Unity free tutorials

Unity free tutorials

So this week I have been so busy with college work like creating a magazine, a short video, a website and my group project so that I only had time to complete one Unity tutorial however it was a useful one and I learned more on how to build my game, Air hockey. So far I have created the hockey table and I am enjoying the process. This is the tutorial I followed on youtube, I found it easy to follow and the narrator is easy to understand albeit the foreign accent.

I learned how to add a puck and barriers and got the paddle to move using the mouse so the player can hit the puck in the game. I also utilised Unitys built in physics for the movement of the puck. There was a bit of c sharp in this tutorial which  completed without any hassle. I am enjoying these tutorials and will be watching and completing the rest of them whilst making my own changes of course to make the game my own.

Games testing

Game testing

Personally for me when I try to give constructive criticism I tend to be shy and not really pick out flaws in peoples work or let them know what I would do differently or how they can improve. I feel like everyones work flow works differently and if they feel like their particular piece of work works for them then thats cool who am I to tell them differently. I do however understand that constructive criticism is very useful to people when given in the right way. We all know that person that just speaks their mind with no filter. In reading 'Giving criticism - the good, the bad, and the ugly!' I learned that the only way to criticise without causing a fuss is to use constructive criticism.

I found this article interesting and useful as it tells you how to give proper constructive criticism, why it can be a good thing and some examples. Constructive criticism is the act of finding a flaw in something and providing possible fixes or how to do it better.

https://personalexcellence.co/blog/constructive-criticism/ - Tips on how to give constructive criticism.

https://learning.linkedin.com/blog/learning-tips/the-8-characteristics-of-effective-constructive-criticism - Characteristics of effective criticism.

https://www.snagajob.com/resources/constructive-criticism-is-a-good-thing-really/ - Why criticism is a good thing.

Unity Free Tutorials

Unity free tutorials

As the weeks go by I would like to believe that I am getting somewhat better at using the Unity software to create my game. At first it was honestly so confusing and there was so much to learn about it but I feel like I am improving, slowly but surely. The most difficult part of Unity in my opinion is the c#, It sometimes doesn't work and can be a bit tedious.

The first tutorial I followed and done was this one

 by Jimmy Vegas himself and it was on how to create a basic scoreboard for your game. As I am creating a game that involves score counting I thought this tutorial would be a good one to do.

This tutorial went well for me as it was easy enough to follow and the result was a basic scoreboard. 

The code opened up mono develop and after a few attempts it worked for me.

The second tutorial I followed was the first episode of a series on how to make an air hockey game

This tutorial started at the very start assuming that you are a beginner using unity. I really enjoyed this tutorial as it was easy to follow and the guy talking was clear and explained everything well. He went through some coding at the start which I completed well. I enjoyed the freedom from our lecturer this week to allow us to find tutorials to follow that were specific to our game.

Game stories

Game stories

I am enjoying learning about games and what makes a game a game and the different rules associated with one. It is interesting to learn the different aspects of a game that draws the player in such as narrative and features. In reading "Challenges for game designers" by Brathwaite and Schreiber I noticed that there is a lot of information in the 19 pages of chapter 7 so I skimmed though the chapter and took bits here and there. I read the passage about Jason Rohrer where he talks about the time he played a game that nearly made him cry. His story is very interesting and fun to read and I found it intriguing how Jason gives away his software and games for free however he does receive donations on his website. The intelligent man living in New York city has a degree in computer science and has a fully implemented garden out the back. He is a man living the dream in the best city in the world. 

Five ways games appeal to players

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/168807/five_ways_games_appeal_to_players.php

5 tips to make your game more appealing

https://ruxar.com/making-your-game-appealing-to-letsplayers/

Tips for building a better game

https://www.creativebloq.com/inspiration/10-tips-building-better-game-5126304

First playable

First playable

So to be honest I don't have a complete first playable game developed yet as I've been up to my eyes in other work and some personal stuff going on at home, but Im still going to post my thoughts in the blog. Regarding unity it's a love/hate affair at the moment! I can follow tutorial videos perfectly with no hassle but when it comes to the C sharp code for some reason sometimes when I do it It doesn't work for me and I end up being confused and frustrated with it. As my group project presentation and booklet are now done I can focus on my game and get a first playable version of it done this week. I am going to spend more time watching unity tutorials and learning different tips to improve my game as I want to create the best game I can.

