A) Behavioural modelling is an important part of NPC development for games. Should emotive modelling be part of that development?

As stated behaviour modelling IS an important aspect of NPC development, it exists outside of the video game industry as a social learning theory, where so people learn and develop through experience, and therefore arguably to create realistic NPC’s within video games such an ideology should be included as well. This would mean that an NPC would be coded to learn and adapt to the actions of the player. In the case of emotive modelling, I must say that I also believe that emotive modelling should be part of the process. It makes a game more immersive when the player can believe an NPC is performing how we would expect. “Fundamentally, its not about reality, its about the illusion of reality; creating the feel of something being real.”. (Anon, N/A)

In some cases, in my opinion, games lack that illusion of reality, and immersion is broken when an NPC surprisingly does something ridiculous and unrealistic. For instance if an NPC attempts to stay and fight even when the odds are highly stacked against them. In such a case I believe that emotive modelling could or should be implemented to allow judgements to be made and the possibility for an NPC to flee, the more realistic action in the case of fight or flight.

Some developers do attempt to implement some emotive modelling, as I believe they should, however the problem remains that, “Quite often game AI is developed in a generic manner per character type rather than for a particular character“(Stallwood, James and Ranchhod, Ashokkymar, 2017), making most NPC’s act too similarly, a flaw to emotive modelling…

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B) Consider your favourite video game. If it contains AI controlled agents how individualistic are they and there behaviours, and, how might you set about improving them?

My favourite game is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The game came out in 2006, so obviously it doesn’t have the most up to date NPC AI, however for its time it did well, especially with the use of Radiant AI. The game has features with the NPC’s that try to make the game for realistic. NPC’s will call for help if they witness you commit a crime, have habits, and some will flee when in danger. Additionally, for  such functions the whole AI are not coded to behave in such a way, guards for instance won’t back down from a fight if you’re caught breaking the law. Whilst merchants on the other hand who may try to intervene won’t stay around for long if they take too much damage. This sense of panic and chaos that surrounds criminal activity in the game, for example, makes the game feel that little bit more realistic.

(Source: http://oceanofgames.com/the-elder-scrolls-4-oblivion-free-download/)

Granted the game isn’t perfect, codes for behaviours are generally categorised and shared by large groups of NPC’s which removes the sense of individuality, additionally the AI are limited to a certain amount of lines of dialogue so the player will often overhear the same repetitive lines. Additionally the behaviour of NPC’s can create problems, especially if you’re trying to talk to an NPC character who wont stop fleeing an area.

Therefore, to improve the game I would suggest improvements within dialogue, and a wider range of characteristics, both would add more personalities and iconic characters, making the AI feel more individual, and the game feel that extra bit more immersive.

(265 Words)

References:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/behavior-modeling-workplace-10980.html

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220982219_Emotional_agent_model_and_architecture_for_NPCs_group_control_and_interaction_to_facilitate_leadership_roles_in_computer_entertainment

https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/941875-the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-game-of-the-year-edition/72084091

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_of_The_Elder_Scrolls_IV:_Oblivion

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/the_elder_scrolls_v_skyrim/b/xbox360/archive/2011/01/17/the-technology-behind-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim.aspx

Bibliography:

Anon, (N/A) Creating Intelligent, Emotive NPC’s [Online] Available from: http://www.virtualworldlets.net/Resources/Hosted/Resource.php?Name=IntelligentEmotiveNPC  [Accessed 05 December]

James Stallwood and Ashokkumar Ranchhod  (2017) The right to remember: Implementing a rudimentary emotive-effect layer for frustration on AI agent gameplay strategy Computers  [Online] Available from: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-431X/6/2/18/htm [Accessed 05 December]

A) What do you see as the Positives and negatives around copyright?

When something is protected by copyright, it  means that the creator of said physical thing has the legal rights to control how it is used. This doesn’t stand for intellectual property however, only physically created things such as a song, book, or innovation, to name a few. Such a system has pros and cons to it however;

For instance, the main pro to copyright laws is that , “companies aren’t required to place a copyright notice on the work ti secure their rights” (Wilhelm Schnotz, N/A). By this, the copyright law has automatic protection independent of if a copyright notice is present. Any physical creation once published has automatic protection to prevent infringement. However, although it prevents infringement, without a copyright notice a company can not seek reparations nor punishments if their work is plagiarised. None the less, “Once creation is completed, they [businesses] have exclusive rights in controlling the use and exploitation of the works” (J.J Hua, 2014).

