Virtual Character Design for Games and Interactive Media

Virtual Character Design for Games and Interactive Media PDF Author: Robin James Stuart Sloan
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1466598204
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
While the earliest character representations in video games were rudimentary in terms of their presentation and performance, the virtual characters that appear in games today can be extremely complex and lifelike. These are characters that have the potential to make a powerful and emotional connection with gamers. As virtual characters become more intricate and varied, there is a growing need to examine the theory and practice of virtual character design. This book seeks to develop a series of critical frameworks to support the analysis and design of virtual characters. Virtual Character Design for Games and Interactive Media covers a breadth of topics to establish a relationship between pertinent artistic and scientific theories and good character design practice. Targeted at students, researchers, and professionals, the book aims to show how both character presentation and character performance can be enhanced through careful consideration of underlying theory. The book begins with a focus on virtual character presentation, underpinned by a discussion of biological, artistic, and sociological principles. Next it looks at the performance of virtual characters, encompassing the psychology of emotion and personality, narrative and game design theories, animation, and acting. The book concludes with a series of applied virtual character design examples. These examples examine the aesthetics of player characters, the design and performance of the wider cast of game characters, and the performance of characters within complex, hyperreal worlds.

Virtual Character Design for Games and Interactive Media

Virtual Character Design for Games and Interactive Media PDF Author: Robin James Stuart Sloan
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1466598204
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book

Book Description
While the earliest character representations in video games were rudimentary in terms of their presentation and performance, the virtual characters that appear in games today can be extremely complex and lifelike. These are characters that have the potential to make a powerful and emotional connection with gamers. As virtual characters become more intricate and varied, there is a growing need to examine the theory and practice of virtual character design. This book seeks to develop a series of critical frameworks to support the analysis and design of virtual characters. Virtual Character Design for Games and Interactive Media covers a breadth of topics to establish a relationship between pertinent artistic and scientific theories and good character design practice. Targeted at students, researchers, and professionals, the book aims to show how both character presentation and character performance can be enhanced through careful consideration of underlying theory. The book begins with a focus on virtual character presentation, underpinned by a discussion of biological, artistic, and sociological principles. Next it looks at the performance of virtual characters, encompassing the psychology of emotion and personality, narrative and game design theories, animation, and acting. The book concludes with a series of applied virtual character design examples. These examples examine the aesthetics of player characters, the design and performance of the wider cast of game characters, and the performance of characters within complex, hyperreal worlds.

Better Game Characters by Design

Better Game Characters by Design PDF Author: Katherine Isbister
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000688860
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 443

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Book Description
Games are poised for a major evolution, driven by growth in technical sophistication and audience reach. Characters that create powerful social and emotional connections with players throughout the game-play itself (not just in cut scenes) will be essential to next-generation games. However, the principles of sophisticated character design and interaction are not widely understood within the game development community. Further complicating the situation are powerful gender and cultural issues that can influence perception of characters. Katherine Isbister has spent the last 10 years examining what makes interactions with computer characters useful and engaging to different audiences. This work has revealed that the key to good design is leveraging player psychology: understanding what's memorable, exciting, and useful to a person about real-life social interactions, and applying those insights to character design. Game designers who create great characters often make use of these psychological principles without realizing it. Better Game Characters by Design gives game design professionals and other interactive media designers a framework for understanding how social roles and perceptions affect players' reactions to characters, helping produce stronger designs and better results.

Integrating Cognitive Architectures into Virtual Character Design

Integrating Cognitive Architectures into Virtual Character Design PDF Author: Turner, Jeremy Owen
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1522504559
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Cognitive architectures represent an umbrella term to describe ways in which the flow of thought can be engineered towards cerebral and behavioral outcomes. Cognitive Architectures are meant to provide top-down guidance, a knowledge base, interactive heuristics and concrete or fuzzy policies for which the virtual character can utilize for intelligent interaction with his/her/its situated virtual environment. Integrating Cognitive Architectures into Virtual Character Design presents emerging research on virtual character artificial intelligence systems and procedures and the integration of cognitive architectures. Emphasizing innovative methodologies for intelligent virtual character integration and design, this publication is an ideal reference source for graduate-level students, researchers, and professionals in the fields of artificial intelligence, gaming, and computer science.

