Week 1- 8th January 2024

In this project, I have to create a point and click game inspired by LIMBO. I Will use an array of programs and techniques to complete the project. I will create backgrounds, code the game, animate scenes, and most importantly research how to create a good game. The game has to be point and click.

In this section, I had to create an interactive story using PowerPoint and 2 frame animations. 

The story was based on Aesop’s Fables - The Fox and the Crow. When coming up with ideas to put our own spin on the story, I saw almost everyone was creating the PowerPoint from the view of the fox. To subvert expectations, I decided to create the PowerPoint from the view of the crow instead. I followed the fables story, but added my own twist on it by creating branching paths and endings. We only had 10 slides to create our story in, and narration was to be in text only. 

In all the feedback I got, everyone liked how I decided to go for a different perspective. The positive feedback was also mostly about how I did the backgrounds in the 3rd perspective, and how people enjoyed that as they could visualise where you were in the story. Some other positive feedback was about how I made the fox laugh at the game over, almost to mock the player. 

The areas for improvement I was directed to was to make sure I had a ‘Back button’ on the game over screen, so the player didn't have to restart the entire thing. The other feedback I got was to have more sfx/ background noise as I only had the wolf laughing. 

I feel like the areas of feedback were quite obvious, and I think I should’ve thought about them sooner. When creating something like this again, I think I'd get feedback sooner. I anticipated people liking that the story was from the crows’ point of view, so I'm glad they liked it.

Limbo Structured Play Analysis

Characters

Pose/ gesture

Animation

Scale and proportion

Movement/ animation

Attack/ Defence actions

Character defeat

Colours/ tone/ shade

Shape

Enemies

Additional characters

The kid is the main character. The kid’s poses make it clear that they’re a child. The animation of the kid is simple, but also shows they are a child. The animation of the kid and other characters is simple, but also shows that the kid is a child, and the enemies around him aren’t.  The kid is tiny compared to all of the things around him. The enemies are always bigger than the child. The spiders are huge compared to any other enemy in the game. The walk of the kid is average, and the movement of objects is often sudden. The kid never attacks or defends, apart from dragging objects around. The spider attacks suddenly and scarily. The kid dies quite unceremoniously, only closing their eyes in response to whatever killed them.

Environment Aesthetic

Perspective

Lighting

Environment features

Tone

Scale

Animation

2D, Soft lighting, but hard lighting in the back. The camera isn’t shaky, usually following the kid. The game has a sad, melancholy tone, which turns to being shocking and scary when it needs to, usually when the kid encounters enemies. Every object in the game is huge compared to the kid, this builds on the tone and gameplay. The animation on the Player/Kid, objects and most other enemies is simple, yet effective. More complex movements and cutscenes are much better animated. The graphics are extremely simple, but can be beautiful and it fits with the overall tone of the game.

Gameplay

The story

What makes it unique?

Cutscenes/ cinematics

Level design

Obstacles

Puzzles

Interaction

Mechanics

Collectibles

Rewards

Audio

Pace and tone of the game

Audio is not common in this game. Throughout most of the game, there is only wind and sound effects. The sound effects are impressive and  immersive. They are usually sudden and violent. This adds to the tone of the game, as well as the often violent deaths the child has to go through. Throughout the game, there are only monochrome scenes. Obstacles and objectives are sometimes unclear, but the puzzles are very creative, keeping in line with the tone. There are very simple mechanics (Jumping,Climbing, Dragging) which works well for the game. There are collectibles in the game, which take the form of white blobs, which are referred to as eggs. Collecting them reveals a secret, extra hard level, which is the only reward. The level design is challenging but good for older players. The cutscenes look very striking. The game has an extremely unique visual style. The pace of the game isn’t too long either.

Audience

The players experience 

Age suitability

Playability

Controls

Difficulty

Accessibility

Where is the fun?

The game is extremely story driven, with complex puzzles that add to the atmosphere. There are very simple easy controls like jumping, dragging and climbing. The puzzles take a lot of thought if the player does not usually play puzzle video games. I’d say the game is 14+ as the game is hard, and deals with heavy topics. The game is quite accessible, as it does not require complex controls. It has a monochrome colour palette, and it doesn't require many senses. The enjoyment comes from the story and puzzles.  

Who are the developers of the game? 

The primary developer for Limbo was Playdead, and Double Eleven brought it to Xbox one and PSvita. Arnt Jensen and Dino Patti created/developed Limbo. They also made Inside.

Limbo was released in 2010, and made many people realise that triple A games are not always the most profitable, and that indie games have the potential to be influential. 

When was the game released and on which platforms?

