Final Thoughts of this Project.

Tomorrow is hand in day, the last on year two, its scary how fast time goes!

Overall I feel this project was good, I learnt a lot about what I want to do and what I want to progress onto in Year 3. I feel that my skills in Maya are getting a little better although I still have a lot to learn. my desire for character design is still a little behind that.

There are a few things I didn't get to do in the time I had thanks to other parts of my life getting in the way and I feel that if I didn't have those distractions going on along side my project I could have done what I wanted to do.

I really wanted to get my level in Unity, I feel that is something I want to take into Year 3, not really the coding side of it, but getting the blank level/prototype ready for coding, so I would say World Building is what I want to do.

I want to get better at UVing and texturing and this is something that I will explore further alongside the level design. I have improved a lot since BA3 when I didn't even realise that I could get more than one UV in the editor ... so I had like 100 textures! For shame!

All I can say is bring on Year 3!

Problems with my model in Unity

I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make a flythrough in unity. I imported my file just fine, however there are some problems with the models panels that make them not appear in unity. I guess there is just not enough information for the program to read I kept getting these problems.

I had a test of what I could do, I tried making a little level made entirely from cubes and this solved the problem, I was able to get the character walking over the level. So even though I don't have time to work on the level to get it into an engine I will be able to next time.

It would have been a nice addition, but I have to focus on what I have!

Finished screenshots

Now the model is finished and the textures are on here are a few screenshots compiled together. There will probably be more once I figure out how to get the level into a game engine!

((EDIT))

Here are some more.

Whoops forgot to label them as Pt 3 and 4. Overall I like the look of the place, the colours don't totally give away what is happening, it isn't overly depressing or too colourful!

Directed Study Update.

Obviously with the rush to hand in some things get shoved aside I forgot to report back on the Directed Study project. Me and Maxine (The art of Maxine Hunter) had our feedback with Gina Jackson, we didn't have as much as everyone else as we've both been very busy. Here are the slides we showed and the writing along side it with our first initial game idea.

Maxine done the beautiful artwork of the peacock/hen I absolutely adore her style and it is perfect for the posh looking male. I had a go at drawing the peahen and some of the pick up items

Everyone laughed at the name title, which was all I hoped for.

Title - All Cock and No Pea! A game by Hazel Page and Maxine Hunter.

Synopsis - You play as Nabhitha, a Peahen who lives in the grand forests of India. Nabhitha dreams of becoming as beautiful and well respected as Sajit, a strong Peacock who struts about the forest around her like he owns the place! She can't understand why he is always treated better than her, even though he is often rude to the fellow animals around him. One day Nabhitha decides enough is enough and searches around her forest home collecting discarded beautiful peacock tail feathers in the hope that hiding her bland feathers and dull colours will make her as popular and respected as Sajit is.

What the game represents – The game has hidden messages surround the inequality for women in not just the games industry, but in various professions and cultures around the world. It is based off an Aesop’s Fable, The Jay and The Peacock.

The points system of the game is supposed to be flawed, every time you earn points the male character of the game gets double the points you earn stemming from the fact ‘the average woman will earn 19.7 per cent less than the average man per hour.’

In a world where women are treated with less respect than their male counterparts, the idea that the Peahen has to disguise herself with a Peacocks magnificent feathers plays off the fact that a woman has to sacrifice more than a man to fit in a work place (i.e. a woman is often forced with choosing either children or a job, there is not much room for both) or a woman has to sacrifice her female identity to fit into the ‘boys club’

The endless level constantly scrolling with no end and the male Peacock knocking all the feathers off you once you collect so many, represents the glass ceiling. No matter how many points or feathers you get, you can’t get any further, even if you try really hard.

We based the game in India not only because it is the native home of the Peacock, but because of the notorious way the Country treats its female population.

Systems - Android, iOS phones and tablets.

Game type – 2D side scroller.

Sound – The game would sound traditionally Indian to match the theme of the characters and the environment.

Target Audience – Ideally the game would be targeted towards schools for educating gender balance towards children/young adults. The game itself is suitable for any age group and is not only designed to be educational, but to be fun and frustrating as well.

Gameplay - You control a peahen. Your main aim is to collect as many male peacock feathers as possible to decorate yourself with! Your secondary objective is to collect seeds, flowers and lizards to get a high score. Avoid obstacles along the way and watch out for that pesky peacock out to knock your feathers off! 

