Mood Board - Survival Horrror

A mood board is used to as a visual tool to draw inspiration from, or inform others of an idea or atmosphere. Mood boards can consist of images, text and materials, whether physical or digital.

Click the link below to view a short mood board video, showing a montage of a pictures, taken from survival horror games.

https://animoto.com/play/UUCQHKgCUz8IN01D0Jwdkw

Alternatively, the photos are displayed below:

Unit 78 - 2D and 3D Computer Game Graphics

Comparing 2D and 3D games

A 2D game is a game designed with 2 dimensional graphics. The avatars are flat, and can only move left, right, up and down. A 3D game incorporates depth into the graphics, making the game 3D. Depth adds perspective to the game, making the screen look like you are looking down a street or an alley etc.. 3D games feature 3D isometric avatars, and more realistic game physics.

Super Mario Bros (1985) is a popular 2D platform side-scroller game. Mario, the main character, who must reach the goal, jumping over blocks and pipes, avoiding monsters and collecting coins, lives and power ups to progress through the levels. Platform games have limited physics, such as gravity.
 Mario is designed with 8-bit graphics, and is designed with raster images, which pixelate when zoomed in. Zooming on reducing the quality of the image. Mario was created with just 16 pixel high, and 12 pixels across.

Tetris is a 2D puzzle game, in which players must rotate falling blocks to completely fill a line of blocks, in order to remove the line of blocks, and receive score points for each line completed.
 The visual artistic style of Tetris is abstract, and uses bright colours and geometrical shapes, which make up the coloured blocks.
 The original Tetris, from 1984 used a display of 256x192 pixels, giving the screen a total of 49,152 pixels.

 The original version of Tetris was created with 8 bit graphics, but as new versions were released to different platforms, this bit increased to 16, and eventually 64 in the current versions.

Crash Bandicoot (1996) is an early 3D platform game, in which the goal is to get Crash from beginning to the end of the level, running, jumping and spin through obstacles, sometimes utilising motorbikes, skis and wild animals to reach the end.
 Crash Bandicoot was designed to look cartoony, in order to increase it's target audience. The cartoon graphics made the game appeal to the children at the time of release, and also to give the game an exciting and fun atmosphere.
 Crash Bandicoot had a pixel resolution of 512x240. As sequels and remade versions were released, the resolution increased, as better hardware was developed.

Battlefield 3 is a 2011 3D FPS video game, created with a photorealistic/ military visual art style, and is based on modern military combat. The aim of the game is to complete the objective, whether it be as simple as kill the enemy team, or destroy enemy communication stations, using handheld weapons, or vehicles, such as tanks, jets and helicopters.
 Battlefield 3 is designed with 64-bit graphics, complemented with an image resolution of 1280x704 for consoles, with a higher resolution for PC. Image resolution was reduced for console, as reducing the resolution by 16 lines "increases performance, and saves memory[1].
 Whilst BF3 is designed with raster images, when zoomed in, whether it be an in game zoom optic, or zooming in on the HUD, the quality does not pixelate as much as previous games.

Forza 4 is a photorealistic racing video game, in which the player advances through in-game seasons, using cars from family hatchbacks to LMP racers, and everything in between. Forza is designed with 64-bit graphics, displayed at a resolution of 1080x720, running at 60 frames per second.
 Forza 4 features and in-game livery editor, in which players can paint and apply stickers to any car in the game. This livery editor uses the following file extensions: .bix, .xds[2].

Computer graphics have come a long way since the early video games, such as Pong. Resolutions are getting clearer, sharper and more detailed, and games are looking more and more like reality.

Unit 78 - Digital Graphics for Computer Games

Digital Graphics for Computer Games

Artistic Style - Different game genres, or developers design the styles of their games differently, depending on what the game is, and who it is aimed at. For example, developers might want their new game to be realistic, for a war game, or cartoony or a game aimed at younger children.
  
Types of video game art styles:
    Photorealism - Games that are designed to be as realistic as possible, whether fictional or non-fictional. Photorealism is difficult and time-consuming to create, and takes a lot of skill to get the textures and scaling of the world to look realistic.

Notable games that use photorealism include all of the Call Of Duty games, as well as the many Rockstar games.

    Cel-Shaded - Designed to look like it was drawn by hand, and is used to represent a cartoon or comic book. Cel-shaded is primarily used by Japanese developers, in games such as Yu-Gi-Oh! and the Dragon Ball Z series.