Week 8 reading and writing

Week 8 reading and writing

So we are half way through the blogs for this semester and it's crazy to think how fast time has gone by. I remember sitting down on my computer at home getting ready to write my first blog with nervous excitement. 'Am i a blogger now' I thought to myself and I typed out my first few words introducing myself to Shaun and the rest of the class. At the start I wasn't completely confident in writing or how to engage the reader or how I should even be writing, but fast forward a couple of months and I feel more confident now. My spelling has massively improved, (before I had to look up some words on google to make sure I was spelling them right) I am getting more consistent in using capital I's and I feel like my typing speed has improved, practice makes perfect! From the beginning I loved the freedom and flexibility that Shaun has given us to write our blogs before the Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday deadline's. Overall I think that the reading and writing assignments are working well for me because they allow me to take my time when writing them to write good quality text. I enjoy writing and expressing myself and I feel that it helps with your spelling and sentence structure. So far my faveourite blog has been either the very first one where I introduced myself or the game design blog. In the game design blog I discussed what really is a game and different definitions for it. I included bullet points on what makes a game a game anf so on. Over the last while I have been using a new strategie to help me write my blogs better and help me get the best information for my blogs. Whilst reading the blogs I have been jotting down notes and bullet points on a notepad beside me and then when I am writing my blog I use the notes to write key points whilst also looking at the readings. I feel that my biggest accomplishment in this class is making time for myself to write blogs.  I am usually a last minuite kind of guy but this year I am allowing much more time for myself to do work and get things done.

I chose this image to put into this blog as it kind of represents my childhood, not all of it just a part of it lol. When I was younger and growing up the PlayStation was my main toy I used to play with with my friends and brother. I started off with the PlayStation 1 which I received for Christmas one year and then swiftly moved on to the PlayStation 2. I enjoyed playing games such as fifa and crash bandicoot with my brother and there was always fierce battles. Moving through to playstation 3 which I still have today and the console that I play on now is the , you guessed it, PlayStation 7. Only joking, PlayStation 4.  My faveourite game at the moment is The very popular Fortnite which is the biggest most popular game this year. With the playststion 5 supposedly coming out next year I’ll be sure to buy it and continue the journey. 

Game fun

Game Fun

When playing games people have fun of course but whilst playing a game no matter what the game is you are probably learning and you don't even know it. Your subconscious brain is learning and picking up new things all the time that you are playing and you don't even realise. I read Gamasutra's top games of the year in 2014 and honestly I have only heard of one of them. I am a playstation dude as are many others but some prefer xbox and pc. I played some pc games when i was younger before my parents bought me a playstation and when we had a terrible toshiba computer. (I think it was Toshiba) Pc games are very popular and many people play them. In 2014 Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker seemed to be the game of the year according to Gamasutra. Its a game featuring puzzles and toys so if you are a bit younger you would enjoy it. 

When I was younger and in the peak of my computer playing days my favourite game was a game where you had the choice of 30 different materials like wood, metal, said, water and tnt and you could built random things and blow things up. After a bit or research I can't find the name of the game and I don't think it exists anymore. Those were the days where I would come home from a busy day of 4th class primary school and sit playing that game for a while before starting my homework. 

There are many types of fun and different games give different types to players.

