Studio - Toy - Ideas - Space Choones

An idea for a game for a mobile phone intergreating both visual aspects and audio ones. The aim of the game is for the user to fly through a space of sounds shooting various objects that on impact give a a note depending on what chord the level is in. There will be various notes avaliable to shoot in the level all represented by the colour. For example a high note will be light red and a low note will be dark red. Also there will be bogus notes also created for stray projectiles to hit and diduct points from the users score. The user will score points for each note they hit and must get over a certain amount in a certain amount of time for a prize. The prize is that of the notes that have been shot, being recorded and put into a rythem depending on how fast they were shot, which creates somekind of tune, thus creating a ringtone that can be saved to the gamers phone for use. This then adds another aspect to the game, the one of composing and hitting the correct notes in the correct order.

Studio - Toy - Ideas - Lion Time

An idea for a game based on the urbanisation of the African outback in 1914, influenced by a nes article of the time. The gamer would be a Lion that simple wonders in town to see what all the fuss is about in this new built up version of his land. The gamer than has to target a person using a cross hair so that they can start chasing them. Then the Lion roars and the chase is on, you as the gamer chase the individual down the street while he or she throws boots, hats and other objects at you. The aim of the game is to button bash two buttons to make the Lion run and use the left and right buttons to dodge the objects. First of all the pray will start on foot, then on a bike and then finally in a car. The player racks up a high score depending on how close they get to the pray based on the speed they run and how good they dodge.

Studio - Toy - Ideas - Space Choones - Layout Idea

Space Choones, originally uploaded by James Wellock.

A simple visual representation of the a layout idea for the proposed game Space Choones. The arrow will move clockwise and anti-clockwise around a centre point from which the coloured objects are originating from.

Studio - Toy - Ideas - Um Dum

A idea for a game based on the nursery ryhme of Umpty Dumpty. The main theme of the game is to keep Umpty Dumpty balancing on a wall while various objects are being fired at him. For example first of all the Kings Men have a go at him, then the Army, then Russia and America fire warheads at him, then David Beckham kicks a free kick at him. Finally at the end he meets his arch nemisis, Numpty, and they fight gladiator style on the wall. The game would be in a first person view and would use a balacning technique like that one for grinding in Tony Hawks. The gamer would simply press the left and right buttons to balance Umpty and use an action button to make him jump and fight. The basic aim is to get to the end and fight Numpty racking up a high score as you dodge objects.

Studio - Toy - Research - Computer Games Resources

Pong
Space Invaders
Tetris
Super Mario Bros.
Tomb Raider

Studio - Toy - Research - Computer Games - Tomb Raider

tombraider
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

Developed by Core Design it was one of the bench marks in games design. Originally inspired by the Indian Jones films, it was released in 1996 to great accliam. It was the next step in the evolution as it was one of the first well done three dimensional games and the introduction of a female charactor showed a natural boundry crossing throughout the industry. The aim is to travel through various levels collecting items as the story unfolds. Its a popular theme and has spawned many sequals, including a film. Lara Croft, the charactor is now one the most popular marketing tools in any industry and is instantly recognisable to a massive majority of the public.

Studio - Toy - Research - Computer Games - Super Mario Bros.

mario
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

The brainchild of illustrator Shigeru Miyamoto in 1985, and developed by Ninetendo, it was quite simply the saving grace of the computer games industry after the crash of 82-83. The game centred around Mario and his brother Luigi, plumbers from New York who one day get sucked down a drain pipe to the Mushroom Kingdom. There the world is under the evil rule of a giant fire breathing turle and the former princess is in great danger so the plumbers take it upon them selfs to save the kingdom. Its a platrform game so the charactor moves horizontally and vertically along a side sweeping scenery. Basic, but imensly colourful and addictive to play, it spawned lots of copies and sequals but over time the charactor Mario as become as recognisable as any other western tradmark.

Studio - Toy - Research - Computer Games - Tetris

tetris
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

Tetris (its important to note that the image above isn't the original version but a evolution of it, as today it is still goind strong) was commercialy introduced in 1987 although it had been around from 1985, thanks to programmer Alexey Pajitnov. A Russian dervied game in which was famously a mainly Japanese and American industry, it became massive with gamers and very popular. Its a game not suprisingly coming from a simple and functional state that involves the user arranging blocks in a fashion that creates completed lines for which are then taken away to create more. A high score is then obtained depending on how many lines have been banished.

Studio - Toy - Research - Computer Games - Space Invaders

space invaders
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

Space Invaders was designed and programmed by Toshihiro Nishikado for Taitoin Japan, in 1978 and is seen to be one of the most popular arcade games ever, even to this day. Its simply based on a group of aliens moving downwards in steps towards you, the ship. The aliens shoot at you and you must shoot back but unlike them you have four shelters to hide behind. So you must destroy all the aliens before they reach your shelters or destroy you. Looking back at it now, its seems quite a simple game but for its time it was revolutionary and has created cult followings all over the world.

Studio - Toy - Research - Computer Games - Pong

pong
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

Although not the first computer game as such it was the first one that could be played by the masses. First played in arcades in the early 70's, by the middle of the decade it was starting to hit the homes. Many companies sold many versions but it was Atari and their "Pong" chip that put them at the top of the Christmas list. You see while competitors where still using analogue components , Atari had developed a digital chip that not just enabled the user to play the game but also visualise onscreen scoring and attractive new age sounds. Its a simple game of digital tennis but to the infant gaming generation was a gaint leap in entertainment.

