Ryan Cooke-Ward's Portfolio

I feel as though perhaps our Architecture lecturer has this small sadistic spot in trying to make students fear and panic. If I had a pound for every time he mentioned how little time we have, I could repay my student debt. Some of it may well be true but 7 months for one level shouldn't really be a problem. Or, for the proposed idea I have, it shouldn't be a problem. Maybe this means that  I'm not gonna hit high marks or the criteria to begin with? I should really catch him and talk about my plans with him just to make sure. What I have to talk about today is something I honestly expected to see in our AV lessons, not our coding lessons. Two pieces of software that are all about creating character meshes so that you don't have to. The first of which, is called "MakeHuman," an open source software developed with 12 years of body topology research by a group called the MakeHuman Team. So, I mean, I guess these are just industry people who have spent a lot o...

So now that I have outlined a lot of what I am looking for, I will give a very brief recap on systems I plan to use to create the game I want. Overview The player will play a managerial role in a fantasy town on the losing end of a war, faced with severe debt that they X amount of days to pay back or lose the game. I choose town over a small shop because it would allow me to take a Recettear style of management where I can allow the player to forage for items, send adventurers to return with items, and also buy and sell to neighboring towns and give the game its own sense of an economy. This can also include city building aspects, as well as a few RPG aspects, that will keep the game different through various playthroughs. The idea was spurred by my tutor who suggested researching Roguelike games, such as Rimworld, Binding of Isaac, Enter the Gungeon, that are principally the same each time through, but what the player encounters and their strategy either willingly chances throu...

This is the last stop of sub genre for my inspiration, there being a few golden games that I want to mention that I thoroughly enjoyed and will most likely draw inspiration from. HunieCam Studio (Huniepot, PC, 2016) Up first, HunieCam Studio. Yes, seriously. This game is somewhat controversial but I trust that people reading this blog are mature enough to be able to handle cartoon cleavage and naughty words. Let's get the sexy out of the way now so we can talk mechanics. HunieCam Studio, 2016 Ignore the fan service as best you can. Somewhat unlike the previous game they created, this game had unexpectedly devolved into a clicking game. Personally, I found nothing wrong with that at all. The aim here is to make as much money as you possibly can at the end of the month without going bankrupt on a daily payroll system. So as with previously mentioned games, the objective is short term but requires proper management to get the best score you can without failing. And at the ...

A few years back I was completely awe struck by a mechanic involved in Square Enix's latest MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Normally, there isn't much to management in MMO games, and this isn't really an exception, but previously in games such as Minecraft where crafting was a case of "Put X with Y in a certain pattern," Or as simple as World of Warcraft's crafting system of "Press a button done," the player was introduced to an actual puzzle. A strategy. A challenge to crafting. And I LOVE  it. This is what crafting is to a lot of games. Minecraft, 2011 Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! (Daylight Studios, PC, 2015) Before I talk about FFXIV:ARR, I must quickly tie in why this is relevant to a management sim: A beautiful quirky game called Holy Potatoes, A Weapon Shop. It's pretty cheap, the story doesn't last long, but the mechanics are fun enough to sink an easy 30 hours into if not more. I really enjoyed this game, and wou...

As spoken about in the previous entry, I am looking to create a game with various interactive UI elements that will showcase what I can do. There is a genre of strategy games that I adore called Management Sims. And/or Resource Management games. I love these to bits. Some of them are nice and relaxing, some of them are challenging, some offer hours of replayability, and some of them pressure you to deadlines that force you to learn the mechanics of the game and quick. Typically, a lot of these games cover a very broad idea. Take the old school Sim City. Wow. How far we have come. Sim City Classic, 1989. City building is a type of management sim. A very popular one, as a matter of fact. With the recent Sim city release, it's also become a target for indie developers, releasing Cities Skylines and Banished. These games are typically slow paced, relaxing, and yet fun, with goals to create a thriving metropolis and watch your own creation come to life. Or be set on fire, invad...

Following on from a small project last year; looking into start up funds, markets and jobs - this year is the official start of my proposed career. Over the course of this year, opportunities will arise to connect with people already working within the industry, and this will be the ticket in! This blog will be showcasing the work flow over the next year as a sort of portfolio and another means of being able to interact with gamers, programmers, artists and businesses. One of the first check boxes of this project is to research and aim towards a specific job role. Originally, I had a great deal of fun modelling whenever I would toy around with modelling softwares, including making a pretty sweet gun. Over the last year however, without any real project in mind, I learned the cruel reality that I am terrible at 3D modelling. I just feel as though I am constantly trying to fight with the software. Perhaps with clear objectives in creating assets for a game, I might like it a little bit...

Welcome to You Must Construct Additional Assets! This blog will be detailing the development process for an upcoming project whose name is still a work in progress. A lot of things about this game are heavily WIP for the time being, but be sure to follow the posts and watch the game spring to life!