Mood boards: Environment Arena

with this mood board a lot that different types of arenas whether they be futuristic or past and mainly came across the same concept that it was generally an open area but within my game this may prove to be too simple for the tactical game play so I may have to add obstacles and structures with in this arena for there to be any sort of play ability.

Mood boards: Environment Temple

within this mood board I look that old style all Roman temples to see what type of architecture they were like and to see how maybe I could bring this into the architecture of my game within its map design.

Mood boards: Weapons

with this mood board I looked into the different types of weapons that could be in my game. I went for more of a futuristic weaponry mood board to match my character and I just explored what possible designs I could have for the weapons in my game.

Mood boards: Player

With this move bought I try to visualize what the players characters would look like and I went  for a  robotic type character almost one that looked like it had been massed produced so that every is character in the game would look similar.

My game idea: Battle Arena

My Game Idea: Battle Arena

In  this document only covering all the aspects and areas about my game idea Battle Arena.  I'll be looking into the many different aspects that make up my game like the genre, environments, mechanics and story line are going through in a detailed description each aspect and explaining how they will work towards the overall idea of the game.

The idea:

Battle Arena is an Tactical FPS (First Person Shooter) with some elements of a MOBA ( multiplayer online battle arena). Battle Arena will have two teams playing against each other and the objective is to reach a certain amount of kills before the game ends. Both teams will consist of an equal number of members up to the maximum team capacity of five and a minimum team capacity of two. The players will spawn with the defaults weapon  players can search through the map to acquire new weapons and collect ammunition. from the start of the game to the end of the game players will receive currency every minute which will be a flat rate. Players will also receive bonus currency from killing the enemy team and even if they assist with the kill they will still receive a certain amount of currency.  once players have collected enough currency  there will be able to spend it in a shop that will be  accessible from any area of the map from here they can purchase many different items that will affect their character stats.  Players will have limited storage in which to place items so they will not be able to purchase every item in the game. players will further have the opportunity to upgrade their items through currency  increasing the initial stats of an item up and to a certain points.  this will mean that players with skill and using teamwork will be able to achieve higher currency quicker and be able to have an advantage over the other team reaching the objective quicker and therefore winning the game.

Genre:

FPS(First Person shooter):

the first person perspective will be the main view of every player and as a b-day perspective of the map and the way they navigate through it.

Tactical FPS:

The tactical aspect warfare to the gun play within the game.  This will be included in things like controlling accuracy and recoil with weapons and depending on you and your team's items who will be the best person to carry certain types of weapons around with them. for example if you have purchased items that focus on high output damage then you may be the best character to carry a fast firing weapon.

MOBA(Multiplayer online battle arena):

The MOBA aspects will come in the form of item and shop system and also the health mechanic. These mechanics will help make games more tactical and last longer depending on team skill and their abilities.

Environment:

Battle Arena will feature four different environments that players can traverse. 

Close quarter: The first being close quarters this will be a very narrow corridor style map with players having little option to move around the arena as proximity to the enemy team will be very close. 

Temple: The second map temple will be a symmetrical-based map with both players spawning at their team structure which will be a temple then being able to fight in a small area connecting the two temples to each other this will allow the players to have two entrances to each of its temples meaning that they can flank them from behind or tackle them straight on. 

Arena: The third map Arena will be similar to ancient Roman gladiator arenas. With players spawning in a circular shaped environments surrounded by walls with solemn small structures in the middle allowing players to use this for cover. 

Multi layer: This environment will consists of various different levels for players to explore as well as to get the drop on other enemy players. This will allow players to fight on various different levels and also give them many different ways to escape an enemy or to engage them.

