Game Development - Sound

Sounds needed to develop my game.

Helicopter: There will be a few sounds I'll need for the helicopter
- Blade nosies for flying
- A landing noise for the skids touching the ground
- Machine gun/missile woosh sounds for the helicopters weapons
- An explosion sound for when the helicopter gets destroyed

Other game sounds:
- A "bling" noise for when the people are picked up
- a noise to explain that the landing pad is ready to end a level.

Game Development - Target Audience

Computer/internet literacy – aimed towards a reasonably good computer user. Has had experience before in flash games and would understand the basic controls of a helicopter in a game environment.

Demographics, such as - people who like helicopter games and want a basic simulation game. Players who enjoy controlling the helicopter in a safe manner to simulate landing and flying. Probably aimed at young males, they would probably be the most interested.

Age – 14+

Gender – Most likely males

Education – N/A

Occupation – N/A

Cultural background N/A

Location N/A    

Hobbies/interests – Flying, helicopters, simulation type games.

Language, literacy and numeracy – Basic literacy to understand game information. The English language.

Game Development

My flash game is going to be a helicopter game where the player controls a helicopter and attempts of pick up targets. It is basically a rescue game to pick people up and then safely land on a heli-pad to finish the level.

Flash game reviews

Game: Carrot (http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g3/carrot.htm) 

Overview: The game is played with just the mouse. You control defend a rabbit as it moves forward along a trail of carrots. The enemies are dogs, they are constantly moving left and right across an area of the playing field. You can click on them and drag them back by a leash to prevent them crossing paths with your rabbit which removes health. There are many dogs and the speeds in which they move varies and increases gradually as you play the game.  The more carrots you collect the more points you get and when you run out of health the game is over.

Review: I liked the game at first but it quickly got boring, the actions are to repetitive and it wasn’t very difficult

Game: Sunny Day Sky (http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g3/sunny.htm)

Overview: This game is a flying game, you need to fly as far as you can to cover more vehicles to earn points and then have a safe landing on top of one of the vehicles.

Review: I really liked the game, it had a fun way of earning points and had a learning curb that was very enjoyable.

6 photos to tell a story re-done

6 photos to tell a story

8 Human Emotion photos

Jealousy

                                           Cheekyness

                                            Contemplation

                                             Apathy

                                            Surprise

                                           Happyness

                                            Anger

                                            Regret

The 12 Principles of Animation

1.       Squash and Stretch – This principle ads weight and flexibility to an object or character and makes the animation look realistic or if exaggerated comical.

2.       Anticipation – Anticipation is used to focus attention on something in the animation and make actions look realistic. The movement of an action generally has a build-up and also a slowdown period, e.g. running and then stopping.

3.       Staging – Is about the design of a scene and where objects and characters are and how it conveys a message to the audience, much like in film and theatre changing the angle or lighting creates different effects.

4.       Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose – Are two different styles of animation, straight ahead action is when an animator draws a scene frame by frame from start to finish. Pose to pose is where an animator draws a few keys frames and then fills in the intervals, this has also become more popular due to computers ability to fill in these frame automatically

5.       Follow Through and Overlapping Action – This principle helps make a character look like they follow the laws of physics, it is the technique of making the body look like its moving at different rates. E.g swinging your arms as you walk will create a character with multiple moving parts and at different speeds.

6.       Slow In and Slow Out – This principle is about movement, when a character begins to run it takes a few frames to build up the large movement of lunging forward and with speed. This means that there needs to be some frame that focus on the speeding up and slowing down of actions and movements.

7.       Arcs – Human and animal movement is similar because of our bone structures, this principle is based on the way limbs move and also the trajectory of an object due to speed and gravity.

8.       Secondary Action – Secondary action is things such as a character showing emotion with things like facial expressions or the way the walk. The key factor in secondary action is that it emphasizes something. E.g. a sad man walking will slump down and maybe look at the ground and show an audience that he is sad without directly telling you.

9.       Timing – This technique is important for the little details in animation such as a characters mood or emotion. It can be shown by timing a characters movement or reaction to something. E.g. a sigh after hearing bad news will show they are upset.

