BlackJack: 3 in one gaming assessment

Assessment 2: 3 in one gaming

Sprites:

Deck (spr_deck)
Contains all of the cards sprites.
Deal Button (spr_dealbutton)
Used to deal the cards.
Twist (spr_twist_button)
Used to allow the player to spawn a card.
Stick (spr_stick_button)
Allows the player to pass the turn.
Restart (spr_restart) 
The restart button was there so that I could restart the game to check if everything was working each time I played. 

Objects:

Controller (controller)
Player (obj_player)
AI1 (obj_AI1)
AI2 (obj_AI2)
Dealer (obj_dealer)
Deck (obj_deck)
Twist (obj_twist)
Stick (obj_stick)

Controller:
(Create Event):
Contains and initialises all of the global variables which are used in game. It also contains code for the ini file. The ini file code is:

ini_open("scores.sav")   (Doesn't create it, gets it ready)


if !(ini_key_exists("player", "wins")) then {              
     ini_write_real("player", "wins", 0)
}

ini_close()

If there isn't "player" and "wins" there then create it in the ini file "scores.sav" and the ini_close, closes the file it has been written/checked its been written.

(Step Event):
In the step event of the controller contains code which checks whether all the players have hit more than 21. When it checks through each if statement, its checking to see whether the player is over 21, and if they are, the global.turn changes to 1000. The reason behind why it changes to 1000 because is so it is a value which I know I won't use to activate anything important. The global.turnTo is a variable which is used to change who's turn it is. When it changes integer, that when it is the next person/AI turn.

(Draw Event):
The code within the draw event is just repeated code. The main mechanism behind it is, if the variable "finish"is 0, which is the state where the game is in play, then it checks to see whether the value of their cards added up is over 21. If they are over 21, (which in the step event, if they are over 21 it switches to 1000) then it activates the else statement and displays the word "bust".
This code is repeated for all of the AIs as they use similar coding.

Further down is the code in which displays whether the players have won or the dealer has won. The code is repeated for the AIs as they use similar code. So the first part of the code is checking whether the game has finished, if it is equal to 1 then the game has finished. Then it checks whether the playervalue is NOT 1000 and the player cards value is  more or equal to the dealers card value or dealers value is equal to 1000 then the player wins and it displays the words "You won!". Additionally, it opens the ini file, reads the current amount of wins, then the next part which is "if global.save = 0 then...." this section checks whether a new score needs to be saved and then adds 1 if the player has won. Within this global.saved if statement, it will read the ini file and display the current amount of wins when you have won. The else statement checks whether the cards value in hand = 1000 or the playervalue is less than the dealers then it will say the player has lost.
The dealer code for this is different. The wins don't get saved when the dealer wins. What happens is, when the dealer value is not a 1000 (a value which is used generically) it displays the current card value in the dealers hand, else when the dealer value is 1000 then the total display changes to "bust".

(press F key Event)
This event comes into play when the player wants to access full screen mode. The screenstate is setting acts as an on and off switch for when activating the full screen mode.

obj_player:
There is not much code in the player object as a lot of the mechanisms for the player have already been predefined in the controller object.

(Create Event): (similar coding for all AI/Dealer)

Depth = -global.player_card_xpos - this piece of code defines where the placement of the cards of going.

global.player_card_xpos += 80 - This adds 80 pixels onto where the previous card has been displayed and then places a new a card.

image_speed = 0 - We want the card to not cycle through all the image index so we have it set to 0.

image_index = ds_list_find_value(global.deck,0) - Sets the image index to the values in the ds list.

cardValue = ds_list_find_value(global.deck,0) - Finds the value chosen for that card.

ds_list_delete(global.deck,0) - Removes the selected card from the ds_list deck.

obj_dealer:
(Create Event):
Similar code to player, just different variables used.

(Alarm 0):
There are only two lines of code within this event.

global.turn = 3 - This line of code is a variable change so it can activate another persons turn.

show_debug_message("Alarm countdown works333") - This allows me to see if the alarm has worked by showing a debug a message.

(Step Event):
The step event contains 3 if statements (one nested).

if global.turnTo = 3 then {
    show_debug_message("Alarm works3333")
    alarm[0] = 100
    global.turnTo = 1000
}

This first section above is checking whether the turnTo variable is 3. Once it is 3, the alarm will activate and then the turnTo variable is set to the common number of 1000, one we don't use to activate anything.

if global.turn = 3 then {
    if global.DealerValue < 17 then {
        instance_create(global.dealer_card_xpos, 145, obj_dealer)
        global.turn = 1000
        global.turnTo = 3
    }

    if global.DealerValue >= 17 then {
        global.turn = 1000
        global.turnTo = 1000
        global.finish = 1
    }
}


This second section checks whether the variable "turn" has changed to 3 (in which is has because of the alarm event) activates the nested if statement. The nested if statement checks whether the dealers overall cards in hand are less than 17 then it will automatically produce another card for the dealer.
If it is more than 17, the dealer is not allowed anymore cards.

obj_AI1/obj_AI2:
(Create Event):
The create event uses similar code to the dealer and player object, the only difference is the variables used. 

