CrypticzXI

The following page is following the specifications of the UAL Unit 8 FMP Brief.

College - Unit 8 / Final Major Project 

Embarking on this project in concept art and interactive media is an exciting opportunity for me to delve deeper into my artistic abilities. College provides an ideal platform for experimentation and growth, and this project marks a significant milestone in my artistic journey.

The focus of my project lies in concept art, a vital aspect of the creative process in various forms of media, such as video games, movies, and animation. Concept art serves as the visual foundation for bringing imaginative ideas to life, enabling artists to communicate their visions effectively. For my project, I have chosen to explore the fascinating realm of weapons, seeking to imbue them with personality, flaws, and a compelling backstory.

By opting for a low-poly stylized design, I have aligned my creative expression with my personal artistic preferences. This artistic style, characterized by simplified geometry and distinct shapes, offers a unique visual appeal that resonates with me. It allows me to craft weapons that possess a certain charm while incorporating intentional imperfections that add to their overall narrative. Through this approach, I aim to evoke emotions, capture the imagination, and engage viewers in the stories that these weapons hold.

To enhance my skills in concept art, I will be immersing myself in both traditional and digital drawing techniques. Traditional drawing offers a hands-on experience, providing a solid foundation in fundamental art principles, such as composition, form, and shading. On the other hand, digital drawing tools equip me with the flexibility to experiment, iterate, and refine my concepts with greater ease. This combination of traditional and digital methods allows me to explore different artistic approaches and expand my creative repertoire.

As I progress on this journey of self-improvement and artistic exploration, I plan to document my growth and showcase my evolving skills through a concept art blog. This blog will serve as a visual diary, chronicling my creative process, sharing my artwork, and providing insights into the stories and inspirations behind my weapon designs. It will also serve as a platform to engage with fellow artists, receive feedback, and foster a sense of community within the concept art realm.

In essence, this project represents an exciting opportunity for me to push the boundaries of my artistic abilities, delve into the captivating world of concept art, and express my creativity through the enchanting medium of low-poly stylized weapon designs.

College - Unit 6 & 7 UAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8QopiqWEr0

I was assigned a task for my college course that involved completing important units. One of the requirements was to analyze a video game by creating a script and capturing footage from YouTube. Utilizing my pre-existing skills and acquiring new ones, I produced a high-quality video and established an efficient workflow that adhered to the guidelines provided in the assignment.

Drawing upon the skills I had previously acquired and actively learning new ones, I embarked on creating a professional video and establishing a streamlined workflow that aligned with the assignment's specifications. Throughout the process, I honed my abilities in video editing, scriptwriting, content creation, and research, ensuring a comprehensive analysis of the chosen video game.

 “Hello everyone, today we will be talking about Grand Theft Auto 5, a very popular and very politically incorrect video game, today we will be talking about the uprise and downfall of grand theft auto 5.”

[VIDEO: Starts with some gameplay of GTA 5]

 “Grand Theft Auto 5 is a video game created and published by Rockstar Games back in 2013, Grand Theft Auto 5 otherwise known as GTA is set in a fictional city of Los Santos based on Los Angeles, California. There are two current modes in GTA, Story & Online. We will be focusing on Online Mode in this video.”

[Pop up GTA logo and Rockstar Games logo]

 “Online Mode allows players to create their very own characters and participate in a variety of challenges and obstacles along their journey allowing players to get involved with criminal activity online virtually.“

[Play Video of a character being created]

 “The main aim of the game is to earn as much money as possible via illegal activities and cause havoc amongst other online players.”

[Text: How Grand Theft Auto 5 Got Popular]

 “The compelling story mode in GTA 5 and the open-world multiplayer that lets you play with your pals while engaging in illicit activity both contributed to the game's success. The sandbox element of GTA, where you could employ various vehicles and weapons to enhance your experience, contributed to the game's popularity as well.”

[Text: Level Design and Client Optimisations]

 “Rockstar Games took many options to enhance the playability of GTA 5, For most of their assets they used a LOD system which stands for Level Of Detail. As well as using Streaming Technology to render the current part of the world you are currently using. Just like every game, Rockstar took their time to optimize client and network code before publishing the game.”

