The document summarizes research on existing video games to inform the development of a new animated video game. It analyzes features of Luigi's Mansion like gameplay, atmosphere created through lighting and sound, and dialogue scenes. It also examines Ghosts'n Goblins for art style, character design, and boss battles. Further, it looks at Bubble Ghost's visual style, color scheme, and character design. Animation techniques are also considered from California Games. Common elements like opening pages, color schemes, and music influencing mood are identified for inclusion in the new game.

1. Research
Aasiyah Chopdat

2. Existing Product 1- Luigi’s mansion
Luigi mansion is a 3d sort of game, you can see from
different points of views. Because I'm animating my
video game this would be very difficult to do.
The location of this video game is in a haunted
mansion. They created a spooky feel as you can see in
this screenshot by having very dark lighting, the only
good source of light is coming from Luigis flashlight.
Having the angle of the screen so that its sort of eye
level with Luigis makes the players relate to Luigis
more/ makes them feel like they are in his shoes.
Thought the bulk of the game where Luigis is going through the mansion catching
ghosts, there is no background music. All you can hear is Luigi and his footsteps. Sound
effects wise there is a distinct sound for when different ghosts appear. When Luigi is
trying to catch the ghosts there is also a sound effect of his machine and the sound
effect for the ghost being trapped. Because there is o background music whilst the
playing the game the sound effects help to make it less quiet, this is a good effect
because they are keeping the spooky feel and creepy atmosphere without making the
game boring.

3. Existing Product 1- Luigi’s mansion
Dialogue scenes
In the dialogue scenes there is background music, this helps break
up the game a bit. The music is in theme with the tone of the
game, its dramatic, slow and spooky.
The dialogue scenes are displayed through subtitles on the
screen, they are bold and easy to read. I like how they have made
a tab for the subtitles to go in, they faded it which is also a nice
touch. He dialogue is read out by the characters , however when
there is a talking sound effect that is used each time a character is
shown to be talking, they aren't saying any real words in English
however. I think this is clever since it mean that the player can
easily hear which character is speaking since their talking voices
are very distinct.
Opening pages
In this game you can have different files/profiles, so that more that
then person can play the game. On this page you also have the key
setting so that if you wanted to copy or select a file you knew he to.
I like this as it’s a simple way to tell the players how to do things
without having to give a introduction/tutorial.
The colour scheme is nice, because they kept to mostly blues tones
it looks quite dark and old. They also added other colours to break it
up such as green.

4. Existing Product 2 - ghosts’n goblins
Goblins’n ghosts is a good game to analyze since the
art style is pixilated which is similar to what I’m
going to be doing.
the game is shown in a sideways view. Because it’s a
platform style game, its easier to see the different
levels this way.
they have a bar at the bottom of the screen showing
how many lives the player has, the weapons and
their scores. This would be useful in
my game since it would mean that different weapons were more easily accessible.
The background music is retro but with a medieval tone to it. I noticed that when the player
get a power up the background music cuts for a couple of seconds and is replaced with the
power up sound. This is a clever way of making sure that the power up sounds do get
confused/blend in with the background music.

5. Existing Product 2 - ghosts’n goblins
The lighting in this game is even, there aren't really any part of the map that cant be
seen except for maybe the sky, this works nicely with his game since it more of a
simple, running continuously forwards type of game, compared to Luigis haunted
mansion which it a slower type of game where you searching for things.
The character designs are really good in this game. Each character is easily
identifiable. They achieved doing this by using distinct colours for each type of
monster. The zombies wear purple, the flying things are in a light brown cloak. The
main character wears armour, which with some simple shading gives the illusion that
its shiny

6. Waking animation - the walking animation in this game is
pretty simple, it only has two different pose’s the still position
and a moving position. This animation will come in handy
when I'm making my game since most of it is walking/running
Power move - the power move for this character is to throw fire
balls. The animation for this is again pretty simple with only 2
positions. First position he's in a lunge with his hand in the air, the
second position is his hand down suggesting he's thrown
something, his back knee is bent to imply the force used to throw
the fire ball
Ladder animation - to get up and down on different
platforms in the game you either have to jump or use the
ladders. When climbing up the ladder the position of the hands
and legs move alternately. When coming off the ladder the
character is animated into a bending position, and then to the
normal still position.
Jumping animation – there is only one position for the jumping
animation, as soon as the character goes up to jump it turns into that
position until it lands back down into the still position. If you are
jumping from a height however when you land you'll land in the
second stance shown in the screenshot. This is a nice detail that they
included.

