Making Mobile Games

Two years ago, I started a full-time job as a Mobile UI Designer with Pocket App Ltd. With a games design degree under my belt and no one at the company with games industry experience, I seized at the opportunity to upgrade my position and within a few months I became Games Producer. Since then I have worked on many exciting and challenging mobile projects, both game apps and standard apps with gamification design.

All of our projects are produced specifically for a range of clients, including some big names such as Panasonic and Square Enix, so I'm restricted on the graphics I can share on the web. However, there are some sneak peaks on my new portfolio website, www.alxbanner.com.

As much as I love the challenge of creating exciting solutions based on a clients brief, I am eager to work on an original indie game before I hang up my gamepads. Whether I'm lead designer, UI/UX designer or a character designer, I really don't mind what role I have. The most important thing is that I have a talented team to bounce ideas off and collaborate with. I've already been in talks with some cool developers so watch this space!

Red, White and Blue: House of Cards

Addicted to House of Cards and cannot wait until season 3. This started off as a doodle on my Samsung galaxy note 10.1 using Sketchbook pro, but then I got a little carried away :) Much prefer the version with harsh strokes and an absence of colour as it better conveys Kevin Spacey's ruthless character and is in line with the title of this post.

Coding for Dummies: Enter Playmaker

Playmaker is a visual scripting tool for use with Unity. Highly recommended by UK developers, Ninja Theory (when I attended Appsworld '13).


A great article over on Gamasutra provides inspiration for any of those games designers out there who don't have strong coding skills: Suck At Coding But Make Games That includes me!

My Visit to PlayJam

Headed over to PlayJam London offices on the top floor of Centre Point tower. My mission was to pick up a couple of their new android gamepads, GameStick, so the we (Pocket App Ltd) could test (read 'play') it and give feedback and ideas. 

Easy to forget how awesome current generation mobile games can look and play on a big screen.

Sketch on a Plane

A couple of biro sketches while on the plane to Sweden. I stumbled across the bearded guy in a magazine. Think he's a music composer. Totally forgotten his name :/

Monetisation Funnel and Pyramid

Funnel and Pyramid concepts that show how to successfully monetise your game and game business.

Game Dev Inspiration

Lovely story from a Ukrainian breakdancing games developer - Inspirational.

Zero to Hero

A teaser of some character designs for a potential mobile game. A bit of a Tiny Thief influence here.

Android for Games Developers Talk

Yesterday I attended the Android for Games Developers with Google at Skills Matter in London.

The Google tech guys talked about Android 4.3 and it's new features and Google Play Games. Most of it was presented from a back end point of view so there was a lot of Java that went over my head, but I did pick up some key points.

Android 4.3 now allows you to connect to low energy devices via Bluetooth LE. They even gave out bluetooth controllers during the event (No, I didn't get any. Prizes went to the geekiest members of the audience). However, there is no bluetooth android to android connectivity as yet.

Another key feature of 4.3 is Restricted Profile which is music to the ears of parents that want to prevent their children from making unauthorized in-app purchases. This is currently only available on android tablets though. Developers can add restriction options in the back-end of their game and there are new class of restriction entries: Boolean type, Choice, and multi choice.

Google TV now supports latest version of Android so we are advised to make sure our apps are TV ready. I think this is an important development, especially as the latest market research shows that a majority of users are playing mobile games in their living rooms.

Next hot topic was there recent release of the Google Play Games service. There are no two ways about it, you need a Google+ account to utilise this service but once you have that, all the features GPG offers are quite exciting.

The obvious benefits are sharing Leaderboards and Achievements with specific Google+ circles. There is also Cloud Save, which allows the player to save level progress and for that to be synchronized across all their android devices. PGP is cross-platform so you can view achievements on iOS as well. However, my favourite feature must be Real-Time Multiplayer where you can have 4 player P2P action. With that there is automatic or invitation based matching. Other features were Custom Libraries, Anti-Privacy and Badging (based on usage). One tip for developers was NOT TO USE API CONSOLE when setting up your game for GPG.

At the end of the conference, I asked if they had any tips for promoting the game. Creating YOUTUBE video seems to be the best way of making a wider audience aware that you have a great game in the play store. They also said that using Blogs to promote the game and Ad spending would be beneficial.

If you have any questions or would like to share your game with the google guys here are there google plus accounts :) :

+DanGalpin
+BrunoOliveira

Also for sample code, go here: 

https://github.com/playgameservices

FPS Gesture Controls: The Drowning

The Drowning's clever control system creates a more intuitive and smooth FPS experience on the iPad.

I'm not sure these controls would translate so well on the smaller phone screens though. Sniping accurately with a two-finger gesture would be more difficult to pull off and probably frustrating.

The Evolution of Game Tutorials

A collegue at work linked me to this interesting article about how in-game tutorials have changed over the past 15 years:


They Don't Make Tutorial Levels Like No One Live Forever Anymore


From my experience, most gamers are too impatient to follow games tutorials unless they're forced into one. Like intro cutscenes, they are more likely to skip them, get straight into the action and use trial and error.

I like how many games nowadays integrate tutorials into the gameplay more seamlessly without it feeling boring or disjointed. Gestures or button graphics will flash up on screen to aid the player through the beginning of the first level and not bombard them with too many instructions. That's how it should always be. But it can be difficult to balance, especially in this new world of casual app gamers where attention is short and gaming trends change like the seasons.

