Week One- Introduction into the Module
I am creating this blog as part of a Third Year Module at Bangor University. This is worth 25% of my overall mark and will try my hardest at keeping myself and others with interest updated on how my game creation is going in this module.
I will document the strengths, weaknesses and the progress of my game within this blog. I will update this weekly as that task has been set. This will also help keep me updated and well documented on the creation of my module game.
In the first week we were given Lecture One, which is where we were told on what was required within this module and what we would need to obtain good marks. We were introduced to different gaming engines and what games would be acceptable for us to create. The options where very varied allowing us a large amount of options available. Over the next week, I make it my task to choose what engine I wish to use, researching what would be best suited for when making my game.
Week Two- Choosing the Game
Since the first week I brainstormed different ideas I had for my game. The different ideas I had included the following:
- Zombie Game- Using a Zombie that would infect all all people that came into contact with it, potentially meaning all characters within the game would become infecting. This would either make the main character win.
- Ball Game- Using a ball moving along a platform that will have to overcome some obstacles that will be places in the way and also having an obstacle that would chase the ball if it came too close to the opponent.
- Pac-Man- Creating a game that would have some similarities to Pac-Man in the sense that the character would collect objects within the environment boosting points and strength. The game would also include enemies that would constantly be moving however, if the enemy touches the player, they would lose the game.
Between these games, I believe the best idea for my game would be the ball game as I believe this would a unique game within my module and would allow me to gain enough points for the marks available.
Week Three- Choosing the Engine
In the lecture we were given different engines that we could potentially use for our game. The main engines we were advised to use where Netlogo and Unity, therefore I based my decision on both of these engines. I downloaded both Netlogo and Unity to see what would best suit my experience in game creation (which was very little experience). I viewed different YouTube tutorials to see what engine looked the most simple however being the most effective that would help me get the marks I needed.
This video I viewed for Netlogo which gave me an introduction on what Netlogo would be like as an engine. After viewing this video, I decided that Netlogo is quite a simple engine however I would find using this difficult as the coding part proved slightly confusing.
This video is a basic tutorial that introduces me into the potential advances that my game could reach if I used Unity. This software seems a lot easier to get used to and get a grasp on. Therefore I think I will use this game engine.
Week Four- Starting the Game
This week I decide to go ahead with the Ball Game idea and came up with the concept of a ball moving forward on a extended platform, making this my environment. I created the platform using a rectangle and changing the dimensions of it so it became an elongated thin rectangle where the ball can continuously move. I then create the ball that will move and become the character for the gamer.
Unfortunately, this is as far as I got within this week due to other deadline being due in that week. Therefore will pick up where i left off in week 5.
Week Five- Continuation of the Game
This week I created the obstacles for the game, I placed various rectangles throughout the platform that will become the obstacles that will get in the way of the ball and these will be what the user has to avoid in order to win the game. These rectangles where placed in different levels so that the user is not continuously avoiding the rectangles in the same place. This will therefore make the game more difficult allowing the game to become more enjoyable and less repetitive.
I then made the ball so that if it came in contact with the obstacle it would stop meaning the game is no longer playable. I also made the platform a lot longer meaning the play time for the game is longer.
Finally I made it so that the ball had a forward force meaning it would move forward throughout the game, until the ball hit an obstacle. I created a theme throughout the game, applying textures and colours to each item within the game making it more aesthetically pleasing.
Week Six- Novel Technologies
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a very popular concept through different fields of professions, entertainment and learning. This exciting technology is going from strength to strength where AI is being introduced into many different fields of work meaning the future of AI could potentially take over the technology world as we know it. Throughout this discussion, there will be examples of the potential future of AI.
Autonomous Vehicles are becoming a thing of the future, this concept is the idea that one day all cars could potentially become self-driven. This technology is immensely advanced and could change vehicles as we know it. Autonomous cars are fully aware of their surroundings and use different types of technologies such as GPS, computer vision and laser light
In 2012, Jerry Brown, the Governor of California made driving autonomous vehicles legal in the state of California. A predication from Anthony Levandowski stated that the first Google car would have been introduced and on the market in 5 years’ time [1]. Following this, a lot of other states joined the trend and set up bills that will allow the use of autonomous vehicles in the foreseeable future. Some of these bills included Google, however a few did not [1].
