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GAME DESIGN III


( NO AI WAS USED IN THE WRITING OF THIS PAPER)
 



WEEK 1  WEEK 1

 TEAMS AND GENRES

For semester 2’s formative and summative, we have been tasked to get into groups of two-three and create a game that combines two genres. One genre is chosen as a group, the other randomly assigned.

My group was given the genre of fantasy
I was relieved to hear this because fantasy is incredibly flexible in how it can be expressed. it is not strictly locked to medieval times, it can be set in many time periods, such as ancient civilizations, futuristic societies, and even the modern day!

as long as our game has fantastical elements, it will be abiding the restrictions of our first genre. and how can it not if we are the ones who are making it!


To back this up, we chose Comedy as our second genre.
This is perfect for our vision of the game which is already forming. We picture making something that follows many of the same codes and conventions as Adventure Time, set in a saterical yet surreal world very different from our own, long after the collapse of mankind. where society has overlapped and many different sentient species live harmoniously.

we begin to construct a narrative that revolves around a wizard destroying the player’s home from a far away tower immediately upon starting, which provides the player motivation to embark towards the tower to get revenge. As the player explores, they learn that everyone else in this world has also been humorously effected by the wizard.





I have been blessed with a group of creative and willing artists, who share my general taste in aesthetics and tone.
Because of this I will be starting the project’s github repo (our chosen version control) with a very simple template that I designed over the holidays.

All it contains is a unity first person starter asset, with a psx shader, a procedual skybox that allows for rapid adjustment, and a layer for objects titled “Pickup” which allows the designer to attach rigid bodies to pickup and throw any object in the scene, using a ray cast and two empties for the objects to lerp to.

This is obviously inspired by source engine games such as half life 2 and required me to research valves techniques, and eventually their design philosophies in supplying effective immersion, which I did gladly!



WEEK 2   WEEK 2


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  • CONTEXT

             
What are you making,
This week we began to plan out a potential structure fof our gameplay loop, that supports the narritive we started to conceptualise last week. 

and why?




  • RESEARCH


What inspired this idea?
● Games (!!!)
● Movies/YT Videos
● Books/Blog posts
● Game Theories
● Real life reference





  • PROCESS


● How did you do it?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● What were the issues?
Or did it all go smoothly?
 (Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● Were there iterations?

game loop concept explanation
   


● What did you learn?
Include WIP images/videos.
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)




  • REFLECTION


How did it go?
● Did it work/not work?
● Are you finished?
● Did you struggle/find it easy?
● How do you feel about it?
● Did it match the research?
● Was there a lot of iterating?
Like a reflective summary of the week.




  • ANSWERING WEEKLY QUESTION


 Consider your favourite game ever.
See how it maps to the colours of game design and write this diagram down. Does this framework provide any insights to you? Do you think it is helpful?

This section is your opinion/your
discussion surrounding your answer to the
question.






WEEK 3   WEEK 3
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  • CONTEXT

             
What are you making, and why?
 have designed this experience to capture effortless free form expression,
for the ideas to naturally flow towards us, as opposed to searching for resources I aim to capture the sponteniatiy of our souls and digitise this phenomenom 




  • RESEARCH


What inspired this idea?
● Games (!!!)
● Movies/YT Videos
● Books/Blog posts
● Game Theories
● Real life reference





  • PROCESS


● How did you do it?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● What were the issues?
Or did it all go smoothly?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● Were there iterations?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● What did you learn?
Include WIP images/videos.
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)




  • REFLECTION


How did it go?
● Did it work/not work?
● Are you finished?
● Did you struggle/find it easy?
● How do you feel about it?
● Did it match the research?
● Was there a lot of iterating?
Like a reflective summary of the week.




  • ANSWERING WEEKLY QUESTION


Pick a memorable cutscene.
Why was it memorable for you (good OR bad.)? What aspects made it memorable? How did it make you feel? What could have been improved on?