Game Character Creation with Blender and Unity

Game Character Creation with Blender and Unity PDF Author: Chris Totten
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118237714
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
A complete guide to creating usable, realistic game characters with two powerful tools Creating viable game characters requires a combination of skills. This book teaches game creators how to create usable, realistic game assets using the power of an open-source 3D application and a free game engine. It presents a step-by-step approach to modeling, texturing, and animating a character using the popular Blender software, with emphasis on low polygon modeling and an eye for using sculpting and textures, and demonstrates how to bring the character into the Unity game engine. Game creation is a popular and productive pursuit for both hobbyists and serious developers; this guide brings together two effective tools to simplify and enhance the process Artists who are familiar with Blender or other 3D software but who lack experience with game development workflow will find this book fills important gaps in their knowledge Provides a complete tutorial on developing a game character, including modeling, UV unwrapping, sculpting, baking displacements, texturing, rigging, animation, and export Emphasizes low polygon modeling for game engines and shows how to bring the finished character into the Unity game engine Whether you're interested in a new hobby or eager to enter the field of professional game development, this book offers valuable guidance to increase your skills.

Video Games and Interactive Media

Video Games and Interactive Media PDF Author: Stephane Natkin
Publisher: A K PETERS
ISBN: 9781138427976
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
This book explores the development of the video game as a new form of interactive media and a template for future modes of entertainment. While television programs and movies are predominantly passive enterprises, video games engage the audience and provide not only audio-visual stimulation but also an enriching interaction that creates a heightened sense of immersion. Through a detailed discussion of gameplay and game design principles, Natkin explores the nature of this interaction and its impact on the entertainment industry. He explains the developmental process behind game design and the new concepts of narration and entertainment it has introduced. He then considers the future of gameplay with its potential for developing new means of artistic expression and its liability to be abused as an outlet for propaganda and coercion.

The Art of Game Design

The Art of Game Design PDF Author: Jesse Schell
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0123694965
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 522

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Book Description
Anyone can master the fundamentals of game design - no technological expertise is necessary. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses shows that the same basic principles of psychology that work for board games, card games and athletic games also are the keys to making top-quality videogames. Good game design happens when you view your game from many different perspectives, or lenses. While touring through the unusual territory that is game design, this book gives the reader one hundred of these lenses - one hundred sets of insightful questions to ask yourself that will help make your game better. These lenses are gathered from fields as diverse as psychology, architecture, music, visual design, film, software engineering, theme park design, mathematics, writing, puzzle design, and anthropology. Anyone who reads this book will be inspired to become a better game designer - and will understand how to do it.

Arabiyyat Al-Naas (Part Three)

Arabiyyat Al-Naas (Part Three) PDF Author: Munther Younes
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9781138437692
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
�Arabiyyat al-Naas (Part Three): An Advanced Course in Arabic builds further on the groundbreaking approach used in Part One and Part Two of the series. It integrates Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and spoken Levantine in a way specially tailored to the needs of advanced students. Levantine Arabic strongly features in spoken discussions of MSA materials, reflecting authentic practice by native speakers. However, the overall ratio of MSA � the form employed for reading, writing and formal speaking in the Arab world � to Levantine has been increased, supporting students� mounting need for MSA as they progress further in their education. This textbook is designed to take learners from the Advanced Low to the Advanced High level according to the ACTFL criteria, and from level B2 to C1 on the CEFR proficiency scales. Features include: 18 theme-based units covering topics such as Arab minorities; education; religion; love and marriage; the Arab woman; economics; politics; military matters; and the environment thorough coverage of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills with clear grammar explanations and lessons structured to provide opportunities for further practice humorous, realistic dialogues reflecting educated speech among Arabs, to build up strong and practical communication skills attention to issues highly relevant to modern Arab society, encouraging active engagement with the course and further exploration of the themes a rich variety of reading passages from contemporary sources such as Al Jazeera as well as excerpts from the classic works One Thousand and One Nights and Kalila wa Dimna an extensive range of stimulating exercises and activities, including crossword puzzles, root-and-pattern identification exercises, passage completions, and free compositions free companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/

