Blackjack/Pontoon game Week 1

Blackjack/Pontoon game

Brief

The next gaming assignment is a to make a well know card game into a computer game.

Blackjack/pontoon/21 are all card games involving the concept of players trying to get as close to 21 points in a given set of cards.

Blackjack, also known as twenty-one, is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. Blackjack is a comparing card game between a player and dealer, meaning that players compete against the dealer but not against any other players. It is played with one or more decks of 52 cards. The object of the game is to beat the dealer, which can be done in a number of ways:

• Get 21 points on the player's first two cards (called a blackjack), without a dealer blackjack;
• Reach a final score higher than the dealer without exceeding 21; or
• Let the dealer draw additional cards until his or her hand exceeds 21.

The player or players are dealt an initial two-card hand and add together the value of their cards. Face cards (kings, queens, and jacks) are counted as ten points. A player and the dealer can count his or her own ace as 1 point or 11 points. All other cards are counted as the numeric value shown on the card. After receiving their initial two cards, players have the option of getting a "hit", or taking an additional card. In a given round, the player or the dealer wins by having a score of 21 or by having the highest score that is less than 21. Scoring higher than 21 (called "busting" or "going bust") results in a loss. A player may win by having any final score equal to or less than 21 if the dealer busts. If a player holds an ace valued as 11, the hand is called "soft", meaning that the player cannot go bust by taking an additional card; 11 plus the value of any other card will always be less than or equal to 21. Otherwise, the hand is "hard". (taken fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackjack)

Each card is given a value, which is its face value. The picture cards Jack / Queen / King are all 10 points each and the ace is 1 or 11  (depending on variant of game rules you choose).

There is a dealer and 4 other players. 

You control one player and the computer controls the other 3 players

This is not about amazing graphics, its also not about GAMBLING. The goal of the game is is to win a round, you can have a system where its best of 7 games or something like that. You will need to study first of all the rules for playing blackjack/pontoon/21 and pick a rule set. Then you need to study probability (ie the mathematical study of chance).

When would you choose to twist or stick and why?

When would an AI player choose to stick or twist and why? You will need to understand and embed this into the game. Creating this game is a lot harder than it looks.

Stage one is:

Study the rules and understand the card games

Study probability (rules or chance).

Blog your development process and blog how you get the AI to choose to twist or stick and how probability links with this.

Core Features

• Decide what kind of Data Structure to hold the cards; List, Queue, Stack, Array.
• Find or Create sprites for the cards in the game.
• Develop the dealing mechanic for the four players.
• Develop the simple rules, the player can stick or twists and if goes over 21 loses.
• Develop the AI for the different players, Beginner, Intermediate, Expert.
• If another player has 21 then add a five card trick.

Extra Features

• Split option. Player can split the two values into different variables
• Personalise the players so they act differently not just depending on their cards but also how the game is going or how much time has passed.
• Add cool animations or character personalities. Theme could be wild west or futuristic.

Game Rules

• Pontoon > Five card trick > 21, 20...
• 4 players including the user controlled player.
• Players cannot stick with less than 15.
• Players are dealt two cards face down.
• If player has Pontoon then they must turn their Ace facing up.
• If a player twists the card is dealt to them face up.
• If a player busts they must declare that they are bust.
• If a player gets two of the same card value they have the option to split and receive one card for each new hand face down.

Deck and Dealing Structure

• Create a single deck of 0-51 and a separate array of values that correspond to the initial values. Use modulo to reference the deck list to the array of values.
• Choose who is going first and deal them cards round the table
• Go through turn order clockwise.

Theme

Originally I thought of doing a Wild West theme but decided to go for something a little more unique. I decided on what will be called Spiffing Pontune and it will have a stereotypical English theme. I may well decide on recording a voice over for the game that is a caricature English butler. The theme of the game will be a 19^th century Gentlemen’s club. The players around you will be fairly simple caricatures of the time period and in your environment there will be cigar trays, etc.  

P3 Music Exercise. Planning and Creating Sound

Level 3 Extended Diploma in Games Development

Unit 73 Sound for Computer Games

Lecturer: Josh Rai

Aims:

P3 Be able to create sound assets for a computer game following industry practice.

Creating sound assets for a computer game following industry practice, working within appropriate conventions and with some assistance.

Exercise:

Using your exercises and assignment 1, plan a small piece of music for one of the following styles/genres.

