Unity Tutorial 03

 I found "Lesson 2.1 Player Positioning" to be difficult I started seeing these errors and I didn't understand what I have done wrong.

I had to restart the Prototype 2 and do it very carefully. I observed which each code what could have went wrong. I discovered that I have started doing errors at "5. Keep the player inbounds" with the brackets. In this Lesson we were able to make the Player's character move from left to right and make the character stay within the playing area. After figuring out where I went wrong I carried on with ease. I chose woman for the players character and for the animals I chose a doberman, fox and black horse. I really disliked this lesson at first but I had lots of relief when I succeeded in the end.

In "Lesson 2.2 Food Flight" I could not implement a projectile which in my case it was a pizza.

I created a new script that I never used before, "DestroyOutOfBounds". I enjoyed this lesson and I found no difficulties. I learned to check my codes very carefully after Lesson 2.1. 

In "Lesson 2.3 Random Animal Stampede" I expected difficulties but I didn't have any. I made the animals spawn in every time they disappeared, this way the player can press the S key and animal would spawn randomly at the top. I also enjoyed this lesson as I did not find it difficult.

Game Vision Statement

Introduction

After receiving feedback from my professor in the Multimedia Development module on my ideas I have learned that my ideas are very complex. I won't have enough time to make any of my ideas except the pizza delivery one but that game idea was not satisfactory to me therefore I will take the bones of some of my ideas and form a new one that is less complicated and time consuming. I had difficulties before writing this blog post as I had to rush a structured idea before the deadline tonight.

In this blog post I will be discussing my Game Genre, Gameplay, Resources required, Link(s) to sources and Image(s).

• Game genre

The game genre I chose for my final project will be a survival/ obstacle game. In order to survive you cannot fall. This game might also be described as a platformer game where the player jumps higher than they would in real life and have to jump around these platforms to navigate the end to the stage. The target audience for this gameplay are dog lovers/ animal lovers. Games like this are usually appreciated by children or children about to step into their teenage lives as people that are around eighteen wouldn't play these games. 

• Gameplay

The player will enter the game and start it as a dog. In my original idea I wanted the player to choose their dog but since this would be time consuming to create many dog breeds I will choose one. The player will use the space key to jump and use the “W” key on the keyboard to move round. This is similar in Roblox as you control your character's direction with the camera and use the “W” key to move forward. There will be sound effects such as the dog barking or thumps every time the dog jumps and lands but there may also be background music if it will be possible to include it. The inspiration behind this project will be my own dog that is a chihuahua therefore I might use her to be the main character. The dog will be surrounded by the woods with natural light shining through the trees. The obstacles will be logs, rocks etc. The colour scheme and aesthetic will consist of nature therefore greens, blues and browns. There will be checkpoints for the player whenever they fail to complete a stage in the obstacle course successfully as restarting the game completely would discourage further enjoyment. The background won't change as the player reaches every checkpoint as I feel like this will be more complex and I wouldn't be able to achieve this in eight weeks. I will implement as many stages as possible until the deadline therefore I cannot estimate how many stages I will make.

• Resources required

The resource’s required for my game will include Unity Hub. In my module we have been learning to use this for weeks now and we can finally put it into use ourselves without tutorials. I will try to record my best friends dog as makes sounds like barking therefore I will have sound effects coming from the dog character in the game but if I cannot do this I will try to find suitable sound effects from the internet and Harvard reference. Although the dog sound effects might become secondary I can make primary sound effects such as thumps whenever the dog lands from a jump mechanic, running mechanic etc. I will try to do my own background music for the game and if not I will not use any copyrighted music as i’m sure it wouldn’t be allowed. I will use the Unity Hub tutorials we have been doing for weeks as I have mentioned before to implement some codes for my own game and youtube tutorials from creators that also use Unity Hub for codes that have not been included in the Unity tutorials.