How the game plays – The level is a continually looping side scroller, items and obstacles are randomly generated but get more difficult the longer the game runs/how many points you have collected. Every so often a Peacock will come from behind the Peahen and knock into you, pushing all your feathers off your back and you have to begin collecting all over again. 

Main controls - finger swiping and poking as directed on screen.

Main obstacles

• Tree stumps
• Rocks
• Sleeping animals
• Big plants

Item Drops

• Seeds (common 20 point)
• Flower (uncommon 15 point)
• Lizards (rare spawn 40)
• Peacock feather (10 point)

Initial feedback was that we should go with the humorousness of the title and make it a little more jokey to play up to it, which I totally agree with, you see a game called all cock and no pea and its hot funny .... you don't play again. also a thing that we could change is to make it have a victory instead of being just a one time thing that you play and realise you can't win. We need to get it to be at least winnable so people feel good about themselves after playing it.

Also Marie-Claire didn't think we should have it set in India, but maybe in a Posh house surrounding to go with the tradition of having Peacocks in the garden to show off, which also goes along with the traditional sense of men in the games industry strutting around like they own the place.

I think the direction we could take it is to make it about a Peahen overcoming her issues and finally accepting who she is and that she doesn't need to change to fit in with the boys.

Definitely food for thought!

UV snapshots.

These are the complete lot of UV snapshots for my level. I didn't intend for there to be so many even with some repeat modular assets, the nature of the game means I had to have sometimes the same patterned but with a grungier appearance, so that's one thing I have learnt for next time I guess.

They are all 2048x2048 png files with anti-alias lines.

Creating the level (Maya Stage)

As I start creating my level I put down a few basic blocks to map the shape from the drawings I done. I have compiled all of the screen caps I have taken so far.

I had a few problems with building this for a long time, At first I started by making the level out of flat boxes, but soon found out that once I put a texture on there would only be one texture for the whole thing, so I had to create walls with two planes so I could have different colours on each side of the walls. The next challenge was the stairways ... I was having so many problems creating the stairs and then unwrapping them, there were too many edges and this was supposed to be low poly so I deleted the stairs in favour of a sloping corridor.

One thing I found as I was building was that it is a lot harder creating a downwards going level, I lost so many cubes because I thought I was building it where I put it only to realise the cube was up on the grid somewhere. Silly times!

((EDIT))

And here are the some of my favourite screen caps from the build now the base model is finished. I really love just making things, even if something where a challenge, this was the first time I made leaves and flowerpots, it was rather fun!

Opinions on certain rooms.

I went back to my peers with some of the rooms that have been completed. I wanted to test what people though the room contained and what it meant without having much context to see if the average person would be able to pick up on the vibes that I hoped to give.

This room was to depict domestic violence that would have been witnessed by the character during their childhood.

Some people picked up on it, at the moment the place fillers are confusing people without context but as its only a basic prototype level I won't be changed anything, I'm just happy that some people picked up the shown hints. I also like that people rolled with what they thought was happening on screen, without any context players would have to make up their own minds on what they thought was panning out, if they were going into this game blind they wouldn't understand the journey they are taking until the very end and hopefully that would make it more shocking to them!

Slides from a recent Lecture and 'The name of the game!'

We had a session with Nigel where we had to show what was had done and what we still had to do. At this point I still had a little bit left to do so I felt a bit weird showing so little when others had done so much.

But I did come up with a name for my level which I was happy with. I thought of the content that appeared within the level and the best word that came to me to describe it was ...

Degeneration.

here are the slides I took with me :D

Vocals during the game that would run alongside.

From my research I decided that the level needs a bit of something along side it. I have taken elements of different serial killers childhood to adult stories and mashed them together. The main ones I have used for inspiration are Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Speck, Ted Bundy and Edmund Kemper all of whom had mother issues, had trouble fitting in at school and who (apart from Jeffrey) went on to kill women.

-

STARTING OUT, players will not be aware they are playing a game about a serial killer. They will just think they are following the journey of a child growing up. This write up is what would be heard as the player goes through the game, the game will follow through like a story being told from the perspective of the serial killer looking back on their life. Doors would open to the next room when the voice over finishes.