8 types of fun

https://www.scirra.com/tutorials/434/game-design-8-kinds-of-fun

Ways to make your favourite game feel new again 

https://kotaku.com/10-ways-to-make-your-favorite-games-feel-new-again-1696774890

Be excited again

https://www.giantbomb.com/forums/general-discussion-30/video-games-i-need-to-be-excited-again-1462935/

Final GDD

Final GDD

So since coming back to finalising my GDD I have realised that I need to put much more information into it than I originally thought. The GDD is like a template of exactly what is needed in your final game. It lists everything from introduction to players to music to key features. On some of the topics that you must write about I found it quite difficult to write about them as I think some of the headings were more suitable for other types of games like adventure games. I also didn't know what to write for what software it will run on (well obviously unity) but what specific requirements will it run on. I found it overall ok to describe my game as i know what i want it to be/look like and how it is going to play. Here is a link to my updated Dundoc GDD.

https://www.dundoc.com/project/4764/game-design-documents

Game decisions

Game Decisions

Its week 6! The weeks are really flying in this semester and I'm really enjoying writing these blogs each week. The first reading is one about a book called "Challenges for game designers"by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber. This book challenges the readers to improve their brainstorming abilities and to sharpen their game design skills. From the 36 reviews on the website amazon.com the book has received 89% 5 star reviews. The vast majority of the users seem to love it. One reviewer says how the book is "crucial in understanding the fundamentals of how game design works" which would be very useful for me and my year group for this module. 

"Theory of fun for game design" by Raph Koster is a similar book however this one is not your typical how-to book. It gives readers a fun way to create and improve their designs through the book. 80% of the 79 reviews are in the 4 and 5 star bracket which shows it is a very good book. I would love if these books were discussed in our classes and we were given tasks to complete on them as they seem very knowledgable and informative. 

A link to another great game design book.

A link to things you should know about game design.

10 tips for game developers.

Game Design Document.

Game Design Document.

My first impressions on creating a GDD is that there is a lot of work and information that is needed to be in it which caught me by surprise. I feel that it is good for a game designer to make one as it helps structure your game and makes sure you have everything you need to have in the game. A si don't know some headings for my GDD yet i have left them blank and will add to it over time as I progress. Here is a long to my GDD so far. 

https://www.dundoc.com/project/4764/game-design-documents

screenshot of an air hockey game format that I like.  Link here. 

Games GDD

Games GDD

In the magazine Design Considerations by Greg Aleknevicus he gives us a list of his ideas and suggestions that he thinks increase a games appeal to the audience or buyer. He goes through components of games and outlines simple tips and different ways to make a game more enjoyable to play, for example he explains how the game creator for board games should use different colours and shapes for the pieces. He describes how the games should be played out properly and there should be no clutter so the players can play more easily. In card games Greg says how the cards should have the number of the card on each corner so that you don't have to keep switching the cards around in your hand as this is annoying for the player. He briefly goes through the themes of games and also many different rules. 

https://www.udemy.com/boardgames/?utm_source=adwords-learn&utm_medium=udemyads&utm_campaign=NEW-AW-PROS-TECH-ROW-DSA-1-EN-EURO_._ci__._sl_ENG_._vi_TECH_._sd_All_._la_EN_._&utm_content=deal4584&utm_term=_._ag_57696320391_._ad_267562974198_._de_c_._dm__._pl__._ti_dsa-334302743929_._li_1007850_._pd__._&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjbveBRDVARIsAKxH7vlKXF-b45me_5NIIacYKUZjhzS3ok6gtNT8fThhG4A1iSJF2DX-V7gaApALEALw_wcB

This is a link to a website which helps you in creating your own board game, although it comes with a fee.

https://geekandsundry.com/6-must-know-game-design-tips-from-the-creative-director-of-fluxx/

This is a small article showing 6 must knows on making a board game.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-Own-Board-Game/

Here is another article written by a man who loves board games. He shares his methods on creating one.

Unity tutorial 03.

Clock.