Limbo was released in 2010 for the Xbox 360 live arcade. It is now available on many platforms such as Xbox one, Windows, Nintendo Switch, PSVita and many more.

What is the genre?

Limbo is a puzzle-Platform game. One of its sub-genres is horror.

What is the story or scenario?

The story of limbo is very unclear. The most we get is the description of the game which reads “Uncertain of his sister's fate, a boy enters LIMBO”. The only other piece of information we get is when we see a young girl at the end of the game. From the description, this is implied to be his sister.

What is the setting for the game?

The game starts out in a dark forest, which the player must traverse. The player mostly walks through a forest, with many rocks, trees and rivers. After this, Houses, Hotels, and other areas can be seen as well. 

What is the goal? 

While there is no distinct goal in limbo, the description of the game is the only indication of what the goal could be, to perhaps find the boy's sister. I’d argue the main goal of the game is to survive the traps and get out of the forest.

What does the game look and sound like?

The game has a melancholy tone throughout the game. There’s not much music in the peaceful areas. The game is also only in black and white. The foreground being pitch black, while the background is lighter in colour. The foreground looks almost cut out.

Who are the main characters (heroes, villains, enemies, NPCs)?

Arnt Jensen, the creator of the game, seems to be the main character. While this is not directly stated, When he was younger, He would walk into the woods near his house. 

In LIMBO, The environment often feels bleak and almost desolate. While nothing looks wrong, there is an eeriness which follows you throughout the game, As well as a tenseness waiting for another enemy to appear. The environment adds on to these feelings, forcing you to go in areas which seem particularly unwelcoming.

Who is the game for (audience)?

I feel like the game is for people who enjoy puzzle platformer games, as well as unique aesthetics in games. I feel like the game was directed to an older audience who could handle heavy topics and complex puzzles. I feel like this audience doesn't need a story to enjoy a game, and primarily buys a game for the experience it gives them; not the outcome.

What are the inspirations for this game?

I feel like a lot of the inspiration from the game came from Arnt Jensen’s childhood. Jensen spent a lot of his childhood in the woods. This, most likely, contributed to a lot of the game. Jensen also drew inspiration from the film noir genre, Morten Bramsen also recreated the art style for the game.

How do players control the game?

Limbo is very simple and easy to control. As it was made for the Xbox 360, A Xbox controller is used. The left stick is used for movement of the character, the Y button is used to jump, and the B button is used to interact. Alternatively, the Arrow keys can be used to move the boy, and the CTRL button can be used to interact.

How do they play (rules and mechanics)?

While in terms of aesthetic, these two games are very different, but I believe New Super Mario Bros is comparable to LIMBO’s rules and mechanics. While NSMB has many more enemies, has a less continuous design and less bosses, It is also a platformer where you must overcome obstacles to get to the end of the game. 

How do players win (win conditions)?

I feel like, in many point and click games, the only win condition is to play the entire game. Like with a similar style game called Sally Face, the only condition to ‘win’ is to not die and finish the puzzles you need to do to get to the end.

Where is the fun?

I feel like the enjoyment in limbo comes from figuring out the increasingly complex puzzles. While trying, failing, and subsequently dying is far from fun, finally figuring out the puzzle that you failed on many times is extremely rewarding, and motivates you to continue to play the game. While I feel like figuring out the story of LIMBO can be fun for some players, Its focus is more so on the puzzles, which is much more rewarding then the story.

Week 2- 15th January 2024

Point and Click Genre Analysis

Introduction: 

A point and click game is a game where you control your character by pointing at things, typically with a cursor, and clicking on them. They can be in a variety of different styles and genres.

Two widely popular point and click games are KiillMondayGames’ Fran bow 

And Amanita Design’s Machinarium.

What are the different types of point-and-click games? 

Like all games, point-and-click ones span over a variety of genres from horror to comedy. However, Most often, point-and-click games are puzzle games. The most common genre of point-and-click games are adventure ones, where there is a story to follow. A few notable sub-genres are escape-the-room (Where you have to do what it says in the name) and interactive art games, Which does not necessarily provide a story, along with puzzle games.

I will be talking about Fran Bow. 

Gameplay mechanics: 

In the game, the first mechanics you are introduced to are the ‘Examine’ and ‘Combine’ mechanics, along with the inventory. This allows for the players to collect items, examine and combine them to get a clearer picture of the story, or solve puzzles. Slightly Later in the game, You get an item called ‘Duotine’. This enables the player to see into a ‘different plane’ to finish puzzles. You're able to click on items, objects and people. While the first two give flavour text, you're able to talk to some characters to finish puzzles. Through all of the game, these are the only two other mechanics you get apart from interacting with things and walking.

