LO4 Off the Rails Final Presentation

On Wednesday 13th April, we (me, Matt, Kayna, Sammie) pitched our Off the Rails presentation to Dave from Sumo Digital. This is the presentation:

Our feedback was really positive and we didn't actually receive any criticism. Dave from Sumo Digital said that our presentation was "brilliant", "organised" and that he could envisage "Off the Rails" being a real, addictive smartphone game. He also said that our presentation was really well presented by all of us.

Parts of the presentation that I performed:
-About the game
-Graphics (app icon)
-Rail Coins
-Legal and ethical issues (first 3 bullet points)

LO4 Analysis of Current Market Trends

In the app market at the moment, the games most similar to ours which are popular are Temple Run 2 (the mine cart sections), Rail Rush and Subway Surfers. This is because they are all of the endless arcade / high score genre and are based around rails.

Screenshots of the games:

As you can see from the screenshots, the games are similar to the concept for our game, Off the Rails, so we would be competing closely with them in the app market. Although our game is similar, we believe it has its own unique features which distinguish it from these other games, such as:

• only being able to switch tracks at given opportunities
• its 2D, top-down graphics
• playing as an actual train rather than a human
• Rail Coins. 

Therefore, we hope that people will like our game for its unique features and choose Off the Rails over its competitors in the app market.

LO4 Visual Representations of Characters/Levels/Gameplay

LO4 Production Schedule for the Game

LO4 Budgeting for a new Game

LO4 Imaginary Entity

Graham, aged 14, is all about gaming. It's a fun way for him to pass his time when he's bored at home and it's subconsciously become a part of his everyday life. Gaming has become one of his main hobbies alongside the rest of his social activities.

Whether he's gaming alone, or with his friends it has become an easy way for Graham to relax and enjoy himself. Graham and his friends play on video games together most days after school; it's become a good form of social interaction for them all. When he's not gaming he is talking to his friends about his most recent gaming experience.

Although Graham focuses a lot on gaming, he's able to pull himself away and focus on his everyday tasks. But when he’s not able to game, Graham keeps up to date with the gaming world through his weekly subscription to a gaming magazine which he spends his nights reading.

LO4 Pitch Checklist

Include in pitch:

-Treatment or proposal for the final game (fine detail in a document). - Kayna

The Brief

We have been asked to develop an original game idea and illustrate planning for a new game that we will pitch to professionals within the gaming industry.

Concept Idea

Our final game idea is a never ending mobile game that challenges the player to avoid obstacles. The aim is to stay on the train tracks for as long as possible without dying; otherwise the game will be over.

Target Audience

The target audience for our game will consist of males and females between the ages of 10-20. We are aiming "Off The Rails" at people of both ethnicities and any subculture that belong to the social demographics B-E.

Key Milestones

Planning - 14/03/16(Identify target audience etc.)

Creation- 28/03/16
(create assets, identify gameplay etc.)

Finalise the presentation- 04/04/16

Pitch the presentation-   14/04/16

Equipment/Resources

Computer - to create all the pre-production documents & design visuals.

Word/Blogger- to type and store documents and material on.PowerPoint- to create pre-production documents on.
Photoshop- to design visuals and platforms.
Internet access- to save files and send them to the rest of the team.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Copyright– This enables original material such as pictures, music, literature and videos to be protected. It prevents others from using your material without the necessary permissions. It is important to gain permissions so we don't run into any legal implications within the development of our game. we will have to be careful not to infringe the copyright of games like Subway Surfers and Rail Rush.

Rating- This identifies the most suitable age for players of our game. It is based off the content of the game. The app would be rated age 3+ on iOS and Android. It wouldn’t be rated by PEGI since it is a free app and not a major console game. We plan to only include very mild violent content such as when the train crashes. Other than this, "Off The Rails" will be suitable for younger players.

Contingencies

Our work gets deleted. - Make sure everything is backed up.A member of the group isn't here. - Make sure we all have access to copies of all the work.Somebody pitches a similar idea. - Research ways to make our game more original.

-Competent production schedule for the final game. - Kayna

-Gameplay with associated visuals / Examples of levels, visuals and layouts- Matt

Company logo

Gameplay

Textures

Character

App icon

End of presentation

-Target audience - mood board, description, imaginary entity. - Kayna, Alex, Josh, Sammie

We aim to create a game that a wide range of people will enjoy. Therefore, the target audience for our game will consist of males and females between the ages of 10-20. We are aiming "Off The Rails" at people of both ethnicities and any subculture that belong to the social demographics B-E. Our target audience will generally be interested in gaming - but not to the highest extent. Gaming will just be a casual and small hobby for when they’re bored.

-Relevant legal and/or ethical issues - PEGI rating, copyright, music etc. - Alex

The app would be rated age 3+ on iOS and Android. It wouldn’t be rated by PEGI since it is a free app and not a major console game. 

In terms of original content, we will have to be careful not to infringe the copyright of games like Subway Surfers and Rail Rush. However, we think that the game contains enough originality to be different and separate to these games, for example the 8-bit art style and the unique power-ups and switching-tracks ability.

Ideally, the music for or game would be originally composed but this may not be possible. If it isn’t, we will have to find royalty-free / Creative Commons music that would be a suitable game soundtrack.

Ethically, since the game is rated age 3+, we will have to make sure that there isn’t any offensive content in the game. This means that there will be no violence, sexual content or bad language - we just want the game to be fun for all ages. The cartoony graphics should make the game look fun for the younger audience while also letting the parents know that it is inoffensive and fine for their kids. 

-Platform details and requirements - justification for selection. - Alex

On iOS:

Category: Games

Size: 74.5 MB

Rating: Rated 3+

Family Sharing: No

Compatibility: Requires iOS 6 or later. Compatible with iPhone (4 or later), iPad (2 or later), and iPod touch (4th generation or later).

Languages: English

On Android:

Size: 40.5 MB

In-app purchases: £0.99 - £19.99 for pieces of railroad - buy things in shop, continue playing.

The game will be available on Android phones and tablets. Android version 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher will be required. Recommended 1GHz processor required.

We have selected these platforms because they are easily accessible for many people - almost everybody within our target age range of 10-25 has a smartphone available to them. Also, our game isn’t too high-powered so it will work on a range of smartphones and tablets, not just the top-of-the-range ones. Finally, the simple touch controls for Off the Rails are best suited to handheld touch-screen devices such as phones and tablets.

-Plot synopsis and characters. - Alex and Kayna

Synopsis:

-The game starts with a train pulling out of a station.

-The brakes of the train fail (puff of smoke) so it begins to slowly speed up as you continue.

-There are five tracks shown on the screen, and when there is an opportunity to switch tracks, you must choose the right pathway by thinking quickly or you will crash into an obstacle. These could be barriers, workmen, slower trains or parked carriages.

-The longer you stay on the rails without crashing, the higher your score gets. The train also continually gets faster as you play, making it harder.

-The game ends when you collide with an obstacle.

-Rail Coins are earned as you go along the tracks. These can be used to revive when you die, or can be used to upgrade your train to make it better.

Upgrades:

-Stronger exterior, more crashes.

-More coins on the track.

-Make the railroad easier for a certain amount of time.

Characters:

-The train is the only main character in the game, which you must steer onto the right track.

-The colours of it can be changed and it can be upgraded using Rail Coins.

-Financial breakdown of development costs. - Sammie, Josh