Task 1 & 2: Visual Style & Gameplay

Terrain

Terrain is the outer shell/environment/setting of a game. Within the terrain contains all the other assets to the game including architecture. For example, in Rayman Legends, the terrain is the waste lands, a Jungle, or a swamp. But this could vary, for another example is Alien isolation, as the terrain in that game is the spaceship. The Difference between Terrain and Architecture is quite faded when it comes to games. To distinguish the two one must look at the games BIOM settings, where the game is based in. For example, Devil May Cry is based in a City, meaning the Architecture must be the buildings, but in another game named don't Starve, the BIOM/Terrain is the forests and the architecture would be the trees and bushed within the terrain.



http://devilmaycry.wikia.com/wiki/Temen-ni-gru

Architecture

Architecture of a game is the structures within the terrain, such structures that hold assets like chairs and TV. For example in Alien Isolation the Architecture would be the rooms design, and how they are structured.


https://www.ubisoft.com/en-US/game/assassins-creed-revelations/

Objects

Objects are assets within a game with significant value to the game at hand, such as chairs, tables, glasses etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXenrkdnzkI 
Characters

Characters are playable assets within a game than have a personality and a purpose for being in a game that can be controlled by you, the player. For example, Micheal from GTA V, as he can be played in the game.

Non-playing characters (NPC)

Characters in a game that cannot be played by you, but still add significance to the game and your gaming experience.

Feedback

This gives information to the player on important aspects of the game, such as lives left, coins picked up and possibly time left on a mission as an example. Here i have an image of borderlands, showing the feedback given from the damage delt t the animal from the players gun. As you can see, there are damage numbers showing how much damage they are dealing. The yellow numbers mean normal damage, red numbers mean critical damage.

Interface

This is the HUD, the closest layer of the screen to you that contains all the information you need as FEEDBACK, such as lives, speed, time etc. The HUD usually reflects the art style and compliments the graphics choice of the game. The HUD in the picture above would be the health bar, shield and EX bar shown in the bottom left and bottom of the screen. On the bottom right you can also see an AMMO bar too.

Perspectives

The view of which the player sees the game from/plays the game from. Third person and first person views are examples types of these. Most games stick to their codes and conventions along with what type of genre category it falls under when it comes to different views, but now days a lot of games try to be unique by spinning ideas on their heads. For example, most MMOs have TOP down based viewing game play and can either be turn based or so in terms of combat and action, but SMITE on the other hand, a game created by HIrez studios, is a MOBA with with third person gameplay. Here below i will have an example of all three different types of perspectives:

First Person 

Third Person

Top Down

Full-Motion Video (FMV)

A short film like video created through a series of different areas of scenes from a game, to make it seem completely different/ to give the impression of a different game to the original.

Game Genre Description:











Adventure
Adventure games are based off of a antagonist and protagonist usually, and then a quest for the user/player to embark on, for example, in Mario Bros., Mario has to go save his princess of the Mushroom kingdom











Racing/Football/Sport
Racing games, much like need for speed, are usually about cars or some form of vehicle . They have driving controls and simulations to make the player feel like they are actually in a car or vehicle. Main story line usually introduced through championship leagues and grand prizes. For example, Mario Kart has grand Prix and multiplayer mode. Sport games based off of sports, such as baseball, football, Basketball, Tennis, Rugby and/or American football.



Survival/Horror
Games such as 7 days to die, are designed to be without a direct objective where the player must live off of their own decisions and direction in order to survive, mean while they are in a horror themed terrain with a horror like atmosphere. 



First person
First person games put the player in the position of the main playable character experiencing everything they see and everything they say as if the player IS the character. For example, Call of Duty is a first person game because you are playing from his or her perspective.

Third Person
Third person games put the player in the view of a greater power, or camera, overlooking a character while they are being controlled by you, but giving the impression that you are simply watching their life play out.



Puzzle
Puzzle games are designed to confused or test the player with complicated tricks and puzzles to keep the player interested. Such as Portal, a game all about puzzles and using your head to solve 3D puzzles and obsolesces in order to progress. Most of these games are level based.












Management

Management games usually have the view of a god from above like so, and are designed for the player to manage a group of people or control a population with an objective in mind as a mission or task.