    Exaggerated - Games which are loosely based on Photorealism, but the style is modified, giving the graphics an overdone look. The graphics of the game can make it seem like it is not a serious game, because the characters are outrageously muscular, or features are not proportional, for example: large eyes. Japanese game developers also exaggerate the hair on their characters in anime games, such as Tekken.

    Abstract - Games that use geometrical shapes and lines to create a unique visual style. Abstract does not take much skill to create compared to other styles. Abstract games can use both bright colours for fast-paced action, whilst others might use softer colours, which makes the player feel relaxed. An example of an Abstract art style designed game is Geometry Wars.

    Rockstar - Rockstar Games develop all of their games with a very similar style. Games created by Rockstar are dark and gritty, and are heavily based around criminals and breaking the law. For example: Grand Theft Auto V follows three protagonists, as they undergo a series of heists. Similarly, to Max Payne 3, who turns into a vigilante after the murder of his family.

Computer Game Graphics - Sprites, either 2D or 3D, can be created using Photoshop, a professional digital design program, which has lots of tools at the users disposal to create a character of high quality.
  The style of the graphics can be decided during the concept art stage of the production, in which artists draw anything involved in the game, whether it be vehicles, characters, weapons or environment. The environment concept art include things like building walls, any scenery such as forests and clouds in the sky.
  Many games features a Head Up Display, which shows information, such as a map, or the player health/score on screen. This interface can be designed in the concept stages.
  When the game is advertised before release, there needs to be art for the print media, whether it be the packaging, which displays the game graphics, and information about it, or a poster to be displayed around the counties the game will be released it.

Pixel - Image resolution is the detail an image holds. The higher the resolution, the higher the detail of the image. Resolution can be measured in different ways. Lines per mm and Lines per inch for example. The resolution quantifies how close each line can be whilst still being separate lines.
  Pixel resolution is displayed in AxB format. For example, a 1x1 pixel resolution would be 1 solid square, as it is only 1 pixel. A pixel resolution of 100x100 contains 10,000 pixels, therefore the image would be of a high quality.

Types of Digital Graphics - Raster images, such as Bitmap, GIF, JPEG are images that are pixelated, and therefore, when zoomed in, is easy to see the different coloured pixel of the image.
  Vector images, such as PSD, WMF and FLA use primitives (straight and curved lines) to represent the image, rather than pixels used in raster images. This means when zoomed in, the quality of the image does not change, and the image does not turn pixelated.

File Extensions - Usually 3 letters following s '.' a file, which help the computer recognise file type, and the programs that open/created the file. Extensions such as .bmp (Bitmap Image),  .GIF (animated image) etc. 

Compression -  Files can be compressed into smaller folders using ZipFile, which allows several different files to be placed into a small folder, which requires to be unzipped before any of the contents can be accessed. This feature makes sharing files through the internet or through a file sharing program, such as an FTP.
  Lossless is a data compression file, allowing files to be saved in a smaller format, and can be expanded again into it's original format without losing any content quality.

Image Capture - Images can be captured using a digital camera from a location, or hand drawn in a concept design, or even have an image scanned into the computer with a scanner. Concept art can be created in digital graphic programs, such as Photoshop or Illustrator, created using a graphics tablet for better accuracy that a mouse.

Optimizing - Optimizing an image file consists of saving the image as a suitable graphic
compression format. Saving an image as a PNG will reduce the file size without losing any data, therefore the photo file has been optimized.

Storage of Image Assets - When designing and creating characters or vehicles or scenery for a game, the artwork starts of as a basic idea, and evolves into a highly detailed final piece, which is used in the game. Therefore, for a charater, there are lots of different versions, with different levels of detail, and things that have been removed, changed and added from previous versions. It is important to know which file is the basic design, or the final design. Many companies, regardess of its size, use number. For example, a basic concept design might be called 'version 0.1', and the final version having a higher number, '1.14'. Numbers between these figures will be other files, which have been altered slightly from the last.

Video Game Styles

  Video Game Styles

What are visual styles?

Different game genres, or developers design the styles of their games differently, depending on what the game is, and who it is aimed at. For example, developers might want their new game to be realistic, for a war game, or cartoony or a game aimed at younger children.

Photorealism - Games that are designed to be as realistic as possible, whether fictional or non-fictional. Photorealism is difficult and time-consuming to create, and takes a lot of skill to get the textures and scaling of the world to look realistic.

Notable games that use photorealism include all of the Call Of Duty games, as well as the many Rockstar games.