A cutscene that has always stood out to me was the introduction in EA’s FarCry 3 (2012).
This cutscene is an absolute perfect example of great design. It manages to convey SO much, with so little, while remaining entirely contexual with the game.
These are qualities I absolutely admire when I am experiencing art and world building, which is the purpose cutscenes tend to serve.

Opening with the song “paper planes” by  MIA and some 20-somethings partying while on holiday, the audience is immediately put at ease and brought into a positive headspace. 
Simultaniously, the sequence shows off a montage of the game’s world, creatures, and traversal options. (jetski, buggy, hang glider, diving, quadbike, etc)
EVEN more, this starting portion is able to convey the plot and backstories of the main character, while informing the audience names of everyone!
This is all before the 30 second mark. 
incredible. 

For the next 30 seconds, the upbeat montage continues, but with a focus on detailing the characters differences in attitude and ethics. This is soon put to an end, as we watch the main characters have a sky diving accident. With a cut, it is revealed that we have been watching our “phone footage” being played to us by the main antagonist of the game, Vaas.

The juxtaposition of this happy intro and horrifying revolation does an amazing job at ganering player interest with haste.

Vaas’ psychotic nature is then perfectly captured through his following monologue. As a player you can feel the unease and danger you have suddenly found yourself knee deep in.
I believe this is achieved through his irratic way of speaking.
VERY quiet, and suddenly! VERY loud.
VERY slow, and suddenly! VERY fast.
It establishes an unpredictable personality. which is great in holding audience engagement for a video game antagonist, or any for that matter!

Finally, we learn a some more about the plot and are thrown immediately into gameplay, seamlessly.
There is a lot to be said about how immersion was effectively catalysed through this scene, which is why i chose it as my memorable cutscene.














WEEK 4  WEEK 4


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  • CONTEXT

             
What are you making,
What are you making,

and why?
and why? 




  • RESEARCH


What inspired this idea?
● Games (!!!)
● Movies/YT Videos
● Books/Blog posts
● Game Theories
● Real life reference





  • PROCESS


● How did you do it?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● What were the issues?
Or did it all go smoothly?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● Were there iterations?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● What did you learn?
Include WIP images/videos.
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)





  • REFLECTION


How did it go?
● Did it work/not work?
● Are you finished?
● Did you struggle/find it easy?
● How do you feel about it?
● Did it match the research?
● Was there a lot of iterating?
Like a reflective summary of the week.




  • ANSWERING WEEKLY QUESTION


Find a song, or free royalty-free beat (with a link) that encapsulates the theme of your current project.
What emotions does it bring forward? How does it relate? Is it lyrics, or atmos?

This is the song “Oasis of Knowledge” by James Ferraro
from the album “Extinction Renaissance” (2017)

https://jjamesferraro.bandcamp.com/track/oasis-of-knowledge

to me, the wizard in our game represents more than a bowser-esque arbitrary antagonist. 
He represents the lack of control that we as individuals have.

the wizard is our systems
the wizard is our presidents and priminsters,
the wizard was our kings and queens,
the wizard is our abusers
the wizard is our leaders

the wizard makes life altering changes to others in order to serve their own poorly structered agenda.
promising us on a future that doesent exist.

the wizard is the true road block in human progression.
we are cohersed to die rich in his currency but bankrupt in our own.

the wizard lacks empathy but seeps greed.
no one can control what he does in his tower.

I believe these complex feelings that I can only begin to explain are able to be partly captured through this song, which simultaniously pokes fun at these issues while pointing them out, treating them saterically.
which is exactly how I choose to deal with these issues we find ourselves in. 

SONG LYRICS
“our unlatched fantasies transformed the world into an abandoned oasis of knowledge”
“a smart slum”
“enslave automation”
“mortality of resources”
“gluten free”
“carrying capacity”
“population plague”
“internet dynasty”
“refugee”
“global warming”
“famine”
“block chain”
“plague of block chain”
“online desertifcation”
“pompeii”
“luxery condo”
“waste weapon”
“synthetic exstinction”
“primitive cgi”
“amazon”
“3d printed slums”
“ikea”
“alogorythmic shell drowns”

I believe the world is burning, and the extinguisher is hidden far out of our reach.
there is certainly no point in crying about it.
so we choose to laugh.
this song aids in my expressing of this concept and feeling.




