Unit 1 - History, Careers, & Ethics
Careers
Game Art and Design has given me lots of valuable experience that I could use for a job, and there are many jobs I could use my newfound skills for. Early in the year, I was interested in being an environment artist, and I haven't changed my mind much. I'm skilled at 3D design not only in 3DS Max, but also Maya and Unity thanks to projects in the Game Design pathway at DSA. Being an environment artist would also reduce the need of programming, which I have so far found to be fairly frustrating. However, Game Art and Design has improved my skills across the board and taught me many new things, so I could see myself at a multitude of different roles.
Ethics
It's imperative to include ethics when designing a game. All game companies need to have rules and principles to protect their employees, which improves the reputation of the company as well as the happiness of their workers. Respecting intellectual property is an obvious need. The employees themselves have to be sure to show respect to others and help their team members. From the consumer's perspective, content in regard to the audience is very important. Game companies should absolutely use rating systems to show the target audience and keep the game appropriate. Avoiding even one of these methods could result in disaster. Adhering to them promotes efficiency, morale, and successful marketing.
Game Art and Design has given me lots of valuable experience that I could use for a job, and there are many jobs I could use my newfound skills for. Early in the year, I was interested in being an environment artist, and I haven't changed my mind much. I'm skilled at 3D design not only in 3DS Max, but also Maya and Unity thanks to projects in the Game Design pathway at DSA. Being an environment artist would also reduce the need of programming, which I have so far found to be fairly frustrating. However, Game Art and Design has improved my skills across the board and taught me many new things, so I could see myself at a multitude of different roles.
Ethics
It's imperative to include ethics when designing a game. All game companies need to have rules and principles to protect their employees, which improves the reputation of the company as well as the happiness of their workers. Respecting intellectual property is an obvious need. The employees themselves have to be sure to show respect to others and help their team members. From the consumer's perspective, content in regard to the audience is very important. Game companies should absolutely use rating systems to show the target audience and keep the game appropriate. Avoiding even one of these methods could result in disaster. Adhering to them promotes efficiency, morale, and successful marketing.
Unit 2 - Game Theory
Game Mechanics
Designing a game is not simple. By using game mechanics and keeping flow in mind, though, it's possible to streamline the process. It can be very useful to simply note down some basic mechanics to grow an idea into a game. Space, time, rules, procedures, objects, skill, and probability are all things to consider writing down. Space can restrict or overwhelm a player if it is too small or too big. Time, similarly, could be too fast or too slow. Finding middle ground is crucial to create the best experience for a player. Rules and procedures need to be put in place so players know how to play. Objects should be well thought out and useful. It's important to choose what type of skill a game will include: physical, mental, and/or social. Probability has to be something well planned to avoid both games with no randomization and games with no skill involved.
Flow, put simply, is the idea that there is a sweet spot between boredom and frustration. When trying to create the best possible player experience, flow is very important. A game should begin with little to no challenge, but it should get more difficult as time goes on and players improve. Flow also means that it's okay to take breaks in action. In movies, it's pretty common for action scenes to be surrounded by less tense scenes to create a sense of flow so that the viewer isn't overwhelmed by action. Making a good sense of flow for players can change a game from mediocre to masterpiece.
Designing a game is not simple. By using game mechanics and keeping flow in mind, though, it's possible to streamline the process. It can be very useful to simply note down some basic mechanics to grow an idea into a game. Space, time, rules, procedures, objects, skill, and probability are all things to consider writing down. Space can restrict or overwhelm a player if it is too small or too big. Time, similarly, could be too fast or too slow. Finding middle ground is crucial to create the best experience for a player. Rules and procedures need to be put in place so players know how to play. Objects should be well thought out and useful. It's important to choose what type of skill a game will include: physical, mental, and/or social. Probability has to be something well planned to avoid both games with no randomization and games with no skill involved.
Flow, put simply, is the idea that there is a sweet spot between boredom and frustration. When trying to create the best possible player experience, flow is very important. A game should begin with little to no challenge, but it should get more difficult as time goes on and players improve. Flow also means that it's okay to take breaks in action. In movies, it's pretty common for action scenes to be surrounded by less tense scenes to create a sense of flow so that the viewer isn't overwhelmed by action. Making a good sense of flow for players can change a game from mediocre to masterpiece.
In order to create this graphic, I played a game of Castle Panic. Not only did playing it provide a unique chance to play a new game, but it taught me many things about game design. Its implementation of certain game mechanics, such as chance, guided me through making a paper prototype of a game in Unit 3.