However, although basic rights are provided, to seek the ability to punish those who infringe upon work produced, companies must pay registering fees with the Copyright office, and document every piece of work, which can be time consuming and tedious. Additionally the cost to fully copyright an idea may be expensive for smaller organisations.

Furthermore, copyright laws can discourage creativity, because “people are not free to create derivative works from existing works”(Gregory Hamel, N/A). Which is difficult to imagine as nowadays it can be argued that everything surely must be inspired from somewhere, how original can someone be in today’s society?.

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B) Is it possible to make anything new?

“A man says to take the road less traveled by

And one day, people begin to listen.

So pretty soon, the road less traveled by grows familiar.

It suddenly loses its magic

And becomes just another dirt road.

Which goes to show, individuality eventually leads to conformity,

And then we’re all back at the beginning.

So tell me.

Are we really original?

Is everyone actually special?

Because I think it may just all be a lie.”

(Emily Diehl, 2014)

This Quote by Emily Diehl sums up, for me, the problem with originality within today’s society. Arguably it is impossible to truly be original as we are inspired by our surroundings, and may subconsciously be brought to an idea or innovation through the world around us. A musician for example,  may believe that the piece they compose is completely original when in reality the tempo or rhythm may have been inspired by some external sources.

I however, believe that the idea of being able to make something completely new is true, the world is forever changing and innovations we use today where once never about. However, i do believe being completely original is very rare,  whether we’re inspired by how other things interact with people and use such designs with our ideas, or we chose a specific colour or whatever, i believe that creating something completely new is almost impossible in today’s day and age.

(234 Words)

Reference List

Wilhelm Schnotz, (N/A). Pros & Cons of Copyright Laws | Your Business. [Online] Available at: https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/pros-cons-copyright-laws-5170.html. [Accessed 01 December 2017].

J.J. Hua, (2014).  Toward A More Balanced Approach: Rethinking and Readjusting Copyright Systems in the Digital Network Era, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg (Pp. 39 – 41) [Accessed 01 December 2017]

Gregory Hamel, (N/A). Pros & Cons of Copyright Laws. [ONLINE] Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-copyright-laws-52554.html. [Accessed 01 December 2017].

Emily Diehl, (2014). Originality: Does it Really Exist? | Think About It. [Online] Available at: http://sites.psu.edu/diehlthinkaboutit/2014/09/18/originality-does-it-really-exist/. [Accessed 01 December 2017].

A) select one example to outline the key concepts of human-computer interaction. Reflect upon the role of the “human”, the “computer” and the “interaction”.

The main concept for Human Computer Interaction is design. The interface of the machine must be simple and easy to use in order for it to be efficient and thus successful. You can “design better interfaces from the start by knowing human limitations and easing the load on the user” (Anon, 2017). A complex and hard to use interface merely leaves the user unable to grasp and understand how the machine can be of use, and how it functions.  Design is within the physical layout of the computer as well as its programming and its layout. For instance when it comes to a laptop, its design must be appealing to the user. If the keyboard keys for example were shuffled and changed around then it would be less efficient for its users, interaction is about efficiency, the more complex it is to interact with the less efficient it is.

The human has the job to learn the functions, the tools, and the layout of the computer in order for it to have a maximized efficiency, if a designer relocated the keys on a keyboard it would be more complex and different to what the human may previously had remembered on other designs. Therefore it is crucial for designers to consider past adaptations, and use such examples to make a product as easy to use as possible. Though regardless the human has the role of being able to learn and remember how their inputs achieve desired outputs. For example one could easily learn that by interacting with the interface and pressing ‘Ctrl’ + ‘C’ on the keyboard that a highlighted image or text on screen has been copied.