[In game screenshot of Call of Duty Black Ops II]

Games designed with photorealism art style:

Call Of Duty: Black Ops II

Grand Theft Auto V

Crysis

FarCry 2

Cel-Shaded - Designed to look like it was drawn by hand, and is used to represent a cartoon or comic book. Cel-shaded is primarily used by Japanese developers, in games such as Yu-Gi-Oh! and the Dragon Ball Z series.

 

[Wallpaper of Dragonball Z, showing Cel-Shaded art style]

Games designed with Cel-Shaded art style:

Borderlands

The Walking Dead

Battlefield Heroes

The Legend Of Zelda

Exaggerated - Games which are loosely based on Photorealism, but the style is modified, giving the graphics an overdone look. The graphics of the game can make it seem like it is not a serious game, because the characters are outrageously muscular, or features are not proportional, for example: large eyes. Japanese game developers also exaggerate the hair on their characters in anime games, such as Tekken.

 

[Example of exaggerated hair in Tekken]

Games designed with Exaggerated art style:

Batman: Arkham City

Street fighter




Abstract -Games that use geometrical shapes and lines to create a unique visual style. Abstract does not take much skill to create compared to other styles. Abstract games can use both bright colours for fast-paced action, whilst others might use softer colours, which makes the player feel relaxed. An example of an Abstract art style designed game is Geometry Wars.

[Geometry Wars' brightly coloured Abstract design]

Games designed with Abstract art style:

Tetris

Super Hexagan



Military - Usually designed from first person perspective, military games simulate the physics and looks of a battlefield in a war. Characters are designed to look like soldiers, whether present, historic or futuristic. Medal of Honor is a Military game, set in Historic wars, and the more recent conflicts.

[Medal of Honor Rising Sun, set during WWII]

Games designed with Military art style:

Battlefield 3

 

Arma 3

 

 Halo



Rockstar - Rockstar Games develop all of their games with a very similar style. Games created by Rockstar are dark and gritty, and are heavily based around criminals and breaking the law. For example: Grand Theft Auto V follows three protagonists, as they undergo a series of heists. Similarly, to Max Payne 3, who turns into a vigilante after the murder of his family.

[Red Dead Redemption, showing the criminal, dark and gritty style]

Games designed with Rockstar art style:

Grand Theft Auto V

Red Dead Redemption

Max Payne 3

Unit 1 - Pre-Production techniques for Creative Media Industries

What Particular pre-production requirements will you need for Wayne's Maze game?

Software - The software I'll be using for my game will be Gamemaker, to develop the game, and Adobe Photoshop to create any objects I might need, such as playable characters, walls and collectables, amongst others.
 Gamemaker is a 2D game development program, in which I can create rooms (levels) for a game, and add monsters, characters and any other object I wish, which I can create in the program, or import from Photoshop.
 Photoshop is a digital design program, largely used amongst professional companies, which allows me to design walls, backgrounds and characters to a very high quality.
 Both of these programs cost a lot of money for a license, but I have free access to these programs in college, and will create my game in college.
 As part of the planning of my game, I created a Game Plan, which shows what my game will look like when it is being played. I used Microsoft Paint to complete these plans, as it is easy to use, and I can create the game plan quickly.

Time - As this is the first game I have created, I can only make an educated guess as to how long it will take to create a maze game using Gamemaker. I estimate the process of planning, designing and development of my maze game to take approximately 2-3 weeks.

Finance - If I were to create the game at home, I would need a budget, because I would need to buy the programs I would use. To buy the full version of Gamemaker, it would cost around £500. I would also need Adobe Photoshop, which I can buy for £350. I would also require a PC which is capable of running these programs, which can cost upwards of £1000 to buy a suitable spec PC, such as a high end processor and graphics card, and a large hard drive to store the software and files created for the design and development for the game.
 To create this game at home, I would require a budget of around £1700-£2000.
 Because college already has these programs, and I have access to them, I will be using them in college, and therefore will not require a budget, as there would be no spending on the project.
 An example of a game that blew it's budget is the 1999 Dreamcast game Shenmue, which spent $70million in development. In order to make a profit on Shenmue, the game would have had to be "purchased twice by every Dreamcast owner". The development of the game exceeded it's budget so much, a profit could not be made on the game.[1]

Team - I am the sole contributor to this maze game, and will be completing the planning, designing and development, including the graphics and coding myself. As a result of working by myself, the game will take longer to create, as I will be responsible for more work.
 If I was creating this game outside of college, as a personal project, and I had a budget that could stretch far enough to cover it, I would hire artists to design the background, or the characters of the game, improving the quality of the graphics. I could even hire a musician who could record sounds using instruments, which I could use in the game.