(Alarm Event):
The alarm event uses similar code to the dealer and player object alarm events, the only difference is what the variables are equal to.

(Step Event):
The step event is the event which holds the probability code.  I am going to break this code into sections and explain what this does.

if global.turn = 1 then {
    if global.AI1Value = 21 then {
        global.turn = 1000
        global.turnTo = 2
        exit

    }

This small section defines whether the AI has definitely hit 21 or not. If they have definitely got 21 then the turns have to increment by one. 

if global.AI1Value < 16 then {
        instance_create(global.AI1_card_xpos, 457.5, obj_AI1)
        show_debug_message("AI1 Value less than 16 therefore card")
        global.turn = 1000
        global.turnTo = 1

  

This section is the first third of the probability code used. This is checking whether the cards in hand for AI1 is less than 16, if so a card will definitely spawn in for them and add on to the current overall value. (The turn and turnTo variables are there just to make sure the turn doesn't change). 

} else if global.AI1Value >= 16 then {
        if irandom(global.AI1Value - 16) = 0 then {
            instance_create(global.AI1_card_xpos, 457.5, obj_AI1)
            show_debug_message("AI1 Value greater than 16 therefore probs card")
            global.turn = 1000
            global.turnTo = 1

            exit

This is the second third of the probability code used. If the current cards in hand for AI1 add up to more than 16 or is 16 then an if statement is carried out. The irandom is used so that it picks a random number between whatever the current value in hand is - 16 and 0. For example, if the AI1 cards add up to 18, then it run through the code, minus 16 from 18 (which leaves 2) and picks the number 2, 1 or 0. If the number is 0 then it will spawn in another card, keep the turn as 1 (which allows it to take another go) and runs through the code again.

  } else {
            global.turn = 1000
            global.turnTo = 2
            show_debug_message("AI1 Value greater than 16 therefore probs no card")
            exit
        }
    }
}

This is the last third of the probability code used. If the irandom number chosen is not 0 then the turn goes to the next player and a debug message is shown, allowing me to check that the turn has definitely been passed on.

obj_deck:
(Create event):

global.deck = ds_list_create()
for(k = 0; k < 52; k += 1) {
    ds_list_add(global.deck, k)
}
randomize()
ds_list_shuffle(global.deck)

The "randomize" code randomises the random seed every time, so that when the deck shuffles, it will not have the same shuffle every time.
This section of code create the ds_list which is used for deck.
What the ds_list looks like right now is:

index: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ...
value: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11...

The index is the location, where the values are stored.

global.deckValue = ds_list_create()
for(k = 2; k < 11; k += 1) {
    ds_list_add(global.deckValue, k)
}
ds_list_add(global.deckValue, 10)
ds_list_add(global.deckValue, 10)
ds_list_add(global.deckValue, 10)
ds_list_add(global.deckValue, 1)

The section of code is where i add the values to the card deck. Where "k" is equal 2 and is less than 11, this is where the value will align with the index numbers. The increment of 1 makes sure that the values will definitely go up by one.  It will look a little like this;

index: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
value: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The ds_list_add section adds the numbers 10 3 times and 1 for the Jack, Queen, King and Ace after the value numbers 2-10. So now the value will look like:

index: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7   8   9  10 11 12 13
value: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 10 10 1

This now covers a whole suit of cards. This first suit of cards is most likely spades as that is the first suit seen in the image index. This section of code is repeated another 3 times for the other 3 suits.

(Left button event):

if mouse_check_button_pressed(mb_left) && global.dealDone = 0 {
// Deal button event

instance_create(global.dealer_card_xpos, 145, obj_dealer)
instance_create(global.dealer_card_xpos, 145, obj_dealer)
instance_create(global.player_card_xpos, 745, obj_player)
instance_create(global.player_card_xpos, 745, obj_player)
instance_create(global.AI1_card_xpos, 457.5, obj_AI1)
instance_create(global.AI1_card_xpos, 457.5, obj_AI1)
instance_create(global.AI2_card_xpos, 457.5, obj_AI2)
instance_create(global.AI2_card_xpos, 457.5, obj_AI2)
global.turn = 0
global.dealDone = 1
exit
}

if mouse_check_button_pressed(mb_left) && global.dealDone = 1 {
game_restart()
exit
}

This code is fairly simple, what happens is when the player left clicks on the card deal sprite, it will instantly deal the cards to the desired positions. Then the turn is set to 0 which means the first player can take their turn and dealDone is a variable used to make sure that the deal has been successful.
The bottom if statement checks whether the left button has been pressed over the sprite and checks if the deal was successful and then the game will restart.

