Unit 4 - Production Management project Unit 5 - Working to a brief in media.

Designing The Killer Klown Game.

Link to Gameplay video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9Ug7PNcL7Q

Playlist of videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVDbH3ZMTWuN-epvDNgKfI_aJe6hTlymS

Our storyline has changed many times as we were not completely sure what was the best option. The first idea was that "Mike" the character from the movie was sleeping and dreaming about the Klowns. Our second idea was similar to the first but instead we said he was crazy and an alcoholic which made him see people as Klowns. Our last idea which we kept with was that Mike was kidnapped and placed into a candyfloss cocoon which they slowly harvested him. After some time the clowns interrupted the process expecting Mike to be a complete clown, however he wasn't. Half human, half clown, he searches to find the Killer Klowns spaceship to end it once and for all.

My first thought when designing my concept art was that I would design 3 clowns, each one being entirely different with looks and talents. In the tutorial level before entering the next level you can see the wanted posters which are my clown concept art. I also planned to make the environment the last level however, we changed this and made it the second level (not including the tutorial).
My thoughts when designing my other environment (Tutorial) was to make it simple and to make it easy for the player navigate. I though adding simple text on the players HUD would work.
My thoughts on the characters was to have a female. I was aware many people were doing male clowns so I thought it would be unique. After designing the clown I thought it would be better if the character was just overseeing the environment rather than actually having any function. The main reason this changed was because of her complex design.

Our game relates a little to the Killer Klowns movie, with the odd object such as "candyfloss cocoons, footprints etc" The story also relates to the story as we have kept the character mike. I designed the objects to relate to the movie, without actually changing our game dramatically. I thought adding these objects will make any previous Killer Klown fans excited to see some relation to the movie.
Our game wanted to be loosely based around clowns, so we designed environments such as; castles and temples, and gave them the story that they have been overrun by clowns because it's a good environment for them to plan and takeover the city.
We knew that our game would contain clowns and objects such as balloons and circus tents. But before adding those assets we used pre-made objects to get an idea on how the levels layout and design would look.
The brief allowed us to be flexible with our ideas and so we designed these "ancient buildings and areas". As we wanted to make it seem that the clowns have overrun the area we wanted the assets to look like they have been placed by clowns rather than them being connected to the environment.
As the brief isn't very detailed it allowed us to meet the briefs requirements while designing what we wanted.

Firstly, I designed a environment that was based in the woods which is a ancient castle. With mountains and the trees to give the level depth and the feeling on abandonment. I then designed the second environment which is the tutorial level, this was originally just an environment I was testing out which I suddenly decided will become a level before the village. After the design of my second level I went back to the first level and added lighting and clown assets. I also added in my concept art and clown. Furthermore I went back to the second environment and added in lighting and snow assets.
I also designed a scene which the player watches before playing, this was to give the player an overview on what the games environment would look like, we then decided to put this as a trailer for our game, which we then decided not to do and so I have disconnected the blueprint, so it cannot activate. The main reason for not showing this scene was it contained spoilers for the player while also the video being very long.
After the two levels were close to finishing I started editing and fixing the other two levels (My groups levels), adding assets, adding boundaries, fixing bugs etc.
I then went back to my tutorial level and added in the document blueprint and then added in clowns.
The other environment I had to add some ruins to stop the player from accessing parts of the castle before they should, I also removed the scene at the beginning as it was too long. Then I added in the clowns and health packs that the level needed. The object doesn't actually have an objective except escape. I did this for the other two levels and finished.
I then designed the main menu. The main menu was design using "Photoshop" This was then given to (Josh) to blueprint.
In addition to this the story that is connected to the main menu was designed by me. Our plot of our game was very confusing and didn't really have a good explanation. So I thought of the story and went from there.
I chose the main menu design as I liked the idea of red that represents blood and the face of a clown/statue which our game has a lot of.
The ending was also designed by which I simply changed the main menu and replaced it with our names.

My idea for the first environment was to create a castle that had a large outside environment and a up and down level for the castle. I wanted my clown to be placed on a tower that could overlook the entire environment. I wanted the castle to have some sort of horror feeling, so I designed a nice environment with light to give the environment a opposite feeling of horror. In the basement I added in the candyfloss cocoons and skeletons to add a dramatic affect. I wanted to give the environments more relation to the clowns by adding in some similar designs from the movie. When designing the basement I had in mind of a long, dim lighted corridor with jumpscares and clowns, adding in rooms to the left gave the corridor more depth and more of a horror vibe.
I wanted it to be possible for the player to see outside the castle, so I designed a gate that you could see past this gave me the chance to add more objects that could relate to the movie or brief in someway. My favourite feature of this environment was the view at the beginning and the basement. I think that the tower and the lighting of a dim orange gave the environment life.
One problem that I came across was textures which didn't load after adding in some assets, this was quickly solved after correctly importing the objects. Another problem was sorting out boundaries and where the player can and cannot pass. Some object boundaries had much larger boundaries than they should have.

