Smolka

is VFX and 3D Artist at Mimimi Productions.

Florian has been at Mimimi Productions for almost five years. Thanks to his outstanding work on daWindci during his studies at university, he secured himself a spot within the team. Since then, his range of tasks and responsibilities grew alongside his technical expertise, which makes him the perfect bridge between art, code and visual effects. @Smou_

The post Eye Candy – Visual FX in Shadow Tactics appeared first on Making Games.

Eye Candy – Visual FX in Shadow Tactics published first on https://thetruthspypage.tumblr.com/

[meredithwertheim-blog]

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It is theoretically component of the Activity On collection-- which is actually a series of complementary sports passion standalones where each manual concerns an other married couple from the staff. After that you could view the beneath conclusion of the franchise business timetable produced by Game Trailers.

[enterinit]

F1 2019 and other games coming to Xbox One this week

F1 2019 and other games coming to Xbox One this week. Car Mechanic Simulator (June 25, 2019) Car Mechanic Simulator challenges players to repair, paint, tune and drive cars. Find classic, unique cars in the new Barn Find module and Junkyard module. Build and expand your repair service empire in this incredibly detailed and highly realistic simulation game, where attention to car detail is astonishing. All this with new, photorealistic graphics. Featuring more cars (48), more tools (10+), more options and more parts (1000+) than ever before. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work! Car Mechanic Simulator also includes car auctions where old cars are available for resale or purchased for your collection. Game’s infinite number of randomly generated missions will keep you more than busy (and dirty). Each mission offers its own unique challenge of varying difficulty and time constraints to meet. If additional and extra tools are needed, they available for purchase. You can eventually upgrade your garage to include specific equipment such as lacquer sprayer or a parts warehouse. Features: 48 cars to get your hands dirty withOver 10 tools to help you check out carsMore than 1000 parts waiting for youStart from a small workshop and upgrade it to a full sized 3-lifter gemMix of randomly generated jobs to fulfillBarn Finds, where you search for abandoned cars in barns - make sure to look there for partsJunkyard (scavenge for parts and rusty cars)Advanced Upgrades System (level up and spend your points to upgrades)Path Test to test car suspensionTest Track to test car condition (or just fool around)Race Track to test car performanceCar Auctions where you can compete with other bidders and try to outbid themCar Paint Shop with different paint types and car liveries (or you can just paint one part to save money)Endless gameplayMultilevel car parking in which you can store you cars Samurai Shodown (June 25, 2019) SAMURAI REBOOT! A brand new SAMURAI SHODOWN game takes aim for the world stage! SAMURAI SHODOWN has enjoyed worldwide success as a blade-wielding fighting game series since its first release in 1993. 11 years have passed since the last series installment, and it is now time for SAMURAI SHODOWN to return in a brand-new game featuring high-end visuals and gameplay! Faithfully reproducing the game mechanics and atmosphere that contributed to the success of the series, SAMURAI SHODOWN includes a revolutionary feature that learns players’ game actions and patterns in order to create CPU-controlled “ghost” characters. With its story set one year before the very first installment, warriors and combatants from various backgrounds and with their own goals are about to battle to fulfill their destinies! Carrying on the Legacy The new game aims to bring the same tense and exhilarating battles that the series is known for. Intense and epic battles are back!Evolving the Presentation Using the power of UNREAL® ENGINE 4, the series is able to achieve a level of detail never before seen for a totally new visual experience!A Revolutionary new AI system Using revolutionary Deep Learning AI, the game will learn from player tactics and create Ghost characters which players around the globe can share and fight against. Monster Jam Steel Titans (June 25, 2019) Real Trucks. Real Action. Monster Jam! Monster Jam Steel Titans delivers the complete Monster Jam experience for everybody to enjoy! All the trucks, stunts, stadiums, racing and massive air in one game!Play in various game modes including Stadium and outdoor Racing, various Stunt Challenges and Destruction modes! Drive a MONSTER! Compete with 25 of the most popular trucks including Grave Digger and Max-D!Total destruction including breaking body panels, deforming junker cars as well as demolishing the environment!Perform your favorite stunts! Bicycles, Stoppies, Moonwalks, Walk Its, Cyclones, Pogos, Power Outs and Back-Flips!Hear the roar of huge crowds inside 12 stadiums packed with fans on your road to the Monster Jam World Finals!Explore and smash through the environment in a Massive Outdoor World! - Train just like your favorite Monster Jam pro driver at Monster Jam University! We. The Revolution (June 25, 2019) We. The Revolution is a unique game with a singular art style set in the blood-soaked and paranoid world of the French Revolution, where often you could not tell a friend from an enemy. As a judge of the Revolutionary Tribunal, you will pass sentences and play a dangerous political game. At the end of a day you will also confront your decisions with your family. The power over human life and death is a heavy burden that can affect the fate of the revolution. Keep that in mind each time when passing sentence in the courtroom, while assigning tasks to your agents, and weaving political intrigue. We. The Revolution is addressed chiefly to players who enjoy moral dilemmas, complex personal choices, and want to immerse themselves in the world of sophisticated intrigue. We. The Revolution puts players in morally ambiguous situations in which there are no obvious solutions, and the decisions they make are never clear cut. Features: Experience the oppressive atmosphere of the French Revolution as you’ve come to know it from the classic novels of Alexandre Dumas and Joseph ConradPreside dozen of unique and morally ambiguous court cases.Run your own courtroom – question witnesses, analyze clues and evidence, read reports, and pass sentences.Confront your judgments with your family.Make friends and enemies of different rival factions vying for power. Make them your associates or make them disappear!Engage in a mix of genres, blending case-building with intrigue-crafting and turn-based tactics. Shadow Fencer Theater (June 26, 2019) Shadow Fencer Theatre is the competitive awkward physics sword fighting game set in the world of shadow puppets. Take center stage with a unique cast of characters and make your way to become a Grandmaster of the theatre. Perform solo or battle a friend in a veritable variety show of game modes and skits. Whether you are a one-puppet show or sharing the stage, above all else, show the world you are the best performer on the shadowy screen. Acting 101: Be sure to point the pointy end away from you and towards your opponent. When all else fails, just do a cheeky sword throw. Features: Single player and local two player fencing combat!Story - Find out what it takes to keep a last-of-it’s-kind shadow puppet theatre in business.Marathon - Survive the gauntlet and become a Grandmaster.Improv - Quick play by yourself or with a friend, selecting the cast, stage and direction of the shadowy fight. Direct the Improv fights with a selection of gameplay variations, limits and more.Skits - a proverbial vaudeville of mini-games set to delight and distract.Over 16 selectable characters! Robots, Giraffes, Pirates and more! An eclectic cast so big we needed a larger dressing room!8 Unique Stages! Behold the power