(Source: https://www.quietpc.com/matias-quiet-pro-keyboards)

The role of the Computer is very simple, it must remember what inputs create which outputs and must be quick and efficient at producing the desired demands of the human. However,  although the computer has an important role, if it is poorly designed , then it may not be a successful product. “Interaction is about Efficiency” (Peter Kottas, 2017)

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B) discuss the relationship between games design and human-computer interaction

A) Choose one of the indie designers / developers and outline why there work and approach is of interest to you.

Garry Newman, the founder, the main overseer and a programmer for the company ‘FacePunch Studios’. Garry created the widely known company ‘FacePunch Studios’ in 2004 on his own, however over the years the company has expanded to hold 43 employees in total. The company is notorious for producing games such as ‘Garry’s Mod’ and ‘rust’ as well as a few other lesser known titles. Rust which has been developed since 2012,  for instance was announced to have made the company $30,000,000 by 2014, only in 2 years, according to Garry Newman over Twitter, which had surpassed Garry’s Mod, which had been in development since 2004 ( Emanuel Maiberg, 2014) . Rust is the most successful game developed by Garry and his team, and here’s why:

(Source: https://www.myblackboxhosting.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/rust-1.png)

If we take ‘Rust’ as an example, their approach to game design is open. By this, i am referring to their interactions with their fanbase and community. The developers post weekly Dev Blog Updates, look at concept art created by fans (as well as producing their own) , and host Q&A sessions to try and get as much feedback from the audience as possible. This in my opinion has made the game incredibly successful as it has the influence of its players and additionally it keeps gamers informed, which keeps the fanbase interested in the game. The same techniques have been used for other games produced by the company, where so blogs are available to inform the fanbases.

(source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C5GYZoTGEUg/maxresdefault.jpg)

Additionally i could mention how the games themselves are competitive (in ‘Rust’s case) or imaginative and creative (such as with Garry’s Mod) which spurs people to carry on playing. However despite the games themselves, i believe that the constant updates the games get and the studios interaction with players, as well as “letting players test new features before they’re added to the main game” (Alex Wawro, 2014), is what truly makes the games they produce and their approach so significantly unique, interesting and successful.

(321 Words)

B)  What do you think could be the most exciting indie projects that are in development

(Source: http://www.craveonline.com/assets/uploads/2017/06/The-Last-Night-Controversy-Tim-Soret.jpg)

In my opinion, one of the most exciting indie projects in development is ‘The Last Night’ which is being developed by Odd Tales. The game is a cinematic platformer set in a cyberpunk themed world. To me, what makes the game interesting is the that the developers have “combined both 2D and 3D techniques” (IcyEyes, 2017) , which in this case formed the foundation for a “2.5D cyberpunk sidescroller” (Tom Marks, 2017). 2.5D in games means that the layout in the game is similar to that of traditional 2D games, with the addition of 3D elements such as layering. For instance within The Last Night the trailer shows the player moving along a 2D axis but objects and people around the protagonist move within the background and foreground giving  the perception of a 3D game.

(Source: http://oddtales.net/img/TheLastNight_04.jpg)

Additionally, the games mood lighting and cinematic effects add to the overall aesthetic and environment to the game, which looks promising in my opinion. The Trailer released this year, showing off in game footage, suggest the game should hopefully be driven more dominantly through an interesting and dynamic story, within an advanced, futuristic, cyberpunk landscape. Therefore for both the reasons of: lighting, story, and the fact its a 2.5D platformer, i personally am exited to see the completion of this indie project.

(213 Words)

References:

https://wwww.facepunch.com/#team

https://gmod.facepunch.com/blog/

https://rust.facepunch.com

https://rust.facepunch.com/blog/devblog-186/https://garry.tv

http://oddtales.net

Bibliography

Emanuel Maiberg, (2014),Rust already made more than Garry’s Mod’s $30 million. [Online] Available from: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/rust-already-made-more-than-garry-s-mod-s-30-million/1100-6417907/ [Accessed 21 November]

Alex Wawro, (2014) The developers who made Rust are rebuilding it from scratch. [Online] Available from: https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/219776/The_developers_who_made_Rust_are_rebuilding_it_from_scratch.php [Accessed 21 November]IcyEyes, (2017) 2.5D. [Online] Available from: https://www.giantbomb.com/25d/3015-660/ [Accessed 21 November]

Tom Marks, (2017) Take a first look at gameplay from cyberpunk sidescroller The Last Night. [Online] Available from: http://www.pcgamer.com/take-a-first-look-at-gameplay-from-cyberpunk-sidescroller-the-last-night/ [Accessed 21 November]

Nathan Grayson, (2017) Rust Designer Explains The Game’s $5.7 Million In Refunds. [Online] Available from: https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/06/rust-designer-explains-the-games-5-7-million-in-refunds/ [Accessed 21 November]

A) Select one example to outline the key concepts of the interactive narrative genre?

