Thursday, 3 April 2014

Platform Builds (P4)

Xbox 360

Click Here To See The Xbox 360 Build

PC

Click Here To See The PC Build

iPhone

Click Here To See The iPhone Build
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Saturday, 15 March 2014

My Presentation (P3/M3)

This is me speaking my presentation as I click through the slides.

Click Here For The Video


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Tuesday, 17 December 2013

Hardware Technologies For Game Platforms (P2/M2)

Introduction
In this blog I am going to be talking about the different types of hardware technology showing comparisons and illustrative examples. I will be explaining what the different types of hardware does and why they are necessary to the gaming platform.

Human-computer interface - Interface devices are used every gaming platform, why? Because it wouldn't be a gaming platform if the user couldn't play on it. For the user to play on it they need a device which can help the interact with the platform. For PC users, a keyboard (Figure 1) and mouse (Figure 2) is the usual setup, these devices are powered by USB. The keyboard works by the computer recording keystrokes, a keystroke is when a key is entered, it sends a signal that the computer understands and the PC displays it on the screen. This is the same scenario with the mouse, except there not keystrokes, a optical mouse takes 1,500 images from this tiny camera, this allows it work on most surfaces, it also has a red LED - (light emitting diode) which bounces light of the surface and sends it back to the CMOS - (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensor. This sensor is constantly looking for light so it can send images to the DSP (digital signal processor) which is operation at 18 MIPS (million instructions per second) so one it located that the image is changing in a given axis, it will send the information the PC with the given coordinates. There are alternative option you can uses for most platforms a gamepad/controller, in (Figure 3) you can see a controller with a USB, this is important because most platforms comes with a USB port, so this controller is adaptable. A controller works similarly to a mouse and keyboard combined, it has the ability to send coordinated to the PC whilst having many buttons that can interact with the computer. Out of these three, the most user friendly in my opinion is (Figure 3), its comfortable, its easier to locate buttons, its easier to use and most games are optimised for game pads. Game pads are also easier to sort out your button configurations, because they only give you buttons that you need, however the keyboard has a lot of extra keys which are not needed.

Figure 1


Figure 2


Figure 3



Central Processing Unit (CPU) - The CPU comes in different sizes and strengths, some have single cores and others have multiple. The more cores the quicker the CPU can read and process information. The better CPU you have the better the gameplay experience will be, this is because it will be able to read the game data faster causing the game to run smoother. However you need more than multiple cores to make a game run smooth, you can have a quad core processor at 1.5GHz and then have a single i7 at 4.50GHz, the i7 has more power so it will be better. Why have a multiply core processor? If you have more than one you can dedicate a core to do a certain task, an example of this is if you had a quad core processor you could give one core to the operating system, one or two to the game and the fourth to all the background processes. This will run better than having a single core, todays games require at least a dual core so now there is requirements that need to be met. Figure 4 shows a single core processor and Figure 5 shows a quad core, if there was no text on the processor, you wouldn't know the difference.

Figure 4














Figure 5
Graphic Processor - The graphic processors job is to display the data in a image format, the graphic processor doesn't really improve the image quality of the normal desktop (not noticeable) however its noticeable in games. Games today require a lot of processing power from the GPU, they require certain speeds to play on certain settings, an example would be if you wanted to play in 'High' settings you may require at least a Gigabyte of memory and at least 1000MHz clock speed. Also it depends on if you playing the game in 2D or 3D, not all GPU's support 3D. These numbers can always change depending on the game and the graphic requirements. You can get integrated GPU's which can do the basics, but anything more you really need a graphics card. Figure 6 shows a integrated graphics card and Figure 7 shows a graphics card.

Figure 6


Figure 7
Memory (RAM) - RAM is required to make a computer run, without it, it wont work. What the RAM does is that it sends information to the hard drive in a certain location for quicker access, the larger the RAM, the more storage is can save, and the quicker it can access it. The more RAM you have the quicker it can load processes, this will improve load times in games and gameplay itself, because the entire game is made up of data and RAM's job is to load it. There are different types of RAM the two main ones that are used are DRAM and SRAM. SRAM is mainly used to sort and manage cache and DRAM is used for managing storage for quicker access.