In this weeks Unity tutorial it was a bit of a change as the tutorial was step by step instructions through reading. I was getting used to the Jimmy Vegas youtube video tutorials so I wasn't expecting a written one. And to be honest I found it easier to follow the video tutorial because I could listen to him speak and follow his instructions but in the reading tutorial I found it challenging to follow as there was a lot of text and I sometimes got confused as to which instructions I had to apply to my Unity project. Saying all this I still got through it and it was ok! In this tutorial I enjoyed changing the different position, rotation and scales as it is satisfying watching them change in real time and working for you. Adding each hour indicator was a bit tedious but not a big deal. It was nice to see the colour drag and drop work for me as I struggled with that for some reason in the last Unity project. The coding part of unity projects isn't my favourite and today it took me a bit of time to get it done but I got there in the end. Overall this project was fun although I do prefer the video tutorials!

Screenshot of my unity project.

Feedback Strategies

Feedback Strategies 

In the articles I read I mainly learned how to give feedback without sounding like a jerk. Its hard to give feedback to someone who you feel is superior to you or older than you and in reading Adam Grants article " How to give feedback without sounding like a jerk" he explains all this expertly.  I took many positive tips from this article like when he says you should first tell the person you are giving advine to why you are giving them that advice. Be nice and don't come across as if you know it all, take yourself off any pedestal. You should ask the person if they even want any feedback as they may not. This simple article is a quick read and has many top tips.

"Why do managers avoid giving praise" by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman stood out for me in this list of articles as I work in retail and my father is my boss. As you would imagine I do have it easy in work and I also kind of get an inside look on how he praises staff. In a survey 21% of managers avoid giving negative feedback and i can see this in my work as my Dad is a very nice guy and rarely gives out to staff or gives negative feedback. I believe he should give feedback where it is important to allow the staff to understand where they went right/wrong and how they can perform better the next time. It is important so that the staff can do their job as best as possible. I really enjoyed reading this article as I could relate to it! 

Giving and Receiving feedback. Link:

https://www.lynda.com/Leadership-Management-tutorials/Giving-Receiving-Feedback/622053-2.html

Game Idea Research

Game idea research.

So after some tough decision making I have decided to go with a completely different idea and research more on a very popular arcade game. I do not know the official name for this game so I will call it air hockey. The game looks like this and i plan to make it an online game. 

link to image here.

I think this game would be more fun to play than my original ideas and I am going to go for this game.  Now I will outline some game mechanics:

Game mechanics:

1. Reactions:  The players must use their reactions to hit the saucer away and protect their goal. If your reactions are not fast the opponent will score a goal.

2. Precision: In order to hit the saucer and send it in the direction you want you must hit the saucer with your puck in the precise location so it goes where you want it to. When the saucer is coming at you fast from your opponent both reaction speed and precision come in to play. The player with the better set of skills will prevail!

3.Customisation: I plan to allow the user to be able to choose the color of the table, the puck and the saucer at the main menu. This allows the player to choose his/her favourite colors and makes the game a bit more fun. You could also play 2 player with your friend using the keyboard or by yourself against the computer.

Here is a link to a website that has a game similar to the one i want to create.

https://www.miniclip.com/games/electro-air-hockey/en/

Unity Tutorial 02

Unity tutorial 02

In this weeks tutorial Jimmy Vegas was showing us more about how to add audio to our game and also how to allow objects to rotate. He showed us how to improve the graphics of our game which i enjoyed doing however I did have some struggles with unity. In doing tutorial 4 I found it hard to add the script to the game, I followed the tutorial as best I could however the script would not go into the game no matter what I tried and I ended up frustrated. I Think i am mixing up the script in unity with HTML from web design! Sometimes i got a bit confused and lost with all the folders that we needed to create and I found that I was slow to keep up with Jimmy. I enjoyed creating walls and other objects and experimenting and playing around with unity. My creative thinking is good and I feel that i am good at designing the actual game but I feel that I struggle slightly with the code. I also need to get used to using the mouse to navigate around the map although I have an apple mouse and I think it may be harder to navigate using this mouse. Overall I really enjoy these tutorials as Jimmy's voice is calming and he is a good teacher!

Screenshot from my unity.

