Alpha

I spent just over 3 hours working on my project today, this is probably the week I have struggled the most with my project and annoyingly enough once I figured things out it seemed like silly little mistakes. I kept making minor mistakes that would take me forever to figure out. 

Overall I am still pretty happy with my progress so far I think the little mess ups here and there are what help me to learn and grow in this. My car drives smoothly along the road and is easily controlled, I have worked on adding more obstacles and making sure the car stops and the game ends when it hits them. I have added a timer to my game now too so that players can see how long they were driving for and maybe try to beat their score next time they play. 

I still need to add a couple more things like music to my game which I will be doing over the next week. I still haven't actually found the music I am going to use yet but I want it to be something upbeat and fun. I also want to continue working on the visuals in the game and maybe add in more obstacles and items to bring the game to life. Another thing I would like to include into my game might be a Game Over visual for when a player crashes into an obstacle

(screenshots taken from my game in Unity)

Thanks for reading :)

Review week Comments and Feedback

 Feedback in:

Receiving feedback has actually been quite an enjoyable experience for me and hopefully others feel the same way too. It's been a really great way for me to see my own ideas from other peoples perspectives and to separate myself from my project for a moment, I think when you're working so closely with a project for so long its hard to see the flaws and what can be improved. You need to take a step back, take a break and see it "with fresh eyes", this can be really difficult to do sometimes so having other people get to see your process and give you feedback is extremely helpful in cases like this. Personally I have found the feedback really useful, as it has reinforced my prior confidence in some areas and also given me suggestions on ways to improve. 

Feedback out:

Before this module I would have been very wary of giving feedback to other people as I was always afraid to come across mean so I would avoid it at all costs, which I know is helpful to absolutely no one in the situation but I never wanted to hurt anyones feeling or give bad advice. This module has seriously helped me with that though, I think it was great that we were given readings on how to properly give feedback instead of just being thrown into it, this is something I greatly appreciate about this module, it taught us how to correctly give feedback and then allowed us to implement this new skill and practice and improve on it each week. This also is a skill that I have already found to be useful in other modules too and something that will definitely be of benefit to us after college when we're working. 

Blog Comments:

I think the blog comments have actually been a great way to connect with classmates, especially with how everything is in the world at the moment we are at a bit of a disadvantage in terms of the social aspect of college life. Normally we would be forced into lecture halls and labs together where we can all chat and get to know each other but with corona-virus of course this hasn't been the case for us however, with our introduction posts I have learned things about people that never would have just come up in the casual conversation on the way to the canteen. So in one way we're at a loss but in another sense we've gotten to know some people better than we might have in the college. I also think that reading through and interacting with comments can be quite an uplifting experience for people especially in this time where we are not getting to see as many people. Outside of the introduction post though I don't think people would really get much of a sense of me as a person but more so just the work I'm doing.

Looking Forward:

Honestly I don't think theres much that could improve my experience with the comments and feedback as I have had quite a positive experience so far. From now I would just like to improve on giving more detailed feedback to my classmates to help improve their projects in any way I can. 

(Image found on pinterest at- https://pin.it/ZqhmI13)

Thanks for reading :)

week 9 Reading and Writing

 Looking back on the reading tasks they weren't something I was particularly excited about at the beginning but rather I thought would be okay for me as English was my best subject in school. I did find them bearable and having a video included as part of it really helped me to understand the topics each week. The academic style papers were a little hard to understand at times because they used a lot of language and terminology I wouldn't have been familiar with up until this point, which is why I found the videos so helpful as they were much more simple and had visuals to support and further explain what they were trying to communicate. These reading tasks become much easier when we started doing them as a group and I thought it was great to get everyone's opinions and interpretations of the topics as they would notice some things that I wouldn't have when I was doing it by myself. I also think these group sessions helped me get better at pulling the most important information out of the readings without having to spend too long on them and to then end up over-analysing them. 

(img from pinterest- https://pin.it/4fmCq2f )

This is my favourite Image I've used in a reading blog so far because I feel like it was really useful in helping me to understand the design process. I have seen a lot of different ways of explaining the design process, some of which go more in depth and include more steps, whereas others simplify this even more and have less steps, but personally I found this one to work best for me and it there was enough in it without overcomplicating each area that needs to be completed. I also found that visually it was good at helping explain, I liked how it had the main headings easy to see, for when I just want to look back over it and remind myself what's to be done but also had the explanations where necessary for a first time viewer. 