Resources - Any resources I may need include the software and hardware, listed above. Research material, which can be found on the internet, or books and magazines, available in the college library.
 My game will also have sound, which I can create, by recording my voice, or a musical instrument, or by taking from Copyright free websites, which have sounds which can be used, without violating copyright infringement laws.

Contributor - As I am creating this game as part of college, I am the sole contributor for my maze game. However, If I was creating this game outside of college, and I had a budget I could spend, I could hire famous people to voice, or I could design my character to look like a famous person, which would improve my sales and eventually profits as it might increase target audience to include actor's fan base.

Copyright - If I use anything in my game, from objects to sound, I need to ensure I do not violate any copyright laws, by copying any characters that already exist, or stealing any existing copyright protected sound. Free Sound or Audio Blocks have sounds which can be used, without breaking any copyright laws.
 I have to be careful that if I use other characters as inspiration for my characters, that they do not look too similar, as I could potentially be sued by the owner of the character for copyrighting their work.
 EA took Zynga to court in 2012 for copyright infringement, after Zynga's 'TheVille' was an "unmistakable copy[2]" of EA's 'SimCity' game. EA argued that they were not satisfied Zynga changed enough detail for TheVille to be a game of it's own design. The case was settled when Zynga sued EA for trying to "stop employees from switching companies[3]", violating 2011 employee solicitation.

Rules and Regulations - Before I can sell my game in Europe, I have to ensure my game has an age rating. To do this, I need to send my game to PEGI (Pan European Game Information), who will play my game, and give it an advisory age rating.
 This age rating will be dependent on the content of my game. If it contains occasional bad language, it is likely to receive an age rating of at least 12+, meaning only people over this age may purchase it. If it contains violence or graphic content, it will receive an age rating of 18. Other criteria is used when testing a game for an advisory age rating, listed in the image below:

 My maze game will not have any bad language, or have references to drugs or violence, therefore, after looking at the official PEGI website, I think my game would have a advisory age rating of 3 and above.
 If I were to advertise my game on television, on the radio, or in the newspaper, I would need my advertisement to be analysed by ASA (Advertisement Standards Authority), who will deem my advert fit for public release if it does not contain content that is offensive or harmful, and is appropriate for the media.
 If my advert were to receive a complaint about the content in the advert, it would be removed from the media, and analysed again, to ensure the content is suitable, and not offensive.

Pre-production techniques (Unit 1)

What is Pre-Production?

Pre-production is the planning of a new product, before any development or designs are made. Pre-production is a vital process that all creative industries, such as film, television, radio, web, advertising and games development. Whether the project is a small television advertisement, or the development of this year's Game-of-the-Year, pre-production is a required step towards a project.

Areas of pre-production include:

• Finance - A budget is an important part of pre-production for any industry. If a budget is not set, companies can spend a lot more than they expected, because they are not closely monitoring spending. EA, a large game development company said their "budget for Battlefield 4 (2013) was $100million[1]"
    Money from the budget will be spent on all personnel, from artists for concept design, to people to write up the coding.

• Time constraints - Having a deadline is crucial in any creative project, because without one, companies will spend too long on the project, or a section of it, delaying the next stages of the project, creating a domino-effect of delays on the release date.
    If a project does not have a deadline, or a set date for each stage of development, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong. For example: If you do not have a set date for the beginning of concept art, when the project is ready for this stage, the pre-chosen artist(s) may be unavailable, delaying this stage of the project.
    Many games have had their deadlines (Release Date) extended due to a change in game engines, development teams prioritize other projects or a change to the design or development team[2]. When a deadline is extended, development teams spend more money on the production. More money spent in production stage adds up to the budget, and also subtracts from the potential profits.

• Personnel - The number of team members included in the development on the project. If a game takes 2 years to create, for those 2 years, the company has to pay monthly wages for each team member. Companies have to be sure their finished product will make more money that they spent for the project to be worthwhile.
    This is why a budget and deadline are so essential, because companies do not want to lose any money on a project. Having a clear budget and a clear deadline for each section will make the progression of the project smoother, and time and money will be saved due to the planning.
    The project will need different skills and resources at different stages, so it is important to make sure the team consists of the correct people, so no money is wasted on unneeded team members.