This would be the voice over.

(0) START - BABIES ROOM (TODDLER VOICE)
This is the story of how I began, before the rumours … before the bloodshed. It all began with a baby. This baby should have been loved and cuddled, but it was left alone, night after night.

(1) PARENTS IGNORING ROOM
Mummy and daddy were so wrapped up in their own lives, they didn't have much time for me, I tried to get their attention but nothing worked … I threw my toys and cried but they ignored me, all I wanted was some love.

(2) FATHER DRINKING ROOM
Daddy just sat on the sofa all day ... he was always with a bottle in his hand, mother would whine and complain, threaten him but he would just keep drinking in front of that television, even when I cried he would sit and drink and watch ... I never saw him leave the room.

(3) PARENTS FIGHTING ROOM (CHILD VOICE)
It was all going so well until the fighting started. I don’t know what they fought about but they went at it like cats and dogs, I couldn't stand it, life around me was a constant stream of fighting. I guess mother just couldn't take it any-more so she beat him black and blue, father left after that, I always hated her after that. I just wanted my daddy.

(4) CLASSROOM (OLDER CHILD VOICE)
I never had time for the kids in class, and I guess they didn't have time for me ... The teacher just let me get on with whatever I was doing. apparently I was a bad, stupid kid. They all had friends, they all gossiped to each other ... they called me weird. They mocked my family, asked where my dad was and why my mum beat him up, it was the gossip of the whole town! I would just stare at the wall and be alone with my thoughts .... and my thoughts were there for me.

(5) SPECIMEN ROOM (TEENAGER VOICE)
Who would have thought I would have enjoyed bottling animals up .... they are truly fascinating, inside AND out. Everyone at school talked about me, they see me collecting animals from the roadside. Sometimes if I hated a person enough, I would take their pet and add it to the collection. I amassed quite a collection though, I wonder where they are now?

(6) VOYEUR ROOM (OLDER TEEN VOICE)
I outgrew that little collection, I moved on up in the world .... you would say the crime world I guess. Women were scary, but so, so alluring! I never saw much of my mother after she left, I wanting something to fill that void she left ... I could easily spend all day and night just watching these fearsome creatures .... they hold so much over me .... they just don't realise it ... this one looked just like mother from what I can remember, same hair ... same body ... and so foolish, she can't even see me, I could do anything, she's so vulnerable ...

(7) BAR ROOM (ADULT VOICE)
I guess I picked up nasty habits from father, drinking dulled the pain, dulled the voices in my head for just a few hours. Everything I had went on the devils juice. I spent night after night in this place, mingling with the lowest of the low, yet I was lower than they were.

(8) BLANK ROOM
I didn't even know who I was anymore, I had no identity, no family or friends, just me and my thoughts sinking deeper into darkness, Even when I look into the mirror I don't see anyone staring back at me, I lost who I was and I have no reflection looking back at me, I just see a man ... a man who is a waste of space. It's all her fault I am like this!

(9) MAZE ROOM
I spent all my life in an eternal maze, weaving in and out with no ending in sight. Not only mentally but physically too. There was a maze near the bar I frequented where I left a calling card for future drunks to find. A skull of a dog I stole from a girl I spied on once, he barked and I got arrested. He will stay there forever now. A memento from the past.

(10) CORRIDOR AND END ROOM
I had gone too far, all I heard was kill, all I saw was darkness .... if she had just loved me I wouldn't have gone this way .... if she had loved father he'd have been with me too ... I had to kill her .... or those who looked like her, what else was left but to rob someone else of something I had never had. Life. I found her .... she was there .... all it took was for me to reach her and be free or that torment. Free!

GAME ENDS.

I found it rather hard to write that up, to get into that mindset of someone with that kind of mindset which is so different to mine. Having always been around my parents as a whole and having that childhood with everyone around me I found it hard to think like someone who had been neglected and lost both the parents as they grew. I think having this alongside the level if it was to be something more would add a little more realism and maybe even strike a bit more emotion than just the level on its own.

How Am I feeling? Pt 2. It's all coming up Millhouse!