Educational
Just like the game suggests, educational games are made for educational purposes, made with small puzzles and smart questions to tests your mind and intelligence.

Genres - SMITE

SMITE - Smite is a third person MOBA, complete with all the roles and qualities of a MOBA, but interactive as a third person game with very different mechanics to other MOBA's. MOBA stands for Multiplayer online battle Arena, which are usually top down strategy based games, that require team based efforts to be able to outsmart the opposing the team and win the game.

 Most of these games consists of a wide verity selection of playable characters that all have unique and different abilities designed to handle different situations. It is this vast selection of characters that makes MOBA's so enjoyable and fun to play. SMITE, however, is not a to down game, it is third person. Given this aspect of the game, most people do not expect it to feel like a true MOBA, but the creators of the game, Hirez, have done a brilliant job of implementing the Third person camera view aspect into the mechanics, making it a very unique game in its own sub Genre.

Terrain:

The Terrain for SMITE is the World of the Gods. For the Norse Gods, it’s Asgard mid Ragnarok. For the Egyptians it’s the Egyptians desert and general Egypt. For the Mayan Gods, the battle ground maps are based in Mayan Jungles near Mayan temples and Architecture. For the Greek Gods the battles is placed in Greece, and for the Roman gods the battle ground is Rome.

Architecture:

Architecture in SMITE is also based off of all the God mythology and grounding. When playing on Mayan grounds, the architecture is Mayan based and has jungle ruins surrounding the players with old statues of Mayan culture. For another example, when playing on Norse maps, the architecture is very melodic and Viking-like. It also holds a sky line filled with stars picturing Fenrir, whose part of the Norse mythology.

Objects:

Since SMITE is a Moba, it doesn’t have many if not any intractable objects in the game. Besides from the Objects that you can buy to make your character stronger, there are not any other Objects like assets in the game.

Characters:

Smite is a game about Gods and so there are currently 84 playable gods as characters is SMITE. To read specific characteristics of the gods' stats, abilities, cosmetic skins and lore, follow the link on their names to go to their respective pages. http://www.smitegame.com/gods/ Each Character in SMITE is from a specific pantheon, for example, Bellona is a Greek God is she is part of the Greek pantheon and Xebalonque is from the Mayan pantheon because he is a Mayan God.  Each god/character has a unique background explaining their origins story of becoming gods and abilities. Usually has a big relevance to the main story line of the SMITE universe, which involves Ragnarok(also known as Armageddon), the end the world. As you would imagine, each god has different abilities in respect to their background and culture, giving the game massive flexibility in skill and practice. This gives the player a wide variety of choice when choosing a character and using abilities, along with the massive choice of Items that can be built on every God in the game.

Non-playing characters (NPC):

In SMITE there are 2 types of NPC. The first type are minions which are supposed to represent humans caught in a war of Gods. The minions do the dirty work, they attack the objectives by themselves and attack other Enemy Gods/Minions that get in their way during their march to the enemy towers. When slain, they grant the player gold, which is the currency in SMITE used to purchase items. The second type of NPC in the game are the Cyclopes and the Titans. The cyclops’s Guard the buffs found in camps placed around the map, these cyclops’s can be slain to obtain the buff for power spike. The buffs give you different boosts. For example, the attack speed buff increases your attack speed and damage penetration.

Feedback and Interface:

In SMITE, feedback is given back in visible numbers shown in real time during damage calculation when a player has dealt damage to any character, minion or another type NPC in the game. For example, when I hit Zeus with Bellona’s first ability, damage numbers appear above of Zeus’s head that only I can see, telling me how much damage I dealt to his health.  If I’m healing, then the numbers appear above me or above whoever I am healing at the time.

 

Perspectives:

SMITE is a third person game despite it being a MOBA, as most MOBAS are top down and do not have any aspects of different perspectives. They are usually made like this in order to give the player an above view advantage over their troops, or in this case, the minions. However, in SMITE, that view is not needed as they can be monitored from up close. Minions are not the only impacting factors in the games in SMITE, as players can use there own characters and do things on their own, making SMITE very different to other MOBAS.