Learning challenge
I low key am a bit of a geography nerd, world capitals to be exact. I know all of europe, a couple random ones, most big countries but the one that's pulled up a blank for me for a while has been the capitals of south america. So I decided to finally try learn them, I'm going to look at the list for a while then do a sporcle quiz and see how I do.
Alright I'm back, there's 12 countries in south america and I was able to learn all but 3 of them. No matter what I did I couldn't get the capital of guyana, suriname or bolivia. My brain just doesn't like those ones for some reason.
When I was 12 I did US states and I still know a couple of them, comes in good at pub quizzes and absolutely nowhere else.
so yeah.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Growth Mindset
Growth Mindset
I don't know how personal I'm allowed to go in these blog posts but I've had a couple setbacks that have nothing to do with college recently, also I've been really sick the past couple days so my signature upbeat demeanor may be a little compromised here but oh well.
It's really easy to be positive when everything is going your way which it normally is to some extent but I'm sick as hell right now so it's a little difficult. The thing that triggered me thinking about growth was a reddit post "what would you have missed if you died a year ago" or something like that and I remember thinking I was doing great a year ago but I would have missed so much if I died a year ago. I didn't think the last 12 months would have an awful lot different in store for me but in the last year I feel that I have grown more than I have any other year, I'm almost like a whole new person. So no matter how good or bad you feel like you're doing just know that the next year could take a crazy turn for you. I'm more excited for the future than ever before because I feel like I'm not done growing and changing. Even as I sit here sick as heck I'm excited to feel better soon, I'm excited to get back to training and fighting, learn new things, have new thoughts. It's this attitude towards growth that drives me forward to grow and evolve as time passes by.
"This isn't even reached my final form" - some anime man, I think dragonball, yeah Mr. Dragonball.
I don't know how personal I'm allowed to go in these blog posts but I've had a couple setbacks that have nothing to do with college recently, also I've been really sick the past couple days so my signature upbeat demeanor may be a little compromised here but oh well.
It's really easy to be positive when everything is going your way which it normally is to some extent but I'm sick as hell right now so it's a little difficult. The thing that triggered me thinking about growth was a reddit post "what would you have missed if you died a year ago" or something like that and I remember thinking I was doing great a year ago but I would have missed so much if I died a year ago. I didn't think the last 12 months would have an awful lot different in store for me but in the last year I feel that I have grown more than I have any other year, I'm almost like a whole new person. So no matter how good or bad you feel like you're doing just know that the next year could take a crazy turn for you. I'm more excited for the future than ever before because I feel like I'm not done growing and changing. Even as I sit here sick as heck I'm excited to feel better soon, I'm excited to get back to training and fighting, learn new things, have new thoughts. It's this attitude towards growth that drives me forward to grow and evolve as time passes by.
"This isn't even reached my final form" - some anime man, I think dragonball, yeah Mr. Dragonball.
Prototype Beta
My Prototype
My prototype is having a couple creative issues, I've been able to get the basics of my game, I have a small area the player can walk around in and it kind of looks the part, it's dark and all that good horror stuff but therein lies the problem, I am not entirely sure where to go from here. I do not know if I should just have a horror corridor, a series of rooms or something else, the only issues are how to not make my game boring. We researched the different types of fun in the past and I just do not know where exactly it is that my horror game fits into the puzzle. I don't have an awful lot to report on to be honest other than that I will try out a couple different ideas I have and will report back in a future blog post to let you know what worked, what didn't and how it is that I will proceed in the future.
My prototype is having a couple creative issues, I've been able to get the basics of my game, I have a small area the player can walk around in and it kind of looks the part, it's dark and all that good horror stuff but therein lies the problem, I am not entirely sure where to go from here. I do not know if I should just have a horror corridor, a series of rooms or something else, the only issues are how to not make my game boring. We researched the different types of fun in the past and I just do not know where exactly it is that my horror game fits into the puzzle. I don't have an awful lot to report on to be honest other than that I will try out a couple different ideas I have and will report back in a future blog post to let you know what worked, what didn't and how it is that I will proceed in the future.
Thursday, November 28, 2019
unity free tutorials
Tutorial
The tutorial that took up all my time this week was the creation of a rolling ball game. The game had a couple hurdles, I had an issue with the landscape not working as intended and the ball wouldn't spawn on it but I went back and copied the tutorial instead of trying to use what I already knew and it worked out properly. Sometimes I need to be reminded that I am still learning unity and haven't mastered everything yet. Other than that I just followed along in the tutorial and everything seemed to work out, a few small hiccups along the way but they were just from not following the tutorial properly. The main issue is normally simple stuff that can take a while to change because unity can be a bit finicky sometimes. The solution is normally something I overlook and in the beginning of my unity career I spent hours wondering why several problems were happening but it was always just a small thing like a camera facing the wrong way or I wasn't clicking the right thing. This still happens but it's something I am getting better at. I think I can use these lessons to overcome problems when I am making my game and hopefully I won't waste too much time because I don't have an awful lot these days.
The tutorial that took up all my time this week was the creation of a rolling ball game. The game had a couple hurdles, I had an issue with the landscape not working as intended and the ball wouldn't spawn on it but I went back and copied the tutorial instead of trying to use what I already knew and it worked out properly. Sometimes I need to be reminded that I am still learning unity and haven't mastered everything yet. Other than that I just followed along in the tutorial and everything seemed to work out, a few small hiccups along the way but they were just from not following the tutorial properly. The main issue is normally simple stuff that can take a while to change because unity can be a bit finicky sometimes. The solution is normally something I overlook and in the beginning of my unity career I spent hours wondering why several problems were happening but it was always just a small thing like a camera facing the wrong way or I wasn't clicking the right thing. This still happens but it's something I am getting better at. I think I can use these lessons to overcome problems when I am making my game and hopefully I won't waste too much time because I don't have an awful lot these days.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Reading
Story in games
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130770/what_every_game_developer_needs_to_.php?page=2
Story is important in games because it is something memorable and gives players a reason to keep playing with a pay off at the end of the game. If a game is fun but has no story then reaching the end will almost be disappointing because it's over but if the story is good then there could be a huge pay off at the end to reward players for finishing the game. Stories in games have the same elements as stories in film and TV. There is typically a protagonist, antagonists, an inciting incident and something for the protagonist to overcome. Not every story follows these but they are outliers.
The character also needs to have a personality, there are plenty of games where the protagonist has no personality and is just a drone the player controls in the world and these are boring, we need to know about what type of person the character is in order to identify with them and follow them along throughout the story. The conflict in the story can be either internal or external, is someone trying to kill the protagonist or are they trying to overcome a personal battle within themselves. Normally the conflict is external, there is someone the protagonist must overcome or something along those lines however internal conflict is a big theme in Hamlet as he tries to overcome his own personal demons to avenge his father. Both work and both can be great.
The artical uses Halo as the story it mentions as an example, not a game known for great story but it shows how core it is to any game. They have you fight along side marines however at one point a marine attacks you and you choose to kill him or not which makes up your character, are you merciful or not?
Games also show and don't tell quite often, Dark Souls is a game in which nothing is told to the player, they must piece together the story themselves by observing the world around them. It is very possible to complete dark souls and not know what is going on because you didn't search for a story yourself.
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130742/into_the_woods_a_practical_guide_.php
Article 2
This article is about the hero's journey and how it plays into the story of a game. If a hero just stays in the same room for an entire story then it'll probably be boring. Changing scenery and setting keeps new things in the story for our hero to engage with so we can learn more about their character, the world and the story.
According to the article a hero typically possesses a couple qualities such as: courage, intelligence, a special talent, a motivation and an obstacle to overcome, to name a few. We can see that any successful story has a protagonist with at least a few of these or the story is based around them not having these, these qualities are integral to story.
The article also mentions villains. What makes a good villain? A good villain is someone that people root against, in the pro wrestling industry they're called a heel. A good hell makes people dislike them by being cocky, arrogant, a coward, deceitful, rude, wins by cheating and dishonorable tactics. This generates heat against them and makes people root against them. These can all be applied to a villain in a story. Look at white goodman from dodgeball for example, Cocky, arrogant, bought the best dodgeball team instead of earning one and mocked the average joes the whole film. A great villain and that was for a comedy, in a serious role someone like that could be more fleshed out and hated.
