i know wikipedia is a no-no but...SO USEFUL!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_country_house

inspiration comes at the worst of times - yay for trains!

So i've had to come to Newport for a family emergency (so sorry if i haven't updated much... ) but while on the train i noticed the the rich country side rural setting.

what did i learn?:

• FIELDS ARE REALLY BORING!!! and I would need to find some way to make them more interesting and make them flow if I want to use them.
• the random houses (which some are farm houses i guess) are realllly big!! damn you rich people and your nice homes!
• houses are randomly spotted around
• some times a few are spaced out together with large green areas and fields between them
• usually a house flows down to a farm and stables etc..
• some fields have streams going through them - yay for splash factor!

one area had a good flow that stood out to me:

a big farm house > flowed down to a small farm with barns and stables > flowed down to few fields with sheep > then a country road next to them flowed down to what looked like a small village with very nice big houses (could substitute for the upper class side to the town)  

i wish i could have has my camera to take photos but then the train was going so quick i wouldn't be able to focus on what i see. 

no reply :(

I've tried to get some more experience playing racing games by accessing the games room in uni and the game library but i still haven't had a reply email to get access to the games library :(

sweeney todd

so i just finished watching tim burton's sweeney todd (buhhhh ¬_¬ ). I'm not sure it would fit into the right time frame but i wanted to get another depiction of how Victorian style streets and buildings could look.

crash team racing

crash cove

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_b_Pf9XY0U&feature=player_embedded#! short cut just about 36sec

blizzard bluff

"There are two large shortcuts on this track, the first being a large chasm at the first icy patch which can be jumped over with enough speed. Straight after this to the left there is a small fence which can be jumped over. Because of the high speed required for the first jump and the sharpness of the corner to the second it is extremely difficult to do both on the same lap.The hut at the start might be where Penta Penguin lives."

video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCUpeDAlEns&feature=player_embedded short cut at 40sec

hot air skyway

 "This level has 3 short cuts, the first being a farther landing pad to the right after the first jump which requires practice to do, another to turn around after the 2 tracks go side by side, and jump over the border. The third is to use the final turbo ramp, and to land on the track right next to the enterance of the tunnel under the hot air balloon. To do this you must use a fast charcter, be using an uka-uka, 10 pieces of fruit and you need to do the little "bunny-hop" just before you launch of the turbo ramp, you may also need to use the "turbo ramp" cheat and the power slide tubro boost as well, which would make it a lot easier, but it is uncertain whether they are needed to use this short cut. It is also possible with a lot of luck to fall off at certain points and land on later parts of the track."

roo's tubes

video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cns0V7fkjzs&feature=player_embedded

mario kart FTW!!!!

luigi circuit 

http://www.mariowiki.com/Luigi_Circuit#Mario_Kart_Wii

"Shortcuts

The small ramp just before the last turn can be used to gain an extra item block but provides a negligible time gain. A Mushroom is required to access this ramp without losing time. Players possessing a Mushroom can also skip the last turn by boosting through the dirt while being careful to avoid the warp pipes sticking out of the ground."

This level is really quite simple mainly using bends like a typical race track. it also uses speed boosts on the ground to give players a short increase in speed. the track is made more interesting with the use of the simple short cut which gives players more items.

bowser castle 3 

http://www.mariowiki.com/Bowser_Castle_3#Mario_Kart_Super_Circuit

original track from super mario kart

" A shortcut can be performed by aiming left at the last yellow ramp and using a mushroom"

This is a long track and uses many 90 degree turns making it hard to control cars and especially bikes to gain enough speed. 