Game elements

Game Elements

Upon reading the reviews for the book "Challenges for game designers" It appears that the book received a very positive response from readers as many that reviewed the book are game designers or game developers. When designing a game it is crucial that you know the right steps to take and the right procedure to follow. The book is written by Brenda Brathwaite who has 30 years of experience in the industry. this book will help all game designers improve their brainstorming abilities and sharpen your game design skills whilst giving you the knowledge to design a game properly. In one customer reviews the person says that he bought the book twice after he lost his first cope, thats how much it meant to him. Another user says how "this book is a must buy for anyone wanting to get into making video games. According to many satisfied users this is one of the few books thats focused on game design rather than game development. I am thinking about buying this book myself since these reviews are so good as i feel it would help me with my game design skills. 

Link to photo of book.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/233119/best_of_2014_gamasutras_top_.php

This is a link to the 2014 top games voted by Gamasutra. 

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/311921/Gamasutras_Best_of_2017_The_top_10_games_of_the_year.php

Here are Gamasutras top games from 2017.

https://www.mockplus.com/blog/post/web-design-articles-2018

 This is a link to the top 10 web design articles that are worth reading.

Feedback thoughts.

Feedback thoughts

The first article i read was 'seven ways to crush doubt in creative work' by John Spencer and I have to say I learned a lot from this article. I am a worry'er and overall nervous person so when i am doing work and others can see it i'm always worrying of what they think of my work. I learned that you should never ever compare yourself to anyone else. We were all made differently and no one is the same on this planet. I learned that you should adapt a growth mindset and to not be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes make you learn so it is okay to make them as long as you learn from them. The most important piece of advice for me in this article is to trust yourself. Sometimes a bit of self confidence is all you need and sometimes you must have faith in yourself and as Nike says, 'just do it'!

In the second article i read called 'A fixed mindset could be holding you back- heres how to change it' by Ann Arnold and Anna Kelsey-Sugg  the article says how always praising little children could actually make them turn out to be brittle, fragile children. This leads to a fixed mindset for the child. Raising a child telling them that they are brilliant at everything leads them to believe that they dont need to develop any more skills. Someone with a growth mindset believes that intelligence and ability is changeable and that you can develop and learn. This can have the same effect on adults in work. Someone may think that they know it all and wont work to develop their skills and this may lead them to not getting that promotion or that new job ahead of someone else who worked hard to develop their skills.

I really enjoyed reading these articles and took some tips for myself. 

Game brainstorm

Game brainstorm

I have chosen to brainstorm about these four games as they all seem fun, enjoyable and suitible for all ages.

Game 1: Dodge.

This game would be designed on the computer using game designing software and it would be a digital game. The idea for the game is that several 'bad guys' will fall from the top of the screen and the player must try and avoid them using either the arrow keys or the mouse. The longer the player lasts in the game the faster the bad guys will fall and the higher the score. Another idea for the game is the longer the game goes on the bad guys begin to come from different angles on the screen and they begin to change size eg bigger and smaller bad guys. I plan for the background of the game to be black, the bad guys to be red and the controlling guy blue. I like the idea for this game as it is simple to play, does not have many rules and is fun for all ages. I like the idea that friends could play together and battle it out to see who can get the highest score. Growing up when me and my brother were younger we used to play games like this one on our old computer so I believe this will bring back some memories and is why I am interested I creating this game. I have no previous knowledge in creating games like this however I have played games similar to this one so I believe it is a good idea. I plan to use a program like unity to create this game if I were to choose it as it is the leading online engine for making games.

https://www.kongregate.com/games/platky/mouse-dodge

Game 2: Sliding puzzle game.

