....

1. Research
Ben Harris

2. This War of
mine
https://youtu.be/55TmXDuUL0I - YouTube
video on the game
Shows information at the top left,
which helps you when playing the
game. Shows what day it is and what
time and some other essential things
that need to be shown when laying
the game.
The whole look of the
game is dark and it has a
unique concept to it. The
game allows you to see
on different floors of the
building.
Shows some
information
about a survivor
The game is a side
scroller game and
the art style of ‘This
War of mine’ is
really unique in the
fact it has a sketchy
look to it.
The game makes the audience want to
play it because of the unique style it has
to it as well as an original concept. I
think that the game draws its audience
of survival players in with its concept of
a survival game. You are able to see all
floors of a building and can control a
group of survivors. It also has a dark
look to it.
The games age rating is
an 18 and the theme
song for this game
consists of a dark yet
sad theme. The theme
reminds me of the last
of us theme, as it has a
similar sound to it with
the acoustic guitar
playing.

3. Deadlight
https://youtu.be/nJwbKX4JulU - YouTube video on Deadlight
Deadlight is a side scrolling
game where you parkour
your way through maps and
fight off zombies.
The images that I selected
show that each of the
map’s layout is very similar.
The game has a story to it
which is minimal but
engaging.
The games has a unique style to it, the
character you play is a silhouetted character.
From the image I can see that the game
focuses on fighting your way through
zombies whilst doing parkour. Looking at the
images the art style has a slightly cartoon
look to it and the colours used are
desaturated colours that are dull, yet fit the
atmosphere.
The theme is quite a depressing,
sad theme which matches the
game since its set in the
aftermath of a zombie
apocalypse and you are playing a
character who is trying to find his
family. The age rating for the
game is 18.

4. Valiant Hearts: The
Great War
Looking at the images, the games art style is
cartoony. It focuses on war and uses lots of different
colours whereas the other side scrolling games I
looked at use quite dull colours. This game heavily
focuses on story and the game looks very unique to
any other game I have seen.
The atmosphere of the game varies from the images I
gathered. The scenes look very detailed and the layout of
the scenes are very realistic in the sense that it’s a
cartoon video game. The costumes that the characters
wear are unique and the colours used throughout the
game from the images that I have seen vary from bright
warm colours to cold dull colours. The colours also match
the scene like the weather is horrible in the time of war,
which is called Pathetic fallacy.
The game draws the audience in through
the cartoon style they have use in their
game as well as the story driven gameplay.
The story I think draws an audience in the
most as its got an emotional story, where
you play as four characters on the
battlefield who help a young German
soldier find his love in this story about
survival, sacrifice and friendship.
The theme fits the
era that the game
is set in very
much. It quite a
sad theme that
matches the game
since the game is
about war. The
games age rating
is a 12.
https://youtu.be/BYPo2_DH7EY

5. The Wild Eight
The Wild Eight is an open world
survival simulation video game.
From research and the images
that I gathered, I can this game
is unique in the fact that it uses
a birds eye view and its art style
is very cartoony. The game
reminds me of ‘The Long Dark’,
as they both have similar art
styles to them. They both have
a 3D cartoon look to them.
The games lighting system matches the time of day, it
can be light to dark colours. The colours are usually
very bright. The art style as well as the unique ‘birds
eye view’ of your character draws an audience of
people in as well.
The theme or this game
is very different from the
other games in the fact
that it has a mysterious
yet alien kind of sound to
it. It also starts sounding
like a horror theme.
There theme is definitely
unique compared to
other games themes.
When it comes to the
age rating of the game,
the game is rated an 18.
The wild eight draws an audience of survival players in to the game
with its unique art style as well as its multiplayer option, and its
character selection. It also has a very unique playstyle, as you are
always looking down on the character you have chosen with an Aria
view of your character and their surroundings. The game also has an
amazing soundtrack, and has some unique options when playing
the game. One of the options is that you can tame a wolf. This is
unique for a survival game as not many survival games offer that as
well as the Arial view of your player.https://youtu.be/cmBUquc7mek