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130770/what_every_game_developer_needs_to_.php?page=2
Story is important in games because it is something memorable and gives players a reason to keep playing with a pay off at the end of the game. If a game is fun but has no story then reaching the end will almost be disappointing because it's over but if the story is good then there could be a huge pay off at the end to reward players for finishing the game. Stories in games have the same elements as stories in film and TV. There is typically a protagonist, antagonists, an inciting incident and something for the protagonist to overcome. Not every story follows these but they are outliers.
The character also needs to have a personality, there are plenty of games where the protagonist has no personality and is just a drone the player controls in the world and these are boring, we need to know about what type of person the character is in order to identify with them and follow them along throughout the story. The conflict in the story can be either internal or external, is someone trying to kill the protagonist or are they trying to overcome a personal battle within themselves. Normally the conflict is external, there is someone the protagonist must overcome or something along those lines however internal conflict is a big theme in Hamlet as he tries to overcome his own personal demons to avenge his father. Both work and both can be great.
The artical uses Halo as the story it mentions as an example, not a game known for great story but it shows how core it is to any game. They have you fight along side marines however at one point a marine attacks you and you choose to kill him or not which makes up your character, are you merciful or not?
Games also show and don't tell quite often, Dark Souls is a game in which nothing is told to the player, they must piece together the story themselves by observing the world around them. It is very possible to complete dark souls and not know what is going on because you didn't search for a story yourself.
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130742/into_the_woods_a_practical_guide_.php
Article 2
This article is about the hero's journey and how it plays into the story of a game. If a hero just stays in the same room for an entire story then it'll probably be boring. Changing scenery and setting keeps new things in the story for our hero to engage with so we can learn more about their character, the world and the story.
According to the article a hero typically possesses a couple qualities such as: courage, intelligence, a special talent, a motivation and an obstacle to overcome, to name a few. We can see that any successful story has a protagonist with at least a few of these or the story is based around them not having these, these qualities are integral to story.
The article also mentions villains. What makes a good villain? A good villain is someone that people root against, in the pro wrestling industry they're called a heel. A good hell makes people dislike them by being cocky, arrogant, a coward, deceitful, rude, wins by cheating and dishonorable tactics. This generates heat against them and makes people root against them. These can all be applied to a villain in a story. Look at white goodman from dodgeball for example, Cocky, arrogant, bought the best dodgeball team instead of earning one and mocked the average joes the whole film. A great villain and that was for a comedy, in a serious role someone like that could be more fleshed out and hated.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Review Week Comments and Feedback
From the feedback I've gotten most people seem to think a horror game is quite a good and intriguing idea, many people have commented saying they are excited to see where it is that I will end up going with this game and I think I can count myself amongst those people as I too am interested as to where it is I will end up going with this game, new progress is being made all the time and I am just unsure of exactly where it is going to end up but I am sure that no matter where it is that it will be something I am proud of as I am going to put a little bit of love into this one.
in conclusion everyone seems excited to see where I'm going and I am too, other than that not much news to share unfortunately.
in conclusion everyone seems excited to see where I'm going and I am too, other than that not much news to share unfortunately.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Reading and writing week 9
Reading and writing.
I'll open this post with a little bit of honesty, I've missed a reading or 2 in my day so take all this with a grain of salt.
My experience with the readings and the writing in this semester has been mostly positive, typically you can do a blog post rather quickly if you know what you're talking about and the marks do add up. It enables self reflection which can serve as a way to drive yourself as it's very easy to turn in a project and never think about it again. This is not really possible here because you will turn something in and then you need to write about it and I imagine it would be quite difficult to turn in something you rushed and hate and then write a couple hundred words on it so it almost serves as a motivation.
The negative things about the blog posts are that looking at the moodle calendar is annoying because there is something due almost every day and it's a little demotivating but that's just me. Also the sheer volume of posts can be annoying, seeing so many posts due can be annoying even if they can be done in 5 minutes each it will still be annoying to see 6 things due in one day. It can also be slightly repetitive but I guess that's on me for not coming up with something better to say. My final criticism is the grace period in which you get an extra 12 hours on any posts you want seems pointless, why not just have the due date be 12 hours later?
overall I like the blog posts but sometimes it feels like there are just too many and the grace period system seems like it could be improved. I do like the self reflection that the blog posts force me to take part in as I feel it helps me learn more about myself and be more critical of myself when it would be quite easy to lie to myself otherwise
I'll open this post with a little bit of honesty, I've missed a reading or 2 in my day so take all this with a grain of salt.
My experience with the readings and the writing in this semester has been mostly positive, typically you can do a blog post rather quickly if you know what you're talking about and the marks do add up. It enables self reflection which can serve as a way to drive yourself as it's very easy to turn in a project and never think about it again. This is not really possible here because you will turn something in and then you need to write about it and I imagine it would be quite difficult to turn in something you rushed and hate and then write a couple hundred words on it so it almost serves as a motivation.
The negative things about the blog posts are that looking at the moodle calendar is annoying because there is something due almost every day and it's a little demotivating but that's just me. Also the sheer volume of posts can be annoying, seeing so many posts due can be annoying even if they can be done in 5 minutes each it will still be annoying to see 6 things due in one day. It can also be slightly repetitive but I guess that's on me for not coming up with something better to say. My final criticism is the grace period in which you get an extra 12 hours on any posts you want seems pointless, why not just have the due date be 12 hours later?
overall I like the blog posts but sometimes it feels like there are just too many and the grace period system seems like it could be improved. I do like the self reflection that the blog posts force me to take part in as I feel it helps me learn more about myself and be more critical of myself when it would be quite easy to lie to myself otherwise
Thursday, November 14, 2019
unity free tutorials
This week I decided to do my own thing, I already know that I'm aiming to make a horror game so I decided I'd look at some tutorials for games like that and upon opening youtube and keying it all in to that search bar, I was bequeathed with exactly what it was which I had sought out to find. I found my man Jimmy Vegas had a little series on making a horror game and I watched a couple videos. At this point unity was open in the background being untouched, I was busy soaking in all this glorious information.
After I had basked in Jimmy's aura long enough I decided to get my hands dirty, get to work in the proverbial mines and open unity for myself. As always with unity I opened it and the first thought was "unity? more like no thank you" but I soldiered on regardless. I cracked open a new project and followed the tutorials along, they were a bit out of date so I had to use a bit of ingenuity to work around this but it is a situation I know all too well.
After toiling away for a short while I ended up with a similar , yet not quite as polished version of Jimmy's game with a few adjustments of my own. I didn't follow the whole tutorial and make a full game but I got it to a playable state where the player was free to walk around and interact with a few choice objects.
Overall this proved a helpful exercise and I am glad I did it. I feel more confident every time I open unity and I think I can make quite a decent game in the future. here's hoping my game comes together when I need it to and unity doesn't pull a fast one on me like I feel it may. I like unity and unity likes me but the trust simply is not there for me yet.
After I had basked in Jimmy's aura long enough I decided to get my hands dirty, get to work in the proverbial mines and open unity for myself. As always with unity I opened it and the first thought was "unity? more like no thank you" but I soldiered on regardless. I cracked open a new project and followed the tutorials along, they were a bit out of date so I had to use a bit of ingenuity to work around this but it is a situation I know all too well.
After toiling away for a short while I ended up with a similar , yet not quite as polished version of Jimmy's game with a few adjustments of my own. I didn't follow the whole tutorial and make a full game but I got it to a playable state where the player was free to walk around and interact with a few choice objects.
Overall this proved a helpful exercise and I am glad I did it. I feel more confident every time I open unity and I think I can make quite a decent game in the future. here's hoping my game comes together when I need it to and unity doesn't pull a fast one on me like I feel it may. I like unity and unity likes me but the trust simply is not there for me yet.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
First playable game
To actually lay the groundwork of my game I decided to throw away the other things I had made and to start fresh so I could really build from the ground up and make the game exactly what I wanted.
I decided to just keep it simple in this opening stage and to just make a small area the player can walk around in and for it to work. I made a small area and made it very dark as I am making a horror style game. I made the area simple enough and it's got some pretty on point lighting. I started with just a small room which will serve as a spawn/tutorial area where players can familiarize with the controls and learn what the game is about. I'm happy with the small amount of content I have so far as it works as intended and I didn't encounter many problems.