A spokesperson within Google gave a statement about the Nevada laws that stated the bill was being discussed and advantages had been brought up that would hopefully allow the bill to go ahead, these include the high death of pedestrians and the older population [1]. The introduction of this bill could reduce the amount of pedestrian deaths and help aid the older generation who may not be to get about anymore [1]. It is believed that a full autonomous life could be available by 2025 [1].
Tesla is a very popular car make that has introduced auto piloting vehicles and have plans to advance their cars in the near future that will change the autonomous lives as we know it. Tesla first started working on Autopilot in 2013 when it started the make up of the team that will be responsible for creating this vehicle [2]. Since 2013, Tesla created up to 60,000 different cars that involved using Autopilot hardware [2].
Tesla’s most recent model is Model S, this involves different levels of software that will make the vehicle Autonomous [3]. This includes a choice of different levels of autopiloting, including ‘Full Self-Driving Capability’ this allows the driver to be fully emerged into the self-driving car [3]. This will require the user to get into the car and enter the destination they wish to go to, from there the driver requires to do nothing further [3]. Once the destination has been reached, the driver can then leave the car at the entrance of the destination and the car will seek out a parking space, meaning it will park itself and when the driver needs their car to return, a press of a button will bring the car to wherever they are [3]. The other option available is enhanced autopilot that is 40 times more advanced than the previous setting [3].
Finally, the future of Autonomous Vehicles is very unpredictable however its is inevitable that technology will always become more advanced in different fields including transport. The possible future is that autonomous vehicles will become available through different transportation including taxis [4]. These vehicles will become a lot more sophisticated and a lot more research will be carried out in order to make sure the vehicles are as safe as they can be [4]. Finally, more research will have to go into making the vehicles available in different terrains and making the vehicle more advanced when understanding its surroundings [4].
In conclusion, the future looks quite advanced for auto piloting vehicles, however in order for the technology to be fully introduced into the working world the vehicles need a lot more research. This will mean that the driver can have full confidence in the car. One day, driver controlled vehicles may be a thing of the past, meaning all vehicles will be fully self-driven or have an element of auto pilot within them.
[1]- http://www.motortrend.com/news/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-driving/
[2]- http://www.autonews.com/article/20151014/OEM06/151019938/tesla-beams-down-autopilot-mode-to-model-s
[3]- https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/models/design
[4] http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=6179503
Week Seven- Meeting with Tutor
I met up with Llyr this week to show the progress of my game. Within the meeting he gave me tips on how to improve my game in order to obtain better marks.
The changes that where made this week where editing the platform so that it became a box allowing a better environment for the game. Obstacles where still kept as rectangles however they were changed to solid forms so that when the ball hits the rectangle the obstacle stays where it is but the gamer has lost points.
I also added a second player that became an enemy so that when the player gets within a certain range of the enemy the player is chased until they have chance to get away again.
The following week will involve including more AI within the game as this is the main focus for the marks.
Week Eight- Final Weeks
The progress of the game near the end has been pretty slow due to the difficulty of understanding the code I need in order to obtain the extra marks I need. Below is an image of the game I have created so far and in the final week leading up to demonstration will be focusing on obtaining those marks to get into the higher band of the mark scheme.
Week Nine- Submission
Next week I will be presenting my game within my lab however I do believe there could have been some more improvements made so that I could obtain the higher band of marks.
Conclusion
Within this module I feel like I have improved my knowledge on gaming as this was not a strong point for me. Gaming to me was a very difficult module as I have no experience in games as I don’t play any at any time. I believe that if I was a gamer before this module I may have been able to create something more advanced, however I am happy with the game I created as I believe I have exceeded my own expectations as I was very anxious about this module.
Ella Jayne Traynor
ICP- 3025
Apps Artificial Intelligence
Tutor: Llyr Ap Cenydd
Ella Traynor 