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# System prepended metadata

title: Innovative Practices in Game Art (1J5Z1022)

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# Innovative Practices in Game Art (1J5Z1022)
### Unit Handbook 22/23
### Games Art BA(HONS) L5
### Oliwia Kordalska

## Research Question Proposal
### Initial Exploration of Topics
I started this project by brainstorming potential topics and questions I'd like to investigate.

#### Idea 1
At first, I looked to tie in my artistic skills with this unit. I was interested in exploring how the use of appropriate artstyles within my concepts could help bring attention to the intended audience. I could research this by exploring how the use of various body shapes and archetypes changes people's impression of the character's intentions and purpose. This would also be an opportunity to collect data about how people associate certain artstyles with certain game genres.

#### Research Links:
* **[Choosing An Artstyle For Your Video Game](https://kevurugames.com/blog/choosing-an-art-style-for-your-video-game/)**
* **[Artstyle In Video Games](https://sites.google.com/site/artstyleparker/)**

#### Potential Research Questions:
![](https://i.imgur.com/wOg9QO0.png)

#### Idea 2
Later, I explored the idea which looked at the effects that screentime has on our social life and relationships. I thought of it as interesting after I noticed how I'm losing precious time in my own life to mindlessly scrolling on the internet. I wanted to spread that awareness further towards a demographic which is inclined to spending a lot of their time on the internet - gamers.

#### Research Links:
* **[How Does Video Game Addiction Affect Families?](https://www.healthygamer.gg/blog/how-does-video-game-addiction-affect-families)**
* **[Excessive Screen Use And Gaming Considerations During COVID](https://www.emro.who.int/mnh/news/considerations-for-young-people-on-excessive-screen-use-during-covid19.html)**

#### Potential Research Questions:
![](https://i.imgur.com/8PijVgV.png)

#### Idea 3
I also thought about the idea of creating a simulator which could use immersive technologies to put players in the shoes of a person struggling with ADHD. I was inspired about this topic after I stumbled across a short video on YouTube:
**[ADHD Simulator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fYg5hSgtug&t=16s)**

One problem with this idea is that it might not fit well within the theme of 'Time' set out in the unit. However, I could take this project into the direction of exploring how ADHD blinds people affected by it to time and how often it creates procrastination problems.
#### Research Questions:
![](https://i.imgur.com/oz85rbk.png)

#### Idea 4
Lastly, I became interested in exploring how I could remake classic retro games by using today's cutting-edge technologies. I got this idea after watching artists remake well known mobile games into modern PC versions using engines like Unreal engine 5. I could sample games like Pac Man and improve their designs by exploring innovative game practices, such as VR and 3D models.

#### Research Links:
* **[Advances In Video Games](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/61764/11-unbelievable-advances-gaming-technology)**
* **[Future Of Video Games](https://online.maryville.edu/blog/future-of-video-games/#gaming-industry)**

#### Potential Research Questions:
![](https://i.imgur.com/LK4xW8v.png)

#### Reflection
Coming up with an appropriate question was a challenging process, I found myself often rewording my questions and iterating them. I kept intertwining these different subjects with this Unit's proposed theme of time and exploration of modern technologies. I found it quite difficult to come up with original research questions that would guide me into hitting all the requirements, however I feel like I managed to come up with few solid ideas that I could easily develop into fleshy research reports.

#### Conceptualisation of Ideas

Collection of mind maps for each of my ideas showing my process of brainstorming all possibilities:
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BJpnDOFV3.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/B1NCDdtNh.png)

Below image pictures sketches of my initial concepts for the screentime-related idea. I thought of two different game ideas (2D and 3D) each responding to the concern of time flying by:
![](https://i.imgur.com/RtQYa0B.png)
**1st Idea:** The game would be a 2D hand drawn clicker game. Player would play from the perspective of a teenage girl sitting on her bed and interacting with her mobile phone. The gameplay would happen inside the phone as new posts would pop up from her friends, plotline would happen through text messaging and yet the character would not move from her bed. Occasionally, there would be a brief outside interaction as the mother of the girl would come into the room with a question to which the player could answer from multiple choices.
As the game progressed, the main character would be notified of so many exciting, sad, or life-changing events happening all around her while she herself was just stuck on her bed, scrolling to yet another post.

