Interactive entertainment idea(A2)

Console game using stop motion animation graphics

 

This is a concept previously attempted on a few occasions in the past with very little success, however considering the circumstances, timing and marketing there is reason for one to believe that such a project could become highly successful today.  When attention is given to the fact that many homes are now watching television shows and playing console games on a large HD screen, and that film companies are now having difficulty producing the ideal image to display on them(even with the use of CGI), it can be noted that sculpture is often valuable in creating flawless 3D imagery.

This project aims to be the first console game that uses stop motion animation in an interactive 3D setting. It will be an adventure game where the user controls a stop motion character to fight opposing characters and avoid environmental hazards created in an actual set.  This proposed project presents many challenges, but has potential to possibly influence the way many video games are made in the future.

 

History of stop motion animation in video games

 

            The most notable game series to use this concept was a series of fighting games released from 1994-1998 called “Clayfighter”.  While the artwork and graphics that these games used, combined with the promotion of having used a new technology was good enough to make this game a hit, the gameplay and concept were completely unoriginal.  The games simply put too much emphasis on how they were made during play, even making parody of other games of the same genre at the end of a game(the finishing moves of these games were known as ”Claytalities”, a direct mockery of another fighting game series “Mortal Kombat”, which is still active to this day).  After its initial brief success, the series was unable to produce a sequel that was able to sell.

            Another example of this being used was in 1996 with the release of the game “Neverhood” for the playstation1.  While Neverhood enjoyed great reviews by critics, the marketing just didn’t seem to be present as it was released very close to the same time as many other notable adventure games such as “Super Mario 64” and “Resident Evil”.  Neverhood just seemed to be using the wrong technology at a time when CGI was making major breakthroughs.

            A more recent example of this technology being used is the 2010 point and click game “Dream Machine”, which received great reviews despite the graphics consisting mostly of clay and cardboard but again due to low budgets and no marketing the game went unnoticed.

            While there have been no truly great original series’ of videogames using stop motion animation, these three examples are from a very short list of attempts that have made it through to production.  It seems as though after having given up on the relationship between video games and stop motion animation at a very early age, and all of the developments in HD technology in recent years, the stage could possibly be set for release that could redefine the industry.

 

Implementation

 

            The hypothesis of making a video game using stop motion animation is to create a highly realistic view which can be attained using HD cameras on sculptures which have been meticulously crafted and painted in different positions to create amazing moving images.

With this being a revived technology a new type of software will likely have to be created.  One that could recreate a physically constructed set as well as characters, map the characters movements around obstacles and attacks or reactions while fighting each other, and recreate these movements to happen anywhere on the set.  The software that is to be used in this project will likely be somewhat of a combination between stop motion pro and dark game studios.

            One advantage of stop motion animation is that the sets used for it can be very small, however a much larger workspace around it is generally needed to be cleared with cameras and lights being put in very specific locations to obtain the perfect image.  The production of this game will likely require a large art studio with several sculptors creating characters and sets to be used, as well as a software development team that will be able to use the new kind of software needed to create this game.

            Despite being used mainly for stop motion animation, this game will ultimately need some aspects of CGI for it to function as expected.  This CGI will likely be used for environmental hazards and random obstacles.  Patterns for environmental hazards could be formed using a program similar to the fractals program to identify changing environmental conditions.

            This game will also require an audio track which can be created by using an MPC 1000 or similar device.  Another essential part of the game will be sound effects which can be obtained by recording sound anywhere and using studio programs to manipulate it into a usable sound effect.

 

Marketing

 

            This game, as with all other console games would be available in retail stores everywhere and would also be available for download, as is the growing case with many others.

Console games have been known to use several creative advertising methods to sell their product.  These methods include TV or internet advertisements, billboards, video trailers, providing T-Shirts for their customers to wear in the collectible game package and many more.

            Television and internet advertising would be an obvious marketing choice for this game, however past lessons indicate that overstating the stop motion animation will turn the audience away over time, as was the case with Clayfighter.

            Any game using new technology or technology that is unfamiliar to its general audience should be first shown to its audience at a memorable event.  Gaming conventions occur frequently in Canada as well as coast to coast with 47 currently planned for all of 2014.  These conventions are intended for game creators to show their new products to the attendees who are generally all avid gamers and excited to see what new technologies and art are being produced.  These are obvious places to promote this game which uses stop motion animation.

 

Conclusion

 

            Combining new filming technology with old animating technology is a worthwhile endeavor for a creative technologist who is looking to leave a mark in the gaming (or film) industry.  The investment for this game would be extreme, but one would think that the potential to create a game that would be recognized as a masterpiece is there.

            During this course I was interested in the coding aspect of interactive technology, which is the basis of all gaming.  Also the ability to create sound electronically (games often use sound effects that match their own background music), is very useful in creating console games that will be successful.

Profile of an Artist(A1)

Adam Jones Profile in the Field of Creative Technologies

Adam Jones is best known as the guitarist for the California based progressive metal band TOOL.  His skills in the field of creative technology have helped his band become a very controversial, and yet critically acclaimed band in the world.