Things feel a lot better so far since the last How am I feeling post, I don't have those bad feelings I had last time, so its time for a happy, positive kitten! This quote is something I have taken to heart. I feel like I should be doing more of these .... but surprisingly I don't feel like I need to make loads of these .... Everything just feels the same to me (I am rather happy to just chug along with no emotional changes whatsoever!) but it just feels more natural and less dramatic than the art tests, it feels like how I felt for BA4, and I was very happy with what I produced then. I am very happy with what I've been producing!

Happy kitty is happy!

here are my bullet points of stuff

• I am feeling more confident the more I model, everything has come back to me, finding solutions to problems doesn't bother me so much now ... I am SO SO SOOOO far from understanding Maya but it doesn't feel like so much of a chore. I've had a lot of problems with the model but I have overcome them with a simple technique I learnt from George. If it's taking too long to change the problem, just start over. This has worked very well for me.
• I am just happy with the subject I have chosen.
• I am just happy!

And some negative ...

• I have forgotten EVERYTHING I know about using Unity, I was hoping to get my level into the engine and have a flyover but I can't remember anything and I'm too scared to ask for help because I feel like I won't be taken seriously, or that I should know everything by now .... which is a little foolish cause that's what I'm at Uni to do ...
• I say this every-time but I find it hard to let go of old habits (sure I've said that too!) Moving out is taking so much of my time, having never moved before I am finding this transition very hard going, and its been sapping all of my energy and willpower. It's even worse knowing my hand in falls on the exact day of this project handing in, so its all a rush doing two things. Life is just a cruel mistress.

Just a little whine from me today .... over and out!

Learning about Modular Assets

I feel kind of ashamed that I only just learned this term, as it would help out my level so much. I done this with my BA 3 castle's windows and torture devices but didn't realise it had an actual term *minus 5 points for House-Derp*

After talking with a 3rd Year Student (Zak Field) I got some advice on where to go with the next stage of the level. He suggested I use the modular assets for items in the level so it would be easier in an engine and would also save me time with a simple copy and paste instead of making individual items every time.

I had a quick google search to see what other people had done with modular asset creation. Here are some I have found.

This is also something I can take into a possible project if I choose to do 3D again.

Online guides to level design.

As I begin creating the level I look to Youtube guides to see how best to start as I kind of just stared at the big grid with a confused look on my face I found this guide very helpful as a starting point, the simple beginning is what I need to get me started.

I have gone a bit rusty with Maya, I had a bit of a moment with it after BA5, So I felt as though I needed to do some practise with it before starting on such a big project as this!

I also checked on Wikipedia to see what level design fully entails. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_design

"Level design, Environment Design or game mapping is a discipline of game development involving creation of video game levels—locales, stages, or missions.This is commonly done using a level editor, a game development software designed for building levels; however, some games feature built-in level editing tools. Level design is both an artistic and technical process.

Level design for each individual level in a modern game typically starts with concept art, sketches, renderings, and physical models. Once completed, these concepts transform into extensive documentation, environment modelling, and the placing of game specific entities (actors), usually with the aid of a level editor.

A level editor may be distributed as a complete stand-alone package, at times, rivalling commercial 3D modelling software.There are various steps involved in laying out a map and these steps may vary dramatically across the many different game genres that exist today.

General steps include:

• Laying out the large-scale features of the map, such as hills, cities, rooms, tunnels, etc., for players and enemies to move around in.
• Determining environmental conditions and "ground rules" such as day/night, weather, scoring systems, allowable weapons or game-play types, time limits, and starting resources.
• Specifying certain regions where certain game-play activities or behaviours occur, such as resource harvesting, base building, water travelling, etc.;
• Specifying non-static parts of a level, such as doors, keys and buttons with associated mechanisms, teleporters, hidden passageways, etc.
• Specifying locations of various entities, such as player units, enemies, monster spawn points, ladders, coins, resource nodes, weapons, save points, etc.
• Specifying the start and exit locations for one or more players;
• Adding aesthetic details such as level-specific graphic textures, sounds, animation, lighting and music;
• Introducing scripted event locations, where certain actions by the player can trigger specified changes;
• Placing path-finding nodes that non-player characters take as they walk around, the actions they will take in response to specific triggers, and any dialogue they might have with the player.

Cut scenes may be triggered by events in a level, but require distinctly different skills, and may be created by a different person or team.

The Level Design Process may be iterated several times before achieving the desired outcome.