**2nd Idea:** Gameplay would happen from the perspective of a new father. It would start in a living room with him, his wife, their baby and a dog hanging out together. The game would ask the player to complete simple tasks like pass the mother a pacifier or help clean up the toys on the floor. As the game progressed, the tasks would require the player to walk between rooms to complete the tasks. However, as the main character passed through any doors, the player would find that the game did a slight time skip which at first would not be very noticeable. Eventually, the player would be faced with either following the tasks or choosing to not progress with the game in fear that his daughter would grow up right in from of his eyes. It could be made as either 2D or 3D game.

#### Reflection
At first, I was very interested in developing a small game which would touch on the problems of social media interaction and wasting of time in teens. As someone who finds herself caught up in endless scrolling on apps, this topic really resonated with me. While the exploration of today's teen behaviour and increasing problem of technology obsessions was appealing, I found it wouldn't suit this unit the most due to its lack of 'innovative practices'.

Instead, I decided to continue my project with the question that left a much broader door for options and experimentation. I felt that studying the effects and possibilities of using modern technologies in order to recreate retro games suited this idea the most, and so I finally picked my research question.

### Final Research Question
**Can we use innovative game practices to modernise retro games?**
#### Aim
The purpose of my research is to explore how present-day technologies can be used to modernise the mechanics of arcade games that have been made around the 80s. I will explore if and how certain elements of the gameplay can be enhanced by using new game designing software and techniques, such as introduction of 3D elements, new gaming platforms, and higher music resolution.

I will test my final outcomes by showcasing my work to volunteers and gathering data of their experience towards the technologically-improved versions of the games. They will be asked to complete short surveys before and after the experiences which will conclude my research question.

### Planning and Research
#### Types of Innovative Practices in Games

Here, I gathered a list of modern technological elements often used in games. In my project, I would like to explore most of them, as I'll end up with a broad range of outcome from which I'll be able to decide which ones improve the gaming experience the best:
* 3D assets and world building
* Virtual Reality (VR)
* Augmented Reality (AR)
* Body Tracking, often used in sport games or for VR hepatic feedback
* Motion Capture, for lifelike animations of characters
* 3D Object Scanning
* Higher resolution graphics, games no longer limited to 8-bit
* More Frames Per Second and smoother gameplay
* Better Music Resolution - retro arcade games were limited to the amount of bits the audio could play and usually had 8 bit music.
* 3D sound effects audio, allowing the player to distinguish where the enemies were coming from.
* 4DX, moving chairs and smell diffusers
* Beta testing
* Online Multiplayer lobbies, many games in the past were single player because WiFi was only by LAN, which was very limiting.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/ByKrbvKEn.png)

#### Research Articles
I looked at these articles to help me gather my ideas.
* **[Advances In Video Games](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/61764/11-unbelievable-advances-gaming-technology)**
* **[Future Of Video Games](https://online.maryville.edu/blog/future-of-video-games/#gaming-industry)**
* **[Advances In Technology](https://www.gamedesigning.org/gaming/advances-in-technology/)**

#### Survey
To collect first hand research I decided to make a short survey which compared people's attitude towards modern vs retro games.
**[Retro vs Modern Games Survey](https://s.surveyplanet.com/gv0r5zac)**

I collected a diverse sample size of 33 people, ranging from age 8 to 51 and comming from different countries including Poland, Italy, America and England.