Shoot em’up

Platform game (for a console/pc or smart phone).

Racing game

Sports game (you can choose the sport).

Remember: you must consider genre, sample rate, stereo/mono, audio storyboard, file storage, naming conventions, production planning, and quality assurance.

Extension:

Research and answer the following questions.

How will you monitor what you have recorded?

How will you monitor recording levels?

If you finish see me so I can check the above questions then you can begin recording/creating the music you have just planned.

-Genre: Ratchet and Clank style platformer. A 2D or 3D fun and cartoonish puzzle platformer. Music must be lively and enjoyable to fit the tone of the game.

-Instruments: Lively drum beats, cymbals, bass guitar. Construction noises (Foley): drilling, hammer hitting metal, etc.

-Mono & Stereo: The music would most likely be Stereo output, but we could use 3D audio effects to simulate the feeling of Surround sound without needing several speakers.

-File Formats: We would create this music using GarageBand so it could be exported as an MP3 file. This has a low file size and is extremely sharable. However, this is a Lossy compression format and would lose a large portion of the quality so we may decide to export as an AIFF. AIFF is uncompressed file format so would have a very large file size but would have better quality. It is the native uncompressed format for Apple computers.

-File Naming: The file would be organised into a folder named something like “background music”. The file itself would be named something like “level 1 music, Construction”.

-Sample rate: After some research we found at that 48KHz is an acceptable sample rate when recording audio. Most people do not perceive a difference in sound or noise above 20KHz so 48KHz is appropriate.

-Quality Assurance: Changing the volume of the track to check for distortion. Testing the game and the soundtrack side by side to assess whether it fits into the game’s tone.

-Production Planning: We have this afternoon, approximately 2 hours, to compose the soundtrack. There is two of us so we could potentially work on different tracks or different parts of the same track to maximise efficiency.

How will you monitor what you have recorded?

-This is the process of creating an audiolog. This is where the creator of sound notes down the specific parameters of sound such as, the duration, the volume, etc, and what the sound is and their personal opinion on the file recorded.

How will you monitor recording levels?

-Audiometer. A VU meter. A peak program meter. These programs monitor parameters such as decibel level etc.

Recording Sound

Dictaphone - We used a dictaphone to record various mechanical and metal sounds throughout college. We recorded hitting a locker, jangling keys, coffee machine whirring, shoes hitting on stairs. If we had been given more time we probably would have recording more conventional construction sounds such as power drills, cement mixers, hammers, saws, etc.

Editing Sound

GarageBand - We edited the sounds and used preset loops in a music editing program called GarageBand. GB is exclusive to Macintosh devices so we were unable to edit sounds outside of college.

This screenshot shows the creative process as we used preset loops to create a soundtrack.

Here you can see the track is taking shape and it was at this point that we decided to add Foley sounds. We used the jangling keys to make a kind of Tambourine sound and we used the locker bang to create a drum beat. 

My Best Games of All Time

Best Game of All Time

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion

Introduction

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is an action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks and the Take-Two Interactive subsidiary 2K Games. It is the fourth instalment in The Elder Scrolls action fantasy video game series, following The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and preceding The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Oblivion was first released in March 2006 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. It is known best for its intricate RPG elements and open world. It was revolutionary in its use of A-list actors as Patrick Stewart and Sean Bean play pivotal characters in the game.

Story

A prophecy is being fulfilled and the human world and the world of oblivion are being melded together. The story follows the protagonist, who the player creates themselves, as he tries to fight the forces of Oblivion. Assassins are attempting to kill the emperor and so the emperor flees with his royal guards. You start the game in a prison cell and fortunately for you, the emperor is travelling through a secret passage that leads through your cell. The emperor tells of you being an important part of visions that he sees. That you will help save the world from the forces of oblivion. The emperor is murdered by a cult called the Mythic Dawn and you are thrust into the world of The Elder Scrolls.

Characters

Emperor Uriel Septim

Uriel Septim VII is the emperor of Tamriel. Uriel gives the Hero the Amulet of Kings, before he is killed by a dagger wound inflicted by an assassin named Andrew of the Mythic Dawn cult. The emperor, having heard of the recent assassinations of his other sons, was attempting to make his escape through a network of passages underneath the Imperial Prison. As he is dying, he entrusts to you the Amulet of Kings, which is a royal heirloom of incredible power. The emperor is voiced by Patrick Stewart.

