UDK editor

UDK stands for Unreal Development Kit.
Today we learned how to use the UDK editing software. It is used in the development of a number of current titles including the series Unreal Tournament.

Unreal Tournament

UDK editor gets updated regularly to make sure that the software packet is as current as possible.

So far UDK editor has been quite user friendly and intuitive to use. The moving functionality isn't complex just unusual from my point of view.

Within UDK editor we can create pre-textured objects by loading in these things called "static messes".
The sever a trees, windows, grass, rocks etc. These will make up a sizeable part of your level.

One of the best features of UDK is the library of prepared  items which can be used in the design and construction of your level. These include the previously mentioned static messes, skeletal messes (player models and objects for comparison purposes), materials, textures etc.

Content Browser

Reflecting on what I have learned.

This is the first day of the next term of my course. Over the last term I have learned how to use the vector tools in Photoshop  which I used in creating my game graphics

Character for scratch game

This is an example of one of the character graphics which I created using only the Photoshop vector tools.
The vector tools included the pen tool which is the main drawing and manipulation tool in the set, it has a sub menu which change the pen tools function to a suitable one in almost all situations. The word tool was the next one that we learned how to use. It quickly and accurately draws out letters in vector and can be quite uses full as a replacement to drawing out the individual letters with the pen. The next tool is the courser/move tool which is used to move entire objects or to manipulate the individual vector points which is required to make certain shapes/graphics. The last vector tool is the shape tool, it is used to draw squares, circles, rectangles etc. It is far easier to use this than to draw out these simple shapes with the pen tool.

Another skill I have learned from last term is programming, in scratch. The learning curve was quite steep at first but after some practice it became clear that programming must be done in a very logical process and must be very clear and very specific in order to get out put.

Scratch Code

This is a screen shot of the programming block I used for my menu. I will be able to reuse this in the future for my future projects and works. That is one of the extremely useful things about games programming, even if it does work fully at the end of the process you will have blocks of code which you can reuse and reuse and reuse over and over again e.g menu coding.
Although I enjoyed learning the basics of programming I found it very tedious to start and very rewarding.

Another thing which I've learned to do is how to maintain a steady and regular blog, this blog. I have learned the value of planning out post in advance and taking and using notes to type up posts. I feel there is huge room from improvement in my posts and I aim to do so.

Game shetches

This is a sample image of my blog.

The most prevalent thing that I have learned is the fact that I am in charge of my own learning and I must be self motivated in all of my endevers.

I have learned that I need to organise myself sefisently before diving into a task head on.

I've learned that I must set goals in order to be able to acheve anything from this course and any further education.

Photoshop tools

The Photoshop tools which we are currently using are the vector based tools.

The includ the pen tool : Used for basic drawing of objects. Can also be used to add and remove anchor points to a line or shaped to change how it looks. The pen tool has one final feature with is the transform tool, this changes the vector from a stiraght line piont to a manipulatable one which can be used to create shapes such as butterfly wings.

Example of pen tool work

Another vector tool we used was the move tool : The move tool does exactly what you would expect, it moves things. Specificly it moves the entire object unless the direct move tool is selected which allows for direct control and manipulation of individual vector points.

vector  tools

The next tool is the shape tool : Its used for the drawing of simple common shapes circles, triangles etc.
Its primary use is to save time in the grand scheme of a design as any vector based object can have vector points added to it or removed from it with the pen tool.

The final vector tool is the text tool : It is used to draw letters or more accurately type letters onto a line that has be designated for such use.

Photoshop--making cartoon faces

We learned the basic of Photoshop by messing around with the tools and seeing what we could come up with. Then once we had become ajusted to the tools we moved on into a structered exercise i.e. creating basic cartoon faces in Phottoshop.

We started this by first drawing a square.

Square drawn in Photoshop

Then we added eyes

cartoon with squares

Then eye browes and a smile.

Finished cartoon square

Level design/Level concept drawings

These are the base concept drawings for my level design

:Prologue

:Start to main level

:These two images are of the final boss battle

This final image is of the entire level (subject to change) in which the player will have to survive.

To be continued:

Game design/graphics and concept drawings

My level concept is based on an alien planet on which a large teddy bear type character is the ruling monarch.

Boss sprite in 2D game

Worshipped by the native population yet no one know's his origin. 

The main character will battle or sneak their way across a beautiful alien planet to save the remaining colonists after a surprise attack by the "bear" and his minions.

Character legs in 2D game

This has been the current progress on the main character. 

Its been slow to even get this and I hope to have the full character model soon.

The graphic for these characters were done completely in Adobe photo-shop. 

I started off by drawing my ideas out on paper

Scetch of 2D game graphics

and as you can see I haven't changed the main enemies desige all that much.
How ever the main playable character is still in the works.