Findings:
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SyJu-VYS2.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SyAOb4KSn.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/Hk3l7VFBh.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/B1gw7VFH3.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BkPE44YS2.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SJwpBNYB2.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BkM0K4YBh.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/S1QWcEtB3.png)

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/B1I9wVtB2.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SJX4u4KHn.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rJINc4YHn.png)

* Games which tended to be the most meaningful for my participants came from the years 2000-2010s. These years released games which started introducing more complex story progressions and improved the quality of graphics.
* Modern games are played very frequently, with 43.8% of those asked claiming that they play at least once every week, whereas retro games are enjoyed on rare occasions.
* People tend to find modern games much more exciting and immersive, however 21.6% claim they have become very repetitive.
* Retro games are usually seen as frustrating and limiting, despite that 27.5% people still find them very enjoyable in the time that they play.
* People like the idea of reinterpreting old works and creating new takes on classic gameplay mechanics. 57.6% actively seek such remakes.



#### ArCains Trip
As I wasn't able to attend the museum trip organised by the university, I decided to visit a similar arcade place in Liverpool. I went to ArCains, which had a vast catalogue of arcades ranging from old classics like Space Invaders and PacMan to novelty games with more advanced graphics and immersive experiences, some even coming all the way from Japan.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/H1bT4ooEn.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HJNyHjoNh.png)

During my trip, I spent a lot of time trying out different games, but for the purpose of my project, mostly focused on the oldest ones available. I played many rounds of Space Invaders, Bomberman, Defender, and many more, but my favourites ended up being Frogger and Bubble Shooter. Despite their simple design, I was surprised to discover how challenging the games were as it took me many tries to progress further.

I also played some newer games that I hadn't seen before, like Batak Pro, Taiko no Tatsujin and Silent Scope. Each one of them used unique technologies that made then stand out from the rest. I particularly enjoyed the 4D experience in Dark Escape as it made use of the rest of the players senses to create a truly immersive experience. I found myself often trying to keep my body calm while fighting in game to control the built-in heart rate monitor. Because of all the jumpscares it was an intense experience, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I couldn't believe how realistic the zombie attacks felt and how much vibrations and moving seats added to the overall immersion of the game.
I would like to introduce similar mechanics to one of the older games and make them as equally engaging. 

As I was playing, I also took some notes about the technology each game used and how I could apply today's techniques to remake the games into modern releases.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/B1M47AsV3.png) 

#### Reflection
While on this trip, I've gotten to experience and play a huge variety of arcade games, most of which I didn't even know existed before. ArCains allowed me to study some innovative practices used by the newer games and I was able to gather many new ideas for how I could experiment with my own remakes.

At the end of the day, I was very confident in my options and so I picked Space Invaders as the game I'd like to innovate. I chose it because of its simplicity and room for experimentation as it lacked many of the new technologies that would be used today. While I enjoyed shooting the aliens, I felt that the game play was very repetitive and quickly became boring. 

## Game Innovation
To start improving Space Invaders, first I dedicated some time into gathering reference photos, creator concept arts and reallife photos that could help me recreate the creatures. I also found some already existing recreations by other artists which helped me shape an overall idea of how I could approach the designs myself.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/Byg9EBcN3.png)

**[Space Invaders Gameplay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU4psw3ccUI&t=104s)** - I used this video throughout my experimentation process to better understand the original gameplay.

#### Concept Art
With the use of my references, I designed a simple concept sheet for one of the enemy creatures from the game. As Space Invaders was mostly played by young teens and children, I decided to make the creature with big simple shapes that would be easily understood by all. I also designed it to be quite cute as I wasn't trying to make a horror or grotesque game that would scare the players.
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BJ9_742N2.png)

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HkAqh1nEn.png)


### 3D Modelling
Space Invaders was originally made as 2D pixel shooter. In my project, I wanted to change that and recreate the most iconic creature using today's 3D modelling software. At first I began modelling the crab-like alien in ZBrush, trying to recreate the shape and strange tentacles that can be seen in the pixel versions. At the time, I was aiming to create a very detailed and realistic alien, however as mentioned before, I quickly changed my idea into a low poly model. While I understand a lot of today's games have very realistic and high poly characters, low poly games are still being made today, this time as stylistic choices rather than technological restrictions.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/H1SQaH9N2.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/ry3WgUqE3.png)

My initial ZBrush prototypes were made before I created my concept art reference, which reflects how important it was to draw my ideas out first. After I knew how I wanted this creature to look, modelling was a very fast process. I decided to model everything in Maya as the shapes were very simnple and didn't need of extra details in the body. To make the head and arms I used cubes, and to make other details I used cylinders.