obj_twist:
(Left button event):

if mouse_check_button_pressed(mb_left) {
    switch(global.turn) {
    case 0:
        instance_create(global.player_card_xpos, 745, obj_player)
    break
    case 1:
    show_message("You must wait for Player 1 to end their turn")
    break
    case 2:
    show_message("You must wait for Player 2 to end their turn")
    break
    }
}

When the left button is pressed, the player is able to add another card to their hand of cards to get close to the objective of the game, getting "blackjack"/21. If the player becomes bust or tries to use the twist button whilst it is someone else turns, a message will pop up dependent on which global.turn it is on. If the turn is on 0 then the player is still able to take their turn.

obj_stick:
(Left button event):

if mouse_check_button_pressed(mb_left) {
    switch(global.turn) {
    case 0:
        global.turnTo = 1
        global.turn = 1000
    break
    case 1:
    show_message("You must wait for Player 1 to end their turn")
    break
    case 2:
    show_message("You must wait for Player 2 to end their turn")
    break
    }
}

The code used for the stick button is very similar to the twist button. The code uses a switch statement instead of a bunch of if statements as it is easier and tidier to use. If the turn is on 0 and the player clicks on "stick" then the turnTo is activated and activates code for the AI player and your turn is over.

Sound:
I only have one sound for this game which is used for when the cards have been dealt. This sound lasts for a few seconds. The only reason why I only have one sound is because I have mainly been focusing on the coding for the game to make sure that everything works in harmony with one another. The sound code will be shown in a testing video (done by me) showing what sound I chose and showing it working.

Management:

Testing: 

Luke Anderson: The game was good with the dealing and the AI but I was able to restart the game when ever I want.

{The image below displays him typing up his thoughts on the game into my blogger.}

{The image below displays his game play when he pressed the deal button (back of card)}

{The image below displays his game play, after he has taken his turn and the AI's have taken their turn}

The reason behind why it says he has won "3" times is because that is how many times he has won on this computer.

Morgan Proffitt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyccyeSxVM0&feature=youtu.be

Me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr4fJiuUgRI&feature=youtu.be

Assignment 1 Unit 73: Understanding the use of music within games and the methodology of recording and production.

Level 3 Btec Extended Diploma in Games Development

Unit 73: Sound for Computer Games

Assignment 1 - Understanding the use of music within games and the methodology of recording and production.

Task 1:Compare and contrast the following Console game music. You can consider other pieces of music/FX from the same game

Task 2: Using the clips above discuss the methods which could have been used to record and produce the music and why.

The Last of Us:

I have merged the two tasks together as I have found it easier this way to talk about the music tracks emotionally and technically. The Last of Us main theme song was originally composed by Gustavo Santaolalla and his instruments. One of the instruments which was used was a ronroco. This video shows evidence of the songs created for The Last Of Us were original developed made from instruments in a recording studio. I believe that what audio recording system they used is multi-track recordings. The reason behind why I believe that this song was created by multi-track recordings was so that Gustavo Santaolalla could listen to the orchestra separately from his guitar tune to create the perfect sound and then added his guitar to the orchestra track. Furthermore, with the orchestra, it is most likely that they would of recording the groups of instruments separately, for example; percussion, string, woodwind, brass etc. In this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejdjcun2Jo4 around 1:10 - 1:30, this is where we see Gustavo Santaolalla taking control of how he wants the orchestra to play their instruments to gain the desired result.

When the music shifts into a softer tone, it creates a relaxed atmosphere and I feel this is where the perspective of the world around these characters has changed. It almost as if we see the beautiful side of this world, where nature has taken over the buildings. For example, where Joel and Ellie find the giraffe at the edge of a building and Ellie strokes its head. Furthermore, it gives a sense of hope as if they will see the end to this apocalyptic plague. Both of these images link in with my idea of the relaxed atmosphere the song creates.

When the bridge part of the song is over, it's almost as if we have been pulled back into the harsh reality of the world the characters live in, the post-apocalyptic world. The end of the track becomes very loud and harsh. The amplitude here would be large. The reason for this is because amplitude is the size of vibrations and the larger the vibration the louder the sound, this also meaning the decibel level would be very high. The wavelength of  the higher pitch parts would a have shorter wavelengths than deeper pitch parts, when it comes to louder and quieter sounds, the wavelength stays the same but the amplitude changes. The image below shows the difference in wavelengths and amplitude, dependent on the sound. This supports my idea of what the wavelength and amplitude would be like in certain parts of the track.