Storytelling:

The story of Fran Bow is quite complex and hard to understand. The game starts with a cutscene, telling the player how Fran Bow used to have a loving family, who gifted her a cat, however they were brutally murdered, implied to be because of a demon. She escapes into the forest with the cat, where she is then taken into a mental hospital. At the start of  the game, your only objective is to find the cat. 

Design and aesthetics: 

The game has quite a unique visual style. The sprites and backgrounds are  hand-drawn. This makes the game very visually stunning, even in the more horrific scenes. While the game is clearly a horror, It leans to a  psychological horror, which I feel the games graphics capture very well. The animation can be very stiff at parts, but the detail in the hand-drawn sprites make up for this detail.

What are some of the challenges involved in developing a point-and-click game?

When creating a point-and-click game, one of the hardest to design things are the puzzles. They have to strike a balance between fitting thematically, fitting in the gameplay, making sense to the player and being not too complex to code, as well as not being too time consuming. Striking a balance between all these are hard, but when done right, they can improve the game significantly.

Writing dialogue can also be extremely hard. If creating a large game, there must be thousands of pieces of not only dialogue, but flavour text as well. Each piece of text must fit tonally with the situation, fit the character speaking it, as well as being concise and getting to the point.

Creating art assets is also another challenge involved when developing a point-and-click game. Artists have to make backgrounds, sprites, animations, buttons. Anything the player can see has to be created, down to the smallest details.

How have point-and-click games evolved over time?

Many sources point to “Colossal Cave Adventure” as being the first text based video game. This game clearly pioneered the fact that video games could be used as story-telling devices. Later on, in 1984, “Enchanted Scepters'' was released. I’d argue It was the first point and click to be released. A Lot of early games like Colossal Cave Adventure and Enchanted Scepters were clearly inspired by D&D. Games like Myst and The Secret of Monkey island. Being such an accessible genre, it continues to persist, and many point-and-click video games are still made to this day.

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, Point-and-click games were one of the first genres of video games, and the genre is still popular today due to its accessibility. However, It’s good to remember that while Point-and-click games are accessible and seem simple because of this, they are not. While they clearly take less time and effort (generally) to develop than games like GTA-5, it is by no means easy to create. Each part of the game needs to be thought about, From Dialogue, to the backgrounds, to the movement that needs to be programmed. Overall, I feel like there is a reason this genre continues to be made to this day. Stories can be told without life-like graphics, or so many controls. A game only needs an interaction button to move it’s story forward.

Week 3- 22rd January 2024​​​​​​​

Paper prototyping & QA testing narrative

This week, I finished the flowchart that I was using to plan my game.

I Also blocked the rooms out, So I could reuse assets. Then, on A6 paper, I drew out the environment. After this, I tested my game using the environments I drew. I got some feedback:

Make the background clearer, Make the obstacles clearer, and make it clear where you're meant to go. 

I also got some positive feedback: 

The different endings are good, and the overall idea of where I set my game was unique.

After this, I feel my main objective should be to make sure it's extremely clear where to go next. My solution is to add buttons, and create backgrounds which clearly indicate where you're meant to go.

Environment art

 This week, We created backgrounds for our game, inspired by Limbo. First, We had to edit an image that we took, to get it in the style of Limbo. This meant we had to make the foreground darker, the middle ground grey and the background lighter. When creating our background, we had to create lots of layers, which enabled us to add more detail to the background. We also looked at the shading of Limbo. There wasn’t shading on the foreground, but on the background and middle ground there are various tones of grey that were used. The lighting wasn’t too complex, as while it needed to stay continuous, it was always in the back if it was natural lighting. Fog was also an important aspect, as it is in every background of the game. When play testing, we noted that the boy in limbo was very small compared to the obstacles in the game. This meant we had  to make the background large. We also worked on our GameMaker game. We learnt to make a counter for the items we put in the game, as well as a timer. 

I feel one of the hardest things for me to do was making the background the lightest thing, as well as making the middleground foggy/ not too obvious. Although, I feel like I did well with making the foreground have a ‘cutout’ look. 

At this stage, I feel like I had a good idea on what I was supposed to do, but I hadn’t worked out exactly how to execute my ideas. The background was too sharp, and the grey tones needed to be closer in colour.

By this point, I feel like I did well for creating my very first background in Limbo’s style. While it was hard to create a lighter background because it was unnatural lighting, I feel I did this well. I used a soft eraser brush to make sure the background had less hard shapes.

