#gameresearch

[12spin]

Why Some Games Feel More “Alive” During Busy Hours

A lot of players report that their games feel more alive when many others are online. This may be due to server refresh cycles, event triggers, or matchmaking volume.

If you’re comparing behaviour across regions or times, this page has additional insights: 👉 https://beacons.ai/12spin

[shani-t8]

How exciting to be the first presenter after the opening talks ... and the precursor to many great presentation ... the live YouTube stream continues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dISidyoNxEE#gamesstudent #gamedesignstudent #igped #madewithlove #gameresearch https://www.instagram.com/p/CFSb74QnzdQ/?igshid=1md2h3btolst5

[andreaskorn]

Game research. Subnautica – Discovery without map?

The so called “Lavacastle” is my destination in the deep of this subnautica world. But how to find the entrance? There is no map inside the game that guides me or give me coordinates (cf. subnautica wikia). In my exploration trips (submarine) I discovered the „Lost River“ area first  (magic green river). So far I see there are some alternative routes to get to the alienbuilding. Left side of the „Lost River“ you can get down and follow the „Blue River“ or you get straight through the „Lost River“ staying a little bit at the „left“ side. From nearly 800 m (Lost River) you procceed downwards step by step (best choise: Zyklop because it could resist the increasing heat). You will reach the first lava sources, the large chamber and the building.

Though the game don’t give me a map but I’m able to use buoys to mark local spots. Pressing F1 there is information like the current camera world position (length, depth, width).

Entrance of my route:

Buoy 10: warp 1206  -12  848

Buoy 09: warp 1188  -246  884

Buoy 08: warp 1107  -454  930

Buoy 07: warp 876  -577  902

Buoy 06: warp 610  -700  938

Buoy 05: warp 335  -817  787

Buoy 04: warp 216  -1190  588

Buoy 03: warp 23  -1298  338

Buoy 02: warp 30  -1384  215

Buoy 01: warp 178  -1424  -182

TELEPORT

Otherwise you can take a portal from the mushroom forest (warp -800 -228 407) to get inside this alienbuilding that includes the prison and 5 embryos which has to be set free. The teleport at the bottom brings you down to the aliengun close to the docking bay where the embryos release the essential enzyme to fix the infection. Requirements getting access to the portals: u have to be in possession of the appropriate key card (violet, blue, orange) ...

Recommendation (game developer):

integration of a map inside the game; 

make cameras editable (names); 

allow more save points than one; 

storytelling and guidelines - increase the communication

add-ons: new levels and territories, new duties and assignments; quests ...

(report & screenshots: Andreas Korn, 10.7.18)

[pinkoshun]

#animationresearch #oronsen #gameresearch #vr #affrilachia #animatorsofinstagram (at Valeria Watson Art)

[nathannewlandbct-blog]

Splinter Cell Blacklist and Asymmetrical Co-Op Multiplayer Gameplay

Here are some notes on my take on a mission from Splinter Cell Blacklist that uses a near top down camera POV and a 3rd person POV together in CoOp gameplay in a similar way to what we could explore with our next project.

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist by Ubisoft Toronto features a set of campaign missions that are only accessible to two players playing cooperatively due to their dependence on having two autonomous players working together. For this example, I will be talking about the final scene in the first coop mission, Smuggler’s Compound where one player is tasked with using a top down POV from a combat drone to clear the street of enemies for the second player to move toward the objective safely. The second player can also choose to move up and clear the area himself, but this is inherently more dangerous than usual as the other player won’t be able to help if the 3rd person player gets into trouble. Once the area is clear, the 3rd person player can move up and take over from the player operating the overhead drone so that both players get the opportunity to experience the two game types. This type of coop gameplay is asymmetrical as instead of both players having comparable points of view and impact on the environment, instead the drone operator has a much larger point of view and objectives are highlighted and colour is washed out. The drone operator also has a significantly greater impact on the environment as the guns he or shew is given kill the targets significantly quicker.

Risk and reward is altered from the usual that they would be during standard coop 3rd person gameplay. In usual gameplay stealth plays a significant role, however the player can choose to “go loud” and be seen by the enemies as he or she goes through the level. This is a choice of risk. Can the player kill the NPCs before they see and kill him or her? The player, if this risk tips against them, can be revived by their teammate, but this is inconvenient for the other teammate and the mission as a whole.

In the drone scene however, the 3rd person character cannot be revived by their teammate as they are piloting the drone. The risk factor is then increased as the price for failure increases. They are then faced with a choice. Do they stay and hide in the first building while their teammate does all the work or do they go out and try to finish the objective and take the risk of being spotted and killed by the NPCs. The main factor in this choice is patience as the time required for the drone pilot to take out all of his targets is unstated and therefore open-ended to the 3rd person player. Another factor is the sharing of the glory, does the 3rd person player let the drone pilot get all the kills and points and therefore sacrifice whatever the 3rd person player might earn, just to stay safe? Or does the 3rd person player take the risk to get some kills and points as well?

Overall this imbalance of roles is a fresh relief from the usual gameplay throughout the mission and leaves both players satisfied with completing it.

[andreaskorn]

Gamescom - the biggest trade fair show in the world. A special opportunity to get inspired from new releases and ideas around the popular interactive entertainment media. 

Beside the production and game development many universities offer their educational program (and research) for young people who wanna step into this business.

(ak 23.8.2017)

Links

PC Magazin:  Gamescom 2017: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry 5, The Crew 2 und mehr

Gamestar:  Ubisoft auf der Gamescom - Assassin's Creed Origins, Far Cry 5 und mehr spielbar

Eurogamer.net:  Gamescom 2017 schedule guide, stream links and everything we know

Frankfurter Allgemeine: eSports, Virtual Reality - und die Kanzlerin

Everything You Need To Know About VR At Gamescom 2017 

[mikepledge]

Research!