The Last Of Us main theme contrasts against the genre of the game. The genre of the game is survival horror and this song pushes away from the typical high pitch sounds and fast paced tune which is used for a horror games sound track. This track symbolises how the characters perceive the current world they live in. It symbolises a wasteland which carries on beyond the horizon in which the characters are exploring. The image to the right is an in game image showing the two main characters stood in an abandoned street. A lot of the areas which are explored are deserted. I think that what is most relative between this image and song is the warm tones from the sunset/dawn used to illuminate the abandoned streets. These warm tones from the sun illuminating the wasteland of the world tie in with the western theme, the theme of deserted lands and a rustic theme. Additionally, this particular scene fits in well with a mexican showdown as they are usually taken place at dawn in which fits in with the western theme. The finger plucked sounds created by using a guitar at a high pitch gives the song its western theme and contrasts against the deep pitched strums of guitar which create the song. This track is made for surround sound as the game was made for the PS4 (and PS3 but remastered for the PS4) and the disc used would be Blu-ray. As the format of the disc is Blu-ray, that means the sound file would actually be uncompressed due to the amount of space a Blu-ray contains. Blu-rays are made with 96KHz/192KHz sample rate and 24-bit-depth. So if this song had 96KHz sample rate and 24-bit-depth, then the file size of this would be 2.025GB taken up already on the Blu-ray disc. It is likely that they used a .WAV file format for the music as this is the most commonly used uncompressed file type. They most likely would of used PCM to determine what the bit-depth and sample rate is. Working this out is very helpful if they wanted to save some space. Having a song with double the sample rate can effectively double the overall size of a sound, due to the fact that there is now double the amount of samples to store, meaning that the file size is going to be bigger. When they were making this song, it is most likely that they used up more RAM compared to what Halo 2 composers did. For example, to create and edit the Halo 2 music overall, they may have had 4-8GB of RAM in their computers whereas, The Last of Us music may have had 8-16GB of RAM.

Halo 2:

The beginning of the song (when wearing headphones) really emphasis's on this song being made for stereo sound. The gospel voices which are used creates an atmosphere of the player entering sacred ground. Then, the increasing sound of the beat and the instruments in which are being added at the beginning of the song, create an atmosphere of a triumphant battle which is about to begin, as if you, the player, is approaching the battle ground. The increasing tone of the guitar and beat builds up a lot of tension and pressure on the player, but also, it makes the player feel dauntless and heroic. The added violin which plays with the guitar really adds emphasis on the guitar and pushes forth the atmosphere of this tense final battle. The rush of how quickly the instruments are put together beautifully and the speed of which the instruments are played at adds chaos to the atmosphere. This image is an in-game image of a battle in Halo 2 and I think it shows the chaotic battlefield which fits in with the music. The end of the main theme song almost replicates the beginning of the song, however with the fading sound of the guitar emphasis's the end of the battle. When the music shifts massively at the end of the track, the amplitude would be very low at this point, creating that quieter, softer tone. Same with the beginning of the track, with the voices. From 0:47 - 1;10, this video clips shows tense moments in Halo 2 where the player is in battle against another player, you can see that he finds it difficult to kill the other player and switches his weapon and jumps about.This image below is a screenshot of the Halo 2 gameplay in which I believe fits in well with the music.                                                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQRPH0PT4JA

It sounds as if, to create this track they used the audio recording system, multi-track recording. The reason behind why I think this is because it sounds like they have recorded the orchestra separate from the guitar. Also, it sounds like they recorded the violin separately away from the guitar and orchestra and then used multi-track recording to line up the tracks for the desired result. As they have used real instruments, this pushes away from them using software plug-ins and everything was originally developed.  This game was made for the original Xbox which means the disc they used to store all of the games data and such, was a dual-layer DVD disc meaning it has smaller capacity.The image above displaying CD, DVD and Blu-ray shows the different sized data they can all withstand and what the data layers look like.  A lot less compared to the size of a Blu-ray disc which was used for "The Last of Us". Its most likely that they would have compressed the sound files due to the amount of storage on the disc. The sound file they could have used is .WAV, a raw .WAV sound file has the sample rate of 44,100 kHz and 16-bit-depth. WAV files can be compressed, however when the WAV file is compressed, the only thing that is most likely to bit reduced is the bit depth. With the example above, the sample rate would still be 44,100 kHz and the bit depth would be reduced down to 4.  The audio limitation of this sound file would be that it had to be compressed due to the size of the DVD disc. As the sound file is compressed this means that the quality of music will be reduced from its original state. Furthermore, WAV files must be decompressed if compressed to listen to them. It is most likely they might have chosen a different file format due to wanting to save space such as MP3 or AAC. MP3 files is the most common file format and is the most compatible, however it is said that it is not efficient. An AAC file has the same the same quality as an MP3 file and is more efficient. This image below displays the file size and compatibility comparison between MP3 and AAC.

