Assignment 2 - Comparing Reviews of Batman Arkham Knight.

A Comparison of Reviews for Batman Arkham Knight

This assignment I was set the task of comparing two reviews of a video game or film of my choice, one being a critical analysis and the other being a biased review. The critical analysis I am using can be found by clicking here. Due to demand of high quality critical reviews I struggled to find a singular biased review to I am using a page of user reviews that are a combination of various biased reviews, the site can be found by clicking here. I will then go into individual reviews and analyse aspects. One I have looked into the different aspects of the reviews that make them critical analysis and biased I will then compare them and try to distil why they have reviewed Arkham Knight in that way and with there desired opinion about the game.

The critical analysis review is named 'Long Halloween' and produced by Steven Hansen. The name of the review could be suggested as a reference to the main plot of the game being the taking over of Gotham by the main protagonist Scarecrow, a character that has already appeared numerously in Batman Arkham series. A scarecrow being an object often associated with Halloween suggests the reason behind the title.

The layout of the review is chunked paragraphing and relevant images of the game, this gives the review a very professional look combined with the use of facts about the game at the beginning of the review, this reflects how the person wants the review to be seen. For example the professional look has made look when it comes to first approach a review that is to be taken very seriously and has had a lot of time and consideration put into it. In comparison a majority of the biased reviews have a similar layout without imagery, however there is a use of slang and phonetic spelling, for example in Shayan_MU's review they use an exaggeration 'soooooo' within their review. This suggests that they're aiming for a less professional audience and want to express their opinion clearly, this is prove by the fact he/she is talking about how they think Arkham City is better and by using the exaggeration on the word which shows that they hold this opinion strong them. They could have made an explanation as to why he/she thinks Arkham City is better and gives evidence within each game e.g the plots of both of them, however by just giving their opinion on the game if this gives a very biased tone to the review. Overall the layout has a critical effect on both reviews as they both reflect aspects of there opinions on Arkham Knight.

One of the main points of criticism towards the Arkham Knight was the repetition of the use of the Batmobile. The user Shayan_MU continues to say 'They ruined it with batmobile , its get boring more and more ... boss fights with batmobile ??'. This clearly shows a form distress due to the Batmobile being implemented into the game. In comparison, Hansen's review covers this topic and states 'And of course the brings is to the Batmobile. It is cool and god awful'. Just this statement alone gives a very split opinion about the Batmobile being a main aspect to the game so then he continues to find out as to why it is so controversial and takes a look into the good aspects and the bad. He continues with the good aspects of the Batmobile, for example the fact the chase scene with the Firefly works really well with it and the fact that most of Gotham is destruct-able walls so there is limited crashing. He then goes on to talk about the bad aspects, he states 'all the work that went into it means it needs alot of screen time'. By stating this he has gone into depth and to find out as too why the Batmobile is so repetitive and it is due to the fact that a lot of the company Rocksteady has put alot of effort into putting it into the game therefore wanting to show this to the consumer. He then goes into further detail and says how the Riddler missions with the Batmobile feel forced and gives a justified reasons as to why it feels repetitive. Overall when it comes to the Batmobile I feel that both reviews have a strong opinion to the fact that it is use too much but the difference between the reviews is that Hansen goes into detail and covers the aspects of the game to understand why it feels so repetitive and gives a justified reason as to why so, therefore creating a more analytical review.

Overall both reviews have similar views and opinions but the large difference is that within the critical analysis he goes into further detail and justifies his point with his primary evidence from his experience of the game. For example he spoke about how he felt there was  'less punching this time around' but then went further and discussed he felt this was due to the Batmobile being added to it therefore removing a lot of first hand combat, justifying why he has this opinion and clearly explains to the reader what they should expect. Whereas with the biased reviews they just give a very strong opinion but limited explanation, for example the user Bernadet states 'Arkham City is the best game on the WiiU this is the worst Batman game I have ever played'. The user doesn't explain as to why this is so, maybe it synergies well with the Hardware? Or her/his experience with Arkham City was so good that they had very high standard set for Knight. See how this leaves the reader very confused. In conclusion I feel the biased review holds a very negative view towards the game because of the repetition of the Batmobile and there love for the second instalment of the series Arkham City. With Hansen's review his view of the game is that he agrees with the repetition of the Batmobile however he thinks it was a good instalment, this is proved by the fact he thinks it's 'more than ok' rating it at a 7 and his generally balanced opinion about the game. So overall they both hold similar opinions but Hansen seem to give a balance opinion and not only look into the bad aspects of the game but the bad aspects.                           

Maya - Creating Chess Pieces

This week we created different chess pieces and the board in they sit on. Here are a few of the renders.

 

This was a really effective task as I was able to use most of the tools in Maya, Including the hypershade tool to help improve me textures.

 

 I then played with the lighting to give it a really colourful effect.

Final Render

Here are my final renders of my 3D Lighthouse.

 

 

This is the view from my concept art, I think this work really well with the background and lighting.

 

Here are the rest in which I used compositions from images to see if they compliment the model

 



Renders - Draft

Here is my draft renders they are just to see if the positioning is effective and the composition is used.
 

 

Continuing My Concept Art

 

To help develop my ideas ready for my 3D Model and clarify key parts to the model I decided to go into further detail with my concept art. The Image above shows the front view of the lighthouse I am creating. I looked at the structure from my mood boards of representation to help me design this part to the building and I feel this really helped. I was able to add the patterns of the windows and the position of the light on top to help me see whether it represented the theme right and completed its purpose. 

 

 

  I then went onto looking at the actual light of the house and the position of the render. On the left is my ideas for the light and then my final choice, I feel like this was a good choice as the light fits the purpose of the lighthouse as it is able to rotate and deliver a clear light. I feel it also fits the theme as well by the key factor that it is very abstract and artistic. On the right is the position I want my render to be in be drawing this I was able to visualize weather it is an effective position. After doing this I feel it is very effective as I have a background to play with and fit all of my piece into the scene.

 

Overall I feel that using concept art has been a huge benefit to developing my 3D model as I was able to visualize exactly what I am aiming for.

 

Further Development of 3D Model

 First I removed the cube on the top to give space for the light, then I used the bridge tool to cover the hole of the polygon therefore the light would have something to sit on.

Here is a wide shot of the 3D model.

 I then created the light for my lighthouse by using the designs in my concept art. I created half of the image and then used the mirror tool to make it symmetrical.

Once I put the light in place I used a new blinn to give the light a glass style for the light to pass through.

 I then added a few colours just to help separate the sections of the model, I also grouped parts of the model in the outliners window.

Japanese Lighthouse Moodboard

To further my research I thought I would look in Japanese Lighthouses, as their culture is a huge part to oriental. From looking at these Images I see that their lighthouse still have the design purpose of a lighthouse, for example the curved structure yet at the same time have an abstract artistic feel to them. With the use of shapes and design, I feel this is how I want to represent the oriental style, by creating a building with the true purpose of a lighthouse but at the same time bring in an abstract artistic view to the oriental piece to truly represent the culture.