Game Graphics Design Assessment

You have started work as a designer for “Adventurer” – a leading games development and publication company.

Adventurer was founded in 2010 and produces a consumer specialist magazine, which is referenced by other development studios as well. The magazine features information on a wide variety of computer/video games genres: it has dedicated sections for the history of computer games, retro gaming, market news, and recruitment as well as games platforms.

In your role as a designer you have been given the task to carry out these key jobs.

You have been asked to suggest hardware and software that the design department needs to use to create and edit computer graphics for marketing and advertising purposes.

Additionally you have been asked to design a full-colour A4 double-sided leaflet to promote the new computer game called “Obliterate”, which is a 15 certificate game that Adventurer is looking to market. Various items including a digital image and a new logo for Adventurer will be included within the booklet. The logo should reflect the business of “Adventurer”: fun and entertaining. The game is of the platform genre and therefore requires eye-catching state of the art graphics suitable for a 15 certificate game-playing audience. The budget for this project is £5000. This can be increased depending on how well the game sells through the promotion of the leaflet. This is a highly professional document and requires being fully proof-read before sending to the professional printers.

The images and graphics must be supplied to the printer in any of the file formats for the following programs: Corel Draw, Publisher, Illustrator, Visio/Serif Drawplus, Paintshop Pro, GIMP, Paint, PhotoShop, Photoshop Elements, Serif Photo Plus.

You must consider the size of the files and how you will supply them to the professional printers. You must consider file management techniques to enable the reprographics personnel to access your files. Also you need to consider the consequences of compression on the quality of any of the files.

P1 Identify the hardware and software required to work with computer graphics.

Create a table identifying hardware needed to create and edit computer graphics.

State why the items of hardware you have chosen are needed.

Task 1A   Hardware.

1. You should identify a range of (at least three)hardware of your own choice and/or from the suggested list below:

• Monitor
• Printer
• Graphics card
• Digital camera
• Scanner

• Processor
• Memory

• CD ROM
• Hard drive

Task 1B     Software:  Add to the table identifying the software needed to create and edit computer graphics.

1. You need to identify a range (at least three) of Vector software or Bitmap software either of your own choice and/or from the suggested list below:   

• Vector graphics software: Corel Draw/Publisher/Illustrator/Visio/Serif Drawplus
• Bitmap (or raster graphics) software: PaintShop Pro/GIMP/Paint/Photoshop/Photoshop Elements/Serif Photo Plus

Task 2

P2 – State the functions of a defined graphics software package. 

State what the functions are of your chosen graphics software by stating what the function does and how it may be used when creating a graphic.

Create a Table to include a column for screen prints.   Choose your own graphics software and/or from the list below:

Graphics software: Publisher/Paint/Photoshop/Xara

Examples of standard software functions are:

1. Freehand draw
2. Rotate/flip
3. Resize
4. Crop
5. Group/ungroup
6. Layout grids
7. Special effects such as sharpen, soften, or posterise
8. Templates (as used in) presentations, web pages, Word or Excel documents
9. Other:  colour manipulation or shapes
10. Colour depth:  8-bit=256 colours, 16-bit – 64,000 colours

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Task 3

M1 Compare graphics software used for creating and editing graphics.

Compare the features (tools and techniques), cost, strengths and weaknesses of at least three different graphics software packages that you have used for creating and editing your graphics. Create a table in Word.

Task 4

P3 – Describe the differences between raster (bitmap) and vector graphics.

Write a brief report in Word to show your understanding of the main differences between vector and bitmap graphics.  You will need to illustrate your work with examples of your own bitmap and vector images.

You must describe the type of image, the file size and differences in scaling.

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Task 5A

P4 – Use specialist hardware to acquire images for a defined purpose.

1. You need to take one digital image relating to the theme “fun and entertaining”.  The image will be included in a leaflet for the launch of a new game (in the later task P6).  You should read the scenario at the top of this assignment and consider how your digital photograph will fit in with the purpose of the leaflet for P6. For example what is the purpose of the leaflet, the house style, the colours and the size of the image.
2. Provide evidence (screen print and annotations) of how you uploaded your digital photograph image to your PC.  Use a Word document to do this.

Task 5B

P4 – Use specialist hardware to acquire images for a defined purpose.

3. You need to scan a picture from a book or magazine using a scanner.  The image will be included in a leaflet for the launch of the new game (in the later task P6).
4. Provide evidence (screen print and annotations) of how you scanned your digital picture to your PC.
5. State the name of the scanner you used and give relevant information about the scanner.

Task 6

P5 – Create an original graphic for a defined user need using graphics software.

You need to design and create a logo for “Adventurer”. You should use suitable vector software to do this.

Base the design for the logo on the character or sprite you created in Unit 22. Remember the theme is “fun and entertaining”.

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Task 7

P6 – Use graphics to enhance a document incorporating acquired images and objects.

Produce a double-sided leaflet using a template in Publisher, which will advertise the new “Adventurer” game.  This leaflet is to showcase your graphics and drawings created for this unit.

You should provide before and after screenshots as evidence of any additional techniques you use such as:

• Resizing and positioning
• Cropping and text wrapping

Others items you may include in your leaflet may include:

• Your “Adventurer” logo;
• The scanned bitmap image you did for P4;
• The digital bitmap photograph you did for P4;
• Any relevant clipart;
• Identifying the games platform;
• Stating the minimum age of player details;
• Suitable text and shapes
• Any other details you would like to include.

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Task 8

M2 – Use at least three advanced techniques to combine multiple images to enhance your original graphic to a near-professional standard.

Examples of advanced techniques are:

• layers
• filters
• masks
• juxtaposition/superimposition of images and text
• multiple images
• changing colour balance/contrast

Evidence and describe the advanced techniques you have used by stating which software package has been used as well as screenshots with annotations of the techniques carried out.

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Task 9

M3 – Identify legal implications associated with the use of images

Laws and Guidelines

Part A

1. Type up a report detailing the relevant legal issues and guidelines you had to abide by when using the graphics for your brochure.   You must include:

• Copyright issues  – e.g. Copyright, Design and Patents Act (1998)
• Permissions (e.g. photography of children, buildings, businesses)
• Acknowledgements

Part B

2. Within a table, you must record the copyright of any sourced images used within your graphics.

3. You must also consider who owns the rights to the graphics/images that you have created: is it yourself or your client?

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Task 10

D1 – evaluate the tools and techniques used to enhance your original graphic.

Produce a report, which evaluates the graphics software package on its ability in allowing you to create one of your original graphics (for example your logo or a combined multiple image).

Using technical terms evidence discuss how the following met the requirements within the scenario brief:

1. Why you used the programs in the creation of the graphic and were there any constraints?
2. Describe at least 3 advanced techniques you used for one of your graphics.
3. Additionally you must discuss what affect the techniques had on the graphic to enable the graphic to be appropriate for inclusion in the leaflet created in Task 7. How did the graphic meet the requirements in the scenario brief?

Remember your logo/combined multiple images should be fit for purpose and be of a near professional standard in order for you to produce a report to meet D1.

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Task 11

D2 – Present the enhanced document obtaining feedback.

Present your created, sourced and edited images and graphics, along with the final enhanced document to at least 3 members of the target audience stated in the scenario brief.

• Use feedback sheets, questionnaires or interviews to gather the user’s opinions.
• The audience completing the feedback sheets should be told what they are reviewing and what the images are intended to do.
• The target audience should identify possible improvements.
• The images and document can be presented either as image files or showcased in a presentation or web page.

Evidence for this criterion is completed feedback sheets and the final images.