As part of my project I had to carry out some research on reddit to establish what people thought of my concept. After a week i only received 14 responses however I feel it is enough to fill the gap in my research for now. The first question  asked was how people thought about putting Norwegian Operators in the game. This went very well with a few people providing some detail whilst the majority said yes:

the second question I asked was if the concept of an Oil Rig map would appeal. The majority still said yes however I feel less people were interested as the percentage is lower. I think this is because a lot of Siege occurs indoors to enhance tactical gameplay. As Oil Rigs do not have many indoor areas this makes it a lot harder to design but with some tweaks i think it could really work.

the third question was how people feel about the names I have chosen and again people thought these names worked very well and sounded great due to the response. One person felt that Goliath didn’t work to well however I feel that it is still a great name for him as it suits his character.

The next question asked how people thought about the Thunder Grenade. Due to the nature of Reddit the responses are fairly strange however for the most part people liked the idea. There were a few people who disagreed with the idea and some people thought that it would be overpowered which is a term used in games for when an item is to powerful and easy to use. However as I am not creating the item in game I don’t feel this is is very important for my project. I shall take this into account however when creating the project and what the grenade can do.

I then asked the same question about people’s thoughts on Goliath’s gadget the Kjempe suit. The responses were fairly similar in their nature. Some people stated that the idea was boring and also broken but I feel that this would suit the game fine. In the future I will go into more detail when asking questions though so people are more aware of what I’m asking as it wasn’t to clear.

The final question I asked was what people thought of the name Operation Bulwark. Unfortunately I forgot to actually tell my audience what the scale was but by the look of my results they managed to work it out which was good for me. In the future I will make this more clear however.

Overall this survey has been useful as the community itself for the most part agrees with my ideas and thinks that they will work really well. This has given me the go ahead to begin my practical designs I feel as well as continuing research as people think the ideas  have thought up are great. I am excited to begin.

 

 

I have carried out some primary research for my designs but now need to look into secondary research and what I can find out from this. I will be going through a few different categories discussing audience and will the talk about how it will effect my project overall.

The audience – As mentioned previously Siege has amassed a player count of 40 million players. This is a groundbreaking amount of players especially due to it’s rough start. After researching thoroughly I didn’t manage to find any information on the target audience aside my research I carried out. However due to the age rating of the game I can assume that a fairly large portion of players are 18 and older, as the official rating of the game is an 18. This is due to violence, mild language and very mild use of drugs. Although not as cared about as a few years ago age ratings can still help me understand who plays the game and how many people play. Although not brilliant evidence from my own experience playing the game the majority of people who I get teamed with/play with are often adults around the age of 18-25 which is to be expected from a game such as Siege as 18-25 year olds are around the age that video games started being highly popular and E-sports started to take off etc.

The Genre – Although very stereotypical the majority of people who play and watch action films and play shooter games are more often than not men around the age of 18-40. This is due to how men have been brought up throughout society from so many years ago such as fighting as soldiers in World Wars to even previously being knights and foot soldiers in the Medieval Ages. This means that a lot of men enjoy violent games and films due to their nature which is why so many play games such as Siege. Unfortunately another reason for the demographic being mostly male is due to the harassment women get on games which can be extremely graphic and almost disturbing to listen to and read about. This great demographic from the BFI helps prove this point when it comes to films by presenting statistics of which gender prefers action films:

Bfi.org.uk. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-audiences-2015-11.pdf [Accessed 26 Mar. 2019].

The Industry – The gaming Industry again is mostly dominated by men. The number of women playing games has certainly increased but for some reason men have always been more interested in games. A study I found below showed the number of female gamers who played certain games and as can be seen below only 7% play first person shooters. Because of this my audience for the project will definitely be directed towards men in the 18-25 category.

From the information I have gathered I want to direct my project towards men. The idea of Norwegian strong men who are almost Viking like should really appeal to players and men in their adult lives and I think they’ll be great choices. Goliath with his suit of protective armour will also appeal as he is an hulking and strong brute which men often enjoy in video games as it makes them feel powerful and bad ass. Naturally due to the game of Siege itself they will have guns which again men enjoy.

