Games Testing

Games Testing - Catherine Emelyanova

The gameplay of my game created in Unity3D.

Hello all!

For this week's final reading, I will be discussing the topic of "Feedback". Also how giving and receiving criticism is important for development, especially with big projects such as game development. The readings I will be discussing are http://theclosetentrepreneur.com/giving-criticism-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly. For those who are interested please take a read of the article and let me know if your opinions on this topic or options on my views.

In the reading, it describes how many of us can be self-conscious about giving criticism. This is because we don't want the person in which we are reviewing to feel bad about the work they have done.

However, in some cases, such as giving criticism to where there can be improvements made are important. If you work on a project and you have spent lots of time and effort, we tend to expect that we will get feedback that is generally positive. However, you should take into consideration that not everyone likes the same as you and that you should be open to criticism. 

Criticism is a good thing. I feel most of us tend to see criticism as something that is negative. When you take criticism and apply it to your work. For the most part, it can improve your projects. Usually, you don't have to make so many adjustments.

In the reading, it says "Giving constructive criticism can lend much-needed assistance to an individual by giving them feedback on things that can be improved and issues that can be avoided."

That is all for tonight.

Feedback is always helpful if you would like to leave any comments.

All is welcome.

Games Stories

Games Stories Reading - Catherine Emelyanova

screenshot from https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130742/into_the_woods_a_practical_guide_.php

In this week's reading, we will be delving into the topic of the journey of the hero in a game. I will be referring and critiquing an article by Bob Bates called Into the Woods: A Practical Guide to the Hero's Journey.

The guide delves into the topic of myths and how they are important. "Myths convey the values of society. Myths are how we teach each other who we are and how we should behave."  For many of us, myths are just fairytale stories that no one could ever believe and that they are told just for scare tactics or entertainment.

For some people, believing in myths is their way of living. They may not believe that their way of living is something that can be considered a myth. However, it gives some people a purpose in life.

"So here is the heart this talk (and academics take note, because this may be new). I believe games are essentially myth-reinforcing activities. And I believe that players tend to choose the kinds of games that reaffirm their own personal myths."

Overall this article was interesting. If you are interested in this topic of myths in society, I would recommend you have a look at the article.  

Thank you all for reading, comments are always appreciated.

Take care now

Week 9 Reading and Writing

Reading and Writing  - Lilcatattack99

Hello all!

In this week's readings, it is slightly different. Rather than reading an article and giving my views, this week I will be looking back on my progress doing these blogs.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/e/ee/Genesis_reads_LOVELESS.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20071027173500

Looking back

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2b/02/26/2b0226fb6e613716e7541d72c07b6dad.jpg

The last few weeks have been very stressful. Balancing college, work and my personal life has been difficult but I do my best to do as much as I can. I have missed a few weeks doing readings, tutorials, and projects. I have been doing some extra credit to help stay on track and to keep some kind of routine going.

Last week I was so worried about starting my project as I felt I didn't have enough experience with Unity. And I feel not using Unity for many weeks has affected this. However, as I was looking for tutorials and actually did ones that suit myself, I feel a bit better about doing my project and look forward to completing it.

I like my idea and I feel a bit better about this module than I did a few weeks ago.

The readings were fine. I didn't mind doing them. Some were interesting and I feel like doing the readings helped to force me to do better each week on the blogs. By this, I mean, improve the structure of the blog, reaching the word count, and make what I type somewhat interesting.

Another thing I learned doing this module was being more independent in college. Attendance is not mandatory for this subject, which for me was good for trying to get other assignments done. Therefore all the readings and Unity, I did at home and had to deal with a lot of technical issues. In which I feel can be the case for some game developers.

Leaving comments on other blogs I found helpful. Looking through other blogs, was good. It gave me an idea of how much more work I should have done. Reading other game ideas was interesting, everyone's games are unique. No one is doing the same thing which I feel is great.

Overall I think, it's been okay. I would prefer it if I did do more, but I am happy to at least get a pass in this module. I did have fun working on my project.

Anyways!
Thank you all for reading and leaving comments.
Much appreciated
Take care now, bye-bye then
Catherine

 https://images.app.goo.gl/hKdnhBiDLaPK72os6

Unity Free Tutorials

Unity Free Tutorials

https://images.app.goo.gl/dXzXdqaxWnM3BcXA9

Introduction
In this week's Unity Tutorials, we are required to search for our own tutorials that suit our game ideas. I really enjoyed searching for a tutorial that suits my game as the kind of game style I am going for is similar to Sonic the hedgehog and Temple Run.

