XB3001 - Games Proposal Theme Mindmap

I developed my list of ideas into a mind-map, this way I can expand my thoughts and hopefully identify a good theme to use. However I have found that this technique focuses my mind on ideas too specific to be a theme, although some can be simplified down to a theme.

DD3000 - Study Example: 90th Anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamen's Tomb

To demonstrate what the module entails we had to research the 90th Anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamen's Tomb. Here is what we found:


Tutankhamen - 90th Anniversary

"King Tut"

• 11th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt
• Born 1341 BC - Died 1323 BC (18) a child of incest
• Ruled age 9, 1332 BC - 1323 BC the year of his death
• Icon of Ancient Egypt
• Went against his father ending worship of Aten restoring Amun, and moved the capital back to Thebes

Death

• Cause of death is uncertain
• Consensus says his death was an accident and likely died of a leg infection with malaria in his system
• But may have been assassinated
• Tomb was small compared to his status because he died unexpectantly

 KV62 Tomb Opening

• 1922 - Howard Carter & Lord Carnarvon found the tomb
• Small tomb packed with items, flowers disintegrate upon touch
• Took a decade to empty the contents to the Egyptian museum in Cairo
• First people to enter tomb for 3000 years. And was the only complete tomb ever uncovered

 Howard Carter

• British - Archaeologist
• First chief inspector of Egyptian Antique Service
• "The Pharaoh who in life was the least esteemed of Egypt's Pharaohs has become in death the most renowned"
• WW1 interrupted his research 1914 - 1917

 Curse of the Pharaohs 

• Curse affecting those who opened the tombs
• Many of the crew died over the opening of the tomb, Carter lived for another 10 years
• Zahi Hawass had 3 members of his family die over three years
• "All people who enter rgis tomb who will make evil against this tomb and destroy it, may the crocodile be against them in water, and snakes be against them on land. May the hippopotamus be against them in water, the scorpion against them on land."

 Influence on Culture

• Worlds best known Pharaoh
• Media: The Mummy, Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, National Treasure
• Inspired sci-fi and fantasy narratives involving mummies and Egyptian curses. Also the symbolism of the scarab beetle
• Influenced Art Deco design, flourishing in the 1930s

Influence on Culture

• Fashion - headdresses, sandals, jewellery, shoulder pads, tunic style dresses
• Eye shadow and makeup
• Symbolism - hieroglyphs, sphinx, lotus flowers, scarabs and pyramids
• Stargate is a semi-popular sci-fi TV show linked with Ancient Egypt 

 Influence on Culture

• Interior Design - Art Deco, Egyptian columns, reeds, palm trees, floral designs, use of Egyptian iconography and artwork
• Architecture - triangles, sphinx, obelisks (The Washington D.C. Monument - iconically used in Fallout 3)
• Belief in Aliens, and their involvement with Ancient Egyptian culture

 

Political Implication

• All of the artifacts were placed in the Cairo museum
• Many have been stolen but exhibits do travel
• Many were stolen during the recent Egyptian revolution

DD3000 - Choosing a Future Event to Focus my Report on

For DD3000 - Contextual Studies: Design Futures I have to choose an event or significant anniversary within the next five years to then research the event and then implement my findings to Video Games Design.

Here is my shortlist of events to use:

2012-2014 - The Hobbit Trilogy released in cinemas.

2013 - The Great Gatsby film is released.

2013 - Robocop movie reboot is released

2014 - The completion of the Freedom Tower and other World Trade Center buildings.

2014 - The International Space Station is finished.

2015 - Tigers become extinct in the wild.

2015 - The UN's Millennium Development Goal to "eradicate extreme poverty" expires.

2015 - Dubai's city of Masdar is completed, the worlds first sustainable, zero carbon, zero waste city.

2015 - The US - South Korean Combined Forces Command active since the 1950's ends.

2015 - Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest reigning monarch of all time.

2015 - Scientists complete the Wooly Mammoth DNA reconstruction and clone one.

XB3001 - Choosing My Theme

Here are my initial thoughts to generate a theme for my Games Proposal project. It is mainly made up of things that I find influential, interesting or entertaining.

Books
1984
Hitchhikers Guide
The Hobbit

Film & TV
Black Dynamite
The Raid
Fear and Loathing
Portlandia
Black Mirror
God Bless America
Helvetica

Music
Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
Three Trapped Tigers - Video Animation Style
Filastine - Colony Collapse
Dan Deacon
Reggie Watts

Politics & Philosophy
Totalitarianism
Dystopia

Fine Art
Film Posters

Science
Asteroid incoming
Evolution v Creationism

Current Affairs
Political Correctness and Equality - American Election

Other Design Disciplines
Typography

DD3000 - Project Plan Draft

Project Plan

For my Contextual Studies Assignment – Games Futures I will be producing a 3000 word report, presented in a visually rich format. Focussed away from contemporary games and technology I have chosen to look into the subject of the US – South Korea Combined Forces Command which is set to dissolve in 2015. I will discuss and analyse my research before speculating on potential future scenarios within Games Design.

Aims For the Project

·         Research the CFC using reliable sources to collate an accurate pool of data

·         Generate design implications inspired by my findings

·         Identify potential ideas and scenarios which can be carried forward to XB3002

·         Create a visually rich report, emphasising on design

·         Maintain a blog keeping track of my progress

Intended Actions

·         Research into the CFC looking at the implications through the lenses of:

o   Culture

o   Politics

o   Philosophy

o   Theory

·         Decide upon a visual style for the design of the report

·         Maintain a research blog (Blogger) to support the report

·         Finalise the report for physical and digital submission

Deliverables

The files will be presented digitally on disc and the game will also be produced to be shown at the end of year exhibition.

·         Research blog

·         Submit finished report digitally and physical

DD3992 - Audio Visualisation Links

Audio Visualisation Links

Project M: http://sourceforge.net/projects/projectm/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kbT_64vCco

Music Visualizer (OpenProcessing): http://www.openprocessing.org/sketch/5989

Music Visualization Info: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3148008/music-visualization

CubicFX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk9Ri_bbXqY

CubicVR: http://www.cubicvr.org/

Winamp 3DGL: http://www.winamp.com/visualization/winamp-3dgl-v1-50b/3311

Open Visualisation Platform: https://code.google.com/p/openvisualizationplatform/

Vovoid: http://visuals.free.vovoid.com/

Music Visualizer in HTML: http://gskinner.com/blog/archives/2011/03/music-visualizer-in-html5-js-with-source-code.html

Milkshake: http://gattis.github.com/milkshake/

Audio for Video Games: http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/696/adaptive_audio_a_beginners_guide_.php?page=5

Echoprint: http://echoprint.me/

Modular Audio Recognition: http://sourceforge.net/projects/marf/

Music Fingerprinting: http://musicbrainz.org/doc/Fingerprinting

DD3992 - Honours Project

For my honours project I have to "identify a project that you will agree with your tutor that is tailored to your individual needs, interests, skills, knowledge and aspirations."

So the main avenues of design are 2D/concept art, 3D/character art, 3D/environment art, level design and game concept design.

Because I aim to be a producer/designer I will be exploring Design (both level and concept). For which I will be using UDK (Unreal Development Kit) as I have a loose grip on the engine in addition to it being easily accessible.