Problems
The only problem I had was adding textures to objects sometimes. They work sometimes and don't other times and I'm not sure why. I have plenty of time to figure it out or find a work around but at the moment I am stumped as to why I am not able to get textures on some items but can on others. tutorials on youtube are somewhat helpful but don't solve all my problems like I wish they would but its up to me to figure it out and I'm confident I will in due time.
I decided to just keep it simple in this opening stage and to just make a small area the player can walk around in and for it to work. I made a small area and made it very dark as I am making a horror style game. I made the area simple enough and it's got some pretty on point lighting. I started with just a small room which will serve as a spawn/tutorial area where players can familiarize with the controls and learn what the game is about. I'm happy with the small amount of content I have so far as it works as intended and I didn't encounter many problems.
Problems
The only problem I had was adding textures to objects sometimes. They work sometimes and don't other times and I'm not sure why. I have plenty of time to figure it out or find a work around but at the moment I am stumped as to why I am not able to get textures on some items but can on others. tutorials on youtube are somewhat helpful but don't solve all my problems like I wish they would but its up to me to figure it out and I'm confident I will in due time.
Tech Task: expanding brain meme
I decided to try make something to do with college work and the levels of doing your work on time, surely something we all relate to.
made sure to make the final panel ridiculous for the sake of comedy haha just kidding, unless.....
Growth Mindset keeping it 100
Growth
I had to grow this week in unusual circumstances. I was out of training for a week with ring worm and had to grow and evolve without training so I switched it up and watched tape on some of my favourite fighters such as dominick cruz and israel adesanya so I can mimick there movements and achieve better results.
Stuff like this can be applied everywhere. If you can't do something yourself study others until you can and then when you come back you will have improved without doing anything yourself. It's the mindset like this that allows us to grow and achieve things all the time.
I had to grow this week in unusual circumstances. I was out of training for a week with ring worm and had to grow and evolve without training so I switched it up and watched tape on some of my favourite fighters such as dominick cruz and israel adesanya so I can mimick there movements and achieve better results.
Stuff like this can be applied everywhere. If you can't do something yourself study others until you can and then when you come back you will have improved without doing anything yourself. It's the mindset like this that allows us to grow and achieve things all the time.
Wikipedia Trail From Greece at the 2002 winter olympics to Nevada
Greece at 2002 winter olympics
Who could forget? They didn't win anything or even come close really, something a bit too relatable. looking through they did terrible, coming in 60th and stuff what a bunch of nerds. onto the next article.
Salt lake city
Capital of Utah, lot of people living there apparently. I know a lot of state capitals so learning another is always welcome, almost never comes in handy but whatever who cares.
Utah
segue from salt lake city to the great state of utah, which has the capital city of salt lake cit, who knew? I thought utah was on the east coast but no, it's near nevada apparently. I would not have guessed that at all.
Nevada
Now we go onto nevada. It's got vegas which I'm going to next summer, mostly desert which is weird considering its latitude, theres reasons for that but I don't wanna talk geography here. Fallout new vegas happened here and that game slaps, high key.
Who could forget? They didn't win anything or even come close really, something a bit too relatable. looking through they did terrible, coming in 60th and stuff what a bunch of nerds. onto the next article.
Salt lake city
Capital of Utah, lot of people living there apparently. I know a lot of state capitals so learning another is always welcome, almost never comes in handy but whatever who cares.
Utah
segue from salt lake city to the great state of utah, which has the capital city of salt lake cit, who knew? I thought utah was on the east coast but no, it's near nevada apparently. I would not have guessed that at all.
Nevada
Now we go onto nevada. It's got vegas which I'm going to next summer, mostly desert which is weird considering its latitude, theres reasons for that but I don't wanna talk geography here. Fallout new vegas happened here and that game slaps, high key.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
unity tutorial 6
Unity tutorial 6
If you go back in my blog posts to a previous unity tutorial you will find that I was having fun with the lighting aspect of unity, I decided to not focus on that this time as I am already adept in it but I did use it a bit this time. I was mainly focusing on trying to get a functioning area in which the player can walk around in while also adding lighting to it in order to create and atmosphere in the area the player is in.
I struggled initially with the spawning but after messing around with it for a little bit I was able to get the player to spawn on top of the platform I placed for this purpose. I didn't bother with any detailed textures so the area the player walks around in is pretty bland and there isn't anything to do quite yet. However despite this I was able to make the area a bit more interesting with the lighting so when I am adding specific textures I feel that I will be able to make a somewhat palatable environment for the entire game to take place in.
overall I feel that I will be able to use these abilities to make a solid game for a final project. I am developing strong fundamentals in unity and I think I can master simple things like this before I focus on the smaller details. I am feeling more and more comfortable with unity every time I open it.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity3d.com%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2Fogimg.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity.com%2F&tbnid=UkPk-HrkqCxlcM&vet=12ahUKEwi_1sGk6LXlAhWJJcAKHXTWADwQMygAegUIARCEAg..i&docid=NvRSXEUCHXI92M&w=1200&h=630&q=unity&ved=2ahUKEwi_1sGk6LXlAhWJJcAKHXTWADwQMygAegUIARCEAg
If you go back in my blog posts to a previous unity tutorial you will find that I was having fun with the lighting aspect of unity, I decided to not focus on that this time as I am already adept in it but I did use it a bit this time. I was mainly focusing on trying to get a functioning area in which the player can walk around in while also adding lighting to it in order to create and atmosphere in the area the player is in.
I struggled initially with the spawning but after messing around with it for a little bit I was able to get the player to spawn on top of the platform I placed for this purpose. I didn't bother with any detailed textures so the area the player walks around in is pretty bland and there isn't anything to do quite yet. However despite this I was able to make the area a bit more interesting with the lighting so when I am adding specific textures I feel that I will be able to make a somewhat palatable environment for the entire game to take place in.
overall I feel that I will be able to use these abilities to make a solid game for a final project. I am developing strong fundamentals in unity and I think I can master simple things like this before I focus on the smaller details. I am feeling more and more comfortable with unity every time I open it.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity3d.com%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2Fogimg.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity.com%2F&tbnid=UkPk-HrkqCxlcM&vet=12ahUKEwi_1sGk6LXlAhWJJcAKHXTWADwQMygAegUIARCEAg..i&docid=NvRSXEUCHXI92M&w=1200&h=630&q=unity&ved=2ahUKEwi_1sGk6LXlAhWJJcAKHXTWADwQMygAegUIARCEAg
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Prototype
I have decided to go for a horror style game in which you will wander around an area, engage in combat with enemies and try to survive. I have chosen this because I enjoyed the details that I was able to achieve with lighting while learning unity.
What is working?
As previously mentioned I have been having success with lighting in my unity experience. Changing colour, intensity, direction and the like have given me some ideas I could use in my game. Perhaps I could make a handheld light that other horror games typically use to build suspense as you don't know what is coming from far away. It gives me a lot of options I can use to build an atmosphere in my game. I have also found things like building an area to be quite easy, molding shapes to be whatever I need them to be is a simple experience for me at the moment so I could definitely make something interesting in my game.
What am I finding difficult?
Some things in unity can be a bit finicky for me. If you go back to my first blog post about using unity you can see that I struggled with the environment a little. Tutorials seem to all be using different versions of unity which makes following along a bit more difficult but not impossible. There really isn't anything else I'm particularly struggling with, every issue I have can normally be worked around or there is a solution online. Deciding exactly what I am going to make is not clear at the moment but I think I will figure it out in due time.
https://i.udemycdn.com/course/240x135/1210008_6859.jpg
What is working?
As previously mentioned I have been having success with lighting in my unity experience. Changing colour, intensity, direction and the like have given me some ideas I could use in my game. Perhaps I could make a handheld light that other horror games typically use to build suspense as you don't know what is coming from far away. It gives me a lot of options I can use to build an atmosphere in my game. I have also found things like building an area to be quite easy, molding shapes to be whatever I need them to be is a simple experience for me at the moment so I could definitely make something interesting in my game.
What am I finding difficult?