Semiotics are a big part of my project and are something I need to consider heavily when looking into my research.  It is a massive part of the human race itself and was originally discovered by a Swiss Linguist named Ferdinand de Saussure in the 17th century. He referred to it as the ‘life of signs within a society.’ Although fairly complicated when reading into it Semiotics is simply the way that we as humans look into things and the way we interpret things. This can range from street signs, writing on a page, film shots and scenes and even something as simple as a hand gesture. This is a good example. If we see someone giving us the thumbs up we immediately assume it is something positive or they are happy about something. This is a semiotic. there are two variants of a semiotic and each is fairly different.

Denotation – This is the most basic form of a semiotic and simply means what can we see in front of us. A great example would be a street sign such as a stop sign. As a human we can see the sign and the colours on the sign.

Connotations –  The more complex form of semiotic is the connotations of an object or thing. So if we see the same Stop sign then we will see the colour red and will associate this with danger and the word stop will obviously warn us to stop and go back. Connotations are a massive part of the human brain and are built into our psychology.

I managed to find a great book which details how film genre works and the way people perceive it. This book was written by Jonathan Bignell and is named Media Semiotics: An Introduction and was released in 2002. It discusses how genre can really help provide the viewer with themes and symbolism through many things such as visual style, lighting, the setting, the music and costume. Although this applies much more to film than graphic design I feel that the same still applies. You can also create a film which mocks film genre and how you conceive it as an individual. A great example from the book is Scream 3 which mocks horror tropes and stereotypes and this gives the audience more to think about and discuss together. Of course I am not creating a film but there is also a way to do this within graphic design. This book was a really interesting read for me and I would recommend it, even though I only read a few relevant pages.

Google Books. (2019). Media Semiotics. [online] Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MGom6EJRLKIC&pg=PA199&dq=semiotics+genre&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiaqLOmrebhAhWGRxUIHcnhBxoQ6AEIOzAD#v=onepage&q=semiotics%20genre&f=false [Accessed 2 May 2019].

When looking at my project I need to take both these concepts into account. A great example is the colours I use. Due to the theme of Viking and Norway I want the operators I create to have blue/white uniforms and outfits. From this people will infer ice and snow from these operators. As mentioned in previous posts such as my DLC operator analysis and Icon analysis I will be taking semiotics heavily into account especially with operator icons as we can take a lot from such a little picture. I will be designing ideas for these icons soon and will be considering these semiotics in my designs. I will be creating this icon post in the future and will be making sure to delve into this more in the future.

As part of my DLC will contain a map  I need to look into oil rigs and their components and how they actually look so I can create a realistic approach. I feel that this will heavily aid my project as for the most part Siege is a fairly realistic game so I want to ensure the map is as detailed and as possible. To do this I found a legitimate website, the United States Department Of Labour website which contains detailed images and a key of an oil rig and it’s components.

This image below is a great example of the components on a oil rig and what it has to offer overall. I feel that this is a great image to summarise all the parts of a rig and it is very clear to follow.

 

Osha.gov. (2019). eTools | Oil and Gas Well Drilling and Servicing eTool – Illustrated Glossary | Occupational Safety and Health Administration. [online] Available at: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/oilandgas/illustrated_glossary.html [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019].

As mentioned previously in my map blog each map has it’s own rooms and components which defenders have to defend from the attackers. I think that the 4 rooms I will choose for the map are the living quarters, Doghouse, Engine Generator Sets and the Bulk Mud Components Storage. These would be interesting to design and consider and I feel that they would be fun to defend and look after.

To begin the process of planning my operators and icons as well as the map I thought it’d be a great idea to look into graphic design and what it entailed as well as receiving advice from experts in the field. To do this I stumbled across a great article which discusses 25 tips from experts about graphic design and little things you can do to help make you better and improve your skills.