In recent memory, Portal 2's tutorial was so seamless and playful that you hardly noticed it. All the best teachers have a sense of humour!

Canabalt HD: Desperado

The Godfather of endless runners, Canabalt HD, has a new update which includes new levels, two player competition and a female character.

I've just had a play and 2-player mode is ace but the female character, apart from longer hair, is void of femininity and looks like Antonio Banderas in Desperado.

Corona Templates

Handy websites for Corona templates I have found on the web.

Deep Blue Apps:
http://www.deepblueapps.com/category/corona-sdk-templates-so…


License My Code:

Don't be fooled by the app icons and graphics! These are true stripped down templates with quality 2D gameplay.
http://www.licensemycode.com/


T and G apps:

Not as good as the templates on deep blue apps but could still come in handy.
http://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/28977-corona-templates-fo…

Unity partnership with Microsoft

Unity has recently announced a partnership with Microsoft and support for Windows 8, Xbox One, and Xbox 360. Windows Store Pro publishing add-on will also be free once it is released.

The future is looking ever brighter for Unity developers.


http://blogs.unity3d.com/2013/06/27/build-conference/

Ice breaking

Hey people!
I've been away from the blogging for a bit so let me cut to the chase and tell you about some things that have been happening in my life...

Dark Cow Rises
In my previous posts you may have remembered I was working on a CG animation for a TV production company in Sweden. Well, production on that was suspended due to some major technical issues.
The good news is that the Cow will return as all the technical shizzle is now sorted!

DIY PC maintenance

She's back! Much more to come!

Graphic Design projects
I've been designing publications for a few businesses. It has been a worthwhile experience and challenge (especially when working on an office PC with 1gb of RAM!) and I've met some truly wonderful people. My most proud achievement was creating and designing a mascot for the children's cancer charity, Neuroblastoma Alliance UK.

Mascot for Neuroblastoma Alliance UK

Character development

3D version of their logo for possible 'bouncing ball' animation

Drawing, drawing, drawing
Recently, I've been asked to design a tattoo of an Egyptian sphinx (the part female, bird and cat one). Surprisingly, I haven't designed a tattoo before so it's a new challenge that I'm excited about completing.

Initial design for tattoo, flying lady with deadly sharp nipples

'Team Edward' cartoon. What's life without humour?

Run Forest, Run!

I've always been keen on fitness and challenging my physical limits but never keen on going for runs outside as a supplement. I usually preferred running on the treadmill in the gym as it put less strain on my body. However, since the beginning of 2012, I've totally scraped the gym and decided to go for regular runs outdoors as well as use breakdancing techniques to stay in shape. It's much cheaper anyway!

I'll also be dancing at the Paralympic ceremony (missed the main Olympic auditions) and rehearsals have been a lot of fun and met some cool people. That's all I can say on the subject at the moment because it's proper top secret and I'll be kicked out if I reveal more!

taking a breather after a run in the local park

strawberry picking my way!

3 is the magic number!

Sidetracking - Music

Music is so powerful that it has at times dictated my mood, saved me from woe, or been a catalyst for my emotions and expression.

There is also a beauty in silence. Sometimes I will turn off the music in my headphones and save it as a reward. Like with all good things, they're best to be taken in moderation.

I like to believe I have some sort of music juice in my blood. My dad is a renowned guitarist/musician back in Ghana and my mum used to be a  backing singer in the 60's and 70's. I never really had the discipline to stick with the piano or guitar, but dancing and art has always come more naturally to me. They all go hand in hand in my opinion - artistic forms of expression.

These are a few music tracks I'm listening to at the moment for work & play :

After a hard day's work,  I escape to South America...

   

Quad-biped cow designs

Some more character development for that cow that has now invaded my dreams.
Research on quadruped anatomy, not just cow anatomy, was essential.

closer to final design

Cockney Cow

Cow concept art for a recent project.
A cow with the personality and style of Pat from the British TV soap, Eastenders. A bit muddy and rushed, but just a concept. 'Av it!

Steaming turd

I've recently been doing a lot of research on cows. A hell of a lot.
The Coleman's advert has been a good source of reference for how to make a quadruped move like a biped. It was created by Aardman and shows off their animation prowess. Judging by the way it moves (no pun intended), it looks like they are using a biped rig and possibly some corrective blendshapes for the hind legs due to it's rotations at the leg root. Would love to see some behind the scenes footage...

BUT

As much as I'm impressed by the animation, the commercial as a whole leaves a little less to be desired.
I can't help but feel that the bull that leaps out of the hot gravy is too reminiscent of a steaming turd and this makes me feel uncomfortable as it bobs around. Also, the song 'I like the way you move' sounds cheesy and dated. The 'urban' dance moves are intended to be playful and humorous, but don't even match the rock/pop music.
The character animation is comical and believable; the commercial is obviously trying to get down with the kids, but this contrived piece has me reaching for the sick bucket rather than a jug of gravy.

Moo cow - caricatured designs

These are my early character designs for a recent project. The initial project brief didn't specify the characteristics for the cow so I explored many ideas. None of these will be developed further as we have now gone for a more realistic look.

very animatable

Yes, it looks more like a pig

??? Odd, but one of my fav designs

safe