The document discusses existing video game products including Cuphead, Ōkami, The Legend of Zelda, and Chrono Trigger. It provides overviews of each game's gameplay, story, art style, and music. Research analysis identifies common RPG elements across the games that could be included in the author's own work, such as monsters, weapons, magic, and compelling characters.

1. Research
Alexander Sullivan-Cree

2. Existing Product
Cuphead (2017) by Studio MDHR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-1n15aIgsE
Cuphead is a game developed by MDHR and released mid 2017. You
play as Cuphead, one of two bothers who sells his soul to the devil.
You’re able to play as the other brother is 2 player co-op and his name
is Mugman. You then make a deal with the devil that if you collect all
his other souls for him you and your brother will be free. What’s good
about this game is that it is a mixture of different genres of games.
They’re are some side scroll runner levels, shooting levels, flying levels
and aspects of RPGs as you can buy other bullets and potions. The
levels are extremely hard, even on the easiest setting however that is
what makes the game so appealing and making people come back to
play it again. When you die in a level, it shows you how far to the end
you were, you then realise that you’re the even half done. The art
styles and music for the game are all very 1930’s style of cartoon
reminiscent of Fleischer Studios with the likes of Betty Boop, Bimbo
and Popeye the sailor man. My personal favourite aspect of the game
is the music with is a mixture of Original Jazz, Early big band and ragtag
with a play time of 3 hours. Each song is played by live musicians,
including a 13-piece big band, 10-piece ragtime ensemble, a solo
pianist, a vocalist, a tap dancer and a few more surprises. All the music
and lyrics were written and composed by Kristofer Maddigan. The
combat system is quite tricky as you shoot where your pointer is
located and where you press the joystick for controller.

3. Existing Product
Okami (2006) by Clover Studio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3WdWPKASqI
Okami is a game developed by clover studios and published by
Capcom. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2006-2007.
It was then later re-released for the Nintendo Wii in 2008. The game is
a single player action/adventure game beaded on the Japanese
religion Shinto. the art style looks like a woodcut, watercolour style,
cel shaded environment which looks like an animated Japanese ink-
illustration known as ink wash painting. The game has you the player
controlling the main protagonist, Amaterasu in a white wolf form who
in Japanese Shinto is sun goddess. The game play style is a mishmash
of action, platform and puzzle games and is very similar to the legend
of Zelda series. As Amaterasu you earn praise, which can then be
spent to increases the characters statistics like health and the amount
of ink wells for the celestial brush techniques. Much like the genre,
the combat is also a mishmash as you can fight the enemies using
weapons, fighting techniques and brush methods. When you finish a
battle, you’re rewarded money in the currency of Yen which can be
spent at merchants. The music was also inspired by Classical Japanese
works and was composed by Masami Ueda, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Rei
Kondoh and Akari Groves which won the best score award at the 2007
BAFTA Video Game Awards.

4. Existing Product (Pre 2000’s)
Chrono Trigger (1995) by Square Enix
Chrono Trigger was developed way back in the nineties by Square Soft (Square Enix) for
the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) and is regarded as one of the best
RPGs of all time, if not one of the best games of all time. A lot of the sounds throughout
the first cut scene are sounds you’d find playing in an old fashioned music box, the music
then changes to something more upbeat and fantasy themed with sound effects to rain,
lasers, swords, lightning and flying ships. This game has a lot to do with time and the
word Chrono which translated to time in a Latinised form of Greek. In the actual game
the sound effects are much more simplistic compared to the cut scenes. At Its core is the
same as every other RPG, a cool looking protagonist, a roster of characters to join you,
you fight monsters, get experience, level up, buy stuff, fight harder monsters and throw
in some time travel. Chrono trigger is an expertly made role playing game mixed with the
beautiful art style of Akira Toriyama and the jaw dropping music composed by Yasunori
Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu. The time travel mechanic is something rarely seen in
RPGs, the medieval stuff is somewhat over used in today’s market like Skyrim but to
have it alongside the distant future, the distant past and even the Ice age. The use of
time and location is slightly confusing so I’ll try explain it as simply as possible. The game
is set in the year 1,000AD which is the present for them. The gang then gets cast back
400 years to 600AD, after this they then travel to 2,300AD, 65 million BC, 12,000 BC, 990
AD, 1,999 AD and then finally back 1,000 AD. The Cast of adventures includes Crono, the
main character. The rest of the gang are Marle, Lucca, Frog, Robo, Ayla and Magnus.
The battle system in Chrono trigger is one of the strongest points, the battle system is so
cool and surprisingly easy compared to a lot of other battle systems. There is 3 options in
battle, attack where can attach them, Magic where you use magic and Item where you
can use an item. All the characters in the game have individual sprite sheets that are
used throughout the game. The only place where the sprites haven’t been used to show
the characters is in the box art where you can see Chrono and Frog. The colour scheme
used by the good characters are bright and vibrant compared to the colours of the bad
characters which are dark and gloomy. The colour scheme for the landscape and
background varies on the time and location they are in. At the beginning of the game the
terrain, architecture and objects are vastly colourful compared to later in the game
where its not so beautiful and colourful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6syG5YFGPeo