#### Textures
Another part of Space Invaders is the game's lack of textures. The characters were all made from solid colours, and in the case of the very first version of Space Invaders, the technology back then didn't allow for anything more than black and white pixels.

I wanted to push my creative abilities and create custom textures for the model to better reflect my concept art.

Substance 3D Painter is a very good reflection of today's capacities so I hoped to use it to create my texture maps. At first i experimented with prebuild features and textures in the software itself. However, as I wanted this creature to be stylised and maintain a cartoonish vibe, I decided to hand paint my model using different brushes and alphas.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/By5l_HA42.png)

Unfortunately, I realised quickly that while it's a great tool to help create interesting 3d groove effects and help with customising materials, it was not the best application to reflect my hand painted artstyle from the concept art. 

I decided that I would combine two different software for this part of my project, Photoshop would help me create a custom base map, whereas I would use Substance painter for creating the rest of my maps and add dimention to the textures.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SJWuLZn4h.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BJmAL-2Vh.png)

This workflow ended up working very well for me and I was able to easily apply my textures to my model without any problems.

#### Final Outcome
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/ryz8DWnV2.png)

#### Reflection
I think that joining two texturing techniques together worked very well and helped translate the exact look of the creature from my initial concept art into the 3D model. I think both of these techniques had their own strengths and challenges. Photoshop was a great tool for creating custom designs, whereas Substance Painter allowed me to add interesting textures on top of the colours. When combined together, my finished model felt complete and interesting to look at.


### Animation
While playing Space Invaders in the arcade, I noticed that the game used two very simple sprites for walking animation. I felt that this could be greatly improved by rigging the model and using Maya's animation tools to create custom walk cycle animation myself.

#### Rigging
I created a simple rig for my creature in Maya. All of the limbs were connected with IK Handles to help make the joints move naturally - I found that the IK Handles also greatly sped up my following animation process.

One of the challenges I faced in this stage was that my initial rig did not feature a bone for the body. Instead, I only had the master bone, but that didn't allow for any movement of the body. After I realised this, I had to reskin my model with this extra bone added to the rig and unfortunately this meant I had to repaint all my skin weights a second time which set me back in my production time.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SJIBaWhN2.png)

#### Animation Process

The animation process took me many tries and was a very time-taking task. I had to do a lot of trial and error to get the body parts to synchronise naturally with each other. At first, I was animating each joint individually, however after the addition of IK Handles, the movements became much more organic and easy to predict.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rkXVVM2Nh.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/Ska8VG2N2.png)

#### Final Outcome
**[Space Invader Animated Creature - Sketchfab](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/space-invaders-crab-low-poly-8c8e501a905840ac9570e14a88a39742)**

#### Reflection
I think my final outcome for this model turned out better than I anticipated. The animation is very smooth and loops well. It also doesn't stretch the model or create strange artefacts. The response from my peers was also very positive, and despite many changes made, many people were quickly able to correlate this design with Space Invaders. 

I think this model would be a strong and successful candidate to a 3D remake of its game.


### Augmented Reality
Some games like Pokemon Go or Minecraft Earth have gained their popularity through an innovative approach by using AR elements as part of the gaming experience. I would like to test if such mechanics could also be used in Space Invaders, or if such technology would indeed fit well within the game.

#### Research:
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SJanL7nN2.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/B1Wq1EnNn.png)


Examples of AR:
* Introducing audio cues to a story, based on a GPS location of your phone (Zombies, Run!)
* Scattering fictional structures and creatures based on the real life map world (Pokemon Go)
* Locking player-made artefacts to certain GPS locations which can later be viewed by other players who encounter the same space (Minecraft Earth)
* Incorporating scores and gamification to things like working out 
* QR codes anchored to real life monuments and tourist attractions - when scanned display a 3D virtual object or give secret achievements.