of paper cutouts on sticks and string, and their uncanny ability to set the stage and tell a story. The magic of the theatre!Original Soundtrack! A collection of musical notes played specifically for this game! Attack of the Toy Tanks (June 26, 2019) War is coming whether you’re ready for it or not soldier! In Attack of the Toy Tanks, across the game’s 60 levels in the main campaign, players must take control of the provided vehicle of war and battle it out across different arenas and be the last tank standing. Just in case the AI controlled threat doesn’t offer up enough of a challenge, you can always check out the multiplayer mode and go head to head against a friend. Must warn you though, it’s not just the heavy artillery you will need to avoid as there is also a range of devastating obstacles that can KO’ you upon impact. Features: 60 levels with increasing difficultyArena based gameplay2 Player Battle Mode Outbreak: Lost Hope (June 26, 2019) Experience a mother's desperate search for her daughter in the midst of a nation-wide epidemic. Taking place in the Outbreak universe by Dead Drop Studios, this story follows Gwen just after her harrowing escape from an urban center during the outbreak. A terrible accident causes her to get separated from her daughter Hope and she has to fight the undead to survive... and save her daughter. Outbreak: Lost Hope is the next title in the Outbreak series. Built new from the ground up and featuring all-new over the shoulder survival horror gameplay. With greater control, comes greater threats as you fight through monstrous hordes, desperately search for supplies, solve puzzles and ultimately make your way through this nightmare. You, and your daughter, only have one life - can you survive the nightmare and save her? Features: True Survival Horror: Classic gameplay plays homage to the past.OTS: Claustrophobic over-the-shoulder gameplay enhances the fear.Story Mode: Experience Gwen's nightmare as she searches for her daughter.Onslaught Mode: Bonus mode where you scrounge and survive against the undead.Fight or Flee: Engage threats directly or run for your life.Incapacitate: Knock down your foes and escape before they reanimate.Explore: Search areas and read logs to find keys and solve puzzles to survive.Progress: Saving is limited and restricted. Find floppy disks to record your progress.Storage: Manage your limited inventory by finding and storing items in caches.Backpack: Find rucksacks to increase the size of your inventory.Difficult: Play across multiple crippling difficulty modes.Defense: Utilize numerous firearms and melee weapons against the undead. War Tech Fighters (June 27, 2019) Travelling across the galaxy, the rebel colonies of Hebos and Ares join forces to battle against the Zatros empire with the deadliest weapons ever built – War Techs. Taking space combat to a whole new level, War Techs are giant mechs that combine cold precision and state of the art technology in the battlefields of space. War Tech Fighters is a space action game that combines the spectacular action of Japanese Anime with Hollywood Blockbusters. Configure, upgrade and customize your War Tech and dive into battle to fight back the Zatronian forces and save your galaxy! Features: MechsCustomizationUpgradesFinishing MovesFirst Person ShooterThird Person ShooterAction Adventure The Sinking City (June 27, 2019) The Sinking City is an adventure and investigation game set in an open world inspired by the universe of H.P. Lovecraft, the master of Horror. The half-submerged city of Oakmont is gripped by supernatural forces. You're a private investigator, and you have to uncover the truth of what has possessed the city… and the minds of its inhabitants. Features: An oppressive atmosphere and story inspired by the universe of H.P. Lovecraft. - A vast open world that can be explored on foot, by boat, in a diving suit…High replay value thanks to an open investigation system: each case can be solved in a number of ways, with different possible endings depending on your actions. An arsenal of weapons from the 1920s with which to take on nightmarish creatures. F1 2019 (June 27, 2019) F1® 2019 features all the official teams, drivers and all 21 circuits from the 2019 season. This year sees the inclusion of F2™ with players being able to complete the 2018 season with the likes of George Russell, Lando Norris and Alexander Albon. With greater emphasis on graphical fidelity, the environments have been significantly enhanced, and the tracks come to life like never before. Night races have been completely overhauled creating vastly improved levels of realism and the upgraded F1® broadcast sound and visuals add further realism to all aspects of the race weekend. Features: THE OFFICIAL VIDEOGAME OF THE 2019 FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™RISE UP AGAINST YOUR RIVALSNEW - F2™ career opening – establish your reputation and defeat your rivals before stepping up into the F1® Championship.NEW - Customise your own livery and lead the pack in weekly challenges or in online leagues. Test yourself against the very best in the dedicated F1® Esports area.IMPROVED - Replay and share your finest moments with the new automated race highlights feature, while stunning new night lighting and official F1® branding add even more realism. Furwind (June 27, 2019) A colorful, pixel art style, action-platformer that evokes the challenging classics of the genre. Embark on this epic adventure in which a little fox will fight the ominous darkness that is invading its world. Darhûn, who was caged for eras, has been released from his captivity and is ready to take the dark and madness to the forest. ​Furwind, a young inhabitant of Moontail, is not aware that soon will go to one of the biggest and most dangerous adventures of his life.​ Irony Curtain: From the Matryoshka with Love (June 28, 2019) Take a look behind Irony Curtain in this satirical point-and-click inspired by the best works of LucasArts and Daedalic Entertainment! Experience the totalitarian Matryoshka through the eyes of Evan – a low-ranking, goofy journalist involuntarily pulled right into the middle of an espionage stand-off between two powers. Jump into the wacky spy adventure, uncover secrets of the bizarre communist country (and the powerful capitalist empire!), witness a story full of unpredictable twists and turns, and discover the true agenda of the mysterious Supreme Leader! What business might the loving father of the Matryoshkan nation have with a lowly, capitalistic pen-pusher? Why suddenly lift the Irony Curtain and welcome a stranger into Matryoshka? And why is there an alligator in the middle of the bathroom?! Features: An original setting: fictional Cold War era – alternate reality unbound by historical accuracy.Inspired by classic adventure games – but better. No dream-logic, no pixel hunting. No-nonsense. Pure point and click fun.The Spy Intrigue – sleeper spies, stolen secrets and world-domination plots wrapped up in layers of humor.Quirky characters – Meet the mysterious Leader ruling Matryoshka with an irony fist, the clueless and guilible Evan, the brave and witty Agent Anna and the notorious Minister of Propaganda... Do it your way – some of the puzzles are non-linear and can be solved in two or more different ways. 21 hand-painted locations – that look surprisingly better than their original inspirations. 1,951 cleverly sneaked-in easter eggs – some of them punishable by political imprisonment. Music score as grand as Matryoshka itself - music by the state composer Arkadiusz Reikowski (Layers of Fear, My Brother Rabbit) with Main Theme by Peter McConnell (Monkey Island, Grim Fandango).Full voice-over – 5534 lines of text in English, and subtitles in Polish and German.A 5-year plan – that no one ever hoped to achieve, and neither should you.  Read the full article

[innermovement2]

How to sculpt a character in VR

This tutorial was written by the amazing Glen Southern. Subscribe today and never miss an issue!

