Throughout these weeks I have really been thinking about what I can write about that will both be something I am passionate about, and something that links to my future career aspirations.
I have always been interested in combat within games as it is such a vital element of video games and the experience. Visual effects is a huge part of this and so the opportunity to explore it’s impact will be a perfect thesis topic for me.
I am also working on weapon design for my personal project, and my FMP will hopefully be along the same lines as this path.
The working title at the moment is: “Enhancing the Gameplay Experience in Video Game Combat through the Implementation of Visual Effects”.
I am currently using Google scholar to research this topic and will list some sources found below.
With this topic, I can explore:
- Game mechanics
- weapon design
- types of combat
- final boss battles
- combat with creatures
- ethics of combat experience
- inspirations from film combat
- magical combat effects
Some keywords are:
- Weapon design
- combat
- technique
- weapon choices
- opponent design
- ethics
Sources
“Creating illumination, either by post-processing effects such as bloom or adding a glow to your texture, can add to the magical feel of your effect. This can make your effects feelmore alive and give the illusion that they are light or power sources”
“Attacks and spells that don’t affect the player or game in a dramatic or significant way should visually indicate they are less important than the mechanics that have a significant effect on the gameplay.”
“Level of importance can be controlled and adjusted by modifying the size, shape, saturation and opacity of the effect.”
Mattila, M. 2018. “Visual Effects for a 3D Action Game”. https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/151308/Mattila_Meri.pdf?s
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“In Resident Evil (2015), when the player’s health is low or critical, the “Danger” condition state activates. Although the player is not in any immediate danger, this low-health state is visually exacerbated.”
“The main factor that creates an engaging chase sequence is the assertion that the player must feel that they cannot directly defeat their assailant. The player must feel powerless in the face of an insurmountable challenge, prompting theplayer to conclude that escape is the only means of survival.”
“In the reimagined Resident Evil 2 (2019), the player is periodically chased by a seven-foot creature called Tyrant, colloquially known as Mr. X, who happens to be impervious to most weapons and artillery”
Smith, L. 2023. “Creating Tension through Game-Centric Design in Survival Horror Video Games”. Bachelor’s Thesis. Tampere University of Applied Sciences.
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Through this research I have discovered game mechanics such as spell casting effects, chase sequences and effects when a player is low on health, even though these are small elements, will be so interesting to talk about within my thesis.