The meticulous design that has gone into the Gears of War franchise is an excellent example of translating classical design concepts to interactive experiences. In the top-left we have the Gears of War logo that, just like every good logo should, embodies the experience of the game in one poignant visual statement. The artists at Epic have then projected the skull motif onto their level designs (notice the abstract eye sockets, nose, and mouth of the multiplayer map).
Conceptually this multiplayer map is very close to a painting, in that our eyes can trace implicit lines around the levels corridors without the ability to physically interact with the artwork. However video games go one step further, in that the projection of the skull motif also represents a three-dimensional environment -- visual lines on the multiplayer map, become pathways in a 3D virtual environment.
Player gestures are not so much a part of dynamic composition, which relates to on-screen images. However, video gamings interactivity means that a players actions are closely bound to the visual experience, and must also be considered in this context.
Over the course of the next five sections we will examine each aspect of dynamic composition, with the help of our primary shapes: the circle, square, and triangle. We will additionally examine the players role in a video game artwork, before applying the combined knowledge to game design. We will begin with character shape, and simultaneously explore the narrative possibilities of dynamic character shapes.
Character Shapes and Character Development
The earlier section of this article explored the aesthetic sensations that we associate with primary shapes. In this section we will look at how these shapes can help us make sense of various character designs in the context of dynamic composition. The characters in Nintendos Mario games make for great examples for this application.
Nintendo characters from left to right: Mario, Luigi, Wario, Bowser, and a Goomba
How would you describe Marios personality? Perhaps: dynamic, youthful, positive. Its therefore no surprise to find that everything about Marios design is based on the circular concept -- from his spherical torso, to his round moustache.
Luigis supportive, brotherly personality can also be evidenced in the verticality of his figure, which references the rectangle in contrast to Marios round shape. While Wario -- and almost every enemy within the Mario universe -- is aligned to the aggressive triangle.
In actual fact, what were looking at is the same character! The artists at Nintendo have simply taken Marios body and dialled the forms to be softer or sharper for different aesthetic effects based on the circle (Mario), square (Luigi), and triangle (Wario).
But what if Mario, Luigi, and Wario indeed represented one character that dynamically changed over the course of a narrative? The question relates to the way that we treat character development in video games.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998), Nintendo
Take a look at the screenshots from one of my all-time favorite games, Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998). The screen on the left depicts Link early in his quest, while the right-side image shows Link after youve helped him battle his way through many dungeons and large boss fights. How do we know that Link has grown in strength and ability during the course of this game? The evidence is not where most would expect to find it -- in the physical appearance of the character -- but in the user-interface. Link on the left has fewer hearts and a single sword equipped; and Link on the right has more hearts and many more weapons and gadgets.
While user-interfaces make sense to experienced video game players, those unfamiliar with the medium rightfully expect to see a visible change in the central character -- as occurs with actors in theatre and movies. Video gamings treatment of character development is the equivalent of an actor verbally stating, 'I am now stronger and more confident!' while his posture and behavior remains the same.
To create realistic and emotionally richer narratives we must begin treating video game characters as real people with a breadth of emotions. As the French Romantic painter, Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863), wrote on the topic of personalities:
'There may be ten different people in one [person], and sometimes all ten appear within a single hour.'
- from The Journal of Eugene Delacroix
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003), directed by Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema
Delacroixs remark extends to narratives and the fact that characters never start and finish in the same state. A narrative implies that a character has gone through an emotional change, which should be made visible for viewers to comprehend. Frodos character in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, performed by Elijah Wood, illustrates how dynamic body language communicates his characters mental and physical state: from mock indignation; to a fevered shuffle; panicked run; and an exhausted stupor.
Grumpy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Disney. Sequence animated by Bill Tytla.
Disney animators from animations Golden Age not only made a point of understanding the emotions of the character, but also understanding what the character is thinking. A character expressing its thoughts and motivations instantly appeared more lifelike.
