Tuesday 27 September 2016

Killer Klowns from Outer Space Summary



Characters



The Protagionists


Debbie and Mike


     Dave Hanson (Police Officer)







Rich and Paul Terenzi



The Antagonists


The Clowns

Klownzilla






The Plot

Mysterious glowing object lands in an elderly man’s garden. He says “We’re going to be rich!” and “It’s our lucky day” – he thinks that he is going to get money because the object had landed in his backyard. He investigates his backyard and discovers a circus tent. Shortly after discovery, he  gets an electric shock from the circus tent . A clown appears and shoots him with a zapper gun. 

A couple, Mike and Debbie, also investigate the glowing object. They head towards the circus tent and go inside. Debbie says “This is bizarre…” . They shortly after come across a green door, press some red buttons, and then go in. Debbie thinks they’re in the shooting star that they had just saw. Clowns later appear out of nowhere and chase them. Clown picks up a balloon and transforms it into a balloon-shaped dog - so that they can find the teenagers who disappeared out of their sight. Debbie says to go to the police and report what they saw to Dace (her ex-boyfriend) who works in the police department. The policemen do not believe them and Curtis (the chief) mimics what they’re saying.

Later we are shown, a scene of a man – watching a puppet show. He laughs because one of the puppets had zapped the other, which made it disappear. Clown pops up from underneath the puppet show stand, and zaps the man - making him also disappear.

Dave takes the Debbie home, with Mike also in the car. Debbie goes in her house, whilst Mike gets back in the cop car to go and show Dave what they saw. They go to the area and see that there is no circus tent there. Dave arrests Mike for allegedly wasting police time.

The next scene shows a group of men tormenting one of the clowns on a bike. One of them mimics him asking if he can ride his bike. The Clown says no. He then asks if he can beep the horn on his bike. The Clown says yes.  The man unexpectedly crushes his bike, whilst the other people laugh. The clown literally decapitates the man’s head, after he asks if he’s going to ‘knock his block off.’

The scene after shows another clown attempting to lure a young girl towards him in a fast-food restaurant. Her mother doesn’t realise this, so when the girl gets up, she tells her that she isn’t going anywhere until she has finished her food. The clown growls at the girl through the window.

A Lady calls the Chief saying that there is a clown at her front door. He doesn’t believe this so then hangs up the phone. A store clerk also calls the police department, telling the same officer that he thinks he has a problem – because there is a clown in his store buying various items and heading for the till.

A clown entertains a group of elderly people. The people are amused by the tricks of the clown. Dave and Mike witness the clown gulping the elderly people up. Dave calls the chief (Curtis), and tells him that there are clowns going around killing people. The chief doesn’t believe him and thinks that he and everybody else is trying to drive him out of the police force.

In another scene, a clown walks into the chief’s office. The chief sees him and tells him to come towards him. The clown pulls out a bunch of flowers, which actually appears to be a water gun, and squirts him with water. The chief cuffs the clown, for which the clown then separates its cuffed hands from its arm and walks off, so that Curtis is just holding the hands that he had cuffed. As a result of this, the chief puts the clown in a cell, but the clown grabs the chief’s neck through the bars of the jail.


Dave goes into the station and into the chief’s office, where he discovers the chief being held by the clown. The clown kills the chief in front of the Dave.  After this, the clown starts to walk towards the Dave. He then pulls out his gun and shoots the clown in the nose. The clown then disappears. 

Mike tells Rich and Paul (ice cream men) that clowns are going around killing people, which obviously they didn't believe until they had seen it for themselves. They head to Debbie's house to pick her up. However, Debbie is attacked by clowns (who have formed from popcorn that was once on the floor) she sprays them with hairspray, hoping that it would kill them - but it didn't. She is kidnapped by the clowns and put into a ball. When Mike, Rich, and Paul arrive, they see that Debbie has been captured. They speed off to the amusement park (where they assume she was taken) and encounter Dave in his police car along the way. Dave follows the ice cream van - but the police car had broken along the way. Therefore, Dave joined the rest of the men in the ice cream van. 


