Checkpoint 1

Jose Chavez

Interactive Game Prototyping

Summer 2011

Introduction

            My goal for this project is to have at least two completely clothed next-gen models that I can present to potential employers.  I would like to enter the industry as a character modeler and will be making characters models the central focus of my portfolio. As a designer I feel that I excel in this focus for the reason that I hold a great interest for human anatomy. I am well aware of human proportions as well as muscle groups and how they work. For these reasons I have chosen to make character models my goal for this project. The way I plan to achieve this is using the vast amount of resources I have gathered and using them as guidelines to make the most successful models I possibly can. By the end of this project I plan to have one fully clothes heroic male model as well as a fully clothed female model.  I feel very confident that I will be able to achieve these goals and have even created a production schedule that is both accurate and realistic to achieve. The first quarter will be research, concept and preparation to set a foundation for both characters. By the end of this quarter the goal is to have one character completely finished. The second quarter will be used to create the second character and have her completely finished. Whatever extra time I have left over will be to perfect the details of both characters as well if time permits to create a hard surface model of a gun for the female character. To make these goals even more possible I have decided to work ahead of my schedule so that I can allow time for any hurdles or sections that take longer to complete than expected. This way I can almost guarantee success by planning ahead of time and working ahead of schedule.  It took some time to realize what my niche would be in the industry but I have recently come to a realization that this is where I want to focus and strengthen my talents.

Jose Chavez

Interactive Game Prototyping

Summer 2011

Target Audience Research

            As I plan to create these characters an important question comes to mind and that is, “Who would most enjoy these characters” and “Who should I target as my audience”. Sometimes this question is hard to answer because many different people have different taste when it comes to just about anything. Children for example have been known to like cartoony and cute adventurous characters. As people grow older their taste change and characters such as Spyro the dragon become less appealing as characters such as Ryu from street fighter gain more appeal over time. So knowing these facts I will be targeting an audience roughly between the ages of 17-30 males in particular. These ages are known to have interest in realistic heroic characters such as comic book heroes, Marvel and Capcom characters. These are the types of characters I plan to create so appealing to this age group is only logical. The types of households that would play a game with these types of characters would range greatly since households with varying financial incomes nowadays can afford to buy systems such as an XBOX 360 or a PS3. The only types of households that would not be able to afford such items would be those that are poverty stricken and do not have the financial means to purchase luxuries that range between 50-300 dollars. I do not feel however, financial range will be an issue since a study in 2009 revealed that 60% of households have a video game system and that percentage has only gone up over the years. The characters I plan to create would more than likely be used on consoles such as XBOX 360 and PS3 with some possibility of also being used on a PC games. The reason I target these systems are because they currently have the best hardware specifications to handle next-gen video game characters such as the ones I am going to create. I will also be providing target audience polls to back up what I have said previously. Being an avid gamer myself and over the years observing what games appeal to what ages I am more than confident that I have chosen the correct target audience for the characters I intend to produce.

Jose Chavez

Interactive Game Prototyping

Summer 2011

Over-Arching Game Concept

The story begins at the home of Scott Steiner where he prepares to leave his humble home to go to work. He lives in a prosperous city near the downtown area. He reaches for the door as a large explosion erupts shaking the ground around him. He swings the door open to reveal explosions happening all around him as homes are blown apart and cars flip through the air Scott cannot believe his eyes. A blimp flies over head with speakers that jut from every corner. A loud voice echoes throughout the city. “You have failed to stop me Red Hawk and now all these people will have to pay for your complacency” “ Meet me at the town square if you believe you have the will to stop me before I destroy all you care about”. Scott darts back into his home and rips apart his closet door to reveal a costume. In an instant he is out the door. There is justice to be paid. That is how the game would begin more or less. The game genre would be an adventure game with a mix between titles such as “Infamous” and “Batman Arkham Asylum”. Where the city would be explorable and the hero would encounter traps and enemies along the way to his destination as well as being able to enter facilities that he would have to infiltrate. The goal of the game of course would be to stop the evil villain behind the destruction and chaos that is plaguing the city so that peace can be restored.  At the beginning of the game suspense and disarray will most likely be the emotions that the player will feel. As the game continues the hero will uncover what is behind the chaos which will propel him forward through the story with a greater will to restore peace and deliver justice.  Most states of flow will happen around during various missions that the hero must undergo. There will also be hoards of enemy ai to fight as well as different types of enemies that will force the hero to change up his strategy to survive and defeat his enemies. The hero will also grow throughout the game gaining new abilities and weapons to add to his personal arsenal. As the player starts to delve deeper into the chaos he will become overwhelmed this is where our second character Lisa Rose will make her entrance. She is the second character of the story and a special agent trained in several martial arts. She has been sent to assist our hero as he restores peace. From time to time she will come in to the story

Jose Chavez

Interactive Game Prototyping

Summer 2011

Over-Arching Game Concept cont…..

as she aids our hero. While she is not directly helping our main character she will be helping from behind the scenes by providing Intel to guide our hero along. While Lisa comes in and out of the story there will be some mystery that shrouds has and her agenda at first will be unclear. As time progresses however her true attentions will slowly be revealed to our hero. For parts of the game the player will have suspicions of Lisa and if she is actually a good guy or not. These are the two characters that I will be creating and their involvement in the game they are a part of.