Feedback Thoughts

Feedback. (Source)

Article that really stood out to me from the moment I read the title was - "Seven ways to crush self-doubt by John Spencer" and instantly I knew I had to read it. Growing up I was constantly doubting myself and my work. Until this very day I still doubt myself and my work which only resulted in never going out of my way to create something new as I was in constant worry. The first strategy written about was something I have been trying to do for several years now. 

"Don't Compare Yourself To Others."

This is incredibly difficult to NOT do especially when you are surrounded with talented people. I constantly compare my work because I doubt myself and my abilities. When reading further and being told to "drop imperfection" that was especially difficult to read as I live my life as a perfectionist. It's in my blood, yet the time has come to drop these perfectionist qualities and learn to do what I love. 

Something else I loved reading in this article was a quote from Carol Dweck talking about babies. They do not feel humiliation, they are driven to learn and learn some of the most difficult things in life such as how to walk, talk, read. Yet, when we get older we fear humiliation and making mistakes? Why are we told to stop making mistakes as we get older instead of being told how to grow from these mistakes? Society has created fixed mindsets that are astonishing difficult to get out of as we are constantly reminded during our work and college - "don't make that mistake again."

"Instead of being mired in self-doubt, you get to treat your work as an experiment. If it didn't work, it's not a failure."

 I love looking at projects-in-progress or work in such a way. Rather than immersing yourself in self-doubt about your work treat it as an experiment that you are able to constantly work on and improve as you go along! In my opinion, this entire article is worth a read. I think it has really helped me in trying to better myself and deal with my continuous self-doubt.

The second article I read was "Why It's So Hard to Hear Negative Feedback by Tim Herrera" and it was also a fascinating piece to read. When presented with negative feedback our minds instantly think failure and our egos get bruised. In the article we can read that during a study it is shown that people go so far as to avoid people who give 'negative feedback' and their brains do not take the information in. If we avoid negative feedback there is no way to improve ourselves and work. You will constantly create work that is within your comfort zone rather than expanding your mind.

"If you're receiving the feedback, frame it so it will ultimately lead to self-improvement."

Game Brainstorm

Game One.

Undertale is a game that interests me because it doesn’t have any complicated graphics that make you lost. The game is played in a top-down perspective, a style I’m interested in using for my own game. I would like to design a game like this as I like the freedom you are given. You are able to walk and explore the areas, talk to different ‘monsters’ and are able to make the choices you want. It makes the game more interesting to play because you believe you have freedom when there are certain rules in place limiting choices (even though you believe otherwise). I would like to learn how to create a role-playing game similar to this. I like the graphics and the storyline. It is simple and easy to play which is something I like in games, but it’s not to everyone’s taste. On the website we learn more about the game itself and how to play. The game itself, and even the website about page, are filled with witty comments rather than serious dialogue making the game far more enjoyable than a serious role-play game. If I choose to create something similar to this game, I would prefer to make a different plot, maybe even less dialogue more gameplay, but keep the style of the game somewhat similar. The simple 2-D graphics, easy characters and a gripping storyline. I would like to try and attempt making my very own top-down game. There are quite a few videos on making a 2-D role-play game on YouTube and after some searching, I found Brackeys (YouTube) to be the most liked and best YouTuber for these tutorial videos. And here is another set of useful playlist filled with tutorials. I believe these will be extremely beneficial to me when creating my own game as they are tutorials on how to create a game similar to Undertale.

Undertale Character. (Source)

Game Two: 

Another game that is to my liking is Animal Crossing. Although it is played on Nintendo, the idea of creating a game similar to this but on PC/Mac is very appealing. The game itself is simple and very easy to learn to play. I prefer games like this as I’ve never been a fan of violent war games etc. This is a game I am able to play freely with no rush and it’s a game that helps me relax.The gameplay is open-ended. Players have no defined objectives, but are instead encouraged to spend their time in the village performing any number of activities, which include collecting items, planting plants or other items, and socializing with the village's residents. There is a high level of customization available in the game, some of which may affect the outcome of the game itself. This is something I’d like to learn – how to add levels of customization into my game. I would also like to make a game that is open-ended, much like Animal Crossing. This tutorial is very helpful in showing how to create a game as close to Animal Crossing as possible. The pixel art may be more like Undertale nevertheless the idea of the game itself is similar to both. This blog post is helpful when learning how to use unity in order to create the retro-8-bits game, I imagine I will be using this post a lot when learning how to set unity for the game. Along with these tutorials and blog posts another post that is helpful is this post, as it will help to create the pixel art into better quality. Although quite similar to Undertale, this would be a far more advanced pixel game rather than like Undertale which is very pixelated. 