Vertex speaker Glen Southern walks through how to use Oculus Rift to sculpt a character in VR.

You may be forgiven for thinking that the Oculus Rift VR headset was created solely for use as a gaming device. That is no longer the case, as there are now lots of creation tools springing up, including VR sculpting and painting apps.

This project will show you how virtual reality can be used in a character concept pipeline. We will explain how to sculpt in VR and how to paint a character model, in this case a robot from a mining colony. We will be using a few concept sketches and paintings that are imported as reference planes.

The final model and scene is ‘photographed’ in VR with a number of different lighting scenarios. These are then taken into Photoshop for compositing into a final render.

The software we will be using is Oculus Medium, which is an immersive virtual reality experience that lets you sculpt, model, paint and create objects in a VR environment. The software enables you to create expressive works of art, whether you’re a total beginner, an aspiring creative or a professional artist. Using Oculus’ Touch controllers enables the user to employ intuitive hand gestures and movement for a natural, tactile experience. The final sculpt will be a character that can be posed and exported with painted colour detail, for use in another app or for 3D printing.

  Step 01 – Set up Oculus Rift

The video to accompany this tutorial (which you can download here) is recorded in VR and the experience that you will see on screen is not representative of the full experience. Once you have your Oculus Rift and sensors all set up it would be beneficial to spend some time understanding how to hold and use the controllers. Open up Oculus Medium. The first video starts as we enter the Oculus Medium scene.

  Step 02 – Import reference images

On your computer, look for the default Medium folder and look for a folder called _Import. In there you will find a folder for images and a folder for meshes. For this tutorial we bring in some robot character concept art to use as a guide in the scene. Pull back on the Support hand thumbstick and click the reference button at the bottom of the panel, which resembles a book. This will bring up the References panel. Click Import to add any images that have been saved to the _Import folder. They are now available to use as reference.  

Step 03 – Add the reference imagery to the scene

After selecting the images you imported, they should appear in the VR scene. Pull back on the Support hand thumbstick to exit the reference panel. To move an image, click on one and it will display a green outline to show it is selected. Pressing the green button on your Tool hand will bring up options for the reference image. Now hit the green gear button and select ‘Move with sculpt’. Move the reference image to a position that works for you and enables you to model in front of it, and repeat this for each of the reference images.

You can also delete images from the scene using this options panel. If you don’t select ‘Move with sculpt’ the image will lock to a position in the scene. This can be useful for adding signs and graphics to your VR scene.

  Step 04 – Block out the base of the robot

We will do a very rough layout model. Push forward on your Support hand thumbstick to bring up the tool radial menu and make sure you have the Clay tool selected. Pressing the trigger on the Tool hand adds clay to the scene. As the robot is symmetrical, we need to enable the mirror function by clicking the yellow control panel button on the Support hand and selecting Mirror.

  Step 05 – Change default stamps

We started sculpting with the Clay tool and with a default sphere shape. Although this is the most basic sculpting tool in Medium, it can be customised with a variety of different brush shapes.

To change brush shape, press the green gear button on the Tool hand controller and at the top of the panel you will find the default brush shapes. Select one to make it the active shape at the end of your sculpting tool. Medium comes with a large catalogue of stamps, which are located in the menu below the default brush shapes. 

Step 06 – Split the model into parts

Use the Cut tool and slice up the model, which automatically creates a new layer for each part. Push forward with the Support hand thumbstick and select the Cut tool on the radial menu. Remove the head first by moving the line through the neck while pressing the Tool hand trigger down. If you have done it correctly the head will be in a separate layer.

  Step 07 – Navigate layers

Pull back the Support hand thumbstick and make sure you have the Layers panel selected, the first button on the row of icons at the bottom. From here you can rename, delete and merge your layers.

For example you can use the eye icon next to the layer to hide individual layers as you work. If you point your Tool hand at a part and hit the trigger, you will automatically select the relevant layer, indicated by the yellow highlight. To cut a particular layer, re-select the main layer and continue cutting the model into individual parts. 

Step 08 – Adjust environment settings

So far we have been using the default environment settings. You may want to configure your environment to suit your own style. To do this, pull back on the Support hand thumbstick and click the button that resembles the world.

From here you can change the sun colour, adjust the sun brightness, turn off the Skybox and change the background colour. You can also turn off the ground plane and just see the background colour you have chosen. Configure the world to suit your style and play around with the settings until you are happy. 

Step 09 – Adjust material settings

Seeing as though we are making a robot, let’s change the material to a metal shader. You can set a material for each model per layer so you will have to choose each layer and adjust it to suit.

To do this make sure you are on the Layer menu again, then select the part you wish to change the material of. With the layer selected, press the green settings button on your Tool hand. On this menu, change the material by clicking Metal at the top middle. Now you can change the roughness, diffuse settings and the occlusion of the material.  

Step 10 – Pick a colour

As we are about to start working on each layer at a more accurate level, we might want to change the colour as we go along. Make sure you have the Clay tool activated and click the colour palette button on the Tool hand. Use the picker from the top to select an existing colour from your sculpt, or select black or white. Any clay you add from now will be the colour you have selected.

  Step 11 – Increase layer resolution

For some areas of the model that carry a lot of detail, you may notice that when adding clay, the resulting brush stroke is blocky and jagged. To solve this, it is worth increasing the resolution of the layer. Go to the Layer menu. On the right-hand side, you can find the Increase Res option to increase the resolution of the selected layer.

Every time this is done, the layer bounding box gets smaller, increasing the density of the voxel grid. Doing this in a physically large layer could result in it being cropped to fit inside the bounding box.  