When i was younger and still to this day i always loved puzzle games. I sometimes play candycrush on my phone when i'm on a bus or whatever as I feel they pass time quickly and are good for the mind. My mother loves playing pzuudle styled games so this one was inspired by her love for them. The games is simple to play would be fun for all ages. The idea for the game is to have a big square shape on the screen. The square would be filled with 10-20 smaller squares each with their own number on them.(1-10 or 1-20) However there will be one small square missing from the big one and the objective of the game is to slide all the squares around until they are all in order from 1-10/20. There would be different levels with the easiest level only having maybe 5-10 numbers, the medium difficulty level having 20-30 numbers and the hardest level having 30-50 numbers. Players could work their way up beginning on the easiest level and work their way up to the hardest. A possible feature is that the player must start on the easiest level and he/she is not able to progress to the next level without having completed the previous level. The user would be able to choose the colour of the square for customisation and there would be a sound effect once the square is completed. Another variation of this game is where you could have a random picture cut up into loads of different squares and the player must slide the squares around to get the picture to fit together again. The player would use the mouse to clich and drag squares.

https://www.proprofs.com/games/puzzle/sliding/

Game 3: Connect 4.

This game was the game that brings memories back as me and my younger brother used to battle it out every day for the crown of connect 4 champion. This game is probably the first game I can really remember playing. It was so fun to play and you could play it for hours upon hours without getting bored. I intend to make this game on a computer software and it will be a 2D game. Everyone knows this game but i will explain how it works for anyone who hasn't had the privilege of playing it. You begin with a board that stands upright with holes at the top. The most commonly used connect 4 board size is seven columns by six rows however size variations include 5x4, 6x5 and 8x7. Each player gets their own set of coloured coin shape disks. The aim of the game is to drop the disks into the holes where the disks occupy the lowest space. The first one to get four disks in a row vertically, horizontally or diagonally is declared the winner. The tricky part of the game is whilst you are trying to get your disks to form four in a row, you must also pay attention to your opponent to try and prevent him from doing the same. I believe this would be a fun game for parents to play with their children or for friends to play together. I have previously played this game in the physical format so this would give me an idea of how the game should be played and how to design it.

http://www.ludoteka.com/connect-4.html

Game 4: Nibbles.

This is also a game that brings back memories from my childhood as I used to play this game on my old nokie phone, I believe the game was called snake. When i got my first phone, a nokia, I was obsessed with playing this exciting game. The game has a black screen on the background and then begins with a small green snake on the screen. There is a little red dot on the screen which is food for the snake. The idea of the games is to use the arrow keys on the keyboard to change direction of the snake as it moves around and try and direct it so that it runs into the food and eats it. As the game goes on the snake begins to grow with every bit of food it eats. The speed that the snake is traveling in also increases which makes the game more difficult. The games gets harder to play the longer you play for, which is essencially leveling up. This game is a classic and would never get old and that is why I would love to ,ake my own version of it with possible different colours. I could also add audio to the game to give it some life. This game is perfect for anyone who has a spare few minuites or has nothing to do or simply would love a quick game.

https://playsnake.org/

Unity Tutorial 01

Unity tutorial 1

Unity is the worlds leading real time engine for creating games on a PC. Unity is a visual engine ad is excellent to use for any aspiring game developers. The interface is highly customisable giving the user the ability to adapt the display to suit him/her. I found the three part Unity game engine tutorials by Jimmy Vegas very useful as he very expertly guides the viewer through the engine from the very beginning assuming you know nothing and are a beginner. You can use the engine on several different platforms such as PC, xbox, ps4, android and ios. The software is object orientated but also uses some code. In tutorial 1 Jimmy gives us a basic overview o it whilst showing us how to do some basics like creating shapes. In tutorial 2 he shows us how to add different terrains and how to import different textures and materials. He demonstrated how to download textures on their website and then create folders to drag and drop them into. He showed us how to use the opacity to create paths in terrain which I found interesting. In watching these tutorials I learned how to create the basics of a game and I enjoyed how well Jimmy guided me through everything, he was easy to follow.

link to image

Game Design

Game Design

What is a game? This is the question that there is no actual definition on as many people have different definitions. I think a game is an activity that one engages in for amusement or for fun, usually containing rules and some conflict between players. There are many different types of games people can play such as online multiplayer, simulations, adventure, real time strategy, puzzle, action, stealth shooter, combat and many more.

