Showing posts with label Week 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week 2. Show all posts

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Feedback Thoughts

The first article I read about feedback was called 'Silence the Critical Voices in your Head' I really enjoyed this article as it made me think what way I take feedback and do I focus more on the positive or the negative. This article was about a man called Rajeev, 'an executive vice president in charge of a billion-dollar business within a high-tech company', and he had the mind set where he could only focus on any negative feedback he was given and couldn't realise that he was given much more positive than negative. 
This article thought me that it is better to focus on positive feedback and really take advantage of your strengths, rather to than to dwell on any negative feedback you were given. I think that article is a real eye opener and it makes you think.
https://hbr.org/2016/12/silence-the-critical-voices-in-your-head

I then read an article called 'Why rejection hurts so much' this article was very interesting as it explained why rejection hurts us so much, and it goes back to the times of hunter gathers, it is engraved in our brains to feel hurt by rejection and scientists have also done tests which shows that 'the same areas of our brain become active when we experience rejection as when we experience physical pain'. This article also talks about how the greatest damage rejection causes is usually self inflected, as we instantly put ourselves down when faced with rejection instead of just moving on and learning from it.
https://ideas.ted.com/why-rejection-hurts-so-much-and-what-to-do-about-it/

I really enjoyed this task as it has made me think about feedback and rejections in a more positive way than I every thought I could have, so I am glad I done this task and have opened up my mindset.


Game Brainstorm

My first game idea is based of the game ‘Wii Sports’ for the Nintendo Wii. This is a game that I used to really enjoy when I was younger as it was very diverse, and you had the choice to pay which ever sport you were feeling on that particular day. So, my idea was to create a little virtual reality world which resembled an arcade or a sports center, in which you could walk around and decide which game or sport you would like to play. By creating a game like this you are not confined to one audience, as you have a variety of mini games to choose from. Within each of these mini games I would like to have some sort of scoring system, so you could compete against friends in the different games and there would be high score holders. I am not sure if this game idea is realistic for this project as I am not sure if it will be possible to enter different games within a game, but it is definitely something that I would be interested in looking into and seeing if it is possible for me to create. I would start of the process of making this game by making the little world in Unity and make each mini game from there. 

 Wii Sports




My second game idea is based on Super Mario Bros. This is a game that has been around since 1985. It is a game that everyone is familiar with and I would be surprised if someone told me that they didn’t play Super Mario when they were growing up. The aim of this game is that Mario and Luigi have to get through many levels and challenges in order to save Princess Peach from the villain Bowser. This game consists of different worlds which contain different sub-levels. So, I would like to create my own characters and my own world with the same concept of the Super Mario series. Each level would start of easier than they would get more difficult the further you progressed. I would create the game so they player starts off with four or five lives, losing a life each time they are defeated, then when all lives are gone they would have to start from the start again. The characters would be faced with many different challenges, including different villains and for the chance to fall of the world, resulting in losing a life. I would also include ‘power-ups’ in this game as it would allow the character to grow stronger and faster, giving them better opportunities to get further in each level and one step closer to completing the game. After each level I might add the feature that there will be a ranking of how well you completed each level, this may be represented by 1-3 stars, this feature may encourage people to go back and play a level again, so they can get the highest number of stars possible. This is a game that I would be very interested in trying to create as it is a game that I have always enjoyed, and it would be fun to put my own spin on it.

 Super Mario Bros



My third game idea is a game that I used to play when I was younger. The concept of the game I used to play was very simple yet effective. The aim of the game was to get a frog safely across a very busy road. There were many obstacles in the way of the frog, including cars, buses, trains and even trying to cross rivers by jumping on tree logs. I cannot find the exact version I used to play as I cannot remember the name of the game or find it online. However, I have found many other versions and concepts of the same game idea. The most modern version I have found of a game that has the same concept is called ‘Crossy Road’, in this game you start of as being a chicken animal and you have to try get the chicken across the road. When playing this game on a PC or laptop you would use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the animal from side to side or forward or back, in the hopes to get by all of the obstacles in your way. In my version of this game I would start the animal off as a being a frog, as that is what I remember from when I was a child, however I would like to include the choice of your character being another animal, which you could unlock as a reward for doing well in the game and getting your animal so far. I feel like this game would be a good one to try and create as it is quite simple and the level is the same every time, but it is a game concept that is very addictive and makes the player want to play it over and over again in the hopes to get further and that they make be able to unlock a new animal to use as their character. This is a game that I could see myself being able to create and enjoying the process also.

