UDK

We have now been experimenting with a new 3D game design software known as UDK (Unreal Development Kit). We have just been over the basics so not much is known about UDK for me. I have done a few screenshots of what I have done.

Now there are several different types of background you can open with on UDK. I went ahead and chose morning background. This is pretty much what it looks like.

Next I have done a city which is a simple click and drag option as this is a default city. By going into the options you can find loads of different things.

Finally I have uploaded pre made vehicles. I have screenshot a picture of me blowing up another vehicle showing the damage and health settings are already inside the vehicle mechanics.

Game Interface

I have now done my game interface design. I have gone through using various buttons, money design, a simple field map, life gauge and a magic meter.

Okay in the top left corner the hearts represent your health, the more damage you take, the more hearts you lose, these are also divided into quarters. Below the hearts is a green bar, this is your magic meter. The more magic you use, the more your meter decreases. Next at the bottom left is your money supply. Top right you have your buttons which come up with commands for interacting with various objects. Finally the bottom right is your map.

This is all purely based around adventure games known as Legend of Zelda. Which is a classic layout of health, money, map and button display. This is what I have researched in previous posts.

Game design folder

Games design include extensive amount of artwork and idea generation to help game developers/learners to develop and create towards a final game.
game controls
platforms its designed for
target audience
similar games or designs on market, how is yours different or better?
narrative story of the game
game layout charts
storyboards
level layouts
environment illustrations
character design
model profile sheets
GUI designs
thumbnail sketches
3D modelling

Game Interface

Now lets do a game interface, I am going to base my interface similar to The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, I shall be using the life gauge, money, maps and controls but I will be making them myself and a bit different too. Here is an example of a Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time screen shot.

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time was released on the Nintendo 64 in the UK on December 11th 1998. This adventure game has been known to be best game of the year or at least in the top ten best games ever from the release date to now. The graphics may look out dated now but back on release they were amazing. The interface works simply. You have your health in the top left, your money in the bottom left, actions in the top right and finally the map on the bottom right. The game was revealed during December 1995 at Nintendo's Space World trade show which was initially intended to be released on the Nintendo 64 expansion, the Nintendo 64DD. The design of Ocarina of Time was intended to be in first person but due to a child Link being involved, they felt the need to show the character.

Now here are the icons I have been doing.

Unity

Today I have done some work on unity, this program is used to create 3D games, I have taken a few screenshots of my work, annoyingly the program has froze halfway through.

Legend of Zelda Interface research

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword uses several different interfaces. Most standard Zelda games always have the health in the top left and actions for buttons on the right side of the screen. Also rupee count is always located somewhere, which is usually the top left or the bottom right. On Skyward sword there is also a shield gauge later on in the game plus shows the controls on the left for the Nunchuck and on the right for the Wii Remote. Also when you dash, roll or spin attack, your stamina meter will also appear on screen.

There is also an option within the game to lighten the interface on the controls or even getting rid of them all together so all that’s left is health, rupees and shield gauge plus stamina when running.

GUI History

Some of the earliest GUI used were mostly radars and they used light pens instead of using a mouse. Pretty much it is how a person can interact with computers. The Xerox Alto was the first to use the desktop metaphor and the mouse. Which was then followed by an upgraded version called Xerox Star. As of 1979, Steve Jobs then made the apple computers which were called Apple Lisa and Macintosh. The evolution of GUI interface have really shown like today's models such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and X Window System. There are also new systems such as androids and blackberrys. Most of these ideas have been completely based off and inspired by the Xerox computers.

Also there are several examples of different GUI interface examples. These are such as the monitor screen which  is an embedded industrial application which employ a real time operating system. Also others are simply searching the internet using a browser, you type in what you want to search for then the internet browser makes a list of suggested websites for you. This is a prime example of GUI interface. Restaurants are starting to use GUI interface now too with their Point-Of-Sale touch screen pads.