Step 12 – Apply clay in strokes

If you hold down the Tool hand trigger with the Clay tool selected and move your hand, this will create a continuous brush stroke. This can be changed by pressing the green gear icon on the Tool hand and selecting a single stamp at the top right of the panel. You can also enable line mode, which will lock the brush stroke along a line that protrudes from the Tool hand.

  Step 13 – Define the shape of the torso

To begin creating the detailed parts of the robot we will make a start with the torso. Looking at the reference start building up the shape using the library of stamps at your disposal.

Make sure mirror is activated as shown earlier. Use a combination of the sphere and cube brushes to create the form of the chest and abdomen. To subtract parts of the model double-click the green gear button and the colour of the shape at the end of the tool will turn red. This will now remove clay from the sculpt and can be used to create shaped recesses in the sculpt surface. 

Step 14 – Use the line mode to add bars

At the bottom of the torso we want to add some protective bars. Use the cube stamp for a hard edge and go into tool settings and select the line mode. Lay down the bars and make sure they intersect where needed. Edges can be neatened by using the subtract clay mode in conjunction with the line tool to remove clay from the sculpt and to add a chamfer to the edges of that layer.

  Step 15 – Utilise stamps

Press the green gear button to bring up the Tool Options menu. There are a large range of stamps available, arranged by category. For this project we will mainly be using the Mechanical stamps. When using a stamp, the shape added will reflect the resolution of the layer you stamp it on. Try a range of stamps in add and subtract modes to create interesting shapes.

  Step 16 – Create the shape of the head

Make sure you have the head layer selected and pick some stamps that give you a cylinder and the rim for the shape of the head. Mechanical stamps are a great place to start for stamps of this nature. For the top of the head layer we use the subtract mode to create the hollow in the top. Use basic square shapes to add the grids at the front. This is best done with the ‘single’ brush mode.

  Step 17 – Add shoulder pads

The shoulder pads can be created using some of the built-in stamps. Choose a shape that reflects that curved shape and apply to a new layer. This means you can position the shoulders separately to the arms. The shoulder pads on the concept appear to have a rough surface, so we can add the rough texture using a basic Clay tool with an organic stamp. Using the ‘surface’ mode found under the Brush Options menu, the brush can be applied directly to the surface of the model. The stamp will follow the surface normals.

  Step 18 – Define the shape of the arms

The arms are made up in the same way as the rest of the sculpt. The best stamps to use here are still the Mechanical ones. Start by creating some cylinders using the line brush method to create the basic arm structure. Remember you can push forward or pull back with the Tool hand thumbstick to increase and decrease the size.

Add a lot of visual interest with really complex stamps and make sure that the layer resolution is set high enough before adding clay in order to avoid rough or jagged edges. 

Step 19 – Establish the shape of the hands

The hands are made using a combination of stamps. Add a block of clay to represent the base of the hand. Add in lots of disk shapes to represent the knuckles and each finger joint, followed by small cylinders to represent each finger bone. Add a thumb on the side in the same way. You can split the model down further if you like and use the Cut tool to separate the hand from the arm.

We only need to make one arm and leg as we will be duplicating and mirroring the limbs across the world axis.  

Step 20 – Define the shape of the legs

The legs are comprised of very simple shapes, compared to the upper body. They are basically a group of cylinders with some complexity to add detail. Make sure when you are building them that you get the pose correct from the side. Adding cogs and wheel shapes among other greeble to the back of the knee gives the sense of a functioning robot joint.  

Step 21 – Determine the shape of the feet

The feet of the robot are essentially a metal cage. Using a cube or square stamp, select the line brush mode. Begin to create the base shape of the cage, remembering to adjust the layer resolution as needed to ensure that the edges are crisp. Keep adjusting the position of the sculpt’s feet to ensure that the pose maintains balance. To do this, select the foot or leg layer you wish to move, then using the inner grips of the controllers, you can move that layer around independently from the rest of the model.  

Step 22 – Add high levels of details

Once the shapes for all the layers have been defined, any additional details can be added, as well as sharpening any edges which are jagged due to low resolution. The Smooth tool can also be used to blend any seams together, where different brushes meet. Remember to make sure that layers don’t clip due to bounding boxes shrinking when increasing resolution.  

Step 23 – Photograph inside Medium

There are a few methods to capture images from inside Oculus Medium. You can capture stills, record video or record live scenes for playback in VR. These methods can be accessed by pressing the yellow control panel button on the Support hand.

When capturing a photo or video, the camera can be locked to the sculptor’s hand, to follow the headset or free float in the scene. This last method is useful as you can take multiple exposures of the same scene using different materials or lighting setups in a way that is similar to multi-pass rendering. These ‘passes’ can be combined to create interesting effects in Photoshop.  

Step 24 – Paint and Comp

In the Control Panel there is a Photo button. Lower the FOV to 0 to stop distortion. Lock the Photoframe to the world with the small Globe icon. Hit the Photo button to take a picture. Now move the lighting and retake. Keep repeating until you are happy. These images were brought into Photoshop where I composited them using the VR Photographs and layer blend modes.  

Step 25 – Export for other programs

The options for export can be found by pressing the yellow Control Panel button on the Support hand and selecting Export. The options include the ability to reduce polycount through a process called decimation, which involves setting a target polycount that the application will try to match.

The formats you can export as are FBX and OBJ with the ability to export colours as a texture map or by vertex colour. With these options you should be able to export the file in a format that most software is able to read.

—- Vertex is the event for the CG community. Book your ticket now at vertexconf.com, where you can find out more about the other amazing speakers, workshops, recruitment fair, networking event, expo and more.  

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265702 http://ift.tt/2CUrW4A via IFTTT

[keepingquietishard]

How to sculpt a character in VR

This tutorial was written by the amazing Glen Southern. Subscribe today and never miss an issue!

Vertex speaker Glen Southern walks through how to use Oculus Rift to sculpt a character in VR.

You may be forgiven for thinking that the Oculus Rift VR headset was created solely for use as a gaming device. That is no longer the case, as there are now lots of creation tools springing up, including VR sculpting and painting apps.

This project will show you how virtual reality can be used in a character concept pipeline. We will explain how to sculpt in VR and how to paint a character model, in this case a robot from a mining colony. We will be using a few concept sketches and paintings that are imported as reference planes.

The final model and scene is ‘photographed’ in VR with a number of different lighting scenarios. These are then taken into Photoshop for compositing into a final render.