Mushroom gorge

http://www.mariowiki.com/Mushroom_Gorge

the mushrooms are marked as the separated circles on the map in the bottom right corner

"Shortcuts

In Mushroom Gorge, there is a shortcut that will allow the player to speed past the regular curving route and get a boost, although it requires a Mushroom, and is recommended for Time Trials. After starting the race with a turbo boost, the player should head to the left. After the player has headed left, they'll see that there's no fence and that there's a crevice. As soon as the player is a few lengths away from the crevice, use a Mushroom to get a boost. The player will be flung onto a large Mushroom. Perform a trick, bounce on the other giant Mushroom, perform a trick, and the player should land back on the pathway.

Also, by the last U-turn, if the player cuts across the grassy patch with some sort of speed boost and doesn't fall into the crevice, there is a time gain of a second or two."

This is one of my favorite tracks in the game. its simple but challenging. the track involves the dirt track with a few bends and then jumping over individual mushrooms with the risk of falling off them and choosing the right path that is the quickest. players can also perform speed boosts on them with could risk in them falling off. 

 moo moo meadow 

http://www.mariowiki.com/Moo_Moo_Meadows

"Shortcuts

There are no major shortcuts in Moo Moo Meadows, although in the area with the cows it is possible to go across the fields with a Mushroom to avoid the moving cattle and speed up. Another shortcut is in the area with the Monty Moles. A Mushroom can help the player speed across the grass spots"

the layout of the level is quite a generic with slight bends but what makes it interesting is how a herd of cattle will walk across the road which players must avoid or will crash. the cattle walk further into the road as the laps increase. there is also a hilly area in which players can go around them, go over which can slow them down or use the ramps to jump over them. there are also moles running around the hills meaning the player could land on them if timing is wrong. 

delfino square

http://www.mariowiki.com/Delfino_Square

"Shortcuts

After passing the first bridge and making a left-hand turn, there will be a hidden passage, which is past some crates. This off-road shortcut can heavily slow down any vehicle, regardless of off-road statistics, so a Mushroom or a Star is required to get through it quickly"

this i another long track that involves many bends around a town square. the short cut is also very interesting as it can slow you down just as much if the right power up isn't used. 

rainbow road wii 

http://www.mariowiki.com/Rainbow_Road#Mario_Kart_Wii

view of the track (lol wut?)

downwards hill at start

waves in roads (player can jump at right moment for speed boost)

8 shape with holes meaning players can possibly fall down

rainbow tunnel, powers up don't work in here

last stretch with speed boosts

how can the level flow?

start > farm house > barns > stables > country roads > fields > crops > country side > mills/factories > canal > country roads > estate > gardens > raods > upper class houses/town > end in town.

maybe a bit long winded but will make more sense when i sketch out ideas

quick idea for level??

i was thinking about how the level could flow and came up with this quick sketch.

1. the player would drive around hills and around the set of bushes/hedge represented by dark green cross hatched lines.
2. the hills will guide them to jump over the hedge into a field.
3. i was thinking about some kind of obstacle for the players and thought about the snow men and cows and the Mario kart games. a possibility was that the field could be full of animals or hey bails. it doesn't really work in this field and the car need to drive right and not though them so its less obvious.
4. players would smash through the fences into a filed full of crops
5. then down a bank onto a road
6. then over a river via a bridge

this was just a quick idea i wasn't very happy with because it's not so obvious where players need to go as there is no general blocking. but its an idea :) 

initial ideas...and i mean initial! :/

I've had some random ideas floating around so I've tried to get something on paper with quick sketches. 

Here I've focused on a more rural part of the map using fields, farm land, country lanes, rivers etc.

