Before I departed for reading week one of the last sessions we had with Rob was editing the game of battleships in a group of two and creating and iterating ideas to improve on the game, the only rule was that we could only add one idea at a time we could not add multiple ideas into the game, I feel on hindsight that I think it was because if we added to many ideas to the game it may of diluted the rules and the original game to something that may not have been battleships any more.
So first of all having not played battleships in a long time our group played the game with no edits or add-ons to see how the game worked and what could be done to change the game without breaking any of the game play or rules of the game.
After a short while of playing we noticed a few things that could be changed, for an example a good player could really hide there ships in odd places on the board, and once any player has most of there fleet sunk has little chance of going back due that he has less of a chance to find all of the other opponent feet before there remaining ships are sunk.
One of the things that we changed was to add a doom square, this was a square that was added on both sides of the player grids, there more or less acted like ships on the game grid for example someone hit the doom square on my side of the grid, I would then lose the game.
The doom square was to combat a big problem that we felt was in the game, chance and time, we felt that in battleships apart from guessing the grid location of ships there would all ways be an outcome that the person who would have the biggest fleet would all ways win due to that they have more hit points in term of ship numbers and that the outcome would be inevitable that the player with the lowest amount of ships is unlikely to get any upper hand. We wanted to give players that where losing to give them a sense of hope of hitting that doom square and turning the tables and thus giving the game more of a random outcome.
Time was another problem, it took way too long to destroy the other feet for a small game like this, for a modern age like this its a bit bland and too time consuming to call out grid locations for half an hour until the opposing force's fleet is destroyed utterly the doom square allowed games that may of dragged out to end without both players quitting due to boredom or frustration.
So after explaining the doom square and after adding it to the game and then playing it, we never actually got to use it because the chance of actually getting the doom square is quite unlikely due to it taking up one space however I feel that this is good idea because its a square that you are highly unlikely going to get and it shows that its not a game breaking mechanic to add this because you are not always going to get it.
Friday, 12 November 2010
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Group Meeting
The meeting was about how to push the art and concept of the game to an understanding on where we knew where to go further with the project.
- We have looked more into the story on Mr cheesy and have developed the character as an extraterritorial piece of cheese from the planet cheddar who has come to earth on a mission of spelling.
- The reward system, we have changed the avatar of the coins system to a keys system, We did this because we thought that a coins would have to really be spent on something and there is not much to buy in the game anyway, We changed it to keys because we thought that the keys would have to open a chest to get the certificate reward so that would be the best replacement.
- We have now got to the point where we know what levels we want to put into the game, we have chosen toy box , Mr cheesy planet (this is a bonus room), Bathroom, Space, farm and a Pirate ship, Jungle,a haunted house, and a living room.
- We have discussed our artwork and the colour we will be using for the characters and the levels and have a few colour bands that we could really use for adding colour to the pictures.
- We have looked at the difficulty setting.
I think that after this we really have a good idea on what our next steps are in getting this game from paper onto the computer.
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Don't Be A Vidiot
So what does the term Vidiot mean too us? For a Start it is described as a person who's sole aspect of games comes from playing video games. The term was inspired by Tom Disch an author who talked about what he called science fictionoids writers that would only write up stories in the science fiction area genre.
What he talks about is the lack of creativity in the computer games industry, He describes that the games industry is more driven to create games to push the technological boundary of our modern day machines rather then developing games on a more creative level. This is because of safety, it is a much more of an easy bet and less of a risk if you re-hash a game that has been successful on the market place. Examples of expansions and re-releases, like command and conquer; Counterstrike, The Aftermath, Retaliation are games that are examples of developing companies that may be too afraid to look at new strange concepts that may or may not work too well.
However the point is not about how games company's make profit, but more of are they just not thinking out of the box any more, the article looks at how developers are re creating games that are already on the market because they are perhaps too nervous and the safe bet is to look at something that already works. It asks that developers should really be open minded on where they get there sources to be more creative and think outside the box look at board games and go back to basics.
