More Map Research

Here are a few maps that I found in my research that I found really interesting

Reconstruction of Homer's view of the world / from Landström, B., 1964

14th century Korean star map

World without water. Dutch, 1690.

A Korean map from the 1800s, entitled “Map of Heaven and Earth

a map of Pangaea - the Earth 240 million years ago

Europe as a Queen - Munster's map of Europe in the shape of a Queen. During the late 16th Century, a few map makers created these now highly prized map images, wherein countries and continents were given human or animal forms. Among the earliest examples is this map of Europe.  A nice example in full color, from a German edition of Munster's Cosmographia, first published in 1545, but continuously expanded thereafter until the 1620s.

Play Testing Week 1

Deadspace II : On Xbox 360
I was only allowed to play on the game for 10 minutes and did start from the start, but what I experience was Awesome! The game really made me panic, I know that if it wasn't for being in a bright room with the whole class behind me I would of really been scared. Im one of those players that likes to explore every corner, but from the very start It was run or be killed, no time for faffing around. The fact that you are not only weaponless but have your arms restricted by a straight jacket for the first part of the game fills you with dread, theres literally nothing you can do but run past these alien creatures and hope for the best. I enjoyed the evasive aspect to the start of the game, its reminded me slightly of half-life where when weaponless you are helpless to just watch others getting killed. The lighting and sounds were a major part of the scariness of the game, the way you had an option to use the torch made it more realistic thus more on edge. All in all for the first ten minutes it was thrilling and scary and I would love to be able to carry on the adventure.
Below is a screenshot of the game showing protagonist using the locator device.

Upgrade Complete

Description: This game has crummy graphics… UNTIL YOUUPGRADE THE GRAPHICS ENGINE!
And no sound? UNTIL YOU BUY IT IN THESHOP!
And no mute button!? You guessed it, this game requires you to buy that as well! In fact, nearly everything in this game requires you to buy and upgrade it first. Sound confusing? Give it a go and see!

To start with, by looking at it I thought that I wouldn't enjoy it but it turned out to be quite addictive. The poor looking menu screen and bad graphics at first put me of but If you stay to play you find that its part of the games charm as your objective is to upgrade every part of the game including sound, display and graphics. The actual game within the game is a classic arcade which is easy to lose yourself in trying to beat the increasing in difficulty levels. I did not stop till I had upgraded the whole game.

C.S. Maps

So - Maps represent both real and fantasy worlds. Maps are beautiful, 

stunning, arresting objects, maps are scientific, functional and yet also 

intriguing, creative and visually exciting, they have a aesthetic that we all 

recognise. Maps describe worlds of all kinds and the process of making and 

using them has been evolving for centuries.

Game designers create worlds simple or complex ones. Maps are required 

for the development of games. Level maps are the framework of how a game 

flows and functions. Artists and coders alike build and utilise maps within the 

game making process. The act of mapping out the game world is both a 

functional and a creative one.

The player (consumer) enjoys the artistically designed maps that are part of 

the product they purchase, the fantasy world that they buy into. 

The player takes pleasure in gaining insight and understanding complex 

levels through studying level maps, giving themselves the best chance to win 

the game.

By acknowledging the rich history of map making and the layered meanings 

we see they convey it is apparent that maps, in and for games clearly have 

further potential not yet fully utilised by creator’s, developers or publishers. By considering the multilayered meaning that could be translated and 

transferred into design documents, style guides, level maps and game maps 

an even richer experience can be created for the player in future gaming 

products.

BA4 Focus 1: Creating Coherent worlds:

(https://net.nua.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/10501/mod_resource/content/1/Maps_CS2014%20copy.pdf)

Lecture Notes:

(https://net.nua.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/10502/mod_resource/content/1/MAPS_CSNotes_2014%20copy.pdf)

Fun Game Design Exercises

In these Exercises everyone in the group was each given a random card with words that would be our inspiration to come up with a concept for a game in the next ten mins. It was really fun but challenging it was a nice thing to start with after the holidays to get my brain working again. The words I was given and the concepts i came up with our below. I used sketch's to illustrate my concepts to the class.

Asteroid Tickler
Dodge on coming asteroids, risk getting close (tickling) them to collect valuable ores of their surface. Exchange ore for ship upgrades at the end of each level. If in need use ammo (rare) to destroy Asteroids that are in your way. At the end of each level would be a boss that would pop out of different holes of an ore rich asteroid, to beat him you would have play a kind of mini wack-a-mole game. Tilt left & right to go left and right, and forward and back to go up and down.

Wormhole Maker (kids game IOS d pad control)
Your a worm and have just escaped an apple, A very angry and determined man is after you for ruining his fruity snack. Dig your worm hole faster than the man digs after you. Avoid obstacles that will slow you down such as stones, skulls & lava. Gobble down ants to increase your speed. Different layers e.g. clay, igneous rock, etc may take longer to go through. Educational values = the further you go, the more you learn from victorians, vikings and velociraptors.

Pink Llama Canyon (tap to jump, tilt to move IOS)
Your the only pink llama in the herd and have been outcast to the edge of the canyon to your doom. Your peril awakens legendary cloud powers within, which you must use to reach high up in the sky where the other cloud llamas live. Jump up the clouds and avoid vultures, collect rainbow bands to make different clouds e.g blue = bouncy, red = move up and down. Avoid black clouds they may fall.