The second environment that I designed was an extra feature which I felt was a good idea in order to give a tutorial. I felt that the game would be more understandable and easier to play knowing the controls and plot of the game. This also gave me the chance to make the first level (village) make more sense as the environment is based in snow. The environment was an experiment and wasn't actually going to be placed into our game until I designed documents that added information to the player.
When designing the level I wanted it to seem peaceful and to be the total opposite of what the game should be like further on. The best feature in this level is that the documents allow the player to understand the game, which the the level was supposed to do.
A bug that I encountered was the snow texture wasn't showing in some locations in the map. I fixed the bug by fixing/building the light then assigning the texture to an alternative root of the blueprint. Another bug that I encountered was the text being stuck to the player if they collide with the player at the same time or if the clown runs through the document. This was solved by changing the collision command and assign it only to the player.

My favourite parts of the game are:
Tutorial - The Documents (Explains, Guides and gives Tips)
I like this part of the game as it helps the player understand how to play the game and what to look for in the environment. Its also good as it makes the first level make sense.

The Village - The Text (Relates to the story)
I like how the player can feel as if they are talking to people in the game. I also like how it can stop the player and let them read which gets them more invested in the storyline.

Temple/Castle - The View (At spawn)
I like how the tower oversees everything and that the castle is intimidating. I like how you can see the spaceship straight away when loading into the level. I also find the dim lighting and the natural light very nice.

Castle -  The Ending (The boss)
I really like how we have an actual objective which you cannot bypass. I like how the boss is the spaceship rather than an actual clown, and I find that it spawning clowns is much more interesting and makes the combat better.
Dungeon (Bonus Room)
I like this room as it contains a special clown which requires 4 hits rather than two, its also much larger than a normal clown. The reason I like the room as theirs a reason for people to go down there as theirs a sword which does double the damage to the clowns meaning (1 hit kill). This is before reaching the top of the castle where you fight the clowns and boss.

If I was able to improve the game I would fix things such as the running and the clowns animation. I would also like to add objectives such as "find 3 items". I think the game would benefit with different clown types and more clown assets. If the clowns were able to shoot or hit with animation I think the game would improve a great amount. Sounds would be a great add in the game as sounds usually make environments have life and atmosphere which you try to create. I Would of liked to add a clown boss similar to the clown in the movie "Killer Klowns". I think adding these would make our game much better.
My most wanted function was to add a boss in each level that had different attacks and different abilities. I think this would have made our game unique, fun and have something that the player could say they enjoyed doing.

Overall I think the game we've created has accomplished what we wanted, which was ancient environments with clown assets. The games environments I think are very unique and are very different to each other, I like how two of or environments are based in snow and the other two are based in the woods. The games blueprints were better than I expected for us to have and I think we managed to get a lot of our ideas into the game and that the game is unique in some ways. The game has managed to make the game easy for players that don't know how to play and to make people aware on the games plot. I think the combat is decent and the overall function of the clowns are nice. I also like how we managed to get a boss in the game that spawns in clowns. The objectives of the games could be better but I do like the boss at the end. We wanted all the objects that related to the movie to either be concept art or bonus objects, as our main idea was to keep away from the movie. Due to us not creating a player model we decided to add a texture to the model and add in the storyline that mike is half human, half clown which explains the way he looks. Overall, I think we have managed to create a game that has decent gameplay and design that relates to the brief in someway.

Animation

The Killer Klowns Animation

My animation is 1 minute 33 seconds long and contains all animation listed.

1. ball rolls

2. clown shuts door

3. clown moves suddenly (gets closer to camera)

4. statue holding ball drops

5. clown is seen behind a door then goes

6. door bangs

7. light flashes

8. hand moves

9. clown legs move

10. head turns 

11. wardrobe opens

12. camera moves to end which a clown jump scares

(Light flicker continuously).
13 Sounds: Insidious soundtrack - edited.

The first animation is a ball rolling, the animation is quick and short which is used to grab the viewers attention, furthermore I decided to place the ball rolling from that direction as it connects to another animation. The idea behind this was to make it seem that someone has kicked or pushed the ball in order for it to move, this makes the camera turn left to see whats going on. The animation uses staging to make the viewer aware that the camera will look left rather than right, it's also used to stop unnecessary details from being a focus.