Level designers and/or concept artists may also be required to provide a pre-rendered map of the level (or entire game world) for the player"

I would really love to continue with level design, it seems like something fun to do!

Collecting Textures

These are a collection of textures that I will be using some how within my level. Alot of the paintings I have chosen all have meaning behind them, for instance

• The painting at the beginning is called 'The calm before the storm' I placed it in the childs bedroom to show that his youth is the calm before the storm of his future hits.
• As you go down the corridors the paintings change to reflect the changing personality and mental state of the character.
• The Painting in the Voyeur room is a woman also being spied on, I chose this to show a bit of weakness in the character inside the room who is unaware she is almost part of the painting.
• In the End Room the two paintings show a person being pushed down on and a monster eating a human torso, this represents the victim being attacked and the monster represents the players character turning into a monster. I didn't want to show a crime happening so this is the best way I can show it through figurative images.

One thing I would love to do in the future is get a tiny bit more technical with my texturing, as this level is representing just a basic prototype I am keeping the textures very flat and basic. Also I chose to do this as it is keeping with my comfort level. For BA 7 and 8 I might have a go at getting a little more technical and push myself to try going out of prototype and into a fancier looking game idea.

But for now here are the textures ...

Creating the Level (Ideas)

For my level I want it to have many twists and turns, I also want it to feature steps as you follow the corridor you get lower and lower, I want this as I would like to convey the idea of descending into hell the further you get. As this is a prototype I won't be adding mechanisms for doors to appear behind you indicating how you can't go back the further into badness you get.

I started first by jotting down some rough ideas.

Here I am thinking about what I want to do within a couple of rooms. I want to put the player at some points in a 1st person view, such as, as a child you see yourself in a crib but you see the bars, and you feel trapped in a dark room. Also I had the idea of having the character walk through a corridor and hit a dark obstacle, then lights would come on and you realise you are in a cupboard and you see a lady walk in, this would symbolise the voyeurism the character has begun to engage in.

At the end of each corridor I want there to be a table with a flower pot on and when you get to the end of each corridor near some stairs I want the flower to be more dead as you get closer to the end of the level to show the decaying of the mind, this with the darkening corridors and the

This idea features going down underneath the top level, a bit beyond my skill level maybe ...

this one features a spiral effect, as if going down a plug hole, I'm not sure how I could make this work in maya though so maybe a practise another time.

I like this one the best so I think I'll take this one onto maya and see how it turns out!

This one looks good but too simple ...

I took the level design I liked the most and went into Maya. This is the final layout as mapped in Maya alongside a chart describing what will happen in each room. It looks similar to the idea I came up with in Photoshop but a lot more refined.

Creating the main character.

Using the information I gathered about what a serial killer looks like to people I have created a few ideas of what I want the character to look like.
I am sticking with the idea of a male character, as for any of my projects I have yet to design a male character and I want to try something different. Also it sticks with peoples pre-conceived notions of a serial killer being a male. I also want it to look quite bland faced, with average looking hair.

I like the second panel best, particularly the top of the last panel, the hair reminds me of Ted Bundy and I was going to take this further then that is the one that I would choose but for me I feel like doing the level is the most important aspect of this project, seeing as you are going to be in first person you won't necessarily see character and it will be left up to your own devices, this is the face you will see at the end or in a reflection.

Researching Games that are similar to my idea.

As my level will feature just one corridor with lead off rooms I looked to other games to see where I could take influence in my design. I could only think of a few games that fit the bill and I have played only a few ones like this. As I was struggling to find some I went to our years Facebook group and thanks to my fellow Students and companion Lets Player I now have a big list of influences.

Vanish, 
Maere: When Lights Die,
SCP 087 The Stairwell
Ao/Kuro Oni, 
Kraven Manor
Monstrum
Nox Timore
Presentable Liberty

These are the games I am looking at further to help me pin down what I want.

SLENDER
http://slendergame.com/

Slender is a first person horror game created by Parsec Productions where your only goal is to find 8 manuscripts about the Slender Man, a paranormal creature. The more directly you come into contact with the Slender Man, the faster your sanity drains.

THE CORRIDOR
http://thecorridor.3dn.ru/ (russian txt)

Ever been freaked out by an empty hotel hallway, especially late at night? Is that bucket of ice really worth leaving the security of your room? In Al-exe's first-person horror The Corridor, players wake up from a sense of unexplained anxiety, leave their room, and find themselves in a dark, long hallway. The hotel slowly turns into an endless maze of walls that forebode something sinister. They then must go deeper into the darkness to escape.

