Unity tutorial 5

The first tutorial was expanding on what the previous tutorial on putting together a simple yet effective cursor to help show the player where the screen is facing as the cursor is more often than not used to interact with in game objects. This tutorial shows how to make an object intractable and how to make select what button is used to interact with said object. This tutorial showed how to put text onto the canvas to give the player instructions on how to play the game and the objective that they are trying to achieve. 

The second tutorial was on incorporating weapons into the game. the weapon on question that was used n the tutorial was a simple hatchet. In games the hatchet is a rather common melee weapons used in hack 'n' slash games. the tutorial showed us how to give the player character the hatchet as well as how to code the animation for swinging the melee weapon.

Games GDD

The Early Stages of the Design Process GDD

This article touches on the process of designing a game. The article states that most beginning game designers method of piecing together a game is to just find a bunch of elements and throw them together and call the final product a game. the article finishes this point by saying that the results of this method of game design tends to end up being hit or miss in the end. The article goes on to ask multiple questions regarding game design, such as How do you come up with an initial design?, What is the most effective way to playtest? and How do you know what to change? 

Design Consideration

The article provides links one of which is for things to consider when designing a game. the article in the link refers to the process of designing a board game, this however can still be applied to game design of different forms of media. This article talks about different parts of a game to consider throughout the process, such as a games components which can go a long way in determining how much a game is enjoyed. Another point the article makes is on the box which exists to not only protect the item held within but also to give the first impression to someone who sees it. the article than goes on to talk about the theme stating that it's important that the theme works with the game rather than against it. the last thing this article touches on are the games rules. The section on the rules gives different advice on how to go about forming the rules for the game.

Game Vision Statement

Game Vision Statement

Introduction:

For my game project i have decided to try and make a game in one of the genres that i play personally. At first i thought I would Just focus on the to main genres i play that being shooters and hack 'n' slash games. after some consideration i figured i might try something a little more unique and try a Real Time Strategy.

Genre: Real Time Strategy 

A real Time Strategy game pits two or more factions against each other to achieve an objective from eliminating the enemy faction to capturing a point. Examples of Real Time Strategy games can be found here.

Gameplay: 

In a Real Time Strategy game a player must collect resources and build up an army. The resources are used to build and upgrade bases, defenses, units and anything else that the game may have that needs to be purchased. The player often starts with one or two small units that can be used to go and collect resources or find the enemy.the game is over when the player completes the objective, loses all their bases or the objective is destroyed. Movement in a Real Time Strategy game is done by hovering the cursor over a particular unit and clicking on it to select it or group selecting units and clicking where you want them to move to, interacting with in game objects is done in the same way as moving units only when you select an intractable object it will often give you an option as to what action to preform. To stop selecting something in a Real Time Strategy all that needs to be done is to click anything that isn't intractable. 

Platforms: 

Platforms are the system on which the game is played. Real Time Strategy games are on the three major platforms PlayStation, Xbox and PC, however they are more often played on PC. 

Company of Heroes (image found at strategygamer.com)

Game MDA

Reading 1

 A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research:

The paper starts off by explaining what the contents of the article. The introduction begins by stating that all artifacts are created within some design methodology. the  intro goes on to explain what is meant by a MDA (Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics) framework. MDA is a formal approach to understanding games, one which attempts to bridge the gap between design and development. The article explains that game design and authorship happen at many levels. The MDA framework is proposed as a tool to help designers, researchers and scholars. The article goes on to stat that games are made by designers and development teams to be consumed by the players and continues by saying that the difference between games and other entertainment such as books or movies in that the consumption of games is relatively unpredictable. 

MDA framework diagram

Workshop 01

Video 1: Improving Graphics

The first video tutorial this week was on improving some graphics. the video showed how to put in water features in the terrain such as ponds but this can be expanded into making lakes rivers or beaches. The video also thought us how to make the gem a collectible item with a sound effect to signal its collection along with helping us to get the script code to activate turn the gem in to an intractable object and when the sound effect is to be triggered.  The video also thought us how to shape a cube into a rectangular wall using the objects scale controls. 

Gem in my game

Video 2: Raycasting and Cursor

 In the second video of this we were thought about raycasting and cursors. Raycasting is the method of measuring the distance between the player model and an object this can also be helpful when it comes to bug fixing for a game. The cursor is an object on a 2D plane in the players view that is used to help tell the player exactly where their character is facing this can be important if the player needs to look directly at an object in the game in order to interact with it.