 Crossy Road




For my forth game idea, I hope to create my own open world roaming/ role play game. My hopes for this game are for the player to create their own character, which will then be placed in a world that I have created. This character will be free to roam around this world freely discovering new places and new things to do. There will be chances in this game for the player to build up the strengths of their character by completing relevant tasks. I would also like to hide different gems around in this world, which the player can find in unfamiliar places, the player can build up their gem count for in game purchase, which could include features that will improve their character, they would purchase weapons which would make it easier for the player to complete tasks or make it further into unknown places within the world. With these gems they could also build up the town they live in, improve on the buildings in the town and even build more buildings. The world could be interchangeable with the player being able to add more buildings in certain areas. For this game I hope that the player would feel like they have entered a different world and lose themselves in playing a character and trying to make their character better. I feel like this may be the game that I am most intrigued in, as it is very adaptable, and you could just create a whole new world which I feel would be very fun. The game that comes to mind for me when I think of this idea is the ‘The Legend of Zelda’, so my game might be somewhat similar to that game.




Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Learning about Game Design

The first piece of work that I read was called 'The Essence of Euro-style Games' by Lewis Pulsipher, (http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/Essence.shtml). When I first read the title, I thought this was going to be about games in which you win money, but very soon into it I realised I was wrong. So, as I'm not very knowledgeable in the world of gaming, even when I was a bit into this reading I was still thinking in the back of my head 'what is a euro game and what is he talking about? 'So, I had to do some research to find out what exactly a 'euro game' was. When I found out that it was a German-style board game I was more intrigued to read on as I have probably played one before. As I read on I got some insight into the in's and outs of what really makes a euro game. What really made me think after reading this was how much thought actually goes behind what seems to be a simple game, with elements that you wouldn't have thought of and just took for granted. With euro games being games of somewhat simplicity, it gets you thinking about how much thought process and planning must go into the high-end video games today.


 The second piece of work that I decided to read was 'So You're Going To Make A Game For The Very First Time?', which was also written by Lewis Pulsipher, and I am glad that I read it. As I am just at the start of my Multimedia module, I am very much a beginner when it comes to the world of gaming. As part of this module we were told that the final piece of work will be for us to create our very own game, and when of course you hear that your mind starts to go crazy and you instantly try to think of new creative game ideas that have never been seen before. (CREDIT: Getty Images)
 But after reading this piece I was given a reality check, and pulled me back down to earth. I learned many things from this reading. Although it is great and wonderful to be creative and have new ideas, there are many factors you must consider before making a game. Before you start anything, you must have some sort of skills in actually developing a game. You are going to have to really develop your programming skills. After this you can begin to consider what kind of game you are going to have and how it will function. from this I have learned that it isn't such a bad thing to take inspiration from other games, and that 'the best way to start out is to make a variation of an existing game', as that way you know that it is achievable, and you can put your own spin on it further down the line. Even after you get through the process of completing you game, most of the work is still ahead, one thing you must do is test the game in with loads of different people and this may be a challenge. I leaned what the most important process of game making is and that is 'laytesting, evaluating the results, modifying the game to improve it in light of the results, playtesting again, and going through the whole cycle again and again and again'. I am very grateful that I read this piece as I feel I have learned a great deal and it has made me very excited about making my first game!



 For my third piece of reading I took part in an interactive video called 'Understanding Games: Episode 1' by pixelate, ( http://www.kongregate.com/games/pixelate/understanding-games-episode-1), which I really enjoyed. I thought the interactive video was a great idea and it keeps your viewer focused on what is going on in the video. This video also thought me a lot about gaming and the thought that goes behind what seems like a simple game. One thing I really learnt is that you must make rules very clear, for instance in this video it was said that when Bob hit the ball behind the paddle he scored, it was not made clear to Bob that rules apply for both players and he can only score when the ball goes behind his opponents paddle and not his own. When creating a game that a person is playing with an online source, if the online source is only programmed to win, the player will get very sick of losing and will not continue to play. Therefor the game must be programmed more fairly, that the player can both win and lose. I really enjoyed this interactive video and I think it is an effective way of learning.