10.   Exaggeration – Exaggeration depends on if your animation is meant to be realistic or in a particular style, it can show an event in a more obvious style and more cartoon like form.

11.   Solid Drawing – This principle is focused on three-dimensional design, creating a character with weight, balance and shadow.

12.   Appeal – Is how a characters personality or charisma is shown, a more appealing character is more entertaining and enjoyable to watch. It can work for good guys or bad guys and everything in-between as long as the characters emotions can be easily read.

Photography with Luke

Here is the link to 5 cool depth of field photos I like 

http://harrydm.deviantart.com/favourites/45266143

Photography with Luke

After searching on deviantArt to find a bunch of photos I like because of the style and creativity I came up with this bunch. 

http://harrydm.deviantart.com/favourites/45165555

Digital Pitch Design

Extra Pitch Design

This is the current design i'm going with for my extra pitch, after talking with members of the class we decided to go with a green ad light green background rather then blue and light blue.

iPad concept screen

Real-estate App

My iPad app idea was designed for a real-estate agent. It can help an agent keep track of things and organize their work, however it is also made for and agent to give to a client. Basically it can show a client information, pictures, videos and virtual tours of a house they wish to buy or sell.

I used images and information from:

http://www.fitzpatricks.com.au/index.cfmpageCall=listings&firstSearch=true&menuItemID=82160

http://www.waggawaggaaustralia.com.au/_images/fitz_logo_425x120.jpg

http://www.gadgetfeature.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ipad2.jpg

Initial concept feedback

Animation Concept - Closed version

 Animation Concept - Open version

- add drop shadow to make clickable things stand out
- possible human character
- keep a child like design and colours because it is appropriate
- create a slogan

Evaluate the nature of design in a specific industry context

1. In your opinion how important is it for mobile applications and devices to both look good and function properly? Comment on both the attractiveness of the software and the hardware. Functionality is the key in my opinion but attractiveness is also a big part of mobile applications and devices. Something has to do its job quickly and easily and the outcome needs to be exactly what the consumer wants. The look of an application is important to, a lot of people will look over something quickly and if it is eye catching then it has increased the chance of getting bought. The iPad and other Apple products have a certain look about them that makes them easily defined and the software and interface is also visually pleasing.

2. Who designed the iPad? Apple Inc.

1. Was it an individual or team? Team 
2. In your opinion, do people use this device because it looks good or because it functions well? Or does it do both? In my opinion people use is because of both, in terms of looks the iPad has its own image, for example if a building company displayed information and pictures of a house design to a potential customer the customer would most likely see that as a positive thing about the building company. In terms of functionality the iPad performs well in my opinion, it’s easy to use and understand and is also fast and responsive. These qualities are what customers look for in a product like the iPad. 

3. How has the iPad changed the way some businesses function? Can you find examples of where businesses have implemented the iPad into their day-to-day activities? The iPad is basically a digital clip board where workers can store, view, send and receive information. This is a huge advantage to business function, as well as the iPad’s basic applications there is countless apps made to help businesses. There are apps for office, finance, IT maintenance, organisation and healthcare to name a few.

4. Overall, what other major flaws of this type of technology? Can you think of anyways in the future that this hardware will be improved to the point where it will compete with desktop and laptop computers? Main flaws with the iPad would be battery life, hard drive space and performance. Laptops and especially desktops have a lot more battery life, hard drive space and performance compared to the iPad. However in the future when the iPad’s battery, hard drives and processors are much more advanced it could definitely compete with laptops and possibly desktops. However the desktop will always have specific advantages over an iPad or similar devices.

5. How do you think the iPad could help your day-to-day workflow? Are the answers straightforward? Is it more a case of combining this technology with others that already exist? The iPad can help you write things down easily, send and receive emails, take photos, download things. All of these can help your day-to-day workflow because it makes a lot of things more accessible.

6. Consider the following–has the iPad shaped the way we do business? Or has business and technology shaped the way Apple developed the iPad? I don’t think the iPad has shaped the way we do business because most of its main functions are built around things like e-mail and software that has been around for a while. I think the iPad is shaped around how it can help people and business.

7. Is the iPad and tablets in general a passing fad? Or do you think this type of technology is here to stay long-term? I think tablets will stay around for the long-term, they have some aspects that you only find in a tablet and that will give them a certain market that will help maintain consumers need for the iPad and other tablets.

