Exercise

 ● 6.7: Describe Your Game (p182)

            For our AR Game, we are combining the elements of storytelling and building. Wren, a lost girl who doesn’t remember her past, finds herself venturing through the forest of Cassius. The only thing in mind is her finding her lost friend. Play as Wren and collect pieces, build bridges and stairs, and unlock her forgotten backstory.

● 6.8: Write a Treatment (p184)

            The formal elements of this AR Game is scanning images to trigger the experience, the girl trying to find her friend, etc… The main conflict in the game is you figuring out how to build the pieces while trying to help the girl find her friend. The rules and procedures are that you have to follow the next chapter card shown in order to progress in the game properly and in a sequence. In order to complete a level, you have to finish building the bridge or stairs to obtain the robot part at the end. The players start to build the part when you scan the image that triggers the nav mesh of the body part. It is a one player game and the target audience would be anyone from 12 – up. AR games do have a lot of restrictions. First, you need a room, preferably one with a lot of planes or tables, and you need the cards in order to play the game. However, this game allows many players separately to play the game in one setting.

● 7.8: Diagramming Core Gameplay 2 (p211)

Reading

● GDW Chapter 4: Working with Dramatic Elements (pages 102—125)

Play is an important part of any game. With different forms of play, designers can center their gameplay around the type of play they want the users to experience. Dramatic experiences such as the characters, relationships, the world they are in, and especially the conflict, all set the game in motion. Drama makes the game more fun and intriguing to users so they can be immersed into this new situation and world. Being in an Immersive Storytelling class, I was also told that stories help people to learn. So bringing that into games and play, stories can help a player learn a new skill with the main mechanic or more about the world that the player is in. Without any story, games would be quite boring and repetitive. For example, you see many post-apocalyptic games out in the market with similar mechanics. However, for games like The Last of Us and Horizon: Zero Dawn, they bring in two very different conflicts. TLOUS brings in zombies and enemies that you have to kill in order to progress in the game, but the story between the characters of Joel and Ellie is what sucks us in as players. In Horizon: Zero Dawn, there is a similar bond between Aloy’s father figure, Rost in the beginning of the game, but it is disrupted, making it a catalyst of Aloy’s hate and rage to go after the people who are targeting her and other innocent people with machines. As you can see, both games have the same general concept but using different conflicts, worlds, settings, and characters makes the games unique and fun to play and learn about.

 ● GDW Chapter 6: Conceptualization: Sidebar: Experimental Gameplay by Richard Lemarchand (p171)

 I wholeheartedly agree that experimental games are important to go full force in in order to progress within the industry as well as our own creative ideas. Without testing new concepts, mechanics, and ideas, the gaming industry is stagnant and becomes borings and repetitive. Pushing artistic forms allows more artists and designers to become more flexible in their work. From the list that was shown, Dear Esther is a game that I have played. With little to do in the game besides listen to the narrative and explore the island, it evokes such strong emotion, which inspired other games such as Gone Home. This game really showed how we can still tell a strong story in a game. Inspirations and example of being artistically experimental was the Beat Generation during the late 1940s and 1950s. Consisting of amazing writers and thinkers such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs they pushed the boundary for literature. What they wrote about and how they arranged their words was beautiful and innovative. Thus, being a huge inspiration for me as well, to be an innovative designer. A film that described the story of the Beat Generation was Kill Your Darlings. What is important to take from this film is that it showed their struggles in the beginning, and the challenges they faced during their movement. Their struggles as writers during this time period ultimately led them to success as they presented something innovative and new to the world of literature. This goes for designers as well. Struggle is inevitable when designing something innovative. However, there are ways to brainstorm and think of weird and new ideas with friends or people at work. Sticking to the formal elements then branching out using our imagination will lead you to a unique game.

Research

● Walden by Tracy Fullerton

            This game is an open world simulation that follows the life of Henry David Thoreau when he was self-reliant living at Walden Pond. What the player does is surviving in the wood. Like any other survival game, you must find food, shelter, and clothing. This game stands out because unlike ant other survival game, it allows you to enjoy the beauty of nature. Many survival games make you scared of the environment you are around but with a story follow Thoreau and the relaxing scenery, this game presents its challenges through the seasons.

Exercise

● Focus your game. How much can you remove and still maintain the core experience?

We are going for a more simplistic environment, but it is not necessary to add elements such as a moving waterfall, grass and clouds. Our goal throughout this project from the start is to keep it as simple as possible so we can focus on story and level design.

Through the process of the game, we found that we had to remove a lot of things. For example, we changed the main mechanic of our game. First, we had the player “build” the scene with the bridges and stairs with the cards. So, you would scan the image of the bridge or stairs and it will pop up. Allowing more flexibility for player interaction. However, with weeks of it not working the way we planned, we decided we had to remove it and substitute it for buttons on the screen.