Some things in unity can be a bit finicky for me. If you go back to my first blog post about using unity you can see that I struggled with the environment a little. Tutorials seem to all be using different versions of unity which makes following along a bit more difficult but not impossible. There really isn't anything else I'm particularly struggling with, every issue I have can normally be worked around or there is a solution online. Deciding exactly what I am going to make is not clear at the moment but I think I will figure it out in due time.
https://i.udemycdn.com/course/240x135/1210008_6859.jpg
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Unity tutorial 5
If you go back to my first post about unity you'll find that I found it difficult to learn, however over time I am getting more and more comfortable and I think I may be able to make a game quite soon. I particularly found the lighting interesting, use of shadows and different colour lighting make me want to create an atmospheric horror game. I think this could be very possible for me to use my lighting abilities to create a good atmosphere, along with simple controls and AI for enemies this seems like a very achievable goal for me.
Making areas and lighting them appropriately could make for an interesting challenge that I am excited to undertake. Simple AI, atmospheric lighting, simple environments could all combine for a simple, fun horror game and as I learn more and more about unity I'm sure that I could add a twist and make it stand out from other games in the genre.
At the beginning of my unity career I thought a game would be difficult and perhaps tedious, however upon learning the basics of unity I discovered that it is not the difficult task I once proposed, it is a whole other type of difficulty, the challenge of making something fun with my albeit limited skills. I'm excited to make a game after playing them for years.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity3d.com%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2Fogimg.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity.com%2F&docid=NvRSXEUCHXI92M&tbnid=UkPk-HrkqCxlcM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwikuJ3WqqTlAhVqxoUKHYW1BYkQMwh3KAAwAA..i&w=1200&h=630&bih=695&biw=1366&q=unity&ved=0ahUKEwikuJ3WqqTlAhVqxoUKHYW1BYkQMwh3KAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8
Making areas and lighting them appropriately could make for an interesting challenge that I am excited to undertake. Simple AI, atmospheric lighting, simple environments could all combine for a simple, fun horror game and as I learn more and more about unity I'm sure that I could add a twist and make it stand out from other games in the genre.
At the beginning of my unity career I thought a game would be difficult and perhaps tedious, however upon learning the basics of unity I discovered that it is not the difficult task I once proposed, it is a whole other type of difficulty, the challenge of making something fun with my albeit limited skills. I'm excited to make a game after playing them for years.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity3d.com%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2Fogimg.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity.com%2F&docid=NvRSXEUCHXI92M&tbnid=UkPk-HrkqCxlcM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwikuJ3WqqTlAhVqxoUKHYW1BYkQMwh3KAAwAA..i&w=1200&h=630&bih=695&biw=1366&q=unity&ved=0ahUKEwikuJ3WqqTlAhVqxoUKHYW1BYkQMwh3KAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Games GDD
Games GDD
http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/DesignConsiderations.shtml
The main thing I pulled from this article is that the presentation of a game is extremely important to some people. The article was about a board game and some of the simple things were things that would seem obvious but could easily be missed such as making pieces smaller than their place on a board, using strong contrasting colours and things like that. This made me think about the games I will be making, board games aren't necessarily on the menu at the moment however these principals could be applied to the UI in any video games I make in the future.
https://learn.canvas.net/courses/3/pages/level-5-dot-0-generating-ideas?module_item_id=44545
This article posits that to design a game you should start with a simple idea, set of rules or something else important and work from there, this will root your game in reality and not lead to you making a huge idea and having to taper down. Know you're aim and your limits before beginning. Start with a realistic idea and do it well, a simple game made well is far better than an overly ambitious game done poorly. The core idea is idea generation because once you have a solid idea you can work from there.
http://gamingconceptz.blogspot.com/2011/12/simple-and-elegant-essence-of-game.html
This article focuses on PONG, one of the first successful games ever. It points out the pure minimalism of the game design and the extremely simple rules of the game. Requiring 2 players makes it a social experience and the article goes on to state that solid game design can stand the test of time as pong has.
https://www.traininginchennai.in/3d-animation-training-images/game-design.jpg
http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/DesignConsiderations.shtml
The main thing I pulled from this article is that the presentation of a game is extremely important to some people. The article was about a board game and some of the simple things were things that would seem obvious but could easily be missed such as making pieces smaller than their place on a board, using strong contrasting colours and things like that. This made me think about the games I will be making, board games aren't necessarily on the menu at the moment however these principals could be applied to the UI in any video games I make in the future.
https://learn.canvas.net/courses/3/pages/level-5-dot-0-generating-ideas?module_item_id=44545
This article posits that to design a game you should start with a simple idea, set of rules or something else important and work from there, this will root your game in reality and not lead to you making a huge idea and having to taper down. Know you're aim and your limits before beginning. Start with a realistic idea and do it well, a simple game made well is far better than an overly ambitious game done poorly. The core idea is idea generation because once you have a solid idea you can work from there.
http://gamingconceptz.blogspot.com/2011/12/simple-and-elegant-essence-of-game.html
This article focuses on PONG, one of the first successful games ever. It points out the pure minimalism of the game design and the extremely simple rules of the game. Requiring 2 players makes it a social experience and the article goes on to state that solid game design can stand the test of time as pong has.
https://www.traininginchennai.in/3d-animation-training-images/game-design.jpg
Games MDA
Games MDA
https://vimeo.com/288331391
The main thing I took away from the reading this week was the various different types of fun and how I, as a game designer, could implement them into any future games I make and how I could go about doing this.
The 8 types of fun are as follows:
Sensation - Games as a sense of pleasure
Fantasy - Game as make-believe
Narrative - Game as Drama
Challenge - Game as obstacle course
Fellowship - Game as social framework
Discovery - Game as uncharted territory
Expression - Game as self discovery
Submission - Game as pastime
This intrigued me as I started to think about what it was that my favourite games did that made them fun and fitting them into the categories was quite interesting as I found the 2 most common types for me were fellowship and challenge.
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-08-why-are-video-games-fun
This article posits that it is almost the simulation aspect which makes a game fun and attractive for people. Saying it gives them an opportunity to "try on new hats" and to become their ideal selves. This also interests me because video games definitely give people an opportunity to do things they would never do in the real world and to take risks that in a realistic setting they would certainly not take.
https://venturebeat.com/community/2013/04/16/why-do-we-love-video-games/
This article puts forth that the reason we find video games fun is because they offer an escape. This ties back to the second article that says it's about trying new roles we would never be able to in the real world. It also states that it is the sense of accomplishment which drives people to play video games, it gives them something to work towards which I suppose ties back to the "Challenge" type of fun. Players will work towards a goal for a while and upon achieving it will feel a sense of accomplishment that you simply don't get with TV and movies.
https://www.officevibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/why-fun-copany-culture-goodi-for-business_quote2.png
https://vimeo.com/288331391
The main thing I took away from the reading this week was the various different types of fun and how I, as a game designer, could implement them into any future games I make and how I could go about doing this.
The 8 types of fun are as follows:
Sensation - Games as a sense of pleasure
Fantasy - Game as make-believe
Narrative - Game as Drama
Challenge - Game as obstacle course
Fellowship - Game as social framework
Discovery - Game as uncharted territory
Expression - Game as self discovery
Submission - Game as pastime
This intrigued me as I started to think about what it was that my favourite games did that made them fun and fitting them into the categories was quite interesting as I found the 2 most common types for me were fellowship and challenge.
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-08-why-are-video-games-fun
This article posits that it is almost the simulation aspect which makes a game fun and attractive for people. Saying it gives them an opportunity to "try on new hats" and to become their ideal selves. This also interests me because video games definitely give people an opportunity to do things they would never do in the real world and to take risks that in a realistic setting they would certainly not take.
https://venturebeat.com/community/2013/04/16/why-do-we-love-video-games/
This article puts forth that the reason we find video games fun is because they offer an escape. This ties back to the second article that says it's about trying new roles we would never be able to in the real world. It also states that it is the sense of accomplishment which drives people to play video games, it gives them something to work towards which I suppose ties back to the "Challenge" type of fun. Players will work towards a goal for a while and upon achieving it will feel a sense of accomplishment that you simply don't get with TV and movies.
https://www.officevibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/why-fun-copany-culture-goodi-for-business_quote2.png
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Games MDA
What makes up a game?