8. Conduct a discussion with the whole class and determine based on the general consensus the pros and cons of tablet-based technology.

- Pro’s 
 - Looks good

 - Easy to operate

 - Performs well

 - Small and light

- Con’s 

 - No USB port

 - Short battery life

 - Fragile

 - Compatibility issues

9. Many people say that the iPad is an unnecessary piece of hardware caught in limbo between a laptop and mobile phone. Do you think this consensus is accurate? Do you think that your answer could be different in five years’ time? At the moment I see the point the question is raising, however I do not think it is unnecessary. In my opinion the iPad does things a laptop and a mobile could do but not in the same way. One main aspect of the iPad is its ability to display information to a client. Doing the same thing with a mobile or laptop will still work but not as well. I think the iPad has many features that make it stand out from the mobile and laptop, and I’m sure in 5 years it will be even more defined.

Magazine Layout Exercise

Writing Content - Weight Loss Program

Want Change?

Tired of that excess weight, wanting to be fit and active? Now it’s your turn. With our amazing weight loss plan you can achieve whatever level of fitness you desire. By following our program and keeping track of your food and exercise along with weekly weigh in’s you will be on track to your goal weight or fitness.

The program

Our program is custom made to meet your requirements, based on the information you provide us with our trainers will build a weekly program that will help you lose weight and gain back control of your life. To help you along with the program, we also offer you motivational videos from our trainers and also from people who have used our program.

The difference

Our program isn’t just straight forward directions we explain how your body works, the balance between exercise and energy intake. This way you will learn how to fuel your body effectively and not just how to lift weights. We aim to make you leave with a better standard of life and the knowledge to continue living your life with the fitness you want.

It’s all about you

Our program is built for you and is made to be easy to follow and use effectively, the best idea in the world is useless if no one can get to it. So our program is easily accessible online, this means you can access it anytime, anywhere. You can also record your daily results and weekly weigh in’s. And no-one will know your even using our program because your information is kept safe with us.

Term 2 Week 2 - ARMY copy, my version

This is my version of the ARMY copy found here: http://www.army.gov.au/artc/recruit.cfm

THE ARMY – THERES NO JOB LIKE IT

If you’re interested in join the Australian ARMY then there is a lot to take into account. The ARMY is a challenging career but also has a large number of benefits. In the ARMY you will experience adventure, teamwork, skill building and a lot more, and along with that you will get paid to do it and be looked after with free health care. The ARMY is like no other job, you will get trained to become a soldier and you will experience a lot more then you could in an ordinary job.

Your Training
The training is tough and will push you to become your best and at the end you will leave Kapooka a soldier with a great sense of achievement. After Kapooka there is even more to do in the ARMY as you will be trained in your core, you will learn specialist skills that you will use in your roll in the ARMY. After your training you will become a deployable soldier in the Australian Defence Force and the adventure will continue. 

Term 2 Week 2 Animation - ARMY copy critique

Critique of the ARMY recruitment page found here http://www.army.gov.au/artc/recruit.cfm

·                     Does the copy get to the point quickly? I think it does get to the point quickly but it does not explain anything in detail. When the copy explains the lifestyle and difficulties involved it does not explain the change from a normal lifestyle to one in the ARMY.

·                     Is the copy shy about the offer or incentive? I think it is shy about the offer because there is almost nothing there explaining what life in the ARMY would be like or what you might do. And the copy does not explain what incentives there are to joining the ARMY

·                     Is it easy to respond to? Not really as the page does not offer much to go on with, and you are also left with not much extra knowledge then what you would have had before reading the copy.

·                     Does the copy overcome every objection to replying, leaving the reader with no choice but to act? No it doesn’t make the ARMY seem more appealing to me and I don’t feel that it gives you much information. I think the average person would assume the army would be different and unlike any other job, as well as that everyone knows the army would be strange hours and harder then an average job.

·                     Does the copy use simple words? Yes

·                     Does the copy use active language (does it address the site visitor as ‘you’)? The copy does address the visitor as “you” and the language is fairly active.

