2. Process - Background For the production experiments that start this
project off, we try creating a game animation to see
what we’re comfortable with and what skills we can
develop. I’ve chosen to do an runner game as it’s
something I’ve done before and could get done
easily, allowing me to try an experiment with new
ways of animating.
Due to the game being an runner style similar to
games like jetpack joyride or temple run,
background needs to be able to move along so that
it looks like the character is moving forward. The
size of the document is 120x80 pixels and the way
to achieve the moving background is by creating a
background image, like the hills in the original Mario
games, that’s wider than the document, for example
480x80, so that when placed underneath the
document, it can be moved along when the
character moves forward.
Once the wider background has been pasted
into the document, it’s very easy to move it
along by moving it between frames on your
timeline and adjusting the tweens so that it
moves smoothly at the speed that works
with the other things happening on the
screen.
In endless runner games, the character typically doesn’t
actually move forward during gameplay but stays in one
place, only actually moving to jump and duck. What gives
the game the impression of the character moving is the
background rolling forward, the other entities in the game
getting closer to the character so things such as game
platforms, points similar to the coins in games like Mario
or the golden rings in Sonic, and enemies, all moving from
the left to the right of the screen at the same speed for
cohesiveness, allowing the character to interact with them
in whatever way is appropriate when they meet on
screen.
3. Reflection
What work with the background has helped me understand better is how to ensure that
the image moves smoothly and gives the game a more realistic look despite the simple
style.
Although I had done something similar before, during this experiment I came across a new
issue which involved the edges of the original background not lining up when it was
copied four times into the bigger size, as the shading on the water didn’t meet up with
same colour on the opposite side, meaning that the picture looked rough and
unprofessional, however this was easily solved by smoothing out the uneven points with
the right colour where the image met up with its copy.
What I'm taking from this part of the expeiment with me into the final product is that a
background, although may not seem like an important piece of the game, needs to be
effective by adding to the appearce of the game, even if done in a simple way. It's not
something that the players eyes should focus on but should include enough details to be
interesting and aesthetically pleasing. If my final product includes a moving background I
know that I will have the confidence to make sure that it does so correctly with a speed
matching whatever actions are happening on screen. If I choose to create a still image to
use as my background in my final product, there will have to be more attention given to
detail with color schemes that appeal to the target audience and smooth gradients.
4. Process - Character
Admittedly the character design in this experiment was lacking as it it's not something I'm confident
in, with little experience in creating good looking animations for movement the character might
need to preform such as walking, jumping and interacting with enemies.
The creation process of the character featured in this game was extremely
simple as it wasn't my primary focus, but what was given more attention
to was ensuring that the character moved fluidly with the moving
background as it swam forward and interacted well with the other things
on screen like the hooks.
5. Reflection
What im taking from the character process into the final product is the better understanding of
moving parts on the screen and how they interact with each other.
Should I choose a style of game that’s going to require walking cycles and such things that's
defiently something that im going to have to spend more time on, paying close attention to the
way that the characters body moves between each frame. However if I develop a
match or puzzle game that do not nessicarlly require a character with indiviually moving body
parts but still have many elements that require sliding, bursting, falling or flying, I know that im
going to be able to easily creating a smooth animation for each one, taking additional care to