              Born on January 15, 1965 in Libertyville, Illinois, Jones displayed talents for both music and visual art at an early age.  He attended the Hollywood Makeup Academy, where he learned about special effects make up.  Also Studying film, his talents in sculpting showed great potential in a field that was at the time still quite young but was revolutionising the film industry – stop motion animation.  After graduation, Jones received a job where he was able to create props and special effects make up for major films such as Ghostbusters II, Nightmare on Elm Street part V, Predator II, Jurassic Park and Terminator II.  In addition to working on major films, he also worked on some lesser known projects, such as doing costume design for a comical rock band called “Green Jelly” which featured future TOOL singer Maynard James Keenan.

            At this point he and Maynard decided to form a band after bringing in bass player Paul D’Amour and drummer Danny Carey. This is when they released their first EP album, “Opiate” in 1992.  In 1993, their first full-length album, “Undertow” was released and their music videos ,(Jones had a great deal of influence on the creation of all of their videos and would eventually become the regular director for the bands videos) were causing a great deal of publicity due to their controversial and poetic nature.  After a 1996 album release with a new bassist, Justin Chancellor, “Ænima” the band spent five years on hiatus, eventually returning in 2001 with “Lateralus”, again in 2006 with “10, 000 days” and another album to be released in 2014.

            Throughout his musical career with TOOL, Jones has always remained able to express his visual arts through many of his bands endeavours.  He directed most of their music videos and used his skills of artistry in special effects and stop motion animation with the director in the rest of their videos.  He also is a key designer of the stage in which they perform their live shows on (Their format is very unique, hiding the actual performers in the shadows, encouraging the audience to associate the music with the imagery from projections on the screens behind them or the laser show that accompanies them).  Also TOOL’s album packages have used creative technology in very unique ways, for example their “Lateralus” album from 2001 contained a clear plastic book with images depicting layers of human anatomy.

 

            Music videos have been a way for musicians to further express themselves artistically through their songs for decades.  Adam Jones is able to use his skills in creative technologies to create music videos that are highly provocative and imaginative, but have also caused great controversy. 

In 2001, Jones was the director of the first video of TOOL’s third album of a song entitled “Schism”.  In this video he used special effects makeup to create two large alien looking creatures, employed image manipulation to make it appear that the two characters were in several positions that looked physically impossible such as going through a floor that seems to be made of some type of fluid and then standing on it.  Later in the video, many smaller creatures appear and begin to bite the larger ones.  Jones was able to do that because of his skills in sculpting and stop motion animation (commonly referred to as Claymation).  Near the end of the video, Jones further uses his stop motion animation skills to make it look like there are some worm-like creatures crawling out of the skin of the largest creature.  Throughout the entire video, Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) is used to make the landscape appear to be possibly on an alien planet.  This video’s strange figures and landscapes have caused some critics to refer to the video as obscene although there is no profanity or sexuality in the song or video.

            In 2007, Adam Jones accepted the Grammy Award for best recording package for his work on TOOL’s 2006 release “10, 000 days”.  While most recording artists are content with album packaging that consists of a plastic case, a picture of the band members covering a small booklet which reads the lyrics of the encased album, Adam Jones, along with contemporary artist Alex Grey, created an album casing that is truly a work of art.  The album for package for 10, 000 days contains a small booklet containing a pair of stereoscopic lenses which can be used to view photographs of the band members as well as other images in 3d.  This creativity to have fans loyally return to buy their album every time they produce one seems to go a long way in the age of the digital music download.

 

            TOOL possibly has the most unique stage for live concerts in music today.  Instead of putting themselves in the spotlight, the band members, while on stage and within view of the audience, are surrounded by shadow with attention being focused on the large projection screens behind them and the laser and smoke machines around them.  Band members insist that this is to” familiarize the audience with the story and feeling behind the music and not the people telling it” according to band singer Maynard James Keenan.

            Adam Jones, I believe is one of the best all round artists in the world today, having accepted a Grammy award to show for it as well as his bandmates collecting 2 others between them.  His skills in stop motion animation as well as his abilities to integrate them with CGI have created unforgettable music videos that were originally released on television, but since the social media overtake and the rise of the internet have been placed on YouTube and have compiled hundreds of millions of views between them.  A simple act of adding stereoscopic lenses to his album packaging which was sold in retail stores worldwide have fans worldwide flocking to stores when there album is released during the age of the virtual music download.  His bands live performances have sold out arenas on 6 continents and involve their performers doing what very few other musicians are able to do.

References

Greg Prato.  (2014, Feb 1)  Artist Biography by Greg Prato.  Retrieved from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/adam-jones-mn0001187175

Weiderhorn, John.  (2014, Jan 28) Tool – The complete documentary.  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKndmviQRQE

Alex young.  (2014, Feb 1) ridiculously awesome music videos: Tool’s “Schism”  retrieved from http://consequenceofsound.net/2008/09/ridiculously-awesome-music-video-tools-schism/         

Funny but mean things involving social media

I believe adding to social media should be approached with a reasonable amount of caution because of the fact that anything you put on can be copied by anyone who views it.  An example of this is from an article linked here about someone telling his 81 year old father that twitter was google.