When it comes to comparing both pieces of music, they have a few things in common. What they have in common is that they are both main music themes for that particular game. They both give the game an overall feeling of what it is about. Another similarity is that both pieces of game music use similar techniques, using analogue and using computers and programs to process their music through.
The differences is that both games are on different platforms and the time around when they were made. When Halo 2 was released, it was made for the original Xbox. This gaming console used regular DVD disc for their games due to the specifications of the original Xbox. When The Last of Us was made, it was originally made for PS3. Technology had moved on since then dramatically, the PS3 had near enough the same specifications as the newer Xbox 360's. The PS3 and PS4 used blu-ray discs, this allowing them to use uncompressed file formats for the sound track. This kept the quality of the original soundtrack.

Composers can sell their music to a game company. When composers do this, they still have property rights. When a composers music has been put into a game, they receive "royalties". However, game company royalties are different to the music industry royalties. Music industry royalties often give the composers money in quarterly instalments, however with game companies, they decide to do something different. What game companies do is they work out a percentage which is a payment that have been calculated from net profits and they pay the composer.
If the game the composer has worked on has now been chosen to be developed for other platforms, the composer then receives extra money for their work.
When it comes to copyrighting the music in a games company, the developer will almost always demand to own the music. The reason for this is so that the developer can then use the same music or sound FX in the sequel of that game or they can re-use it on different platforms. Its most likely that with both games, the composers have agreed to the copyright regulations and agreed to the format of the royalties. In which is very different form from what Gustavo Santaolalla is used to.
If the game company believes that buying you out-right (meaning paying your wished amount is too high), you may offer a license to them. This license allows them to use your music in their game. With your music only being licensed, this means that you still have full ownership of your music and you able to re-sell it if you wanted to. However, game companies usually have a license agreement where the song that they have licensed to used, is only allowed to be used for that game in particular until a certain amount of time has passed and then your music can be used for another game.
It is most likely that all the composers involved within both games have accepted these terms and legal rights in order to start creating the music. 

Unit 73: Sound

Aims:
P2 Understand the methods and principles of sound design and production
Research and explain when you would use the following sound formats and why?
Sound file formats
Uncompressed: eg wav, aiff, au, smp, voc.
Lossy compression: eg mp3, ra, and vox.

Uncompressed file formats such as wav and aiff will be used on platforms such as blu-ray discs as they can handle having much larger files on them. Uncompressed files will not lose any data, which means that they are much larger files, but the sound quality will be much higher and you also will not lose any data from the sound. This format is ideal for platforms that can handle files of a larger size, and generally are seen on blu-ray discs and CD's, and will be played on higher end consoles such as PS$ and the Xbox One.

Lossy compression is more suitable for platforms that cannot handle large file sizes, such as the sounds for mobile games and older, retro games. Lossy compression compresses the original file to around 1/10th of the size of the original, which means it loses a lot of data but is a much smaller file size. They are ideal for mobile games which need to be smaller in size due to the technical limitations of the mobiles.


Audio Sampling
How can resolution and bit-depth constrain file size?

Bit depth is the number of bits of information in each sample, and it directly corresponds to the resolution of each sample. By raising the bit depth of the file, the resolution will also rise, and thus you will have a higher quality of sound. However, this comes at the cost of increasing the file size to compensate for the increased bit depth and resolution. This means that by having a higher bit depth you will have a higher resolution and quality of your sound, but the file size will be much larger, meaning that you have to be careful where you use sounds with higher bit depth. For example, a Blu-ray disc can support up to 24 bits per sample, which means it can have a higher sound resolution and quality, and can also handle the higher file size.


2. Explain what the following words mean:

Sample rate: The amount of samples carried per second, it can be measured in both Hz or Khz.
Mono: Sound that only comes from one channel, and goes out to two speakers.
Stereo: Sound that comes from two channels to two speakers.
Surround: Sound that comes from multiple channels, and that goes to multiple speakers surrounding the listener.

Audio Limitations of Games Platforms
How can the following information limit the recording of sound?

DSP - Digital Signal Processor: Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is the study of digital representation of signals. This is a technique intended to analyze and process real time signals (or analog signals). Analog signals are those, which are represented for all values of time. Digital Signals are obtained from analog signals by a process called Sampling, which involves extracting sample values of the analog signals at regular intervals of time. This process is called Analog-to-Digital Conversion and the system performing this activity is called the Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC).


The following are a few of the limitations of Digital Signal Processing.

Processing of signals involves more power consumption
Processing of signals beyond higher frequencies (beyond GHz) and below lower frequencies (a few Hz) involves limitations
Information is lost because we only take samples of the signal at intervals .

RAM - Random Access Memory: Random-access memory (RAM) is a form of computer data storage. A random-access memory device allows data items to be accessed (read or written) in almost the same amount of time irrespective of the physical location of data inside the memory.
For larger projects you will need a lot more RAM, but for smaller projects you can usually get away with having smaller amounts of RAM such as 4GB.

