contextual studies: Why Lego is perfect at trans-media

Why Lego is perfect at trans-media

After playing through many of the different Lego games that I own. I came  two very important realization about Lego games and there impact. 

if this came to me when I start to think about Lego as our product and then I got to thinking when you think about certain other toys all products you get an image of the branding and what that product represents 

when you think of hot wheels you think of cars:

when you think of action man you think of the one he hero:

but when you think of Lego what do you think about:

As Lego means so many different things to so many different people it has no recognizable products related to it it has a logo but this is not the same as the hot wheels or the action man. it is because Lego can take on so many forms of the users and imagination that no one can really poor and image to the name. And I think this is where Lego's success within trans-media comes from as it has no brand recognition and no product tied to the name it can be used across so many things and yet still play on the user's imagination and I think this is why Lego  the perfect vessel for trans-media as it can take on so many forms to so many different people and play on their imaginations.

Contextual studies: Lego for social change

Lego for social change

while researching into Lego I came across a very interesting article about an issue that Lego had addressed with its customers.

 Here is a link to the article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2716279/I-want-make-Lego-girl-people-let-adventures-Company-releases-toy-set-showing-female-scientists-sold-out.html 

It talks about her letter that was sent to the Lego company by a seven-year-old girl called Charlotte Benjamin. in the latter the girl asked the Lego company if they could make more  female orientated characters that could go on adventures and do more within lego. Lego responded to this by making a small Lego pack  which includes the three female scientists working within a lab  many have applaud Lego overtaking on an issue of female representation within the Lego sphere and applauded them for their efforts. 

Here is an image of the Lego set:

Personally I think this is a good idea from Lego to branch out their products into different demographics and it seems to be the right move as it was reported that this Lego set was sold out within three days of its release to the public.  It definitely seems like there is a market for this product and it definitely seems that girl Lego that revolves around adventurous females has a bright and prosperous future.

From a trans-media point of view as well it shows that Lego doesn't just have an effect within the media world it can also have a cultural effects. It seems that Lego can all can pass through different medias and also different cultural issues with relative ease.

Contextual studies: Lego game review of Star Wars Lego

Star Wars Lego

The Lego Star Wars game is a game in which one or two players can play through all six episodes of the Star Wars series through a series of six missions pair episode. 

The missions:

the missions within Star Wars Lego followed closely to the story narrative within the cinematic film. And they would always consist of two or three characters that were present within that scene. For example episode one the Phantom Menace you play as an Lego version of quite on gin and Obi-Wan Kenobi and is similar with all other episode missions.

The puzzles:

The missions were often consist of puzzle  that the player must overcome to learn reach the next points of the mission and then once they have completed all the puzzles within a level they advanced to the next level. these puzzles were often consist of character traits depending on the Lego character the player has equipped for example if there is a puzzle which involves a player to move an object using the force than the player must select a character that has the ability to use the force for example Obi-Wan Kenobi would be able to use the force while another character like C3 PO could not use the force and therefore could not complete the puzzle advancing to the next stage of the mission.  there are often as well puzzles with in missions that cannot be solved with characters that are currently possessed by the player and what this means is that the player most unlock these new characters and then come back to these missions in the future to get through these puzzles this offers an massive replay ability value to the to the game and makes it  Interesting for players as they may feel determined to come back and see what's behind this puzzle or what secrets start one block in new areas.

Free play:

The free play mode is unblocked when the player completes all levels within an episode for example if the player completes all levels within episode one the Phantom Menace they can then go into a mode called free play. This is where the player can choose between a multitude of he characters they have unlocked and swap between them any time where currently in the story mode they could only swap between three characters. This means that players can  explore areas as different characters from all over the series for example in episode one you could have Darth Vader. this also gives the player a tremendous sense of freedom as they can feel they can engage puzzles with various different characters and also lets the player on what puzzles that they were previous not previously not able to allowing them  to get collectibles and explore the areas they have not seen before.

Replay ability:

with the free mode letting players go back through any mission they desire with any character they desire this offers a tremendous amount of playability as it almost means that the players replay the game twice to see everything in the game.  This is tremendous for them as well to play through us as you get to discover various new things that you've not seen before while also extending the game time.

Conclusion:

when looking at this game on paper I thought that the concept of a Lego filter chaining out multiple of games but revolving around the same formula would become boring but it seems I was mistaken.  The replayability of the game and the mechanics of changing characters is a really fun experience allow you to play as your favourite characters from the film but also exploring new possibilities with different characters I think this filter is a really good way of repackaging and media but also keeping it fun and entertaining and also playable for the audience.