 “Rockstar Games has produced one of the most expensive games to this day, Grand Theft Auto 5, Costing an unholy 265 million dollars to develop, This includes Developer's Salaries, Software costs and Marketing. But Luckily for Rockstar, the game took off, With 130,000 players concurrently GTA has made an estimated 6 billion dollars in profit.

Overall, GTA 5's high costs were more than justified by its massive success, making it one of the most profitable and successful video games of all time.”

 “There have been several controversies surrounding GTA 5 since its release. Players have stated that violence is an issue because of its graphic depictions of violence, including the fact players could kill innocent bystanders.

Another contentious issue is sex and nudity, which has led to calls for the game to be banned or severely censored in various nations, Particularly the way women are portrayed in a mission where the player has sex with a prostitute has drawn criticism.

Usage of drugs Several critics have claimed that the game's depictions of drug usage, which allow players to both consume and sell drugs, could encourage drug use and glamorize the drug trade.

GTA 5's online multiplayer mode has also generated controversy due to some players' inappropriate actions and obscene language.”

 “Some players utilize mods to give themselves an unfair edge in the game, such as making oneself invincible or having endless resources available to them. This could ruin the game for other players and reduce everyone's enjoyment of it.

This isn't even the scariest part; Certain mods have the ability to compromise the security of the game and the data of other users by breaking into the game's code.

While invincibility is annoying and unfair, Certain mods have the potential to introduce bugs into the game, leading to freezes, crashes, or other problems that could render the game unplayable.

The online multiplayer feature of GTA 5's modding community has generated a lot of controversies since some users use the mods to annoy or harm other players. More policing of the game's regulations and moderation have been demanded due to this.

Rockstar Games has taken a number of actions to address these problems, such as altering the game's code to exclude specific types of mods and banning users who are caught hacking or cheating. Some gamers contend that these controls are insufficient and that the game's modding community needs to be more strictly supervised and regulated. The modding scene for GTA 5 continues to be divisive, with proponents and opponents expressing their views.”

College Project - Video Game Analysis | Grand Theft Auto 5

In a study involving 2,000 youngsters, it was shown that those who said they played video games for three hours or more each day outperformed youngsters who had never played video games on cognitive skills tests including impulse control, working memory and more.

Researchers discovered that kids who admitted to playing video games for three or more hours noticed that the variations in brain activity between the two groups matched the disparities in cognitive function. Children who played video games for three or more hours per day had increased brain activity in areas of the brain linked to attention and memory than children who never played, according to functional MRI brain imaging studies. Additionally, children who played video games for at least three hours per day had increased activity in the visual regions of the brain and increased activity in the frontal brain areas linked to higher-order cognitive activities.

The researchers also emphasize that cause-and-effect studies are not possible in this cross-sectional study and that kids who excel at these kinds of cognitive activities may choose to play video games. The researchers stress that their findings do not support the idea that kids should have unrestricted access to TVs, computers, or mobile devices, and that results are highly dependent on the activities that kids choose to perform. For instance, they guess that various video game genres, such as action-adventure, puzzle-solving, sports, or shooting games, may have varied impacts on neurocognitive development; however, the study did not analyze this degree of precision about the type of video game played.

(National Institutes of Health, Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children 2022)

In the August 2016 edition of Psychological Science, Li Li, Rongrong Chen, and Jing Chen investigated whether playing video games improves visuomotor control, or what is commonly referred to as hand-eye coordination.

In one study, the researchers compared young individuals who played action video games for at least five hours a week for at least six months versus those who played for less than an hour each month. These games included driving simulators and first-person shooters. They put them to the test by having participants maintain a car in a straight line during a driving simulation. The crosswind was blowing the automobile in an erratic direction.

Overall, action video game players outperformed non-players at this lane-following challenge. Keeping the automobile in its lane was easier for game participants than it was for non-players. They also responded to crosswinds more swiftly and precisely.

These findings show that there is plenty that people may do to enhance their hand-eye coordination more broadly. Coordination-intensive activities can significantly improve a person's performance. Given how many people spend a lot of time in front of screens watching television, movies, and browsing the internet, these findings are very intriguing. According to this research, individuals might benefit from participating in more coordinated activity-requiring activities. Even playing action video games will probably be more advantageous than just staring at a screen.