The first tip I saw was a quote by Steve Jobs who stated that ‘Good artists copy, great artists steal.’ Although of course plagiarism is very important taking concepts or parts of a design and using it in your own project is fine and can be very useful such as seeing a face or hand and liking it and then replicating that for your project. This can help improve my skills of graphic design and finding things which inspire me in the future.

The second tip I found was a video with Jonny Ive who works for Apple who said that focus, being harsh to yourself and becoming a perfectionist in your work is vital. I need to make sure to attempt to perfect my design and make it the best I can. This interview was great to listen to.

YouTube. (2019). Apple’s Jony Ive on the Lessons He Learned From Steve Jobs | Vanity Fair. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/2oksetv3i90 [Accessed 19 Mar. 2019].

Another tip was to do a lot of practise work as this will help me to improve and get better overall. Practise makes perfect as the old phrase says and it is certainly correct. I will make sure to do plenty of tests and concepts for the project before creating the real thing.

In addition I also read a tip which suggested showing your work to other artists in the field and looking into what they think about it and whether or not they are fans. Critique from experts is the best kind as you can trust their opinions and ideas which is another thing Jony Ive stated, as Steve Jobs often critiqued him.

As a final tip it also helps to read into books and watch Youtube videos and see what advice people share and give to others. I will make sure to watch a lot of Youtube videos as these are easy to watch and understand. This blog post was really useful for me and there are many more tips on there which I will look into and consider when creating my project.

Konsus.com. (2019). Konsus. [online] Available at: https://www.konsus.com/blog/25-tips-graphic-designers [Accessed 19 Mar. 2019].

Another thing I have to do is research video game designers and their tips and tricks. Although not a artist Edmund McMillen is an award winning Game Developer who makes Indie Games however the tips he provides on Gamasutra apply to art as well. Some of these tips are below and are again very helpful.

McMillen, E. (2019). Opinion: Indie Game Design Do-s and Don’t-s: A Manifesto. [online] Gamasutra.com. Available at: https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/117521/Opinion_Indie_Game_Design_Dos_and_Donts_A_Manifesto.php [Accessed 19 Mar. 2019].

These are very detailed and I believe that they are all very true and useful. I think the one that calls out to me is to take big risks. I think that when creating my project I really need to take risks and not to try and simplify my project. By pushing myself I can get the highest grade, learn the most new techniques and also begin to try and advance my skills and learn new things. I also appreciate the first tip as it’s important to me that I am honest with myself and the community of Siege.

I think researching experts opinions and tips are great and I feel that these will help me to create my project as well as advance my skills. In the future I will do the same and more quotes will follow in the future.

 

Concept Art is a massive part of video games and how they are created. It is one of the first steps towards creating a video game and has been for some time. It is used to design elements of a game such as a setting, character, weapon or scene and is vital to creating a game. It helps build an idea up in developers head of how the game should look and can give designers ideas on how characters should work and what features the game has. In some ways concept art is one of the first steps into creating a video game as without ideas, experiments and designs the game can not continue. Every game that has ever been created has had some sort of concept art to help create some ideas from the get go. Even games like Mario have concept art and a lot of it. An example is one of the pieces of art from Super Mario Odyssey which was highly successful.

Nintendo Everything. (2019). Latest Super Mario Odyssey concept art – Nintendo Everything. [online] Available at: https://nintendoeverything.com/latest-super-mario-odyssey-concept-art/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2019].

As part of my research into concept art I managed to find a book named the Big Bad World Of Concept Art For Video Games by Eliott J Lilly. Although I could not buy the full book I have found several extracts from it and what the book offers as well as examples of concept art and how the design process works. A good example that I found was the design of a weapon from a game and how the sketch of it looks without colour or detail. Concept art is often done in stages like this and tends to begin as a framework, followed by detail, followed by colour as this allows the artist to take the design in stages.

 

Amazon.co.uk. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-World-Concept-Video-Games/dp/1624650201 [Accessed 19 Mar. 2019].