It's a question that I tried to tackle in one of my initial blog posts way back in the day. It is a difficult thing to answer because the true definition of a game is a difficult one to nail down. However upon reading the readings it has helped me surmount this impossible task of discovering what it truly is that defines a game. The readings handily broke it down into a simple bullet pointed list with items such as rules, objectives and themes. These are the main 3 in my opinion
https://www.familyeducation.com/fun/making-family-time/importance-rules-games
Above is an article about the importance of rules in games, it basically boils down to leaving all players on equal footing and maintaining order in the game. It also kind of ties into the objective as the two work hand in hand in order to guide the players to what it is that the game wants to accomplish.
https://www.publicmedievalist.com/game-objectives/
Objectives are what drives a player to do what the game wants them to do. An example is if a game asks you to defeat an enemy to advance then the player will try to advance by defeating the enemy. Certain games like minecraft have been both praised and criticized for a lack of objective at least before the ender dragon was added which is a pretty loose objective that a lot of players choose to ignore or at least not have it as a priority.
https://www.giantbomb.com/profile/raddevon/blog/how-important-is-theme-in-video-games/31223/
Theme is very important.Is your game a first person shooter, an RPG, a strategy game etc. This let's
people know what to expect from the game when they are heading in to it for the first time. This can also help set the tone for a game, an RPG will normally convey a better story than a first person shooter, not always but most of the time. Theme also sets the tone as the two are very closely linked, for instance a game focused on being a balanced, competitive game such as overwatch or League Of Legends will not put much if any time into a story and will solely focus on gameplay and balance.
It's a question that I tried to tackle in one of my initial blog posts way back in the day. It is a difficult thing to answer because the true definition of a game is a difficult one to nail down. However upon reading the readings it has helped me surmount this impossible task of discovering what it truly is that defines a game. The readings handily broke it down into a simple bullet pointed list with items such as rules, objectives and themes. These are the main 3 in my opinion
https://www.familyeducation.com/fun/making-family-time/importance-rules-games
Above is an article about the importance of rules in games, it basically boils down to leaving all players on equal footing and maintaining order in the game. It also kind of ties into the objective as the two work hand in hand in order to guide the players to what it is that the game wants to accomplish.
https://www.publicmedievalist.com/game-objectives/
Objectives are what drives a player to do what the game wants them to do. An example is if a game asks you to defeat an enemy to advance then the player will try to advance by defeating the enemy. Certain games like minecraft have been both praised and criticized for a lack of objective at least before the ender dragon was added which is a pretty loose objective that a lot of players choose to ignore or at least not have it as a priority.
https://www.giantbomb.com/profile/raddevon/blog/how-important-is-theme-in-video-games/31223/
Theme is very important.Is your game a first person shooter, an RPG, a strategy game etc. This let's
people know what to expect from the game when they are heading in to it for the first time. This can also help set the tone for a game, an RPG will normally convey a better story than a first person shooter, not always but most of the time. Theme also sets the tone as the two are very closely linked, for instance a game focused on being a balanced, competitive game such as overwatch or League Of Legends will not put much if any time into a story and will solely focus on gameplay and balance.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Feedback Thoughts
https://www.themuse.com/advice/taking-constructive-criticism-like-a-champ
Above is an article about handling constructive criticism which is something I do on a near daily basis so I'd like to think I'm alright at it.
The article breaks it down quite a bit but the basics of it are to not lash out, remember why you are getting criticism, pay attention, think about it and apply it. This is quite a good system as people often get annoyed at criticism when it really could help them. if they simply remain calm, and consider what they are being told then they may come to realize that the person is trying to help them and they can improve.
I deal with constructive criticism when I train MMA, people tell me I'm doing something wrong or could be doing it better and I normally just listen and do it that way, normally they are right and I improve slightly but I have seen people get annoyed by it and take it personally which is just dumb.
https://www.radicalcandor.com/blog/6-tips-taking-feedback-well/
This article says similar things but encourages people to seek out criticism as it helps them improve. It goes on to say that Rory Mcilroy actually pays people to criticize him because he always wants to improve, other than that it's more of the "just listen, stay calm, consider it" stuff that we've been over already. Things like this are important in all walks of life as being the best you can be at whatever you do will take you very far.
Above is an article about handling constructive criticism which is something I do on a near daily basis so I'd like to think I'm alright at it.
The article breaks it down quite a bit but the basics of it are to not lash out, remember why you are getting criticism, pay attention, think about it and apply it. This is quite a good system as people often get annoyed at criticism when it really could help them. if they simply remain calm, and consider what they are being told then they may come to realize that the person is trying to help them and they can improve.
I deal with constructive criticism when I train MMA, people tell me I'm doing something wrong or could be doing it better and I normally just listen and do it that way, normally they are right and I improve slightly but I have seen people get annoyed by it and take it personally which is just dumb.
https://www.radicalcandor.com/blog/6-tips-taking-feedback-well/
This article says similar things but encourages people to seek out criticism as it helps them improve. It goes on to say that Rory Mcilroy actually pays people to criticize him because he always wants to improve, other than that it's more of the "just listen, stay calm, consider it" stuff that we've been over already. Things like this are important in all walks of life as being the best you can be at whatever you do will take you very far.
Game Brainstorm
Game Ideas
Idea 1: Just a simple quiz game similar to something like trivial pursuit or perhaps an adaptation of a trivia game show like the chase, pointless, jeopardy or maybe even family feud, depending on my capabilities in unity. These Ideas seem pretty simple and can make a pretty enjoyable game as long as a few simple things are kept in check such as a lack of repeating questions. Attached is a review of Family feud 2010 edition
https://ie.ign.com/articles/2010/07/07/family-feud-review
Idea 2: A plat-former game seems like a simple yet fun idea for a game, however you would need to focus on level design and controls in my opinion. A great plat-former game in my opinion is "super meat boy" by Edmund Mcmillan. It has good controls, interesting levels and is just a simple fun game. Plat-former need to avoid being clunky and slow in order to make the player feel like things are happening at a good pace. This review repeats things I have said, such as the game being simple yet fun.
https://ie.ign.com/articles/2010/12/01/super-meat-boy-review
Idea 3: A game akin to something like The Binding Of Isaac or Enter The Gungeon in which you collect randomized items in randomized areas while fighting randomized enemies, games like this are infinitely replayable however they may be quite a challenge to create as so many things will be needed such as a durth of items, areas and enemies. The binding of isaac is a 40 minute long game that many people have thousands of hours in so it is quite the marvel of game design.
https://ie.ign.com/articles/2014/11/26/the-binding-of-isaac-rebirth-review
Idea 4: My final idea is a silly game similar to something like goat simulator, get a fairly innocuous controllable character and add as many zany effects to the game world as possible, something silly that people can have fun with for a little while without taking itself too seriously. This review opens with a similar sentiment " goat simulator is a joke of a game. It’s small, deliberately unpolished and buggy, and its design is simple."
https://ie.ign.com/articles/2014/04/01/goat-simulator-review
https://art.gametdb.com/wii/coverfullHQ/US/R6EE41.png
Idea 1: Just a simple quiz game similar to something like trivial pursuit or perhaps an adaptation of a trivia game show like the chase, pointless, jeopardy or maybe even family feud, depending on my capabilities in unity. These Ideas seem pretty simple and can make a pretty enjoyable game as long as a few simple things are kept in check such as a lack of repeating questions. Attached is a review of Family feud 2010 edition
https://ie.ign.com/articles/2010/07/07/family-feud-review
Idea 2: A plat-former game seems like a simple yet fun idea for a game, however you would need to focus on level design and controls in my opinion. A great plat-former game in my opinion is "super meat boy" by Edmund Mcmillan. It has good controls, interesting levels and is just a simple fun game. Plat-former need to avoid being clunky and slow in order to make the player feel like things are happening at a good pace. This review repeats things I have said, such as the game being simple yet fun.
https://ie.ign.com/articles/2010/12/01/super-meat-boy-review
Idea 3: A game akin to something like The Binding Of Isaac or Enter The Gungeon in which you collect randomized items in randomized areas while fighting randomized enemies, games like this are infinitely replayable however they may be quite a challenge to create as so many things will be needed such as a durth of items, areas and enemies. The binding of isaac is a 40 minute long game that many people have thousands of hours in so it is quite the marvel of game design.