Game Elements

Players

Players are an integral part of games as the way they play can effect how the enjoy the game or sometimes even how others enjoy the game depending on the circumstances. A lot of games hsve different features but they will likely have something in common with another game with how the game is played. Two of the most common systems in modern video games are PvP which is short for Player vs Player games and PvE which is short for Player vs Environment. PvP games pit players against each other either in teams or in one vs one  games where one team or player must over come the other to gain victory. PvE on the other hand pits players against the games systems. For example lets look at the modern FPS Call of Duty as it is a title many may recognize. Call of Duty offers both PvE in its solo campaign where the player will fight through NPC or Non Player Characters, this system while used in this situation is is rather linear as it directs the player where to go it can be used to create non linear games where the player is forced to explore in order to find the right path a good example of which would be Dark Souls which also employs a primarily PvE system. The other system used in Call of Duty is the PvP system were the game pits players against each. This system is different as players of different skill levels may be put against each other which may negatively impact how one player enjoys the game. 

Image of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 PvP Gameplay 

Feedback Thoughts

Feedback on projects is very important as it can help you see your work from someone else's perspective. However sometimes feedback doesn't get through as the opinion of one person may not line up with the creator. Some feedback can be rather critical which can come a lot form yourself.

Silence The Critical Voices In Your Head 

This article opens by calling it's subject matter "debilitating behavior that most of us fall victim to with great regularity" . The behavior in which the article is referring to is listening to the critical voices in our heads. The voices that say " we aren't good enough, kind enough, or productive enough", the article furthers it's point by stating that these negative thoughts can increase a persons chances of developing depression. The article continues to give a case study of an individual that fell victim to these thoughts. The article finishes off by listing off thing to help keep these critical voices quiet.

Seven Ways To Crush Self Doubt 

This article while longer than the previous one lists of different ways to help stop self doubt with the odd doodle put between some paragraphs.

Example of one of the doodles

Game ideas

1. First Person Shooter (FPS)

I'm thinking of trying to make a FPS because I play a lot of them. I've played a number of FPS games from Halo to Borderlands and find them enjoyable to play through.

2. Third Person Shooter 

While I haven't played as many Third Person Shooters as First Person I have played enough to know how fun they can be, although my experience of Third Person Shooters most comes from the tactical shooter Ghost Recon. 

3. Third Person Hack 'n' Slash 

I found out how much I enjoyed the Hack 'n' Slash genre when I was introduced to the Assassin's Creed games, from ther I ended up playing Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and most recently Monster Hunter World. 

4. First person Hack 'n' Slash 

For a long time i had only played Hack 'n' Slash games in Third person up until I started playing Dying Light a first person Hack 'n' Slash game that felt like a mix of different games that I had played. 

Unity Tutorial 1

Starting to make my game

Starting to make my game I began following tutorials give by my lecturer to help us get to know how to use Unity. The tutorials were incredibly helpful as upon first glance Unity appears very overwhelming and it is hard to know where to start so the tutorials are great to help keep you going and are very clear and easy to follow. The first tutorial was to explain the different tools and features of Unity which would have gone over my head with the lay out confusing me with the different windows and the uses for each. The second tutorial explained how to put in terrain and other objects as well as how to put textures on both. The last one for this week was on basic coding for your game which is a very important part of creating games.

Game Design

Game Design 

While browsing the internet you may come across different articles that may catch your interest be it for better or worse while some may get your attention because of a stupid or offensives title others may get your attention through having topics that interest you or spark your curiosity. This is how I came across some of the following articles:

1. What Is a Game?

2. Don't Be a Vidiot

3. So You're Going To Make A Video Game For The Very First Time?

So number one on the list "What Is a Game?". This title caught my attention with the question purposed by the title. The question seemed simple enough but when I went into the site it went into more detail on games and the different definitions of games from different points in history and different parts of the world.

Screenshot of the Game Journal what is a game

Number two "Don't Be a Vidiot". This one got my attention simply with the word "vidiot" the main reason I clicked into this site was to figure out just what a "vidiot" was. After reading through the extremely text heavy site I found my answer, a vidiot is a person whose knowledge of games comes solely from video games. While reading through the article I discovered that I am not one of this vidiots having played a number of board games such as the infamous never ending monopoly and chess.

Screenshot of costik.com vidiot

Last but not least number three "So You're Going To Make A Video Game For The Very First Time?". This one got me in though the title using the statement to pose a question. This site is definitely the shortest of the three which was a relief for me as the other two while incredibly informative were also extremely overwhelming with just how much there was to read in the others. This article give step by step advice on creating your first video game which may prove invaluable when you start.

Screenshot of  gamasutra.com So You're Going To Make A Video Game For The Very First Time?