20527896

Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

Title Slide

//Pause// Welcome to my presentation, for those that dont know me my name is Liz and my project is entitled: Telling the Tales of Old. And I am here today to present the proposal for my final year game development project, a 2D touch screen game based on a story from in the Mabinogion.

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Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

The Mabinogion

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//Pause// Just to give you a quick overview if you are not already aware, [Fade 1] the Mabinogion is a collection of tales that is made up from stories found in two medieval welsh texts the White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest. [Fade 2] In the mid 19th century Lady Charlotte Guest published the first English translation of these texts and was the one to name the collection the Mabinogion. [Fade 3] Over the years various other translations have been published [Fade 4] and some authors have taken the tales and added their own interpretations [Fade 5] or have sought to correct the original translation and study the origins of them. //Pause// As such the text has become a [Fade 6] treasured and valued collection of Welsh prose [Fade 7] that sought to chronicle ancient kings, [Fade 7] provide fairy tale and myth for entertainment, [Fade 8] and moral stories for guidance. //Pause// However today people are not as aware of the Mabinogion, even in Wales, perhaps partly as the original prose is old and is most of the stories were probably best told verbally by bards who would capture an audience with his physically animated narrative, when written down some of that theatricality is lost and the melodic nature of the Welsh language does not translate well as well to English.

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Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

Script to Screen

//Pause// This is why I set myself the challenge to see if the stories could be presented in video game format.

A medium that not only allows for some of that theatricality of the original story to be brought forth again, but a medium that has exploded over the past decade, to the point where everyone plays a game of some sort on their phone or otherwise. //Pause// This is why I am aiming this game towards touch screen devices as it is the largest and most varied of audiences, which would make the game accessible to many people.

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Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

The Chosen Story

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//Pause// As I stated at the start, I am not proposing that a game be made of the whole of the Mabinogion, but instead one story at a time. The one I have chosen for this project is the tale of Lludd and Llefelys [Fade 1] a tale of two Kings that ruled Britain and France, who faced three plagues that afflicted the Kingdom of Britain. The story is short and child friendly, but more importantly has four distinct separate sections to it, sections that lend themselves well into game levels. //Pause// [Fade 2] King Lludd in the story is also possibly the inspiration for, or based on King Lud whose statue is found near Ludgate Hill in London and is credited for founding the city before Christ and before the Roman invasion. [Fade 3] The story also contains dragons, two fighting ones to be exact, who were buried in Dinas Emrys, a hill near Snowdonia, which is linked to the tales of Merlin and Arthur and contributed towards the dragon becoming the symbol of Wales. So it makes for a good starting point in terms of game design and as a tool to promote the rest of the Mabinogion.

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Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

Target Audience

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//Pause// As such I have been creating the game design with a loose target market in mind, young adults that enjoy fantasy and parents providing games to their children through the use of their phone. Overall the similar market that enjoys the popular fantasy series such as Merlin on the BBC (which is also a game on Facebook) and Harry Potter, a franchise that spans many mediums, and other such stories, games and books. [Fade 1] It is also worth noting at this point also that J.R.R. Tolkien also read and researched the texts in the Mabinogion during his lifetime and they have inspired many writings by himself, the newest of which came out this year compiled and edited by his son. So it would be presumptuous to assume that there is a market for this type of game out there, even more so thanks to the other products that have been created with inspiration from what can be found originally in the Mabinogion.

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Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

The Game

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//Pause// So the game itself, a touch screen controlled game, with paper cut out style graphics and animation following King Lludd as he tries to deal with invasions, dragons and thieves. //Pause// The player will take on the role of King Lludd, but interact with the game world in either a third of first person view depending on the type of gameplay the particular game scene requires. The game itself is split into four different levels: [Fade 1] The first a training level of sorts where King Lludd is sailing across the English channel to meet his brother to ask for guidance in his troubles. [Fade 2] The second is the invasion of cloaked people known as the Coraniaid, who can hear what is said about them on the wind. [Fade 3] The third is two dragons fighting every May eve, and their screams turn crops barren and cause madness in King Lludds people. [Fade 4] The fourth is a thief that possesses great power and armour who steals the entire winter provisions for the Kings castle in one evening.