Essentially my game is about the "player", running through a dungeon, collecting items and fighting enemies throughout until the final level. At the end of each level, there will be boss battles, which determine if you can continue the game.

As you are running through the game you will collect objects such as coins, to purchase items such as healing and mana potions. And the coins are also used to level up your character.

Within the dungeon, you must make your way through the obstacles and to avoid contact with them.

To design this game I have found a tutorial on Youtube to help guide me into creating the game. The video is called "Creating A game like Temple Run in Unity". When watching this tutorial, I didn't really find it helpful. The Youtuber was speaking a different language and their game was way more advanced than anything I could do.

Unity Tutorial for my Game

https://youtu.be/Au8oX5pu5u4

Instead, I found a new tutorial that showed you how to make the same style of game that I am going for.

This series I do find easier to follow rather than the JimmyVegas Tutorials. These tutorials by KINGBEKIR are very simplified and do not feel so rushed. I like how the tutorials begin with using basic shapes and showing how the gameplay will turn out.

I hope some of yous found this helpful. Please comment if you have any suggestions for my game, always appreciated.

Thank you all for reading
Catattack

Tech Task

Tech Tip: Blogger Template - Lilcatattack99

Hello all,

In this week's tech tasks, I have changed the style of my blogger profile.

The current style of my blog

I decided to change from my cool purple background to something that more suits what we are doing in Unity 3d. As we have been learning about designing backgrounds, adding characters, effects, etc. I felt it was appropriate to change up the blog style. I gave the blog a more scenic feel. What I like about the new blog style is that it feels a lot like home in Ireland.

The current style of my blog for mobile

What I also like about this new style is how it appears for mobile users. The information is displayed very nicely, so it is easy to view all of my work on your phone.

Unity Tutorial 6

Unity Tutorial 06

Hello Everyone!

In this week's Unity tutorial by Jimmy Vegas, we are learning about adding a skybox to your game. For those of you who do not know what a skybox is, it is basically what the term used when creating the sky. As in the tutorial, Jimmy Vegas describes the skybox as everything that is surrounding the scene.

A scene containing a Skybox

We learn about getting materials to help improve the game style and to add extra components. To access the asset store, it is located in Unity in the window tab. I really like that he showed this as it makes developing a game so much easier. It's very easy to find things in the asset store and there are so many options, free and payable.

He went into detail about using different contrasts to make the sky as realistic as you would like and it is quite easy. The tutorial is very good for showing how customizable Unity is.

What I also really liked from this tutorial is he shows you how to add wind in the scene to make the trees look more realistic and overall make the scene feel quite real.

In conclusion, I feel this tutorial was very good and simple. I personally feel the more I work with Unity the easier it becomes and doing these tutorials have been improving me along the way.

Thank you to all for reading,
Please leave a comment if you have any opinions or advice.
Take care
Catherine

Game Desicions

Game Decisions by lilcatattack99

https://images.app.goo.gl/bmZsM2MRyXYiPzY8A

Hello everyone,

For this week's readings, we will be delving into the meaning of an MMO, and to why it is so important to know and understand when developing games. I will be providing links to any articles I am discussing for those who are interested to learn more. Bear in mind it is a lot of reading material. So it may take some time, however, it is very well in-depth about "game design theory, art and the business of design".

https://lostgarden.home.blog/

MMO

https://images.app.goo.gl/s2B6yyMNXY6hdzDe7

For starters, we need to ask a very important question that any new game developer should know. Which is, "What is an MMO game and what does it stand for"? 

The term MMO is short for a "Massively Multiplayer Online game". Multiplayer games are becoming more and more popular, with many iconic releases happening each year. Examples of MMO games include Fortnight, Final Fantasy XIV AND League of Legends.

Lost Garden

In this week's reading, we were required to read an in-detail essay about the "Lost Garden". It was really interesting, I would recommend you to have a look if you have the time.

The reading discusses concepts, some of which are interesting. As these concepts are everyday things that we do not really think there is a meaning to. It relates these things to gaming and how our normal interactions are applied to gaming. 

When gaming you should try making friends. The gaming community is huge and you can always find people with the same interests as you.

" Building friendships and providing lonely people with human connections are goals worthy of our highest-quality work."

That is it for today.