They arrive at the amusement park, and enter a strange building. They discover cocoons (made from candyfloss) containing dead people, who the clowns feed off. Mike and Dave had lost the other two (Rich and Paul) in the building. Mike and Paul later find Debbie trapped in the ball and burst it so that she is released. This alerts the clowns, for which they managed to escape -  by going through a sequence of doors. Once they enter another room, lots of clowns surround them so they have nowhere to go. To the rescue, Rich and Paul smash their way through the building with the ice cream truck and talk on the megaphone claiming to be something that wanted them to stop and let them go. The clowns listen to this, and stand still. Later, Klownzilla (the boss clown) slowly lowers down from the ceiling and head towards the ice cream van. Mike, Dave and Debbie flee the van and run off. However, Rich and Paul got back into the van. Klownzilla picked up the van and threw it, causing it to explode and supposedly  killing Rich and Paul. The state police arrive at the scene and surround the area. As a result of this, a shooting star (as seen before) appears again, but explodes. This causes fireworks to occur. Later, Rich and Paul arrive (who we thought were dead) telling the others that they had gotten in the freezer with the ice cream. The film finishes with the protagonists getting splattered by pies. 






Tuesday 20 September 2016

My Top Ten Games !







1. Grand Theft Auto V 

This game has a very immersive storyline from the very beginning. 3 bankrobbers Michael, Franklin and Trevor 'pull off' many heists in the game, which pay off well, allowing the player to buy vehicles, planes and boats. The game finishes off with a super heist, which leaves each character with $13,000,000. This can buy a range of weapons, super cars, boats and jets. 


2. The Last of Us


The Last of Us was probably one of the best zombie apocalyptic games I have ever played. This is because of its very immersive and spectacular story-line. When you first play the game, you are required to complete a prologue which shows the reaction of the world when the zombies were first encountered. Once this has been completed, you play as Joel 20 years after the apocalypse, who is asked to smuggle a teenage girl out of town - by a rebellious group called 'The Fireflies'. The aim of the game is to get Ellie (the teenage girl) out of town to 'The Fireflies' so that she can be used as a cure to stop anybody else becoming infected - since she is immune to the virus.





3. Watchdogs

In a technology powered Chicago, where everything from: traffic lights to bridges, and CCTV cameras to electrical bollards, can all be operated from a network called 'cTOS'. This means that if you have access to this network in the area, you can manipulate all of these things in order to have a more immersive experience in the game. You play as Aiden Pearce - a hacker, who is looking for the people behind the killing of this young niece Lena. 





4. Until Dawn

Until Dawn tells the story of a group, that consists of eight friends, who all stay at a mountain lodge in the middle of nowhere, during the winter months. Things soon become sinister when they realise that they are not alone, and are invading the territory of something deadly. This games story line is unique because it is an interactive movie, so you are given multiple choices. Each choice you make affects the story of the game, this is called the 'Butterfly effect' in game. 





5. Just Cause 3


The story line of Just Cause 3, in my opinion was very immersive. The game is about a dictator - General Di Ravello took over the nation of Medicihen Rico (main protagonist) was still a child. His parents were killed during the coup, but Rico managed to escape. The aim of the game is to take down Di Ravello and stop his dictatorship. This can be done by liberating villages and infiltrating military bases. Di Ravello needs taking down because he is planning on conquering the world using a mineral Bavarium. 


6. La Noire


The story line of La Noire is immersing. You play Cole Phelps - an LAPD detective who is present in a city which is drowning in its own success. . Corruption has become more common , the drug trade is booming , and murder rates are at the highest level ever. Phelps must investigate the truth behind arson attacks, conspiracies, brutal murders, and will battle the underworld and even members of his own department to uncover a secret that could be a shock to the whole 
of Los Angeles.





7. Hitman: Absolution

Hitman is a stealth game, that features a great storyline.You play as  Agent 47 who is in a relationship with his handler Diana Burnwood, whom he had trusted until she had betrayed the International Contract Agency (ICA) by sabotaging their funding and database, and uses this distraction to disappear.  After the ICA is reformed, 47 is tasked by his new handler, Benjamin Travis to kill Diana for her betrayal and retrieve an important Agency asset - a teenage girl.  





8. Rise of the Tomb Raider


In my opinion, Tomb Raider has always had a good storyline that has intrigued me into wanting to play more and more. You play Lara Croft, who was forged into a true survivor, but had glimpsed a darker world. In the next chapter of her journey, Lara needs to use her survival skills  and ultimately accept her destiny as the Tomb Raider. After she encountered an immortal being, Lara spent 1 
year researching eternal life to not only prove what she saw, but also to understand it. 



