Our group this semester has been very successful. There have been no major points of conflict that have caused dissent amongst us. From the start we have all gotten along well. When we have had out team meetings, I will admit not a lot of work was done, but it was because we were having too much fun. When we were brainstorming and discussing ideas, we all listened and discussed our ideas as equals. No ideas were disregarded just because a certain team member spoke them and no one team member took over and controlled the idea selection. This project has truly been a group effort. We all wrote sections of the game design document, with Jane and me writing her lost pieces and submitting it together. Cara made a great mock board and made the rum barrels and found coins to use if we can’t find any doubloons. Jane wrote up the mystery bag cards and burnt them as well as burning the paths for the final board. I made a mock version of the board in Photoshop, then cut out and made the final board. It’s been really great working with friends on this project this semester because I feel we all know where each other is at and we have had heaps of fun but not at the expense of getting the work done. We haven’t made each other stress about whether we would each complete our part and we’ve always turned up to our group meetings or given advance warning if we couldn’t make it. The work we’ve produced hasn’t been three individual pieces put into one, but a collaborative group product.

Water saving education game

Player begins at home, wakes up, goes through morning routine, shower, brushing teeth, washing plates, water plants etc. While he is outside, a dog come up to him and starts speaking to him about how much water he is wasting.  Boy says, what do you mean drought, look how pretty and green our backyard is! Dog then take him on a journey round Australia to properties going broke, animals dying, earth cracking, plants dying and families struggling due to lack of water. Then goes and visits his towns dam and sees a before and after picture of to show him how little water remains and how the fish are dying ad how people can’t enjoy the area any more, no more sports on the dam. Then goes back through town and sees how other people are actually suffering under the drought, gardens are adapted and realises that his family is really wasting lot of water. Goes home and starts to implement all the water saving tips he has leant on his journey and builds a water wise home.

Mini games would be the feature of this game, educational but fun activities that highlight water wise tips and action.

The game would show the player’s tips and things that they can do around their own home to help with the water crisis. Things like turning the water off when brushing their teeth, taking shorter showers, using a bucket to water the plants, using water saving dishwashers and washing machines or using grey water to water the garden. The game would also explain in simple terms that recycled water is good.

Play testing was discussed in the week 12 lecture.

My group has play tested our game once so far with a group of friends who have a good knowledge of board games. We found that although we thought the rules and game board design was clear, the testers had problems from the beginning. In our rules, we had inconsistencies with terminology that confused the players. Our game board design was not clear enough, with questions raised on whether paths were two directional or not, and if so, why they couldn’t just take a shortcut at the beginning and win straight away.

Play testing really opened our eyes to how the end user saw and interpreted our game, and what functions of our game had or hadn’t been thought through in enough detail.

We tried to set up a controlled environment, with all players having no prior knowledge of the game, and al being given the same rules to work with. We answered no questions and gathered feedback through observation, user comments and a debrief after they had played through to about half way. I think that we went in with good intentions, but with no clear concept of the goal of the play testing other than to see if it was actually playable. In hindsight, next time, a clear set of questions and goals will be kept. We will also discuss amongst ourselves what we think should be achieved by the play testing and make sure we all have it clearly defined.

I think play testing is one of the most important parts of a game, but also one of the hardest and overlooked. A comment was made by a group member that if we had had the entire semester to play test a game, the game would not be perfect.

Team Red versus Team Blue

Both teams begin as actors, with motives of play being to capture the flag and race the other team. When one team captures the flag, say team Red, team blue assumes the role of chaser and attacker, with team red counteracting by remaining out of reach and defensive. At all times throughout the game all players can take on the role of attacker, with their target automatically becoming a defender. All players undertake the role of searcher and hider, searching for the location of the flag and then hiding it from the other team. The headset capabilities of Xbox live then add another layer to the game, introducing collaborative strategy to the roles the players assume.