In reading through an article named 'Don't be a vidiot, What computer game designers can learn from non-electronic games' By Greg Costikyan he explained how 3D graphic adventure is somehow qualitatively different from a 2D game, meaning that innovation nowadays is more focused on technology rather than creativity in game design. Game developers are more interested in what the game looks like rather than how it plays. This may be due to the competitive market with stores like Smyths stocking hundreds of different games on their shelves. 

It seems that online games are much more popular now than board games as more people have access to the internet and technology. These days people can download games to play with their friends on their mobile phones rather than playing board or card games. This seems cool and futuristic but sometimes you can't beat a good board or card game. It seems like the days of all the family sitting around the table and enjoying a good board game are numbered. 

Greg also says how game developers can't really fail if they don't make games for big companies such as EA or GT. Perhaps thats why there are lots of games out there that just art that good.

In reading the article "The essence of euro-styled games" by Lewis Pulsipher it seems that there was an era where Euro style board games became very popular and are still popular today. A Euro style board game has a few characteristics that define it:

• Usually takes under an hour to play
• Simple rules
• No player eliminations
• Great visual interest
• Short intervals between playing
• Very pacific

Video game design is the process of designing the content and rules of a video game, the gameplay, environment, storyline and the characters in a game. It is the production stage of a new game. In Lewis Pulsipher's article "so your going to make a game for the very first time?" he explains how there are several steps (6) in creating a game for the first time. These are:

1. You are better off making a table top or board game if your web programming skills are not that great.
2. Make a game based on another game as this will make it faster to get to the point where you can play it.
3. Try and pick a form of game that is fairly common, nothing out of the ordinary. 
4. Focus on gameplay not appearance.
5. Once you have the prototype play it yourself as it coule be rubbish to actually play.
6. Once all that is done you can modify the game which takes up a lot of time.

I thought this was an interesting article by Lewis and i enjoyed reading it. 

Here are three links to articles that i found useful to read on the topic of game development:

https://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/articles/how-to-learn-board-game-design-and-development--gamedev-11607

https://thejournal.com/articles/2015/02/18/beyond-programming-the-power-of-making-games.aspx

https://techbeacon.com/4-fundamentals-mobile-game-design

Photo of game developers office from Epic Games.

Time Strategies.

Time Strategies.

I am a person that tends to leave everything to the last minute. From getting my football gear ready before a match on the weekends, to getting out of bed in the morning for college I'm always leaving things until the last minute. Its a bad habit to have and I need to change it. I tend to procrastinate about doing things. For this semester I am going to work hard at doing assignments as soon as I get them and get them done so I don't have to be worrying about them during the week. I am going to try and work ahead in this module and get all the work done way before their due dates. I am going to allocate some time every night when i get home to make sure i am up to date and that i have my work done. I read "How to beat procrastination" https://hbr.org/2016/07/how-to-beat-procrastination by Caroline Webb and one thing i found useful was how she tells you to visualise how great it will feel once you get it done. This gives you motivation and makes you want to just get it done and then relax after knowing its done. In "11 ways unsuccessful people manage their time" http://uk.businessinsider.com/some-common-time-managements-fails-2016-7?r=US&IR=Tby Aine Cain she explains how people need to have a schedule in order to be successful and manage your time correctly. This will be something that I will definitely be doing. 

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Technology

Technology

I am fairly familiar with blogging at this stage from completing a few already so thats no problem. I have never really bookmarked any pages or websites before so that will be interesting to see if it helps me organise important pages and keep them all together. I am excited to learn how to use image editing and also learn how to create my own graphics over the coming weeks as that will help my work look more appealing and also it will be fun to learn. I have bookmarked the class calendar page just there so that's my first bookmark done! 

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More about class assignments.

More about class assignments.

My first impressions about this module and the things we will be doing is that I am happy and looking forward to the different topics we will cover such as the tech tasks and Wikipedia trails. The module seems flexible as you can tailor the tasks you do to suit yourself in some situations. I like the way you can do extra assignments in order to finish up early. This seems different to other modules as it feels more relaxed and I feel like I have more room for discussing things i like and interacting with new people in my class through reading their blog posts. I like the look of the extra credit tasks like the tech tasks as i am interested in technology, so I will be completing this past in the future. Overall I am looking forward to completing different tasks in this module !