9. Thief

Thief tells the story of a thieving youth called Garrett, who is paired with his former apprentice, Erin, who both ended up accepting the same job from their contact Basso. They arrive at their job's location, Baron Northcrest's manor, and find a ritual taking place. Garrett gets a bad feeling and calls off the job, but Erin disagrees and she ends up falling into the center of the ritual, which was nearing its completion. After being unconscious for a year, Garrett awakens and learns that the city is being plagued by a disease of unknown origin known as "The Gloom" and the Baron had put the city in lock-down because of it.

Monday 19 September 2016

The Limitations of Different Gaming Machines





The Limitations of Different Gaming Machines 

Aim: I am going to discuss the limitations of different gaming machines and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Arcade Machine





An arcade  machine is a game machine usually found in public places such as; bowling, and amusement arcades. Normally the machines are coin operated, and begin with short levels which rapidly increase with difficulty.  The games that are normally played on Arcade machines are: video games, pinball machines or electromechanical games.

The most popular time for Arcade machines was 1970 - 1980. However, later in the 1990s arcade machines became less common, when games consoles and PC's were released.

Controls: Arcade games have unique controls for different games. This means that the controls were built especially for that game.

Some disadvantages of Arcade games are that you have to put coins in the slot, in order to play. This means that they are designed to take your money. Another disadvantage is that you have to go outside in order to play, because not many people have one in their homes. 


These machines are available to buy but cost around £1000 , so are not cost effective.

ARCADE MACHINES ARE STANDALONE BECAUSE NO OTHER EQUIPMENT IS NEEDED TO PLAY THE GAME.
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Consoles



A console is a gaming machine that is smaller than arcade machines, and is capable of playing multiple games. The first gaming console was the Magnavox Odyssey  which was released in 1972.




 However, the variety of games were limited. Some popular games were 'Ping Pong' , 'Table Tennis' and 'Volleyball'. 


























































The most up-to-date gaming consoles are the Xbox One and the Playstation 4. These consoles support various games, so multiple games can be played. However, games (on discs) are more expensive and the average price in GBP for a game is around £35.00. Not to mention the fact that the consoles cost about £300.00, so it is quite costly.




High- end consoles like the Playstation 4 and Xbox One can handle high resolution graphics, so enables players to become more immersed in the games day buy. 2D games and 3D games can be played on these consoles, whereas on Arcade machines only platform games could be played. 






ONE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF OWNING A CONSOLE IS THAT A GOOD TV IS NEEDED IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE GRAPHICS AT THEIR BEST.  AS WELL AS THIS, GAMES ARE MORE EXPENSIVE TO BUY ON GAMING CONSOLES THAN THEY ARE ON A PC SO MULTIPLE GAMES MAY ADD UP TO BE VERY COSTLY.


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PC Gaming


Gaming PC's are more powerful than consoles. This is because PC's contain better graphics cards and processors. This allows users to play games in HD , so that they get a better quality of gameplay. As well as this, PC's can be built from parts or bought from shops already built. This allows users to customise their gaming PC to suit them, and allows them to add graphic cards and more powerful processors. 


But, gaming PC's are very costly with the high-end spec' PC's costing around £1,000, therefore is the more expensive gaming option.


Gaming PC's offer more of a choice for games, than consoles do. This is because various games can be purchased on Steam, so are available to download digitally rather than purchasing the game physically. This means that games on steam tend to be cheaper than console games.







THE ONLY LIMITATION OF A GAMING PC IS THAT A KEYBOARD, A MOUSE, AND A GAMING HEADSET IS NEEDED, BUT IF YOU DECIDE NOT TO BUILD YOUR OWN, AND INSTEAD PURCHASE ONE READY- MADE YOU DO NOT NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THIS. 



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Mobile Gaming



Many mobiles for eg: iPhones and Android phones have applications where you can either purchase better games or download normal games for free. On iPhones, Apple have an AppStore where you can download many games either for free or usually at a small cost. Android phones have a similar application but is called Google Play, many more games can be purchased on Android phones, than on iPhones. 