BABY BLUES.
http://www.desura.com/games/baby-blues
http://wowpain.wix.com/babyblues

Baby Blues is a horror survival game where the player is placed in the shoes of Tommy The Toddler. Tommy, as all the other children his age loves to play with toys, but the most beloved toys for Tommy are his teddies. The 5-year-old wakes up to a strange noise in the middle of the night with a bright dim light shining in his eyes. Realizing his beloved teddies are missing; He climbs down out of bed and start to look for them..

SILENT HILLS: PT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Hills
((No game link as on PlayStation store and has since been removed))

P.T. begins with an unknown protagonist waking up in a mysterious house which eventually becomes haunted in a first-person gameplay style. The demo showcases the realistic graphics of the Fox Engine. The demo intentionally features no blatant Silent Hill references (aside from "Lisa" written on a wall), as to not prematurely expose the reveal. At the end of the demo, the protagonist wakes up in Silent Hill.

INSERT TITLE HERE
http://www.moddb.com/games/insert-title-here

This "game" hasn't got any story or plot, any characters, any enemies ... "Insert Title Here" is an interactive experiment in which you will decide what path to choose, how to react ... something innovative which is always nice to try. This experiment will play with you, "talk" with you and put you into a mix of various game genres.

All of these games have a similar theme to them, dark corridors that seem to go on forever (with slender you are directed around via a path and trees acting almost as a corridor, the areas are dark and intimidating especially as a child character in Baby Blues Out of all the games I feel that Insert Title here is one I find that suits what I'm doing, its very psychological and features the corridor and doesn't offer you anywhere to go except forward. It also forces you to make choices!

I also really love P.T having played it it definitely done what it intended to do, scared the pants off of me! I really like the way it looks!

"In an interview, Kojima later mentioned that P.T. was intended to take players at least a week to find the solution and expressed surprise that it was finished on the same day as its release. He chose the corridor as the setting of P.T. instead of "a ruin", because he wanted the teaser to emotionally affect the player regardless of "cultural background". Kojima wanted fear from an inescapable world with very minimal information to affect the player."

This is what I want to achieve in my level, that a corridor has no culture or identity behind it, therefor it would be more relate-able to the player in that it could be their corridor or a family members they are following.

Looking for serial killers talking about their first crimes.

As the level revolves around a story where the character ends up at his first crime I want to look up articles about serial killers saying what triggered them to do it or what drove them to it, I'm not expecting to find a lot on this, as serial killers either don't talk about it or can't be trusted to tell the truth anyway,

Two serial killers I know that were very honest with what and how they done things are both quite similar in traits one being Jeffrey Dahmer and the other being Dennis Nilsen. Both were gay killers who killed for company, Jeffrey Dahmer felt that he need to kill to keep the men he took home with him forever, cannibalising them in a bid to keep them as a part of himself. Dennis Nilsen often referred to as the British Jeffrey Dahmer earned the nickname 'The Kindly Killer' as he is said to have not liked the killing of his victims and that it was a necessary thing to do.

"London serial killer Dennis Nilsen speaks today about his first victim - a boy of 14.

In an extraordinary letter sent from his prison cell, Nilsen tells how he picked up Stephen Holmes in December 1978 in a Cricklewood pub. He took the boy to his home where he killed him. It was the beginning of a series of gruesome murders of young men that went on until his arrest in 1983 after human remains were found in a blocked drain at his Muswell Hill home.

In the letter sent to the Evening Standard Nilsen, 60, confesses: "Stephen Dean Holmes was the first of 12 homicide victims."

In fact it is known he killed at least 15 men, among them rent boys, students and the homeless he lured back to his homes in Cricklewood and Muswell Hill. At least seven victims remain unidentified.

Nilsen promises to help police identify the rest of his victims although Scotland Yard has ruled out ever knowing definitively the names of the other men he murdered, usually by strangulation. Nilsen, a civil servant who had previously worked in the Army and police, was never charged with the offence because at the time of his trial in 1983, Stephen could not be identified.

But a photograph of the boy, who was reported missing by his family, was shown to Nilsen last year by police visiting him at Full Sutton.