• Link(s) to sources.

https://gamequiche.com/2015/02/24/dog-hotel-mobile-free-to-play-review-mans-best-friend-just-got-friendlier/

https://imgc.allpostersimages.com/img/print/posters/chase-swift-corgi-jumping-over-obstacle-at-dog-agility-competition_a-L-8665233-14258389.jpg

https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/799459371333562095/

https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=unity+hub+tutorials

• Image(s). Find at least one image that you think you could use, something that really represents your game. As always, include image information.

Park, A. (2015). Dog Hotel Mobile Free-to-Play Review -- Man’s Best Friend just got Friendlier. [online] GameQuiche. Available at: https://gamequiche.com/2015/02/24/dog-hotel-mobile-free-to-play-review-mans-best-friend-just-got-friendlier/ [Accessed 24 Oct. 2021].

I chose this image as one of the pictures that really represents my game as I will have a 3D obstacle game like this as I mentioned before. My game will be similar to this but the obstacle will be very different.

Allpostersimages.com. (2021). [online] Available at: https://imgc.allpostersimages.com/img/print/posters/chase-swift-corgi-jumping-over-obstacle-at-dog-agility-competition_a-L-8665233-14258389.jpg [Accessed 24 Oct. 2021].

This is another image that fits with the visual idea I have in my head. Hopefully I can make my game similar to the colour scheme in this image and the one below it.

Pinterest. (n.d.). Super Backyard Ideas For Dogs Diy Obstacle Course 63 Ideas | Backyard obstacle course, Kids obstacle course, Diy backyard. [online] Available at: https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/799459371333562095/ [Accessed 24 Oct. 2021].

I like this obstacle course and it would be aesthetic if I added a forest around it therefore this image is maybe the closest to what I have in mind for my game.

Games MDA

 Design, Dynamics & Experience (DDE) for Game design

I have never come across this topic therefore MDA and DDE are new things I have come across for this week’s reading. When I read the definition of MDA I thought Aesthetics would fall under Design therefore when I read it neglects design aspects then I started getting confused.

My favourite framework from this reading.

image source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Elemental-Tetrad-Adapted-from-Schell-2008-Retrieved-from_fig3_336069825

In this article I found the Elemental Tetrad to be the best framework. This diagram has the “more visible and less visible” spectrum that makes it so clear compared to the rest. 

I agree that Mechanics and Aesthetics are in fact directly connected. In my opinion they should be connected as game development should have a constant flow through all these aspects mentioned in the Tetrad. In MDA, they describe it like a ladder without steps that have “no connection”. I agree with Brian Winn in this article as MDA does focus on purely the outcome of entertainment from this framework and not the art that can go into serious games. 

I enjoyed reading this article as it showed me different pros and cons of each framework. For my project in this module I will come back to this reading and pick the suitable framework that would work for my game.

I don’t like Winn’s framework and even though it has more detail to it I feel like there it too much. Without an explanation I cannot understand this framework. I enjoyed the analogy of the car for MDA, “motor, gearbox and wheels”. It made me understand it more and for my final project I will not choose the MDA framework. DDE seems like the best option as it shows there is more to the game than just mechanics. I found this week’s reading to be the most challenging but informative.

Tech Task: Meme Generator & Adding Profile

I chose a Tech Task from the list and followed the instructions. POST TITLE: I used the phrase “Tech Task” plus the name of the task. (example. Tech Task: Creating a Cheezburger Meme) POST LABELS: I used the label “Tech Task” plus the week’s label. (example. Tech Task, Week 2 — separated by a comma)

I used the Meme Generator and added my profile to my blog this week.

Feedback Strategies

 https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/40369/preschoolers-and-praise-messages-that-can-help-kids-grow

KQED. (n.d.). Preschoolers and Praise: What Kinds of Messages Help Kids Grow? [online] Available at: https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/40369/preschoolers-and-praise-messages-that-can-help-kids-grow [Accessed 17 Oct. 2021].

‌I agree with this article because older people have an effect on children especially that young. What our parents say and do shapes us to who we are today. I really enjoyed reading this article and I found the first point “ Replace Generic Praise with Process Praise” to be accurate. Many children lack this experience as they grow up. It’s not to say that you shouldn’t praise your child when they accomplish something but don’t forget to praise the steps they made to get that far.