The software we will be using is Oculus Medium, which is an immersive virtual reality experience that lets you sculpt, model, paint and create objects in a VR environment. The software enables you to create expressive works of art, whether you’re a total beginner, an aspiring creative or a professional artist. Using Oculus’ Touch controllers enables the user to employ intuitive hand gestures and movement for a natural, tactile experience. The final sculpt will be a character that can be posed and exported with painted colour detail, for use in another app or for 3D printing.

  Step 01 – Set up Oculus Rift

The video to accompany this tutorial (which you can download here) is recorded in VR and the experience that you will see on screen is not representative of the full experience. Once you have your Oculus Rift and sensors all set up it would be beneficial to spend some time understanding how to hold and use the controllers. Open up Oculus Medium. The first video starts as we enter the Oculus Medium scene.

  Step 02 – Import reference images

On your computer, look for the default Medium folder and look for a folder called _Import. In there you will find a folder for images and a folder for meshes. For this tutorial we bring in some robot character concept art to use as a guide in the scene. Pull back on the Support hand thumbstick and click the reference button at the bottom of the panel, which resembles a book. This will bring up the References panel. Click Import to add any images that have been saved to the _Import folder. They are now available to use as reference.  

Step 03 – Add the reference imagery to the scene

After selecting the images you imported, they should appear in the VR scene. Pull back on the Support hand thumbstick to exit the reference panel. To move an image, click on one and it will display a green outline to show it is selected. Pressing the green button on your Tool hand will bring up options for the reference image. Now hit the green gear button and select ‘Move with sculpt’. Move the reference image to a position that works for you and enables you to model in front of it, and repeat this for each of the reference images.

You can also delete images from the scene using this options panel. If you don’t select ‘Move with sculpt’ the image will lock to a position in the scene. This can be useful for adding signs and graphics to your VR scene.

  Step 04 – Block out the base of the robot

We will do a very rough layout model. Push forward on your Support hand thumbstick to bring up the tool radial menu and make sure you have the Clay tool selected. Pressing the trigger on the Tool hand adds clay to the scene. As the robot is symmetrical, we need to enable the mirror function by clicking the yellow control panel button on the Support hand and selecting Mirror.

  Step 05 – Change default stamps

We started sculpting with the Clay tool and with a default sphere shape. Although this is the most basic sculpting tool in Medium, it can be customised with a variety of different brush shapes.

To change brush shape, press the green gear button on the Tool hand controller and at the top of the panel you will find the default brush shapes. Select one to make it the active shape at the end of your sculpting tool. Medium comes with a large catalogue of stamps, which are located in the menu below the default brush shapes. 

Step 06 – Split the model into parts

Use the Cut tool and slice up the model, which automatically creates a new layer for each part. Push forward with the Support hand thumbstick and select the Cut tool on the radial menu. Remove the head first by moving the line through the neck while pressing the Tool hand trigger down. If you have done it correctly the head will be in a separate layer.

  Step 07 – Navigate layers

Pull back the Support hand thumbstick and make sure you have the Layers panel selected, the first button on the row of icons at the bottom. From here you can rename, delete and merge your layers.

For example you can use the eye icon next to the layer to hide individual layers as you work. If you point your Tool hand at a part and hit the trigger, you will automatically select the relevant layer, indicated by the yellow highlight. To cut a particular layer, re-select the main layer and continue cutting the model into individual parts. 

Step 08 – Adjust environment settings

So far we have been using the default environment settings. You may want to configure your environment to suit your own style. To do this, pull back on the Support hand thumbstick and click the button that resembles the world.

From here you can change the sun colour, adjust the sun brightness, turn off the Skybox and change the background colour. You can also turn off the ground plane and just see the background colour you have chosen. Configure the world to suit your style and play around with the settings until you are happy. 

Step 09 – Adjust material settings

Seeing as though we are making a robot, let’s change the material to a metal shader. You can set a material for each model per layer so you will have to choose each layer and adjust it to suit.

To do this make sure you are on the Layer menu again, then select the part you wish to change the material of. With the layer selected, press the green settings button on your Tool hand. On this menu, change the material by clicking Metal at the top middle. Now you can change the roughness, diffuse settings and the occlusion of the material.  

Step 10 – Pick a colour

As we are about to start working on each layer at a more accurate level, we might want to change the colour as we go along. Make sure you have the Clay tool activated and click the colour palette button on the Tool hand. Use the picker from the top to select an existing colour from your sculpt, or select black or white. Any clay you add from now will be the colour you have selected.

  Step 11 – Increase layer resolution

For some areas of the model that carry a lot of detail, you may notice that when adding clay, the resulting brush stroke is blocky and jagged. To solve this, it is worth increasing the resolution of the layer. Go to the Layer menu. On the right-hand side, you can find the Increase Res option to increase the resolution of the selected layer.

Every time this is done, the layer bounding box gets smaller, increasing the density of the voxel grid. Doing this in a physically large layer could result in it being cropped to fit inside the bounding box.  

Step 12 – Apply clay in strokes

If you hold down the Tool hand trigger with the Clay tool selected and move your hand, this will create a continuous brush stroke. This can be changed by pressing the green gear icon on the Tool hand and selecting a single stamp at the top right of the panel. You can also enable line mode, which will lock the brush stroke along a line that protrudes from the Tool hand.

  Step 13 – Define the shape of the torso

To begin creating the detailed parts of the robot we will make a start with the torso. Looking at the reference start building up the shape using the library of stamps at your disposal.

Make sure mirror is activated as shown earlier. Use a combination of the sphere and cube brushes to create the form of the chest and abdomen. To subtract parts of the model double-click the green gear button and the colour of the shape at the end of the tool will turn red. This will now remove clay from the sculpt and can be used to create shaped recesses in the sculpt surface. 

Step 14 – Use the line mode to add bars

At the bottom of the torso we want to add some protective bars. Use the cube stamp for a hard edge and go into tool settings and select the line mode. Lay down the bars and make sure they intersect where needed. Edges can be neatened by using the subtract clay mode in conjunction with the line tool to remove clay from the sculpt and to add a chamfer to the edges of that layer.

  Step 15 – Utilise stamps

Press the green gear button to bring up the Tool Options menu. There are a large range of stamps available, arranged by category. For this project we will mainly be using the Mechanical stamps. When using a stamp, the shape added will reflect the resolution of the layer you stamp it on. Try a range of stamps in add and subtract modes to create interesting shapes.

  Step 16 – Create the shape of the head

Make sure you have the head layer selected and pick some stamps that give you a cylinder and the rim for the shape of the head. Mechanical stamps are a great place to start for stamps of this nature. For the top of the head layer we use the subtract mode to create the hollow in the top. Use basic square shapes to add the grids at the front. This is best done with the ‘single’ brush mode.