Looking forward, I am really excited for what is to come and seeing my own and other peoples games coming together using the things we have learned from these tasks each week. going forward I would like to engage even more in the reading tasks by putting more of my opinion into the group sessions, at first I was a little wary about adding to the document if I wasn't 100% confident in what I was writing but I think the fact that its anonymous and doesn't show on the screen who wrote what it has helped me be more comfortable in engaging with the task. There isn't anything I can think of that could be changed to improve my experience any further other than my own engagement which I will work on. 

I am also super excited for semester 2 and to see what the second half of this module will have to offer, I've already learned and achieved much more here than I ever thought possible for myself so that's really great and speaking in the even nearer future were getting closer to Christmas!!  

Thanks for reading :)

First Playable

 I have begun developing my game and this is really very exciting. From the unity tutorials I've learned so much that I am finally getting to put to use and am still constantly learning new things that I can implement into my own game. Over the coming weeks we will get to see these different aspects come together and hopefully create a project I'll be really proud of. 

I spent my time last week getting assets together and figuring out my scene, this week was more about starting to put it in action and the actual mechanics of the game, technically you can call it a working game at this point but I don't think it'd be the most enjoyable game to play right now as its still very early on. The car drives and the scene is there but theres still plenty more work to be done. I wont lie to you this hasn't been the easiest project I have ever done and its taken me plenty of googling, deleting and restarting to get where I am and I don't think that is going to change any time soon. 

(Screenshot from my game)

Thanks for reading :)

Game Fun

 “Game Fun"

Games can be described by the 3 components Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics (MDA) or otherwise stated as rules – system – “fun”. The three reading selections this week and the synopsis below all address the term “fun” in relation to game design.

There are eight types of Fun outlined by the MDA. These eight are both a source of reference and player experience that blend together in many ways, and essentially what makes a game engaging and enjoyable.

Figure 1: Eight kinds of Fun

Both Oxford and Merrian dictionaries define Fun as an enjoyment, delight but within the context of a game it refers to a form of pleasurable entertainment. MDA papers define the '8 kinds of fun' sensation, fantasy, narrative, challenge, fellowship, discovery, expression, and submission, remain a source of reference and possibly the most popular list of player interactions combining in various forms to attract each player to a particular game.

Nicole Lazzaro presents four types of fun that are involved in defining how fun a game can be for different players.

• Easy Fun:  This is essentially for players who are new to a game who want to satiate their curiosity. 

• Hard Fun: It is essentially for people who love a good challenge.

• People Fun: Amusement from competition and cooperation. Meaning Co-op. 

• Serious Fun: Excitement from changing the player and their world.

Figure 2: From A Theory of Fun 10 Years On: Fun Is Just Another Word for Learning

Flow also has an influence on the feeling of “fun”. The concept of Flow is characterized as a balance between skill-challenge and the individual's enjoyment. When in flow the player is focused on the activity they are participating in. This gives a sense of reward and promotes further engagement in the activity.

Flow theory provides a good framework for analysing motivation in gaming activities, in particular enjoyment, engagement and positive affect.

Figure 3: Graph showing the flow zone, where the game is not too easy where the players abilities are very high (Boredom), but also not too hard that the player is unable to complete the challenge (anxiety).

Fun has everything to do with learning. “Fun is just the dopamine in our brains firing when we are presented with a new situation to learn from” Koster (2005) discussed about this saying that the different patterns that we take in helps our brain especially when it comes to enjoying a video game cause once you understand the many patterns that it offers you your brain has nothing to feed off making it unenjoyable to play anymore. Fun provides the brain with feedback of the game allowing it to observe and learn different patterns/sequences within. 

Games help people to become more imaginative, engaging with their creative side of the brain and creating new ideas/designs that can be implemented in games.

Being more creative when developing your game will help you see what challenges the player may face and what ones will help further improve the progression and also add to the player's determination to complete the story.

