Animation, games and Interactivity - Studio 1 - Related Work Post week 12

Week 12

Related Work Post

As I am working on a walking simulator style game for folio 2, this week I researched about similar walking simulator games which are already existing in the market. Some of those works researched by me have been elaborated below:

I. LAYERS OF FEAR

1. Layers of fear is a series of horror games which was developed and published by Bloober Team in the year 2016. The initial release of the game was done on multiple platforms such as Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

2.  This game is important as it has a very new and different concept. The game play is through a series of puzzles in this walking simulator. The player becomes an artist in this game and the initial goal of the artist is to complete a painting and he has to search for clues to figure out how this painting has to be completed. He has to walk around and search for clues in the environment. The location changes constantly as the player moves around while searching for clues. The game has 6 chapters and each chapter has its own set of clues for the player to explore the game. The game has unique lighting and functions mostly in dim light. This game also has portions of narration attached to it. As the player collects each piece of the puzzle, there is a dialogue narration that follows each piece and tells the player the secret of each piece and a portion of the artist’s history through a piece of dialogue.

3.  This work makes a contribution to the field through its unique gameplay and the impact it has on the player. It works on the horror narrative concept which is rare and unique. It made a huge contribution to the field as it is an inspiration to new game makers in terms of the concept and gameplay. This game has been appreciated a lot by the public and has also won a lot of appreciation and high scores by game critics.

II. FIREWATCH

1. Fire watch is a video game developed and published by Campo Santo and Panic respectively in the year 2016. It was initially released in the year 2016 for Windows, Linux, OS X and PlayStation 4. It was also released later on in the year 2018 for Nintendo Switch.

2. This is a first person game which takes place in America in the year 1989. The story of the game is based on the incident of Yellowstone Fires that happened in the year 1988. The theme of the game is that one year after the fires, the player is supposed to find important clues which led to the fires. The main player plays the role of a character named Henry. Henry is supposed to explore a particular area in the Shoshone National Forest. He has to find clues about weird and mysterious happenings in the area. He has to keep patrolling in the area and find clues. He has to report the clues he finds to his supervisor Delilah.  It is the player’s choice whether they want to report the happenings or not to the supervisor and that ultimately impacts their relationship. Their relationship needs to be developed till the end of the gameplay.

3. The game makes a contribution to the field because of its unique concept, graphics, and because of the inspiration that it provides to the field. It has been adapted from a series of advertisements which makes it really unique and proves that how a game can be attained even through a series of advertisements. The game was appreciated by players and critics worldwide. It even sold over one million copied by the end of its first year.

III. THE UNFINISHED SWAN

1. This is a first person game developed and published by Giant Sparrow in the year 2012. The genre of this game is adventure. This game was initially released in the year 2012 for PlayStation 3 and was further released in the subsequent years for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation vita in the year 2014.

2. In the game there is a boy named Monroe who is supposed to chase and find a swan which has escaped a painting. In the process of chasing the swan, he also listens to the story of a lonely king. Monroe’s mother in the story of the game is said to be a painter who passed away without completing 300 paintings. While chasing the swan, Monroe enters a mysterious painting world and explores that world. He is also told the story of the lonely king as he enters the deserted world which was once ruled by a king.

3. This game has a unique concept and gameplay and thus makes a contribution to the field. This game has also received good reviews and has been appreciated by critics. It has also won 2 BAFTA awards for Game Innovation and Debut game in the year 2013.