Multimedia Dev 1

Testing Techniques an ecental part of game design is testing to see if the game works how you wish it to and to find any bugs or glitches before it is relisted as that can cause complaints from the customers. There are may different ways to test a game the seven that I know of are as fallow. Functionality Testing : this is  done to confirm whether the end product works following the specifications. Functionality QA testers mainly hunt for the generic problems within the game or its graphics & user interface, such as game asset integrity, stability issues, audio-visual issues, and game mechanic issues Combinatorial Testing :  this way you can effortlessly test the game rapidly in its earliest stages. Initially, the initial step is to discover how much testing your game necessitates. For this reason, you can use this particular type of testing to determine whether the game satisfies the definite requirements or functions bug-free. Ad Hoc Testing : This tech...

STORY IN A GAME One of the reasons that people play video games is not just because it might have fun game play but I might also have a compelling that catchers the customers attention and might buy it so that they can see it through to the end, an example of a game with a  complying  story are Red Dead Redemption  2 and Witcher 3. One of the ways of doing so is by looking at how movies and plays  present story's to see what works and what doesn't as well as what can be adapt to work for a video game. One of the main forms of making a complying  story is conflict. MAIN STORY FORMULA The main formula for a compelling story are as fallowed  (1)First, there's a protagonist, a hero. (2)His or her world is thrown out of order by an inciting incident. (Look at the sabotaged dope deal in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for a good example of this.) (3)A gap opens up between the hero and an orderly life. (4)The hero tries the normal, conservati...

Looking back at all the reading I have done these past few week I find that it has taught me many things not just how to make an academic paper, but also about feedback and different aspects of making a game.  In week 3 I learned about the definition of what a game and showed how many people had different options on that, and how to describe a game using critical vocabulary. It also taught me different methods of coming up with an idea for a game such as Concentration, Brainstorming, S.C.A.M.P.E.R and Ramsey.  In week 4 I learned the  recurring themes of games such as "games have rules, conflict, goals, decision-making, and an uncertain outcome" as well as the  Atomic Elements such as Player, Objectives, Rules, Resources and Resource Management to name a few. I also learned what "game design" means to different people to some it means " emotion engineering" while others think that  “everything that goes into a game is more or less game design"  it w...

  Games can be described by the 3 components Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics (MDA) or otherwise stated as rules – system – “fun” . The three reading selections this week and the synopsis below all address the term “fun” in relation to game design.   There are eight types of Fun outlined by the MDA. These eight are both a source of reference and player experience that blend together in many ways, and essentially what makes a game engaging and enjoyable. Figure 1: Eight kinds of Fun Both Oxford and Merrian dictionaries define Fun as an enjoyment, delight but within the context of a game it refers to a form of pleasurable entertainment. MDA papers define the '8 kinds of fun' sensation, fantasy, narrative, challenge, fellowship, discovery, expression, and submission, remain a source of reference and possibly the most popular list of player interactions combining in various forms to attract each player to a particular game.   Nicole Lazzaro presents four types of ...

“In order for the player to be optimally engaged, challenges should be presented at a level equivalent or slightly higher than their current skill. Not too easy, not too hard”( Gigity McD )   The word 'flow state' was coined by Csikszentmihalyi (1975) also known as being “in the zone” This is when the player is fully engaged in the game experience. Csikszentmihalyi put a lot of work into observing and analyzing various groups of people. This theory is focused on the idea of how people should balance their skills and the demands of particular tasks. An example of Flow would be a challenge in a game that interests the player such as a puzzle or a boss battle meant to keep the player interested and not get bored. Csikszentmihalyi also states that flow is related to an ideal psychological condition when a person engages in a challenge-skill activity, often resulting in concentration and a focused emphasis on a task.   A practical technique for improving Flow is to look at...

What is the GDD for? A Game Design Document (GDD) is a blueprint for the design and development of a game. The GDD is a way of being creative and documenting the approach to the development of the game. Gonzale (1999) states that “ the important thing is to have something that describes your game project (or any other project for that matter) before jumping into production .( Gamasutra ) It should help to plan out your game. Though it is recommended that the GDD should be short it needs to be detailed enough so as game developers and artists can coordinate the development of the game independently whilst still keeping to the design.  The GDD is a blueprint for how the game is going to be designed and built, similar to a mind map. In conclusion, the game design document is vital to making a game and it is important to have in order to describe your game project. How do we make one? There are a variety of tools that could be used to create a GDD. These include word processing tools...

The first paper is " MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research ", the authors start by telling the reader what Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics or MDA is describing it as the "bridge" between game design and game development. They then go on to talk about what each ward in the acronym means Mechanic is about the particular components of the game, Dynamics is about the run time behavior of the mechanics acting on the players inputs and each others output over time  and Aesthetics is about the emotional response evoked in the player. It then describe the different stages of of AI complexity with first pass being the most simple and is mostly used for prototypes and games for 3 to 7 year old's, next is second pass which is slightly more complex and usually has game with a plot and different levels to it and is used for games for 7 to 12 year old's and finally there is third pass games is the most complex include games like th...

In the paper " What are the qualities of Games? " the author in a vary informal way, first goes in depth on on the recurring themes of games such as "games have rules, conflict, goals, decision-making, and an uncertain outcome" as well as the giving a simplified form of the different definition of games such as "games are activities, they are artificial/safe/ outside ordinary life they contain elements of make-believe/representation/simulation, they are inefficient, they are art" and how these are formal element's and goes on to provide a like to another an amazon page for  Challenges for Game Designers . The author then goes on to talk about "Atomic Elements" of a game with links to different aspects (1) Player , (2) Objectives , (3) Rules , (4) Resources and Resource Management , (5) Game State , (6) Information , (7) Sequencing , (8) Player Interaction , (9) Theme , (10) Games as systems . The author then goes on to talk about cr...

WHAT IS A GAME ANYWAY In the paper "What is a game Anyway" it uses informal language to describe to me what a game can be and give me example. One such example that was given was "Three to Fifteen" the author explains how many players there can be, the objective, how progression works and how to win. The author then went on to explain critical vocabulary, which is essentially the describing of a game to people. Next they went on to what defined a game with a list of peoples different opinions on what that means a few examples are a game has “ends and means”: an objective, an outcome, and a set of rules to get there" by David Parlett another is "A game is an activity involving player decisions, seeking objectives within a “limiting context”" by Clark C. Abt. (image of the paper link to hear) THE ORGANIC NATURE OF GAME IDEATION The next paper "The organic nature  of game ideation " was written in a much more  academic style , the paper starts...