The above sequence is featured in the must-have book, The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation (Disney Editions 1
剩余内容已隐藏，支付完成后下载完整资料
已经进入战争机器专营的细致设计是将古典设计理念转化为互动体验的绝佳例子。在左上方，我们有战争机器的标志，就像每一个好的标志都应该一样，在一个凄美的视觉声明中体现了游戏的体验。然后Epic的艺术家将头骨图案投射到他们的关卡设计上（注意多人地图的抽象眼窝，鼻子和嘴巴）。
从概念上讲，这个多人地图非常接近一幅绘画，因为我们的眼睛可以追踪关卡走廊周围的隐含线条，而无需与作品进行物理交互。然而，视频游戏更进一步，因为头骨主题的投影也代表了三维环境 - 多人地图上的视觉线条，成为3D虚拟环境中的路径。
玩家手势并不是动态构图的一部分，它涉及屏幕上的图像。然而，视频游戏的交互性意味着玩家的行为与视觉体验密切相关，并且在这种情况下也必须予以考虑。
在接下来的五节内容中，我们将借助我们的主要形状来检查动态构图的每个方面：圆形，方形和三角形。在将这些知识应用于游戏设计之前，我们还将考察玩家在视频游戏作品中的角色。我们将从角色形状开始，同时探索动态角色形状的叙述可能性。
角色形状和角色发展
本文的前面部分探讨了我们与主要形状相关的美学感受。在本节中，我们将看看这些形状如何帮助我们理解动态构图环境下的各种角色设计。任天堂的马里奥游戏中的角色为这个应用程序提供了很好的例子。
从左至右的任天堂人物：马里奥，路易吉，瓦里奥，鲍泽和Goomba
你会如何描述马里奥的个性？也许：充满活力，年轻，积极。因此，毫不奇怪，马里奥设计的一切都基于圆形概念 - 从球形躯干到圆形胡须。
Luigi的支持性，兄弟般的个性也可以在他的身材的垂直性中得到证明，这个身材与马里奥的圆形形成鲜明对比。虽然瓦里奥 - 和马里奥宇宙中的几乎每个敌人 - 都与攻击性三角形对齐。
实际上，我们看到的是同一个角色！任天堂的艺术家们只是采用了马里奥的身体，并根据圆形（马里奥），方形（路易吉）和三角形（瓦里奥）的不同，调整形式使其更柔软或更锐利以达到不同的审美效果。
但是如果马里奥，路易吉和瓦里奥确实代表了一个在叙事过程中动态变化的人物呢？这个问题与我们在视频游戏中对待角色发展的方式有关。
塞尔达：时之笛（1998年），任天堂
看看我最喜欢的一款游戏“塞尔达：时间之笛（Ocarina of Time）”（1998）的截图。左边的屏幕在他的任务中描述了Link，而右侧的图像显示了Link，在你帮助他通过许多地下城和大型boss战的战斗之后。我们怎么知道Link在这个游戏过程中的实力和能力都有所提高？证据不是大多数人期望找到它的地方 - 在角色的外表上 - 而是在用户界面中。左边的链接装备着更少的心和一把剑;而右边的链接有更多的心和更多的武器和小工具。
虽然用户界面对于有经验的视频游戏玩家来说是有意义的，但那些不熟悉媒体的人理应期望看到中心人物的明显变化 - 就像剧场和电影中的演员一样。视频游戏对角色发展的处理等同于演员口头陈述“我现在更强壮，更自信！”而他的姿势和行为依然如此。
为了创造现实的和情感上更丰富的叙述，我们必须开始把视频游戏角色视为具有广泛情感的真实人物。作为法国浪漫主义画家尤金德拉克罗瓦（Eugene Delacroix，1798-1863）写的关于个性的话题：
“一个人可能有十个不同的人，有时十个人在一个小时内出现。”
- 来自尤金德拉克罗瓦杂志
指环王三部曲（2001-2003），由新线影院彼得杰克逊执导
德拉克洛瓦的评论延伸到叙述和角色永远不会在同一状态下开始和完成的事实。叙事意味着一个特征
剩余内容已隐藏，支付完成后下载完整资料
资料编号：[22108]，资料为PDF文档或Word文档，PDF文档可免费转换为Word
以上是毕业论文外文翻译，课题毕业论文、任务书、文献综述、开题报告、程序设计、图纸设计等资料可联系客服协助查找。