Unit 3 - Pre-production & Prototypes
Design Pipeline
The Design Pipeline isn't unique to the game industry, but it's still extremely useful for creating games. It begins with pre-production. This involves brainstorming, storyboarding, and creating a prototype. Lots of planing is done and the original idea is expanded. The next step in the pipeline is production. This is where audio, art, animation, story, and programming are made. Production has many milestones: the first playable version, the alpha (testing), the 'code freeze' of programming being finished, the beta version, the code release (an upgrade of beta), and the master/gold release.
The final part of making a game is post-production. This takes place after the other steps and when the game is ready for shipping to market. Marketing, distributing, maintenance, and tech support take place. Some games even include downloadable content (DLC) as extra releases after the main game. Every part of every game goes through the Design Pipeline, and it ultimately creates a better product.
The Design Pipeline isn't unique to the game industry, but it's still extremely useful for creating games. It begins with pre-production. This involves brainstorming, storyboarding, and creating a prototype. Lots of planing is done and the original idea is expanded. The next step in the pipeline is production. This is where audio, art, animation, story, and programming are made. Production has many milestones: the first playable version, the alpha (testing), the 'code freeze' of programming being finished, the beta version, the code release (an upgrade of beta), and the master/gold release.
The final part of making a game is post-production. This takes place after the other steps and when the game is ready for shipping to market. Marketing, distributing, maintenance, and tech support take place. Some games even include downloadable content (DLC) as extra releases after the main game. Every part of every game goes through the Design Pipeline, and it ultimately creates a better product.
When creating rough sketches for Acorn Run, I took into account the most difficult things to draw - feet and faces. I didn't focus on the easy stuff, improving both my art skills and my planning for the game.
The mood board for Acorn Run was created in a vector image editor by combining other images together and adding on text and colors. It improved my abilities in the program and helped plan out the ideas of my game.
A Game Design Document (GDD) is probably the most important planning document for a game. Even a one page GDD was very useful when making a prototype for Acorn Run, and creating the GDD taught me more about its importance.
Pre-production
Taking Game Art and Design dramatically changed my opinion of pre-production. In previous years, I wouldn't plan a lot while making projects for school and brushed over pre-production. However, this year, my eyes were opened to the facts that it is actually very useful and important. Not only does it improve skills and specify the vision for a game, it motivates me to continue working. Making concept art, a GDD, and a prototype for Acorn Run further reinforced my newly created positive opinion of pre-production. I also learned a lot about the professional implications of it and how it is used to create real games.
Taking Game Art and Design dramatically changed my opinion of pre-production. In previous years, I wouldn't plan a lot while making projects for school and brushed over pre-production. However, this year, my eyes were opened to the facts that it is actually very useful and important. Not only does it improve skills and specify the vision for a game, it motivates me to continue working. Making concept art, a GDD, and a prototype for Acorn Run further reinforced my newly created positive opinion of pre-production. I also learned a lot about the professional implications of it and how it is used to create real games.
Unit 4 - Game Production
The Unity game engine is a powerful tool with infinite possibilities. It's possible to create a wide array of games in the program. The amount of tools available is great, and there's good quality tech support. Unity is also very versatile; I can run versions from 2018 and 2021. The built-in functionality of Microsoft Visual Studio is very nice as well, especially in that it can point out errors in code. Using Unity and C# will provide invaluable experience to me.
However, it's not all perfect. The Unity tutorials weren't produced with high effort and there are often technical issues. I usually have to allot extra time to deal with issues when working in Unity and I get frustrated often. That being said, the Unity game engine itself is still a net positive.
However, it's not all perfect. The Unity tutorials weren't produced with high effort and there are often technical issues. I usually have to allot extra time to deal with issues when working in Unity and I get frustrated often. That being said, the Unity game engine itself is still a net positive.
I made my first audio and physical animation in Unity in a pre-made scene. I made the cube move out of the windoe and have a water sound effect as taught by the Unity Essentials pathway.
play.unity.com/mg/other/goodbye-water-cube-1
play.unity.com/mg/other/goodbye-water-cube-1
I downloaded a project with bugs as part of a Unity pathway. My job was to fix them, and I did, making balls spawn and fall at the correct rate and fixing the character position, among other things.
https://play.unity.com/mg/other/dog-creator
https://play.unity.com/mg/other/dog-creator
In the Unity Junior Programmer pathway, I used booleans to create animations when the player contacted objects in a pre-built scene. I programmed the entire game under the guidance of a Unity tutorial.
https://play.unity.com/mg/other/helium-hopping-1
https://play.unity.com/mg/other/helium-hopping-1
Oral Presentation