Understanding Kids, Play, and Interactive Design

Understanding Kids, Play, and Interactive Design PDF Author: Mark Schlichting
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0429664834
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 782

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Book Description
This book is a way of sharing insights empirically gathered, over decades of interactive media development, by the author and other children’s designers. Included is as much emerging theory as possible in order to provide background for practical and technical aspects of design while still keeping the information accessible. The author's intent for this book is not to create an academic treatise but to furnish an insightful and practical manual for the next generation of children’s interactive media and game designers. Key Features Provides practical detailing of how children's developmental needs and capabilities translate to specific design elements of a piece of media Serves as an invaluable reference for anyone who is designing interactive games for children (or adults) Detailed discussions of how children learn and how they play Provides lots of examples and design tips on how to design content that will be appealing and effective for various age ranges Accessible approach, based on years of successful creative business experience, covers basics across the gamut from developmental needs and learning theories to formats, colors, and sounds

Video Game Design

Video Game Design PDF Author: Michael Salmond
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474255450
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Video Game Design is a visual introduction to integrating core design essentials, such as critical analysis, mechanics and aesthetics, prototyping, level design, into game design. Using a raft of examples from a diverse range of leading international creatives and award-winning studios, this is a must-have guide for budding game designers. Industry perspectives from game industry professionals provide fascinating insights into this creative field, and each chapter concludes with a workshop project to help you put what you've learnt into practice to plan and develop your own games. With over 200 images from some of the best-selling, most creative games of the last 30 years, this is an essential introduction to industry practice, helping readers develop practical skills for video game creation. This book is for those seeking a career making video games as part of a studio, small team or as an independent creator. It will guide you from understanding how games engage, entertain and communicate with their audience and take you on a journey as a designer towards creating your own video game experiences. Interviewees include: James Portnow, CEO at Rainmaker Games Brandon Sheffield, Gamasutra.com/Game Developer magazine Steve Gaynor, co-founder The Fullbright Company (Gone Home) Kate Craig, Environment Artist. The Fullbright Company (Gone Home) Adam Saltsman, creator of Canabalt & Gravity Hook Jake Elliott & Tamas Kemenczy, Cardboard Computer (Kentucky Route Zero) Tyson Steele, User Interface Designer, Epic Games Tom Francis, Game Designer, Gunpoint & Floating Point Kareem Ettouney, Art Director, Media Molecule. Little Big Planet 1 & 2, Tearaway. Kenneth Young, Head of Audio, Media Molecule Rex Crowle, Creative Lead, Media Molecule

Handbook of Research on Transmedia Storytelling and Narrative Strategies

Handbook of Research on Transmedia Storytelling and Narrative Strategies PDF Author: Y?lmaz, Recep
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1522553584
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 599

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Book Description
Transmedia storytelling is defined as a process where integral elements of fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels to create a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. This process and its narrative models have had an increasing influence on the academic world in addressing both theoretical and practical dimensions of transmedia storytelling. The Handbook of Research on Transmedia Storytelling and Narrative Strategies is a critical scholarly resource that explores the connections between consumers of media content and information parts that come from multimedia platforms, as well as the concepts of narration and narrative styles. Featuring coverage on a wide range of topics such as augmented reality, digital society, and marketing strategies, this book explores narration as a method of relating to consumers. This book is ideal for advertising professionals, creative directors, academicians, scriptwriters, researchers, and upper-level graduate students seeking current research on narrative marketing strategies.