The genre of Interactive narratives attempt to allow players or users to immerse themselves within a story and influence decisions made, as well as the overall ending of said storyline. Interactive narratives are not solely present within the gaming industry, but rather originally appeared within literature.  An interactive narrative requires a “coherent narrative…in which all events build off prior events until a conclusion is reached” (Mark O. Riedl and Vadim Bulitko, 2013)

As (Flanagan and Arble, 1998) stated, “The computer is having a profound effect on our tales, helping us to create morphing, sprawling stories with infinite possibilities”. Both authors believed that with the rise of technology could come improvements with interactive narratives. This can be witnessed in modern gaming, games with compelling interactive narratives hold within them gripping and vast storylines dependent on players actions. The Walking dead for instance attempts to immerse players into the game series by placing them into “dramatic, and emotional, scenarios” (Lee, 2014) where the decisions of the player have a permanent affect on the whole story. For instance deciding if a person should live or die. These components of immersion and great storyline are key concepts of the interactive narrative genre.

On the other hand it can be argued that “Interaction and narration are key concepts in interactive narrative design”,(Glyean ,1995), a view shared by Mikael B. Skov (2002), who argued that designers need to address what type of narrative should be presented, and how such a narrative should be interacted with.

(250 words)

(source:   http://mac.appstorm.net/general/the-walking-dead-400-days-back-from-the-dead/)

B) Does the interactive narrative still have a role to play in video games today? Give exemplary examples.

Interactive narratives gaming have been available to users as early as the 1970’s, such as in Dungeons and Dragons, and through text based adventure games and literature. In my opinion, the genre still stands to play a role in the video game industry today. Interactive narratives have developed from video games such as “colossal cave adventure”, and have improved and become modernised to remain relevant in the gaming community.

Many games today involve some degree of decision making which effect the overall storyline to games. The company Bethesda for instance allows players to chose between dialogue options and actions which overall effect the storyline which is presented to them. Fallout New Vegas for instance (one of my favourite games) allows the protagonist to chose between large factions to fight for dominance over the Mojave Wasteland. The post apocalyptic setting is riddled with numerous storylines and directions for the player to go. Characters can be spared or permanently killed off, and certain quests only become available depended on the decisions of the player previously. This creates a degree of replay ability for gamers as they can replay the story from another perspective (to some extent of course as the start is almost always the same for certain titles of Bethesdas’ games),

(source:  http://store.steampowered.com/sub/13435/)

These interesting and vast storylines and narratives are obviously successful nowadays, as interactive narratives are featured in triple A rated games, which usually sell numerous copies. The example of fallout New Vegas for instance, sold over 2 million copies in 10 weeks.(Anon, 2017).

Clearly Interactive Narratives are here to stay.

(254 Words)

Reference List:

Mark O. Riedl and Vadim Bulitko, (2013). Interactive Narrative: An Intelligent Systems Approach. Ai Magazine. [Online] Available from: https://www.cc.gatech.edu/~riedl/pubs/aimag.pdf [Accessed 24 October]

Mary Flanagan and Francine Arble, (1998). Interactive Narrative: Stepping Into Our Own Stories. Human factors in computer systems, pg 88- 89. [Online] Available from: http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/290000/286543/p88-clanton.pdf?ip=152.78.186.214&id=286543&acc=ACTIVE%20SERVICE&key=BF07A2EE685417C5%2EA13CBF7F1C3C7DF4%2E4D4702B0C3E38B35%2E4D4702B0C3E38B35&CFID=835542564&CFTOKEN=51036087&__acm__=1512052671_a7bad4017b8172a9aa44540e5077ed88 [Accessed 24 October]