 

This is an example of someone abusing trust for a joke, however being that it was on social media it was copied by others and written about, the mans father is now a source of amusement for anyone who stumbles across an article mentioning him. 

 



 

This video is of a man filming a double rainbow and is unusually excited about its brightness and clarity.  While he may have been searching for more rainbow enthusiasts, this is a video that went viral because the man who shot it ended up reaching an audience that had no idea what he was talking about, they simply found it funny.  He later attempts to explain himself in a future video, collecting far fewer views.

3D Printing

One of the topics I enjoyed in this class was 3D printing.  I find it extremely intriguing that a technology that has been around for such a short time has created so much change in the world.  The concept of creating a solid 3D sculpture of any shape can have nearly unlimited uses in almost every field.

The video above contains information on the 3D printing process and what it can be used for.

10 Crazy things 3D printers can do is an article featuring  many different applications of 3D printers including food, clothing, weapons, machines including other 3D printers and even Body Parts.

A man has had 75% of his skull replaced by a 3D Printer

Can be used to create fine sculpures

And Jewelry

Sporting goods can be custom made

Works of art that would be incredibly difficult
or even impossible for a sculptor to create

 3D Printing has so many vast uses it seems to be necessary to be involved in an industry with so much potential for rapid advancement.

 

Screen Cultures and Mutated Wolves

One of the things in the class that grabbed my attention was Sheila Petty and Charity Marsh explaining that a certain culture cannot truly express itself or show how life is in their culture without using the same technology as everyone else.  While their main examples and area of specialization were in African cinema and Hip Hop,  I believe that this is also important in countries that are spread out and diverse, such as Canada.  Before the rise of social media, it was difficult for people to communicate over long distances, and so the art of their films was needed to express and spread one people's culture to others.  The effect of this tends to be misunderstanding between cultures. 

I believe that wildlife is an important part of the culture of an area.

An interesting example I found of this is a documentary on the wildlife living in Chernobyl, an area where a nuclear reactor exploded in 1986.  This area has since been deserted by all humans who fear the radioactive fallout.  The wildlife that had survived, however have adapted to the higher radiation levels.  The documentary was first created by PBS and since reposted on youtube as Radioactive Wolves of Chernobyl - Scary Mutations.  After watching the documentary I couldn't help but notice that the wolves seemed perfectly healthy, despite the scientists warnings and evidence that both they and their prey have 50 times what was thought to be the safe level of radiation for their species.

I find it interesting that an area that is not suitable for human life is thought by many to be a dead wasteland, but wildlife flourishes there better than most other places on earth.



The picture above features two completely different species of canines, one is a Eurasian Wolf that has survived in the wild for countless generations naturally(and looks very similar to the wolves of Chernobyl), and the other is a Miniature Schnauzer that has spent many generations having its features and behavior adapted to better serve another species.  While they are completely different in both appearance and demeanor, it is common knowledge that all domesticated breeds of dogs originated with the wolf.  So which one is the Mutant?



DIY Robotics revolution

One of the most interesting topics talked about in this class was the revolution in robotics that was presented by David Gerhard.  Working with Arduinos is something that I am now looking forward to doing in the future.

http://hacknmod.com/hack/top-40-arduino-projects-of-the-web/  is a website that lists 40 interesting Arduino projects.  These projects include a wide range of devices, from musical instruments to spy planes.

 

The building of things like spy planes by the general public can be viewed as very controversial, however in the age of constant monitoring by the government, perhaps the DIY revolution in robotics will help to balance out power in society.
http://hacknmod.com/hack/hack-a-nes-controller-into-a-security-keypad/ is a project using a classic nintendo controller to control a security system.

This is a robotic drum set controlled by Arduinos.  A link to the instructions as well as a video of them playing can be found here.

Devices of Wonder Revisited

One of the topics I enjoyed the most in this class was the devices of wonder exhibit was very interesting to look at to try and think of why these inventions were successful at the time that they were created.  I thought seeing how an early compound microscope was shaped and that it was mainly from wealthy Europeans.  It also made me think of other things and practices that have been lost due to the advancement of technologies.  A great deal can be learned from what has (or has not) worked in the past.  Because as technology advances, what was once considered impossible or impractical can become easy.


http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/03/21/strange-invetions/

Is a similar article to the devices of wonder exhibit which shows much more strange inventions that seem to have been forgotten about.

This image is of a rolling map where the speed is determined by the speed of the car.  The problem was, when the motorist made a turn he would have to switch out the map and re adjust it for his current location.

This is a gas resistant stroller in 1938, to protect children from weaponised gasses. With the growing problem of air pollution, this is the sort of device that may have to be re-introduced.

http://www.boredpanda.com/funny-inventions/ is another link to a list of strange inventions, including these LED light slippers

 

 

This bicycle from 1932 can carry up to 120 pounds over water.