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.

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

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/

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.

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.

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.