Brother Martin

Brother Martin is the illegitimate son of Emperor Uriel Septim VII. After the emperor's death, Martin is the only remaining member of the Septim bloodline. At the beginning of the game he is a priest in Kvatch, unaware of his lineage. After saving the city of Kvatch from an oblivion gate, you convince him to take his rightful place and he becomes a pivotal character in the game. Brother Martin is voiced by Sean Bean.

Grand Master Jauffre

Jauffre is the Grandmaster of the Blades. He lives in cover as a quiet monk in a place called Weynon Priory. The player takes the Amulet of Kings to Jauffre at Weynon Priory and so begins the main quest to save the world from oblivion. He assists the player and Martin in trying to stop the Mythic Dawn from bring Mehrunes Dagon, an oblivion lord, into the human world.

Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3EOibiVzq4

The main theme is an engrossing and epic piece of music. It really brings back nostalgic memories for me. I have also thought that it sounds very similar to the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song. It gives a similar feel as both pieces of music create a feeling of adventure and this fits very nicely with the open world and emphasis on exploration.

The music changes when the player is in battle, which creates a feeling of strong tension. Often times when playing, I would hear this music before I could see an enemy and would immediately tighten up and search carefully for an instigator. Here are some of the soundtracks that are used when the player is in battle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyT1DugtKCY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mcYEd3Wl78

Themes

Exploration - The game features a huge open world that you can explore at your leisure after the introduction to the game. It has several unique areas, monsters and wildlife that really immerse the player in this fantastical world.

Adventure – There are hundreds of different quests that the player can do and many hours of fun are available even without completing the main storyline. There are whole individual quest lines for each of the four guilds in the game. These guilds are the Fighter’s, Mage’s, Thief’s and the Dark Brotherhood. Some of the most fun I’ve had in this game is from joining the Dark Brotherhood assassins and slowly working my way up to become the most feared assassin in Tamriel.

Heroes – The game gives you a chance to become a hero of legend and gives you the freedom to write your own story. You can create a sneaky thief or a powerful master of the arcane. I myself usually made a warrior and tried to level up all my skills to the maximum level of 100.

The Hero of Kvatch

This is an incredible section of the game fairly early on that really engages the player and adds vital story elements. Kvatch is a city that is under attack from the forces of Oblivion. An Oblivion gate has opened up at the city’s gate and the player must assist the guards in closing it. The player has to go through the gate and journey to the centre of the plane of Oblivion. The player must then remove the Sigil Stone that is powering the Oblivion Gate. Inside the chapel, you will find Brother Martin who is the last heir to the empire of Tamriel. Brother Martin agrees to leave with you if you help to save the city from the remaining Oblivion spawn. So the player must assist the guard in trying to find the ruler of the city and kill the remaining demons. This event is referenced many times by NPCs that you meet throughout the game and is personally my favourite section of the game. I have never felt such a keen sense of dread when stepping into the Oblivion gate and travelling through that nightmarish world.

Ratchet and Clank

Introduction

Ratchet & Clank is a series of platform video games. The franchise was created and developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for many different PlayStation consoles, such as PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. It focuses largely on the gadgets and guns that are at your disposal throughout the game.

Story

Ratchet and Clank follows an unlikely pair of heroes. Ratchet is a Lombax mechanic of the planet Veldin. He is building his very own spaceship when Clank, a unique robot from a nearly planet, crash lands on Veldin. Clank is being chased by robots from the factory that created him. He saw sensitive information about the main antagonist Chairman Drek and so they want him dead. The duo meet up and Ratchet agrees to take Clank to find the galaxies hero, Captain Qwark, if Clank starts his ship. The game plays out as the duo try to find Qwark and stop the evil Chairmen Drek.

Characters

Ratchet

Ratchet is a Lombax mechanic from the planet Veldin. He is not a typical hero and cares more about interesting new gadgets and weapons than saving the galaxy.

Clank

Clank is the name that Ratchet gives to the robot, serial number B5429671. He is a unique robot that occurred from a malfunction at a robotic production factory. He is selfless and heroic despite being small of stature. His quest in the first game is to try to find Captain Qwark and save the galaxy.

Captain Qwark

He is the galaxies hero and TV star. Known more for his portrayal of heroes on TV than his actual heroism, he is not exactly what he seems. Ratchet and Clank find out that he is actually working for Chairmen Drek and foil his plot to eradicate the pair.