Mechanics:

Player interface:
This will be the places view into the game world and also show vital information about the player character and also team members. Similar to other first person shooters the player interface will display what weapon the player is using and also how much ammunition they are currently in possession of that weapon this will be displayed in the bottom left corner of the screen. At the right-hand side of the screen there will be two small tab buttons this is where the player can access the shop to purchase items and it is also where the player can access the menu to change options or leave the game. Underneath this tab at the bottom right will be the amount of currency the player has stored on their person at the moment. Along the bottom of the screen there will be two bars's both separated from each other the closest to the barn will show the players inventorying and what items they are currently in possession of. The bar above will display the player's health that they are currently on. Here is a conceptual picture of what the play interface may look like.

Currency:
The currency system in Battle Arena will work into significant ways. The first way is that players will receive a set amount of currency every minute this may be one currency every second. The second lying currency system work if a player kills one of the enemy team or assists one of their team members in killing one of the enemy team they will receive a package of currency for example 200 currency. This currency can  only be spent within the shop on items that player can equip.  players also have the option  upgrading items they currently possess by using their currency and this will increase their bonuses to the player.

Shop:
The shop system in Battle Arena is where players can spend currency that they are earned or collected throughout the game. the shop will sell items to the player and a certain amount of currency players can then equip this to their persons. Shop will consist of many items that will have many different effects on players

Items:
The item system in the game is where players can purchase items from the shop and this will have significant effect on the game play. For example if a player purchases a item that increases their rate of fire and the crease as their accuracy that means for the rest of the game they will have this increase bus to their character. This will be how players progress and become better by purchasing these items also these items can be upgraded once they are in the players possession by adding currency to the item it will increase the buff  as it gives to the player. The items in the game  will cover many different types of stats that will affect the player  like movement speed,  jump height, gun damage, rate of fire, reloading speed, health re gen, maximum health, currency income and effectiveness with certain weapons those are just some for example that will be included in the final version of the game.

Inventory:
This will be how the player will store items that they have purchased from the shop on the character. The play will be able to store a maximum of six items on their persons at one time this will be displayed along the bottom of the screen with an apart so players can see quickly why they have and if they have any space to purchase more. From  here players can upgrade their items through adding currency by clicking on the item and adding currency to it.

Weapon pickups:
Every player when they spawn in the arena will have a default weapon this will be the standard weapon for all characters. in the arena there will be many different types of weapons that will spawn on the ground allowing the players to pick them up and use them against the enemy team these may be from standard assault rifles to special weapons and will also be affected by players items allowing them to use than in devastating combos.

Weapon traits:
With every weapon  in the game they will have unique traits that will be different one another. These trades will be their rate of fire their damage and their weight the rate of fire will affect how fast the gun can fire and can also become buried with items from the shop allowing for a further increase into making the gun even better.  The damage will be how much this weapon will affect on other players and can also be upgraded through items.  The weight will affect how fast the character can move while using this weapon for example a pistol will allow a player to move faster than another player handling an assault rifle and this can be changed through items purchased through the shop.

Accuracy/recoil;
With every goal in the game there will be a difference amount of accuracy and recoil that will affect that certain weapon. so for every weapon in the game the player will have to consider the accuracy and recoil when going into fights. With the recoil when players are moving in a significantly increased but when the player is staying still there will have an increased accuracy allowing  them to increase the chances of hitting the target. when players are firing their weapons they will have a certain amount of recoil depending on what weapon  they have equipped.  an example of this would be if a player has a standard assault rifle and holds down the trigger the recoil  will make it almost impossible to hit the target while using small bursts and controlling the recoil will allow for greater accuracy and a greater chance of hitting the target.  through items as well these two traits can be reduced and controlled if the player sees fit. 

Story:

In Battle Arena  there will be no main story line only a kind of story set up where the player is shown that they are competing with others in a hologram type environments with a placed in many different arenas from the past and the future to become the best players. other than this my game will consist of no story line and narrative.

Theme/style:

The theme and style that I wanted to go with for Battle Arena was that for the players, user interface and weapons this would be in a futuristic robot style while the environments that the players interact with would be similar to ancient cultures like the Romans, Aztecs and many more. the reason for this was that it will allowed to different themes to interact with each other which I think would create an interesting visual block and also as this allows me to explore different cultures architectural designs and implement them into my game.