(Markman Ph.D., Video game play benefits coordination 2016)

A survey consisting of 42,000 children between the ages of 8 and 18 was conducted. In-game communications are, according to one poll, the second most popular on-screen reading activity for this age range, right behind personal/direct messaging. (e.g. via text, WhatsApp, Discord or Instagram).

87.5% of children and young people say they read in-game messages, while 92.4% read personal/ direct messages

84.2% of children and young people say they write text or messages while playing video games

More boys and older children say they read and write in-game communication, compared with girls, those who self-describe their gender differently as other than boy or girl and younger age groups

3 in 5 (58.4%) children and young people said they had talked to or messaged friends more while playing video games in early 2021.

According to comments made by young people and adolescents, talking to others while playing video games helps support and strengthen friendships. In addition, comments indicated that while playing video games is a significant component of young people’s free time and social life, it is not a substitute for other hobbies like reading, writing, physical activity, and socializing.

(Literacy Trust, Children and young people's video game playing and literacy in 2021 2021)

Improved Historical and Cultural Knowledge: 

The themes of some video games, including "Age of Empires," "Civilization," and "Mythology," are based on historical events that occurred. The interest in geography, the history of the world, ancient culture, and international relations can be simulated by playing these games. To encourage learning, parents can link these activities to publications, exhibits, and media about geography and culture

(THE GOOD AND THE BAD EFFECTS OF VIDEO GAMES ON CHILDREN - Institute for Educational Advancement. 2022)

When playing games in groups, kids alternate between leading and following. Teens who participate in online group gaming believe they develop their leadership abilities by motivating, influencing, and meditating. Online games also expose children to other children of different ages and nationalities as they play together in mixed age groups.

Children who play video games are more likely to make friends because they supply a chance for social interaction. Your kids can use their shared interest in video games to set up friendships with others. Peer groups can be proven by kids offline and online. Boys commonly talk with their peers about video games, according to research. Playing video games with friends continues until adolescence.

According to studies, people who see simulated violence, such as that found in video games, may develop an immunity to it and become more likely to engage in violent behaviour themselves. Aggressive conduct and the use of violent video games have been linked. There is not enough proof to connect violent video games with criminal activity. Certain video games' interactive features encourage repetition and rewards for the behaviours, which might worsen the negative impacts of game violence on young players.

Promote social isolation and antisocial behaviour: 

Children may get isolated if they play video games for too long. Other pursuits like reading, sports, homework, and socialising with family and friends can get less time from them. Being a loner is unusual among video gamers, though. Playing video games can improve a child's social life.

Discourage children to do well in school: 

According to studies, kids' academic performance suffers the more time they spend playing video games. According to a study, those who are addicted to video games do less academically and engage in more negative activities, like bickering and fighting with parents and teachers. Several students acknowledge that their video game-playing habits have an impact on their academic performance.

What should parents do? Parents must take part in the supervision of their children's video game usage. This entails being aware of the video games that their kids are playing and knowing when to step in and stop them. Take care to consider the impact of violent video games on your kids. To keep their children's game playing from developing into a bad habit, parents must also set limits for their kids. Never let your kids play video games for extended periods. The key is moderation and balance. Get involved in the world of video games with your child and take an active role in checking their gaming habits. Video games can be entertaining and informative, but parents need to understand that they can also have a positive or negative impact on their children's development.

National Institutes of Health, U.S.N.I.of H. (2022) Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: 

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/video-gaming-may-be-associated-better-cognitive-performance-children

Markman Ph.D., A. (2016) Video game play benefits coordination, Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers. Available at: 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ulterior-motives/201608/video-game-play-benefits-coordination

Literacy Trust, T.N. (2021) Children and young people's video game playing and literacy in 2021, National Literacy Trust. National Literacy Trust. Available at: 

https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/children-and-young-peoples-video-game-playing-and-literacy-in-2021/

THE GOOD AND THE BAD EFFECTS OF VIDEO GAMES ON CHILDREN - Institute for Educational Advancement. 2022. Available at: 

https://educationaladvancement.org/blog-the-good-and-the-bad-effects-of-video-games-on-children/

College - Unit 8 / Final Major Project

College - Unit 6 & 7 UAL

College Project - Video Game Analysis | Grand Theft Auto 5

College Project - Impact of Video Games on Youth