#UPDATE#
I have since finished and handed in my 2D game for assessment.
The "finished" game has some minor errors that have cripled my once working menu screen

Game home screen draft 1

The game now looks like this upon starting where as it did look like this

Game main menu

This picture of the menu predate my importing my background graphics into the photo.

The main characters and alien sprites turned out to be one of the most tedious yet enjoyable parts of the game. They came out very differently to how imagined them but I don't feel thats a bad thing.

Character 1

Character 2

Character 3

One of the last vector graphics in my game is the gun sprite desigened for the first playable charecter seen above in green.

Gun for character 1

photoshop, post apc image

Firstly we choose old, aged and or worn photos of old or broken things.

Image types

Then we used  the quick selection tool to select the sky and cut it out out of the images.

Then we overlayered this house image over a the sky image and we end up with this.

Again we cut a section out of another image and planted it inside of the previously edited image.

Then we repeated the process again and we added some rock piles to the image to finsih off its apocalyptic feel.

Image Processing-Creating an Angry Birds

Today we learned how to the basics of photoshop and even how to draw an angry bird.
The first sets were laided out on http://www.onlinedesignteacher.com/, this website contains many helpful tips for beginners and the advanced editer.

Firstly we learned about the basic vertor tools such as the pen

With this we can add, remove and edit "anchor points".

Anchor points are manipulateable points draw on a canvas, they are the basis of vertor graphics.

After ths basic tutorial we dived right into creating our very own angry bird character.

List of vector tools

We start off with the main body of the angry bird. I slected the oval shape from the drop down list and draged out some of the anchor pionts to make it look more like an angry bird.

Stage 1 of the angery bird

We added a "stroke" effect to the oval. This creates a black out line on the oval of spesifyed measurement.

We then made the interior red.

The next step was to add six anchor points to the top of the oval.

Tutorial piece one

As you can see we then manipulate them into the desired shape using the free selection tool.

The tummy and eys come next

Stage 3 of angry birds

This was simple enough. All we had to do was create a circle witht the stoke effect and then duplicated the eye and place one a layer above the other, in this image the pupils haven't been added yet.
The tummy was just a searies of anchor points along the edge of the oval and below the position of the eyes.

The last two steps were adding the mouth and the eye brow.

Browe of angry bird 

The eye brow was simply six anchor points over lapping all other layers

The mouth is done in much the same way, by adding several anchor points and then manipulating them into the desired shape.

Beek of angry bird

This, or at least something like it is the desired out come.

Making a basic sniper game

First off we need to add our standard score borad which increse by 1 for every time you successfully hit a target.

Then we add a ammo variable which must be greater than zero in order for a hit to be registered.

Scratch code

Went the space key is pressed we've set it up so that the ammo count will replenish itself.

reload code

This is simply the shooting aspect of the game. A target for the player to aim and shoot at must be introduced. 

In this game a space ship was added as the target. Every time a successful hit was registered the ship would change its costume from

Spaceship sprite

To

Expolding spaceship sprite

This slight visual effect adds quite a bit to the game.

The ship is set to randomly deploy on the right of the screen and  then fly towards the other side of the screen where if it wasn't hit it will disappear and reappear in another random location on the right hand side

Scratch movement code

sensor is simpally another sprit which is put in place to be hit by the ship weather it was hit or not.

This is its code block.

Set loctaion code

The Random Exercise

Today we preformed an exercise in which we wrote down as many things as we possibly could in certain categories, a Person,  a Place, a Time, an Object and an Animal. Then our tutor asked each student for numbers and then applied those numbers to the relative thing thing in each list.

Through this exercise he demonstrated that most of the games we love and enjoy today are completely insane in their imagining.

Example game image

For instance take Mario, an Italian plumber who fights a giant turtle dragon who has kidnapped his girl friend who's a princess, think of how nuts that is.

We must now attempt to come up with some concepts for a 2D game using this handy method.

Advanced Health Bar and Login Counter

Advanced Health Bar
Today we learned how to create the illusion of a progressive health bar. This is done by linking health to sprites such as this.

Full health Sprite

As you can see the sprite looks some what like a health bar and is set to change to another spirte as the player takes damage. Such as this sprite.

2/3 health sprite

Each sprite costume is linked to the relative health level.

Health code in Scratch

This block of of commands dicktates that once the health variabale reaches a leave below 100 and above 89 it will change the costume to health 1, showen below.

2/3 health sprite

Login Counter

We learned how to add a cloud variable to our games. With the addition of these we are now able to able a login counter to our games. 

Counter code

These blocks alow a login counter and cloud login counter on the screen to increase by 1 when a player clicks it, and then it hides the option form the view of the player.

Then the logout option appears on the screen.

Logout sprite

When this option is clicked it decreases the login counters by 1, hides itself and makes the login opton reappear.

Coutner code