I decided that best way to test my model in AR would be by creating a custom AR filter for Snapchat. This proved to be very easy as snapchat developed their own AR engine called Lens Studio from which I was able to select a premade 'Animated Object' filter model. I then replaced the template model given in the filter with an FBX file of my animated creature and optimised its position and size before exporting the filter to my account.
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rJydNVnNh.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HkICBNnV3.png)


This process took me less than 5 minutes but once I was able to access it on my phone the results were really satisfying. The model integrated well into the surroundings and iteracted with the floor or hands.

#### Final Outcome

**[AR Space Invaders Snapchat Filter Demonstration](https://youtube.com/shorts/9SV_b6SbyPM?feature=share)**


#### Reflection:
While I think the outcome showed really interesting results, and the tests ended up proving the success of integrating such mechanics into games, I don't think this particular technology would fit well within Space Invaders. It doesn't really provide or improve mechanics that the game is based on and in order to work, I feel like the game would need to be made in a completely different genre to what it is currently. 

However, I believe that this mechanic could be used as an interesting way to advertise the game. For example, as many users today use filters in apps and share them further to their friends, apps like Spanchat could sponsor this limited time filter which allows people to play with this creature.

### Virtual Reality
Another innovative practice that is introduced to gaming today is Virtual Reality. This technology brings a completely new dimension to gaming, using only a headset and two controllers, it can bring players into vast fictional worlds and transport them into many experiences. I myself enjoyed this technology for some time now so I decided it would be a great opportunity to try and test if Space Invaders would be a great candidate for a VR remake.

#### Research:

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HJTPp26Vn.png)

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HJMkXB2Vn.png)

#### Game Design Concept
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BkYV4FPrh.png)

#### Game Creation
For this experiment I wanted to continue using my creature model that I created previously so I exported it into a new Unity scene and began building my project around it. The main focus here was to test the new gameplay possibilities bought by VR and could be used in enhancing Space Invaders, rather than recreating the game as a whole.

1. First, I began configuring my Unity scene for VR development and setting up a simple camera rig to track the headset movement. I installed multiple XR packages and plugins which allowed me to configure my scene to the correct device - in my case Oculus. Once everything was ready to test, I set my Oculus VR headset into developer mode and linked it in with my PC.
2. Then I set up a very basic play area and imported my animated Space Invaders model into it. I added 'Rigibody' component so that the model would react to any interaction by other objects.
3. For the head tracking, I created a custom camera rig following the steps in Valem's youtube tutorial, which consisted of adding several tracking components and offsetting the camera which simulated player's height. Setting the camera to a natural position would later help with controlling motion sickness in players and create much better immersion.
4. Before running my first test I also created tracker components for the controllers. As in the tutorial, I was able to create two empty objects named Left Hand and Right hand to which I added 'XR Controler' components and then changed some settings for better compatibility with my devices. Lastly, I made very basic visualisations for my hands by making cubes into prefabs which were then attached to each hand controller. 

Click here for **[Test Video](https://youtube.com/shorts/sJ9dX8Xe4zQ?feature=share)**
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HyQVXxpVn.png)
One problem I found was that the animation in the model would only run once and did not loop again. I easily fixed it by selecting the loop option and testing my scene again.

5. Next, I focused on introducing hand models and button-responsive hand animations. I downloaded free premade Oculus hand models and switched them with previous cube prefabs.
6. For the hand animations I had to write a custom script which ensured the hands closed slowly depending on the pressure input of the button. It made the grip animations much more immersive as the model reflected player's actual hand positions.
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/S1ECKbpEn.png)
7. I also wanted to introduce a teleportation system to my game which would give the player freedom to move around the play area. To do this I anchored a teleportation ray to the right hand of the player and added 'Teleportation Provider' component to the object. Next, I added 'Teleportation Area' component to the floor of the scene which set it as the object the player could teleport towards.
8. For aesthetic reasons, I chose to add a reticle that I would place at the end of the ray to better display teleportation position. I created a new cylinder object which I scaled down to the desired shape. Then, I dragged it into the Reticle node of the 'XR Interactor Line Visual' component of the ray. This simple detail gave the teleportation system a nice visual finish, and I was ready to test my scene again.