Balance is an even proportion or distribution of elements to keep them at a steady rate. When playing chess, we learn about strategy, tic tac toe teaches us about reading people’s mind about their next move and when we play games like civilisation or sim it teaches us resource management. When playing games we should be provided with a balance of fun and challenges. These are called either type 1 or type 2 games and these have their own unique way of being played. The type 1 games involve strategy and thinking to complete these games such as in Chess or Poker whereas type 2 games mainly involve quick reflexes and combo memorization in games such as “Mortal Kombat and Call of Duty”

The GameFlow model shows that the inherent structure of games is associated with the experience of flow and enjoyment during gaming, at least for strategy games.) As stated by Kaye and Byrce (2012) “a large body of research has investigated the negative effects of playing video games” yet “there has been less examination of the psychological experiences associated with the activity”

We come across different types of fun in games that fulfil our amusement. Fun in games is provided in many different ways for example through socialising with friends or exploring the game world. People experience different emotions when driven by gameplay. Gameplay creates opportunities for “Flow”, “balance” and “learning”. 

References:

Velev, A., 2016. Gamification Design: What’S Fun Got To Do With It?. [online] Megamification. Available at:<http://www.megamification.com/727-2//> [Accessed 16 November 2020].

Kaye, L. and Bryce, J., 2012. Putting The “Fun Factor” Into Gaming: The Influence Of Social Contexts On Experiences Of Playing Video Games. Available at: <https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/9632557.pdf/> [Accessed 16 November 2020].

 

The Game Overanalyser., 2020. A Theory of Fun for Game Design | Raph Koster and The Art of Designing Fun Games. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sZJYA06z7Y&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=TheGameOveranalyser/> [Accessed 16 November 2020].

Game Decisions

“In order for the player to be optimally engaged, challenges should be presented at a level equivalent or slightly higher than their current skill. Not too easy, not too hard”(Gigity McD)

The word 'flow state' was coined by Csikszentmihalyi (1975) also known as being “in the zone” This is when the player is fully engaged in the game experience. Csikszentmihalyi put a lot of work into observing and analyzing various groups of people. This theory is focused on the idea of how people should balance their skills and the demands of particular tasks. An example of Flow would be a challenge in a game that interests the player such as a puzzle or a boss battle meant to keep the player interested and not get bored. Csikszentmihalyi also states that flow is related to an ideal psychological condition when a person engages in a challenge-skill activity, often resulting in concentration and a focused emphasis on a task.

A practical technique for improving Flow is to look at what players like and find interesting, it is an invaluable resource as this will give you a better understanding of how to structure your game in a way it flows naturally without affecting the players’ experience and enjoyment. If the player has a high skill set and the game is not a challenge, the player will become disinterested and lose interest in the game. The game must allow the player to grow and learn with each challenge or obstacle so as to stay motivated to continue.

If the player has little to no skill set and the game is too challenging, then the player will become frustrated with anxiety and lose interest in the game as well. A flow chart helps to prevent the game from being too boring or too difficult(create anxiety) which makes the game more successful in terms of achieving Flow. 

The x axis is the player's skill and the y axis is the challenge. When the player starts off, the challenges are easy in order to introduce the player to the game system. Overtime, this will  increase the player's skill. After the player has progressed through the game the challenges get more difficult. This is known as the flow channel and is the ideal place to maintain the player in the flow state. If the challenges are too easy the player will become bored of the game. If the challenges are extremely difficult for the player, the player will get overwhelmed, frustrated or fed up with the game. This is the point where the player reaches the anxiety state of the flow map.

Studies have found Cook (2008) that there are both positive and negative consequences with game flow. The positive representing cognitive flow   “composed of challenge-skill balance, clear goals, and unambiguous feedback,” and a negative element viewed as the emotional flow “composed of action- awareness merging, concentration on the task at hand, sense of control, loss of consciousness, and time transformation.” In the development of computer games, designers must be aware of these two characteristics when developing games.

References

Numinous.productions. Dan Cook 2008. Building A Princess Saving App. Available at: <https://numinous.productions/ttft/assets/Cook2008.pdf> [Accessed 9 November 2020].

McD, Gigity (14th June 2018). What is FLOW THEORY in game design? - The Basics - (Part 1). Game Design with Michael, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H8pQyyXxHg [Accessed 9 November 2020].