https://ie.ign.com/articles/2014/11/26/the-binding-of-isaac-rebirth-review
Idea 4: My final idea is a silly game similar to something like goat simulator, get a fairly innocuous controllable character and add as many zany effects to the game world as possible, something silly that people can have fun with for a little while without taking itself too seriously. This review opens with a similar sentiment " goat simulator is a joke of a game. It’s small, deliberately unpolished and buggy, and its design is simple."
https://ie.ign.com/articles/2014/04/01/goat-simulator-review
https://art.gametdb.com/wii/coverfullHQ/US/R6EE41.png
Thursday, October 3, 2019
unity tutorial 1
Unity Tutorial 1
This was my first foray into actually making anything in unity. I wasn't able to make anything spectacular but I did learn some of the basics such as camera movement, terrain manipulation and texture. Upon opening unity it was quite intimidating because there is a lot of moving parts that goes into making a game and there is a plethora of options and menus that you see when opening unity. It took me a while to really get anything to actually happen but once I was able to start manipulating the landscape and adding a bit of texture it felt quite rewarding. I struggled with adding in grass as I think the tutorials I was using may have been out of date or maybe I was just missing something, both are possible. I am honestly not too worried with not getting things like that on my first outing because I know it's all a learning experience. As Bob Ross said "I'm not very good but it doesn't matter" I know I'll grow and improve over the coming weeks if I just keep going with unity so not being perfect doesn't really phase me.
Overall unity was an interesting piece of software to mess around in and I look forward to becoming better and better with it because game design is something that interests me as I play a lot of games and have always been curious how I would do if I was making one myself. Unity is a great tool for game designers especially because of how many tutorials are out there to help people like myself become better and better.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity3d.com%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2Fogimg.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity.com%2F&docid=NvRSXEUCHXI92M&tbnid=UkPk-HrkqCxlcM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwidjOqSuYHlAhVRTcAKHVx5BfsQMwh3KAAwAA..i&w=1200&h=630&itg=1&bih=695&biw=1366&q=unity&ved=0ahUKEwidjOqSuYHlAhVRTcAKHVx5BfsQMwh3KAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8
This was my first foray into actually making anything in unity. I wasn't able to make anything spectacular but I did learn some of the basics such as camera movement, terrain manipulation and texture. Upon opening unity it was quite intimidating because there is a lot of moving parts that goes into making a game and there is a plethora of options and menus that you see when opening unity. It took me a while to really get anything to actually happen but once I was able to start manipulating the landscape and adding a bit of texture it felt quite rewarding. I struggled with adding in grass as I think the tutorials I was using may have been out of date or maybe I was just missing something, both are possible. I am honestly not too worried with not getting things like that on my first outing because I know it's all a learning experience. As Bob Ross said "I'm not very good but it doesn't matter" I know I'll grow and improve over the coming weeks if I just keep going with unity so not being perfect doesn't really phase me.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity3d.com%2Ffiles%2Fimages%2Fogimg.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Funity.com%2F&docid=NvRSXEUCHXI92M&tbnid=UkPk-HrkqCxlcM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwidjOqSuYHlAhVRTcAKHVx5BfsQMwh3KAAwAA..i&w=1200&h=630&itg=1&bih=695&biw=1366&q=unity&ved=0ahUKEwidjOqSuYHlAhVRTcAKHVx5BfsQMwh3KAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Game Design
Game Design
As a person who has played my fair share of games over the course of my life I was quite surprised when I discovered that I didn't really know what a game was. I could tell you a game if I saw one but if I had to explain the concept to another person who somehow had never heard of a game then I would struggle. I would have probably just said something along the lines of "it's like when you want to do something that doesn't really matter for fun against someone" but that doesn't really make sense so the readings have definitely made me clear up the exact vernacular I would use if I ever find myself in that situation.
The dictionary definition of a game is as follows "an activity that one engages in for amusement or fun." This definition isn't great as things like cooking, watching tv or sleeping fit the description and when someone says they like games nobody expects that to be the extent. The reading has many more parameters for what makes a game but the main four I like are "games are an activity with rules, goals and decision making" there may be a couple non game things that fit those rules but I feel that those are the four main ones.
Now that I can nail down a better explanation of what a game actually is I should be more equipped to create a game of my own as I can check back to the rules and make sure my game has followed them. Without this my game may lack something important and I could end up making some sort of visual novel or an interactive movie which isn't exactly what I'm aiming for, however I am still not entirely sure what exactly it is which I am aiming for when I make my first ever game in unity over the coming weeks.
However knowing what a game is isn't enough. I need to know how to design a game. I need to spend time thinking about how my game will begin, what will happen in the middle and how it will end along with the transitions between these. If my game has story as a core element then I will need to figure out how to lead the narrative through these stages and if gameplay is more at the helm then I will need to find a way to keep it interesting throughout.
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-making-of-divinity-original-sin-2/
That is an article about the making of divinity original sin 2, in my opinion one of the best games ever. The article has the developers mention prototypes that were used before making the game full scale, this is something that could certainly prove useful to me. They also mentioned repeating the great parts of earlier games they made but that isn't really an option for me.
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/182380/postmortem_mcmillen_and_himsls_.php
That is an article about an indie game named "the binding of isaac" the part which stood out to me most was when they mentioned that they drew inspiration from the legend of zelda's dungeon system and expanded upon it to create something that hadn't really been done before, at least not to that extent. This simple idea led to one of the best selling indie games of all time and has spawned a sequel and a spin off is currently in the works too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvm0CN3tQFI
That is a video about the making of "oblivion" an open world RPG which I have personally put countless hours into. Around the 12 minute mark they mention that some things they make for the game don't make it in but it's just fun to make crazy, cool stuff. this leads me to think that I shouldn't be too serious about everything I make for my game, if I make something cool and it can fit in then sure, throw it in. If I make something that has no place in the world, perhaps I modify it or learn from it when making other parts.
https://iifamultimedia.in/images/slider/new_game_designing.jpg
As a person who has played my fair share of games over the course of my life I was quite surprised when I discovered that I didn't really know what a game was. I could tell you a game if I saw one but if I had to explain the concept to another person who somehow had never heard of a game then I would struggle. I would have probably just said something along the lines of "it's like when you want to do something that doesn't really matter for fun against someone" but that doesn't really make sense so the readings have definitely made me clear up the exact vernacular I would use if I ever find myself in that situation.
The dictionary definition of a game is as follows "an activity that one engages in for amusement or fun." This definition isn't great as things like cooking, watching tv or sleeping fit the description and when someone says they like games nobody expects that to be the extent. The reading has many more parameters for what makes a game but the main four I like are "games are an activity with rules, goals and decision making" there may be a couple non game things that fit those rules but I feel that those are the four main ones.
Now that I can nail down a better explanation of what a game actually is I should be more equipped to create a game of my own as I can check back to the rules and make sure my game has followed them. Without this my game may lack something important and I could end up making some sort of visual novel or an interactive movie which isn't exactly what I'm aiming for, however I am still not entirely sure what exactly it is which I am aiming for when I make my first ever game in unity over the coming weeks.
However knowing what a game is isn't enough. I need to know how to design a game. I need to spend time thinking about how my game will begin, what will happen in the middle and how it will end along with the transitions between these. If my game has story as a core element then I will need to figure out how to lead the narrative through these stages and if gameplay is more at the helm then I will need to find a way to keep it interesting throughout.
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-making-of-divinity-original-sin-2/
That is an article about the making of divinity original sin 2, in my opinion one of the best games ever. The article has the developers mention prototypes that were used before making the game full scale, this is something that could certainly prove useful to me. They also mentioned repeating the great parts of earlier games they made but that isn't really an option for me.
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/182380/postmortem_mcmillen_and_himsls_.php
That is an article about an indie game named "the binding of isaac" the part which stood out to me most was when they mentioned that they drew inspiration from the legend of zelda's dungeon system and expanded upon it to create something that hadn't really been done before, at least not to that extent. This simple idea led to one of the best selling indie games of all time and has spawned a sequel and a spin off is currently in the works too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvm0CN3tQFI
That is a video about the making of "oblivion" an open world RPG which I have personally put countless hours into. Around the 12 minute mark they mention that some things they make for the game don't make it in but it's just fun to make crazy, cool stuff. this leads me to think that I shouldn't be too serious about everything I make for my game, if I make something cool and it can fit in then sure, throw it in. If I make something that has no place in the world, perhaps I modify it or learn from it when making other parts.
https://iifamultimedia.in/images/slider/new_game_designing.jpg
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Time Strategies
Time Strategies
Time management is really important to me. Like any college student normally does, I've got my finger in multiple pies. Media student by day, MMA fighter by night and Abra Kebabra kebab chef on weekends. Without a car of my own to get me from point A to point B and on weekends point C I have to take the bus or cycle to wherever I want to be which gives me exact times I need to be out of the house or i'm just not making it.