·                     Is the copy broken down into simple sections and bullet points? No 

Blog issues

I have been informed by Phil that my blog's start up splash screen is not working and making it difficult to view this blog, I'm not 100% about the problem but what I do know is I use google chrome and it runs properly there. However on Internet Explorer and Firefox a black screen comes up and does not go away, if you get this problem try clicking on the screen and it should fade away. I think the problem is that a bit of code doesn't work properly on some browsers, I'm not sure why but when I first made it it did work but that's no longer the case. I'll try and fix it up anyway :)

Term 2 Week 1

Today we made a panorama photo in Photoshop by merging five photos into one. To do this we extended our original photo to five times the width so we could fit in the other photos. We then brought each photo in one at a time and put the layer opacity of each photo down to 50% so we could see the photos overlapping. After aligning them enough we used layer masks to help clean the images up and make it look real. This is the outcome

5 me's

Today we did some image manipulation in Photoshop, we used some of Dave's cool cameras and took different photos of ourselves from the same spot with the help of a tripod and then brought them into Photoshop so it looks like there numerous me's in the one photo. To do this we used the "Pen tool" to cut ourselves out of one photo and bring that image into another image making more then one person appear on the one photo, then we help make the picture fit in a bit more using the "Smudge tool" and "Burn tool". But personally I like to just take one image across with the "Rectangle Marquee tool" and then use the "History brush" to blend it into the image.

Digital Pitch

After looking at the design of my pitch on both computer and drawn I've come up with a few things I think need to be changed
- Less white space, I think the blank parts make it boring so I'm thinking about a background colour
- I need to demonstrate the old and new packaging in more detail
- I also think more text and content will help fill the page up more and make it more effective as well as pleasing to look at.
My control group is Phil, Laura and Robert.
If anyone has any tips feel free to get them to me how ever you can  =)

Visual Pun's

Today we made some visual pun's on Photoshop, I chose the word "batman" and made this picture.

Digital Pitch - basic design

This is a basic design of the drawn version of my pitch, the next step is to improve it using Illustrator 

Photoshop Wednesday's

Today we learn't a bit about the pen tool, we cut out things from the image and then put them back into the photo at different sizes and locations.

Photoshop Wednesday's

This Wednesday with Dave we worked on layers, firstly Dave gave us 4 photos and we had to make a similar image to the one he showed us. After that we were able to make whatever we wanted, I chose to make one with my favorite action movie characters, crashes and so on. The colour photo was made up of lots of natural pictures of the internet such as waves, fire, forests, lightning etc.

Main research: Extra

The main idea I have is for the packet to be different, many of the flaws I noticed with the current cardboard packet can be overcome by using an aluminium packet. I noticed this when I looked at this JB-HI-FI gift card holder I was given over Christmas. It uses a sliding rail type design to slide open and closed and a bump in one of the pieces stop the two parts for moving apart. However this is overcome with a slight bit of force when pushing the two pieces in different directions. This packet holds the card well, is much stronger than cardboard but is also still very light. The case opens easily and also holds in place quiet well. There is also enough room for 14 pieces of gum, and unlike the extra packet it does not have the foil thing in the bottom that has proven to be quiet inconvenient when the pieces stick to it. I will upload photo's of the tin later

Pro’s of an alloy tin
- Water proof
- Durable
- Collectable
- Doesn't break apart/tear/bend
- Holds the same amount
- More user friendly
- Recyclable
- Can be re-used

Photoshop Wednesday's

These are some of the photo's we edited this week with Dave, we used the "clone stamp tool", "spot healing brush" and a little bit of the "history brush tool"

Pro's and Con's

More Research Extra Research ;)

Time to look into the pro’s and con’s of Extra. Ready? Good.