Chairmen Drek

Chairmen Drek is a Blarg Dictator. His home planet is overpopulated and polluted so he has hatched a plan to steal parts of other planets and putting them together to create a prime piece of real estate. Unfortunately this means that each of the planets that are stolen from will spin in to the sun and explode.

FTL: Faster Than Light

Introduction

Faster Than Light is a game originally crowd-funded on the website KickStarter. It a pseudo turn based strategy RPG game that is possibly the most fun I’ve had with a game as a fully grown adult. I remember discovering this game and doing an all-nighter to try and get my first victory in the game. To this date I’ve only completed the game around 5 times and every time it has been on easy mode. The normal mode is incredible. Most people cite Dark Souls as the archetypal “difficult is fun” game, but personally FTL is better.

In the game you command a space ship and must progress through the different sectors whilst running from the evil rebels. The game has rogue-like and RPG elements throughout and most of the fun is the multitude of different ways you can play. There are several different ships that are unlocked from various objectives. Also with the recently released Advanced Edition there are many different ship loadouts, more alien races and new systems.

Story

The story is fairly simple. You are part of a military organisation that is fighting against the rebels. Your job is to make it to the last section and defeat the rebel flagship. It sounds simple but it is actually a monumental task. Most of the game is spent trying and failing to reach this goal.

GamePlay

The game runs in real time with a pause button available to switch to a more turn based feel. Your ship has several systems that you can upgrade and use in battle. Your main systems include Weapons, Shields, Engines and Piloting. There are various other sub-systems that can equally be upgraded and utilised in different ways.

Abigail - Developer Diary - 12/03/2015

I have been working on a game for around a month that I have decided to call Abigail. Where to begin?
Some of the features, other than the basics, that I have created so far are as follows:

• Health and Mana 
• Fireball ability + triple fireball ability
• 3 different enemy types controlled by a random spawner:
• Charging enemy
• Armoured Charging enemy that throws a javelin
• Wizard enemy

At the moment the combat is fun and engaging (for me, at least) and there is a big emphasis on dodging an enemy's attacks.

Fireballs are aimed using the mouse and will stun the enemies briefly. The enemy's charge attack stores the player's position when it gets in range and charges for this fixed position. This gives the player a small window to dodge out of the way of the attack. 

Even without any special abilities that I have yet to make, the combat is a lot of fun and I look forward to adding cool features like the "Shadow Step" in the future. Think Dishonored's Blink ability on a 2D plane.

Unit 20: Computer Game Platforms and Technologies

Assessment 1: Game Platform Types

Nintendo Wii

CPU: The system has a processing unit of PowerPC-based Broadway processor, made with a 90 nm SOI CMOS process, reportedly clocked at 729 MHz

GPU:  The system uses the ATI Hollywood GPU made with a 90 nm CMOS process, reportedly clocked at 243 MHz

RAM: 88 MB main memory (24 MB internal 1T-SRAM integrated into graphics package, 64 MB external GDDR3 SDRAM). 3 MB embedded GPU texture memory and frame buffer.

Memory Storage:  512 MB built-in NAND flash memory, Expanded storage via SD and SDHC card memory (up to 32 GB), Nintendo GameCube memory card (required for GameCube game saves), Slot-loading disc drive, compatible with 8 cm Nintendo GameCube Game Disc and 12 cm Wii Optical Disc, Mask ROM by Macronix.

Size and Portability : 44 mm (1.73 in) wide, 157 mm (6.18 in) tall and 215.4 mm (8.48 in) deep in its vertical orientation, slightly larger than three DVD cases stacked together. The system weighs 1.2 kg (2.7 lbs.), which makes it the lightest of the three major seventh-generation consoles.

Game Library: 1359 games planned or released. Wii Sports sold a total of 82.54 million copies worldwide. It has since become the bestselling game of all time.

Series: This home console is the successor to the Nintendo GameCube and acts as the predecessor to the Nintendo Wii U.

Unique Point: The motion controls of this console is what makes it unique. The motion controls coupled with incredibly fun games such as Wii Sport and No More Heroes have kept Nintendo at the top of the video game console market.

Limitations: The console is not as powerful as its same gen counterparts. The controller is made to play motion based games so it is not ideal for use as a conventional gamepad.