• Facilities - During the development of a film or game, the producers may need to hire/buy/maintain facilities, such as cameras, offices and software, such as GameMaker to design the game, and Adobe Photoshop for any sprites and characters. When using any facilities in a project, you have to make sure you have access at the times when it is needed. A deadline and clear dates will make it much easier to see when you need to hire cameras, or plan trips to locations. To avoid copyright, many companies will create some of their own music and sound which will be used in the project.

• Contributors - A film, game or television production needs a large team of contributors. Whether financial contributors to help fund the project, in return for a percentage of the profits. Contributors can also be artists or producers, who can help with the design or direction of the production. Contributors such as voice actors. Famous people who will narrate parts of the story. For example, Vin Diesel was cast to voice Milo Burik, the main character in Wheelman (2008), and was digitized to look like Vin.

• Locations - During the development/planning stages of a film or game, the producers may plan trips to different locations around the world. A race track for a racing game, or an attraction, such as the White House for a film. Trips around the world will cost money from the budget and time from the deadline.
    Even a planned trip to a location is not guaranteed to go smoothly. For example: If you travel to the Alps to take pictures for inspiration, but the weather may not as expected. There may be a thick fog obscuring a view, or heavy rain prevents photos being taken. These unforeseen circumstances are a set back, as the crew has to stay at that location for another day, costing money for photographers, food and a place to stay, until the crew are able to complete the task and travel to the next location/back to the offices.

• Codes of practise and Regulation - Before beginning any project, it is important to obtain insurance and signed contracts of the production first, to ensure there is no copyright infringement in the product.
    Legal codes of practise public liability insurance, which will cover any injuries to any member of public, as long as a risk assessment was completed before the injury.
    Also completion insurance, which is used in independently financed productions, guaranteeing the producer will create and deliver the product to the distributor. When this is done, payment will be sent from the distributor to the producer.
    OFCOM (Office of Communication) regulate all TV, radio, telecoms, mobiles and postal service, ensuring the public is protected from harmful or offensive material[3].
    ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) view and analyse all advertisements before general release, to ensure the advert is appropriate, and has no offense content. If an advertisement receives even just one complaint about it's content, the advert is pulled from air to be investigated[4].
    PEGI (Pan European Game Information) is the European video game rating system, created to play all the games which will be released in Europe, and decide on an age rating, depending on the violence or level or graphic content. The more offensive material, the higher the PEGI rating (PEGI 18)[5].
    ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) is the American and Canadian version of PEGI. They play and analyse all games before their general release, and decide on an age rating, depending on the content of the game. If a game uses bad language, it is likely to receive at least a rating of 12+. If a game contains depictions of drugs or a sexual nature, the rating will be 18+.
  
  
  