Thank you for reading 

Games GDD

Games GGD by Catherine Emelyanova (aka lilcatattack99✊)

Screenshot from http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/DesignConsiderations.shtml

Introduction

For this week's readings, they are based on the topic of  'Design'. One being "Design Considerations" and the other called "The Early Stages of the Design Process". For this assignment, I will be providing my thoughts on the articles. I will also include the link to the articles and links for any images included in this reading.

Design Considerations

Upon reading the first paragraph, I agree with the statement "One of the things I really enjoy about games is their physical presentation. I'm much more likely to enjoy one that has had a lot of thought put into the design of its box, rules, and components." Design visuals are a staple for creating a great, re-playable game. The visuals and artwork are what trigger the player's emotions. Getting them to purchase the game. A game that doesn't come with a well-designed box and components, are the ones people can forget about. I do not mean all people won't find a game with no artwork unappealing. But for the majority of game consumers, the aesthetics are very important. It gives the game style, color, warmth and its more intriguing.

The Box

Screenshot from: https://images.app.goo.gl/jN88YhqMFhxZbnsS9

As I mentioned, the box is really the component to a great game. The reading states that viewing the image at the back of the box is not a good way of learning what the game is about. Personally, I disagree with this statement. 

For this example, I will be referring to the box art and story-line for Square Enix's, Final Fantasy X.

I did write about this game for those who are interested, here is a link to the blog post.

https://lilcatattack.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=APq4FmA54Og5tH1Gkzvp3MaEYxLuOJdgsb4_7-Vp_fNZwwKHSDBNuhO76aGXSuGOOzFdyXlHxEWSq62SE7MQbFotj-V5LvUFiHfX5nXtP0QNzTvNzwRfILqAHtlve_cXovRctUxlRi11&postId=5537657111503368570&type=POST

My reasons are as follows:

1. The back of the box usually has some sort of paragraph that gives the player insight into what will be within the game. As you can see at the top left of the Final Fantasy X box.

2. The box also indicates the art-style that is being used in the game. Which as stated previously, attracts players, as they see what sort of visuals will be in the game.

I hope you enjoyed my blog post. Id really appreciate feedback and any comments you may have about my blog or post. Thank you all for taking the time to read my blog. Enjoy the rest of your week. - Catherine

https://images.app.goo.gl/hKdnhBiDLaPK72os6

Tech Tasks

Tech Tasks

Blogger Templates

The task for this evening is using "Blogger Templates".

What this means is redesigning the homepage of your blog, to the style that suits you best. As stated in http://cdmonline.pbworks.com/w/page/128443734/bloggerdesign, "there are a variety of templates you can choose from and then customize by choosing the color scheme, background image, etc."

Designing my Blogger page

As you can see for my blog, I have decided to go for a lilac color in the background. This makes the blog feel calming and welcoming.

One thing people notice about my blog is the design. I get some complements about the blog style.
Personally I like the purple background, I feel it suits my aesthetic. I like quite simple designs and a strong contrast.

However, I do feel as though I may change up my blog style in the near future. I do love to experiment with design. I have an idea to design it to the similar style of my game in Unity.

Unity Tutorial 03

Unity Tutorial

For this weeks Unity Tutorials, we were assigned to create a clock using Unity. The clock had to be set in current time. For this week there was a video uploaded by the channel "Cat Like Coding". From them we watched the video and did the same steps that were required in making the clock.

Following the Unity tutorial made it a lot easier to work with. As I do still have trouble with using Unity. I feel doing these tutorials have been helping me a lot. Now Unity feels like its getting easier.

Difficulties

The tutorial was not so hard, however there were a few things that were difficult. Sometimes when positioning objects they can go off a bit and not be so accurate. Especially when using the arrows to move around your game objects. A way that has been helping me with that is the "transform" tab. For this tutorial this was one of the most important components to making the clock. When placing the hand and times, they had to be very accurately placed on the clock.

The coding was also difficult. It was a bit hard to do, however I feel coding is something that anyone can improve on. So I wouldn't worry too much about not understanding it now. I t is a good idea to practice coding in Unity.

Other than that, it was a fun little exercise. It was difficult, but I think getting the difficult parts done early is important as when you go to do it again, you will find it much easier. So from this weeks tutorial I have learned to practice more Unity in my free time.

Game Elements

Game Elements

https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-march-22-2018-video-260nw-1052707715.jpg

From my understanding of this weeks readings, games have a lot of elements involved. These elements include art, sound, coding etc. games don´t only look better because of how advanced we have become in game making, but also high resolution screens, make the overall gaming experience more interesting for the user.