File Formats: File formats limit the recording of sounds in multiple ways. For example, file formats such as MP3 are compressed a lot in order to decrease the file size, meaning that you lose a lot of the information on the file when it is being recorded, whereas uncompressed file formats such as WAV allow you to record without losing any data, which gives a much higher sound quality. Furthermore, file formatting can be limited to what operating system you are using as WMA can only be used when recording on a windows machine.

Audio Output: Mono output can sound flat and boring, whereas surround sound is much more immersive for the listener. However, the issue with surround sound is that it takes a very specific set up to use, and also cannot be used with certain platforms for games, such as mobile games. Mono doesn't sound the greatest but can generally be used on most platforms. Stereo sound is a good all rounder the can be used on the majority of platforms and offers a decent listening experience with a much easier set-up, but does not offer the same immersive experience of that of surround sound.

PCM - Pulse Control Modulation: The samples are very dependent on time, meaning that you need a very accurate clock on hand in order to create the best sound. Furthermore, between the samples nothing else is taken, meaning that it might miss some information and therefore lower the quality of the sound. Finally, not choosing a value that is not correct to the analogue level for each sample can leave to errors

Audio Recording Systems
In what types of scenario may you use the following audio recording equipment?

Multi-track recording - A method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sounds sources or sound sources at different times to create a cohesive whole. Multitrack recording was a significant technical improvement in the sound recording process, because it allowed studio engineers to record all of the instruments and vocals for a piece of music separately. This allowed the engineer to adjust the levels and tone of each individual track, and if necessary, redo certain tracks or overdub parts of the track to correct errors or get a better "take."

MIDI-Multi instrument interface - MIDI is a protocol which can send a message to a specific instrument, meaning it tells the instrument what sound to use. With just a cable, you could play one keyboard and hear the sound of both keyboards without having to press the keys of the second keyboards.

DAT - DAT (Digital Audio Tape) is a standard medium and technology for the digital recording of audio on tape at a professional level of quality. A DAT drive is a digital tape recorder with rotating heads similar to those found in a video deck. Most DAT drives can record at sample rates of 44.1 kHz, the CD audio standard, and 48 kHz. DAT has become the standard archiving technology in professional and semi-professional recording environments for master recordings. Digital inputs and outputs on professional DAT decks allow the user to transfer recordings from the DAT tape to an audio workstation for precise editing. The compact size and low cost of the DAT medium makes it an excellent way to compile the recordings that are going to be used to create a CD master.

Analogue - Has a more real sound quality than digital as it hasn't been converted and lost data from changing form the analogue to digital. However, is more likely to have noise and interference when recording. It is also more expensive to use that digital. Good for when you want sounds to feel more authentic and real.

Software plug-ins - Can be used to emulate different sounds, and be used to create different music and sounds without having to record as it is all included in the software. Examples include software like Audacity and Adobe Audition.

Software Sequencer - Software sequencer is a class of application software providing a functionality of music sequencer, and often provided as one feature of the DAW or the integrated music authoring environments. The features provided as sequencers vary widely depending on the software; even an analog sequencer can be simulated. The user may control the software sequencer either by using the graphical user interfaces or a specialized input devices, such as a MIDI controller.

Appleseed Alpha

Appleseed Alpha

Characters:

Bri:
Special Cyborg, Main character
Motivation: Protect Deuman, clear debts.

Deunan:
Female Human, Main Character
Motivation: Find Olympus, start a new life.

Olson:
Half man/Half Cyborg
Motivation: To destroy the secret weapon, protect Iris

Iris:
Female Human, Main character
Motivation: To destroy the secret weapon, make a better world

Talas:
Cyborg
Motivation: Wanting the secret weapon, to gain more power than what he had.

Two Horns:
Cyborg
Motivation: Money

Story/Plot:

At the beginning of the movie, you start off with the two main characters; Bri and Deunan. They are currently trying to finish a mission in which they failed. We are then introduced to Two Horns who was the one they needed to finish the mission off for. We learn that Bri had owed Two Horns a debt and was paying off the debt by doing missions for him. Bri and Deunan pick up a new mission and head out to a deserted town. A car with 3 cyborgs and a girl drives into the town where Bri and Deunan are and they don't release the town is filled with drones. Bri and Deunan save one cyborg and girl from the drones. The cyborg and girl are Olson and Iris.