I thought about the way the car could gain air while driving and used the subtle hill terrain in the fields in which players could get a range of heights.

as a way of blocking the car when driving through fields i thought about using high grass they can't drive through. or using high crops the the car can't get through. 

bwain storm!

i created a brain storm of ideas ive been thinking of recently that i could use as locations for my own tracks
ideas that stood out are:

• mountains
• train stations
• upper class towns/village
• farm land
• mining
• forest
• canal
• fun fair
• sea side
• factories

book: 21st game design explains cars genres

bateman, C. and boon, R., 2006, 21st century game design, hingham, massachusetts: charles river media, inc.

i took this book out of the library at the beginning of the project knowing it listed the different genre of racing games and their conventions. I'm getting around to reading it now to familiar myself with these aspects so i know i'm pointing in the right direction so i can start jotting down ideas and brainstorming.

racing pages 247 - 255

driving sim:

• demonstrate realistic driving experience
• not necessarily realistic physics 
• gran turismo doesn't allow cars to crash
• emphasis on braking, angel of approach and racing lines
• some players find 1st person more immersible  
• other players find 3rd person more appealing, possibly due to mimic of car chase in films

arcade:

• encourage player to not drive how would in real life
• out run uses level structure that made players choose to go left or right. 15 tracks available but only 5 driven through one game
• used gimmicks for each games, ridge racer relied on drifting in game play

kart racer

• uses a range of characters and attaches them to "friendly" racing
• low dimensionality of control
• more forgiving physics

top down

• uses a camera from top down view (birds eye)
• has view of track ahead at all times

whilst reading I wasn't able to get anything specific for level design research but i found learning more about these genres will help me understand the genres more and think about how level design will apply to their conventions.

game research: Blur

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWnUvHk3v3Y&feature=relmfu (didn't want to embed O_o)

• I bought blur and have been playing it for the past couple of days. I've really enjoyed its arcade theme with power ups and found it had some pretty cool levels designs...but drifting is still super hard!!
• I really enjoyed how all the tracks split the roads up so there isn't just one track to follow. the road can split into two or sometimes more different directions. All cars could go down one route making a flight for space or one car can left by itself down another lane meaning they won't get smashed or hit by powerups
• having different routes means some may be quicker or easier to drive around than others so the player needs to make a choice
• the game uses a power up technique. different power ups will be down different roads so if a player needs a specific one they need to choose which could be best
• players can drive through different assets such as barns which have narrow openings, by interacting like this it can make the level more interesting
• all the cars start by driving to the start line so driving into each other can start before the race has even begun
• one part of the levels i enjoyed was that the player drives down a run way and can drive through a small air craft hanger. there is a large opening and another opening boarded up. the player can smash through the boarded area breaking the asset. 
• inside the hanger is also a ramp the player can drive up to gain some air which is always fun and can gain them more points
• when driving through puddles of water the water hits the screen and stays for a short while making the players visibility less visible
• just like the hanger other assets are breakable when driven into and can get in the way of the track
• i noticed the tracks are pretty long with some many ways to drive around them. they only consist of two laps

coal mines!

coal mines could be an interesting environment for players to drive through or to just add to the level to add to the 19th century feel.

i like how these tracks lead to two tunnels. if cars were driving through it could give the player a choice of where to go. there appears to be some boxes in the way of the right tunnel. this could trap players and they could possibly drive down there by mistake or pushes down there as the openings are pretty narrow.

cars could maneuver between gaps in the architecture of this asset if certain parts were removed. 

the terrain to this type of mine could be very "bumpy" for a player to drive over and make controlling the car more difficult adding challenge.

just a little something to read

Tim Lambert, unknown year, life in the 19th century. [online] available at: <http://www.localhistories.org/19thcent.html> [accessed 17/11/11]


this article was able to give me a brief over view of different asepcts of the living conditions during the 19th century to help towards what else i could look into.


Invicta Media, 2000, a 19th cnetury coal mine. [online] availble at:  <http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/coal-mine-diag.htm> [acessed 17/11/11]




this website was able to show me a simple diagram of how the coal mines worked in the 19th century and where steam power came into it. i get a brief idea of how they look and now i have a better idea of how research images will work. 

19th century houses

from reading richard's blog I found that his own inspiration was taken from victorian buildings which lead to the concept of red brick houses. taking this into account i have looked at some initial buildings and other 19th century designs.

i like the whole natural green look to this image with the fields leading to the town. this is something i could look into for my own design.