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3357/formal_abstract_design_tools.php

After reading the "Formal Abstract Design Tools", I have learned that the machines that we currently use such as PC's, phones, gaming systems are far more powerful than it has ever been. However due to the expansion of different hardware to play games on, there has been an increase of software problems. But years ago these software problems were not really a thing.

There is not a whole load of vocabulary to use when discussing video game development. When game developers are discussing about ideas, concept, execution etc. The only main vocabulary designers and developers use is simply "fun" or not "fun". Personally I don't see this as an issue as it can in fact make it easier to judge if the game needs more improvements.

Players

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwil1sy-xI3lAhWtQUEAHUOZBQAQjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Funsplash.com%2Fs%2Fphotos%2Fgaming&psig=AOvVaw3yAtCpVctW57JS3Y1tntan&ust=1570654059319114

The topic of game players was another interest of mine. I liked this topic as it went in detail to how games with players work. I learned from this is that games can have many participants. Multiplayer games can include up to four players. There are different types of players in games such as "Head to Head", Solitaire, Five-pointed Star and many more. Learning about the meanings of these games types really makes you think of where the names came from and other games that are associated with these game types.

Objectives/Goals

https://images.app.goo.gl/h36WxhRTn6sgDs1V7

Goals are an essential to games. This is what gives the player motivation to continue playing the game. The goals from the readings were pretty straight forward. Some of the words were new to me, however after reading the description of each goal, I understood what it was for. New words for myself are "Spatial alignment" and "Negation of another goal".

Unity Tutorials 01

Unity Tutorials

https://images.app.goo.gl/dVPBEzpjmU6qr4Aj7

Today I will be writing about 3 Unity Game Engine tutorials. The tutorials I will be talking about what I have enjoyed from trying Unity, What I am looking forward to and if I feel something should be explained more in depth.

HOW TO MAKE A GAME FOR FREE #001 - INTRODUCTION - UNITY TUTORIAL

The first video was a very basic guideline to what you will be doing in Unity. This video is an introduction to the tools available in Unity and how to use them.

An issue I have ran into whilst using the program is how to use the camera while creating scenes. This does change as I am working and it does get quite confusing as I am trying to follow the video step by step.

But after re-watching the video, I have been able to follow the instructions better. I did have to redo my Unity project twice. But I feel I have an okay understanding of how to use Unity 3-D.

I do still feel quiet intimidated by Unity, especially when I am following the tutorials and what I am doing does not match or I am having issues with using the camera.

Game Elements

Game Elements

source: https://wallpapersafari.com/w/X1BMG6

Notes

From my reading of game elements, my understanding is that games have themes that are commonly used.
These games include decision-making, conflict, there are goals to be achieved and there is some form of outcome.
Games are defined as activities that take on various styles of simulation, whether its fiction or realistic.

Game Atoms

source: https://images.app.goo.gl/BiwLbHDaz9e8Vrnv8

Game atoms are the elements to what make-up a game. The various types of game elements include, players, interaction, rules, information and the game system.

Critical Analysis

source: https://www.bitcointradingsites.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Bitcoinchartwatch.png

Critical analysis refers to judging the game for its faults. I found this interesting as most people would assume that it would mean expressing if you did in fact like/disliked the game. What is also interesting is what are the key elements to criticizing a game. These include, acknowledging the obstacles the players may run into, are some aspects of the game fair, is the game good enough to play again and who is the game developers target audience.

My Thoughts on the Class Assignments

Class Assignments 

free-printable-assignment-tracker_lri-6.jpg

For my Multimedia module, I will be given assignments every week on different days. These assignments will be leading up to our final project, which is developing a 3-D game, using the software Unity 3-D.

Readings
The readings that we have been provided are to give information about how to use Unity 3-D. The readings will also be part of the lectures to help clear any confusion and to ask questions to the lecturer.


Unity 3-D

https://images.app.goo.gl/5sGPNjgLVUpLbB9e8

Unity 3-D is a game engine that is used to create various styles of games such as 2-d, 3-D, VR etc. 

Personally, I am excited to be creating 3-D games, I played many 3-D games growing up. Some of my favourite game developers are Square Enix, Bioware, Sega, Nintendo and Sony.

To use Unity we will have tutorials sent to us. These will gives us a start in getting use to the tools and how to use different techniques. 

Blog Comments 

https://images.app.goo.gl/67wryQG1rw71mTd16

After our assignments each week, in class we have to read each others blogs and provide them with feedback. Doing this helps ourselves get inspiration from each other. Not only from the topics, but how to layout the blog.