Reading

 ● GDW Chapter 11: Fun and Accessibility (p341—373)

In this chapter I really liked the statement that, “the most popular games of all time allow players to set their own goals – challenge themselves, so to speak.” (p. 342) When making my games then playtesting it, I learned overtime that players are going to figure out the game that they please to. Sometimes it pains me to see them do it the “wrong” way but it’s also something to keep in mind in order to find ways to allow the player to challenge themselves in that level. Furthermore, as I was reading the exploration and discovery part, I thought this tip was really interesting and helpful. It states, “Try going on adventure yourself. Go for a hike on a new trail or take a walk through a part of town you do not know. Think about the emotions you feel as you make your way – how can you recreate these feelings in your players?” As I was thinking about this and brining examples from games such as Oxenfree, I understood this a lot better. In the beginning of Oxenfree the designers allow you to explore the island and town you never been in before. You are curious and confused. Then, I thought of when I hiked up Breakneck Mountain last weekend. I was confused on how I can climb up many steep rocks yet super excited and eager to see the peaks, the view and to explore off the trails a bit. Thus, I can see how as a designer, you can bring in your own experiences and feelings to a game. Whilst making our game I would like to keep in mind how our puzzles effect gameplay. In the reading it states, “If you tie this into a system of rewards for solving the puzzle and punishments for failure, the puzzle transforms into a dramatic element. So, having our game based off of puzzles and building, I wonder if it necessary for a fully dramatic story like we had planned. However, this is our goal, “A puzzle can also advance the story line. You can use the puzzle to tell the player something about the unfolding plot. If you can integrate your puzzles into the gameplay and the story, they won’t feel at all like puzzles but rather like integral, interesting choices a player must make to progress in the game as a whole” which is really important because we are trying to make the player build its lost friend. You collect pieces and once you collect all of them, you win the game.

● Chapter 8: Digital Prototyping, Effective Interface Design (p258)

The process of making a prototype if asking yourself what formal elements are you using before you build a game. You should do this before thinking of the interface and the aesthetics because then the game you are making is going to be designed like any other. Figuring out how to make unique mechanics allow you to create a fun game later on in the process. However, with interface designs, a metaphor is something that stands out in this chapter. Creating a metaphor in the game is making mental models that will help players understand the game more. I thought the idea using the circus helped me visualize what they meant when talking about metaphors. He states that the ringmaster would be the host or help system. This is a common thing for the player to get help when navigating the game. In one of the earlier Pokémon generations, I remember the mom in the beginning of the game just straight up breaking the “fourth wall” explaining rules such as Press ‘B’ to run. I’m not sure if this was the most effective use of the mother, but, it still worked and taught the player quickly how to run in the game.

Research

● Cloud by Jenova Chen, Designer Perspective: Jenova Chen (p191)

Cloud by Jenova Chen is a flight action game that follows the adventure of a boy who is flying through the sky while asleep in a hospital bed. The gameplay of this game involves the boy’s direction and speed being controlled by a mouse while movement is horizontal but vertical flight is allowed with the third mouse button. Clouds are also an important part of the gameplay. You interact with clouds by making shapes out of them. Chen’s fans describe this game as a childhood dream simulator. 

Reading: Why Should Indie Devs Care About Video Game Usability Testing?

Usability testing in games means you are observing how the user feel, if they are happy, comfortable and satisfied when they play it. However, you need to do testing plenty of times in order to accomplish a game where the users feel all of this. For example, as a designer you would need to know what users the best fit for the game are. To find your target audience you can keep in mind what age/gender they are, their favorite genre, favorite platform to play, and playing habits. I really like the idea of a questionnaire, because you can gather important information to know who your target audience is and build your game from their viewpoint.

Guerrilla Testing is an interesting technique to use for user testing. It is a fast way to collect data to improve your game. Personally, for our game, I would probably do this more around the school or more specifically D12 you need a table or a room to look around in order to play this game.

The second user testing allows you to answer questions that the user has. However, that is a big sign that you as the designer, need to fix in the game.

We mainly used On-Site Testing at Wonderville. This was really helpful in knowing what we need to improve on. For example, we weren't sure how users were going to interact with the chapter cards. So, our question was  did it feel "natural" to use it and were those cards necessary? People thought it was necessary but because it was to progress in the game but felt a bit of a disconnect between the game and the cards.  Navigating through the scene was also tricky for the players so they suggested to incorporate some sort of UI element to help them where to go in the game.

Exercise 10.1: Testing for Functionality Take the physical game prototype you developed in Exercise 7.9 or a digital gameplay prototype and test it for functionality. Give the game to a group of people who have not played the game before with no verbal instructions—only the challenge to “play the game.” See if they can play your game from start to finish without any input or assistance from you. If they can, your game is functional. If they cannot, figure out what was missing and revise the game to make it functional.

GDW Chapter 16: Selling Yourself and Your Ideas to the Game Industry (p481—495)

In this chapter the author brings out really helpful points to get started in the game industry, similar to what was brought up in class. Networking is what I have been trying to improve this past year. I found the most helpful ones was going to conferences and gaming events around the city. When doing that at first, it was a bit nerve racking, but because NYC has such a same gaming community, it is pretty easy to be comfortable talking with others in similar industries as well. I never gotten an offer though when talking to others in the industry like I have first expected to, however, it instead helps you form a small community in which you can help each other with projects, potential jobs, and a great support system. Overall, looking other ways to network such as IDGA.org and Gamasutra.com is something I haven’t tried. However, I really want to start polishing up my portfolio, make a good website, and then business cards in order to network in a more efficient and professional way. Also, I thought it was good to know that getting out of college, entry-level jobs won’t be game designers, rather it would be QA or internships. But with internships, it is especially hard to come by in the NYC considering the game industry here is mainly very small companies. I haven’t found a company willing to let me gain good experience for the industry which is nerve-racking to think that as an intern I would be wasting my time and money doing nothing for a company.