This may seem like a detriment to my time management abilities but I feel like it actually enhances them as I have no way of procrastinating. In first year I'd procrastinate all the time and leave myself with no time at all to do anything. However I train MMA six times a week and I can't do that if I have to do college work, this means that I am actually getting ahead on college work quite regularly which is a new and exciting thing for me.
Having multiple ventures with my time leaves clear blocks in my schedule where nothing is happening and they are invaluable they also provide a sort of deadline to me that isn't the actual deadline. E.G "if I don't have this video done by six then I can't make it to jiu jitsu tonight" this makes me work harder and faster because of this artificial deadline. Sometimes less is more when it comes to time and having less time is funnily enough making me more productive, pretty zany stuff.
It is still early days this year in college but so far my time management seems to be on point and hopefully it holds up over the coming months because I do not want to give up any hobbies in the name of education because that'd be pretty lame and I wouldn't have a legal way of beating people up anymore.
https://media.4rgos.it/i/Argos/7378261_R_Z001A?w=750&h=440&qlt=70
Time management is really important to me. Like any college student normally does, I've got my finger in multiple pies. Media student by day, MMA fighter by night and Abra Kebabra kebab chef on weekends. Without a car of my own to get me from point A to point B and on weekends point C I have to take the bus or cycle to wherever I want to be which gives me exact times I need to be out of the house or i'm just not making it.
This may seem like a detriment to my time management abilities but I feel like it actually enhances them as I have no way of procrastinating. In first year I'd procrastinate all the time and leave myself with no time at all to do anything. However I train MMA six times a week and I can't do that if I have to do college work, this means that I am actually getting ahead on college work quite regularly which is a new and exciting thing for me.
Having multiple ventures with my time leaves clear blocks in my schedule where nothing is happening and they are invaluable they also provide a sort of deadline to me that isn't the actual deadline. E.G "if I don't have this video done by six then I can't make it to jiu jitsu tonight" this makes me work harder and faster because of this artificial deadline. Sometimes less is more when it comes to time and having less time is funnily enough making me more productive, pretty zany stuff.
It is still early days this year in college but so far my time management seems to be on point and hopefully it holds up over the coming months because I do not want to give up any hobbies in the name of education because that'd be pretty lame and I wouldn't have a legal way of beating people up anymore.
https://media.4rgos.it/i/Argos/7378261_R_Z001A?w=750&h=440&qlt=70
Technology
Class Tools
The class has some interesting technological tools and I'm both excited and intimidated by them. Will I be the master of them and know how to use them intuitively? Or will i struggle to get the basics? Only time will tell.
So far I am quite enjoying blogger, getting my thoughts out into the world is nice and it feels good to not write something that has to be super serious all the time, I can just put my personality into the world and see what happens. In my last blog post I made an analogy about Hell's Kitchen which is something I normally would not be able to do in a formal college essay. Blogger is also easy to use and understand so blogger gets a big thumbs up from me.
Unity is the other major piece of software I'll be using in the coming couple of weeks, I haven't tangled with unity personally but I have read some of the tutorials and it seems like it could be hard but it something I feel I am up for. I've played a couple games made on unity and I know how different they are so unity truly is a sandbox for aspiring and established game developers. I am excited to get into unity and see what I can come up with.
Blogger and unity are both new to me and from where I am standing at the moment they both serve completely different purposes but accomplish a similar goal, they both allow me to be myself and create something that I can look back on in the future and hopefully be proud of. Or perhaps they will both result in things I look back on and cringe at how terrible they are, only time will tell and hopefully it is the former as opposed to the latter.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj2t92mjvfkAhVlThUIHc_LDfQQjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Funity.com%2F&psig=AOvVaw19piyVZMeODjsBpMVpvXe4&ust=1569883603363706
The class has some interesting technological tools and I'm both excited and intimidated by them. Will I be the master of them and know how to use them intuitively? Or will i struggle to get the basics? Only time will tell.
So far I am quite enjoying blogger, getting my thoughts out into the world is nice and it feels good to not write something that has to be super serious all the time, I can just put my personality into the world and see what happens. In my last blog post I made an analogy about Hell's Kitchen which is something I normally would not be able to do in a formal college essay. Blogger is also easy to use and understand so blogger gets a big thumbs up from me.
Unity is the other major piece of software I'll be using in the coming couple of weeks, I haven't tangled with unity personally but I have read some of the tutorials and it seems like it could be hard but it something I feel I am up for. I've played a couple games made on unity and I know how different they are so unity truly is a sandbox for aspiring and established game developers. I am excited to get into unity and see what I can come up with.
Blogger and unity are both new to me and from where I am standing at the moment they both serve completely different purposes but accomplish a similar goal, they both allow me to be myself and create something that I can look back on in the future and hopefully be proud of. Or perhaps they will both result in things I look back on and cringe at how terrible they are, only time will tell and hopefully it is the former as opposed to the latter.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj2t92mjvfkAhVlThUIHc_LDfQQjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Funity.com%2F&psig=AOvVaw19piyVZMeODjsBpMVpvXe4&ust=1569883603363706
Assignments
Assignments
At the time of writing this I haven't done too much strenuous work but from what I can tell it looks like making a good, functioning game could be quite difficult but I'm looking forward to a challenge. The main task ahead of me is creating a game and from looking at the tutorials it looks like quite a lot can go into making a game.I spoke to a friend of mine who has completed a game in unity before and he said that he had a very big idea and it didn't work out too well so I feel like I will need to keep my idea small. I need to have a simple idea and execute it well.
Making a game in unity can be like an episode of Hell's kitchen, one guy goes big and tries to use molecular gastronomy to create the world's first sushi flavoured ice cream then the guys in the hazmat suits bring it out and Gordon says "it's ambitious but bad" then the other contestant makes a roast chicken and Gordon loses his mind. A simple idea for a game executed well will always beat an overly ambitious massive game because it does it's job well.
So I don't have an exact idea of what game I'd like to make but I feel like the ideas are coming, I can take some inspiration from the games I play and condense it down to a simple, fun game. Perhaps some sort of silly combat game or maybe a game driven more by exploration and story, I'll see how I fair with unity. If I am hopeless with unity then I may need to make some new moves but if I'm unity rain man then I'm going to shoot and make some million dollar moves, we'll just have to wait and see.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Liam's Growth Mindset
My mindset on growth by Liam Jennings.
Growth is incredibly important in my opinion growth is necessary in all aspects of life. Growth can be achieved through learning, as you progress through college if you don't grow then you will completely fall behind, put a first year student in a first year class and they will be fine, put a first year student in a third year class and they will almost definitely fail because they have not had the first couple years to grow. I had to repeat a semester in first year because of dumb mistakes I made and then I passed everything easily on the second pass and will hopefully do the same in coming years because I believe I have grown as a person and a media student.
Growth is important outside college too. You can grow as a person, a friend, a father or whatever else you want. Growth is important to me outside college in my MMA training. If I don't grow and improve every day then I'm going to get beat up. That's what drives me to do things I don't want to do such as go to training with an injury, do a college project I don't want to do or read a book when I'd rather play video games. Growth is really important in every aspect of life for me and I strive for it in every field.
image from https://optimiseandgrowonline.com.
Growth is incredibly important in my opinion growth is necessary in all aspects of life. Growth can be achieved through learning, as you progress through college if you don't grow then you will completely fall behind, put a first year student in a first year class and they will be fine, put a first year student in a third year class and they will almost definitely fail because they have not had the first couple years to grow. I had to repeat a semester in first year because of dumb mistakes I made and then I passed everything easily on the second pass and will hopefully do the same in coming years because I believe I have grown as a person and a media student.