Display - The display is very important in terms of gaming because you need to be able to see and see well. The display you have must be a high resolution with a quick refresh time, so you don't get jumps in the image and it looks crystal clear. Some displays are CRT, some are LCD, some are LED, some are plasma. The way I listed these are in order of creation and in order of quality, CRT's are old and rubbish, whereas plasma's are clear and fast. Figure 8 shows a CRT, Figure 9 shows a LCD, Figure 10 shows a LED and Figure 11 shows a plasma.

Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11

Sound - sound is quiet important to gaming, some games require you to have sound so the atmosphere is set correctly. All computers have a integrated sound card, some are mono some are stereo, it is better to buy a sound card which supports at least 5.1 surround sound, this will make the gaming experience amazing. PC's usually come with two jacks a green one and a pink one, the green one is where you plug your speakers, your headphones etc and the pink one is where you'd plug your microphone, this is alright for the basic gaming with alright sound quality. However if you want the best sound you'd buy a graphics card which comes with 4+ jacks. Figure 12 shows the normal jacks and Figure 13 shows the sound cards jacks.

Figure 12


Figure 13


Game Storage Medium - To play games you need a storage device for which to install you games and to be able to run it of it. Its advised to have two hard drives, one containing the operating system and one containing everything else, this will help with stability, also a faster read speed will help the PC read the information on the hard drive faster and more reliable. Another storage medium is the disc itself, it contains information to run the game (run the installer). Today loads of these storage mediums come with a anti piracy protection, meaning copying data from the disc or hard drive or USB, whatever the case it will block you from doing so. Figure 14 shows a hard drive and Figure 15 shows a CD.

Figure 14

Figure 15


Connectivity - Connectivity is another word for different types of connections, an example of a connection is LAN, LAN is usually your router and everyone connected to that router. You can play on LAN games with others in your household. WAN is where your router is connected to the internet and you can join other servers and networks to play games outside of your household. Another term of connectivity could be interface devices connecting into controller ports, another one could be WiFi. There are many types of connectivity for all types of devices. Figure 16 shows Bluetooth which is another type of connectivity.

Figure 16


Interface Devices - When playing games, the players may which to change there interface device to suit there needs. What I mean by this is a steering wheel may be used when playing a car/racing game due to it being easier and more comfortable to use. Another example is Guitar Hero, using the controller that comes with the console is good, but to bring out the true experience using the actual guitar will make that experience much more enjoyable. The basic interface devices are: Keyboard, Mouse and Controller, there are many more for all different games, you can still play games using a different interface, for example you can play guitar hero with the steering wheel if you wanted, but its not recommended. Figure 17 shows a guitar hero interface device, Figure 18 shows a steering wheel and pedals, and Figure 19 shows a joystick (used for fighting games)

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19


Power Supply - Most consoles and PC's require a power supply to keep it powered, the power supply takes the 230 volts and lowers them so they don't fry any component within the system. Laptops power supply is made to charge a battery not to maintain power, although you can run the laptop of a power supply but it is not recommended. Whereas Xbox 360, PC, PS3 all are there to lowered the volts, and they can't run without constant power, there is no battery in either of the consoles to keep it running. Power supplies come in all different shapes and sizes, Figure 20 shows a PC power supply and Figure 21 shows a Xbox 360 power supply, both very different yet the job is the same.

Figure 20


Figure 21




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Wednesday, 11 December 2013

Platforms (P1/M1/D1)

Introduction
This blog post is going to display knowledge from myself and others around the world. This knowledge will help people understand the different platforms and inform the about their development and what they are.
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Console
Firstly we have consoles, consoles are platforms usually designed for game, a few examples 'Xbox' and 'PlayStation'. These two very successful companies have come very far. Sony first console what created in '1994' named the 'PS1'. This console brought out some amazing games such as 'Spyro' another great game 'Crash Bandicoot' and many more. Then Microsoft brought out a console name 'Xbox', this console brought out the famous 'Halo' series. Both of these consoles where bringing out amazing, high selling games and this is where the rivalry began. The consoles in all eras are always competing against each other for the best console of the year; this consists of console companies such as 'Nintendo', 'Sony', and ‘Microsoft’.





