I then realised I had to change the background to make it more ‘Limbo’-like. I used 2 layers. I filled them both with the same grey colour. I made one of them an exclusion layer at 90%, and I made the other a hard light layer at 100%. I feel like this helped a lot, as my background was much too clear previously.

GameMaker

This week, we made progress with our GameMaker test game. I worked on creating keys, which unlocked the next level. I also created a secret item, that If you got a key, you could unlock a chest and get a gem. I think this was helpful for the secret level, as in my game, you would need an item to get to it. I also created a basic enemy. You had to click them 4 times in 5 seconds to not die.

This week, I continued to work on my environment art. I continued to use the same techniques I used above. I feel I improved in creating Limbo style backgrounds the more I created. However, I feel like the backgrounds that were created for the outside and not the tower, were much better than the ones in the tower. I think this is because Limbo had more backgrounds outside than inside. 

I feel like this background was one of the best ones. There is a clear direction as to where the light is, and there is fog similar to limbo. If I were to recreate this background, I’d add more middleground and add more trees. 

I think my backgrounds that are more industrinal are much worse. I think these backgrounds need more extreme tones, and need a clear idea of where the light is coming from. This could help imply where you would need to go to progress.

I mostly worked on my backgrounds this week, but I also did a small bit of gamemaker. I added up and down arrows, and imported some of my backgrounds into the program. I made it so you start in the Boy’s room, and when you press the right arrow, you go into the hallway. 

This week I continued to work mostly on my backgrounds. Last week I focused mostly on non-tower backgrounds. This week, I worked on the backgrounds for the tower, and the objects that I needed to add into the tower. I think these backgrounds worked well as they were all quite similar, which enabled me to finish creating them faster.

While I think these tower levels could look more unique and better, It works for the effect I’m going for, and creating a new, unique level for each level will take too much time.

However, I think the unique sections of the tower look much better than the inside of it, creating a break in the similar levels.

With game maker, this week I connected the paths to each other, so you can press the arrows to go all the way to the tower and back. I also added the tower rooms into game maker. 

This week, I finished off all my backgrounds, creating the 2 endings as well.  

I also decided to cut down on the amount of stuff I had planned that you could do in my game, as there wasn’t enough time to add everything. I also finished creating the backgrounds for the endings.

I feel that the forest ending background was one of my best backgrounds in my game. While there isn’t a lot going on within the background, I think I got the hang of a limbo style by this point, and effectively created this background.

This week I decided I needed to indicate the danger more. I created an exclamation mark, and added it to where the turrets were. I also coded the game so when you pressed the C button on your keyboard, and were in the right position, the turret would deactivate. 

This week I finished coding when the death screen would activate, all the C button presses, and you can get to all the rooms. The final thing I needed to do was to create a key to get into the final room, which I did. I had trouble figuring out how to destroy the key after it got clicked. However, I looked past this for the moment and continued coding the ending. I also added audio. I got the audio from jsfxr, and put it into my game, for a death screen and when you pressed the button. 

In this project, We were tasked with creating a point and click game in the style of Limbo. This project helped me learn how to create backgrounds in the style of Limbo, code in gamemaker 2, rotoscope and research how to create a good game.

The game needed to be a point and click game, so there was some limitation with what type of game we could make. We had to also create the backgrounds in the style of limbo. This meant we had to have a black foreground, grey middleground, and a lighter background. Following the Limbo style, The foreground was also meant to have a “Cutout” look to it. I chose to create a prequel to Limbo, as I thought it’d be interesting, and would explain the artstyle of the game a little more.

I think my decision to have my game as implied to be a prequel of Limbo helps my game. Many people feel like Limbo lacked a story, and without adding any text, I explained a backstory that could’ve happened in my game. However, If people didn't play Limbo in its entirety, they have no context. 

I feel that overall, my work went quite well. However, there were some areas for improvement that I needed to work on. When QA testing, many people gave me the response that the game needed ‘A clear indication of where you [needed] to go’, and many of the people who QA tested commented that background music would help the game a lot. Looking back on the project, I realised how vital these things were when creating a good point and click game. Before the QA testing, I felt the game was pretty good, but after I realised there were many things that needed to be improved. 

Overall, I found some visual elements, and indication quite challenging. While the arrows were very easy, I struggled with how to create a button, and clearly indicate how to interact with it. I ended up labelling the button with the letter C, and once you clicked that button on your keyboard, you could move on. However, the audio was quite simple. I used jsfxr to get the sound effects, and implemented them into my game quite smoothly. The most rewarding aspect of the project, in my opinion, was finally finishing the game. It was inspiring to have the game done and being able to play it through, and seeing other people play it was enjoyable. I feel like the interactive elements of the game were also quite challenging, as I had no experience with coding in gamemaker, and so I was unsure of how hard creating seemingly simple mechanics could be.