Research: Game reviews synopsis

Game reviews synopsis:

In this document I will be going through the three games that I've reviewed currently on my blog and summarizing their good points and bad points and also part of their game that I wish to include within my game.

Payday 2:

In my review of payday to a looked into both its triumphs and its failures when it comes to its mechanics and overall game play feel for the player. The part of payday I think triumphed was  the progression that players could engage in within the game this was shown through players able to customize their playable characters, being able to level their characters and also customize what weaponry they would take in to heists and I think overall this gave players a connection to their player which I think is where payday gains most of its popularity.

where I think payday too has its faults is within its in balanced league game contents where players were doomed to repeat the same missions and  were encouraged to go to all the missions as there was no point to them because the risk did not outweigh the reward.

Good points:

Part of this game which I would like to extract and use within my own game would be the customizing and improving characters for the player as I think this is a sure way of keeping players interested and invested within their character.

Bad points:

A lesson I think can be learned from payday is that do not put too much repetitive game play in for the player always give them a wide variety of choices to avoid trapping them in to repeat the same things over and over again.

Counter strike: global offensive:

With my reviews of counter strike global offensive I followed as similar formula tonight over reviews looking first at good aspects of the game. The first area of counter strike which I think is where it is most successful visits tactical gun play.  With game mechanics trying to simulate accuracy on weapons and team-based cooperation I think this  pushed camp strayed into the limelight as a competitive tactical first person shooter. 

Though counter strike features fantastic game play and great  tactical possibilities I mentioned the downsides consisted of a high learning curve for new players as all organised players who did not fully understand how to play could be ripped apart by an organised team with little effort leading to new players deciding not even to start playing the game.

Good points:

Counter strike's tactical gun play I think is definitely a mechanic that needs to be implemented within my game having different  accuracy and recoil the same weapons meaning that players will have to learn how to use weapons rather than just picking them up and firing. 

 Bad points:

The learning curve I think is the biggest problem players face when playing this game. I think a way to  I can keep both the tactical element and avoid this problem is by introducing easy weapons for new players then over time let players of all is to hire weapons which require more skill as this will let the skilled players advanced to the top tier games while learning new players stick to e-zine more simple weapons pleasing both sides.

Dota 2:

When I came to look at the game Dota 2  I did a long review talking about the game and its different mechanics. The first good aspect of the game I noted was the balance side to the game as both teams would start off equal as they get to choose from the same list of heroes meaning that  its totally equal for both teams. I then looked into the progression and item systems as these are both interlocked with each other as the more you progress the more items a player could buy from the item shop and how this gave players a sense of progression. then finally combining all these points together I talked about the limitless possibilities that players can have and limitless outcomes that can't be produced because of the amount of heroes and abilities and items that can be purchased meaning that no game is ever the same and is always different. Then I want to talk about the games faults and  feelings.  I talked about the progression and how if your team was behind the enemy team by a great amount it almost made the game is not worth playing.  that I talked about team members even  and how some will be completely uncooperative towards the team effort though  this is not the game developers fault it is still an aspect that affects the game.

Good points:

I think Dota 2 good points are all intern connected with each other. With the balancing being one of the best aspects as it means players are on equal footing and is their own decisions that will affect the outcome this is then reinforced with the progression and item system as players have access to all the same items and progression but it enforces that skill is the only thing that will win the game for a player and the team. and I think that all these aspects rely on each other to make the game at fun and playable experience. 

 Bad points:

Though one of the major problems being placed with inexperienced team members may be one of Dota 2 flawless this is mainly a problem with the community and cannot really be solved by the game developers. As to make the game easier for new players this may create a domino effect affecting all of the good aspects revolving around the game. with  the old problem  not being able to come back from games where your team is losing too badly I think this is another part of the game that cannot really be fixed as this is the punishment for your team not working together and not be an experience which may seem harsh for new players but it is what keeps the experience of data together.

