500 word essay
My role and the client requirements
What is required by the client?
- suitable for the demographic - (16 - 18 y/o , likely GCSE math retake candidate)
- Problem to be solved? - Technical side (students have a gap in their knowledge and need to understand Singapore math) Theory side (There is currently a gap, where this method of math's cannot be taught outside of lecture type environments).
The client has come to us requesting that we create a game that can be used as a tool to teach students mathematics. The information that we've been given from the client tells us that the game is to be suitable for college level students (aged 16 -18).
The client specified that the game can be used to help students learn "Singapore math" a specific method used to help people understand how to answer math's questions, the game must be suitable for players that currently aren't familiar with the technique and have a gap in their knowledge.
The reason the client has come to us is because there is currently a gap in the market, in which Singapore maths cannot be taught outside of a standard classroom/lecture environment.
What does the client require from our team?
- Concept
The concept we've created revolves around creating a RPG style game that can be used to teach various forms of mathematics (including but not limited to Singapore math). The goal of this being to create a game that can teach people different areas of mathematics and to help them improve their knowledge on the different topics available.
- Designs
The current design that our team has come up with takes place in a fantasy setting, inspired by the medieval era and old myths/folklore. In this current design the player would be playing as a wizard that travels around to different areas to defeat evil creatures and eventually the antagonist. To defeat the enemies the player would have to answer math questions to cast spells, but more powerful and rewarding spells will require more difficult questions to be answered.
- Ideas
Currently the core idea of how we want to make the game is focused on, different areas (currently seven different areas) and monsters being related to different areas of mathematics, meaning that the players could practice different areas of math. This idea combined with having the power of a spell be related to the difficulty of a question makes it so the player would be able to practice each topic at different levels as much as they need.
My involvement in the project (role) and what it is that I am creating.
- Sound design
My main role in the group will be to create the soundtrack used in the game, this will involve me creating any of the following:
- Music
- Sound effects and Foley
- Dialogue (If needed)
The purpose of this in the project is to take away any feelings of tedium that the player might feel, allowing them to continue playing and focusing on the game without getting bored of it.
It is worth mentioning that if the client accepts the current idea that we have for the game, the workload on sound design will be much larger, since each area will need a thematically fitting music track.
Looking at people in the industry some good examples of professional sound designers would be:
Mick Gordon - The creator of the iconic DOOM soundtrack, he used fast metal music to match the themes of DOOM, with the his choice in genre he was able to create of soundtrack that matched the quick 'run and gun' game-play and the hellish design of the game. In my case I don't have the same experience that Mick Gordon has because he is a professional composer, however I am able to the make up for this since I will be using audio software to make music rather than perform it. It's also worth noting that Mick is based in Australia and works with companies based in other countries, where as I am going to be doing the work at college.
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/doom-composer-mick-gordon-one-of-the-pre-conditions-of-the-project-was-no-metal/
Misaki Shindo - Lead sound designer of Nier Automata, her team was in charge of the creation and implementation of sound effects and the overall sound direction of the game (However the composer of the game's music was Keiichi Okabe). Due to the nature of the game, according to Misaki Shindo a lot of the Foley process was done designing the "sounds of 2B's and 9S's footsteps and rustling of their clothing, as well as the machine lifeforms' unique movement sounds". However the audio wasn't the only technique used she also states that lots of the cut-scene sounds started in the foley studio then got augmented with synthesized sounds, or mixed with ambient recordings or had voices added to create the finished effect.
Unlike Misaki however I am the only one working on the sound design and don't have access to as many materials for foley, but the our game will also require much less Foley since it is 2D, rather than 3D.
https://www.platinumgames.com/official-blog/article/9720
Darren Korb - The audio director for indie game 'Transistor' he created all of the sounds and music used in Transistor's soundtrack (excluding the voice acting done by Logan Cunningham and Vocals by Ashley Barrett) interestingly unlike the previous two, Darren works from home (Lives in New York but Super-giant Games is based in Sans Francisco) and is the only person working on the sound and music. Darren's scenario is the closest to my own, since he was the only person working on audio for his game. Fortunately I will have access to the college's audio equipment and software, unlike Darren who had to work from his apartment due to the long distance between him and his studio, meaning I will have access to better equipment than I would have access to normally.
https://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/05/23/story-behind-stunning-music-audio-transistor-ps4/
It is worth mentioning that if the client accepts the current idea that we have for the game, the workload on sound design will be much larger, since each area will need a thematically fitting music track.
Looking at people in the industry some good examples of professional sound designers would be:
Mick Gordon - The creator of the iconic DOOM soundtrack, he used fast metal music to match the themes of DOOM, with the his choice in genre he was able to create of soundtrack that matched the quick 'run and gun' game-play and the hellish design of the game. In my case I don't have the same experience that Mick Gordon has because he is a professional composer, however I am able to the make up for this since I will be using audio software to make music rather than perform it. It's also worth noting that Mick is based in Australia and works with companies based in other countries, where as I am going to be doing the work at college.
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/doom-composer-mick-gordon-one-of-the-pre-conditions-of-the-project-was-no-metal/
Misaki Shindo - Lead sound designer of Nier Automata, her team was in charge of the creation and implementation of sound effects and the overall sound direction of the game (However the composer of the game's music was Keiichi Okabe). Due to the nature of the game, according to Misaki Shindo a lot of the Foley process was done designing the "sounds of 2B's and 9S's footsteps and rustling of their clothing, as well as the machine lifeforms' unique movement sounds". However the audio wasn't the only technique used she also states that lots of the cut-scene sounds started in the foley studio then got augmented with synthesized sounds, or mixed with ambient recordings or had voices added to create the finished effect.
Unlike Misaki however I am the only one working on the sound design and don't have access to as many materials for foley, but the our game will also require much less Foley since it is 2D, rather than 3D.
https://www.platinumgames.com/official-blog/article/9720
Darren Korb - The audio director for indie game 'Transistor' he created all of the sounds and music used in Transistor's soundtrack (excluding the voice acting done by Logan Cunningham and Vocals by Ashley Barrett) interestingly unlike the previous two, Darren works from home (Lives in New York but Super-giant Games is based in Sans Francisco) and is the only person working on the sound and music. Darren's scenario is the closest to my own, since he was the only person working on audio for his game. Fortunately I will have access to the college's audio equipment and software, unlike Darren who had to work from his apartment due to the long distance between him and his studio, meaning I will have access to better equipment than I would have access to normally.
https://blog.eu.playstation.com/2014/05/23/story-behind-stunning-music-audio-transistor-ps4/
- Level design's
My other role that I will be working on is level design, meaning I will be aiming to design interesting levels for the player.
Similarly to the purpose of sound design, the levels need to be designed so that it doesn't feel repetitive when playing the game.
Much like sound design the workload of this job will likely be affected as our ideas develop and by any limitations or requests that the client gives us.
Much like sound design the workload of this job will likely be affected as our ideas develop and by any limitations or requests that the client gives us.
Comments
Post a Comment