Proposal for the Self-Initiated Project
The project that I plan to undertake is a Games Design document for a Cyberpunk themed digital Roleplaying Game. I chose this because my primary interest within games design is that of becoming a games writer and I feel that creating a comprehensive design document will give me the chance to delve deeper into the writing side of the industry.
There are other elements that I need to take into consideration with the design document, an example of which would be the visuals that will need to accompany the text within, therefore I shall be utilizing and expanding upon my skills within 2D and 3D visualization to creating visual representations of my designs, thereby creating a dynamic and visually pleasing project piece while also being able to create gameplay aspects for the project, looking into the mechanics and taking into consideration Aspects of Play so that the viewer can engage with the final product.
In order to expand within the project, I shall also be creating a blog based website that I can utilize to expand upon the game aspects of the project, displaying character and location information, backing up each with visuals such as images and models, thereby offering more to the viewer than just the design document as the final product.
The website would be updated with information and visuals as the project moves along, with sections being added as information becomes available, with regular screen shots of the website being taken so as to record the progress of it and the project as a whole. I would also be able to create interactions within the website sections, offering gameplay examples and even small demonstrations of gameplay as the project progresses over the course of the year and beyond. This would further utilize and expand my skills within 3D and 2D visualization, as I would be able to create small sections of gameplay, displaying some of the game mechanics within.
Within the research part of the project, I will be looking into Cyberpunk as a genre, so that I can encapsulate elements and themes from it into my project, capturing the style and essence makes the genre so popular and visually stunning.
This means that within my research document, I will be making note of films, such as:
- Total Recall
- Blade Runner
- The Matrix Trilogy
- Johnny Mnemonic
I will also take into consideration for research, several games that are classed within the genre, such as:
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Android: Netrunner
- Shadowrun
- Watch Dogs
- Final Fantasy VII
Then of course, I shall also be researching existing Authors and Games Writers and examples of projects that they have worked on and created themselves, such as:
- Steven Ince
- Rhianna Pratchett
- William Gibson
- Henry Darger
- Darby McDevitt
I shall also be looking into expanding my skills with 3D modelling software 3DS Max in order to create the modelling visuals that will need to accompany the document and be placed on the website throughout the project.
Goals
There are several goals that I want to achieve with this project, building upon the skills that I have learned and improved upon in the first and second years, these goals are:
Primary:
- Create extensive design document. Back up information with visuals.
- Create a blog based website to compliment the document
- Create gameplay elements and mechanics
- Expand upon written and 3d visualisation techniques
- Critique project progression throughout, making sure to take notes of changes made throughout. Write up such in extensive blog posts.
Secondary:
- Implement interactive elements into the website
- Incorporate user testing for interactive elements
User Experience
3.1. Audience
The game that I will be creating within the design document is set firmly within the Cyberpunk genre. Through my research I have found that the majority of Cyberpunk themed films and games are set to age ranges 15-18, while at the same time, finding that Role Playing Games tend to be aimed more at audiences of 18-35 years of age. I feel that it would be best to set my target audience at ages 18-35 to not only fit in with the target ages that I discovered, but also due to the nature of some of the content that could be within the document.
3.2. Competitive Analysis
Working on games design documents within the past has given me a basic understanding of how to structure them. However, as this is a third year project, I will need to be much more expansive and cover many different sections, backing each one up with visuals that are relevant to that section, along with explanations and discussions of the thought processes throughout. I will need to look into how to create the blog based website, as I have only ever created basic blog posts before and am not entirely sure on how to produce the proposed element, however I’m sure that with the right research and practice, I shall be able to overcome this problem and produce the website as it is needed.
Critical Analysis
For my dissertation I plan on building upon my experiences with Cyberpunk and the skills I have learnt over the first and second years to design portions of the game that I intend to write within the design document, such as using 3DS Max to create the Corporation buildings and use Photoshop to create a HUD and menu system.
I will also be using the time to learn how to create a blog based website within WordPress, as I have used it over the first two years to create blog posts for university work, but utilizing it within this way, within the project itself, I can utilize it to create different sections that pertain to a certain part of the project, with simple navigation and interactive elements.
Project Content
5.1 Content
Within the design document, there will be many sections that I will be creating for the product within, the breakdown of which is:
- The Setting
- Locations
- Antagonists
- Protagonists
- Items
- Abilities
These sections within the design document will be well detailed, with explanations for abilities and items, descriptions of locations, along with histories and back stories for both locations, characters and the setting in which the product is placed.
I will be able to utilize these settings not only as headings within the document, I will be able to break them down and create them as sections within the website as well, being able to offer visuals and information for each, with interactive elements in the correct sections as well.
5.2 Functional Requirements
The majority of the project will be created within Microsoft Word, however, there may be elements of the project that require the use of Adobe Photoshop and 3DS Max. By the end of the project, I intend to have a detailed and comprehensive design document printed for viewing. I will also be utilizing WordPress as a means of creating the blog based website.
Project Structure
This is a rough timetable, showing the work that I will be doing and the period of time that it will take to complete. This is just an estimated amount of time for each section, as I’m sure some sections will take longer than others, however once I know more of the period of time each section will take to complete, I will update the chart accordingly and expand it so that it covers my progress on a weekly basis and I will expand it as necessary as new sections of the product are created and added.
| Task | Start Date | Duration (Days) | End Date |
| Research | 09/06/2014 | 12 | 09/07/2014 |
| Website Set up | 09/07/2014 | 12 | 21/07/2014 |
| The Setting | 13/07/2014 | 9 | 22/07/2014 |
| Locations | 22/07/2014 | 9 | 31/07/2014 |
| Antagonists | 31/07/2014 | 12 | 12/08/2014 |
| Protagonists | 12/08/2014 | 12 | 24/08/2014 |
| Items | 24/08/2014 | 12 | 05/09/2014 |
| Abilities | 05/09/2014 | 12 | 17/09/2014 |
Visual Design
7.1 Design Sketches
7.2 Screen Mock Ups
7.3 Prototypes
(I currently have no visuals for the project)
Development Schedule
When it comes to the development schedule, I plan on using a timetable to track my progress throughout the project, marking off each week and writing up the progress that has been made with regular blog posts, detailing the work that has been produced and offering examples in the forms of screenshots and examples of visual work that has been produced.
As the project progresses, if there are any timetable changes that need to be made then I will make the changes to the timetable that I have set and then I can update it on the blog as well, explaining why the timetable had to be changed.
Appendix
Steven Ince (Games Writer) – htttp://www.steve-ince.co.uk
Steven Ince Twitter – http://twitter.com/Steven_Ince
Rhianna Pratchett Twitter – https://twitter.com/rhipratchett
Rhianna Pratchett (Games Writer) – http://www. Rhiannapratchett.com/
hunterp13 