Video Game Genres

Genre	Genre Description	Genre Example
FPS	First Person Shooter is a game usually based around war, and is played from the eyes of the playable character(s).	Battlefield 3 is a 2011 FPS developed EA Digital Illusions. The Battlefield franchise differs to its main competitor Call Of Duty because it incorporates vehicles into its campaign and online features more than COD. Battlefield also have much larger maps, resulting in a more realistic warfare environment, where vehicles are vital to the team to complete the objective. FPS are usually aimed at people aged 18 or older, because of the violence and swearing, but the fan base of many FPS, Battlefield and COD included compile of many people younger than this age.
Racing	Racing games are games where the objective is to win. The game simulates the driving of a car around a set track.	Grid Autosport is a 2014 Racing game developed by Codemasters. Unlike Formula 1, which is also made by Codemasters, and Forza Motorsport, a popular racing game, The Grid series are not simulators. The physics of the cars are half arcade/half simulation. Grid Autosport features 5 disciplines: Touring, Endurance, Openwheel, Tuner and Street. Each discipline has its own group of cars, allowing the player to choose any group, according to personal preference. Grid Autosport is not aimed at a specific age range, instead aimed at both male and female fans, of all ages.
Survival Horror	A survival horror game is when a player has to survive in a scary environment.	Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a survival horror game, made by Fictional Games for PC platform in 2010. The game is aimed at older people over 18, due to the scary content. The game features protagonist Daniel, as he explores a castle, avoiding monsters whilst solving a series of problems. The game is played in first person perspective, and features a physical object interaction, such as opening doors. Doors are not ‘toggle’ activated, allowing the player to open a door a few inches, and peeking into the door/corridor, adding tension to a scary game, making the experience more enjoyable. As well as health, players must manage Daniel’s ‘sanity’. Being in the dark for too long, or witnessing unsettling events will lower his sanity, causing hallucinations.
RPG	A role-play game is where the player takes control of a character in a fantasy or science-fiction setting, interacting with the imaginary world.	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a role-play game, developed in 2011 by Bethesda Game Studios. The story follows the players character's efforts to slay Alduin, a dragon that wishes to destroy the fictional world of Skyrim. The story is advanced with the completion of quests, which can be completed at any time, meaning players can delay, or completely ignore the story line. Skyrim features an openworld map, and players can freely explore the world of Skyrim, constantly encountering wildlife, including Elks, Bears, and even dragons, which can be found attacking NPCs.
Strategy	Strategy games require the user to plan ahead and use resources wisely to reach the objective, usually a win.	Cossacks: European Wars is a strategy game by GSC Game World, created in 2001 for PC platform. Players have to collect resources from the world, in order to build a town, and raise an army to defeat the other teams, and rule the land. Resources to collect and use are: Gold, Wood, Food, Stone, Iron and Coal. To obtain these resources, players had to send a group of workers into forests and mines. Players also had to build structures. Barracks to spawn army personnel and working. Dwellings for citizens to live in, and a market to buy and sell food. The player can choose to attack the other teams at any point. Players can lead their Calvary, archers, artillery and swordsmen into battle, killing the other team’s army. Victory is won when all the enemy’s army and building are destroyed.
Action/Adventure	A video game that combines both action and adventure genres into a single game.	LA Noire is a crime detective game set in 1947 America. It was developed by Team Bondi, and published by Rockstar games in 2011. The story follow rising star Cole Phelps as he makes his way through the Los Angeles Police department, solving crime cases, from Arson to Homicide. The game focuses on an investigative element. Players have to pay attention to the characters behavior and facial expressions during questioning and interrogations. The player can then believe them, doubt them, or accuse them of lying, in order to solve the case. The game also allows a free mode when not on an active case, where you are free to explore the open world, fighting any crime that may take place on the street, such as robberies and kidnappings.
Vehicle Simulator	Vehicle simulators are games which have been designed to be as realistic as possible, testing the skills of the player.	Euro Truck Simulator 2 was first released to PC in 2012, and was developed by SCS Software. Since its release, SCS and other modders have been extending the number of countries available, as well as trucks and customizations. Players start off by borrowing trucks, working for other companies. When players have some money in the bank, they can buy their own trucks, garages and drivers, extending their trucking empire to cover every country in Europe.  The game is realistic, as players have to abide by the rules of the road. Any laws broken will result in a fine of the in game currency. Players also have to repair and refuel their trucks, as well as rest the character.
Puzzle	Games which incorporate puzzles, which challenge the player's logic, pattern recognition and sequence solving skills.	Portal 2 is a 2011 puzzle-platform game, developed and published by Valve Corporation for PC. Portal 2 is a puzzle game, played from first person perspective, with the aim of the game being to explore the Aperture Science Laboratory, a complex mechanized maze. The player controls Chell, a robot who is trying to escape the facility. Chell uses a portal gun, which creates two portals, connecting two distant surfaces, allowing the player to move between rooms or traverse to other-wise unreadable places.
Open World	Games with a large open world where players can go anywhere, and do what they want.	Red Dead Redemption is a 2010 open world game, developed by Rockstar San Diego, released to Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Set in 1910, it is based on the 'Wild West' America. The story follows John Marston, as he is forced into bringing his former gang members to justice, after the government kidnap his wife and son. Played in the third person perspective, it gives the player the freedom to travel around the US and Mexico on horseback, on foot or by train. The game was produced exceptionally well, with it's graphics of the open world, and the use of towns, horses and wildlife, which enhances the feeling that the player is really living in the Western world.
Platform	Platform games are traditionally 2D games, featuring characters which jump and climb between solid platforms.	Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee is a 2-Dimentional Platform game, developed by Oddworld Inhabitants, released in 1997 for PlayStation1 and windows. The game follows a Mudokan slave, Abe, as he tries to escape from RuptureFarms meat factory, where he, and other Mudokan slaves are being slaughtered. As Abe carries out his escape plan, he must rescue as many other slaves as he can. Abe can communicate with the other slaves, telling them to follow, stay, activate levers, as well as praise/scold them. As the player moves through the game, enemy presence is increased. Abe can not attack any enemies directly. Instead, he can sneak past them, bait them into traps or telepathically control 'Sligs', which he can use to attack enemies.