History of GTA

Grand Theft Auto (1997)

Originally designed by DMA Design, the first Grand Theft Auto put the objectives into motion, requiring you to earn points throughout each of the three cities by completing tasks for the local crime syndicate. First GTA was quite agitated, but good fun, and its top-down (2D) overview of the world was, at the time, original. Rockstar expanded upon the series with a supplementary add-on, London, 1969, which released a couple of years later.

Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999)

This development followed a similar formula to the original, but this time you to work with different gangs, seven gangs all together. Grand Theft Auto 2 may not have been completely rewritten, but the improved visuals, sounds and structure made it an amazing game back in 1999.

Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001)

Back in 2001, Sandbox games were their roots, but with titles such as Urban Chaos and Omikron : The Nomad Soul attempting to create a larger environment within which to explore and fight.

But Grand Theft Auto 3 nailed the formula perfectly to make sandbox games a genre worth exploring and investing in. Going from 2D to 3D, this was an entry in the franchise that had a story worth pursuing. A new graphical engine made the game popped, professional voice actors helped carry the story and there was always something new to discover.

GTA 3 may not have been the first of its kind, but it did rise the popularity of SandBox genre games.

Grand Theft Auto Vice City (2002)

With GTA 3 as a runaway success, Rockstar could do whatever they wanted with the franchise and still make tons of cash. Fortunately, they decided to keep the fun factor intact as they took players back in time, taking a jump back to the 1980's.

This time, players had a better connection to their onscreen avatar Tommy Vercetti, as they bough property, wore pastel suits and indulged in a world that expanded upon and refined the GTA experience.

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (2004)

Once again Jumping back in time, Rockstar choose Los Angeles for the streets of San Andreas. Bolder, better, bigger than ever, San Andreas had players in charge of their character in this outing.

Player had to eat, chill and work out in order to stay alive, a gameplay idea that reflected on lead character Carl Johnson a.k.a. CJ. Carl Johnson could be a maniac with muscles or a fat guy with a short temper, as San Andreas raised the bar yet again for the franchise.

Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories (2005)/ Vice City Stories (2006)

Liberty City Stories brought the full GTA experience to the PlayStation Portable, as gamer's got to walk through Liberty City once again, this time in the shoes of Italian mobster Tony Cipriani.

It was like playing the original game all over again, only this time in your hands as the trademark violence and 3D style of the franchise made a helluva splash on the PSP, before being ported over to the PlayStation 2.

Vice City Stories was a Vice city remake, a tweak here and there, a new lead character with Vince Vance who was an ex-war veteran  taking over the city and players could enjoy the streets if Miami Vice.

Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)

GTA IV is set in Liberty City. It was the first GTA game to be released simultaneously for the PS3 and Xbox 369 consoles. Game takes place in a redesigned Liberty City, which bears a much closer resemblance to New York City thank its 3D counterparts. The onscreen avatar is Niko Bellic, a 30 year old Yugoslavian war veteran.

Grand Theft Auto The Lost and the damned (2009)

Deciding to experiment with episodic game-play, Rockstar only released two such episodes of Liberty City GTA. The Lost and the dammed was the first such game, an DLC that had players running around Liberty City as Jhonny Klebitz, a biker in a gang with a shady past.

Grand Theft Auto The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)

Continuing with the episodic style of GTA content, the next game coming out of the GTA 4 stable would return a certain air of lunacy, craziness and all around insanity to the series. Colorful and charming, players took on missions for night club owner.

Rated higher thank the Lost and the damned, ballad of Gay Tony added all new activities to the game, with a story-line that allows players to focus on having more fun for a change instead of ending on a sad note.

Grand Theft Auto V

The latest series of Grand Theft Auto is the 5th one, set within the fictional state of San Andreas, based on Southern California, the single-player story follows three criminals and their efforts to commit heists while under pressure from a government agency. The open world design lets players freely roam San Andreas open countryside and the fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angles.

The game is played from either a first-person or third-person view and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. Players control the three lead protagonists throughout single-player and switch between them both during and outside of missions. A 'wanted' system governs the aggression of law enforcement response to players who commit crimes. 

GTA V also has an online option called Grand theft Auto Online, the online multiplayer mode, lets up to 30 players explore the open world and engage in cooperative or competitive game matches.

GTA HISTORY - VIDEO!

