Games Testing

As said in the article, "giving criticism - the good, the bad, and the ugly", we as humans are not the best at giving criticism. We tend to let our emotions speak before logic and we tend to say things we don't really mean such as "I like it!" when deep down you don't and this has an instant negative effect as it encourages someone when you don't believe the criticism you give rather than telling them how you really feel and helping them become better.

Constructive criticism can also keep feelings from being hurt by focusing on things that can be improved while avoiding personal attacks or insults. It is better to give constructive criticism to someone in order to help them become better and learn from their mistakes. However, make sure your constructive criticism is focused on valid and unbiased feedback. Valid feedback is tangible, credible, and well-founded. Unbiased feedback is free of individual opinion or personal tastes. Another important thing is to make sure your criticism is clear, understandable, and relevant.

Examples of good constructive criticism as mentioned in the article:

• The balloon font used in the logo seems a bit too playful for your business, do you think a serif-font might be more professional?
• 10% of the male population has red-green colour-blindness, you might want to ensure that your color scheme won't turn away potential customers.
• There isn't much contrast between the background and text color, and the font size is a bit small, so the text is difficult to read.

Constructive Criticism! (Source).

The second article I read was from the book "challenges for game designers" by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber. All games have target markets. Usually, that target comes with the license. At some point in your career, however, you may be asked to create a game targeted toward a specific market.

Challenge 1 - Gears for Girls.

Components Required: None.

Deliverable: 

• A convincing discussion on the target market, including a list of game styles, features, mechanics, and so on that would be desirable—and why.
• Feature list of the product.
• Concept sketches or mock-up of the game’s HUD (heads-up display).

Suggested Process:

1. Bring together a focus group.
2. Identify design rules.
3. Brainstorm concepts.
4. Create deliverable.

Challenge 2 - Beyond DDR.

Components Required: A dance pad, or an internet connection.

Deliverable:

• A game proposal using the DDR pad in an innovative way that targets a new audience. The proposal should include an overview, demographic breakdown, feature set and in- terface mockups, or
• List of five potential markets along with a core and brief feature set for that market, or 
• Informal presentation after completion.

Suggested Process: 

1. Brainstorm actions.
2. Determine the feature set.
3. Create deliverable.

Challenge 3 - Targeting the Everyman.

Components Required: Internet connection, men's magazine, focus group (optional, but recommended).

Deliverable:

• A formal pitch presentation to the powers that be at our fake Target. Select several in- dividuals to make up a mock review board, ideally not involved with another design team also working on the same challenge.
• A concept document.
• Informal discussion after completion.

Suggested Process:

1. Break into groups of three to four people.
2. Analyze your market.
3. Do market research.
4. Find a focus group.
5. Brainstorm.
6. Determine the feature set.
7. Return to focus group (optional).
8. Create deliverable.

Challenge 4 - Caribbean Targeted Tourism.

Components Required: Internet connection, magazines that target African Americans, focus group (optional, but recommended).

Deliverable:

• A research analysis report that would be provided to a developer who could, in turn, use this research to develop the game or
• A formal pitch presentation to the “representatives” of three selected countries. Each ambassador will be traveling with a person from the country’s economic development authority. For the sake of this challenge, select three to six individuals to make up the re- view board, ideally not involved with another design team also working on the same chal- lenge. These individuals need not be from these countries, but should at least read an overview on the country before the pitch. Their goal is to give you feedback on the design. 
• A mock-up of the main gameplay screen and a list of at least five missions, if applicable, and a collection of concept art for the project.

Suggested Process:

1. Break into groups of three to four people.
2. Select three islands to target.
3. Analyze your market.
4. Do market research.
5. Find a focus group.
6. Brainstorm.
7. Determine the core and feature set.
8. Return to focus group (optional).
9. Create deliverable.

Unity Free Tutorials

I used this tutorial to add background music to my game so when you start to play the game you will hear eerie music which will continue till the game ends.

I then added a splash screen by following this tutorial. I created a simple logo of my game name and my student number. I then added a fade-in fade-out animation which then brings you to the main menu.

Splash Screen.

These two tutorials were extremely simple to follow and adds more to my game. I used a copyright free audio from online to add to my game as I thought adding eerie music would be interesting and make the game more exciting to play while you walk around and collect gems. 

The splash screen was also easy to make and I think it looks simple but nice. The red on the logo matches the red skybox in the game. As of now I currently have a splash screen, main menu and game over screen in my game.

The only things I have left to do in order to complete my game is to add a timer and a gem counter which has proven to be difficult in the past however I am very determined to make it work in my game! 