WEEK 5   WEEK 5
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  • CONTEXT

             
What are you making,
What are you making,

and why?
and why? 




  • RESEARCH


What inspired this idea?
● Games (!!!)
● Movies/YT Videos
● Books/Blog posts
● Game Theories
● Real life reference





  • PROCESS


● How did you do it?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● What were the issues?
Or did it all go smoothly?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● Were there iterations?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● What did you learn?
Include WIP images/videos.
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)





  • REFLECTION


How did it go?
● Did it work/not work?
● Are you finished?
● Did you struggle/find it easy?
● How do you feel about it?
● Did it match the research?
● Was there a lot of iterating?
Like a reflective summary of the week.




  • ANSWERING WEEKLY QUESTION

Design a quest, with multiple steps, for your current game, Plan it out as if you were designing it for implementation.
- The player exits the elevator and enters a room with similar livery.
- They are then presented with 2 buttons, one red, and one blue. 
- In the center of the back wall there is a large window, and a room on the other side
- When the player walks up to the window they see a space similar to an interigation room, or prison cell with a person panicking on a chair in the middle.
- The player is prompted that they can speak to the NPC
- The NPC notices there is someone on the other side of the window and proceeds to BEG the player to press the blue button and not the red button. 
- A timer starts decending from the ceiling, “30 seconds” to make your choice
- The NPC proceeds to beg the player desperately
- If the player presses the blue button, a door inside the interogation room opens and the “prisoner” runs out as fast as possible.
- The screen fades / a door opens ( something that brings the player to the prisoners roomn)
- and the player finds themself stuck in the same situation as the prisoner
- they must now convince the next person to press the blue button or they DIE
- If they succeed, the door will open with an exit elevator  
- If they choose the red button the prisoner (or you) will immediately explode in an unexpected and comical way
- and the elevator opens back up allowing progression


  • What type of quest is it?
Multiple outcomes, pychological question like the trolly problem

results are based on descision

  • Why is it a good quest? 
Humourous, yet thought provoking player choice and reprucution (think stanley parable)

  • What does it lend to the story of your game? 
Expands the player’s understanding of the saterical nature of the world.
shows the towers capabilities of causing life threatening experiences (adds suspense)

  • What are the possible things that could break your quest?
- Entering and immediately pressing one of the buttons without witnessing the NPCS explantation or begging may result in a disconnected experience

- Its also notable that pressing the button the NPC says NOT to press results in the lesser experience, when the player may be doing things wrong for a more interesting experience. ending in a disconnect from desire and outcome.

EG - stanley entered the door on the left,
a player who is looking for more thrill will take the right.





WEEK 6 WEEK 6



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  • CONTEXT

             
What are you making, and why?
This week I will begin to build out the floor I thought of during last weeks question to provide players with more gameplay than simply a template scene.


  • RESEARCH


What inspired this idea?
● The idea is inspired by psychologically provokative yet saterical works such as black mirror, stanly parable, rick and morty, smiling friends, etc
● Also as mentioned earlier, the trolly problem.





  • PROCESS


● How did you do it?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● What were the issues?
Or did it all go smoothly?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● Were there iterations?
(Briefly - what tutorials,
class lectures, etc.)

● What did you learn?
Include WIP images/videos.









  • REFLECTION


How did it go?
● Did it work/not work?
● Are you finished?
● Did you struggle/find it easy?
● How do you feel about it?
● Did it match the research?
● Was there a lot of iterating?
Like a reflective summary of the week.




  • ANSWERING WEEKLY QUESTION


 How did your playtesting go? Reflect & Discuss.
  • What kinds of feedback did you recieve?
  • Did you expect the feedback you got?
  • Did people understand your game, or did you have to explain it.
  • What are you going to try and implement from this feedback?

This section is your opinion/your
discussion surrounding your answer to the
question.