Week 9 Task

The most comfortable controllers I’ve used are probably the Mega Drive controller and the Gamecube controller. The Mega Drive controller was comfortable and simple so it was easy to learn (possibly the only reason my Dad ever played it).

The Gamecube controller I find to be the most comfortable of all the current generation consoles with the revised Xbox controller coming second, PS2 third and original Xbox controller dead last. As far as I’m concerned there is one problem with the controller which is the curvature at the back ends too soon so my finger tips cant quite fit comfortably if I want to use the middle of my fingers on the shoulder buttons rather than my finger tips. However this is an issue that won’t affect a lot of people as I have quite large hands. Aside from this small issue I find all the controls to be in comfortable, reachable places and the shape of the controller fits my hands almost perfectly.

As far as the actual look of consoles goes I like the look of a Black Gamecube best with the Dreamcast and PSone a close 2^nd and 3^rd however I think that the Nintendo Wii looks better than any other TV games console I’ve seen to date. I think the look of every handheld console has been excellent ever since the birth of the Gameboy Color, particularly the GBA SP.

The future of console control looks set to change with the next-gen consoles, all are wireless removing the awkwardness presented by having cables all over the floor. The Wii and PS3 controllers have a type of motion sensitive control allowing for new ways to actually play games. If the new style catches on I can see game play becoming less and less based around just control sticks, d-pads and buttons however I doubt they will go unused for a good while yet (at least until were at the point where we practically live the games anyway).

Week 8 Task And Late Night Conversation

How a story line affects the game is partly down to the players tastes but in my opinion if the game is capable of having a good storyline (Lets face it what the hell could the story behind Tetris be? “Oh no! The Russian Tsar’s palace has collapsed! Quickly build as much of it as you can before the Tsar gets back!”) then a good storyline will significantly improve the game.

Does the story happen to you or do you make the story happen? A damn difficult question to answer in my opinion because yes you make the story happen by playing the game but the story is still happening to you and it can’t be avoided unless you stop playing the game. Is this a the chicken or the egg situation? Maybe its down to your philosophy on life (is it even a philosophy or is it something else that I can’t think of a name for). Some people believe all events are predetermined therefore the story is happening to you. On the other hand some people believe that events are affected by your actions therefore your making the story happen. I personally haven’t made up my mind as to which philosophy to adopt and probably never will but I think stories in games happen to you. Nothing can happen that hasn’t been included in the game by the production team therefore how can you make the story happen when there is nothing that can happen that some programmer hasn’t already prepared to happen.

After writing the above I started thinking about Tetris and Burnout and other similar games with little or no story and got myself a bit confused so I decided to have a chat with fellow class mate Megan on MSN messenger (I apologise for the spelling but it was 2:00 am ish and I got up early today):

Alex says:

now what will you fill your head with?

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

squiggles

Alex says:

lol

Alex says:

this does a story happen to you or do you make the story thing is awkward

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

i put

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

the story is alredy writtan, and cant be changed

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

but the player needs to live the story to make it

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

happen

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

the story is worthless without the player really

Alex says:

true. im having more trouble when i think about things like tetris and burnout

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

i think every game has a story line

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

it may be really basic, but its still there

Alex says:

basically those games have little or no story and in the absense of the story you make your own based on on your choice of block position or how well you do in a race

Alex says:

therefor the story must be made by the player but if thats the case then it must happen in any game where you have any level of choise in what you do

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

hmmmmm

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

good point

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

but there are limitations to a game, so the decisions are allways met by boundries

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

in that sense you cant just do whatever u want, its still guided by the game

Alex says:

but that doesnt change the fact that it is virtually impossible to completely recreate another players actions so every time you play you get a new story. its just the only difference between some storys is the player stpped right in one story and left in the other or something similar

Alex says:

only very basic games can be completely replayed in the exact same way and those games cant have any level of randomly occuring event

Alex says:

even then the player would still be getting a slightly different story unless everything was done at the same speed as the other player that played the stroy before

ACTION BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

you make good...yet complex points

Alex says:

i know. im not even entirely sure what i said for half the time lol

Alex says:

MORE SUGAR!!!

Do all games have a story? No but it seems to me that each time you play a game a new story is generated but its not so much the game’s story as it is your story of how you played the game and are each unique if sometimes only in a small way.

I hope that satisfies this week’s task because I’m going to pass out now.

Week 7 Task

What does an Art Director do?

An art director coordinates the efforts of all the game artists and cooperates with the animation director and chief programmer to produce a game to the specifications of the project director.

Who are they responsible to?

The project director, the owner of the company and anyone else with higher authority than the art director.