Game Stories

Article one was titled “Into the Woods: A Practical Guide to the Hero’s Journey” by Bob Bates.

According to the article myths are important as they convey the values of society. Myths are how we teach each other who we are and how we should behave. Myths actively guide our actions.  People who figured out where the dangerous animals lived and how to avoid them survived longer than people who didn’t. And people who taught one another about this in tribes, survived longer. Bates believes that games are essentially myth-reinforcing activities and that the player tends to choose the kinds of games that reaffirm their own personal myths. For some it might simply be a need to bring order out of chaos. The most important elements to appear in a mythical story are:

• Establishing the hero’s world.
• The call to adventure.
• Entering the mythological woods.
• Trail of trials.
• Encountering the evil one.
• Gaining the hero’s prize.
• Returning that prize to the community.

There are 000 steps in creating a story. By using Campbell’s observations as a template we get the following:

1.    Pick Your Premise.

2.    Create Your Hero.

3.    Create a Great Villain. 

4.    Show the Hero’s Regular World.

5.    Disrupt the Hero’s World.

6.    Enter the Mythological Woods.

7.    Confront the Evil One.

8.    Acquire the Prize.

9.    The Hero’s Return.

The second article is titled “What Every Game Developer Needs to Know about Story” by John Sutherland.

Two common misperceptions about games are: story is dialog and story doesn’t matter. When in reality story is conflict. This is extremely important to remember. Classical story structures are simple and they work. This has been put into practice by story tellers of all kinds for thousands of years. Here’s how it goes:

• First, there's a protagonist, a hero.  
• Their world is thrown out of order by an inciting incident.
• A gap opens up between the hero and an orderly life. 
• The hero tries the normal, conservative action to overcome the gap. It fails. The world pushes back too hard. 
• The hero then has to take a risk to overcome the obstacles that are pushing back.
• Then there is a reversal. Something new happens, or the hero learns something she didn't know before, and the world is out of whack again. A second gap has opened up.
• The hero has to take a greater risk to overcome the second gap.
• After overcoming the second gap, there is another reversal, opening a third gap.
• The hero has to take the greatest risk of all to overcome this gap and get to that object of desire, which is usually an orderly life.

Characters are important to a story. What a character wears, eats, and drives are all important. But those aren’t the things that make him what he is. That’s characterization. There are different types of conflicts in story. External conflict happens most naturally in games. 

Alpha

I am currently doing quite well in completing my game. I have added all the assets I wanted and have styled the game to fit my chosen aesthetic. However I have come across some difficulties. While the game itself works perfectly and the terrain is set as planned - the gem scoring system is not working. I found a great tutorial on how to create a scoring system - this tutorial - however no matter what I did the system simply did not work.

I now have added a main menu screen, am creating my "Game Over" screen and have changed and finished my terrain. The area is now complete and fenced off. It is ready to play!

Current Terrain.

Game Over Screen.

I am now almost finished my game, however I have yet to add a countdown timer, add the end screen and add some music to my game. So far I think I am doing well aside from the bug for the scoreboard however I am determined to make it work!

Week 9 Progress

Looking back:

So far I am extremely happy with my progress. Even if I do not have a weekly routine, I try my best to complete all tasks, or as many as I can, in one day. By doing so it gives me more time to focus on my game. I try my best to get ahead of the tasks so that I do not fall behind or have a lot to catch up with. So far I have not used any extra credit options. The class assignments I enjoy the most would be the Unity tutorials. I prefer to work over reading and writing. I like doing the tutorials because I feel accomplished when I finish the tutorial and see my finished product up and running! It feels more rewarding then simply reading articles and writing about them, not that I don't enjoy them at all it's that my preference stands with Unity tutorials. 

Looking forward:

I do not think that I need to make any changes as I like how things are going at this moment. I do want to learn more about Unity and hopefully create a decent, playable game. I look forward to seeing how my game will turn out in the end and what everyone will think of it. It will be nerve wrecking to see what people think but I think it's all part of the process of doing something completely new.

Image:

Motivational Quote (Source).

Review Week Comments and Feedback

Feedback In:

The quality of the comments and feedback I have been receiving is extremely helpful. They have been very detailed and helpful comments which have helped me improve the quality of my game. They have been extremely nice comments that have made me really happy when reading! So to everyone who has left a comment on my blog so far; thank you for making my day! Comments I found useful were ones that involved questions about the game. As I may not be considering everything, when someone reads and comments about my game idea with questions I sometimes find ones I have no considered. These help me add better gameplay and add things I wouldn't have considered if it weren't for the comment.

