I think the biggest challenge our group has had has been having such different schedules and other priorities. Tomorrow we are going to be presenting to the clients our game and we haven't been all together in almost a week. We all have things to attend to and our schedules haven't permitted us to us to be together. That's student life though. I assume in the real world design teams are more united than this becuase they are forced to prioritize meeting together and they can count on each other to be available at certain times. Mind you, I'm sure there are cases when related work is coming from different departments, offices, or external sources and in that case clear lines of communication must be established. I think clear communication lines is what our group has succesfully grasped a hold of.
Our group was a bit rocky at the beginning because we had an additional member added in the middle of the game design process. We weren't on the same page as we were going to communicate or what our expectations of one another were. However, we were forced to a point where we had to talk and come to agreement about how we were going to organize ourselves and that has made all the difference. In spite of our business, we know when we need to check in with each other, how toaddress issues that arise and that we need to respect each others personal agendas. This has helped us to be gracious to one another and pick up each other's slack as problems have risen. The whole experience has been a great learning experience and I have really enjoyed my group a lot!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Visuals and Hints
Game testing was definitely useful. The main things the experience taught me were the importance of visual objects during instructions and hints.
In testing a game, I realized that players have presuppositions about what items described in instructions look like. If these expected images are unlike the actual items, the game can be confusing. It's better to describe objects with an actual image of it then leaving it to the imagination of the player.
Also, because people don't retain large chunks for information well, and tend to forget information more as elapses, it is not good to present instructions just at the beginning. It will be hard for them to relate what they have read/heard to the changing environment of the game because it is new to them and they will forget instructions as well. Hints should come continuously to guide players through and there should be an option that allows players to re-read the instructions during game play.
In testing a game, I realized that players have presuppositions about what items described in instructions look like. If these expected images are unlike the actual items, the game can be confusing. It's better to describe objects with an actual image of it then leaving it to the imagination of the player.
Also, because people don't retain large chunks for information well, and tend to forget information more as elapses, it is not good to present instructions just at the beginning. It will be hard for them to relate what they have read/heard to the changing environment of the game because it is new to them and they will forget instructions as well. Hints should come continuously to guide players through and there should be an option that allows players to re-read the instructions during game play.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
2D Game Analysis: Reversi by Big Bang Games
Download a demo of the game: http://www.freeverse.com/games/game/?id=4015&view=goodies!
Analysis of Reversi
Big Bang Reversi is just one of the casual games within the Big Bang Games collection, produced by Ian Lynch and Colin Lynch Smith, and copyrighted by Freeverse software. The collection is registered to Apple OEM (2.3.4), and trial versions are available at http://www.freeverse.com/games/game/?id=4015&view=goodies.
There are very few elements to the game: an eight-by-eight square grid and pieces for both players. In terms of inventory for each player, players simply have an abundant supply of their own pieces. The object of the game is for players to have more of their playing pieces on the grid by the time the board is filled and players accomplish this by turning their opponents’ pieces into their own by sandwiching the pieces of their opponents in between pieces that are theirs. Pieces of Player A may only be placed at the end of a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) of Player B’s pieces that have a piece of Player A’s at the other end. The functions of these pieces are only to transform the pieces of the opponent and to add another piece to play.
Players get to choose which side they would like to play on at the beginning of the game. The sides are distinguished by avatars (Sun White and Moon Black), which are unnecessary for game play, but increase the sense of competition. At the bottom of the window the score is shown and for emphasis the background of the interface adjusts to reflect the score. The following pictures demonstrate how the score determines whether day or night is depicted in the background:
Players cannot see their avatar during play so the character they choose is actually the character they see the least. This creates a first player perspective and simulates the feel of a live chess-type game in reality. Even more, the opposing character that a player would see comments on the events during the game and hurls insults audibly and in text that appears on the screen. These avatars are not meant to look like humans. They are a cartoon Greek god and goddess and are portrayed as complete opposites: White and bright like the day vs. Black and dark like night.
When a player places a piece on the grid, other players will change, but other than that there is no need for a storyboard. The grid will always be eight-by-eight and boxes on the grid with pieces in them will never become empty. Animation adds interest to the game in between turns and, again, the changing background draws emphasis to the score. The game offers no mechanism for saving progress, but a Reversi game only lasts five minutes in most cases.
The interface of the game is designed to make the game easy to learn, which is why the game does not automatically explain the rules to new players. Blue dots signify where a player may play a piece, and after observing the results of one turn a player should be able to understand the affect placing a piece on the grid has on the game. A player cannot place a piece where there is no blue dot so there is no opportunity for broken rules. The world of the game constrains players by the rules.
Reversi is an ideal casual casual game. It does not require a lot of attention or effort to learn or to play, but the opportunity to win with a higher score may attract more competitive players to play for long periods of time. The nature of this game has its strengths and its weaknesses. Arguably, its greatest strength is that the interface and restrictions that guide and limit the actions of the player cause the game to be easy to learn and play, which is an enjoyable part of the game experience. The downside to the simplicity of Reversi is that the game has a limit to how much it can engage a player and how long it can hold a player’s loyalty. Once the game has been exhausted, Reversi has nothing to offer. An option for Big Bang Games would be to create additional levels and to introduce other elements to the Reversi grid.