The killer confirmed to detectives that the boy in the photograph was his first victim. He said Stephen spent the night with him after drinking heavily. Nilsen says he decided to strangle him the next morning because he was fearful the boy would leave.

He kept the body stuffed under the floorboards of his flat in Melrose Avenue, Cricklewood, for eight months before burning the remains in the back garden. He used the same method to dispose of several victims.

Nilsen was only caught out after moving to a flat in Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill, where he lived in the attic and had no access to a garden. He chopped up three victims and stuffed their bodies down the drain. After complaints about the smell, a plumber found 30 to 40 pieces of human flesh beneath the manhole cover, leading to Nilsen's arrest and eventual conviction on six counts of murder.

A file on Stephen's murder has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service which will decide whether to charge Nilsen. A decision is expected within weeks although sources suggest the prospect of a second Old Bailey trial is remote.

Nilsen appears in the letter to baulk at the prospect of another trial. He refuses to divulge "graphic details of the incident", adding: "I say this out of consideration for this victim's family."

In the letter, Nilsen says: "Oddly enough I did point out to police that a positive ID could, perhaps, be confirmed from the teeth and bone fragments unearthed by police at Melrose Avenue. To my surprise they told me that all such evidence had long been disposed of and was no longer available for analysis."

This is a very open interview featuring Jeffrey talking about his first kill and what led him there, also what happened after the first kill and the obsession that followed after. It's very odd hearing such a calm voice talking about such things. He also like Nilsen talks about how the killing wasn't the objective, it was all about having the person under his control and keeping them for as long as he wanted.

Serial Killer Traits

Another post looking into Serial Killer childhood traits to understand more of what could have turned my character to this path.

Fourteen Characteristics of a Serial Killer
Could you be raising a criminal? Acts of violence don't come out of nowhere, and every parent should be aware of the clues along the way. For the most violent of criminals, there are warning signs that often start in childhood. Below is a list of the 14 most common traits of serial killers.
1. Over 90 percent of serial killers are male.
2. They tend to be intelligent, with IQ's in the "bright normal" range.
3. They do poorly in school, have trouble holding down jobs, and often work as unskilled laborers.
4. They tend to come from markedly unstable families.
5. As children, they are abandoned by their fathers and raised by domineering mothers.
6. Their families often have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories.
7. They hate their fathers and mothers.
8. They are commonly abused as children — psychologically, physically and sexually. Often the abuse is by a family member.
9. Many serial killers spend time in institutions as children and have records of early psychiatric problems.
10. They have high rates of suicide attempts.
11. From an early age, many are intensely interested in voyeurism, fetishism, and sado-masochistic pornography.
12. More than 60 percent of serial killers wet their beds beyond the age of 12.
13. Many serial killers are fascinated with fire starting.
14. They are involved with sadistic activity or tormenting small creatures.

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Killers thankfully make up a tiny proportion of the population, and so many people will exhibit some or all of these signs without going on to serial murder. That being said, it still pays to be informed... 