The second point evolves around the idea of “Never give up” and “Practice makes perfect” as children fall into the trap of giving up once they find something too challenging. 

This article should be given to every parent as little things like this can battle low self esteems. 

I have learned from this article that parents shouldn’t be the only one’s praising somebody such as their child. I learned you can do this to others at any age. I feel like the article should have concluded with giving other praise like this.

https://nextbigideaclub.com/adam-grant-give-bad-feedback-without-jerk/8968/

Grant, A. (n.d.). How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk. [online] Next Big Idea Club. Available at: https://nextbigideaclub.com/adam-grant-give-bad-feedback-without-jerk/8968/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2021].

I agree with the first point in the article as an explanation after critical feedback is necessary in my opinion. Without an explanation there may be personal negative feelings towards you. I agree with the second point the most as I do this myself too. Don’t seem like a know it all and include your own experiences as relatability create a common ground. Many people do give feedback without asking the person and I often fall into this trap. I have learned to stop some of my behaviours because of this article and I will recommend this article to others. I also feel like the article didn’t include something important. In my opinion it is important how you present yourself when you give the feedback therefore just be sweet, calm and welcoming instead of being stone cold.

Unity Tutorial 02

Unity Learn. (n.d.). Learn game development w/ Unity | Courses & tutorials in game design, VR, AR, & Real-time 3D. [online] Available at: https://learn.unity.com/u/615a019bedbc2a70a5e0f983/?tab=completed [Accessed 17 Oct. 2021].

‌In this week’s Unity tutorial I have learned how to implement controls so whenever the player presses the arrows on the keyboard the vehicle in the game will react. The vehicle turns or accelerates depending on the input. I used new methods such as Vectors and Variables. 

I enjoyed this tutorial as I didn’t find it challenging. However I feel like explaining codes is needed because although I am practicing gaming development and coding I don’t know their meanings or rules. My game developing experience’s definitely play a big part when I do these tutorials as the recommended time for this task is 50 minutes but I finished the tutorial in less than 5 minutes. This blog post takes me a bit longer.

I found it a bit confusing on step 4 as in the video “* turnSpeed * Time.deltaTime” were placed differently compared to the instructions below. I learned that the order did not matter therefore apart from that I had no other difficulties.

I am looking forward to the upcoming assigned tutorials as I feel like perhaps I would understand the meaning of codes more. I am also excited to use these new upcoming skills and the ones I already obtained in the future. I am also excited for the following tutorials as each week they will get progressively harder.

Game Idea Research

For week three we have brainstormed ideas for our final game. This week we have to choose one of the four ideas we have discussed and elaborate on it further. I choose my "Escape game" idea. This game idea is something i definitely would like to work on for the rest of the semester as I like playing escape game myself. Franbow and Little Nightmares are my favourite games and both of them are extremely similar. This idea will be difficult to execute but I already have some experience with game making so I am hoping that experience will help me in this case.

           An image that represents my game:

link: https://www.change.org/p/ginette-petitpas-taylor-make-canada-an-animal-testing-free-country-by-2020

Change.org. (n.d.). Sign the Petition. [online] Available at: https://www.change.org/p/ginette-petitpas-taylor-make-canada-an-animal-testing-free-country-by-2020 [Accessed 16 Oct. 2021].

I chose this image as the image to represent my game as I would like to do an opening scene in the game similar to this photograph where many new dogs are brought into a factory or testing centre and one of them breaks out and escapes aka the main character.

During the beginning of week 4 I have conducted research online to gather a variation of game mechanics that I may like to include in my final project:

Movement mechanism 

Turn mechanism

Instant death

Avoiding unkillable objects

Timed / race

Jumping

Camera controls

Auto saving

I will choose three mechanics from the above list and discuss them in more depth.