Rating: Personally I think the Nintendo Wii is a very innovative console and the motion controls, although not perfect, are revolutionary. It does however suffer because of its inferior GPU and CPU and so has a less than stellar game library.

Nintendo WiiU:

CPU: The Wii U uses a custom multi-chip module (MCM) developed by AMD, IBM and Renesas in co-operation with Nintendo IRD and Nintendo Technology Development. The MCM combines an "Espresso" central processing unit (CPU) and a "Latte" graphics chip (GPU), as well as a SEEPROM memory chip. The Espresso CPU, designed by IBM, consists of a PowerPC 750-based tri-core processor with 3 MB of shared L2 cache memory and clocked at approximately 1.24 GHz.

GPU: The Latte graphics chip contains both a "GX2" GPGPU, which runs Wii U applications, and a "GX" GPU, which enables backwards-compatibility with Wii games. The GX2, designed by AMD, is based on the Radeon R600/R700 architecture and is clocked at approximately 550 MHz.

RAM: The console contains 2 GB of DDR3 system memory consisting of four 512 MB (4 Gb) DRAM chips with a maximum bandwidth of 12.8 GB/s.

Hard Drive Memory: The console includes either an 8 GB (Basic) or 32 GB (Premium (WW) / Deluxe (NA)) internal eMMC flash memory, expandable via SD memory cards up to 32 GB and USB external hard disk drives up to 2 TB.

Size and Portability: Dimensions 6 x 1.75 x 8.5 inches. Weight : 2.65 lb. Again this console does not have a portable battery so would require mains connection to be used. Therefore its portability is limited.

Series: Nintendo is a massively successful company that creates video game consoles and games. Nintendo have released several different video game consoles throughout the years, but the Nintendo WiiU is a direct sequel to the largely successful Nintendo Wii.

Unique Point: The WiiU features an interactive controller much like the Nintendo DS drawing pad. It is used to interact with many of the games on the WiiU and adds a unique feel to games such as New Super Mario Bros where the player using the gamepad can create platforms for the other players to jump on.

Game Library: There are currently 457 games planned or released for the Nintendo WiiU. Nintendo has a very strong library of console exclusive games such as New Super Mario Bros, Mario Kart, Legend of Zelda, etc. The highest selling games for the console are: New Super Mario Bros. U - 4.16 million. Nintendo Land - 3.09 million. Super Mario 3D World - 2.17 million.

Limitations and Rating: The Nintendo WiiU console has a less powerful CPU and GPU than its generation counterparts. This means that the WiiU cannot play games that are very CPU or GPU demanding such as Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. It is not as expensive as other consoles of the same generation but it is still a lot of money at around £160 pounds for the basic console. I think this is too much money for the limited game library on the system.

Nintendo 3DS:

CPU: The main processor (CPU) is a ARM11 MPCore-based dual-core processor manufactured at 45 nm. One processor core is dedicated to games and applications, while the other core is exclusive to the operating system, enabling multitasking and background tasks. These tasks are handled seamlessly in the background during gameplay or while the system is in sleep mode. The system also contains a single-core ARM9 processor, enabling backwards compatibility with Nintendo DS games.

GPU: The graphics processor (GPU) is developed by Digital Media Professionals, and consists of a semi-custom PICA200 processor.

RAM: The system contains a total of 128 MB of system memory consisting of two 64 MB (512 Mb) FCRAM chips developed by Fujitsu, with a maximum bandwidth of 3.2 GB/s. However, 32 MB are reserved for the operating system and unavailable to games. Additionally, the system contains 6 MB of VRAM.

Storage Memory: The system includes 1 GB of internal flash memory manufactured by Toshiba, but it is mostly used by the operating system and its pre-installed applications. The system's memory can be expanded via an SD memory card slot, which supports up to 128 GB SDXC memory cards.

Unique Point: The Nintendo DS series uses two screens. One of these screens is a touchpad and is incorporated with many popular games such as Art Academy, Cooking Ma’ma, Nintendogs etc. The top screen is able to produce a three-dimensional effect without the need of 3D-enabling glasses using a parallax barrier.

Game Library: There are currently 612 games planned or released for the Nintendo 3DS, however the 3DS is backwards compatible with its predecessors so there are actually many more games available for the console. The Nintendo 3DS shares similar exclusivity with the Nintendo WiiU with games such as Pokemon and Mario Kart. The highest selling games for the console are 1. Pokémon X/Y-10.9 million 2. Mario Kart 7-9.4 million 3. Super Mario 3D Land-9.4 million.