Studio - Toy - Research - Game Resources

Dominoes
Playing Cards
Cup and Ball
Chess
Kubb

Studio - Toy - Research - Games - Kubb

Kubb
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

Kubb is a Swedish game and is thought to have been created by the Vikings over 1000 years ago. Legend says that in them days they used the skulls and thigh borns of there victims to play. More probable is the notion that they simply used the off cuttings of fire wood, and this is seen to be more truthful as "Kubb" in Swedish means block of wood. The main aim is to knock all your opponents blocks of wood down with the sticks and then knock the king down, the first person to do this wins.

Studio - Toy - Research - Games - Chess

Chess
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

The game chess oringinated in India and evolved from a game called Shaturanga, in about AD 300. Since then many variants of the game have been palyed, Shatranj in Persia, Tamerkane's Chess in Mogul, Courier Chess in Germany, Siang K'i in China and Sho-gi in Japan. It wasn't until the 15th and 16th Centuries that the chess we know today was born and even after that it still evolved through time throughout Europe. Today it is very much a game of great intelligence and is seen to be a test for any willing individual, be it physical or now digital thanks to the computer and internet.

Studio - Toy - Research - Games - Cup and Ball

Cup and ball
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

Cup and ball is around 500 years old and was first played by the Tudors under the name of Bilbo Catcher. It was a simple design made out of wood and a bit of string. It wasn't till the Victorians got hold of it that it gained colour. The modern version is now made out of plastic and instead of string a spring is used to propel the ball into the air. The basic principle of the game is to get the ball in the cup as many times as you can within a certain time limit.

Studio - Toy - Research - Games - Playing Cards

Card
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

Playing cards are thought have originated in Central Asia in the 10th Century. It was China that began using them as paper forms of dominoes and thus created a new game. It wasn't till the 1300's that they hit Europe and through time were mass produced to the public. The playing cards we know and love today are French designed and became standard in Britain first and later her collonies such as America and Australia. Many games can be played with them either in a group are by youself. Also as well as being items of fun they're also items of intrigue and mystery, and are often used in magic tricks.

Studio - Toy - Research - Games - Dominoes

Dominos
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

The game first appeared in China in 14th Century and was first recorded in Europe in Italy. The basic design hasn't changed throughout time, even in them days they had tiles ahd dots on them and even spining pins. European dominoes are shorter than Chinese ones but are still based on the permutation of the throw of two dice. Various games can be played with them and are popular all over the world, especially in Latin America.

Studio - Toy - Research - Mobile Device Resources

Palm
Apple
Samsung
eBay
Gameboy

Studio - Toy - Research - The Future...

Playstation PSP
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

Studio - Toy - Research - The Future...

Nintendo DS
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

More and more devices are being introduced, offering on the move gaming but it looks like the two big players are going to be Nintendo, of course with their developement of the Game Boy, the DS and Sony with their brand new device, the Playstation PSP. Both offer massive power and only time will tell who is the victor.

Studio - Toy - Research - iPod - iPod mini

iPod Mini
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

An unusual choice but they do have games on them and are very popular devices among the young and fashionable. It is then a viable option but due to the lack of a colour screen the game would have to relie heavly on gameplay to become popular.

Studio - Toy - Research - Smartphones - Palm Treo 650

Palm Treo
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

The love child of both mobile phones ans PDA's. At the moment they are quite rare due to expense but in the future they could hold the key to craking the PDA gaming market. The great thing about them is that they come with easy to use wireless technology such as Bluetooth which alows users to play games against each other, adding a whole new and excuting dimension.

Studio - Toy - Research - PDA's - Palm Tungsten T5

Palm Tungsten T5
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

Studio - Toy - Research - PDA's - Palm Tungsten T5

Palm Tungsten T5 2
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

This is what is know as a PDA, a small version of a laptop. Palm is one of the industries leaders but it is important to note that PDA's arn't really known for their games. Which is suprising as they are quite powerful devices for their sizes, for example the T5 has a 416MHz Intel Processor with 256MB of a memory. Also it includes a extra-large 320 x 480 pixel TFT colour screen which can be used both in portrait and landscape modes. So as you can see it is quite a versitile device.

Studio - Toy - Research - Mobile Phones - Samsung E710

Samsung E710
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

This phone is one of the popular choices among users, but here I am talking more generally about mobile phones. Games on phones really took off with the introduction of the game Snake on Nokia mobile phones in the late 90's. Nowadays all sorts of games are availiable to fill in those boring moments of the day when you're waiting for a bus or on your dinner break. Most mobile phones these days have a LCD colour screens, roughly about 128 x 160 pixels in size. The best thing about putting games on mobile phones is that they are played by a much more wider audience than any other device. It could be said that mobile phones are to thank for the popularity of older users playing computer games.

Studio - Toy - Research - Portable Game Consoles - Game Boy Advance SP

Game Boy Advance SP
Originally uploaded by James Wellock.

The child of simply the grand daddy of them all, the original "Game Boy" from Nintendo. This, the latest version is roughly about the size of a minidisc player and boasts a 32-bit CPU along with a 2.9 inches, 240 x 160 pixel, reflective TFT colour LCD. It is quite simply the most popular handheld gaming console on the market resulting in many game developers publishing games for it. Some of the most famous are Mario, F-Zero, Zelda to name a few.