Project

https://images.app.goo.gl/VQYiNti5Mnxvpxj87

For our project, every week we will be doing something towards our final project. For the start of the project, we are required to brainstorm ideas for what the game is going to be. This will include doing research, learning about games that we have an interest in, coming up with our own ideas etc.

Project Feedback

https://images.app.goo.gl/MMzWc8xExSuriCaN8

Every week in class, students will provide each other with feedback about the game being created in Unity. This is useful when making the game as you can learn more from each other and understand how to criticise work.

Introduction to the Hobbies of a University Student

Introduction to the Hobbies of a University Student

Free university image

https://images.pexels.com/photos/267885/pexels-photo-267885.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=1&w=500

University can be very stressful, especially when trying to meet deadlines on time. Having hobbies while in college can be very beneficial for your stress and overall mental health. This is because when you are stressed it is difficult to concentrate and a lot of the time stress prevents students from reaching their potential.

It is important to have hobbies in college. When starting college it can be intimidating for many students. A way to help with that is making a group of friends with common interests.You may discover new things about a topic you have in common. Many colleges have clubs that students can join. For example, there are sport teams to join, different society's such as the anime clubs, music, religion, art, photography and many more. Clubs and Society's can be found on many colleges websites.

Having hobbies outside of college is important. Many University Students have hobbies that would relate to their field of study. Digital media students for example, tend to use a lot of what they learn in class for their own projects. Digital media students a lot of skills that can be applied to social media such as creating websites, making videos or even doing design pieces using the tools from college. It is a fun and interesting hobby to have, whats better is that you can start to market your work.
Here is a link to my gaming blog post where I discuss my favorite game.
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3564678069891267087#editor/target=post;postID=5537657111503368570;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=2;src=postname

Hobbies can lead to your career goals. The majority of peoples goals stems from their hobbies and interests. Finding a hobby that you really enjoy and that you can keep doing for a long time is always good for when you are searching for a job. It shows you are passionate and dedicated.

Workshop 1

On the 18/7/19, I took part in a workshop about Multimedia Development. During this workshop, we were told to reflect on our previous year and to write down what worked for ourselves during the year and what could you improve on for the next year. For what worked well last year I wrote, getting my any work/tasks given completed as soon as possible and to have questions prepared.


There was also problem solving activities that seem very basic, but when having to come up with an answer was difficult.

The topic for this activity was based around traffic lights. It was a test on problem solving.

The activity was enjoyable. Mainly for the fact that I myself don't drive and do not know anything about traffic lights, it really surprised me. I did feel like I learned a bit about how the lights work.

Working in groups is okay for myself, however others might not be comfortable with it, especially working with new people.

To start I sketched out a flowchart, showing which cars would drive first and to essentially find out what will happen at the traffic lights.

Favourite Game

Final Fantasy X

Final Fantasy X is a game about a boy named Tidus. He is from a metropolis city named Zanarkand. In Zanarkand he is their famous Blitzball player. He gets his good rep from his father, Jecht who was also a star player before he mysteriously disappeared.

Zanarkand is a city that was known for its bright city atmosphere. It known within the game as "a city that never sleeps". This is because of the cheery atmosphere and blitzball, being the only fun activity in the game.

One night Tidus was set to play a blitzball match against another Zanarkand blitzball team. Everybody from Zanarkand was there to watch. Blitzball was the known as the only form of entertainment and a distraction from the crazy things that happens in the world. During the blitzball game, everything went horrifically wrong when something emerged from the sea and attacked all of Zanarkand. Tidus woke up after falling from the attack, when he woke up he met a man he knew named Auron.

When Tidus asks Auron what is he doing, Auron responds by telling him he was waiting for him. Tidus, being confused by everything happening proceeds to follow Auron. When Tidus tries to get some answers from Auron, Auron tells Tidus to look. What he sees is a huge water sphere with a whale-like species on the inside. Auron says "we called it Sin". Tidus is confused, when suddenly creatures from Sin emerge. Tidus tries to wave his arms to get them away, when he falls Auron hands him a sword. Auron says that it is a gift from Jecht. Tidus and Jecht then fight through these creatures.

When too many creatures ambush the two, they decide to his an electric bomb to get out fast. After this bomb falls the two begin to run. Tidus almost falls to his death, begging Auron to help him. Auron takes Tidus and tells him "this is your world now".

Image of Auron Seeing Sin approach Zanarkand

https://images.app.goo.gl/q1j7xXp6skgHne5S7