Pro’s

-         Packet is relatively small

-         One pack holds 14 pieces

-         Healthy/Sugarfree

-         Not heavy

-         The packet looks appealing and is very recognisable

Con’s

-         You have to carry it around

-         May loose it

-         Packet isn’t very durable,  falls apart in your pocket after about a day

-         The pieces seem to get stuck and you end up pulling the whole thing apart trying to get one

-         I have been informed that the pieces fall out and all through handbags

Further Research (packaging)

Ok so we all know Wrigley’s Extra is a healthy option compared to common confectionary choices and that’s what Wrigley’s are going for. Extra’s biggest selling point is that the consumer wants fresh breath and a healthy mouth, let’s face it who doesn’t? So my next step in research is how they get that across and in this case with the packaging. To do this I have bought a pack of “Wrigley’s Extra Peppermint Sugarfree gum” and after looking inside and out I have found a lot of this advertisement (more than you would think). I have taken photo’s of the packaging to show just how much emphases on dental heath there is, see below.

Phase 1 - Research

Wrigley’s Extra sugarfree gum. One of Extra’s biggest selling points is the emphases on oral heath rather than flavour like other chewing gum brands. In fact every Wrigley’s Extra chewing gum has “helps keep teeth and gums healthy” written on the packet. When Extra was launched in Australia in 1987 it was the first sugarfree gum in the market, a revolution to the product category. Since then Extra haven’t slowed down at all in terms of being the supreme chewing gum brand and still a healthy consumer choice.

Over two decades of clinical research shows chewing sugarfree gum after eating and drinking is beneficial to oral health. However in recent studies extra has now been proven to have an active role in stress relief and also weight management. New research has confirmed that chewing sugarfree gum significantly suppresses sweet snack cravings and helps curb kilojoule intake. The study, presented at the recent American Society for Nutrition (ASN) Scientific Sessions and Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology 2009 shows that people who chew gum after a meal significantly reduced their desire to eat sweet snacks compared to those who did not chew. The gum-chewing cohort experienced a reduction in energy intake of 160kj compared to those who did not chew.

Meanwhile in the Swinburne University in Melbourne, a study has found that chewing sugarfree gum increases alertness, improves performance and can reduce anxiety during mild stress by 16%. In fact, people in the know are already using chewing gum to help improve focus, concentration and alertness. Chewing gum may also help with multi-tasking, recent research shows chewing gum results in an improvement in overall performance on multi-tasking activities while under a laboratory stressor. A new study presented at the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) Scientific Sessions and Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology 2009 found that chewing sugarfree gum can lead to better academic performance in teenagers in a classroom setting.

Links to the information are here

-          Stress, focus – http://www.wrigley.com/aunz/benefits-of-chewing/stress-relief.aspx

-          Weight management - http://www.wrigley.com/aunz/benefits-of-chewing/diet.aspx

Product Research - Wrigley's Extra.

We all know (and love?) the chewing gum brand Extra, it's the one that helps repel those coffee cups and donuts that climb out of the trash can and cheerfully stalk us. It is also the product I have chosen to study and research for my class with Luke. I have been researching the ingredients in Extra chewing gum and I have also been looking into different methods of distribution. Over the next week I will be showing this research on my blog :) 

Colour this, with Dave

This is a picture Dave gave us in class, originally it was black and white but not for much longer as Dave soon taught us all about how to re-colour black and white images to make them look fairly realistic. We then spent the rest of the lesson attempting to make the image colourful but also keep it looking like a real colour photo as it once was. (you can also click the picture and then zoom in to see it's original size on the next page)

Week 3.

Pepsi "Cash or Car?" deal
Starting on the 28th of the 2nd 2011 is Pepsi's latest "gimmick" where you can enter a competition to win either cash ($50,00) or a car (Holden HSV V8)
Pro's
- This offers the consumer of Pepsi a chance in winning an expensive prize just by spending a few dollars
- Also offers a side competition of a $1,000 giveaway each day for three months
- People enjoy entering competitions
Con's
- People who enter the competition are very unlikely to actually win
- Entering is time consuming and will most likely lead to you spending more money (texting, mail etc)
- It probably made you buy the product even though you didn't plan to

Week 2.

Get The Glass, Review?
Positive.
- I enjoy the concept of board games and video games coming together
- Visually the game was very good, and the animation was smooth
- Teaching people about milk and being healthy is also a good thing and I hope it worked
Negative.
- To be honest I had nearly no idea it was trying to promote milk for a while, I guess I don't pay much attention :/
- Slightly boring and repetitive but still fun enough to enjoy once.