Its hard for a company in the modern market to put a lot of money on a radical creative project that may or may not work too well on the market place, a good example of a create game that has sank recently was APB: All Points Bulletin a cops and robber styled MMO, and I don't think that this idea of games driven by eye candy will be ever dropped any time soon because it makes money and is a safe bet for the designers. However I do agree with the writer that you should open your sources outside the world of video games and look back at perhaps the older board games that we used to see because its the idea of expanding your horizon and the ability of creating something new that stands out what matters.
ramble over
What he talks about is the lack of creativity in the computer games industry, He describes that the games industry is more driven to create games to push the technological boundary of our modern day machines rather then developing games on a more creative level. This is because of safety, it is a much more of an easy bet and less of a risk if you re-hash a game that has been successful on the market place. Examples of expansions and re-releases, like command and conquer; Counterstrike, The Aftermath, Retaliation are games that are examples of developing companies that may be too afraid to look at new strange concepts that may or may not work too well.
However the point is not about how games company's make profit, but more of are they just not thinking out of the box any more, the article looks at how developers are re creating games that are already on the market because they are perhaps too nervous and the safe bet is to look at something that already works. It asks that developers should really be open minded on where they get there sources to be more creative and think outside the box look at board games and go back to basics.
Its hard for a company in the modern market to put a lot of money on a radical creative project that may or may not work too well on the market place, a good example of a create game that has sank recently was APB: All Points Bulletin a cops and robber styled MMO, and I don't think that this idea of games driven by eye candy will be ever dropped any time soon because it makes money and is a safe bet for the designers. However I do agree with the writer that you should open your sources outside the world of video games and look back at perhaps the older board games that we used to see because its the idea of expanding your horizon and the ability of creating something new that stands out what matters.
ramble over
Thursday, 7 October 2010
paidea/ludus/agon/alea/ilinx/mimicry?
Paidea and Ludus, they both are old words, both are very different in terms of what they explain but its important to know.
To put a name to the genres i would choose Half life series to the more open elder scrolls series of games, I choice this because I think that they really describe the terms of both the words above, the ludus being the half life series while the paidea being the games of the elder scrolls.
Firstly the major reason on why i think that the Half Life series is more of a ludus termed game then a Paidea is because you can win, the game ends when you have completed it and that's that there is no carry on you cant walk away and see what happens next (until there is another sequel) Its very structured from the start of the game to the finish of the game.
Another simple reason is the unavoidable goals you have to achieve in the game, the term ludus has a lot to so with rules and structures and behind the game and in the game you are dominated by what you can and what you cant do though the objectives are never given too you clearly you have an idea on what to do.
The way the levels are built is another reason on why i think that the game is clearly structured, the levels allow very little exploring, for an example you could not traverse the whole of city 17, you will always have to go where the developers have built you and allowed you to go. The whole game is sort of an advanced rat maze, the control they have over where the player goes is not quite clear in game, but behind the scenes its quite clear you are very restricted on where you go and what you do.
However the story is quite different in Oblivion a very "freeworld" open environment the player can set his own choice in where he want to go what he wants to do, it allows the player a choice for "freeplay" where he can do anything he wants for the pleasure of doing it, this surely fits into the term of paidea.
Although there are goals in oblivion that push the story forward, the key difference between objectives in half life and oblivion is that the player can choose to ignore the goals given to him and wonder off to do there own thing and the quests they want to do. Finally once the game ends, the game will allow you to carry on in the game to allow you to level you character and finish off and sub quests that you ignored or could not finish.
In conclusion I can say by there very genres that
Half life: Ludus, very scripted, there is a clear point A to B on every level in terms of completing objectives and your not really given the option of choosing how you get to the objectives, you also have a clear intent on winning the game and once you have won it, the game ends and that's that.
Oblivion: Loose "freeplay" A game that will allow you to carry on after you have completed it, the player can go anywhere and choose what he wants to do and where he whats to go giving again a rather "freeplay" world that the player can do what they want for the fun of it without the concern of many rules and structure.
- Paidea : Playing a game for the sheer pleasure of doing this.
- Ludus : More to do with rules and structure.
To put a name to the genres i would choose Half life series to the more open elder scrolls series of games, I choice this because I think that they really describe the terms of both the words above, the ludus being the half life series while the paidea being the games of the elder scrolls.
Firstly the major reason on why i think that the Half Life series is more of a ludus termed game then a Paidea is because you can win, the game ends when you have completed it and that's that there is no carry on you cant walk away and see what happens next (until there is another sequel) Its very structured from the start of the game to the finish of the game.
Another simple reason is the unavoidable goals you have to achieve in the game, the term ludus has a lot to so with rules and structures and behind the game and in the game you are dominated by what you can and what you cant do though the objectives are never given too you clearly you have an idea on what to do.