  Step 17 – Add shoulder pads

The shoulder pads can be created using some of the built-in stamps. Choose a shape that reflects that curved shape and apply to a new layer. This means you can position the shoulders separately to the arms. The shoulder pads on the concept appear to have a rough surface, so we can add the rough texture using a basic Clay tool with an organic stamp. Using the ‘surface’ mode found under the Brush Options menu, the brush can be applied directly to the surface of the model. The stamp will follow the surface normals.

  Step 18 – Define the shape of the arms

The arms are made up in the same way as the rest of the sculpt. The best stamps to use here are still the Mechanical ones. Start by creating some cylinders using the line brush method to create the basic arm structure. Remember you can push forward or pull back with the Tool hand thumbstick to increase and decrease the size.

Add a lot of visual interest with really complex stamps and make sure that the layer resolution is set high enough before adding clay in order to avoid rough or jagged edges. 

Step 19 – Establish the shape of the hands

The hands are made using a combination of stamps. Add a block of clay to represent the base of the hand. Add in lots of disk shapes to represent the knuckles and each finger joint, followed by small cylinders to represent each finger bone. Add a thumb on the side in the same way. You can split the model down further if you like and use the Cut tool to separate the hand from the arm.

We only need to make one arm and leg as we will be duplicating and mirroring the limbs across the world axis.  

Step 20 – Define the shape of the legs

The legs are comprised of very simple shapes, compared to the upper body. They are basically a group of cylinders with some complexity to add detail. Make sure when you are building them that you get the pose correct from the side. Adding cogs and wheel shapes among other greeble to the back of the knee gives the sense of a functioning robot joint.  

Step 21 – Determine the shape of the feet

The feet of the robot are essentially a metal cage. Using a cube or square stamp, select the line brush mode. Begin to create the base shape of the cage, remembering to adjust the layer resolution as needed to ensure that the edges are crisp. Keep adjusting the position of the sculpt’s feet to ensure that the pose maintains balance. To do this, select the foot or leg layer you wish to move, then using the inner grips of the controllers, you can move that layer around independently from the rest of the model.  

Step 22 – Add high levels of details

Once the shapes for all the layers have been defined, any additional details can be added, as well as sharpening any edges which are jagged due to low resolution. The Smooth tool can also be used to blend any seams together, where different brushes meet. Remember to make sure that layers don’t clip due to bounding boxes shrinking when increasing resolution.  

Step 23 – Photograph inside Medium

There are a few methods to capture images from inside Oculus Medium. You can capture stills, record video or record live scenes for playback in VR. These methods can be accessed by pressing the yellow control panel button on the Support hand.

When capturing a photo or video, the camera can be locked to the sculptor’s hand, to follow the headset or free float in the scene. This last method is useful as you can take multiple exposures of the same scene using different materials or lighting setups in a way that is similar to multi-pass rendering. These ‘passes’ can be combined to create interesting effects in Photoshop.  

Step 24 – Paint and Comp

In the Control Panel there is a Photo button. Lower the FOV to 0 to stop distortion. Lock the Photoframe to the world with the small Globe icon. Hit the Photo button to take a picture. Now move the lighting and retake. Keep repeating until you are happy. These images were brought into Photoshop where I composited them using the VR Photographs and layer blend modes.  

Step 25 – Export for other programs

The options for export can be found by pressing the yellow Control Panel button on the Support hand and selecting Export. The options include the ability to reduce polycount through a process called decimation, which involves setting a target polycount that the application will try to match.

The formats you can export as are FBX and OBJ with the ability to export colours as a texture map or by vertex colour. With these options you should be able to export the file in a format that most software is able to read.

—- Vertex is the event for the CG community. Book your ticket now at vertexconf.com, where you can find out more about the other amazing speakers, workshops, recruitment fair, networking event, expo and more.  

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265702 http://ift.tt/2CUrW4A via IFTTT

[unidentifiedstudio]

Sandbox With Goals

The industry has this sort of love-hate relationship with sandboxes. The appetite for them in the wake of Minecraft's revolution invited a flood of copies, clones, and knock-offs. On one hand, a cursory glance on Steam will show nine hundred thirty titles with that tag. So many games with very different scopes. Let’s explore the concepts.

Sandbox, Toybox, Roguelike

The definition of sandbox is as open as an actual sandbox!

All that really defines a sandbox is an area to play around without restraint. Not a race course or a linear level, as in traditional games, but large areas that players can move about as they please, seldom with any sort of countdown or required direction. A sandbox is about interaction with the tools you have. Interactive events allow players to control the pace at which they push forward the goalposts of the story.

Without story, you have a Toybox. Toybox is like a worse sandbox, for you often have lots of tools but very little to interact with. There may be cutscenes but the game is mostly just about existing. Without an end goal, it becomes a form of meandering.

Sandbox or toybox, games bearing such freedom allow players to explore within their boundaries and approach objectives how they see fit. Some simply have no true objective. Also, one of the most pleasant and unexpected joys of a game like this is the unintended spontaneous interaction. AI characters mixed through physics and set in motion by player behavior formulates unexpected scenarios.

Which brings us to the genre of Roguelike. This is usually defined as a combination nexus between permadeath and randomization of gameplay elements. Tweaking these two variables can provide a wide range of results but what defines Roguelike most is replayability. The variation means the game is so different every time. Sometimes the game stats impossible, and other times you coast through on skates.

There are a lot of these sandy-toy-boxy type games on the market. While some have placed the bar so high to change the industry itself, people know what they are willing to pay for. With stiff AAA competition, an indie game has to be so unique they stand out extra special in such a widely crowded market.

That is, of course, if you’re predominately promoting it as a sandy-box thing. A developer can always add sand and toys to any game, broadening the appeal.

Goals

For this game, we’ve decided to pull back our focus to board games and create a more linear experience. We’ve given the player sandbox pockets to play in but the overall the game moves more like chess.

Card games and tabletop roleplaying allow players often have no centralized board, with open direction to their play. Board games restrict the routes and rules. Streamlining the bloat down helps organize the process. Reducing probability gives definite shape to a game. It’s a balance, a pick and choose of scope and refinement. Adjusting this lens the player sees the world through changes overall experience. A lot of open games indulge in chance-based decisions, and variating probability vastly widens gameplay experience. The more things happen out of the usual, the more exciting and adventurous it will be.

