Games Testing

 Testing the game you're designing in unity is important before publishing it because you will find mechanics that you need to upgrade and change to see what will make it better and enjoyable. You can also get feedback from letting people from different ages test the game to know what exactly each one would like more in the game and that is very important because even a word could change your whole idea about the game and you will know what to do to make it challenging and more fun by playing with the game mechanics and dynamics. Finally, just observe how they interact and engage with the game.

Playtest

Game Stories

 In this week's reading task, I was amazed and shocked because I had no clue and would never thought about that the choices we had to make in a game won't affect the plot and that whatever we choose will end in the same way. Telling memorable stories and plots in a game is very important and that it is better to have your own narrative to the game and you make the choices and by these choices, the plot of the game should change but having a fixed plot no matter what isn't a memorable experience.

Telling Stories

Week 9 Reading and Writing

 So far, the reading and writing assignments are working perfect for me since the reading tasks we do are instead of the lecture; therefore, they are beneficial and useful for us and for designing the game because without them, we would be lost and have no idea what to do for the game when designing and creating it in unity. They are also helpful because they mention the mechanics and everything that we need to consider when designing the game. All the week’s readings were quite beneficial as I mentioned before; however, my favorite one so far is the “games Fun” Reading. I enjoyed reading it because I didn’t know how important to include fun in the game to make the player engaged and involved in the game rather than being boring and not challenging. The notes I take each week for the reading tasks are helping me through my journey of designing the game because without these notes and the blog posts I would forget what is important and what needs to be included when designing the game. I discovered various research methods from these tasks because after each reading blog post we must include three resource links that are helpful and include the same topic that was mentioned in the reading articles we read. My game project so far is going great; however, I struggled a little bit at first when trying to figure out the game I want to design and when designing the game in unity. Unity is complicated and hard to understand but with the tutorials we have been doing each week, they made it easier to understand unity and know how it works. I added the essential objects and assets I need for starting my game in unity and also added the scripts I need to make it work as I need it to be however, I still have things that I need to alter and include in the script as well as the layout of the game. My game works as I want it to work except that the obstacles I included aren’t working as I need them to be, and I am trying to figure out the issue but couldn’t find it till now but hopefully I will be able to in the next few weeks before finishing the game. I used the help of the first unity tutorial since my game is like unit 1, which is a truck moving in a street carrying boxes, trying to avoid roadblocks, and trying to reach the finish line in 60 seconds. The only difference is that the street is zigzag and not straight. This class has been so fun, and I really enjoyed it in learning all these things about designing a game and becoming a game designer.  The tasks I enjoyed the most are the extra credit tasks because I think it is really entertaining and important to learn a lot of other things next to our course. I am happy with what I accomplished so far in this course especially my game idea and that I am excited to see how will it turn out to be.

Prototyping

This is my favorite image from week 4 reading task that was talking about the game elements and how it is important when designing the game to draw or design it using paper and start to test it in real life because this is how the designer will know if it's going to be a good game that is fun and challenging to the players. It is an essential step when designing the game that helps with developing the idea.

I think that what we are doing is enough for the reading tasks but if there is something that would make the reading tasks a lot more useful is by adding short videos instead of just one and just one reading article that is easy to read.

Game Fun

 In this week's reading task, I have learnt about the fun part in a game. There are different types of fun that make the game enjoyable and creates an engagement with the people playing it. Making the game challenging add fun to the game. For example, as the video I watched mentioned that Tic Tac Toe is not a fun game because there aren't challenges or things to predict; however, games that involves shooting makes it fun since the player can start engaging with it and think about the next move before shooting.

Fun Game Theory

Links to resources:

1.  https://game-studies.fandom.com/wiki/A_Theory_of_Fun_for_Game_Design
2. https://youtu.be/78rPt0RsosQ
   
3. https://www.raphkoster.com/gaming/gdco12/Koster_Raph_Theory_Fun_10.pdf
   

Games Decisions

In this Reading task, it was mentioned that keeping the flow for the character when playing the game is essential because of several factors, including addiction to games that may cause in some cases death or being bored to the extent that the player will not play the game at all. Flow is about keeping the players involved in challenges that are above their skills to make it entertaining; however, making the game challenges predictable can cause less involvement in the game. Flow has its advantages and disadvantages but being aware of the player's engagement with the challenges and balancing them with the player's skills is important to keep the flow.