Sanjamsai S, Phukao P. 2018 Flow experience in computer game playing among Thai university students. Available at: <shorturl.at/rtvGM> [Accessed 9 November 2020].

Game Design Document

https://www.dundoc.com/project/

 

( Image found at - https://images.app.goo.gl/d6bsztWwEQq48Bh98 )

Thanks for reading :)

Unity Tutorial 05

 For this weeks tutorial we did Unit 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 in these we learned how to create an endless side-scrolling runner game which included new skills like jumping over obstacles. I found this weeks tutorials really interesting because it was something quite new and different to what we've done so far but also very difficult for the same reasons. The videos are great to follow along to, especially with the instructions included written below too however, I did have to re watch a good few of the videos a couple of times to catch what needed to be done but I got there in the end thankfully. 

I'm really looking forward to finishing off unit 3 and getting to add some sound to the game because I think this is a really important element of any game, i think it will really bring the game up a notch and make it much more enjoyable to play. Gaining this skill will also be extremely useful for making my own game for the project. Each week doing these tutorials makes me even more excited to get my own game created and adds to my motivation for it because I'm constantly gaining confidence within Unity.

Thanks for reading :)

( screenshot taken from https://learn.unity.com/project/unit-3-sound-and-effects?courseId=5cf96c41edbc2a2ca6e8810f )

Games GDD

What is the GDD for?

A Game Design Document (GDD) is a blueprint for the design and development of a game.

The GDD is a way of being creative and documenting the approach to the development of the game. Gonzale (1999) states that “ the important thing is to have something that describes your game project (or any other project for that matter) before jumping into production.( Gamasutra ) It should help to plan out your game. Though it is recommended that the GDD should be short it needs to be detailed enough so as game developers and artists can coordinate the development of the game independently whilst still keeping to the design. 

The GDD is a blueprint for how the game is going to be designed and built, similar to a mind map. In conclusion, the game design document is vital to making a game and it is important to have in order to describe your game project.

How do we make one?

There are a variety of tools that could be used to create a GDD. These include word processing tools, visual tools like Powerpoint, or new web-based tools such as DunDoc. Each of these tools has their advantages and are a personal choice. Many of the examples shared via the internet are in Microsoft Word format. Romero Games(creators of Doom) favour a more visual tool such as PowerPoint. Whichever tool is used they should support the development of the game in an open and transparent manner.

What should be in it?

The GDD should be simple enough to read through details about your game design and concept. Schubert (2007), who was at the time lead designer for Bioware Austin, gave a GDC talk in about how to create design documentation, some of the most relevant elements include:

1. Know your target.- Have a clear vision and understanding of what you want to make. Make sure your game is suitable and fits your target audience.

2. Keep it short.  Keep it to the point and clear, the shorter they are, the easier it is to read, write, and maintain.

3. Prioritize the design.  - Divide your game in order of importance e.g have a functional game. Concentrate on core mechanics and visuals, and then expand 

4. Illustrate. - Draw sketches of your plans that make it easier to structure and implement. Present what your game would look like as it’s important to have a clear idea of the visuals before you begin creating.

5. Use user stories.- Describing the game through the player’s vision (Similar to what we did in the game vision statement).

Take into account the games users, their ideas may help develop future storylines or ideas.

6. Invest in a good format. Take the time to structure your work so that it is easy to navigate.

7. Use clear terminology. Don’t over-complicate the document. Make sure language is concise and accessible.

8. Kill redundancy.  -Recycle your code - use variables, not hard code). Always reference the new section on your page to have a clean document. Avoid copy and pasting sections.

9. Capture your reasoning - why did you make the choices you made? What led to that thought process?

References

Nachen, Lennart. 2014 Communication and Game Design Documents accessed 02/11/2020 http://acagamic.com/game-design-course/communication-and-game-design-documents/

Ferns, Shaun (2020) Readings Week 06 accessed 02/11/2020 https://cdmonline.ie/multidev1/reading-week-06/ 

 Gonzalez Leandro. 2016 How to Write a Game Design Document accessed 02/11/2020 

https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LeandroGonzalez/20160726/277928/How_to_Write_a_Game_Design_Document.php

(Image found at - https://images.app.goo.gl/WG9zk778UtYq42Sr8 )