Contextual studies: The Lego filter

The Lego filter

For my final presentation at the end of this unit I will be looking into Lego and how Lego has its own take on trans-media and how through the Lego filter new narratives can be told about old subjects.

The Lego filter:

the Lego filter is a term that I like to use when describing the different types of Lego games that are available on the market. There is a good reason for using this term as I  own a lot the Lego games I have played the ball and discovered a pattern that ages within all games. 

Genre:

The genre of game is always the same within Lego games. It is always a third person puzzle/adventure game and this has been the same from some of their first games for example Star Wars Lego to one of their newest games Lego Batman three beyond Gotham. 

Game play:

Game play within the Lego games consist mainly of  puzzle-based levels where the player must reach a certain objective by conquering a certain amount of puzzles beforehand using various different character traits or environments objects. 

Environments:

The environment within a Lego game is always dependent  is very much dependent on the game that is based on for example a environment within the Marvel Lego game will feature such environments as the avengers Tower or the shield base. the environments we are a mixture between Lego objects and also  modeled environments that all interactive will buy the players the sign that there is Lego near an area often means that the player that this is interactive. 

Characters:

The characters within at Lego game depended on the story line of the game is betraying similar to the environment. They will often have similar abilities to the media that they are belonging to for example in the Star Wars Lego games Lego characters that are Jedi's have the ability to use the force on certain Lego items and this is a mechanic that they can use to puzzle solve with.  They will often the pick main characters secondary characters in even the villains and have them in a list of the player to unlock and then once completing the game they are able to use any character they desire even if it is the villain becoming the hero.

Contextual studies: Trans-media

How we use trans-media

as the image above displays transmute it can be summed up very easily.  Similar to the picture if a type of media spreads across more than one then it is trans-media.  But what exactly is trans-media and what can it be used for within the media realm and also within the political or ideological realm.

Within media:

As we all know media is a vast part of ideas and concepts that are constantly being changed, rewritten or invented. It is not difficult for the notion of one idea being displayed  within various different medias.  within some medias it is almost a requirement to have your idea spread across many medias to get the biggest impact as possible.  As an example the film guardians of the Galaxy which was released in July 2014 it was met with a warm reception by critics.  This film also released a soundtrack which played a vital role within the story line of guardians of the galaxy and it was named "awesome mix vol 1"  this is a great example of how their creators managed to give the audience a piece of the film that they could use themselves even if it was just to listen to and is a very good example of trans-media in action.

Within the games industry trans-media  is used by more often than not to tell a story. This is evidence in games like Batman Arkham city where the developers have used the characters and setting of the Batman comics to create a new story line to the Batman to explore and also for fans of the comics to see a new story line involving their hero.

A different example within the games industry would be the Lego franchise. different to  the Batman games Lego has in a way developed its own filter when it comes to creating games.  an example of this filter in action is that they will take a similar concept as the Lego games so free roaming puzzle-based game then they will  and use a piece of media and then apply it through this filter for example the Marvel cinematic universe. what they then do is construct that universe within a Lego set Inc then adapt the free roaming puzzle-based game play to those characters allowing players to experience the Marvel media through the Lego filter.

Within the ideological or political parties:

A good example of trans-media jumping over into a political environment would be the example of anonymous. anonymous or group of people with their identity is unknown and you they are in a sense unguided force of nature. They will go after the issues that they deem to be unfair and against human decency for example one of anonymous is first real battles was against the Church of Scientology as they knew the Church of Scientology employed harassment tactics to silence critics anonymous new as a whole as a group of individuals that were unknown that they could overcome this harassment and make light of issues within the church. Anonymous's origins come from a film called V for Vendetta in which a vigilante waged war against a corrupt political system and how the vigilante projected this idea of freedom of speech and freedom of expression while being an unknown figure inciting others to join using this facade of a Guy Fawkes mask to hide their identity but stand for an idea.

Off topic: Key shot render engine

Keyshot  renders

This is very off topic where but recently I was introduced to a render engine by fellow classmates called key shots.  I have currently been doing some experiments in spare time with some models that I've created previously  to see how they appear within the engine.

GTX Titan 

This was a model I created during a directed study period  within my first year and then took this model into key shots to see the effects it would have on the model and I must say I was very impressed with how it made the model lock.  With the superb light and high quality of detail it provides to the model are definitely think this will be a key tool in my future developments and also a great tool  with displaying models in a professional manner.