Growth is important outside college too. You can grow as a person, a friend, a father or whatever else you want. Growth is important to me outside college in my MMA training. If I don't grow and improve every day then I'm going to get beat up. That's what drives me to do things I don't want to do such as go to training with an injury, do a college project I don't want to do or read a book when I'd rather play video games. Growth is really important in every aspect of life for me and I strive for it in every field.
image from https://optimiseandgrowonline.com.
Introduction to Liam
Introduction by Liam Jennings
In this blog post I'm going to detail a bunch of stuff about myself and it's going to be really cool and fun.
The basic details are: My name is Liam Jennings, I am 20 years old, I am a second year student in creative digital media in ITB/TU Dublin. I'm about 6 feet tall and blondish. I also work part time in an Abra Kebabra but it's only 4 hours a week so it doesn't really have any effect on my schedule. Also fun fact, despite getting free food, I have never eaten anything from Abra Kebabra, the food looks really gross and greasy so it's a no from me.
I'm a huge MMA fan and train MMA 6 times a week, assuming I didn't have to take a day off to do college work or something. when I am not in college or doing college work I am normally watching or training MMA. I train Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, K1, wrestling and MMA. I only started training all of these this year but I hope to compete in all of these at some point starting with either Muay Thai or K1 (kickboxing). After competing in those for a while I hope to transition and fight bare-shin kickboxing fights and MMA with the eventual goal of going pro, hopefully in MMA because there is not much money in pro kickboxing and your body gets absolutely destroyed by it, still fun though.
Other than college and MMA I don't really have much time for anything else but I do normally find some time to play some video games, Borderlands, Skyrim, Minecraft, dark souls and the WWE games are the main ones. The outlier there is probably the WWE games, they are so stupid that they are perfect. I just play online with custom characters with friends, Thanos Vs Green Goblin Vs Yoda Vs White Goodman (bad guy from Dodgeball) Vs Steve Urkel Vs Yugi Moto is a typical match, so stupid but so good simultaneously.
That's pretty much it, this time in a few years catch me doing digital media or in the UFCor maybe I'll use my culinary expertise to do something else. That's basically it. Also my shoulders are pretty flexible.
Picture taken from SBG Tallaght Facebook, still not sure if that's how you credit an image, gonna ask about it soon.
In this blog post I'm going to detail a bunch of stuff about myself and it's going to be really cool and fun.
The basic details are: My name is Liam Jennings, I am 20 years old, I am a second year student in creative digital media in ITB/TU Dublin. I'm about 6 feet tall and blondish. I also work part time in an Abra Kebabra but it's only 4 hours a week so it doesn't really have any effect on my schedule. Also fun fact, despite getting free food, I have never eaten anything from Abra Kebabra, the food looks really gross and greasy so it's a no from me.
I'm a huge MMA fan and train MMA 6 times a week, assuming I didn't have to take a day off to do college work or something. when I am not in college or doing college work I am normally watching or training MMA. I train Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, K1, wrestling and MMA. I only started training all of these this year but I hope to compete in all of these at some point starting with either Muay Thai or K1 (kickboxing). After competing in those for a while I hope to transition and fight bare-shin kickboxing fights and MMA with the eventual goal of going pro, hopefully in MMA because there is not much money in pro kickboxing and your body gets absolutely destroyed by it, still fun though.
Other than college and MMA I don't really have much time for anything else but I do normally find some time to play some video games, Borderlands, Skyrim, Minecraft, dark souls and the WWE games are the main ones. The outlier there is probably the WWE games, they are so stupid that they are perfect. I just play online with custom characters with friends, Thanos Vs Green Goblin Vs Yoda Vs White Goodman (bad guy from Dodgeball) Vs Steve Urkel Vs Yugi Moto is a typical match, so stupid but so good simultaneously.
That's pretty much it, this time in a few years catch me doing digital media or in the UFCor maybe I'll use my culinary expertise to do something else. That's basically it. Also my shoulders are pretty flexible.
Picture taken from SBG Tallaght Facebook, still not sure if that's how you credit an image, gonna ask about it soon.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Workshop 01
Workshop review
In our workshop we were tasked with explaining exactly how traffic lights function. This initially seemed like a simple task however after forming groups and having to explain how they work in a clear manner. My first thought was just have them all take turns being green while the others remain red but then we discovered we could have 2 opposing lanes green at the same time to improve traffic flow. At the end we remembered that we forgot to make the lights turn orange ever. such a simple yet important thing that was simply overlooked.
What I learned from this is that the perspective of others on something very simple can change how I look at things. I learned that simple tasks can be far more difficult than they may seem initially. This taught me that thinking before any simple task could help me far more than I may have thought. If I thought about the traffic lights for just another minute or two longer than I did then I may have remembered that the orange light is just as important as the red and green are.
Overall the workshop was brilliant in its simplicity, just back from summer, early in the morning I wouldn't have been ready for anything advanced so a simple traffic light conundrum was just simple enough to get the brain working and to teach me a little bit about how to communicate ideas and thoughts with a team, a skill that will certainly come in useful in the coming months.
Image credit goes to the good people of 123RF.com
In our workshop we were tasked with explaining exactly how traffic lights function. This initially seemed like a simple task however after forming groups and having to explain how they work in a clear manner. My first thought was just have them all take turns being green while the others remain red but then we discovered we could have 2 opposing lanes green at the same time to improve traffic flow. At the end we remembered that we forgot to make the lights turn orange ever. such a simple yet important thing that was simply overlooked.
What I learned from this is that the perspective of others on something very simple can change how I look at things. I learned that simple tasks can be far more difficult than they may seem initially. This taught me that thinking before any simple task could help me far more than I may have thought. If I thought about the traffic lights for just another minute or two longer than I did then I may have remembered that the orange light is just as important as the red and green are.
Overall the workshop was brilliant in its simplicity, just back from summer, early in the morning I wouldn't have been ready for anything advanced so a simple traffic light conundrum was just simple enough to get the brain working and to teach me a little bit about how to communicate ideas and thoughts with a team, a skill that will certainly come in useful in the coming months.
Image credit goes to the good people of 123RF.com
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Favourite game
My favourite game of all time is Dark Souls. Dark souls is an open world RPG developed by a japanese company named From Software. It is a spiritual successor to Demon souls which set the stage for Dark souls.
Dark souls is renown for its difficulty which creates a unique dynamic when traversing the world. Players will often die repeatedly before making it to the next checkpoint (known as bonfires) however they will do slightly better every time which creates a feeling of accomplishment when making any progress.
Dark souls is also known for its unique storytelling. Players will often complete the whole game and have no idea what has taken place, players need to read clues in the landscape and item descriptions to piece together the lore of the world which is something I have never seen before or since. It allows players to create their own story which leads to theories which range from thought provoking to completely ridiculous.
The level design is some of the best I have ever seen, the world is full of short cuts you can unlock upon completing and area or defeating a boss, all of which reveal that the world folds in on itself and you haven't gone as far as you thought. The world is huge but is put into such a tiny space because the level designers were able to make it all fit together perfectly, this is something I wish more developers would implement.
The range of classes in dark souls is quite interesting. The player can utilize any number of weapons and spells in order to play the game the way they want to, some examples are a mage which shoots magic from a distance while wearing light armour, a knight with a big sword and heavy armour or simply the surprisingly popular naked man with a big stick.
Dark souls is renown for its difficulty which creates a unique dynamic when traversing the world. Players will often die repeatedly before making it to the next checkpoint (known as bonfires) however they will do slightly better every time which creates a feeling of accomplishment when making any progress.
Dark souls is also known for its unique storytelling. Players will often complete the whole game and have no idea what has taken place, players need to read clues in the landscape and item descriptions to piece together the lore of the world which is something I have never seen before or since. It allows players to create their own story which leads to theories which range from thought provoking to completely ridiculous.
The level design is some of the best I have ever seen, the world is full of short cuts you can unlock upon completing and area or defeating a boss, all of which reveal that the world folds in on itself and you haven't gone as far as you thought. The world is huge but is put into such a tiny space because the level designers were able to make it all fit together perfectly, this is something I wish more developers would implement.
The range of classes in dark souls is quite interesting. The player can utilize any number of weapons and spells in order to play the game the way they want to, some examples are a mage which shoots magic from a distance while wearing light armour, a knight with a big sword and heavy armour or simply the surprisingly popular naked man with a big stick.
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