Bri and Deunan help the pair out with their mission which is not told yet. We are then introduced to the Triton group (Talas being the leader, the white and gold cyborg) and they are tracking down where the girl is. Talas pays a visit to Two Horns asking for the girl and then he kills him. However, turns out Two Horns isn't dead and now is after Bri and Deunan. After Two Horns finds Bri, Deunan, Olson and Iris, he tries to kill Bri. Iris steps in and throws a grenade under the tank, essentially blowing up the tank and killing them. Then Talas kidnaps Iris and Olson and takes them away in a chopper. Bri and Deunan follow Olson's tracker to try and get them back. Olson is shot dead after Talas finds out the information he needed from Olson by force. (Where the secret weapon is). Bri and Deunan find Olson dead and take the microchip from his hand. They begin to understand what the secret mission was. Whilst this is happening, Two Horns has changed his find and goes after Talas.

Talas and Iris go to the area where the secret weapon is kept. Bri and Deunan are not far behind and also enter the secret area. A battle begins between the cyborgs who follow Talas and Bri and Deunan. Two Horns arrive with Matthews and Matthews gives Deunan a cyborg suit to wear. The battle continues and Deunan goes after Talas and Iris who are now in the secret weapon in which is a prototype. Iris is forced to power up the weapon and soon after Talas realises he can't control it. The prototype weapon looks like a giant spider and crawls out the secret area. Deunan manages to catch up with it and gets on board. After taking out a few turrets, her suit breaks and she makes it inside the weapon with the help of Two Horns. Talas is about to hurt Iris until Deunan steps in and shoot hims a few times. After the death of Talas, Iris and Deunan notice that the prototype weapon is on a course to New York to self-destruct (that was what it was made for). Iris then sacrifices herself  to keep the shields down so that Bri can shoot the engine and destroy the weapon. Deunan makes it out and is given a suit from Two Horns and Matthews as a thank you for saving the city. Bri and Deunan then go off to find Olympus, the city of salvation.

Unit 73: Sounds for computer games

Task 1: List a range of music/FX sources


1.   http://www.sfxsource.com/
2.   http://opengameart.org/
3.   http://www.indiegamemusic.com/
4.   http://www.freesound.org/
5.   https://www.jamendo.com/
6.   http://superflashbros.net/as3sfxr/
7.   http://www.freesoundeffects.com/
8.   http://www.freesfx.co.uk/
9.   http://www.freestockmusic.com/
10. http://acoustica.com/sounds.htm 

(i) Royalty Free Music sites
(ii) Asset Store
(iii) Producing your own sounds/music
(iv) Buy the rights to the music

Task 2: List 3 or more games and explain the purpose of the music within the game

Until Dawn:

1. Until Dawn

When you are playing the game and are being chased by an enemy in the game, the speed of the music increases as you are being chased. This is done to signify the fact that you need to move fast and adds to the tension to the game. Coupled with the ticking sound effect when you have to make a fast, important decisions, the game can very tense very quickly, especially in the dangerous situations where you have to react quickly to the scenario that you are in. Furthermore, when you discover an object in the game relating to the story or background behind the game, the game uses a sound effect to show that you have found a clue within the game in order let the player know that they have done something right, and are advancing the game. The intro song is called "O, Death" which is a fitting title for the game. This song has a slow tempo. The ending song called "Final Confrontation" is a soundtrack which is very tense and raises in pitch.

2. Super Mario
When you collect a coin, the game makes a sound effect which is like a coin drop that has become iconic within video game sound effects. The sound effect is there in order to signify that you have collected a coin and are therefore gaining points within the game. Furthermore, when you jump on top of an enemy it creates a sound that signifies that the enemy has died.

3. The Last of Us
In The Last of Us the game signifies that there are enemies present as you can hear the sounds that they make. For example, the clickers make clicking sounds surprisingly, and that lets you know that the enemies are around. Furthermore, when the enemy has noticed you, they begin to make a lot more noise, which helps to create an atmosphere of fear and panic. Also, the frequency of the sounds goes up, telling the player that it is time that they started running away fast else they are going to get caught and killed by the enemy. Finally, when all the enemies have been eliminated, the main characters in the game will either have a conversation, or say something that will signify that all the enemies have been defeated, which is done so the player can begin to relax and explore the area in safety without worrying about the threat of dying.
The main theme of the song fits with the game. The mix of the different guitar sounds, the low pitch and the high pitch, and the sound of the shaker percussion create an atmosphere of a wasteland.


Task 3: Legal considerations needed when obtaining or using Music/Fx

Copyright - Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to its use and distribution, usually for a limited time, with the intention of enabling the creator to receive compensation for their intellectual effort. Copyright law originated in the United Kingdom from a concept of common law; the Statute of Anne 1709. It became statutory with the passing of the Copyright Act 1911. The current act is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The law gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published editions, rights to control the ways in which their material may be used. The rights cover; broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting and lending copies to the public. In many cases, the creator will also have the right to be identified as the author and to object to distortions of his work. International conventions give protection in most countries, subject to national laws.

Libel - Libel is a method of defamation expressed by print, writing, pictures, signs, effigies, or any communication embodied in physical form that is injurious to a person's reputation, exposes a person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, or injures a person in his/her business or profession. Libel and slander are types of defamatory statements. Libel is a written defamatory statement, and slander is a spoken or oral defamatory statement.