Animal Crossing Gameplay. (Source)

Game Three:

A genre of game I have an interest in is Platform games (or platformers), much like Super Mario Bros or Donkey Kong. In a platformer, the player controls the character who must jump and climb between suspended platforms avoiding obstacles. Unlike the two games above this would be more action than role-play. Platform games are frequently classified as a sub-genre of action games. When researching idea's for platform games I found out that a Single Screen Platformers would be the best type of game play to try and create. I learnt more about "What is a Platform Game?" from this blog post and decided on trying to create a Single Screen Platformers game, much like in Donkey Kong. By using this platformer I have the advantage to choose whether or not I wish to have a new screen or the same screen once a level is passed. This is a great advantage as you have control over what you want done. This can also be easier if you are stressed about using Unity and have only completed one scene, giving you the advantage to keep one screen and develop the game itself more than a new scene each level. Brackeys again has many useful videos, such as this one, in helping you create games similar to Super Mario Bros or Donkey Kong. I am a big fan of this idea and being able to combine retro-8-bits into this Single Screen Platformers is an appealing idea.

Super Mario Bros Home Screen. (Source)

Game Four:

Lastly, I would be interested in creating a Life Simulation game much like Sims. Even though this is a far more difficult game design it is something I find intriguing. My bigger interest is towards RPG nevertheless I do still adore playing life simulation games. The games in the Sims series are largely sandbox games, in that they lack any defines goals giving you free will to do as you please. You can create, destroy and build as you wish. Upon trying to find tutorials on how to create such games, the only results I obtained were all paid courses in making life simulation games. It was incredibly difficult to learn how to make such games without having to pay and take online courses and unlock paid tutorials. This made me lose interest in the idea of making a life simulation game as I would like to learn for free, rather than pay for courses and find them useless and uninformative. Life simulation games prove to be problematic as it requires more time and effort to create storylines, characters, scenery and such. Provided you have the time this would be fascinating to create. Another advantage to creating such games would be the customisable context you are able to add and subtract in the game when designing. With no end to the game and the endless possibilities, the game design almost seems impossible to make in the short spam of time we have during this module and therefore it is not an idea I will likely go forth with. Needless to say, I will continue to play and enjoy the Sims as a game itself but I am not appealed to the idea of creating a game like this myself!

Free will being used to construct an obscure house in Sims gameplay. (Source)

Unity Tutorial 01

From watching the Unity tutorials I have learnt many of the basics used in the programme. At first view it seems to be overwhelming with different tabs, names and everything in-between. From tutorial one we are shown quite a lot of the basics needed for the programme and the small tools we will need in the future. This is very helpful as the programme is new to me and will take time to get used to. I would really recommend to bookmark this tutorial for future reference in case you forget any of the basics!

While watching this video you learn some simple techniques that could be very beneficial later on when designing your first game. Something I learnt that I found useful (although it may seem strange), is by placing a cube and setting the axis to 0,0,0 places it in the very centre of the game. This will be helpful when placing objects later on because you are made aware of where the centre is. Another thing I found useful was the 'box collider' as it will be good to know how to use it/turn it on/off later on.

In the beginning I was quite intimidated to try Unity but after watching the tutorials and trying it out myself it was quite easy, yet I knew in the coming weeks it would become far more difficult. But I look forward to working with Unity and trying out new techniques etc!

My Unity3D Work.

Game Design

When I first hear the words 'Game Design', I instantly think of a complicated process including game blueprints, many rules, thousands of drafts and hours upon hours of hard work. Yet, after reading the articles I did not realise that a game as simple as "Snakes and Ladders" would be a game. When thinking of games I think of many games that are far more complicated such as 'Call of Duty' or 'Sims' but not simple games.

When I was made aware about having to design a game I was terrified. I thought to myself - "I am not creative enough, I do not know programming well enough to construct a whole game. I am going to fail." However, after reading articles I realised it may be far less complicated than I originally thought.

An article that stood out to me was "So You're Going To Make A Game For The Very First time?" by Lewis Pulsipher. I learnt a lot about making a game for the first time. If I had not read this I believe I would have made many mistakes - such as focusing on making the game 'pretty' rather than functional and this, as told by Pulsipher, is the wrong way to go. Making a game that may be unpleasant to look at is far better than having no game to play. This article has helped me greatly in becoming more confident for when I am tasked with creating a prototype game.

Do do not worry the aesthetic of the game! (Source)

Something else I have learnt is to always play the game yourself. Always analyse the game, make improvements and find the flaws. Find ways to improve it and how to make it more exciting to play. After playing each time make one change. The aim is to make a playable game. Designing a game should be fun as it is a time to get creative. I have made peace knowing the first game I will design will not be the best, nevertheless it will not stop me from enjoying the process of making my first game!

In another article by Wolfgang Kramer "What Is a Game?" We see a more in-depth explaining of what a game really is. We learn about the components and rules of a game and what makes a game. Certain criteria a game must have in order to be called a 'Game'. In summary of the article a game must have the following in order to be considered a game - rules, a goal, change of course, competition, equality, no impact on reality, freedom, chance, common experience and activity. It is important to have all rules, goals etc. Known before you design the game itself. The game will only work if YOU know how you want the game to work. Blueprints and graphics come at the later stage. Programming a game with no rules simply has no purpose and will not be a game.