Lee, (2014) The Walking Dead Season 3 Announced. [Online] Available from: http://www.wtfgamersonly.com/the-walking-dead-season-3-announced/ .[Accessed 24 October]

Gaylean, T. A, (1995). Narrative Guidance of Interactivity. PhD Thesis. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mikael B. Skov, (2002).  Design of Interactive Narratives: Concepts, Methods, and Architectures. Allaborh University. [Online] Available from: http://people.cs.aau.dk/~dubois/papers/Skov-Thesis.pdf [Accessed 24 October]

Anon, (2017). Fallout: New Vegas. [Online] Available from: http://www.vgchartz.com/game/33663/fallout-new-vegas/Global/ [Accessed 24 October]

What are the key components of Postmodernism?

As defined, postmodernism is “a late-20th-century style and concept…which represents a departure from modernism and has at its heart a general distrust of grand theories” (Anon,(2017). Essentially, postmodernism as a style attempts to stand out and distinct itself from standard forms of expression as a means of challenging and critiquing physical representations of the world. Postmodernism is present within architecture, art, literature and even within the games industry, the movement itself is present wherever a form of expression can be made. The movement itself has ideas which fuel it, within the style artists “challenges all truths and concludes that there is no such thing”(Anon, 2017). Instead postmodernists believe that the concept of true or false are merely deceptions used by some to achieve power over others. Postmodernists additionally attempt to “rely on opinions”(Anon, 2017) and beliefs as opposed to raw facts, again this is done to challenge the norm of society. Within art, postmodern artists are shown to; combine previous art styles, simplify art, use text and collage, display art through the medium of video, present art through performance, and the list goes on. These different and unique postmodern mediums and techniques attempt to  present thought provoking imagery that confronts the  authority and traditionally held claims within society.

(Source: Tracey emins, (1998), http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/emin-my-bed-l03662)

For example, Tracey Emin’s contemporary installation work, titled “My Bed” for instance would fall under the category of postmodernism. Her simplified work created uproar and complaints, as many critiqued her work to be lacking within the art world.

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What Games do you think exemplify this in their design decisions?

Postmodernism is no stranger to the gaming world either. Game designers can question the normal perception one may have of our surrounding world, and instead present fantasy imaginative ideology or views on society through an interactive playable game. For me a notable game which is a great example of postmodernism within game design is Assassins Creed. The game franchise, is dominantly story based and revolves around conflict between two groups, the Assassin’s Creed and the Templars. The game is an analogy for uprisings against authority, the Templars represent groups seeking power and dominance over the general masses, whilst the creed stand for free will and independent control over actions. The Creed itself within the game was associated a very postmodern motto to fight and die for:

“Where others blindly believe what they are told, remember: Nothing is True. Where others are hindered by morality and the law, remember: Everything is permitted”

The game itself screams postmodernism! Themes of good and evil are always present alongside the overall message to think for yourself and to question figures with authority and command. However, although the philosophical implications of post modernism are present within the franchise, if the game designers and developers of the franchise intentionally did this, “remains, in true postmodern fashion, a “maybe”” (Max Heiliger, 2013/14).

( Source: http://vsbattles.wikia.com/wiki/Assassin%27s_Creed )

(216 words)

Referencing List:

Anon, Oxford Dictionaries | English. 2017. postmodernism | Definition of postmodernism in English by Oxford Dictionaries. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/postmodernism. [Accessed 18 October 2017].

Anon, Postmodernism and Truth. 2017. Postmodernism and Truth. [ONLINE] Available at: http://changingminds.org/explanations/critical_theory/concepts/postmodernism_truth.htm. [Accessed 18 October 2017].

Anon, AllAboutPhilosophy.org. 2017. Characteristics of Postmodernism. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/characteristics-of-postmodernism-faq.htm. [Accessed 18 October 2017].

Max Heiliger, (2013/14), – Academia.edu. 2017. Postmodern Influences in the Assassin’s Creed Franchise | Max Heiliger – Academia.edu. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.academia.edu/8309661/Postmodern_Influences_in_the_Assassins_Creed_Franchise. [Accessed 19 October 2017].