Feedback out:

I like to believe that I leave good comments. Although they are not amazing I hope that each week I leave comments I am improving little by little. It helps me to read some questions on feedback strategies as I can come up with better comments to give. I hope to improve greatly by the end of the year with commenting and giving feedback!

Feedback Image (Source).

Blog comments:

The introduction blog posts have been a big help in getting to know people in my year. I have read their introduction blogs and have come to find out things I wouldn't have known otherwise. It is interesting to read them as I find myself having quite a few things in common with a couple people in my year. Again, I wouldn't have known we had things in common if it weren't for the introduction blog posts. I am happy with my introduction blog, I think it shows who I am. After reading some people's posts I feel I could have included a couple of other things about myself such as saying how much I enjoy traveling, but, I don't think I will change my posts as it's not something major. 

Looking forward:

At the start of the semester I experimented with blog styles and found that creating my own blog with my own colours better than picking a ready-made theme. I do not think I will be changing my blog style as I'm very happy with the current theme and style! The only think I hope to improve is at giving people better and more helpful feedback. I am happy with everything else and I look forward to giving better feedback in the coming weeks!

Week 9 Reading and Writing

Looking Back:

The reading and writing assignments are working well for me. Even though I am not a talented writer I still enjoying writing about my thoughts on the weeks reading requirements but I do take longer to read the articles and write up the blogs than it states. My favorite reading so far has been about Growth Mindset. It was something I had never heard of before and I believe it really has changed my view on how one can change their education through Growth Mindset. I have been applying it to college as working with Unity has been tough yet I know I will eventually build a working game I'm proud of. I am quite happy with my game project. Even though the readings have not helped me a lot with building my game I do think they are essential notes to read and know even if you do not apply all advice and notes to your own game. I consider building a game in unity my biggest accomplishment for this class. I am struggling currently and will continue to struggle with Unity so when I finish my game I know I will feel very proud of myself.

Image:

Sims Image from Previous Blog Post (Source).

I have chosen this image because it was from my first post on my game idea. It reminds me of how far I have come with planning my own game plus how my game ideas have changed. I also like this image because it shows frustration (something I feel quite a lot when working with Unity) and complicated structures that reminds me of how complicated Unity is as well as how complicated it is to create a game. Working with Unity has made me realise how difficult it is to make video games. I admire people who work restlessly trying to create video games as it takes a lot of patience (something I really, really don't have), hard work and practice. 

Looking forward:

I think I am doing quite well in the reading/writing experience in this module. It is something I quite enjoy and find easy to do. It has helped me become a faster reading but also learn how to power read through big chunks of text as some articles are quite long and tedious to read. I look forward to reading and writing more blog posts!

First Playable

So far I am making good progress with my game. I have finished the forest area of my game which included several collectable gems that make a sound, rotate and disappear when walked over. I have finished the fenced off area in my game which include the same gems but in another color. So far my game is going according to my initial plan and I'm happy with how it's coming along.

Forest Area and Fenced Area.

I have also included a first person playable character. They begin the game in the middle of the four areas and choose themselves where to go first. Each of the four open areas has a gem placed in front of the entrance so the player can choose which path they wish to take. 

A difficulty I have found while designing this is the terrain size. As I did not make the terrain smaller when first creating the atmosphere it is now quite big. While editing I found it is difficult to place objects and create the surroundings with such a massive terrain. However, to solve this problem I have created a smaller terrain and fenced off the area that goes beyond where I want the player to go.

By doing so I have made the area smaller so the player won't get lost and will be able to walk around the area and explore more rather than have a big area of basic assets. I plan to finish the boulder and mountain area and then start on the timer as well as make a start on the night version.

Unity Free Tutorials

The tutorials I followed were Main Menu Tutorial and Main Menu Tutorial 2 because I have decided to include a main menu screen for my game.  

In these two tutorials we learnt how to make a main menu screen for a game. We had to create a new scene in order to make a main menu. The first tutorial was simple, it showed how to include the titles and a side menu.

Simple Main Menu.

In the first tutorial there were some issues with having the button fade in and out when hoovered over. It took a while to get it figured out, which was quite annoying when watching the video as I would have hoped he would film the video but remove scenes such as these as they only take up time and have me follow the mistakes as well. 

However, later on it was shown to be a glitch in Unity itself, this was also very annoying and time consuming. It proved that black was a difficult colour, causing many troublesome problems. This is unfortunate as I did want my game to have black buttons, but I have decided on different colours – #F3F3F3 for the background to replace black and #5C3232 and #952828 for the button clicks.