Click here for **[Test Video](https://youtube.com/shorts/jXJ1dKIje98?feature=share)**
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HJPBFl6Nh.png)
After testing my scene, I noticed that the teleportation ray was always showing no matter if the player was pressing the button or not. I decided to change that because I knew this would become really annoying very quickly once I would introduce interactable objects later on.
I created a new custom component for the ray, which I coded myself to make it only appear when the button is pressed.
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/S1RixXTE3.png)

9. To experiment with Space Invaders' limited combat choice, I decided to add interactable objects into my scene which could be further developed into grenades, shuriken or other throwable weapons.
10. First, I set both hands as interactors and snapped sphere colliders to both of them so that the players would be able to pick up any object that was within the sphere's radius.
11. I also created a simple rectangle table to set my interactable objects on and added a 'rigibody' component to make sure no objects passed through it
12. To create my grab interactables, I created new game objects to which I added 'XR grab interactable' component. This already allowed the grabbing interaction to happen between the player and the object, however the cubes were still not displaying realistic physics. To fix this I changed their movement type to Velocity Tracking which moved the objects using non-kinematic rigid body. This means that the interactable cube was now moving using physics but still collided with its surroundings.
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SyXhKWpVn.png)
13. Space Invaders uses shooting mechanics to counter enemies, so I decided to experiment with creating a gun in my game. I installed a premade pistol model and repeated the process from the interactable cubes to create a grabbable weapon. I created an attach point so that the gun would snap to a certain position and look as if the hand was actually holding it by the handle. 
14. To make a spawn point for bullets I wrote another script that would join all of the operations together (gun trigger, bullet spawn point, speed of shooting, etc.). Lastly, I set the parameter for the bullet just in front of the gun to create an illusion that the bullet was shot out.
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BJXDBBTNh.png)
After running my third test I noticed that everything worked correctly, except one. Due to the way I assigned buttons to each action, shooting trigger and teleportation trigger were both assigned to the same button, and it caused a bug making the player teleport anytime they shot. Fortunately, this was very easy to fix as I had to add short line of code into my previous teleportation ray script
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/r1FV_Sp43.png)

#### Final Outcome
**[VR Space Invaders Game Demonstration](https://youtu.be/F9BVKKnzfkA)**

**[Testing my game with a volounteer](https://youtube.com/shorts/CdqFuXnirqM?feature=share)**

#### Reflection:
This part of my project proved to be arguably the most difficult to complete as I had to step out of my comfort zone many times and use skills from other game-related fields in order to finalise my outcome. I had to design a simple game scene, which I later had to code and link with my VR headset. Throughout my experimentation I faced many obstacles but ended up creating an immersive piece which could become an installation or be developed further into a working VR game.

I gotten third person feedback from volunteers who wanted to try my game, and their overall impression of the game was very positive, with many rating their experience at 5 (very enjoyable). I think this proves that Space Invaders gameplay could indeed be enhanced with the use of today's VR technology.

### 3D Printing and Barcode Technology
I wanted to explore how we could integrate physical objects into games. Previously, when experimenting with AR, I was able to translate a 3D virtual creature into our real world. However, now I'd like to reverse that order and test how a real life object could be translated into a virtual world using QR codes.

If this technique works well within the Space Invaders game design, it could serve as both an interesting approach into integrating real world with games and a clever marketing strategy by exposing itself to the hands of shoppers in stores.

#### Research
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HkHvpYaVn.png)

I looked at these articles to help me back my findings:
* **[How To Make Toys 'Fly'](https://toyphotographers.com/2020/03/10/how-to-make-toys-fly-toy-photography-techniques/)**
* **[Standing Figurines](https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Action-Figures-Stand-Up)**

I think that I will use the clear rod technique to connect all the limbs to the body of my model. I chose this method because most of the parts hover from the sides of my model and using wires would simply not be possible. I also want my model to resemble commercial toys that children could buy in stores.