Series: This console is the latest in a long line of Nintendo consoles. This line includes: Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS lite, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo DS XL, Nintendo 2DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL. This line is also the successor to the popular Game Boy line of portable consoles.

Limitations and Rating: Being a handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS has less powerful hardware than less portable consoles. This limits things such as graphical quality, objects rendered, etc. For example, if you ported a game over from Xbox One to Nintendo 3DS it would have to be scaled down drastically to be run properly.

PlayStation:

HCI:

Based on the button system of the Super NES controller, but added a second pair of shoulder buttons for easier navigation of a 3d environment. Uses a 12 button layout, arrow keys, shoulder buttons and triangle, square, circle and X buttons along with a start and select function buttons. Later models (dual shock) introduced two analogue sticks to control movement and camera view.

CPU: 32-Bit RISC CPU with 5KB L1 cache, running at 33.8688 MHz

GPU: 32-bit Sony GPU, 1MB 256×448 to 640×480 pixel resolution Maximum colour depth of 16,777,216 colours

Size & portability: 1.77 x 10.24 x 7.28” 3.97 lbs

RAM: 2 MB main DRAM 4 kB instruction Cache 1 kB non-associative SRAM data cache

Storage Memory: 1MB per memory card

Games available: 7918 game titles on this platform. Some famous exclusives being, crash bandicoot, spyro, metal gear solid and gran turismo.

Limitations: Originally didn’t have analogue sticks to have more than 4 directional movement. No longer has release gamed for this platform. No connectivity to other consoles or the internet, only coop play. Outdated hardware.

PlayStation 2:

HCI: Dual shock 2 PlayStation controller

CPU: Processor: MIPS-based "R5900" clocked at 294.912 MHz, 64-bit

GPU:  "Graphics Synthesizer"(GS) clocked at 147.456 MHz, 4 MB Resolution from 256 x 224 to 1920 x 1080

Size & portability: 11.9, 3.1, 7.2” 4.9 lbs

RAM: 32 MB

Storage Memory: 8mb memory card

Games available: 1,850

Limitations: No longer has games released for this platform. Can only display at 480p. Outdated hardware. Not able to download digital copies of games.

PlayStation3:

HCI: Dual shock 3 PlayStation controller

CPU: The PS3 uses the Cell microprocessor, which is made up of one 3.2 GHz PowerPC-based "Power Processing Element" and six accessible Synergistic Processing Elements. A seventh runs in a special mode and is dedicated to aspects of the OS and security.

GPU: The RSX, based on the NVIDIA G70

Size & portability: 32.5, 9.8, 27.4cm

RAM: 256MB

Memory Storage: 60MB – 500mb

Games available: 812 games (multi-platform: 644; exclusive: 150; console exclusive: 11)

Limitations: Had issues with overheating.

Playstation 4:

The central processing unit (CPU) consists of two x86-64 quad-core modules for a total of eight cores, which are based on the Jaguar CPU architecture from AMD. Each core has 32 kB L1 instruction and data caches, with one shared 2 MB L2 cache per four core module. The CPU's base clock speed is said to be 1.6 GHz, with an unknown uptick in speed for CPU-intensive usage.

The graphics processing unit (GPU) is AMD's GPGPU-capable Radeon GCN architecture, consisting of 18 compute units (CUs) for a total of 1,152 cores (64 cores per CU), that produces a theoretical peak performance of 1.84 TFLOPS. This processing power can be used for graphics, physics simulation, or a combination of the two, or any other tasks suited for general purpose compute. It is a customized version of AMD's 7870 GPU, with 2 CUs disabled.

RAM : The PS4 contains a total of 8 GiB (16×4 Gbit (512 MiB) memory chips) of GDDR5 unified system memory, and is capable of running at a maximum clock frequency of 2.75 GHz (5500 MT/s) with a maximum bandwidth of 176 GB/s. This is 16 times the amount of RAM found in the PS3 and is expected to give the console considerable longevity. The unified memory architecture allows the CPU and GPU to access a consolidated memory, removing the need for separate, dedicated memory pools.

Audio Processing Unit: Sharing the die with the rest of the components of the APU, is a Digital signal processing SIP block that is either identical to AMD TrueAudio or shares a certain amount of similarities with it.