Analysis of Reversi
Big Bang Reversi is just one of the casual games within the Big Bang Games collection, produced by Ian Lynch and Colin Lynch Smith, and copyrighted by Freeverse software. The collection is registered to Apple OEM (2.3.4), and trial versions are available at http://www.freeverse.com/games/game/?id=4015&view=goodies.
There are very few elements to the game: an eight-by-eight square grid and pieces for both players. In terms of inventory for each player, players simply have an abundant supply of their own pieces. The object of the game is for players to have more of their playing pieces on the grid by the time the board is filled and players accomplish this by turning their opponents’ pieces into their own by sandwiching the pieces of their opponents in between pieces that are theirs. Pieces of Player A may only be placed at the end of a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) of Player B’s pieces that have a piece of Player A’s at the other end. The functions of these pieces are only to transform the pieces of the opponent and to add another piece to play.
Players get to choose which side they would like to play on at the beginning of the game. The sides are distinguished by avatars (Sun White and Moon Black), which are unnecessary for game play, but increase the sense of competition. At the bottom of the window the score is shown and for emphasis the background of the interface adjusts to reflect the score. The following pictures demonstrate how the score determines whether day or night is depicted in the background:
Players cannot see their avatar during play so the character they choose is actually the character they see the least. This creates a first player perspective and simulates the feel of a live chess-type game in reality. Even more, the opposing character that a player would see comments on the events during the game and hurls insults audibly and in text that appears on the screen. These avatars are not meant to look like humans. They are a cartoon Greek god and goddess and are portrayed as complete opposites: White and bright like the day vs. Black and dark like night.
When a player places a piece on the grid, other players will change, but other than that there is no need for a storyboard. The grid will always be eight-by-eight and boxes on the grid with pieces in them will never become empty. Animation adds interest to the game in between turns and, again, the changing background draws emphasis to the score. The game offers no mechanism for saving progress, but a Reversi game only lasts five minutes in most cases.
The interface of the game is designed to make the game easy to learn, which is why the game does not automatically explain the rules to new players. Blue dots signify where a player may play a piece, and after observing the results of one turn a player should be able to understand the affect placing a piece on the grid has on the game. A player cannot place a piece where there is no blue dot so there is no opportunity for broken rules. The world of the game constrains players by the rules.
Reversi is an ideal casual casual game. It does not require a lot of attention or effort to learn or to play, but the opportunity to win with a higher score may attract more competitive players to play for long periods of time. The nature of this game has its strengths and its weaknesses. Arguably, its greatest strength is that the interface and restrictions that guide and limit the actions of the player cause the game to be easy to learn and play, which is an enjoyable part of the game experience. The downside to the simplicity of Reversi is that the game has a limit to how much it can engage a player and how long it can hold a player’s loyalty. Once the game has been exhausted, Reversi has nothing to offer. An option for Big Bang Games would be to create additional levels and to introduce other elements to the Reversi grid.
The Video
For those who would still find it helpful:
The first tutorial Video is on Ace in the large file upload box (bottom of lessons).
Katrina
The first tutorial Video is on Ace in the large file upload box (bottom of lessons).
Katrina
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Pat Sajack's Lucky Letters
Pat Sajack's Lucky Letters...is basically like a single-player Wheel of Fortune-Crossword game. Players are given a certain amount of letters to spell a single word on the crossword, and certain letters, if identified, reveal letters all around the board. There are clues and obviously the more letters uncovered, the easier the game is.
I am not much of a casual gamer, but I think that if I was this would be a good game. The first time is slow playing, but if you play it once you pretty much catch on to the game play.
One thing I was thinking of though, is that for people who don't actually like video games, wouldn't it be best for casual game designers to leave out the distracting graphics, sounds and music. I don't know. I appreciate causal games with minimal extras because they annoy me and make the game less desirable to play. I suppose casual game designers wouldn't be designing for me because they would want casual gamers to be people who would play games on a pretty regular basis, unlike me. But I guess it would also be worth the while of a casual game designer to create a minimalistic game that a non-gamer wouldn't mind playing on a regular basis. There must be many casual game designers catering with all types of mindsets.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The video is on You Tube
Apparently the video hasn't been processed yet, but the vide o is on You Tube. Hopefully this will help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykIINGqAl_8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykIINGqAl_8
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Word Doc
Ya, you should be emailed this document, and I doubt it will be more convenient as jpegs, but since I am supposed to post the tutorial....
For future reference, does anyone know how to upload files to blogger? Also can someone who knows post how people can few the video bigger? The video should be much bigger than that. I though clicking it would bring it up in it's real size in a new window....but no such luck. Advise would be nice! Thanks guys.
For future reference, does anyone know how to upload files to blogger? Also can someone who knows post how people can few the video bigger? The video should be much bigger than that. I though clicking it would bring it up in it's real size in a new window....but no such luck. Advise would be nice! Thanks guys.
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