How these reviews will affect my game:

After looking at my reviews and their good points and bad points I've come to the conclusion on aspects that I'm going to include within my game idea and its design.

 Points I'm going to use:

progression: the progression system that aim to place my game will be a item-based progression system where players will only be able to buy items to improve their characters. I hope this will give the same feeling as paydays  progression system while having a mix with Dota2 progression system. the progression will only affect the players characters within that game and will not span the overall account of players I think this'll be the best way  to give players  limitless possibilities and allow them to explore new routes very easily through game play

tactical gun play: I hope to include within my game tactical gold plate similar to counter strikes gun play system while having this affected by the item progression system allowing players to May be increased their accuracy through item purchases.

item system: within my game I do wish to have a complex and robust item system that will allow players to progress their  player through the match with the use of items that could affect multiple stats about their characters and with players being skillful and off allow them to have dominance over the opposing team.

 Possible bad outcomes:

learning curve: Similar to counters trike's problem of a learning curve I think this may also affect my game because of its tactical gun play system.  I do also think that this will be a problem that will persist with the game  by trying to fix it may damage the overall concept of what the game is.

late game progression: With this problem  it is mainly a product of if the players are not skilled enough to compete with others and is yet again a byproduct of what the game is. Though it may be harsh to polish all players for some players mistakes this will be the nature of the game arena.

Research: Game review: Payday 2

Payday 2

Plot:

Payday two is a game in which the player or a group of up to four players  try to complete heists in order to gain as much money and experience as possible.  The heists vary from robbing small convenience stores to fall banks with vaults full of gold.  the matchmaking starts off with the host of the lobby selecting a heist then choosing a difficulty for that  heist there are  five difficulties to choose from normal, hard, very hard, overkill and death wish.  The way the difficulties work is that the original money you would get from complete the heist on normal's times by the amount of difficulties you have for example if you are doing a heist we'll receive $100,000 and have the difficulty on very hard it will be the equivalent of times three so you will earn 300,000

when players are not on heists they are allowed to customize their profile as much as they want choosing from a selection of weapons on this and masks that they use within heists. Weapons can be upgraded with modifications these can be a static and mechanically changing for example they may increase damage or accuracy. 

The players can also choose from a variety of armors the more protection and Armour gives to the player at the heavier it will be there for the slower the player will move.  

As well the player can customize the mask that they are using within the heist this is purely cosmetic and offers no in game bonuses.  as there are a multitude of masks to choose from a long trip different patterns and colour systems this means that virtually unlimited customization to the players mask. 

 As well as customizing weapons and armor at the players will have skill trees that they can invest in these are divided up into five main skill trees for example the first skill tree mastermind focuses on abilities that will affect the whole team such as increased health increased concealment health kits for the rest of the team and also purchasable bonuses that will help out the team during a heist.

Genre:

Payday 2 is a co-operative first person shooter  set around team objective-based missions. Payday to does not have a player versus player mood it only consists of player versus NPC's.

Mechanics:

difficulty: the difficulty mechanic in payday two was put in place so that players could advance up through the difficulty levels to the  top difficulty level which offers the most cash and XP for players compared to any of the difficulty.  The way the difficulties cell is for new players to play the normal difficulties and then as they play more heists and obtain better weapons and that a gear they can progress through the difficulties and start in money and experience faster.  this type of progression is a good way to keep players engage as it means that players can play them the same heist again on a different difficulty and get an new experience compared to the last time they played allowing players to have a longer and more enjoyable game experience when playing the game

 progressively through the difficulties the NPC is the player must face become more challenging having more health and doing more damage to players  as well enemies will spawn in greater numbers and will persist for a greater period of time to harass the player.  As well as normal NPCs there are special and PCs these are divided up into teasers which are police officers carrying Taser guns which cam stun a players for a long period of time clunkers which are swot type NPCsthat can instantly down a player if they make contact with them.  this shield NPC  is a normal styled MPC that carries a shield that cannot be shot through by enemy players allowing the police to push up through players defensive areas and the final NPC is the bulldozer this is a law enforcement officer dressed in heavy on that can take most of the players damage pretty easily and can down players within seconds  when difficulties two heists are increased the spawn rates of these NPC is will be significantly increased allowing for more challenge to the players. here are images of the following NPCs is:

Cloaker:

 Shield:

 Taser:

 Bulldozer:

skills: The skilled mechanics is where players will make the most progression to their character within payday two. First off the players will start at level 0 and can advance all the way to level 100 each time the player ranks up that they receive one skill points which they can spend within any skill tree of their choice. There are five skill trees were players to choose from each with varying different play styles and different perks and buffs. The way the skill tree works is that each tier requires a certain amount of skill points to be placed in it too therefore a advance to the next tier there are five tears to each skill tree the fervour of a player goes the script into the skill tree the more effective the pair could become with some buffs and the first tier being five or 10% while the buffs on the top of the skill tree are about 60 to 70% this really allows players to advance through difficulties as they are now equipped with better skills to deal with the  increasing number of enemies.

weapon customization: The weapon customization feature within payday is  mostly about making the weapons more effective on the heists  as many of the damage upgrade will increase the ammo capacity or the damage or even the fire rate this is just another way that the character can customize their own personal account building their own arsenal of weapons that they can select and change out the different heists this  gives the player more more choice in the way they indeed a heist as they may want to choose sniper rifles or shotguns is entirely up to them and this gives them the freedom to go whichever way they want most guns consist of five or six potential upgrade slots which have things like's visible sites, stocks, longer barrels and more clip capacity.

Strong points:

customization: the customization and paid too I think is a fantastic strong point for the game as it really allows players to get involved with their in game characters and to also let them see the progression from beginning to where they are now allowing players to build up an arsenal of weapons and masks that they can tweak and change their heart's content fitness is really good at keeping the player involved and constantly searching for better upgrades for their arsenal.

leveling up: The levelling up system in payday  is another way of expanding the players involvement within their characters as apart from customizing themselves they can see their characters grow in ability is and in their contributes to the heists plus the amount of perks and skills that can be obtained through the system really makes some good combinations that can be used with a team member allowing players to be very tactical in their approach when tackling a heist and a thing as well this adds to the player experience as they may want to go through multiple times and check out different tactics with friends.

difficulties: though the difficulty doesn't seem to be such a big part of the game it really offers players something to aim for as they go through the game as they know that going up free difficulties will yield more rewards for them and also I think these difficulties give the game a much longer shelf life with players as they offer almost the same heist but in almost completely different scenario.

Weak points:

overused heists:  I would say one of the weakest point is that payday has is the amount of heists that are situated within the game even though there are over 20 heists in the game they become very repetitive over a certain amount of time as often you do have to repeat playing heists many times in order to rankle characters and achieve new items after a certain amount of time replaying these heists it can really become tiresome and almost poor off the player from continuing playing again.

unbalanced money distribution: another issue that I noticed with a payday was when players become  higher levels they only seem to gravitate towards the high paying jobs and do not go anywhere near low-paying heists this means that for high-level players there is only three or four heist that they can do which are worth their time.  with the heists that are the longest they give that the biggest payouts while sure heist only give a small amount of pale but they are vastly different from another  which makes high-level players not even bother with low paid jobs as it does not give them enough of a reward for the risk.

Synopsis:

I think overall payday to is a strong game in terms of its customisation and  its player interaction with the character allowing them to advance them far beyond the original states and allowing them to see this progression  I think this is a great example of a game doing customisation.  Where I think this game really does go wrong is the balance issues and overall constant replaying of the same missions which can become very tedious and almost poor off players from continuing play at all. I think for my game I may look into the customisation aspect and try to implement this into my game but also learn from the lesson of this game by trying not to pour in repetitive content of the players.