5. Existing Product (Pre 90’s)
The legend of Zelda (1997) by Nintendo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI3rO3PbYOo
The legend of Zelda is a game developed and published by Nintendo
1086-1987. The game was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi
Tezuka. It is an action adventure game set in the fantasy world of
Hyrule, you play as the protagonist Link who is tasked with saving the
Princess of Hyrule, Zelda. He has to collect the eight sections of the
Triforce of Wisdom in order to do so. You the player sees link from a
top down perspective and lead him through the overworld and several
dungeons fighting enemies as you go. The main antagonist of the
game is Ganon, the Prince of darkness. The Legend of Zelda was a best
seller for Nintendo selling over 6.5 million copies world wide, it is also
featured in the list of games considered the greatest and or most
influential. The cartridge was released in 2 forms, the standards grey
colored cartridge and the special gold colored cartridge. The music was
composed by Koji Kondo and I personally think the music is extremely
influential to other video game music composers, even 30 years later.
You start the game with only a small shield however a sword is later
given to you. Throughout the game many NPCs aid link by giving and
selling him items which further his quest to save the Princess. To make
players keep playing the game after completion you’re given access to
more difficult quests referred to as the second quests.

6. Research Analysis
• What common features do the researched
products have?
All the products that I’ve researched are rpg’s realesed on a variety of consoles
between 1995-2017. They contain aspects of the fantasy and rpg genre of magic,
monsters, weapons and potions.
• What aspects of the research will you include
within your on work?
In my final product I shall also try to include the obvious aspects of rpg games,
especially the monsters, weapons and magic as I believe these to be the most
important parts of the role playing game genre.

7. Interviews

8. Interview 1
What genre of game do you feel we need more of in the gaming market?
I feel like the gaming market is oversaturated at the moment due to the constant duplicates of game just with different skins, for
example the amount of survival games being produced at the moment. There is a need for something more original and
something we either haven’t seen before or haven’t seen as a game for a long time.
How much would you usually pay for a game and what would you expect in the game?
It really depends on the game. Sometimes you can’t really avoid paying a full £40-60 for a triple A game since that is the standard
price for those type of games. But there are also games that come out that range from as low as £3 to £25 which could turn out to
be better than these extortionate triple A games. If I was to pay a full £40-60 on a game I would expect many hours of gameplay, a
good story to keep me hooked and I would expect the re-playability value to be good enough so I can play it at least another time
whilst still finding the game enjoyable instead of repetitive.
Would you rather have an multiplayer online game or a single player story intensive game?
It really depends on the game that I am playing since some games are meant to be multiplayer games but there are also games
which have such a great story there is no need for a multiplayer function. If I am playing a First Person Shooter like Call of Duty I
would probably prefer there to be more of a multiplayer focus for the game but if I am playing a game like Mafia 2, where there is
no multiplayer function, I would prefer there to be a more story driven game due to the topic of it.
Would you prefer a generic story like saving the princess and defeating the bad guy, or prefer a new and different story?
If I was playing a game like Mario or Sonic then that generic story wouldn’t really matter since that is what you come to expect
from these type of games but for any other game I would prefer a new type of story so that there is originality and so it stays
interesting throughout the entire game.
What's most important to you in a video game? Story, characters, music or combat?
What is most important in a video game varies on the type of game that I am playing. If I am playing a game which is meant to be
story-driven then of course the story is the most important part of the game but if I am playing a game like street fighter then I
don’t expect that to be the most important part of the game. Instead I would say that the most important part is both the
characters and the combat. If a game can get all of these parts and do them well, then that game will be fantastic.