These three top brands are famous in the gaming industry for their top consoles, each of these consoles are almost identical inside, meaning graphics cards, RAM, CPU, yet they look different on the outside and how it's displayed on screen, each console comes with its own GUI system. Each graphic user interface is different depending on the console, the GUI are set up depending on the certain aspects such as in peripherals, an example or a console well known for its use of peripherals on the system, that console is known as the "Wii". With this console you point a controller at the screen and interact with buttons. You can do this in similar ways with all the consoles; this is what defines what console does what.
What makes consoles different from arcades is the ability to play with friends over the internet and the fact once you have purchased the game, you don't have to pay every go.

Pros

  • Play the game/games in your house
  • Local multiplayer (split screen)
  • Plug and play, easy to set up
  • Patching of games is limited and rarely causes much delay for games you play often
  • Required updating of console itself is limited
  • Most people have a bigger TV than PC monitor, so big screen gaming is more feasible

Cons
  • Graphically inferior to high-spec PCs
  • More restrict controls, with keyboard and mouse better for some games
  • DLC can be unnecessarily expensive for what you actually get. (Fable 2!)
  • No dedicated servers
  • MMORPGs would not work on Xbox 360 (live subscription and MMO monthly fee! Not likely.) MMORPGs might work for PS3s, but they're more natural on PC
  • Games are more expensive
  • RROD/hardware faults generally mean entire console needs to be sent back to get fixed
  • Games you play less often may have major patch updates needed before game will load
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Arcade

This amazing video shows us what arcades could become, technology is always growing, even in older systems (older ideas). Arcades similar to this one require payment to play, and when you lose or finish the game, it will reset and you will have to pay again to play. This is a good business plan, and has worked ever since 1971, when the students at 'Stanford University' had created the first coin operated machine. There is a main, noticeable issue with arcade cabinets... They can only be played in an arcade, and they are not portable, this limits the spread of the games within the arcade from becoming popular.


Arcades are boxes containing consoles, they have RAM, they have CPU's, and they have operating systems. Software and hardware are the same as a computer. This is because computers are mobiles, consoles, arcades, televisions are all the same, and just on the outside they are different.

The arcade cabinet consists of Marquee, a marquee is the name/developer of the console, this is found at the top of the arcade cabinet, its colorful and has a back light behind it. Then below that we have the speaker location, the speakers which are connect to the PCB board and plays the game sound. Below that surrounding the monitor we have the bezel, this is a piece of plastic which protects the arcade monitor, the monitor depending on its ages is either a LCD flat screen or a CRT. Below the monitor we usually have the instructions panel, this tells the user how to play the game on the arcade cabinet. After the panel we have the actual control panel, this panel is where the user will use the controller to interact with the game inside the cabinet. Finally we have the coin door, the coin door is where the user will input money inorder to play the game, Its usually a £1.

Pros
  • arcade controls are easy to use and learn.
  • the time in which you play it varies on how good you are at it, so a £1 could last you the whole game.
  • social, gets you out and meet people.
Cons
  • payed to play.
  • big and bulky.
  • not portable.

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PC
PC being the most optimization platform, being able to upgrade any piece of hardware to your own standards, whereas the consoles and other platforms, you’re limited and upgrading is not possible. PC are the most expensive platform out there, this is because PC's are always being upgraded, the hardware within the. PC's cost more than the hardware in all the others. However to keep things fair, PC's games are also one of the cheapest. Computers made games what they are today, without people experimenting on them; the first game console could never have been built.


The first mechanical computer was made in 1822; this was made by 'Charles Babbage'. Then we have the first programmable computer, which was technique the first functional computer, the name of this computer was 'Z1' and it was made by 'Konrad Zuse', it was made somewhere between 1936 and 1938. The first computer for the public to use was 'IBM 5100 Computers' and the 'Apple 1 and 2' these computer cost roughly £600, and could raise up to £3000 depending on the amount of memory, now compared to the newer PC's out today, that £3000 will buy you a lot more, components are cheaper and there are much better parts, such as RAM, CPU's and similar peripherals. Then once the internet was integrated with the computers, it changed who PC's where as a whole, Google came around and games where invented, YouTube and many great companies such as these.