Link to image of guy happy on computer.

Introduction.

Introduction

Hi there! My name is Anthony McElearney and I am 21 years old. I have brown hair, green eyes and stand at about 6 foot tall. I was born down South in County Wexford but moved to Meath when i was around 2. I am very sporty and enjoy all kinds of sports. Growing up i played soccer, Gaa football, athletics and tried my hand at other sports like hurling and swimming. Currently the only sport i play is Gaa football for my local club Donaghmore/Ashbourne and my position is a midfielder. I like to go to the gym also on the days that i don't have any football training. I finished secondary school in 2015  where I attended Ashbourne Community School which i loved. I live in Ashbourne Co. Meath with my Mam, Dad, brother and sister. I have a pet dog named Nibbles who is a Bichon Frise and is 10 years old. I Like to go out on the weekends to party and have a few drinks.  If I had to describe myself in 3 words I would say that I am fun, sporty and chilled. I love traveling and seeing different places and different things and I get bored easily if I sit at home all day. I have been to several different countries such as America, England, Spain, Portugal, France and Holland. I plan on going inter-railing around Europe next summer to see as much of the world as I can. I own a 2006 Volkswagen Golf and i really enjoy driving it. I live about 15 minutes away from college so it doesn't take too long to get to which is handy. I have a full driving licence which I got 2 years ago. My favourite time of the year has to be the summer because I hate the cold and love the sun. I hope this gives you a little insight into my life and tells you a little bit about me ! Anthony.

Workshop 01.

Workshop 01

After a long few months chilling and hanging out with family and friends I'm back in college and honestly looking forward to the year ahead. In todays blog I will be talking about workshop 1 in the module Multimedia development 1. I entered the room excited to see me college friends again after the summer holidays and I was excited to get to work. Our lecturer Shaun introduced himself to the class and began telling us about the module and some of the things we were going to be doing in the module over the coming weeks. Shaun told us that we would be writing a blog every week and uploading it to blogger.com. I was excited yet anxious about this as I have never bloged before nor am i familiar with blogging or really know what is all about. We found out about the grading system for the module and Shaun just gave us an overview of the module. We then began doing an animation part of the traffic light exercise in class in groups of 4. We described in plain english how the traffic light system works.  I was with my friends so I was comfortable with my group. I really enjoy working in groups because it allows everyone to learn from each other and also have a bit of fun while working. Overall i enjoyed the experience and would recommend group work for other modules.  Group work also allows you to meet new people in your class that you wouldn't usually talk to and make new friends. I feel that once doing an exercise it helps when you write about it afterwards as it makes you think about what you actually done and refreshes your memory whilst also documenting the work you do. I am enjoying writing these blogs so see you next time! 

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Favourite game; Fortnite.

My Favourite Game; Fortnite.

Fortnite image

The most played game in recent time Fortnite has taken the world by storm. Since its release in 2017 millions of men, women and children had downloaded the game and played to their hearts content. The game comes on playstation, xbox and pc and the best thing about it is that its completely free to download making it very very popular. The most popular game mode to play is the Battle Royal mode where players can play alone or team up as a duo or squad to battle it out with 100 different player as the last man (duo or squad) standing wins. This game is extremely addictive so i would not advise downloading it if you have any exams or work etc coming up as you will be instantly hooked! The bright colours create a fun atmosphere to play in and with the ever changing weapons you can use the game never gets boring. The game has caused some controversy in the news as people all around the world are becoming so addicted to the game that their relationships and social skills suffer and their school grades become worse. If you are skilled enough at the game there are competitions you can enter mostly in the uk and usa that allow you to win thousands of dollars if you come out on top! What a game.

Test Blog.

This is my test blog for Multimedia Development 1!