Flow Theory

Links for articles:

https://thinkgamedesign.com/flow-theory-game-design/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/flow-theory

https://youtu.be/iUsOCR1KKms

Games GDD

 The Game Design Document (GDD) is an important process when designing a game and thinking about every aspect to what will be included in the game such as, mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics, obstacles, challenges, and characters since only thinking about these things without recording it somehow will be hard to remember when moving forward with the design of your project; therefore, recording everything in this document is a really good way that will make the designer and the team know exactly what is the game about and every other aspect included in the game. 

Sections to include in the GDD:

• Game Design
• Technical
• Controls
• Mechanics
• Setting
• Game Flow
• Graphics
• Style
• Layout
• Color Scheme
• Music
• Sound

Additional Resources:

1. https://milanote.com/templates/game-design/game-design-document

This link includes a template for GDD to use for your game design and shows a step by step to use the template.

2. https://kevurugames.com/blog/what-is-game-design-or-welcome-to-the-game-designers-backstage-rates-mistakes-and-victory-conditions-detailed-game-design-document-template/

This website explains what is steps that a game designer should follow in order to design a game successfully. 

3. http://www.cs.unc.edu/Courses/comp585-s15/DesignDocTemplate.pdf

When clicking on the link it goes to a pdf were it is a 3 page template that shows what should be included in the GDD and its outline.

Game Design Document

Games MDA

 In this week's reading task, it was mentioned when designing a game it is important to consider the MDA (Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetic) tool. They three parts are relevant to each other and when designing a game, the designer must consider the three parts to know how the player will play the game and how will it be consumed. The mechanics of the game is the challenges that are included in the game that the player needs to finish in order to win the game. The dynamics describes how the mechanics work in the game while the aesthetics is the theme or mood of the game and how fun the game is where it can be sensation, fantasy, narrative, challenge, fellowship, discovery, expression, and submission. This is the most common tool that is used when a designing a game but some researches disagree and found another tool called DDE (Design, Dynamics, Experience) to avoid any issues or weaknesses the other tool could cause.

MDA

Links of items of interest:

This link explains MDA tool used in different games.

1. https://medium.com/game-design-fundamentals/tagged/mda

 

This You Tube video explains MDA in an interesting way using visuals.

2. https://youtu.be/uepAJ-rqJKA

This link explains the MDA in among us.

3. https://medium.com/game-design-fundamentals/mda-among-us-b7f85a8e5ad

Game Elements

 In this reading task, the papers were beneficial and explained a lot about how to design a game and what steps to begin with when designing a game. The game elements are important when thinking about the game and if the designer forgot one of them then the game would not be complete and there will be something that is missing because every game element relevant to each other. When designing a game, the first thing that is supposed to be done is drawing a design on a piece of paper. This will help the designer in viewing the game, seeing how it will be played, and trying the game in many different ways with different players. Also, another way for prototyping is to play the game using your body. This is an easier way to view how the game will be designed. Prototyping is a step that helps in evolving the initial idea, and helps the designer to keep on track. Missing one game element will ruin the game and could change the other game elements.

Prototyping

Items of Interest:

1. https://meliorgames.com/game-development/testing-a-game-prototype-step-by-step/ 

This is a link that teaches step by step in testing a game prototype. It is very beneficial and shows the importance of prototyping before designing the actual game.

2. http://gamedesigntools.blogspot.com/p/game-design-methods.html

This link shows various game design methods, which helps in designing a game in whatever method a designer prefers to do.

3. https://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/1415/the_game_design_process.php

This shows the process for designing a game in 6 stages and explaining what happens in each stage with details.

Game Design

 In the reading articles that were provided in the reading tasks were very useful and beneficial. A game's definition can differ in many ways because it is how you view it and this of it. Creating a game is very easy with few resources and you don't have to be creative or put much effort when creating a simple game even if it is reckless but at least it makes sense and you are able to convey the game's instructions through it easily. In the reading task, we were asked to create a game using just simple tools, which were a pen and a pencil or even use Microsoft paint and the important thing when creating a game is to ask yourself some basic questions, including what is the theme, who are the characters, and what is their purpose. 

Great Team

Beneficial Articles:

1. Batchelor, J, 2021, 'What is a Game'. Available from: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-05-14-what-is-a-game [accessed 1 October 2021]

2. Robledo, R, 2019, 'What is a Video Game Designer'. Available from: http://www.animationarena.com/what-is-a-video-game-designer.html [accessed 1 October 2021]

3. Stefyn, N, 2019, 'How video games are made: the game development process'. Available from: https://www.cgspectrum.com/blog/game-development-process [accesses 1 October 2021]