Initial Game Ideas

As soon as we were given the brief my head was rushing with ideas, and I felt I should note them all down. At this point in the term I was thinking more of just fun interesting game to play that had an iconic character. Here is my brainstorm of characters I thought would be good within a game:

An iconic Hedgehog would seem like a rip of sonic so that was a no, However I felt that Koala King would be a fun character. I liked the idea of a living totem pole who finds new heads that hold new powers as he goes on his adventures. Also the idea of a ninja frog battling through the garden felt iconic and entertaining. The Mad Scientists creation would be a cute sentient patchwork creature and you would play as him trying to escape the lab, getting past all the other abominations.
If I had time it would pursue all of these though I settled on drawing some concepts for a game where the main character is a skeleton. As I had interesting colour schemes in my head which i thought would be original and fun. Heres a quick concept sketch.

My idea of skeletons involved into something more meaningful, I decided to base it around the them of reincarnation which is a Buddhist belief, so I went on to research Buddhism. I found that Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist art frequently makes use of a particular set of eight auspicious symbols, ashtamangala, in domestic and public art. These symbols have spread with Buddhism to the art of many cultures, including Indian, Tibetan, Nepalese, and Chinese art. (wikipedia)

These symbols are: ( in the game would be keys needed in order to move on to the next level )

1. Lotus flower. Representing purity and enlightenment.
2. Endless knot, or, the Mandala. Representing eternal harmony.
3. Golden Fish pair. Representing conjugal happiness and freedom.
4. Victory Banner. Representing a victorious battle.
5. Wheel of Dharma or Chamaru in Nepali Buddhism. Representing knowledge.
6. Treasure Vase. Representing inexhaustible treasure and wealth.
7. Parasol. Representing the crown, and protection from the elements.
8. Conch shell. Representing the thoughts of the Buddha.

I thought that as you fight your way through each level past various types of stylised animal skeletons, you must collect one of these auspicious symbols to gain access to the next level and in order to be reincarnated which is the main goal. Also I felt that these would be good subjects for each level to be based on. Such as the first level being based upon an oriental fish pond, with giant skeleton coi carp, stepping stones, decorative bridges and lamps, pink luminescent waters and lily pads. It all looks real good in my head. 

The next level would be a maze, so potentially never-ending, And so on with each level.

Term Aims

This Unit will focus on
❏ Game design theory & communication
❏ Design Elements and Communication (W1)
❏ Roles in practice (W5)
❏ Visual Design (W2)
❏ Iteration & polish of a design
❏ MVP (W3)
❏ Lean development (W3)
❏ Game Analysis
❏ Prototyping
❏ Paper prototyping (W3)
❏ Unity (W4)
❏ Intro to programming (W4)
Change in Submission Elements
❏ Journal - Documentation of your research and practical work
❏ MVP GDD - A high quality, refined and polished game design document
❏ Prototypes - Game files, images or videos of your prototypes
❏ Evaluation - A 500 word evaluation of your work throughout the unit

BA4: Project Brief

Course: BA (Hons) Games Art and Design

Year: Two

Unit: BA4: Focus 1

Project Title Game Design

Project 1 of 2 within this unit

Start Date: 06/10/2014

Study Hours: 250

Submission Date: 28/11/2014

Tutor(s): George Beard (Project Leader)

Description:

This project will engage you in game design principles for Indie development through 

game analysis, paper and digital prototyping. Games are judged not only by the way 

they look and sound but importantly by how they ‘feel’. The touch and feel of a game is 

one of the most crucial aspects of its design and can make or break a product. This 

project focuses on analysis and design for the user experience and asks the question 

‘what processes can we use to design games that feel good?’

Lean methodologies for development in small studios requires efficient and quick prototyping of game concepts for testing and iteration. Early in the project, guest speakers from Indie Studios will introduce you to their sometimes unique working processes.

This project addresses the key areas of study as follows:
Studio Practice: Throughout the project you will engage with a series of workshops, 

seminars and lectures covering a range of design processes that relate to research and 

development stages you may encounter within the games sector. You will receive 

instruction on how to present an idea and exemplify concepts effectively as well as

technical demonstrations. Throughout the project you will be asked to present and 

share your ideas in the following areas.
First Party Research - creating and iterating playable versions of elements in

your game;.

Paper and digital prototypes

Play testing

Feedback loops
Third Party Research - finding games with similar mechanics that can be analysed and utilised for:

Effectiveness

Aesthetic/Feel

Applying findings to your prototype

Studies – recreate your own prototype, an artistic study de-constructing an established design.

You will submit a range of documents and files to demonstrate your engagement and 

achievements of the above areas, further detailed instructions will be given throughout 

the project.

Business and Professional Skills: This is integrated within Project 2 Creating 

Coherent Worlds. All topics covered are relevant to studio practice and will inform your 

creative and practical decision-making.

Contextual Studies: Throughout this unit, contextual studies runs as a separate 

Project 2 Creating Coherent Worlds. All topics covered are relevant and concurrent to 

Project 1 and inform your creative and practical decision-making.

Personal Development and Planning: You will keep an independent reflective journal 

or blog recording your own personal learning experience throughout this brief. 

The table below lists the work you will need to submit and which areas of study each 

item relates to: 

The table below shows which of the Unit Learning Outcomes are addressed by this 

project and what you will need to do to show that you have met them:

Reference material

Brown, D.. (2013) Designing Together: The Collaboration and Conflict 

Management Handbook for Creative Professionals. UK, Newriders.

Moore, E, M. (2011) Basics of Game Design. FL. USA. Taylor and Francis Group.

Ries, E. (2012) The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically 

Successful Businesses. USA, Portfolio Penguin.

Swink, S. (2009). Game Feel. Burlington MA USA.Morgan Kaufmann.

Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. (2004) Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals.

Cambridge MA, USA, The MIT Press.

Schwarzl., T. (2014) Project Completed: How Successful Indie Game Developers 

Finish Their Projects. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition.

Trefry, G. (2010) Casual Game Design: Designing Play for the Gamer in All of Us.

Burlington MA, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.