Research Links & Harvard Referencing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYCXxuQI8CA

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). 10 Modern Video Game Mechanics We Take For Granted. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYCXxuQI8CA [Accessed 16 Oct. 2021].

https://inventwithpython.com/blog/2012/07/30/need-a-game-idea-a-list-of-game-mechanics-and-a-random-mechanic-mixer/

inventwithpython.com. (n.d.). Need a Game Idea? A List of Game Mechanics and a Random Mechanic Mixer. - The Invent with Python Blog. [online] Available at: https://inventwithpython.com/blog/2012/07/30/need-a-game-idea-a-list-of-game-mechanics-and-a-random-mechanic-mixer/ [Accessed 16 Oct. 2021].

Timed / race

The main theme evolving my final game will be animal testing therefore the main character will have to run away from unkillable enemies. This will be timed as it's a race each time, If the player is too slow to run away they will be taken away and have an instant death. This means the movement mechanism mentioned in the list plays a big part in this.

Turn Mechanism

In my final game to go to the next stage you will have to complete an action or collect an item to move on. The race's mentioned above will be part of the turn mechanism as they cannot go on to the next part of the game unless they run away successfully. They will have to complete many turn mechanics until the end.

Camera Controls

I feel like camera controls is another idea I would like to implement into my game. The player will have control over their view. This can subconsciously pull the player into the game more. This can help with the escape parts in the game as the player won't feel restrained.

Auto Saving

I would like to try and implement auto saving in my game as I personally know forgetting to save a game manually is not pleasant and it takes away the motivation to catch up to where you left off. 

Game Elements

 What are the qualities of games?

https://tudublin-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/shaun_ferns_tudublin_ie/EWlNUos7p8lFgRytGr80kbYBzMrZ6rnlKTegFJnnr_fSLg?e=3kRB39

Anon, (2014). The formal elements of game systems and game design atoms «The Acagamic. [online] Available at: https://acagamic.com/courses/intro-to-game-design/the-formal-systems-of-games-and-game-design-atoms/.

“Then I went on to say that completely defining the word “game” is impossible”. The person writing this definitely contradicted themselves as it is possible but no definition is perfect.

I’m not sure if calling formal elements “atoms” is correct as yes they are technically made up of atoms as we are all but we don’t go and call a desk a bunch of atoms. This is just my personal opinion though.

Players

Objectives (goals)

Rules

Resources and Resource Management

Game State

Information

Sequencing

Player Interaction

Theme (Narrative, Backstory, Setting)

Games as Systems

The Atomic Elements listed above is a good list to remember while developing a game as you can use it as a checklist. I will be doing this for my final project for Multimedia Development in my course.

I disagree with the statement that the critical analysis of a game is not how “fun” it is but how many people consider buying the game or not. Although the consumer statement is true it is also partially on how fun the game is and how fun it looks depending on every target audience.

Here I learned that when you give a critical analysis of a game or ask someone to review your game we need more Ethan “it’s fun”. The analysis has to go more into depth with detail. 

I will be coming back to this article in the future when developing a game. It’s my personal favourite the questions the article gives on critical analysis are really good once again a very useful checklist.

Feedback Thoughts

Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt in Creative Work

 

https://spencerauthor.com/seven-ways-to-crush-self-doubt/

In the first point he talks about not comparing yourself to others. This is a real issue in society these days as we compare ourselves on social media. He mentioned how this can lead to seeing others as a competition rather than a community and i think Instagram plays a big part in this.

The second point hit close to home as I constantly strive for perfection in everything I do. I feel like I can't completely abandon it like he has suggested because it has been a big part of me for most of my life and I can't just change that but i can try to moderate myself with it.

Spencer, J. (2019). Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt in Creative Work. [online] John Spencer. Available at: https://spencerauthor.com/seven-ways-to-crush-self-doubt/ [Accessed 10 Oct. 2021].

I‌ really liked this quote/ image in this article, It's creative and totally true! I didn't look at the growth mindset like that before so it really helped me open my mind to it more. 