Pros

  • It is much cheaper than the AppleMac.
  • Since there are more people using a PC than a Mac, you're more likely to find help.
  • You can remodel the personal computer to suit your needs and even assemble your own customized version.
  • Getting cheap or even free software for PCs is relatively easy.
  • Most anti-spyware and anti-virus programs work well with the PC.

Cons

  • The PC is more open to virus threats.
  • Windows XP is a clumsier interface than the AppleMac operating system OS X. 
  • Sometimes, software for PCs tends to be unnecessarily complex.
  • Since there are so many models and manufacturers for PCs, you need to be more alert about what you opt for.
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Mobile
Mobiles when came out was this amazing, being able to communicate with others whilst being able to play games and listen to music. PC could do this yet they were not portable nor pocket size. Phones however have not always been small and compact and did not come with the new touch screen. Mobiles main area of gaming lies within the iPhone's App Store, this is where games such as 'Angry Birds and Jet pack Joyride' originated from. These games are addictive and can be played anywhere at any time, thanks to mobile development. Mobiles are a hand held device, there are other hand held devices which play a variety of games, and an example would be 'Game Boy', released in 1989 with its amazing 8-bit graphics which blew peoples mind.


Phones started out as button pressed commands with numbers. These numbers where used to call people, and some of the newer phones came with directional buttons which allowed you to play games such as 'Snakes'. Now phones come with touch screens and a few buttons, they want to make there devices more interact-able, the issue that comes with touch screen devices is that the device is very delicate and can break very easily, from the image above (picture of the iPhone with Angry Birds on it) you can see the most of the device is a screen, and surrounding the screen a thin border, this border cannot protect the phone from a great fall.

Pros
  • having more uses than gaming, (texting, calling, web browsing).
  • portable.
  • can become its own wifi hotspot, it can connect to the internet - providing you have paid for that type of contract.
Cons
  • the newer smartphones are easy to break.
  • the games on the device are not next generation, they are simple and basic.
  • they are small and easy to lose.


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Television
Television has come as far as all the other platforms. TV's have only recently become a interactive gaming platform, with built in consoles along with touch screen ability and the 3-D effect. TV's where once mechanical, this is where television started. There are newer TV's out, smart TV's with amazing resolutions, presenting amazing pictures, and costs a lot of money, however you quality you get out of them makes it worth it. TV's have also changed in size, the first TV was 5.9", and compared to the largest TV now a days is small. Today's largest TV is 201".


The largest TV being 201 inches can unfold and change heights all from a click on the remote. This is the future of televisions.
Its screen can be folded and the set can be hidden away. It takes just 40 seconds to unfold when you want to watch it again

Watch it unfold

Next Generation Of Outdoor TV's
This link shows you how the TV unfolds, this amazing piece of technology shows what we have accomplished and where the future will be.

Pros
  • Television are increasing in size, so bigger screens to play games on.
  • Newer TV's can support VGA and HDMI inputs, meaning you can plug consoles and computers into them.
  • Some TV's come with built in systems such as "freeview" and "console".
Cons
  • Fairly expensive.
  • Take up alot of room, they can go on the wall, but need large wall space.
  • Easy to break (newer TV's)
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History


Date
Arcade
Console
PC
Mobile
TV
1862
 
 
 
 
The first still image was sent
1873
 
 
 
 
Learnt how to send images by signals
1876
 
 
 
 
The year the idea for a TV at home was made
1900
 
 
 
 
The year television got its name
1907
 
 
 
 
Cathode rays and a vacuum tube where introduced
1921
 
 
 
Mobile Radios in cop cars
 
1924
 
 
 
 
The moving picture was developed
1925
 
 
 
 
The television was tested publically
1928
 
 
 
 
The first station was named W3XK
1936
 
 
Konrad Zuse
 
200 sets of TV’s where in use
1937
 
 
 
 
CBS was the first major television network to be made
1939
 
 
HP 200A Audio Oscillator
 
 
1945
 
 
 
First Phone
 
1947
 
 
 
First Mobile Phone
 
1950
 
 
ERA 1101
 
Colour was released on TV’s
1964
 
 
CDC´s 6600 supercomputer
 
 
1969
 
 
 
 
The TV was used to record and play footage from the moon
1971
The Galaxy Game, Computer Space
 