Feedbacks and game's structure

Feedback interface

When playing most games the player will be able to gain some visual feedback, this will show them ways they can improve and top tips on how to do this. Feedback allows the player to stay interested in the game as they will be shown what the best way to improve their performance and levels would be. Temple run gives player suggestions on what the best move would be.

Game Structure

Every game has a structure which will define how it works whilst being played. When designing the rules and the mechanics of gameplay everything needs to be considered and information need to be passed on to programmers on how different parts interact and how the overall flow of the game happens.

Super Street Fighter IV (SSFIV), Call of Duty, Battlefield and Mortal Kombat 2 Game PLAY.

Difficulty & Balance

SSFIV have 8 different difficulty levels from easiest to hardest when fighting against the CPU as an opponent. Depending on the players skill level in this game, the easiest difficulty could be a walk in a small park with having no damage taken whereas the hardest difficulty can be near enough impossible for many not so experienced players.The game is very balanced as each character have their weaknesses and strengths, opponent who is better than you, equal or even not as good as you could still get the win or be defeated. In the game SSFIV everything is perfectly balanced, because every single character has his own "special moves" you can learn, but not every character is suited for you to win! In game balance is the concept and the practice of tuning a game's rules, usually with the goal of preventing any of its component systems from being ineffective or otherwise undesirable when compared to their peers.

Inventory

In video games inventor is usually players to store and carry items freely along with them throughout the journey of the game. A number of games have different capacities on how much they can store items, for instance in Call of Duty (COD), you are limited to carry two different weapons and "nades". The item you pick up or buy in the game is usually stored in some kind of "holder" or perhaps a big bag, where it can be stored and scrolled through for use later.

Scoring

Scoring is usually a point system within the game to see how much you have gained throughout the game or level. Therefore different types of scoring system such as Exp. (experience) points, Kill-streak, Points/Goals in sport games. This usually is a record of how well you are doing in that specific game  and how much you need to go on to the next level, for instance to level up in Battlefield you have to get "*" amount Exp. points to go on to next level which usually is gained by playing different types of game modes.

Win Condition 

Win Condition within games is usually calculated by the amount of points or health the each battling team have, it can also be determined by how far you have progressed within the game, for example; Completing a story mode in Mortal Kombat after you defeat the Final Boss, it will end with short cut scene finishing with a screen stating "You Win". However within that final battle you have another win condition where it will say "Finish Him!","Excellent", "Perfect" or even "Fatality" if playing Street Fighter, stating that you have won.

Narrative, Game Settings and more.

Narrative

These days in Gaming Industries there are Narrative Designers. Narrative Designer? Isn't that the game writer? A narrative Designer is a role in contemporary video game development, the focus of which is to design the narrative elements of a game, and to champion story within development process, which differentiates it from the role of game writer.

Temporal settings and Physical 

For physical settings of the game, the developers make the game world suitable to the games storyline by deciding where it will be placed an how the character will interact and adapt to that setting. For instance, football game in a basketball court will be considered irrelevant. This will be made to make the gamer more immersed in the video game and look forward to carry on playing later on. Temporal setting of the game will be taken into consideration during the creation of the game, as the time period of the game is crucial part of the game on making it more chronologically accurate as it will give the game depth and realism. For example, Assassins Creed it is important for that game to be set in the late 18's (1800¬)  because it based on the French revolution. If it wouldn't been set in the late 18's then the player will not be able to fully understand the game and impressed.

Emotional and Ethical

Games is general aim to draw out some kind of emotion from the player, for example when a player loses a round they may be angry or distraught however when they win something they might experience happiness. Also when the game has been completed people could be experiencing disappointment. Ethics plays a key part when people design games as such as Grand Theft Auto (GTA) where players are encouraged to steal cars and murder people horrifically. This causes problems as critics and reviewers and many others believes it courage's a violent generation.
(http://www.craveonline.com/site/573037-grand-theft-auto-v-doesnt-cause-violence-so-lets-stop-arguing-about-it) - This following article talks about how game's like Grand Theft Auto doesn't affect your mental health and does not cause violence, this might be true for some people as everyone is different. If people can't handle the game they simply shouldn't play it, it's also age restricted, so people have been warned that you should be at-least 18 years old to play this game. There are always people who will get their hands on the game before they are even 18, but their parents or close relatives buy it to them so they have to be prepared for the consequences. When playing Grand Theft Auto 5 people do disturbing things in game but they see the consequences you get for doing them so that affects them and shows why they should not be violent in real life. In real life the consequences can be worse in real life.