1. Childhood Abuse or Neglect
A staggering proportion of serial killers experienced a difficult childhood. Abuse - whether sexual, physical or emotional - affects childhood development, and while it certainly does not always make a person violent, will almost definitely affect that child's emotional state in later life.
Chilling example: The Killer Clown, John Wayne Gacy was repeatedly beaten and belittled by his alcoholic father, as well as being molested on many occasions by a family friend.
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2. Poor school record, despite intelligence
The majority of serial killers are reasonably bright, partly because of the sheer logistics of murdering multiple victims and getting away with it, even temporarily. However, their inability to integrate with others and their lack of respect for social norms means they are often unable to progress in a career, or even hold down a regular job.
Chilling example: The Co-ed Killer, Edmund Kemper reportedly had an IQ of around 140, but like so many 'smart' killers, was more absorbed by killing than developing a worthwhile life and career.
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3. Excessive Antisocial Behavior
Antisocial personality disorder is ultimately a person with no sense of guilt or remorse, as well as aggression, frequent lying, and lack of responsibility.
Chilling example: Ted Bundy was famously cold and remorseless. When asked about his victims he merely said:
I'm as cold a motherf****r as you've ever put your f***ing eyes on. I don't give a s*** about those people.
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4. Compulsive Fantasising
Unable to act out their violent and twisted desires, serial killers in the making will feverishly imagine what they wish to act out. This fantasising is often accompanied by compulsive masturbation, particularly as potential serial killers often find it difficult to form proper relationships with actual human partners.
Chilling example: 'Rostov Ripper' Andrei Chikatilo actually masturbated so frequently and violently that he developed dreadful scarring on his penis.
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5. Head Injuries
Scientists have found links between head trauma - either as the result of accidents, difficult birth or childhood abuse - and violent behavior. In particular, it's damage to the pre-frontal cortex - the area of the brain used for judgement and planning - that is indicated in increasing aggression.
Chilling example: Bobbie Joe Long, a sick sexual sadist and killer who claimed the lives of 10 women in the Tampa Bay area, sustained multiple head injuries of varying severity as a child.
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6. Voyeurism
Voyeurism often appeals to serial killers, both as a way of enjoying sexual pleasure without needing a close or emotional relationship with another person and as a way to violate another person's privacy. Many killers begin with pettier sexual crimes before developing to assault and murder.
Chilling example: The Baton Rouge killer Derrick Todd Lee was actually arrested and fined $400 for being a peeping tom, but spared jail. He went on to kill seven women.
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The MacDonald Triad
Named for the scientist who made the connection, the MacDonald Triad is the following three characteristics, which all indicate - but are certainly not definitive proof of - the development of a serial killer.

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7. Bed Wetting

Of course, most children wet the bed until around five, but persistent bed-wetting into teenage years and beyond - or enuresis as it's officially termed - can be an indicator of neuroses, trauma and psychological unrest common in people who go on to kill.
Chilling example: Among others, Ohio state killer Alton Coleman reportedly wet the bed well past the normal age for children. 

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8. Arson 

Pyromania is common in future serial killers - it makes sense for a twisted mind to find the act of destruction fascinating.
Chilling example: Son of Sam killer David Berkowitz is only one of several teen pyromaniacs Ottis Toole and David Berkowitz were only two of the numerous murdering pyromaniacs. 

9. Animal Cruelty
Their typical lack of empathy and inability to experiment on the actual targets of their twisted desires often compels serial killers to torture and kill animals during childhood and teenage years. Small animals are relatively easy and are not as likely to draw attention to their killer as a human victim.
Chilling example: Many serial killers kill animals before moving on to humans, but Jeffrey Dahmer is a famous case: he impaled a dog's head on a stick and left it out for people to see.
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As it turns out, mass murderers, serial killers, and other extremely violent individuals do share a range of common traits.

• Statistically speaking, the average serial killer is a white male from a lower-to-middle-class upbringing. In fact, over 90 percent of serial killers are men.
• Most serial killers are in their 20s or 30s.
• Most mass murderers are single or divorced.
• As children, soon-to-be serial killers often torture animals.
• More than 60 percent of serial killers wet the bed beyond the age of 12.
• According to the A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, many serial killers are obsessed with starting fires. Ottis Toole, George Adorno, and Carl Panzram are just a few of the many serial killers with a childhood history of arson.
• Many mass murderers and serial killers have an extraordinarily high IQ. For example, the Unabomber is a genius.
• A lot of serial killers come from dysfunctional families with an absent father.  Marc Lepine (mass murderer of 14 people) is one of the many examples of fatherless serial killers.
• Many serial killers suffered through childhood abuse.   “The Boston Strangler” Albert DeSalvo was even sold off as a slave by his alcoholic father.
• Serial killers often have a history of attempted suicide. Charles Edmund Cullen, the most prolific serial killer in the history of New Jersey, had 20 suicide attempts throughout his life.
• Mass murderers are often loners who have very few social connections.
• Differences Between Serial Killers and Mass Murderers

It’s important to note that there are some fine distinctions between serial killers and mass murderers. Mass murderers have just a single killing spree (e.g. the recent Arizona shooting, Columbine killings, etc.) before being apprehended by police or committing suicide. On the other hand, serial killers try to remain undetected and they can go on killing for several years.

Also, mass murderers kill a large group of people all at once, whereas serial killers are often much more selective with their targets. A serial killer could spend months trying to find the right individual to kill, and can have cooling off periods between murders. The victims often all share a trait, something that has important symbolic meaning to the murderer.