Do you think it’s a creative role?

Yes although the project guidelines will determine how creative. If there is a very strict specification to stick to the creativity will be significantly reduced as all the major creative decisions would have already been made by the project director and anyone else who had a hand in writing the specification. On the other hand if the specification is quite vague the art director has an opportunity to basically design his/her own game.

How is art direction in Games similar to or different from Film, for example?

When I first read this question I thought I’d be able to list a number of differences but no that I’v actually got round to answering it I realise that the two different types of media direction are pretty damn similar. Every time I think of a way they are different I think of a reason why that difference is invalid.

What qualities do you think you’d need to develop if you want to become an Art Director in the future?

Leadership skills, art skills (story boarding and concept art in particular to help describe the art directors ideas), multitasking, communication skills, computer skills (3D modelling, understanding of programming and programming limitations) and time management. There are probably other things aswell but I cant think what they are at the moment.

Week 6 Task

What is meant by Gameplay?

Gameplay is a term used to describe the interaction between an individual and a game.

Who are the leading lights in Game Design?

I’d say the business analysts are probably the most responsible for whether or not a game is made rather than the people who actually work on the game as if the business analysts don’t think there’s a market for the game (whether there is or not) then the game wont get made.

Where does Game Design take place in the modern Developer?

In the “GWP” (“game waterfall process” http://www.gamedev.net/columns/gameengineering/gup/ ) the actual game design process seems to start at step three with the exception of the original conception of the game idea. I don’t know of any other kind of process that is in use by game developers but this process seems to fit what I already knew about the game development process.

Is it a single person's responsibility?

Depends on the complexity of the game. In early computer games it was possible for one person to make an entire game let alone handle every bit of design work but as games get more advanced a need for more man power is required (not that its impossible for one person to make an up to date advanced game it would just take a very very very very very long time). These days game design is split into different categories such as character design and level design with a number of different people working on each category. The only way it can possibly be narrowed down to being one person’s responsibility is if you pin the responsibility on the person in charge of orchestrating everyone working on the game design team.

Do different genres require different design principles?

The generally shouldn’t but I’d expect there are exceptions (though I can’t think of any at the moment).

What's important for you, when you play?

Depends on the type of game. Puzzle games for example just need to look okay and play well, FPS on the other hand also need some kind of story line and a good variation on how I can go about my business in the game (multiple weapon choices, different ways of achieving objectives etc). In general the game needs to play well, look good and have a good story where possible. Most important is it has to be fun and if it can be played cooperatively or have some kind of multiplayer then that’s a huge bonus as is general replayability and game life.

Week 5 Task

I apologize for this week’s task. I had real trouble writing it.

What issues face reviewers?

At present gaming magazines are in something of a slump so reviewers writing for magazines may have to deal with job cutback issues but reviewers in general have to deal with issues involving the rising cost of games and how worth the money they are. Should a reviewer give a game high praise and then people who buy the game find it to be less than what they were expecting and there by not worth the money then the magazine or website that the reviewer works for may lose valuable readers as they no longer trust the reviews.

Who pays reviewers?

Magazine companies in the case of magazines and probably advertising popup agencies in the case of internet reviewers.

Is an objective ranking system for games necessary for sales, is it even feasible?

I wouldn’t say an objective ranking system is necessary but it can help/hinder how well a game sells. For example if I read a review in which a game scored 50% or less (or less than half in any ranking system you can think of) it would have to have something unique or something relevant to my taste in games for me to even consider buying it. On the other hand if a game that normally wouldn’t present much appeal to me scored something like 95% or 10/10 I may eventually buy that game because according to someone who rates games for a living that game is well worth the money.

What are your feelings about the NGJ?

When I first looked at a NGJ I was somewhat confused because the author seemed to be presenting a report of some kind of surreal dream. It went on to reveal that all these weird things had happened in an internet game. I think NGJs are interesting combinations of story telling, creative writing and actual reviewing

What are the particular qualities of NGJ?

It is not worded like a typical review, more like someone talking to a friend about there experience with the game or maybe a detailed diary entry. In some it even seems like a kind of formal report documenting everything that happened…..in fact they seem a lot like blogs (and a lot of them are).

What other forms of games writing can you find?

Nothing really. I’ve found reviews, NGJs and that’s pretty much it. I’m sure there are others (Would this question be suggested if there weren’t?) and maybe I’ve even seen some and just not recognised the differences but there’s no other forms of games writing I can put a name to short of discussion boards and maybe at a stretch some web comics.

How do you feel about your own writing, do you value objectivity or subjectivity?

I think I try to write objectively and fail rather badly.