Environmental

This setting is where the game is based in, so the environment you are surrounded by when playing for example; Temple run, in that game you are surrounded by forests to make the player feel as if they are actually experiencing this therefore creating a more realistic feeling and entertaining game.

Rewards, Goals & Challenges

The main purpose when playing a game is to accomplish a achievement, this is done through completing hard gruelling challenges, achieving rewards and eventually completing goals. All of these are what attracts consumers to the game in the first place, it allows them to feel good about themselves and maybe even prod that they have at-last overcome problems resulting in rewards.

Player Actions

There are two different types of player actions done in video games. There are these actions that the player can do when controlling a character/object within the game, the movements are usually more advanced than just walking left and right, there are jumping, crouching, sprinting, punching, and kicking and so on. The other type, is how the character/s are controlled with the game controller. For example, if you analyse two different games such as GTA and Super Mario, you will clearly notice the difference in movements and how you should apply certain actions. In GTA you can fly, drive, swim, shoot and more within the game. Whereas, In Super Mario the actions are very basic, the most advanced action is sprinting where two buttons have to be pressed quickly. This shows how much the game development is grown in Video game's character actions

 Rules

 Rules are placed within video games for the player to understand on what and what not to do in the game for the character to progress for instance; getting killed. It also sets boundaries in the game so that the player can't cheat in a game or alert the game on how it's played so they gain an advantage over someone who is playing the game within following the rules if the game. Games such as Battlefield, Call of Duty, GTA V Online are often hacked by people want to gain power, gain significant advantage in the game by having unlimited health points or ammunition for example, which is not allowed and usually monitored and banned by the games administrator. Game developers put in these certain rules and regulation in the game so the game is balanced and fun to play in single player and multiplayer.

GamePlay, Single Player/MultiPlayer

Game-Play

Interaction models

Interaction models refer to how the gamer controls the character they are playing and how the character is presented in the game itself and how it interacts with the game world. There are two types of interaction models: Avatar interaction model and omnipresence interaction model.

Avatar

This type of interaction model is when the player is represented by a character or avatar that the player is able to control freely. This model is more focused on how the player controls the avatar and the actions that it does in the game world. A clear example of this would be Grand Theft Auto 5, where the player can control 3 different main avatars and freely play with team in the game world. People prefer this type of interaction model as controlling just 1 or 3 avatars allow them to be emotionally attached to their avatars and even get to know them in a way and be close with them as they will be playing that characters story-line.

GTA V, 3 Character Mini-Clip

Omnipresence

This type of interaction model is when the player controls many more than just 1 or 3 characters/avatars, hence "omnipresence". The player often controls an "army" of characters and they could also do changes to the gamer world itself for strategic purposes. Examples of games like this would be Civilization or Clash of Clans. In Clash of Clans, the player gets to build up their own army and base to protect their territory from an invasion. In both games the player is required to control many things at once which can be difficult. some players prefer this type of interaction model as there is more skill involved and there is less luck. This means that they can actually become competitive with other players to see who is better at the game. Also, people like the feature that they can change their own game world so that it is unique to them an they can compare to others same goes for Civilization versions.

Single Player

Single player video games is when the game is played only by only by one player against the computer (artificial intelligence) throughout the course of the game. During the early stages of video games, single player mode was vastly successful as it was for designers to create as it usually focused on having one character to play as. It was also highly influential in the development of video games as it became the core element in the making of video games and further enhanced different modes that can be incorporated in video games such as multiplayer mode.

TOP 12 Best single player games upcoming

That was a clip of some upcoming single player games, the most common genres for single player mode are; action-adventure games, platform games, first-person shooters and many more.

There are quite few positives and negatives about single player video games, I am going to state a few, such as playing the game without relying on anyone to complete an objective, as sometimes players with different skill level may hold you back from progressing further in the game. You may fell that completing the "campaign" by yourself feel like a more deserved victory than having a companion to help you out. However, if you get stuck on a certain mission or level and you do no know how to overcome the mission you cannot get help from another player to help you complete the mission, which may make the player stop playing and resent the game overall.