6. Limbo
From the YouTube video I have watched Limbo is a puzzle-platform video game which has elements of horror in it.
What's unique about the game is that it is just a black and white video game, with different shades of greys. The main
character that you play is silhouetted outline with white eyes. Which is similar to Deadlight and This War of Mine. The
game also has a cartoon look, 3D look to it similar to the other games I have looked. The game is a side scrolling game
that focuses on puzzles to get your way through the stages. The games main colours used are in black and white tones,
using lighting, and film grain effects with minimal ambient sounds that create an eerie atmosphere that is associated
with horror. The whole game has a dark presentation yet its very unique and is somewhat similar to there other puzzle
game, Inside. The story focuses on a nameless boy who awakens in the middle of a forest on the edge of hell. The boy is
looking for his missing sister. Throughout the game he encounters only a few human characters who attack him, run
away, or are dead. The ‘mise en scene’ of the game is built with lots of different layers, the map itself is quite detailed.
There are many props in the game that help you with bypassing monsters and barriers. The game is mostly set in a forest
however, later on in the game you are in a crumbling city environment. Limbo is different compared to other two-
dimensional platform games in the fact that its art style is so amazing to look at. The colours and concept of the game is
so unusual compared to others, yet its such a good idea.
Limbo’s gameplay is similar to most 2D platform games in the fact that you can run left or right, jump, climb onto ledges,
go up and down ladders and ropes. You can also push or pull objects. One of my favorite things about this game is the
unique and beautifully created art style. The game is presented through dark and greyscale graphics with ambient
sounds which create a perfect scary, horror like environment and atmosphere. One of the good things about this game is
that the dark tones of the world the developers have created, hides lots of hazards such as deadly bear traps laying on
the forest floor, or a giant spider lurking in the dark, shadowy, tree tops. One unique effect/creature they have added in
there game is they have glowing worms that attach themselves to the protagonist's head, they then force the boy to
only travel in one direction, until they are killed. The art style of the game itself draws an audience of gamers in to play
this game, as the art style is great. That mix of a 2D side scrolling puzzle-platform game with a horror aspect to it, gives
the game popularity.
https://youtu.be/1ie19_GXAAw

7. Research Analysis
• What common features do the researched products have?
• The researched products have lots in common. One being that each of them has a cartoon style to them, Valiant
Hearts: The Great War and The Wild Eight are the most similar as they have the most cartoony look to them, however
one is a survival game whereas the other a story driven side scrolling game. All four games I chose to research are
very different in terms of they all have different concepts to them. One common feature that I found when looking at
the games I chose was that This War of Mine and Deadlight’s art style was very similar. They both use similar colours
throughout the game from the screenshots and gameplay that I have seen. The colours they use are very desaturated
and in certain places its very dark. There games are both set in a post-apocalyptic world one being set during a
zombie apocalypse and the other set in the aftermath of a war. Valiant Hearts: The Great War and The Wild Eight is
the most different from the other two games that I chose to research, as their art style is more cartoony as well as
The Wild Eight having a different view of your character. The first three games I researched are all side scrolling games
whereas The Wild Eight is a survival game where you have an Arial view of your character and their surroundings. I
think that out of all of the products that I have researched ‘Limbo’ is the most different as it’s a 2D puzzle-platform
game, that is mixed with a horror genre. The only common feature ‘Limbo’ has with the rest of the games I have
researched is that it is a 2D side scrolling game.
• What aspects of the research will you include within your own work?
• Looking at all of the products I have researched I will take a lot of inspiration from the game ‘This War of Mine’. I like
the whole concept of the game, and love the art style that is used. I will use the dark setting from both This War of
Mine and Deadlight in my game design, as well as the building style. However, I will instead be creating my game
using pixel art. The setting of both the games match my concept idea of my game that I am creating. I may take some
inspiration from the game ‘The Wild Eight’, if I were to take inspiration from the game it would be the cartoony look
and the right colours. However, I have to create my game using pixel art so the cartoon idea wouldn’t work. And as for
the bright colours that would be contradicting my ideas of using dark, desaturated, post-apocalyptic colours. The
interface of ’This War of Mine’ I will take inspiration from as it has the number of days and what time it is in game.
Which matches my idea of having to scavenge for supplies and you will always be needing to look at the time as the
later it gets the more dangers are out waiting for you. I am taking the aspect of a story from all of the products that I
have researched and going to make a small story concept for my game. I am also going to take massive inspiration
from ‘LImbo’, as it has such a unique style to it from other games that I have seen. I am going to take the greyscale
and black and white tones from Limbo, and add them into my pixel art game. I will use layers to create something
similar. I will also take the horror aspect from the game as I think that would make my game stand out from other
games.