Another example from the book is what a character looks like halfway through the colouring process and I think this is really useful for me as you can see how they’ve put on the colour. I personally believe that this is how I will create my characters, starting out by creating a framework, followed by the detail and then any colour. This is definitely the best way to create my operators and their equipment.

Amazon.co.uk. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-World-Concept-Video-Games/dp/1624650201 [Accessed 19 Mar. 2019].

Another book I found was named the Art of Drawing the Human Body I couldn’t find an author for these book but I found it on PDFDrive for free. The book obviously helps guide you as to how to create the perfect human body and this will be very essential for the project. This book will assist me a lot and I intend on dipping into it often. A quick example I discovered was an example of a human framework and it works great.

 

Body, A. (2019). Art of Drawing the Human Body ( 162 Pages ). [online] Pdfdrive.com. Available at: https://www.pdfdrive.com/art-of-drawing-the-human-body-e19196654.html [Accessed 19 Mar. 2019].

Another quick example from the book was how to draw hands which again will be very useful as this is something I have always struggled with a fair amount.

Body, A. (2019). Art of Drawing the Human Body ( 162 Pages ). [online] Pdfdrive.com. Available at: https://www.pdfdrive.com/art-of-drawing-the-human-body-e19196654.html [Accessed 19 Mar. 2019].

When creating my designs I need to make sure that I use these recourses and also need to research more into concept art and past concept art. I will be doing a blog soon looking into Siege and it’s character design as well as other elements of the game as this is important to base my ideas off of the game.

An important part of this project is understanding who plays Siege and how long they spend playing it overall as this is important. I looked online for answers but I struggled to find any information on the age of Siege players and what they feel about the game so I thought it best to carry out my own research into how old people were and how often they played the game. To do this I used a very simple closed question survey to gather an idea of the average age and playtime of a Siege player in a week and put this onto Reddit to ask the Siege community. This is the post I created:

This was very successful overall and I gained close to 30 responses over the week which is efficient information for now. The survey I created was very basic as for right now nothing major was necessary. This survey is below:

I think these questions for how simple they are are very useful to gauge the target audience and how engaged they are with the game. The first question yielded these results:

As can be seen the variety of player ages is very expansive and it’s fairly surprising at how close the results are to each other as there is a nearly equal percentage between a few age groups. The game is dominated mostly from my survey by adults between the age of 20-25, followed by 15-20 years old which shows us that a lot of players are fairly young/early in their adult lives. I was expecting this as a lot of players I interact with in the game are around 20 whilst some are much older, as we see 7.4% are 40-45. I need to make sure I use this information to create my project and due to player ages a more mature theme would be acceptable as Rainbow Six is fairly mature in itself anyway. This allows for more slightly violent themes and depictions in my designs but without overdoing it. The second question I posed was how long people have been playing overall. The results are as follows:

As we can see from the chart again there is a fair mix. The vast majority of players (a third of responses) have all been playing for 2 years which is a middle number as the game has been out for 4. This is what I was expecting as this is when the game began to flourish due to new maps, operators and updates. A few people have only been playing a year and again I could have expected this as a lot of players have been joining the game in recent months which again is down to the addition of new content. I believe the lack of players who have been playing for 3 years is low as during that time the game was in a fairly poor state and people were losing interest in the game. The third question I looked into was how often people play the game a week.

Again these results were fairly equal but the winner was 4-6 hours a week which is not really to much. This may of course be due to people playing other games, going to work and living adult lives rather than playing games all day although this number is still surprising although 10-14 hours a week is the third most chosen which makes a lot more sense to me. The losing amount of hours was 14+ which is expected as this is a fair amount of hours to play the game for in a week. The final question I asked was simply who enjoyed the game and the response was fairly obvious:

 

Due to Reddit’s nature the 

Due to Reddit’s nature the no’s are either a troll answer, people being frustrated with elements of the game or they genuinely don’t enjoy it anymore. However as expected the majority of people do enjoy the game and what it offers them. This survey has been useful for me and the information I have gathered will help me build my project up as I will be able to make the project much more mature and will be able to present some more adult themes whilst still making sure I keep to guidelines.