Mobile gaming is ideal because you can play games whilst you are on the go. However, the games graphics aren't as good of that of a consoles or PC because, mobiles are not as powerful. Another limitation of mobile gaming is that, if you like to play games for long periods of time it can drain battery life - something which you may need for other purposes for eg: searching the internet, texting or taking phone calls. 


Mobiles offer slightly different games, usually platform games or side-scrolling games. This is because, again the processor cannot handle games like Grand Theft Auto V.

An advantage of mobile gaming is that most people own a mobile phone. However, mobile gaming may only be efficient if your outside and need occupying. I don't think it is as good as PC or console gaming.



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Unit 78 - Digital Graphics for Computer Games




Unit 78 - Digital Graphics for Computer Games

 RESEARCH






Pixel Art



Pixel art is a form of Digital art where images that have been created, are edited at pixel level using appropriate graphic editing software. Pixel art is known for its own unique visual style, where the individual pixels in an image - serve as building blocks that make up the whole image. This visual style is similar to mosaic art. cross-stick and other embroidery techniques. Back in 1972, Pixel art wasn't seen as an art at the time, but a way for developers to create images with limited computer resources and graphics. 

Information from: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/8884/pixel-art
  


                              







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Concept Art



Concept art is a form of illustration used to convey ideas. This could be ideas for a film, game, animation, comic books etc. Another name for concept art is Visual development. Concept art is developed through several iterations (repetition of process), so artists try several designs to achieve their desired result for their work. As well as this, concept art is also used to show investors/clients the development of the project. This means that investors/clients are able to see the different arts, which will help the artist decide what type of art to create.


INFORMATION : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_art



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Texture Art



Texture arts (also known as Visual arts) is seen as the surface quality of a work of art. It is elements of 2D and 3D designs . There are 2 main types of texture - physical texture and visual texture. 




Visual texture refers to an applied sense of texture that the artist creates through various techniques eg: colour, shading, shadows etc. 
For eg: If you look at a window, you can see that it is transparent (you can see through it)






Physical texture refers to the real surface qualities we can notice by touching an object. For eg: If you touch cotton,  you can feel that it is soft. 






         Stone Textures:


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Background Graphics

Background graphics are just graphics that can be seen in the background of a game. They set the environment for a game. For eg: if game is in a desert, a picture of a desert will be needed to be in the background to show the environment. Background graphics can be used in 2D games (platform games, side- scrolling games etc.) and 3D games (first person shooters, open-world games etc.)





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In-Game Interface



An in-game interface is an important part of a game. It shows the player a Head up display (HUD) for eg: , map , health bar, ammo count etc.


Head up displays are efficient because it enables the player to determine what level they are playing, how much health they have left, where they are on the map etc. This can be seen easily while the user is playing the game, because they are already looking at the screen. 



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Print Media Art




Print media art are used to promote or advertise a developers game. Print media art includes: the game packaging (the case) , posters (used to advertise the game) , manuals (used for help with the game). 

It is essential that the print media art is professional, in order to attract buyers. This is because if a games packaging is boring, people will be put off buying the game. The game packaging could include screenshots of gameplay, reviews, appropiate colours to suit the game and many other factors.




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Vector Graphics


Vector Graphics are images that don't lose their quality, if the image is enlarged. This means that the graphics will not distort and the quality of the image will be kept. Some of the formats that can be used for Vector Images are: PSD (Photoshop Document) , WMF (Windows Meta File) and AI (Adobe Illustrator File). 

Below is an example of a Vector Image, I have produced in Photoshop. It is a PSD file.


Title: Tears of Joy face






Raster Graphics
   
 Raster Graphics are made up of pixels. The amount of pixels in these graphics determine the quality of the photo. For eg: if there are many many pixels, then the quality of the photo will be good (1080px x 1080px). This is because of the size of the pixels are smaller and there are more of them. 

However, if there are fewer pixels (50px x 50px) then the quality of the photo will be bad because the pixels are much bigger, and there are less of them. 

Some of the file extensions used for Raster Graphics are: BMP (Bitmap) , GIF (Graphics Interchange Format, and TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)

Below is an example of a raster image, I have produced in Piskel. It is a GIF file (Graphics Interchange Format)



Title: Animated Tears of Joy face