8. Interviews

9. Interview 1
• What is your overall opinion on the horror video game genre?
• I am not the best at these types of video games but when I do play them I tend to not enjoy the experience
alone I would much rather have the experience with friends, in the same room or via online multiplayer. I will
only play a horror game if it is free or multiplayer. (Friday the 13th, dead by daylight, Roblox slender, white
noise online)
• What do you think I could add to my video game idea to make it better?
(My idea is to make a side-scrolling horror action game where there is an element of
survival to the game).
• Make it so you have a flash light that you need to find battery's for, this will put pressure o the player to find
these battery's so they can continue with the task aiding them a lot more (kind of like slender) having a mini
side mission to collect battery's so you light can work and help you see what maybe trying to kill you.
• What do you think of me making my game in black and white tones/ greyish colours?
Would this add more of a horror element to my game?
• Good for a horror game because it gives it that sinister scary filled feeling and tone to the game.

10. Interview 2
• What is your overall opinion on the horror video game genre?
• I have never actually played any horror video games. But I think if they were made well
and were actually scary and had the player on the edge of their seat they would be a lot of
fun to play.
• What do you think I could add to my video game idea to make it better?
(My idea is to make a side-scrolling horror action game where there is an element of
survival to the game).
• I think if there were lots of surprises to keep the player interested. Especially if the sound
effects added to this.
• What do you think of me making my game in black and white tones/ greyish colours?
Would this add more of a horror element to my game?
• I think it might make the game feel a bit muted. It might be a good idea to have the overall
game in that colour scheme but maybe have the occasional jump scare in colour. I think
that that could be quite effective.

11. Interview 3
• What is your overall opinion on the horror video game genre?
• I enjoy playing games from this genre as it is exciting, and makes the player feel more
involved, as you feel the emotions of what the character would be feeling, for example you
would be scared as the character would.
• What do you think I could add to my video game idea to make it better?
(My idea is to make a side-scrolling horror action game where there is an element of
survival to the game).
• Make the characters as large as possible, meaning the whole game would have to be quite
close up, as then you can add more detail into your pixel art and if the characters were
small, for example the size of characters on Mario, the game wouldn't be very scary,
therefore making the game more close up would bring more fear and excitement to the
game.
• What do you think of me making my game in black and white tones/ greyish colours?
Would this add more of a horror element to my game?
• I think this is a good idea, as I think the colour sets the mood of the game, and these
colours would bring more of a feared feeling when playing.

12. Interview 1,2, and 3
• Observation:
• From the interview, I gathered that my target audience overall do like the idea of me creating my game using
greyish tones, as well as from one of the answers thought it would be best if I added a torch to my game that makes
it easier to see, but the player would have to collect batteries for the torch or it would run out and make the game
scarier.
• What this says about my audience:
• With the research I gathered it seems that the gaming horror genre is disliked. Out of the three interviews, the first
question I asked, not many people like the horror game genre. However I think that’s just a tiny result as I think that
more people around the ages of 16 to 19 like the horror game genre. The research shows that my audience like an
element of surprise in their game as well as hunting for supplies that are essential to help make your gameplay less
scary. I was surprised that overall my target audience don’t like horror games as I thought that horror based games
are most popular among teens and young adults. But, from the research it showed that I was wrong and that my
target audience don’t really play horror games nether like them. However, this cannot be said for my whole target
audience, as I have only asked one question, which was what they thought of horror games.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
• I think that my product would appeal to this audience as it’s a horror based survival side scrolling game that has a
bit of a story to it. Story usually draws a big audience of gamers in especially when it’s a different concept. Also the
fact that I am thinking of making my art concept with greyish tones like the game ‘Limbo’. I think this would get the
attention of y audience range as it’s a different concept to the usual game also it will get the fans of the game
‘LImbo’. The only downside that I think will lose the attention of many of my audience is that it’s a side scrolling
pixel art game. However, it cannot be helped that it’s a pixel art game as that is all I am aloud to use. The reason I
chose a side scrolling game is because there isn’t much choice in terms of making a pixel art game, especially when I
have never really made a game before. Therefore it seemed like the best answer, as if I chose a Arial view it would
be a lot more difficult.

13. Bibliography

14. Bibliography
1. Interviewees, Name, Anonymous. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (27th of February)
2. Interviewees, Name, Anonymous. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (27th of February)
.. (.). The Wild Eight. Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Eight.
Last accessed Thursday the 22nd of February.
.. (.). Hints and tips. Available: http://this-war-
of-mine.wikia.com/wiki/Hints_and_Tips. Last
accessed Thursday the 22nd of February.
.. (.). Limbo (video game). Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo_(video_ga
me). Last accessed 23rd February 2018.
.. (.). Valiant Hearts: The Great War. Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valiant_Hearts:_T
he_Great_War. Last accessed 23rd February
2018.
.. (.). Deadlight. Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadlight. Last
accessed 23rd February 2018.
.. (.). This War of Mine. Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_War_
of_Mine. Last accessed 23rd February
2018.