Fineas' Multimedia Dev

  (image  source ) For this week as part as our reading task we were introduced to how the TUD library search works and how to use it to find sources for our chosen topic. I found this very useful as it will make finding sources and reading much easier for my topic. My chosen topic for this game design and development book we all want to create together is "Dimensions of a game world", which would go under the chapter of "Game World".  Some of the Keywords that I found for this topic would be:  Dimension Data Map Navigation Scale These keywords were useful in searching journals, papers and books in the TUD Library search. After searching for some time I started to organize my finding using a matrix. I'm still not sure if I like the current matrix I'm using so I will probably look for a new one. I'm looking forward to learning more about how to create academic writing and use it well as it is a valuable skill to have especially in later studies when the c...

  (image depicting flow theory,  source ) Video 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 techniq...

  (Vector image showing game design,  source ) 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 t...

  (image showing designer and players perspective on MDA,  source ) This week for our reading task we read through and learned about MDA Framework (Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics) and also about DDE (Design, Dynamic and Experience) for game design. The articles and videos that we read and watched are: MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research  Hunicke, R. LeBlanc, M. & Zubek, R. (2004). Design, Dynamics & Experience (DDE) for Game design  Wolfgang Walk, Daniel Görlich, Mark Barrett (2017). Explaining the MDA Design Framework | Video Game Design  The Last Bacon (Youtube) Game designers can use the MDA framework to better create and make games that the players can consume as a form of entertainment. The difference when it comes to games though is its unpredictability in comparison to other forms of entertainment such as movies or shows. MDA breaks down the consumption of games in components of Rules - System - Fun, with their de...

  (image of character game pieces,  source ) In this blog I'm going to talk about different game elements from the Reading Task this week.  The two documents we read were: 1.  What are qualities of games? 2.  Game design Research Reading over what some of the qualities of games are we read about Formal, also known Atomic elements. Formal elements are things like games have rules, conflicts, decision-making, goals and an uncertain outcome. They are also activities, outside of the ordinary world so mostly virtual, they can be art and are closed systems. This is a lot of what we had read about last week in summary. Reading deeper into these atomic elements we find that they are things like: Players, Objectives, Rules, Resource and Resource Management, Game State, Information, Sequencing, Player interaction, Theme, Games as Systems. When looking over  Players we there are many different playstyles involving the amount of players in a game. Some of them are: ...

This week for our Reading Task we read the following: What is a Game, Anyway? The organic nature of game ideation Four basic methods for generating ideas When it comes to what a game might be, a definition I have come across in my readings is 'A play activity with rules that involve conflict' which is an easy way to put it. In fact it is more complicated than that especially when you compare different game styles. To get a solid meaning of what a game might be, you have to be using the same vocabulary across all games, which is still being defined as new games come out and new words are added.  To put simply these are some of the definitions when it comes to games: Games are an activity  Games have rules, conflict, goals and involve decision making.  Games are artificial, safe and outside of ordinary life.  We, as players gain no material gain And many more When it comes to game ideation, from the paper that I read, the interviewees have seen game ideas d...