3. Positive Advertisement
This ad is for the very well known Ipad, I think this is a very effective ad. It shows the Ipad and has a small section of writing as well as a strong bold heading. This directs the audience to read what is underneath, then hopefully the more detailed area at the bottom of the photo. I think it is a well designed and informative ad that shows the market everything they would want to see in a short amount of time. Hopefully the ad is intriguing enough to make the viewer research more into the product.

2. Positive Advertisement
This picture is a very good advertisement for the tennis brand Wilson, the ad is very direct and shows Rodger Federer holding a Wilson tennis racket. This form of advertisement focuses on the fame that the figure in the picture has. Rodger Federer is to many, the face of tennis so who better to advertise your tennis racket?

1. Positive Advertisement
I think the Coca Cola image is a very good use of advertisement, Coke have stuck to such a simple design but it works perfectly (being the most recognized brand in the world proves that). Everyone remembers Coke as "coke" in white on a red background and the rest changes slightly each time. In my opinion this is a good example of positive advertisement.

3. Negative Advertisement
One of the biggest aspects of advertisement is, "does the ad get the message across clearly?" In this case it's a definite no. I'm not sure how someone paints an advert on the side of something like a truck and manages to put it there upside down, but this is a very simple example of bad advertisement. Apart from the fact that the ad is almost completely useless in getting information across to an audience, in my opinion this also makes "mikes moving" look very unprofessional.

2. Negative Advertisement Back in 2006 "CBS Television announced that it will start etching ads for its new fall programming on about 35 million eggs." I think this form of advertisement is completely wrong, firstly eggs are a product that have nothing to do with television, the advertisement will also be broken and thrown out within seconds of it's use, and most of the shows advertised on these eggs are shown late at night around 8:30pm and eggs are usually a breakfast style of food. So even if the audience read there eggs then after a days work they would probably not remember what was written on there breakfast.

1. Negative advertisement

In my opinion this ad is ineffective, I chose this ad because it is an ad for some Dodge car seeing as from the picture I don't even know what model it is. The only aspect of advertisement the picture gives is visual, theres no information, stats or pricing. This is a bad move by Dodge because for most people purchasing a brand new car is a big deal, and all this ad seems to offer is humor. Personally I think this ad would sell more photocopiers then cars.

And in other news.....

Two Cambridge mates say they may turn their unusual method of trimming hedges into a business, after they suspended a ride-on mower from a crane to do the job. 
"This is how the Waikato boys mow a hedge," the ride-on mower operator told the Waikato Times.
The operator, who did not want to be named, is now nursing a broken hand, but said it wasn't a fall from the mower that caused the injury but one off the crane.
He admitted it was not the safest method of trimming the hedge, but said it was all done as a bit of a joke.
They wanted to film the stunt, put it on the internet and see how many hits it got, but in the end had no video camera.
"We just thought it would be a bit of a joke – a bit of a laugh," he said.
The man had expected a real hedge trimmer to turn up on Sunday to mow the hedge, but when he didn't his mate arrived with his crane and a ride-on mower.
The next thing he knew he was being hoisted up on top of the two-metre high hedge.
"We were supposed to get all dressed up in our Mooloo gear and show people that this is how the Waikato boys mow their hedges."
The unusual sight bemused passing motorists. One passer-by, Bart Dinger, said it was a classic case of Kiwi ingenuity.
"A kiwi classic – jandals and all," he said.
The mower operator's wife burst out laughing when she drove home to see her husband on the hedge.
"I saw the crane first and thought 'great, the hedge is getting trimmed', but I didn't realise this was what they were planning," she said.
Her husband spent about 20 minutes mowing the hedge which had "got out of hand over winter".
"The mower was doing an all-right job, but I reckon it would work better on a hedge that's not so spiky." He said there was nothing in the instructions to say the mower couldn't be used on hedges and joked that they should go into the contracting business.

Before and After - Photoshop

This is a before and after picture of a Lamborghini I edited in PS to change the colour of the paint job and such.

Week 1.

It's Wednesday night and this is week one of my Cert III Digital Media course, So far We've had 3 days learning about Digital Media and also meeting our teachers who we will see a whole lot more of i'm sure. On another note,  I just finished messing about with my blog and i'm pretty happy with it :) I'll work more on it's design later