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Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

Level Progression

//Pause// Each level has been split into two phases: The first phase is comprised of puzzle gameplay where the player is required to complete a different puzzle for each level, before being able to move onto the next phase. The second phase is more action orientated, this will require the player to have good reactions and respond to cues on screen to be able to complete the level. //Pause// For the purposes of this project I am suggesting that just one of these levels be made, along with all the surrounding cut scenes and menu systems. This is to act as not only as prototype for further development but as a demo level if the game is fully realised. All of this is of course constrained by time and my own skills and further development will be restricted by the availability of an outsourced programmer.

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Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

Demo Level: Phase One

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//Pause// The proposed level is that of The Thief, in which King Lludd must first catch and then fight the thief that is stealing the castles food. The first phase is set in the store room to the castle where King Lludd has been told by his brother that he must stay away using water to catch the thief that is stealing his provisions. [Fade 1] During this level the player must using the bucket of water to wake the King up by pouring it on top of him. [Fade 2] The overall level is quite long, and while the King is sleeping the thief will make his advance through the level. [Fade 3] The thief will be playing music that will make the King fall asleep again, but only when hidden behind pillars, at which point he also cannot be seen by the King. [Fade 4] The player can check the thief's position by dragging the viewport back and forth, and the goal of the level is reached when the player is able to wake the King three times before the thief reaches him.

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Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

Demo Level: Phase Two

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//Pause// Once the thief has been caught the next phase starts, this time in the first person view point and as stated is more action orientated. [Fade 1] The idea here is to maintain and advance the Kings position within the level; to do this the player can swipe the Kings sword to knock back the thief, and tap to raise his shield. [Fade 2] The player will lose this phase is the King is knocked back to the end of the level. [Fade 3] The end of the level is denoted by the wall, which is either the end of the corridor the fight is taking place in. [Fade 4] The player will win the level if they knock the thief all the way to the other end of the level. Of course this will also be the thiefs aim as well so the player will have time sword swipes and blocking effectively to complete the level.

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Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

Development

//Pause// Lastly a quick note about development. At present this demo/prototype is being developed in Stencyl, as it uses a code format I have come to find easier to understand than the alternatives. However this is subject to change depending on the status of my out sourced programmer who is more comfortable using the native language to the Android platform; which would move development and prototype testing to the phone. For now I am working on getting a mouse controlled equivalent working in Stencyl that will allow me to test for playability and timings in both phases.

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Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

End

//End Slide, pause and ask the audience if they have any questions.//

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20527896

Proposal Presentation Notes

CGD Year 3

References
The Mabinogion
[1] Red Book of Hergest [2] The Mabinogion Lady Charlotte Guest [3] The Magic of the Mabinogion R. Ifans. [4] Folk Stories and Heroes of Wales: Vol 2 J.O. Huws. [5] The Mabinogion: A New Translation S. Davies. [6], [7], [8], [9] Poster y Mabinigion M. Jones.

Script to Screen
Promotional Artwork: Magic of the Mabinogion by Liz Bedwell

The Chosen Story

[1] Page 42 Folk Stories and Heroes of Wales: Vol 2 J.O. Huws. [2] King Lud and Sons Statue in Ludgate, London. [3] Dinas Emrys, Snowdonia, Wales.

Target Audience
Merlin is a product of the BBC Harry Potter is created by J.K. Rowling The Fall of Arthur is written by J.R.R. Tolkein

The Game
[1], [2], [3], [4] Images created by Liz Bedwell. Centre Image: King Lludd Concept by Edward Holtom.

Level Progression
Flow chart created by Liz Bedwell

Demo Level: Phase One

Image by Liz Bedwell

Demo Level: Phase One

Image by Liz Bedwell

Development
Stencyl Development Software

End
Photo: View Over Alt-yr-yn Woods and Newport, by Liz Bedwell
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