Kenbak-1
 
 
1972
Atari Pong
Magnavox Odyssey
 
 
 
1973
 
 
TV Typewriter
Frist Handheld Conversation
 
1975
Interceptor
Magnavox Odyssey 100 and 200
 
 
 
1976          
Moto-Cross
Atari Pong
Apple 1
 
 
1977
Space Wars
Atari 2600
Commodore PET, Apple 2
 
 
1978
Taito Space Invaders
 
 
 
 
1979
Atari Asteroids
 
Atari Model 400 and 800
First Commercial for mobile phones
 
1980
Pac - Man
 
Apple 3
 
 
1981
Nintendo Donkey Kong, Konami Frogger
 
Osborne I
 
 
1982
Sega Star Trek
Atari 5200 Super System
Commodore 64
First Phone Company Made “Nokia”
 
1983
 
 
 
Motorola DynaTAC 8000X
 
1984
 
 
Apple Macintosh
Call Handoff
 
1985
Vs. Super Mario Bros, Tekken World Cup
Nintendo Entertainment System
Microsoft Windows
 
 
1986
 
Sega Master System, Atari 7800
 
 
 
1987
Street Fighter
 
 
 
 
1988
Sega Tetris
 
 
 
 
1989
Exterminator
Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Genesis
 
Motorola MicroTAC 9800X
 
1990
 
 
 
2G technology, the first digital phone call was made
 
1991
Street Fighter 2
Sega Game Gear, Super Nintendo Entertainment System
 
 
 
1992
Mortal Kombat
 
 
Motorola International 3200
 
1993
Mortal Kombat 2
Atari Jaguar
 
The introduction of the pre-iPhone, introduction of text messaging, BellSouth/IBM Simon Personal Communicator
 
1994
Tekken, killer instinct,
 
 
Nokia 1011
 
1995
Time Crisis
Sega Saturn, Nintendo Virtual Boy, Sony Play Station
 
 
 
1996
Metal Slug
Nintendo 64
 
Motorola StarTAC, Nokia 8110, Nokia 9000 Communicator
 
1997
The House Of The Dead
 
 
 
Panasonic creates the first flat screen
1998
Dance Dance Revolution
 
Apple iMac
Nokia 9110i, Nokia 5110
 
1999
Drum Mania
Sega Dreamcast
 
Nokia 8210, Nokia 7110, Nokia 5210, Benefon Esc, Samsung SPH-M100 Uproar, Nokia 3210
 
2000
Police 911
PlayStation 2
 
Ericsson R380, Nokia 3310, Ericsson R320
 
2001
 
Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Game Cube
 
Nokia 5510, Nokia 8310, Ericsson T39, Ericsson T66, Ericsson T68, Siemens S45
 
2002
World Club Champion Football
 
 
Nokia 3510(i), Nokia 7650, Sony Ericsson P800, Nokis 6100, Nokia 6310i
 
2003
 
 
 
Nokia 1100, Nokia N-Gage, PalmOne Treo 600, Nokia 2100, Nokia 6600, BlackBerry Quark 6210, BlackBerry 7210
 
2004
 
Atari Flashback
 
Motorola Razor V3, Sony Ericsson P910, Nokia 3220, Nokia 7280
 
2005
Sangokushi Taisen
Xbox 360
 
Nokia 1110, HTC Universal, Motorola RAZR V3 Magenta, HTC TyTN 100, O2 XDA Flame
 
2006
 
Play Station 3, Nintendo Wii
 
 
 
2007
 
 
 
iPhone, HTC Touch, Motorola Q9H, LG Shine, LG Viewty
 
2008
 
 
 
iPhone 3G, BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Bold, HTC Touch Diamond
 
2009
 
 
 
BlackBerry Curve 8900, LG Versa, LG Xenon
all-digital television viewing
2010
 
 
iPad
Apple iPhone 4, HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy S, HTC Legend,
 
2011
 
Nintendo 3DS
 
Apple iPhone 4S, HTC Inspire 4G
 
2012
Gunslinger Stratos
Sony PS Vita, Nintendo Wii U
 
Nokia Lumia 900, Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G, iPhone 5
 
2013
 
Playstation 4 Xbox One
 
iPhone 5S, HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4
 


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References


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