The main focus we want when approaching this whole subject is to shape interaction. A linear game shapes the goals for the focus of movement. This means interaction emerges from players and objects and characters in the game.

Interaction is key, for us at least. When the world interacts back with the player, they can reach immersion. But more importantly, they can lead to a climax and end of the interaction.

No matter how much sand or how many toys your box has if there’s no point to any of it players will walk away. One facet of most modern survivor games that, in my opinion, cripples potential, is a fear of ending itself. All good stories come to an end. And if the player wants to keep going, there is always a new game or a new game plus. You can take the journey from beginning to end over and over and unlock new things to use on that journey, but eventually journey's end.

An analog can be found in Lego toys. What makes construction toys so popular is the feeling of creating something. A gun, a car, a spaceship, a moon base. The feeling of accomplishment is a core carrot at the end of every good stick. Building for improvement, for purpose. We say give the player something physical in their world. We all have a yearning inside to bring something into reality which does not exist yet. Many survival games are about making things you want to see that no one else is.

That’s drive. Goals.

Games need goals. Without goals, a game loses all purpose and direction.

Data Obfuscation and Fulfillment

Things in design are defined only by the purpose they fulfill. A perfect thing is something that perfectly fulfills its purpose. When a player has a goal, perfection comes from them the fulfillment of that goal. Goals should be presented with equal variants of strength and weaknesses for both player and obstacles. Goals should be finite and precise.

How the player achieves these goals is up to them and the tools at their disposal. But they should always have options to approach a known and defined fulfillment.

One of the main problems that limit a player from fulfilling goals is obfuscated information.

Do they know what the goal is?

Where it is?

How to achieve it?

Sometimes it seems obvious to a developer who has labored over every inch for years. But for a random person off the street, it might be a complex enigma just to get through a menu. Things should be organized and labeled so a player can get into the meat of the game instantly. A player should never have to wonder what the parts do. Now, there are games where the terror of playing blind is the main appeal of the product.

Usually, people want to know what everything does.

Strategy in Chaos

Which brings us to randomization. The act of a game never giving the same results for the same actions. Both obfuscated information and unfair randomization ruin planning, strategy, and removes control and learning. The other thing about data is that the more of it you have, the more it obfuscates itself. Analysis paralysis happens. Too many things to do, no clear progression to start.

By presenting clear information to the player, and explaining clear goals to fulfill, we can help bridge the gap between the rigid world and open world. Clarity and focus on design is the key to any game, no matter the scope or genre.

Players need a strategy to win games. The strategy requires preparedness, be it on the fly adaptability or custom loadouts. Preparedness struggles against randomization.

The player is looking for tools to solve problems, and most of the goals and interaction emerge from the tools and goals provided. These tools are guarded by increasingly difficult obstacles that give the player knowledge and skill.

Tool acquisition and knowledge gathering, aka reconnaissance, are how most games deliver through on their goals.

Summary

To reflect, let’s piece all of that together. What we believe is a good game comes from a simple line of thinking in design. Players want clear information that helps them reach reasonable goals. Increasing the difficulty allows them to work and progress, skill and knowledge and tools adding to their arsenal. Until they fulfill their goals and find closure. For our sandbox, we want the toys to not only do something but to mean something.

[REFERENCE]

https://www.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2012/02/Games-Vs-Simulations-When-Simulations-May-Be-a-Better-Approach

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

While I was doing some research to investigate how we could use Audio to fight against Motion Sickness in Virtual Reality Games and trying to better identify the causes of this problem in VR development, I realized that Audio by itself cannot solve Motion Sickness but can be used as a tool when designing your game to reduce the motion sickness feeling that could occur in some games or experiences.

During my research, I had come across a few articles in regard to how players could limit motion sickness while playing VR and found that none of them really got to the core of the problem or offered any true solutions to the issue, so I decided to write a blog post on it that would not be Audio related for once, in an attempt to shed some more light on the subject and hopefully help game developers find a better approach when it comes to motion sickness and VR.

What’s Virtual Reality Motion Sickness?

There are different reasons that triggers motion sickness in every day’s life, motion that is felt but not seen, motion that is seen but not felt, or both motions are felt but there is discordance between them.

In VR, we are exposed to the second option, as motion is occurring audio-visually in the Virtual environment but not sensed by the players via their vestibular system. We call that “Visually Induced Motion Sickness” (VIMS). It’s all about Sensory conflict and experience, as the perception of self-motion is built on multi-sensory inputs from visual system, vestibular system, and non-vestibular proprioceptors (sensory receptor which receives stimuli from within the body, especially one that responds to position and movement).

In VR, the user plunges into a virtual world blocking out real world audio and visual stimuli and replacing them with simulated ones, both in three-dimensions, which could indeed both provide a sense of motion that would not be felt by the player’s vestibular system and non-vestibular proprioceptors.

As soon as you have a conflict with the user’s expectation based on prior experience, you have a chance to trigger motion sickness. And that’s why some manufacturers or game developers intend to say that with experience of hours playing in VR, people will eventually get used to it, and the problem will be resolved on its own with time. Similar cases happened back in the days when the first FPS games were released on the market.

I obviously don’t think we should ask players to play VR games that make them sick to solve motion sickness in the future. The key here would be to design our games differently so that the players won’t get motion sick but will indeed get used to experience VR smoothly, and then possibly changing organically the pace and style of VR gaming in the future along with new generations of HMDs, which seems like a much more sensible choice from a game developer perspective.

Additional Factors

There is quite a large range of additional factors than can elicit motion sickness in VR.

Technically, the refresh rate is the most obvious one, as a low refresh rate of images in VR is provocative of sickness. The field of view is another one, as a wide field of view would increase the feeling of self-motion and thus enhance VIMS, such as motion parallax, possibly altering distances and depth, luminosity, etc. The viewing angle in the game can also be a factor of motion sickness.

Physically, having a head mounted device (HMD) on our head is altering its weight and inertia, this alteration could generate sickness when movements are made, even when the pattern of vestibular input is normal for the actual motion of the head.

Building a VR Game Around VIMS Constraints

Beyond the sickness itself, VIMS may create undesirable consequences for the new media industry, as sickness could discourage the use of VR HMDs. We thus, as game developers, should ask ourselves the right questions before and when making a VR game or experience, to make sure it is adapted to the device.

VR game needs to be produced respectfully with all the above constraints in mind, but those technical and physical considerations also need to be taken into account by design, art and audio.