(The camera slows down as it reaches the corner to build tension).

The corridor on the left has a door open with a visible hand holding it, it then suddenly shuts. This again is to build tension and to give a reason on why the ball moved. The animation uses anticipation with the hand as it makes the viewer aware that a further action will take place which in this case was the door shutting. The speed of the door is really quick as i'm trying to give the idea that something is strong, mad or even trying to stay hidden, which makes the scene more creepy in my opinion.

(Camera stays still as the animation starts, then looks right after animation finishes).


The next animation can be missed, as you need an eye for detail. The clown originally was placed at the very end of the first corridor, however after the camera looks left the clown is much closer to the centre of the corridor. I designed this as an extra animation as i'm aware most wont notice it, however for those that do will question if it's moved it makes the scene more creepy. The animation doesn't have any other actions after moving to the other location.

(This happens while the animation is turning right).



Just after the animation the ball that is connected to the stand drops and falls to the ground, this is staging as i want to make the viewer focus on the right side. The animation also uses 'slow in and slow out' technique. as the ball drop the speed of the ball increases, this makes the animation more realistic and gives the object more volume. I wanted to make a none moving object move to give the scene more life rather than predicted movement of doors and clowns.

(This happens while the animation is turning right).

When slowly turning in front of the door on the right corridor you manage to see a clown looking behind a door, which it then moves slowly back behind the door. Originally the clown did the opposite, however the animation made it look less scary and more fake. It also made the build up of tension go. The animation is similar to the 3rd animation as it was two frames. As it was a quick action I didn't want any more frames to be added.

(The camera slowly turns in front of the door, after clown hides the camera continues down the corridor).

After turning left from the open door, a door in front of you will animate to move a few times quickly this gives the affect that the door is banging. The animation is an extra function and is only used to give some sort of movement within and moment of time. As the lighting is not as powerful in that area it makes the animation more effective.

(The camera is turning left as the animation is activated).

The next animation is a clown clicking a flashlight. Originally is was a flashlight that was just flickering, however I wanted to give the animation a secondary action by adding in a clowns hand. This makes the animation more effective as two different objects are acting making it seem more realistic. I also stops the flow of one animation after another.

(The camera turns and stays still until the other animation finishes).

The next animation is the clowns legs and face moving. The legs before the animation is supposed to make the clown look like a doll and fake. After a few seconds in the room one leg drops in height and goes up and and down which is slow in and slow out as i want it to look like it could have been wind rather than making the object seem real. At the last mini second the clown looks at you. This can be missed, however I added it in anyway as another attention to detail.

(The camera slowly moves into the room and looks around) - (The sound track has increased in pitch to increase tension).

The animation uses the flashlight and the cameras movement as anticipation for the animation, which gets the viewer ready for some sort of scare. The wardrobe opens with the doors going left and one right. This makes it easier to see the clown and to make the animation easier. The light turns off after the clown is seen so the textures on the clown and the atmosphere better.

(Camera slowly moves up to the wardrobe) - (The flash light flashes to cause tension before opening the wardrobe).

The camera then quickly moves out of the room and takes an alternative path. All the lights are turned off except a long light that is along the original corridor, the light then turns off and on. The lights speed then gets quicker as you reach the exit. After a few seconds of staying still a jumpscare is seen. I decided you make my clown get close to the camera on the last second of the animation to give it that last touch.

(The cameras movement is quick, after reaching the long corridor the cameras speed slows down) - (The sound track connects with the lights and speed of the camera, in addition to this a bang is created when the jumpscare appears).

I decided to use the Insidious soundtrack as I wanted to give a dark and creepy affect to the scene. I edited the soundtrack to suit the speed of the animation (When light changes or animation like doors) and to also make the loud bang at the end to make the ending have more of an effect.

The scene is based in a deserted building that has some weird stuff inside. I wanted to give a dark and creepy feeling for the scene and so I designed the objects to give it that affect. (All objects are created by me). The scene is basically long corridors that have animation to scare you, it then leads you into a main room that has the most animation active. The person runs to the exit to then be stopped by a clown in its path.

Overall I think the animation uses a good amount of the basic principles of animation and uses a unique style of technique. The sounds and speed of the animation I think go well together and make the scene better. I think the overall animation is okay and that it has used a range of different techniques. The scene in my opinion does what it's meant to and grabs the creepy and scary vibe.