When coding for the game, I understood how to do it quite well, so coding what I already knew how to do wasn’t a problem, and was completed quickly. I struggled slightly with creating so many backgrounds in a relatively short time, however I quickly got the hang of it, creating many backgrounds in Limbo’s style. I think one of the main things I need to improve on is my indication. In many of my backgrounds, both the first and second QA tests told me that they were unsure of where to go. This is something I need to improve on.

I feel that my research was good. I think the quality of the research, and how much I did, explained what a good point and click game was, and explained how Limbo was created and developed. I think my planning could’ve been better.

I created a flowchart to get the idea of what I was going to do, but I made way too many different rooms and I had too many ideas. Next, I created images on small bits of paper so I could do the first QA test.

I got some useful feedback from the QA testing. Mostly, the feedback was that the unique way I took the environments was good, but it needed to be more clear. Looking back, I don't think I thought about the 1st QA testing enough. During the production, I think I spent much too long on the backgrounds, and too little time on coding.

The goal I set myself was to create a game that people would enjoy playing, and one that looked like it was the prequel of limbo. I think I got people to enjoy my game as people gave positive feedback in the second QA testing, such as; “I liked the sense of depth, the colours made the backgrounds seem foggy and distant which added to the atmosphere” and “The game introduced the mechanics for avoiding obstacles well, I also liked the implementation of different endings giving the player more agency”. However, I do not think people viewed my game as a prequel to Limbo. I think that is because the plot is extremely similar to the original Limbo, and my game doesn’t have anything to imply that that is what happened in the past of Limbo. Overall, I think I met one of my goals successfully, but the other one I didn’t.

One of my best strengths is that “the movement controls were easy to understand” . This helped the players overcome the obstacles in my game, and so it made the game easy to understand. My backgrounds also seemed to work well –“the sense of depth, the colours made the backgrounds seem foggy and distant which added to the atmosphere”.  The backgrounds also were “accurate to limbo”,. However, I got a lot of feedback that “It was [hard] to tell where I was supposed to go to progress.”.  My Audio wasn’t as good as the visual and interactive side of the project as it was very sparse, but a QA tester gave the feedback that it was “ very sparse, while having it be generally quiet fit the atmosphere” However, they then went on to say  having some kind of background ambience could’ve helped the game feel more polished”. I feel like one of the worst weaknesses of my game was that there was no background ambience.

One of the skills I learnt about most throughout this project is how to create a good background. Especially in greyscale. I used an array of techniques, using layer effects like hard light. While my backgrounds could be better, I think they are fine for my level of understanding. Through this project, I learnt how to do basic code on gamemaker, which is a good achievement. Using gamemaker, I can now code a small game. Another skill I developed was audio. I had to use the correct sounding audio for a laser, as well as the death screen. I got the audios from jsfxr. 

These skills will be important in creative and professional development. In creative visual aspects, being able to create backgrounds is a skill that can be used across many different personal and professional projects. Being able to create backgrounds for games, animations, or illustrations creates a huge opening for me both creatively and professionally. Being able to create audio sound effects also gives me more options than before. Interactive skills is also in the same area, as I can now code something that is interactable, and so this could develop into even larger projects.

What knowledge and understanding of your specialism have you developed?

I have developed a further understanding of animation, as we learnt how to do greenscreen and rotoscoping. I learnt how to use adobe after effects, and how to remove a greenscreen.

I’d like to explore coding in gamemaker more. While this is the first project I have ever done on gamemaker, I found the process to create the game very rewarding. I think after having done this project, I have a solid foundation on what I would need to do for the extended project, and so can prepare for the extended project better than this one.

I need to develop more knowledge on mostly my audio skills, as well as indication within my backgrounds, and animation. While I did have audio as well as in my game, There wasn’t a lot of it. Knowing I’m going to do a gamemaker project for my extended project, I’d need to develop these skills.

I need to be able to create a background ambiance, as well as more sound effects to make my game feel more complete.

I will use beepbox for the background noise, and use more sound effects from jsfxr, and use audacity to edit the sounds. 

Itch.io:

Jensen, A. and Patti , D. (2006) Playdead Website, Playdead. Available at: https://playdead.com/games/limbo/ (Accessed: 22 January 2024). 

(2019). Video Game Story Time. 18 January. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80JoO2pmpK0 (Accessed: 22 January 2024). 

Thomsen, M. (2010) How Limbo Came To Life, IGN. Available at: https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/09/14/how-limbo-came-to-life (Accessed: 22 January 2024).