DEADEYE FMP PROJECT
RESEARCH
Primary research
For my Primary research, I made a survey using Microsoft forms for features of the game. The Deadeye series is aimed at young adults, so I sent the survey to a group of my college mates, who are either in their late teens or early twenties.
Atmosphere
For the first question of the survey, I asked for what sort of theme the participants look for in a crime or action game. The first option was comedic. This atmosphere is usually achieved using rather wacky physics and gameplay or some jokes seen throughout the game, either during gameplay or in cutscenes, and specifically for crime games, this humour is usually quite dark. The second option was gritty. This atmosphere is usually attained via adding as much gore as possible to the game, and killing off characters in the most gruesome and painful ways possible, almost like a horror game. The third option was brooding. This is usually attained by the characters having a very serious nature, and the game not showing any sense of humour at all, to avoid making light of the situations that characters might find themselves in. The final option was tame, which is supposed to be a combination of the three. The majority of participants chose the tame option, so I'm going to be adding elements of the three to my Unreal level.
Kill methods
For the second question of my survey, I asked what Deadeye should use to take care of his targets since he is an assassin. Deadeye was originally inspired by Agent 47 from the Hitman series, who uses multiple methods to kill his targets. The first option was ranged, which revolves around an assortment of firearms, explosives or anything in the environment that is light enough to be picked up and thrown, like a soda can or a brick. The second option was melee, which revolves around anything in the environment that can be used up close against an enemy, like a sword or a baseball bat. The third option was accidental, which is usually the preferred way of taking out a target unseen. These accidents usually involve a faulty wire and a puddle of water or a fall from a high altitude. The fourth option was poisoning, which is also a silent method of taking care of a target. This usually involves spiking the target's food, drink, or occasionally their drugs, but can also be achieved with a syringe when nobody else is looking. The final option, which the majority of participants chose, is a mix of all four. So I'll be attempting to add a mix of ranged weapons, melee weapons, accidents-in-wait and poisonings-in-wait to my level.
Menu Screen
For the third question of my survey, I asked the participants what I should make for the background of the game menu. Out of character artwork, setting artwork, small cutscenes and a story synopsis, the majority chose setting artwork, so I'm going to be developing some concept of the Chinatown plaza for the menu.
Background music
For the fourth question of my survey, I asked what genre I should use as background music for the menu of my game, since due to the setting of the level, the music that plays during the level will be traditional Asian music, similar to the music that plays during the King of Chinatown and Situs Inversus levels in the Hitman series. Out of Rock, Punk Rock, Heavy Metal, Industrial Metal, Grunge and Electronic, the majority chose Punk Rock. I'll be listening to punk bands such as the Sex Pistols and the Clash during the project so their songs can help influence my music.
Character design
I plan for Deadeye to wear multiple choices of apparel over the course of the story, but for this level specifically, I asked participants what exactly he should wear. The majority voted for dark colours on a casual, non-formal suit. They also voted for Deadeye to wear a mask, so he'll be wearing his mask in the level.
Lore
During the survey, I asked participants questions related to the personality and backgrounds of the characters in the Deadeye story. The main purpose of these questions was to help influence the rest of the story beyond the Unreal Level, but I believe I can find a way to implement the results of these questions into my Unreal Level. I asked participants what they look for in an antagonist, and the majority voted for making them as relatable as possible, in contrast to Kai Treadman (the main antagonist of the level), who I originally designed to be as unlikable as possible, so I'm going to be adding multiple clues around the level, leading players to find a deeply troubled and stressed character and find some sympathy for him. I then asked which crimes they find difficult to forgive (in other words, what they believe to be the worst crime on the list), to make the antagonists of my story be as unlikable as possible.
Environment
Some of these questions were also to help influence the rest of the Deadeye story. I asked participants what sort of base they would like the antagonist to inhabit, and the majority voted for obscure over obvious or mid. I then asked where participants would like the game to be set, and most of them voted for the same location. So the entirety of the first Deadeye story will be set in the UK, just like I had originally planned for it to. I then asked if the game should be an open world environment or a confined level environment. The majority of participants chose an open world format while I was originally envisioning a level format, so I plan to integrate the two so it has levels within an open world, a similar structure to most of the modern Lego games. I then asked what time of day and level of light participants would like the level to be set in. The majority chose nighttime with dark light level, so I'll be adding very little light to the outdoor areas of my level.
Inspirational Characters
I then asked participants what character they liked the most out of characters from other media that inspired me to create Deadeye. the majority tied with James Bond and The Punisher. This was another question to influence the lore of the game.
Platforms
For the final question of the survey, I asked what platform participants would play the game on. The majority of participants tied with PS4 and PC. So I'll be making my Unreal level with a keyboard and mouse controls instead of a controller.