In the second tutorial we learnt how to make the main menu more advanced, such as adding an animated scene in the background and include a fade in/fade out logo. 

We had to create a new terrain and lay it out as we wished to create the scene we wanted. It incorporated a lot of old tutorials.

More Advanced Main Menu.

Game Fun

The first article I read was “Natural Funativity” by Noah Falstein.

“We may not be able to describe fun, but we know it when we have it.”

He talks about ‘The Natural Funativity Theory’ that says that one of the toughest tasks as a game developer is picking a suitable name, and that stealing (or borrowing) from other sources is one method. This theory is then broken into three areas. 

1. Physical Fun.
2. Social Fun.
3. Mental Fun.

Physical fun is the simplest place to see a connection between our evolutionary heritageand games and entertainment is in this physical arena. Our primary urge is the survival instinct. Anything that involves threats to survival is likely to get a large audience. Some major factors for survival ability in a hunter-gatherer society were strong muscles and good coordination. This is why sports are quite popular in certain cultures. But physical fun doesn’t just apply to the hunting side of hunter-gatherers. In video games, gathering became very popular and RPG’s encouraged players to gather items making them popular games. Exploration is also a popular component to many games. 

Evolution focuses not just on the survival of individuals, but also the issue of reproduction and all the associated matters of meeting and attracting mates. Social interactions is a very part of our lives and this moves onto video games. We play games now are able to play video games while talking to our videos or even strangers. Games also include characters which socialize in the game.

The essence of intelligence is the perception and manipulation of patterns. Game designer Brian Moriarty found that people love to find patterns in things. In history games such as the Rubic’s Cube have proven to show that humans love patterns and enjoy mental fun. 

The second article is “Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs” by Richard Bartle. In this article four approaches to playing MUDs are identified and described.

The four things that people typically enjoyed about MUDs were:

·     Achievement within the game context.

·     Exploration of the game.

·     Socialising with others.

·     Imposition upon others.

Labelling the four player types we get: achievers, explorers, socialisers and killers. Often players would drift between these four types, depending on their mood when playing. However, most usually have a primary style. 

The “interest graph” is a representational structure which can chart what players find of interest in a MUD.

Interest Graph. (Source)

The axes of the interest graph represent the source of players interest in a MUD. Achievers are interested in doing things in the game, i.e. in acting on the world. Explorers are interested in having the game surprise them. Socialisers are interested in interaction with other players. Killers are interested in doing things to people, i.e. in acting on other players.

A stable MUD can be adjusted so as to favour the various extremes of the interest graph, and what would happen if each approach were taken to the limit: 

• Players.
• World.
• Interacting.
• Acting.

Prototype

This week I have started to begin designing my prototype game. Following my GDD, I have started creating the terrain. Using Adobe XD I have created a map that somewhat represents what I hope to create. However, I am not entirely sure it will come out the exact same as my wireframe.

(G) Represents Gems around World.

I have begun with building a forest. This was not mentioned in my GDD but due to complications in trying to make a lake I have replaced it with a forest. I have been struggling to create a lake in my game because of the height of the terrain. I googled and searched videos however I was unsuccessful in making it work. In my forest I have included a blood red grass and several gems in the colour #62CDC1. I have created two paths - one having many gems in the road and one path with only a single gem. The player must choose which path they want to go through.

Forest Area with Hidden Gems.

So far I have found creating the trees, grass and gems very easy! On the downside, the game takes a lot of time and patience to make as my laptop becomes slow once more and more content is added to the game. I have added a 'Ding' sound to my gems, using audio from Jimmy Vegas' videos. 

I am meeting my targets by following the tutorials supplied by Jimmy Vegas. They have been simple tutorials yet they include all things I want in my game. I have come across some difficulties however in this moment in time my game is coming along quite well. I have added a first person character to my game also. Following my wireframe of my game I believe it will come to be something very similar, if not the same. I am quite disappointed in not being able to create my lake but I have found things to replace it!

I am also currently working on a logo for the game as well as graphics for the main menu and game over screen. I have been unsuccessful in finding music I thought suit the game however once I finish my game I'll have a better feel for what I would like. I think in this current moment it is difficult to find music as I am not sure how the game will turn out, by choosing music in the end I can adjust it carefully to match the atmosphere of the game.

I hope to create the mountains and fences/stone walls by next week and maybe some more things if I am able. I am unsure about adding a house to my game as I am afraid it will consume too much time, but if I have time I would really like to add it to the gameplay. Once I am finished with designing my terrain to how I want it to look I will work on adding a countdown timer and gem counter to the game. So far I am content with how my game is coming along and I feel confident in my idea and progress so far.