Why rejection hurts so much — and what to do about it

https://ideas.ted.com/why-rejection-hurts-so-much-and-what-to-do-about-it/

 In this article I liked the point where it was mentioned that we have a need to be stable within society so when someone criticises us we get unsettled. I also think the point where they talk about self worth being harmed is the most hurtful all of them all because many of us have low self esteem and this just brings us down more. We get personally connected to the criticism. 

This quote answers the question of why it hurts so much when you are rejected. When you are rejected or criticised try not to take it personally and reflect on what you may have done wrong and avoid it in the future. In this article they talk about how we need to remind ourselves we are loved and appreciated in this article therefore make plans with your family and friends! Take your mind off of things to overcome overthinking.

Game Brainstorm

 Game Idea 1.

Hidden Object Game

My inspiration:

Gab Smolders is a youtuber I discovered at a younger age when my interest in hidden object games grew. I first encountered these games in primary school when my teacher would play some with us every friday. 

Link to Gab Smolder's hidden object game playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGxV8JnoT5Qjqjtai_aH6iUghbGYnlhuU

I will use Unity to create this game and present it as my final project if I pick this idea. Preferably I would like this game to be 2D in the same way most of these games are made. Not "Terraria" kind of 2D.

My idea for the storyline is:

The player is a detective and there has been a murder with multiple suspects. This idea isn't fully developed yet as I would add more onto it in the next phase of the project. The victim is a woman found in her dorm room. The body is found by her own mother. Her roommate and also the victims best friend is missing. Other confirmed suspects would be the victims boyfriend and his ex. The objective is to find the killer towards the end of the game when you have collected all the evidence against the unknown killer and put him behind bars. In this game there will be mini games for example to open a door you have to decode the combination.  

I will aim for the game's appearance to be dark and it won't be set in the modern era. I have seen tutorials on how to create a game like this and some of them involved Adobe Photoshop. In my opinion this game would be the hardest idea to make into a game out of all the other three down below. The game will be set in an older era from around the 1930s-1990s in New York. The victims body is found in a dorm room because she attends NYU there. I will have to make my own suspenceful music and overall sound effects. I will have to hire voice actors for each character and try to do the sound effects like for example driving a car, wind and the sound of a busy street at night. I feel like this idea will be difficult as there is lots of art involved with it.

Game idea 2.

Escape game

My inspiration: https://www.roblox.com/games/6205205961/Escape-Running-Head

Roblox is one of the most popular gaming platforms in the world right now and as one of their creators I looked through my colleagues games to find inspiration. I looked at their popularity and I found this one. It had 6.1K players at the time I took this screenshot as i am writing this post it now has 7.6K. Games that involves the main character escaping are extremely popular. This is idea is a game where you're a dog that is running away from evil humans because they want to test products on you. I really enjoy psychological games and I feel as this would emotionally connect the players as animal testing is an issue we are trying to fight against in real life. Many people have pets and they can't imagine them going through this nevermind putting themselves in their shoes. The game will be set in places like the factory where they imprisoned the animals, a forest, a rescue shelter, streets of New York and then finally in the end the dogs home. The game will be set in the modern era as it's a modern issue. The game will have characters like rescue shelter workers, the evil humans who imprisoned the dog and it's owner. 

I will use Unity to create this game and present it as my final project if I pick this idea. This game would be 3D in a 2D point of view like "Little Nightmares". The game's appearance will be very dark and little colour will be used. I want the game to seem very depressive as the animal struggles for freedom. I will have to make my own sound effects for this game. I can try and record my dog barking but with some emotional scenes I might have to use some from the internet and harvard reference them if I can. I will have to hire voice actors for the humans in the game.

Game Idea 3.

Dog Championship

Inspiration:

Deadspin. (n.d.). Seriously, Nobody Wants To Host The 2022 Olympics. [online] Available at: https://deadspin.com/seriously-nobody-wants-to-host-the-2022-olympics-1641262594 [Accessed 10 Oct. 2021].

My inspiration for my third idea comes from my love for dogs and the Olympics.