Random sign

This was a quick model that I created within a half an hour period which died then imported into key shots  to see how it would lock in a final render I also had a look with some of the in engine materials and was very impressed with the results.  hopefully after deadline I may be able to create more models  and place them within this render engine are some really cool looking images.

Unity: Update version four gameplay

Update version four game play

In this document are we talking about the new  controls menu where players can see the controls of the game for playing as this was a points outlined by some tech player testers as they said there was no tutorial. also I have added a button into the user interface allowing the players to go back to the main menu.

This screen shot shows the new player controls option within the main menu. Players  can use this button  to enter the player controls menu.

This is the players control menu that shows all the buttons the player will need during the game and also what their functionality is.

This screenshot displays the new button in the  bottom right corner of the screen allowing players to return to the main menu.

Unity: Update version three gameplay

Update version three game play

In this document will be highlighting some of the new changes and also changes from play test and feedback. anesthetic change that has happened to the game is that there is a new primary weapons to the player to equip. the two major changes that came from player feedback was the player's view of their own health displayed as a bar on the players user Interface. the second being viewing enemy's health shown above their characters.

Within this screenshot is displaying the new UI health system displayed across the top of the screen.

In this screenshot displaying the new weapon that is standardly acquits to all players within the game.

Within this screenshot is displaying the health  bar that is above every player and that's the more damage player take the more this bar will decrease.

Within this screenshot is showing the player's health being decreased and also the one where the health buyer is it will change colour depending on its status.

Unity: Update version two gameplay

Update version two game play

In this document are we talking about a few new updates and game changes that I've made is to my game after some feedback and also some research into whether games one of the new updates to the game is a menu system which allows players to browse the levels of action and also quit the game allowing players to go back and forth between these two menus.  There have been slight camera adjustments to the team in selection screens well as some UI changes and a increased to play jump height.

This is a screenshot of the new Main menu with my game players who began this game will automatically start this screen they are able to quit the game or enter the level selection menu.

In this screenshot it is displaying the level selection screen this is where players will get to choose from a list of playable arenas  they also have the option to return to the main menu also.

When the player enters the arena they'll have the similar option of single or multi-player. The camera position has been changed to show an overview of the entire map from the previous regime which showed a side on view.

Within this screenshot is demonstrating the new UI changes that have happened. There are two main new changes the first being at the bottom left of the screen it will display the players coming equipped weapon for a brief period that it will disappear also there is a change at the top right there is the option for the players to quit the game. 

In a screen shows demonstrating the new John Piper Sellers been added for allowing players to jump higher than previously this is allowing players for extra mobility around the map as this was one of the complaints within play test and as players could not overcome certain objects because of the jump limitation.

Unity: Update one game play

Update one game play

Within this document I'll be talking about alterations and updates are made towards my original game after receiving some comments and feedback from participants of the game. Two major points that were  brought to my attention within testing was the fire rate of the weapon and also sensitivity of the controls. the first points of rate of fire was easily adjusted with some play testing for balance but from the original one bullets every three seconds I loaded down to one bullet every second.  The sensitivity was another easily remedied issue with turning it down to a more playable experience some players in future this should be unalterable through a menu option so players can have their preferred sensitivity.

In this screenshot is demonstrating the new bullets particle system that has been implemented as well as the increased fire rated  to the weapon.

In a screen shot is  demonstrating the new touches to the sensitivity as it has been reduced to a controllable limits what hopefully within future updates this shall be adjustable through menu options.

Unity: First gameplay

First game play

In the screenshot is displaying the first menu that players will encounter this is where they can choose between single player or multi-player. they can also enter their name which will be displayed to all members of the game upon spawning.

In a screenshot of this will be the team selection peach for the players still have a choice of two teams and also a renegade option which will mean they are not on a team they also have the option to randomize between the two specific team types.

In this screenshot the players just board from one of many different sport positions around the map there will now be in the first person perspective of their character and be able to move freely around the map.

in a screenshot  the players being displayed as firing their weapons as they'll be able to do any time throughout gameplay.

within this screenshot shows the player will be able to jump through to a certain height allowing them to reach certain part of the environment or also to avoid fire from an opposing team.

Maya: Player weapon Rifle

Weapon Rifle

There are some screenshots  of another main weapon this will be the standard assault rifle used within the game.

Maya: Player weapon pistol

Weapon pistol

There are so screenshots of the first standard weapon that each player will have on the game. This is only meant to be a simple pistol design

Maya: Environment Multi-layer

Multi-layer

The screenshot from the third environment called multi layer. This environment will focus on players being on many different levels to each other and allowing players to get the  other hand on players by being above them or even hiding from them on other levels.