Hard Drive Memory: The console includes a 500 GB hard drive, which can be upgraded by the user.

Size and Portability: Dimensions: 2.09 x 10.83 x 12.01 inches. Weight: 6.17 lb = 2.8 Kilograms. The PlayStation 4 requires a mains power connection to run as it does not have an internal battery. This limits its portability as it is both rather cumbersome and would need at least 80W of power at its minimum setting.

Series: The PlayStation 4 is part of the highly successful PlayStation range. This includes the massively successful PlayStation and PlayStation 2. The PlayStation 4 is the successor to the previous PlayStation consoles and is the most technically impressive. It does not feature backwards compatibility and has its own PlayStation 4 Dualshock controller, named the Dualshock 4. See the next section for information on the Playstation 3.

Game Library: There are currently 448 games for the in production and released. This consists of 178 that are available to play. The highest selling game for the console to date is Killzone: Shadow Fall at 2.1 million and was sold with the game console. The second highest selling game for the PlayStation 4 is Infamous Second Son at 1 million.

Limitations and Rating: This console is part of the next generation of consoles so the hardware is supposed to be top of the line. However, it is not as powerful as commonly available PC hardware for a similar price so it is rather disappointing. The console is locked to 30 frames per second at 1080p which is rather low compared to the PC standard of 60 fps and heights of 4k resolution, which is 4096 x 2160. Personally I haven’t used the PS4, however from what I have seen I believe it to be overly expensive for what the hardware consists of. The one saving grace of the PS4 are the games that are exclusive to that platform. These games are titles such as Uncharted 4, The Last of Us Remastered, Infamous: Second Son, etc.

PlayStation Vita

HCI: The device holds all the original features of the normal Dualshock controller that appear with other consoles developed by Sony. These include a D-Pad, the Square, Triangle, and Circle and X buttons and two joystick analogue sticks. The additional features the device supports are a touchpad positioned on the back of the device and camera on the front and rear of the console.

CPU: - Internally, the device features an up to 2 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor (3 of the 4 cores are usable for applications).

GPU: - Quad-core GPU SGX543MP4+.

Size and Portability: The 2000 (2^nd Generation) model is 20% thinner and 15% lighter compared to the original model.

RAM: - The console has 512 MB RAM, 128 MB VRAM.

Storage size - The PS Vita Slim has 1GB of internal storage memory. Users are unable to use the 1GB internal memory and any expandable storage simultaneously, as access to the internal memory is only possible if no memory card is inserted. Upon inserting a PS Vita memory card, the system will offer to copy the existing data from the internal memory to the new card. The PS Vita is incompatible with standard memory cards, such as SD cards, and instead stores data on proprietary PS Vita memory cards, which are available in sizes of 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB.

Games Library: As of March 9^th 2015, there have been 961 games released for the PSVita.

Series: This platform is the successor to the PlayStation Portable in PlayStation series of handheld consoles.

Unique Point: The portability of this console makes it rather unique, but what really made this console standout was its touchpad in the second generation of this device. It opened up different ways of interacting with games and different ways designers could interact with players.

Limitiations and Rating: The PS Vita has a very small screen size and console size. This makes playing the games quite fiddly and some users may struggle with using the small controls. The graphical and processor power of the device is significantly weaker than that of next gen consoles so this limits the game library and the quality of games.

XboxOne:

HCI: Xbox One wireless or wired controller

CPU: 8 Core AMD custom CPU Frequency: 1.75 GHz

GPU: Clock Speed: 853 MHz(originally 800 MHz) Shader Cores: 768 Peak Throughput: 1.31 TFLOPS

RAM: 8GB DDR3 Clock: 2133MHz Bandwidth: 68.26 GB/s + 32MB eSRAM Bandwidth: 204 GB/s(102 In/102 Out)

Storage Memory: 500 GB Hard Drive non-replaceable, External Hard Drive support available

Size and Portability: Dimensions: 3.1 x 10.8 x 13.1 in. 7.05479 pounds in weight.

Limitations and Rating: The limitations of this console are very similar to the PlayStation 4. However it does not have as good exclusive game library in my opinion so the console suffers. If I was to buy a next gen console it would most likely be the PlayStation 4 because of its better exclusive library.