7. Existing Product 2 - ghosts’n goblins
Boss battle
For every level the player need to defeat a mini boss to open the door to the next
level. Having mini bosses at the end of every level makes the game more enjoyable
for the gamers since it makes the game harder to complete and makes the game
longer to play.
At the end the player need to defeat the main boss, in this scene as you can see in
the top there is a princess which the player is trying to save. The song changes room
the usual background music to a more intense version, which matches the scene
really well since this is the most intense part of the game.

8. Existing Product 3 - bubble ghost
Font is in bubble writing, which references the bubble in
the game. The font looks like its melting which gives it
that spooky effect. Since their main character is a ghost
they need to theme the game around that meaning it
need to look spooky.
the content of the title
page includes the title and
cover art.
This is a nice way to
introduce the game.
There isn't any music that is played at the start.
Personally I think that doesn't work very well,
video game feel much better when there is at
least a little bit of sound . Without sound it feel
incomplete
The video game is
set in at old
building/maze ,
with brick walls.
They reference that
here

9. Existing Product 3 - bubble ghost
Thee is a clear color scheme in this level and it look put together and visual
appealing. Color scheme is important when it comes to visuals since if the colors
don't look good together the outcome wont look appealing.
I like the layout, since my game will be in a haunted hose this would work quite
well and also will make it easer when editing since I can use tweening to move the
background.
There are different obstacles through the game such as spikes and or candles
which the player need to look out for. This makes the game look less empty and
more interesting to play since it makes completing your main goal harder.
The character deign for this gam is nice, since most of the game is in darker colours
it makes the white ghost stand out more. The fact that it’s a simple design would
also make it easier to animate.

10. Existing Product 4 – California games
roller skating
California games is basically a game where you can play
mini games inspired by California. There an option page
so that you can decide what game you would like to play.
The sounds for this page is really go, their distinct but
not too much. The background music is also nice, and
fits the tone of the game.
The location for this mini game is on the beach.
The aim of the game is to keep roller-skate whilst
avoiding obstacles like banana peals and puddles.
The main moves are to jump and move from side
to side.
The background for the game was clearly made,
because its a beach they need to keep certain
things consistent like the sea and the sand, to
make it easier they also used some of the same
characters in the background. This is clever since
the player will be focusing on what they need to
avoid instead of the background

11. Existing Product 4 – California games
roller skating
The cheerful music in the game really helps to set the tone
for the game. If we compare this to bubble ghost you can
see that the game feel a lot less awkward and silent. It
makes the game feel more immersive. The tune is light
and energetic which is associated with the visual of
beach/summer.
As for action sounds, there isn't any. This is because unlike goblins and ghosts this isn't an
action packed game, its more on the calm side. Whilst n goblins and ghost you had to
defeat enemies, in this game your simple roller skating near the beach, there is nobody you
are fighting against so there no need for the intense music or sound effects.
The game is very well put together, the art style, colours and music all work well together
and hence this helps its audience appeal. People are more likely to buy a game that makes
sense rather than one that look badly put together. So its important to get the tone and
feel of your game right.

12. This game isn't pxilated like my game will be, however I think its worth analysing
the animation poses so that I have a better idea on how to animate my
characters. Something I noticed in this game was that the creators were able to
make the animation look pretty smooth. This meant they used a lot more poses
then in goblins and ghosts
Normal skating- this is animated with 3 key positions. the second
position makes the animation flow better since its a middle position. I
like how they animated the arms to move depending on which leg is in
front, it makes it look more realistic
Jump- the animation for a jump is more complicated
then the jump in goblins and ghost. Its made up of 5 main
positions,2 before the jump, two in the air and one for
the recovery. I like the fact that they put the detail of the
hair moving from when she's on the ground to in the air.
Fall- the fall animation is easier then the jump
animation, the two first positions have her stance
leaning backwards and ending which her left foot leaving
the ground and her arms going up. They again also
included the hair going up. The last two positions are
very similar, the only different are the hand positions
which suggests to the audience that she is about get up

13. Research Analysis
• Some common features that I have found in the game i
have researched are:
– Opening pages
– Colour schemes
– Platform type games
– Music influences the feel of the game and should
complement the tone
I defiantly want to include having opening pages for my
game, I think it will make the game flow better at the start.
Music also makes a big difference to the mood of the
game, so I want to spend time making sure my music fits
my game. And having a platform type game will work well
with the concept I have created,

14. Bibliography

15. Bibliography
1. Nintendo. (14 September 2001) Luigi’s mansion
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w3qTjjxctI)
2. Capcom, Elite Systems, Micronics, Backbone Entertainment, Keith
Burkhill (19th September 1985) ghosts’n goblins
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIhyjrXVhzg&t=42s)
3. Accolade, ERE Informatique, Pony Canyon, Infogrames, Atari SA (1987)
bubble ghost(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es9CY1d__pE&t=43s)
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlPY8TbU9Y0