After 10 odd hours of studying how to get materials to interpolate between multiple material structures that work dynamically with terrain mesh and foliage instances I finally managed to get it to work. So basically I placed several volume trigger spheres into a scene that scale inwards to the center: Once the player walks into one of these trigger spheres a timeline curve is activated that transitions a float from 0 to 1. This float is a global variable which I can access through the materials that I have applied to the mesh in the inspector: And finally, the end resulting in a colorful environment (Of which needs color correcting). As soon as I have completed I will then do my enclosed study about how this artifact has effected the players perspective and cognitive responses from the start to end.
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Over the uni break I really focused on my research. After my initial research during the proposal, I had a few avenues to look into. After working on my Super Metroid play journal over the holidays, which is almost finished, I’ve realised a few things. When researching feedback loops, it often comes back to biology. There seems to be an intrinsic way that biological feedback systems and feedback systems in a video game relate to one another. They are really one and the same. The more I look into it, the clearer this becomes. The analogy is this: If an animal hunts successfully, then they receive the nutrients and energy needed to continue hunting and succeeding. They could eventually end up as the leader of the pack. This is a positive feedback loop, in that effects are amplified. The male lone wolf has a clear goal; be the leader of a pack to ensure power and breeding, and along the way, eat and sleep. If they do these sub-tasks (eating and sleeping) well then it makes their goal easier to achieve. In Super Metroid, the player has a goal: Find and kill the last Metroid and defeat the space pirates. Along the way, depending on how effectively they complete their sub-tasks (find and collect missiles, health and powerups) it makes this goal easier to achieve. This is called homeostasis in biology. Homeostasis is ‘any self-regulating process by which biological systems tend to maintain stability while adjusting to conditions that are optimal for survival. If homeostasis is successful, life continues; if unsuccessful, disaster or death ensues. The stability attained is actually a dynamic equilibrium, in which continuous change occurs yet relatively uniform conditions prevail.’
During a talk with Jordan, after mentioning these things to him he said that ecosystems came to mind. I think that this is the perfect grounding for my essay. I should also mention that I have decided not to make a digital artefact to accompany my essay, but a paper one instead. Feedback loops are something that you can theorise, and the outcomes are really quite predictable. Due to this, making a prototype and having people play it, and collating the data seems like a waste of time. I can already figure out the outcomes from a change in the loops, I don’t need players to test it. Because of this, I’m thinking of instead using screenshots of the game to recreate sections of the game with different loops to illustrate my points. The final part of this essay would be somewhat of an ecosystem analysis. After re-scoping my essay, I think that this idea of understanding how ecosystems work in games is the most interesting thing. Looking at the rules in the game world, the thing under the hood, and how these could be considered as the laws, similar to our own world. 30 FPS effects the environment, and effects the gameplay loops. The way the game is made effects the ecosystem. The things within the world, be it characters, items or the physical environment, all tie in to keeping an ecosystem balanced. At the end of the day, that’s what an ecosystem is; a balance of systems. If any of these things is changed, the balance of the ecosystem is thrown out of whack. Re-centering my essay around feedback loops and how they exist in an ecosystem, I believe, is the right way to go, and I’m excited about what I’m going to find. Today I furthered my understanding and have formally decided to make the switch over to Unreal Engine 4. The reason for this switch is simply because it looks and run better for what I am trying to show. For example; Materials are easier to blend between other materials, Animations and image effects are built in, lighting and shadows are more accurate, reflections and post effects suit my designs further than Unity can. Hence fourth I took the liberty to research the following:
Things I need to complete are now narrowing down and almost time to start piecing together the puzzle. And once I have everything working mechanically, I can then move forward with why I done everything the way I have. |
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