Xbox 360:

CPU: CPU speed3.2 GHz. CPU cores3

GPU:  GPU speed 500 MHz

RAM:  512 MB

Storage Memory: The original Pro configuration of the system came with a 20 GB hard drive, which was also available to purchase separately (for the Core model, and later the Arcade model, which did not include a HDD). This was upgraded to 60 GB in September 2008, and the 60 GB HDD was also made available at retail.

Size and Portability: DIMENSIONS: 3.27 x 12.17 x 10.16 inches.  WEIGHT: 7.72 lb

Limitations and Rating: Had to pay for Multiplayer service. Not very durable and when originally released there were a lot of cases of the console breaking completely in a few short weeks or the first time someone used it.

PC (Personal Computer)

HCI: Traditionally mouse and key board, but using port extensions and third party drivers other controllers and devices can be used. This includes things such as graphics tablets, Xbox 360 controller, etc.

CPU: Dependant on the user's choice, any processor is compatible.

GPU: Dependant on the user's choice, any graphics card is compatible.

Size & Portability: Laptops are extremely portable as they are designed to be small and slim to fit into bags and cases, however they are more expensive compared to PC.

Standard PC towers are usually very large and have to be stationary with a mains power supply running through them. This limits their portability vastly.

RAM: Dependant on your motherboards ram slots, you can have any amount or type of ram. The fastest type of ram currently is DDR5.

Storage Memory: Dependent on the user’s choice. You can either have a hard drive or SSD of varying sizes.

Games available: Including emulators the PC has a gigantic amount of games for the platform. The large library of Steam is just one example of the open access to games for the platform.

Limitations and Rating: You can potentially spend thousands of pounds on the latest computer components. Potential for contracting a computer virus that could damage the system. Not easily portable. In my opinion PC has the most freedom because of the variety of components that you can buy. This makes it one of the better choices and its only drawback is that you have to learn about the various components more so than if you bought an Xbox One.

Android (HTC ONE M8)

CPU: - Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, quad-core CPUs

GPU:  5.0 inch screen, Full HD 1080p

Size and Portability: 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm (5.76 x 2.78 x 0.37 in) 160g

RAM:   2GB RAM

Storage Memory: - Total storage: 16GB, available capacity varies, Expansion card slot supports micro SD memory card for up to 128GB additional storage

Games Library: The Google Play App has more than 1.4million apps available on the market.

Series:  This device is the predecessor to the HTC One M9 and the successor to the HTC One Mini 2 in the HTC One smartphone series.

Limitations: The small lithium battery would cause problems as it would constantly need to be charged up. Also lithium batteries tend to degrade over time and would cause problems for the player. The graphical and processor power of the device is significantly weaker than that of next gen consoles so this limits the game library and the quality of games.

IOS (IPhone 6)

GPU: - PowerVR GX6450 (quad-core graphics)

Size and Portability : 138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.27 in) 129g

CPU:  Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based)

RAM:  internal memory of 16/64/128 GB, 1 GB RAM

Games Library:  1.4million downloadable titles from the App store.

Unique Point: The portability of Android and IOS devices is what makes them 

Series:  this device is the successor to the IPhone 5.

Limitations and Rating: The battery needs to be charged regularly as it has a small battery life. The graphical and processor power of the device are significantly weaker than that of next gen consoles. This limits the game library and the quality of games for the system. In the early stages of the App Store there were lots of interesting and unique titles available for free or for purchase, however now there the market has become over-saturated and you can spend large amounts of money on games that are unoriginal and "time-wasters". Examples of this are games like Clash of Clans, Dungeon Keeper, etc. With the rise of micro-transactions in free-to-play games there is now a horde of in-ambitious money grabbing developers.

Ratings

I haven’t used a lot of the consoles on this list. The ones I have used are the Nintendo Wii, Playstation 1 + 2 + 3, Nintendo DS, IOS and PC. I have explained my thoughts about these consoles in their dedicated sections. My list of best to worst consoles that I have used is as follows:

1.       PC

2.       PlayStation 3

3.       Xbox 360

4.       PlayStation 2

5.       Nintendo DS

6.       PlayStation 1

7.       Nintendo Wii

8.       IOS

This is a separate list of my rating of the consoles that I haven’t used:

1.       PlayStation 4

2.       Nintendo WiiU

3.       Xbox One

4.       PlayStation Vita

5.       Nintendo 3DS

6.       Android