For example, in everyday life, head movements are not provoking motion sickness or disorientation, except when initiated by passive rotation of the body. In VR, head movement during field visual motion (creating a sensation of self-motion) is enhancing motion sickness. By contrast, researches from Teixeira and Lackner (1977, 1979) showed that if visual motion is being experienced along with a little self-motion, then head movements tend to suppress the sensation of self-motion and less motion sickness will be experienced than from simply looking passively. Another aspect to consider is that, the greater visual fidelity of the experienced self-motion, the greater the chances to evoke a greater level of sickness, specifically for experiences that include apparent whole-body motion and that require head movements.

All the above reasons and considerations are why we’ve seen the advent of “static” VR games, without any motion. With no visual motion in a VR game, and respecting the main technical constraints, game developers can create great VR games and experiences with great audio-visual fidelity, aiming for the real-life look and sound to create presence, and unlocking full-positionning design possibilities, using audio cues to make the player turn their head during gameplay. A good example of that would be a turret shooters, take “EVE: Gunjack” as an example. The player takes the role of a gun turret operator, in space, on-board a mining ship. Those Gunjacks need to defend the mining-rig against pirates and opportunist trying to take what belong to the company. The sci-fi setting makes the game appealing, and revives the galaga-style space shooter. There is no motion in the game at all, the only movements are the ones controlled by the players moving their cockpit and weapons to aim and shoot at enemy waves, and head movement with no sensation of self-motion is not provocative of motion sickness in virtual environments. If you would want to create a shooter with self-motion, adding a virtual cockpit around the player to your experience helps against motion sickness, and that’s why we see more dogfighting VR games and experiences coming up, as adding a cockpit would help reducing the visual motion, limiting the sensation of self-motion, but there will obviously be a lot of other constraints to design your game around to make it a satisfactory experience, such as but not limited to, the game setting, the visual quality and realistic rendering inside the cockpit versus outside the cockpit, the depth (that could impact the game setting choice), the luminosity, the audio direction choices (as audio could induce a sensation of motion or rotation), etc.

Of course, the genre that everybody is excited about and looking for, because of the excitement of creating a sense of presence in this type of game, is the first-person shooter. VR from a player perspective seems made indeed for shooters, immersion, experiencing stunning landscape, living exciting things we won’t be able to necessary experience in real-life (and that’s one of the reasons why you see a lot of sci-fi and horror games on those HMDs). The main problem is, with the current HMDs tech available; VR is un-compatible with the FPS shooters as we know it today. If you want to go and make a non-static FPS in VR, then you’d have to make a lot of smart choices, and even with those choices, you have great chance that some people would experience VIMS while playing your game. A game that took this bet and did a lot of great choice in my opinion is Resident Evil 7. The setting fits perfectly the constraints: a scary horror first person shooter, being so scary that it impacts players behaviors: you won’t be rushing during gameplay, moving in the game with slow speed, and thus a slow pace of self-motion (the pace of the gameplay is also being controlled by the developers, as the speed is different if you play in flat screen or VR).

The universe of the game is super dark, both literally and figuratively, so the brightness is low, reducing naturally the depth, distance and FOV visibility in the game. To make sure you won’t be able to see far away anyway, the game takes place in a manor, so you won’t be face to face with some bright stunning landscapes on top of a mountain or the like. While you’re already moving your character at slow speed, the developers from Capcom made sure that in the eventuality you’d want to run in this game (which means you are a fearless person or a bit crazy) your field of view (FOV) would be reduced during motion, specifically the fast-paced ones. There is of course the already proven possibility to teleport in the game instead of walking around in the options, as it would remove any self-motion feeling, though teleport could be a bit disorienting as well. If you made the choice of walking in the game instead of teleporting, the audio footsteps are mixed quite loud, breaking a bit the immersion, but this un-realistic approach is obviously sending information to the player’s brain that he or she is playing a game in a virtual environment, reducing the chances of sickness as well.  

Finally, a no-go in VR game design is moving backwards, and once again, RE7 does that well, they have a quick command to turn around, which becomes more natural during game-play than moving backwards, as you could still move backwards in the game, but the movement would be so slow that it would not really help you in any situations.

What Genre for VR games In the Next 10 Years?

We are just at the early stages of VR gaming, and when it comes to motion sickness, which is one of the greatest challenge in VR development nowadays, it has more to do with the game being played than the users. I would suggest players to don’t play games that make them sick, but choosing the right games specifically made for VR, with VR consideration in mind. The new generation of HMDs that will be released in the incoming years should also help, being lighter, adding eye tracking that would allow changing the focus real time and thus adding a better feel for distance and depth, being wireless to allow a bit more motion, having better screen quality, etc.

The VR game genre is still being defined, but we can already see the variety in experiences, going from playroom escapades to static space shooters and slow-paced horror shooters, and so for all the reasons mentioned above in this article: VR home entertainment is not made for high-intensity face-paced games, that would by design induce motion sickness and disorientation to their users.

As with every new gaming platforms or device, some new game genres will come out, some old ones will be revived, some new game design rules will be defined, and a monetization scheme will be made and adapted to those genres, or made and adapted to the platforms, which will impact the game genres that will be made for VR.

The most recent example of that is mobile gaming evolution of course. It all started with “Snake” in 1997 on the Nokia 6610, but rapidly, things were to change to sell games for this new platform that were Mobile, as Snake was embedded. It all started with the WAP, which correspond to the time we started to get access to Internet with our phones. And since then, things have continuously evolved on the mobile front, as we now play game as Cash Royal, which could be considered as a game genre that was born because of the mobile gaming platform and monetization possibilities; but we also play games such as Plant Vs Zombie, which could correspond to the logical evolution of casual games like Snake.

The platforms, the market, the type of users, their expectations per experience playing certain type of games, but also their behavior in playing new ones are continuously changing, and that’s what VR developer must face right now. Both game developers and HMDs manufacturers are making efforts, and I am sure we will see new game genre with major trends and specific monetization schemes coming into Virtual Reality. I also think we will see different types of games for different usage, I am thinking specifically of arcade and events or attraction experiences and games, versus home entertainment and mobile VR entertainment, offering all different price accessibility, and different type of games for different usages and different gamers.

players will need to be educated on how to play to new game genre and what to expect from VR games, and that will be by the type of game being accessible on VR platforms, but certainly not by asking them to play games that are not developed with the consideration of motion sickness in mind and just hoping that players will just get used to it with time.