Week 9 - Reading and Writing

Week 9 - Reading and Writing

On average, the reading and writing fr this week isn't entirely bad. There are times when certain readings seems repetitive or as if we have already read them before. Besides those points, the reading are very constructive in how they gave us information and insights into how a game work and why they work.

My favourite reading so far is the one on Week 5, regarding game development. It was simple video about the three components of a game: Mechanic, Dynamic and Aesthetics and what roles they play in a video game's design.

Mechanics are the rules and constraints in which the game operates.

Dynamics are the flow of play within the game, mainly based on the player's inputs.

Aesthetics are the elements of the game which gives the player an unique experience, ranging from landscape, design, music, etc.

All of these play an essential role in creating an interesting and enjoyable game.

The video also talks about the Eight Kinds of "Fun" which outline what kind of fun people seek in a video game. This show what kind of preferences people have in choosing a game. From these preferences, we can see what are people looking for in a game that intrigues them and entices them to play it. For Example, a competitive game like DOTA 2 will entice players who seek mastery and also the feel of winning.

To be honest, the reading only helped during the early research and development stage of the game, where the understanding of what makes a game tick really helps solidify the foundation for the game. However, afterwards, due to increasingly demanding deadlines and upcoming projects, going back over the reading is nearly impossible when doing the project straight away is always faster and more efficient time-wise.

The biggest accomplishment done in this class is definitely getting Unity and the first models working. It was less of a hurdle but more like a wall to get the models working properly. The weird bugs and code warning that frequently pop up later on really damages the progress of making the prototype. 

Unity is a great tool but not a consistent one. If there were less versions of Unity and instead implemented an update system where the most recent version is always available, people who have to constantly switch between version or find themselves limited due to the versions they're currently using can feel a bit at ease.

This was the intended HUD for the game I'm making.

The picture above is my favorite from the past weeks. This vaguely displays what the game will look like. It's a little window to see what the future can hold for the game in development which I think is rather nice.

In conclusion, it's best that reading should be kept minimal but very concise so we may have more free-time to work on Unity itself. By the end, the amount of time available for Unity can open up people's schedule during the week and make things less pressuring from a day-to-day basis.

That's all for today.

Have a nice day!