The way the levels are built is another reason on why i think that the game is clearly structured, the levels allow very little exploring, for an example you could not traverse the whole of city 17, you will always have to go where the developers have built you and allowed you to go. The whole game is sort of an advanced rat maze, the control they have over where the player goes is not quite clear in game, but behind the scenes its quite clear you are very restricted on where you go and what you do.
However the story is quite different in Oblivion a very "freeworld" open environment the player can set his own choice in where he want to go what he wants to do, it allows the player a choice for "freeplay" where he can do anything he wants for the pleasure of doing it, this surely fits into the term of paidea.
Although there are goals in oblivion that push the story forward, the key difference between objectives in half life and oblivion is that the player can choose to ignore the goals given to him and wonder off to do there own thing and the quests they want to do. Finally once the game ends, the game will allow you to carry on in the game to allow you to level you character and finish off and sub quests that you ignored or could not finish.
In conclusion I can say by there very genres that
Half life: Ludus, very scripted, there is a clear point A to B on every level in terms of completing objectives and your not really given the option of choosing how you get to the objectives, you also have a clear intent on winning the game and once you have won it, the game ends and that's that.
Oblivion: Loose "freeplay" A game that will allow you to carry on after you have completed it, the player can go anywhere and choose what he wants to do and where he whats to go giving again a rather "freeplay" world that the player can do what they want for the fun of it without the concern of many rules and structure.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
About Me
Hello My name is Alex, here is a little about me; The last book that i can actually remember reading was Dan Brown's Digital Fortress. Its a bit of an odd start in what I can tell you about me but I have to start somewhere.
I thought that it was a a good book from the usual work of Dan Brown and felt that I had not been robbed of time when I had finished reading it.
Other Books that I have read would be Books such as The Skill full Huntsman, this is sort of an art based book that looks at the time line of concept art. It looks at the beginning from the first quick fire design's to the last stages of a completed final idea It really gave some handy tips about how to get good ideas down fast and how to move on from those stages of rough sketch to final concept.
Places that I have attended would be the Great British Beer Festival of 2010, This was a really good outing for me due to that it was a great place to find different assortments of bitter that was quite enjoyable, although the band line-up supporting was quite old and I honestly did not like it at all.
The most recent film that i have seen is Shutter Island, I can honestly say it is a brilliant film with many twists and turns and it leaves you with a feeling of being paranoid as your not quite sure as well what seems to be going on who is right who is wrong, a really good film which ends in a really confusing way that leaves you to think if he was crazy or not at the end of the film.
Generally I don't read papers due to that I feel that most of them are very biased in one way or another but usually at work if I have the time I tend to read through a newspaper, I am not too fussed on which one because I don't really follow any newspapers in that frame of mind.
I find myself playing video games less and less, its not something that I am proud of but I think that this year is going to be very busy, and I think that I am going to have less time to escape for days to my room. However this does not mean that ill skip new releases coming out this year.
I thought that it was a a good book from the usual work of Dan Brown and felt that I had not been robbed of time when I had finished reading it.
Other Books that I have read would be Books such as The Skill full Huntsman, this is sort of an art based book that looks at the time line of concept art. It looks at the beginning from the first quick fire design's to the last stages of a completed final idea It really gave some handy tips about how to get good ideas down fast and how to move on from those stages of rough sketch to final concept.
Places that I have attended would be the Great British Beer Festival of 2010, This was a really good outing for me due to that it was a great place to find different assortments of bitter that was quite enjoyable, although the band line-up supporting was quite old and I honestly did not like it at all.
The most recent film that i have seen is Shutter Island, I can honestly say it is a brilliant film with many twists and turns and it leaves you with a feeling of being paranoid as your not quite sure as well what seems to be going on who is right who is wrong, a really good film which ends in a really confusing way that leaves you to think if he was crazy or not at the end of the film.
Generally I don't read papers due to that I feel that most of them are very biased in one way or another but usually at work if I have the time I tend to read through a newspaper, I am not too fussed on which one because I don't really follow any newspapers in that frame of mind.
I find myself playing video games less and less, its not something that I am proud of but I think that this year is going to be very busy, and I think that I am going to have less time to escape for days to my room. However this does not mean that ill skip new releases coming out this year.
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