My idea for this gam consists of different breeds of dogs from around the world to compete in the Olympics and if I still had to time to make more of the game I would add in the Winter Olympics so the player would have an option between the two. The player would choose their country and their breed and compete against the other breeds like people do in real life.

I will use Unity to create this game and present it as my final project if I pick this idea. It will be a 3D game and the appearance of it will be bright and colourful. In my opinion the only difficulty with this idea will be getting the sound effects of all the different breeds. This is impossible therefore I would have to take them from the internet for my final project and Harvard reference if I can. With this difficulty I am leaving this idea as my last option out of all the other ideas. Each contestant will have the Olympic uniform on for each task with the flags of their countries over their heads. I will make my own music for the background of the game. The music will change depending on what scene you are on for example when you win you will have upbeat victorious music but if you lose the song would be representing the failure therefore it would be less upbeat and more silent. I will hire a voice actor to announce the beginning of the rounds for example "Welcome to the Doggy Winter Olympics". There will be other sound effects like crowds cheering but once again I might have to take this off the internet as I can't recreate this and other sound effects like the horn when a race begins for example.

Game Idea 4.

Limited time speed game

My inspiration: https://www.roblox.com/games/192800/Work-at-a-Pizza-Place

Here is another inspiration I took from one of my colleagues from Roblox. This game is very popular and if you ask any Roblox player if they heard of this game they will say yes. In this game you choose the role and work under that criteria. If you pick "Cashier" you will manage the orders, If you pick "Manager" you can give people bonuses etc. There is a pizza delivery role that I loved while playing this game. I took inspiration from that and I made it into an idea where you have a time limit to deliver a specific order and if you fail the level you can't go to the next one. I will have the main camera face the delivery vehicle just like in the lessons we did for Unity this week. This game will have a bright and colourful appearance and I will create it using Unity hub. The game will be 3D and every level will be set in different places around the world like Rome, Sydney, Rio De Janeiro etc. It will be set in the modern era but I might change this as the fast food industry we know today started during the 60s therefore I feel like the main character the player would be playing as would look cool in 2000's fashion or a hippie look. For the sound effects I will try to make as many of my own as possible. If I use a scooter as a vehicle option for the game I might have to take some sound effects from the internet and harvard reference them. I might have to hire voice actors for this as there will be multiple main character options such as a girl delivery character and a boy delivery character. I can make my own music for the background of the game.

Unity Tutorial 01

I found this tutorial really easy as I have experience with Roblox Studio. The only difficulty I experienced Personally I think the written instructions are better than the videos. Here we had to learn WASD, how to place the car and the obstacle, how to move the camera and place it in a way where it's looking down behind the car and a new layout. I didn't like the new layout as I feel like I work better in the default layout therefore I skipped step 7. I enjoyed this tutorial as i found it to be a recap.

I found this tutorial still quite easy I feel like this tutorial really helped me as I wasn't that experienced with scripting (C# Scripts) before. I was a little confused on step 6. as they didn't specify what numbers I should change the mass to therefore I had to watch the video. I also went through a little bit of difficulty when I double clicked on my first scrip it took me to Adobe Dreamweaver but I wanted to script this in Brackets therefore I had to delete Adobe Dreamweaver. In this lesson we can now add movement to the car as it crashed through all the obstacles we have duplicated. I enjoyed the scripting in this tutorial as I would like to learn more of it but I feel like we should learn about the meanings in coding for example what does "Vector" mean etc.

I found this this tutorial very helpful as I never had an experience where I can make the camera follow the object and in this case it was the vehicle. I didn't have any difficulties in this tutorial. I enjoyed this tutorial once again because of the scripting.

my work on Unity.

Game Design

Reading One Notes

There is more than on definition to gaming

The formal elements to games

Games like tic-tac-toe have their own interpretations 

When criticising a game this isn’t a bad thing- you look at the good and bad parts

The criticism might not make you happy but its important to take it into account. Criticising here means analysing. This can be good as it can bring people together because of the common interests.

People use many games to describe one game but this isn’t good as nothing everyone played the mentioned games.