Terms of use:
http://www.sfxsource.com/termsofuse.cfm
(For superflashbros.com/as3sfxr) https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Ofcom
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/

ASA - Code of Conduct
https://www.asa.org.uk/Industry-advertisers.aspx

CAP and BCAP
https://www.cap.org.uk/

PRS - Performing Rights Society
https://www.prsformusic.com/Pages/default.aspx

Survivor - Story Telling

(Summary of notes)

Characters:

Kate Abott
-Motivation: Her friends died in 9/11, she wanted to protect civilians

Lisa
-Kate's Friend

Sam
-Motivation: To protect Kate, She was a suspect throughout

Bill:
-Motivation: To keep his son alive, he got 5 different people working with gases into the country

Watchmaker (Assassin)
-Motivation: Money (Creating attacks to gain money)

Main Assassin employer
- Motivation: Money (From markets after attacks)

Beginning:
Started off in Afghan, there was a war going on and one person from the helicopter which crashed was saved due to his relations. A crew of people working in the airport was checking visas for anyone who worked within the science department. The crew kept getting distracted by bill and this allowed him to give access to the scientific gas people into the country. A bomb was made by the Watchmaker to kill the crew of people working in the airport (Kate, Naomi etc) and a dinner was reserved in a restaurant. The bomb went off in the restaurant, Kate being the only survivor and this ended the beginning of the story.

Middle:
The Watchmaker continuously tries to kill Kate throughout of the middle section of the story.  Kate begins to unravel the reasons why these 5 people were allowed into the country and what they were planning. She was also continuously being tracked down by the government as a suspect as they believed she was behind the attacks. Furthermore, Kate and Sam figure out why Bill was letting these 5 people into the country by going in a padlocked room which was the room of the soldier that was kept hostage in Afghan. Kate tracks one of the people that was allowed into the country (The one with the dead wife, who was killed by Americans) and followed him to New York.

End:
The end section started when she got on the plane to New York. She figures out by watching the news what the real plan was. The main guy working with the gases was making a gas to replace the cooling gas which is used to cool down the LEDs in the new years eve ball. After time, Kate makes her way to where the Watchmaker and the gas guy was and interfered with him about to shoot an explosive bullet into the new years eve ball. The Watchmaker falls over the edge and Kate saves Millions of lives.
{End of Film}

Plot:
The main plot was for the Assassin Employer and the Assassin to get billions of money from these explosive attacks.




(Notes taken during the film)

Beginning:

afghan
War – One guy is a survivor the other gets killed
Looking for anyone with scientific expertise (Applicants)
Checking passports – Recently processed scientists
Package passed on to someone
Package delivered to restaurant which is where the visa checker people are dining – (Bomb)
Bomb Went off in restaurant – Katie only survivor out of the visa checker people

Middle:

Guy trying to kill Naomi with pistol
background check on Katie
Bill tried to shoot kate – Kate shot Bill
Guy took Bills ID
Paul suspects Katie
Bomb guy can now track everyone’s visa checker ID cards
Bomb guy used a sniper to shoot a barrel thing, exploded quarter of building
They suspect Katie did the stuff
“The Watchmaker” – Potentially bomb guy name
lisa meets kate at train station – bomb guy there too
paul Anderson and his peeps chasing Katie in the underground
small explosive pushed Katie over – bomb guy about to kill but she hit him and ran off
Sam finds Katie –apartment – Watchmaker (Bomb guy) Tracks her
Bills son – padlocked bedroom- Survived guy from the start,
The watchmaker exploded the door – sam injured
people think kate tried to kill sam
Security breech at main place – she took a hard drive?
Trying to stop one guy from getting on the plane
Way for the main guy to make money – not acts of terror or political statement

One suspect (wife died guy) working with gases

End:

Katie at airport – managed to get a flight –searching the 5 suspects
Katie being tracked in U.S
Potential bomb in times square – Uses cooling gases
Guy attacks kate
Kate tracks down the main gas guy
Watchmaker with the gas guy (Making a sniper again)
Watchmaker kills/hits gas guy
Katie interferes with watchmaker guy (About to shoot ball)
Katie saves the day by putting the watchmaker assassin over the edge
She saved a million people – roughly speaking -


Plot:

Guy at the beginning was Bills son
They used bills son because bill was head of the visa checks thing at the airport
Bill managed to get 5 people into the city
These people work with gases
The watchmaker is an assassin and tried to kill all the new visa check people including kate so that they were able to get into the city easier
The watchmaker has continuously been trying to kill kate
- Main event is the bomb at times square – new years eve ball
{Not acts of terrorism – all for market money – Also for revenge on the Americans (guessing for killing his wife}