Multiplayer

There are different types of Multiplayer games some are; Co-Op and Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO)

Multiplayer video games consist of more than one player in the same game world which aren't controlled by AI (artificial intelligence) but rather by other players at the same time. This type of game allows players to work alongside each other to compete for the winning spot for instance, Call of Duty multiplayer modes, players are put into two separate teams which is made up for other players then try defeat the opposing team using the items (weapons, grenades) that are available to them.

Co-Op is a feature in video games that allows players to bring in other players on the same console, game mode is called : Co-Op/Split Screen. Internet access is not needed for this game type. A split screen is normally required when playing in co-op mode as each player can have their view of their character which could restrict the view for each person as they may not be able to see the surroundings around them, although they can quickly help each other if one player is overwhelmed by an enemy, they can quickly figure out where they are and give help.

Visual Elements

Visual Elements

World

Open world/Roam or sandbox are terms for video games where a player can move freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in regards to how or when to approach particular objectives, as opposed to other video games that have a more linear structure to their gameplay. 

NPC - Activity

A non-player character (NPC), sometimes known as non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any character that is not controlled by a player. In video games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence.

Use characters

A common method or arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also detail aspects of background and social standing, or impose behavior restrictions.

GUI/UI - Graphical User Interface/User Interface

User Interface,  refers to the methods (mouse control, keyboard control) and interfaces (inventory screen, map screen) through which a user interacts with your game. UX, or User Experiance, refers to how intuitive and enjoyable those interactions are.

Full Motion Video (FMV)

Video that changes the image 30 frames per second (30FPS). Motion pictures are run at 24 fps, which is the minimum frequency required to eliminate the perception of moving frames and make the images appear visually fluid to the eye.
TV video generates 30 interlaced frames per second, which is actually transmitted as 60 half frames per second.
Video that has been digitized and stored in the computer can be displayed at varying frames rates, depending on the speed of computer, if the computer is slow the movement will get jerky and unpleasant for humans eyes.

Perspectives

2D | Side Scroller (Direct) 

This game type is usually used for jumping games (called platformers), but can also be any side-scrolling shooter.

2D | Side Scroller (Angled) 

Almost all of these games involve the player controlling a warrior that brawls his way through an adventure. Most of them are multi-player.

2D | Top-Down (Direct) 

This game type usually involves controlling a character or vehicle that can move in four directions, but can also be a scrolling game where the players can only move the screen in a single direction like when piloting a flying vehicle.

2D | Top-Down (Slight Angle) This is practically the same as 2D Top-Down, but the sprites and objects tend to overlap each other. This style allows for better graphics, but loses a fraction of player control due to a slight confusion in depth.

2D & 3D Hybrid | Top-Down (Isomorphic) 

In this game style, the sprites are two-dimensional while the terrain is three-dimensional. Also, the perspective is adjusted 45 degrees from normal top-down games on both the left-right axis, and the top-bottom axis.

3D | Third Person 

This game type shows some angle from outside of the player’s character. Usually this angle is over-the-shoulder, but can be any other angle or all angles depending on the control style. Usually, this involves the game interpreting what angle it thinks the player wants, which reduces player control significantly.

3D | First Person 

This perspective means the player is always looking through the character’s eyes. It allows the player to have far better control, but limits the player’s ability to see due to the camera angle.

Competitive Games Terminology (Counter-Strike)

Game Terminology 

1Deag - To kill an opponent with ine shot from a Night Hawk .50c/Desert Eagle.

A - The A bomb site on a bomb defusal  map.

Camping - Staying in the same place or same small area for a long time.

Ace - When a single player kills the entire enemy team (5 People)

AFK- Away from Keyboard meaning in which a player is not currently present at the computer.

Ammo - Shorthand for a weapon's ammunition.

Anti-eco - Purchasing high kill reward weapons when playing against a team on an eco (LOW WEAPON BUY)

Eco/ Economy round - Saving cash by purchasing cheap weapons, purchasing only granates, or not purchasing any weapons or equipment.

Boost - Reaching normally unreachable positions by standing on teammates when the team collision is on. Players wanting for a boost will normally call 'Boost me' or 'Boost' followed by the location they require assistance reaching.

Carry - A player with a lot more frags compared to the rest of the team.

Clutch - Winning a situation in which the player is the last man standing or as the underdog in an winnable situation