Katamari Damacy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEAP-4iUirY

I have done some research on Youtube about this game and I would describe it as a family friendly tycoon simulator where you go around a city and attack items on the ball.

You can use terminology for game design but its a slower process. 

The correct definitions:

“A game has “ends and means”: an objective, an outcome, and a set of 

rules to get there. (David Parlett)”

“A game is a “voluntary effort to overcome unnecessary obstacles.””

“Games are a “form of art in which the participants, termed players, make 

decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the 

pursuit of a goal.” This definition includes a number of concepts not seen”

Wrong definition:

closed, formal system” 

I took note of all the elements as I felt it was necessary for my improvement within this module and all my future work.

This reading gives us many examples on why the above definitions were all imperfect. Logic games are different from role-playing games or choose your own adventure books.

It has to come a point where there are questions like are games a form of play? Like playing with a ball etc. and if games are stories?

The reading improved my growth mindset as it’s more open-minded now.

The purpose of this reading was not to help us physically but mentally especially with vocabulary to communicate in “a meaningful way”.

Make a game on paper or Microsoft paint. 

Relieve the stress

Ask a lot of questions to yourself while your doing this.

Conflict in games makes it interesting.

You don’t need to be a professional at programming to make a game.

Reading two notes

The ideas aren’t accidental 

Everyones views and process of research are different and affect the final idea

The gaming industry is considered new and has “higher future growth prospects”.

Competition within the industry as fewer games within the industry are profitable. 

Companies look for talented teams with atmospheres that encourage creativity.

Those are some of the core values of game design companies.

In a conference a lady has come forward and said that game companies should recruit “outside of their comfort zone”.

Even the most creative people struggle with repetition.

“the ability to generate ideas is shown to be one of the  characteristics of successful business ventures”

Lack of systemic approaches to games

“studies show that creativity training has the highest impact on originality of the ideas”

Systemic Techniques:

Brainstorming

Ideas come from other games or similar things for inspiration.

Not many studies have been done on creative processes in game design.

“game design should be seen as an organic process”

Inspiration sources:

Watching shows and movies, playing other games, reading etc.

Formal techniques do not result in truly original ideas.

“Good designers are judged on the value of their creative thoughts, not on their skills to use ideation techniques”

“game ideas work as a starting point for game production”

Reading three notes

The techniques are: 

• Concentration 
• Brainstorming
• Scamper
• Ramsey

Brainstorming: 

Statement of the Task

resources aka the amount of money, the number of team members etc.

Generation of Ideas

Grouping and Selection

Scamper

Methods

Substitute

Combine

Adapt

 

Modify

Put/ apply

Eliminate

Reverse

The Ramsey method

if you want to become a high-class specialist:

Remember: Ramsey wrote a theory that, if you take a significant amount of information and start looking at it closely and manically, you can find new information or find inconspicuous links. This explains why people with various psychological disorders, like paranoia and schizophrenia, can see evidence everywhere of their rightness and their theories. This theory can also be used in the opposite direction, creating previously unobtrusive concepts at first glance. The essence of this method is that you collect the maximum amount of information on the topic that you need to assemble the games. And then you start to study this data, looking for hidden connotations and imperceptible connections in it until the concept of the game is collected from these pieces. The effectiveness of this method depends only on two factors: the amount of information received and the effort spent studying this information.

Personal Links from my interests:

Article one: https://www.gamedesigning.org/learn/game-elements/

What I like about this article it it basically breaks down with given readings have talked about in less and more easy to understand words. 

I like how this article also includes "fun" into this list as the readings were more formal and never mentioned this. 

Article two: https://unity.com/how-to/beginner/10-game-design-tips-new-developers

We are currently using Unity as one of our tools for this module and I stumbled upon this section within their website. They included something the readings did not: Design with users in mind, look for viral quality etc. I will go back to this article with my future work.

Article 3: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijcgt/2015/549684/

I found this article interesting because they have mentioned a GBL design model. All the other articles and readings didn't mention this and I found this quite useful.