9. Interview 1
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
This interview tells me that my audience would prefer an original and
different game then what is currently out on the market. They would
rather have a more story intensive game than having an online
multiplayer game mode. My audience cares about the characters the
fighting system and the story a lot more than anything else.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
To make the product appeal to this audience I shall make the game
story intensive with interest and compelling characters, I shall also try
to make the game different and original by creating a new turn based
battle system.

10. Interview 2
What is the most important aspect of a video game for you and why?
The most important aspect of a game for me is online multiplayer, because I
think that gaming is more fun when playing with other people rather than on
my own.
What genre of video game would you prefer and why?
I don’t really have a favourite genre of game. However my least favourite
genre of game is probably puzzle games, because I find them boring.
Would you rather have a multiplayer video game or a single player game and
why?
I would rather have a game that includes both multiplayer and single player. It
depends what type of video game it is. Some games are better in multiplayer,
such as first person shooters, but some games are better in single player.
Would you prefer to have the option for character customisation not and
why?
I would rather have character customisation, because it is more fun to create
your own character, and it also makes the game more personal.

11. Interview 2
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
This tells me that my audience likes to play multiplayer games with a
narrative and that has character customisation so I’d say they like to
play a lot of RPGs and MMO. This also tells me that they like a game
with an interesting protagonist that they can relate too as the
audience will take the time to create the character the way they want
them to be.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
To make my product appeal to this audience I would not make my
game a puzzle game as my audience finds them boring, I will also make
the game single player with a multiplayer option, much like
borderlands. My audience said that he would like to have a character
customisation as he finds it fun so I shall include that as a option.

12. What is the most important aspect of a video game for you and why?
The most important aspect is for it to be new and challenging. This creates a whole
new experience for players like how Mario came to be. A good example are the
demon souls/dark souls games. When these games came out it opened up a new play
style while being very challenging allowing a lot of game time and replay ability.
What genre of video game would you prefer and why?
I mostly prefer MMORPG’s as these genres allows you to both interact with other
players while having a compelling story.
Would you rather have a multiplayer video game or a single player game and why?
I prefer multiplayer games as its replayable and I like interacting with other players.
Would you prefer to have the option for character customisation not and why?
Yes I would like the option for character customisation as I feel more connected to the
character
Interview 3

13. Interview 3
• Observation:
• What this says about my audience:
This tells me that my audience would like a compelling story with
multiplayer so they’re able to interact with other players from around
the world.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
To make my product appeal to the audience I shall make the game an
RPG with a compelling story and challenging objectives/quests. I shall
also include interactive NPCs and creatures to fight in turn base
combat like Final Fantasy.

14. Bibliography

15. Bibliography
1. Starkey, A. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on 22/11/2017)
2. Case, J. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on 28/11/2017)
3. Ahmed, T. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on 28/11/2017)
4. Anon. ( 3 November 2017). Ōkami. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckami.
Last accessed 22nd November 2017.
5. Anon. (22 November 2017). Final Fantasy VII. Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII. Last accessed 22nd November 2017.
6. Anon. ( 8 November 2017). The Legend Of Zelda. Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda. Last accessed 22nd November 2017.
7. Anon. ( 22 November 2017). Cuphead. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuphead.
Last accessed 22nd November 2017.
8. Anon. (12 November 2017). Mega Man 2. Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Man_2. Last accessed 23rd November 2017.
9. Anon. (17 November 2017). Chrono Trigger. Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrono_Trigger#Characters. Last accessed 23rd November
2017.
10. XolarDarth. (June 19th 2013). Chrono Trigger All Cutscenes {HD}.Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkWK-NEtmHk. Last accessed 23rd November 2017.