#### 3D Printing
3D printing is becoming more accessible today as a hobby and many people within its community print their own 3D designs to bring them into life. I thought it would be interesting to print out my model and test its potential into becoming a collectible toy that could also be translated into the game. 

For this portion of my project, I collaborated with another student from University of Liverpool, Milosz Wolos who had his own 3D printer and knew how to configure it successfully.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/Sk64ocaV2.png)

To begin the printing process, he used Cura which is a slicing software for 3D Printers. This means that my model was split into thin horizontal slices that would mark different levels for the 3D printer. Since my model has a lot of floating overhangs, Milosz added correct 'tree' supports which ensured that the model didn't break during printing. 

After the finished model was passed to me, I arranged the parts and drew a sketch to help me visualise the length of the rods that I should make to connect the pieces together. I used hot glue and traced the designs on a glass mat because the glue wouldn't stick to it and it would be easy to remove with a scraper.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SyXnks6Nh.png)

I attached all parts together with more hot glue and ended up with a sturdy figurine that was able to stand on its own. The clear hot glue worked wonderfully in camouflaging the supports with the background. They are particularly difficult to see whe placed on a light or white background.

#### Final Outcome
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/B1nfeiTN3.png)

#### Reflection
One improvement I would make to this figurine if I had more time would be to recreate the same paintjob onto the body parts as in the initial concept art so that it would better reflect my original virtual design.

#### In-game screens
I moved onto creating prototypes of in-game character unlocking screens that would introduce the newely acquired monsters into the player's in-game collection. The player would scan the QR code at the back of my figurine which would take them to an in-game screen, congratulating the player on unlocking a new monster. 

This mechanic would approach Space Invaders' game progression in a more innovative way as the player themselves would choose which monsters they would fight against by buying the figurines they liked most. This mechanism could also bring the players a sense of control over their own game and each person would end up with a unique team.

What's more, many games today, like Fortnite, Overwatch 2 or Fall Guys, introduce in-game purchases that can change the player's experience based on what they choose to purchase. This monetisation of in-game content is continously used in modern games which is why I think it can even be an innovative game practice on its own.

![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SJWnIECE3.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rkc684CN2.png)

I created a basic website to house my game screen because I wanted to simulate the UI of the game. Then, I made a custom QR code that would link whoever scans it with the website and printed it out. I placed it onto my real life model and ended up with a fun interactable object that joined reality with the digital world.
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SJLcBHREh.png)

#### Final Outcome
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/H1UtlH0En.png)
This QR code worked for me, however unfortunately by the time of my submission it will require a subscription to stay activated so it might not work by then. In this case please click the link below to be directed to my website:
[Prototype Website](https://kordalskao.wixsite.com/spaceinvadersproject)

### 
## Findings
I wrapped up my research by gathering a group of 10 people and demonstrating all of my outcomes to them. Some of my participants got to play around with my AR filters, VR game and the scannable toy. At the end I asked them to complete a short survery to help me understand which of my outcomes was the most sucessful candidate for implamenting modern changes to the classic Space Invaders game. These were the results:
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SkmmxrFB3.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SJ-4eHKB2.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SyTNlrYrh.png)
![](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rJjBgHtrn.png)

I was able to test out many innovative techniques and documented each of my outcomes complete with extensive reflections. I was pleased to find that most participants have rated my VR games as 5(Most Enjoyable).

## Conclusion
In conclusion, my research has showed a strong indication that the introduction of modern technologies and implementation of innovative practives to remake retro games can not only inhance the gameplay, but is also actively sought after by many people today. Many people have reported that they enjoyed the new takes that I have explored throughout my project and would have liked some of these technologies to be explored even further (such as making Space Invaders into a VR game) into potentialy full concepts. 

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