Being able to speak to other players also introduces a layer of metagaming. One player may decide to start abusing other players to distract them from the game or at home, a player’s mother may start berating her child for the offensive language that’s being heard over the system. Players that form teams and play together may discuss strategy in between games and if they become good enough, a fan base may form around the team, spurning a website, forum or other form of community. Around a game such as Halo on Xbox Live, a variation of the English language (gamer speak) has arisen and the creation of new stereotypes (such as the 13 year olds new players that act like they are 2, also known as faggots, though this isn’t the only definition of a faggot).  

This wasn’t just my own ideas and my own evaluation of the ideas. Had other input and extrapolation on mine and the others ideas, which made them better. My vision is not the same as other team member’s vision, sometimes annoying but worked out well in the case of the rum and cards. I wouldn’t have ever gone to the trouble of making clay barrels. Our different takes on the theory and opinions on what is good in a game merged well. This process allowed each of us to take on work that we really enjoyed and do things that we haven’t had an opportunity to do in a long while. I don’t think any of us thought we’d be doing craft and paper Mache for an assessable university assignment and we’ve really had a good time being able to get away from the essays and coding and let our minds go wild with this. Our brainstorming process I don’t think was as intensive as other groups may have been as we had a fairly clear picture of where we wanted to head from the start. We all agreed from the start to make a pirate themed game and in just one session we had come up with the basic resource and race to Tortuga concept. We didn’t really explore many other avenues of games other than a board game that wasn’t too complicated. And we worked from there adjusting as needed. I can see how this creative process may not work for other groups but all group members in my team were in favour of the pirate theme and any disagreements over how the game was to go were minor and valid.

I think the game interface is one of the most important parts of a game. A player does not care how the code was programmed, the complexities of the game mechanics or how well the story is developed if they cannot play the game. The interface is what the player sees and uses the most during a game and if they cannot easily become accustomed to it or be comfortable with it, their interest in a game will quickly die. I find if an interface is too complex or the game requires me to use too many functions on a new interface at one time whilst I am still a novice, I will most probably quit and never play it again. In games where many buttons and functions are required on an interface, I like having easier tasks to complete that gets me familiar with the many different facets of the control panel. Also a game where utilising all the different functions is necessary to win I find becomes annoying. I like being able to have the option of doing many things but also being able to complete a level by just using the basics. Especially if I am just starting or want to get through quickly without the need to develop a large strategy. In Age of Mythology, I like that the beginning campaigns were only simple tasks that got me familiar with the controls and also provided simple strategies to complete tasks. I was able then to just repeat these simple tasks in later levels and still be able to win. I could have developed better strategies for creating a settlement or gathering resources but I was not interested in that, just completing the gal, and I was able to do that with the easy interface.

An interface mechanism that I found cumbersome was the real time menu in Kingdom Hearts. I am referring to the menu that is present during battles and as you move around the worlds, not the menu when you press start. It required me to use the d-pad, something that I didn’t use any other time during the game, and it was very sensitive, so I had to divert my attention to it to make sure I used the correct magi or item. This was impossible during a battle when I needed a potion as I also needed to use the thumb pad with the same finger to move out of my enemies’ way. The trigger + symbol buttons with the right hand was convenient but limited me to only 3 items.

Flow is interrupted when a final boss is too hard causing the player to have to face it multiple times, breaking the player’s sense of narrative and game progression.

God of war: Chains of Olympus came to an abrupt halt in this respect; I was not expecting Persephone to be in any way involved with the story as she had not had a mention until at the end when she suddenly became the major villain and the final boss. I just thought that I had to beat her to get to the final boss, Morpheus, as he was the only given as an opponent during the game.

Because of this, and my previous knowledge of Greek mythology, I didn’t find I had any major emotional response to Persephone except thinking she was a bitch. There was no emotional build up to her defeat apart from what she put Kratos through in regards to his daughter.

I’ll admit in each of the god of war games I’ve felt a bit lost as to who I was questing to eventually kill. I know that Ares and then Zeus are my final opponents, but I don’t feel it was reinforced as well as other games have done in the past, such as in Kingdom hearts, you see your final boss throughout the game, affecting the story and your dislike for the character grows so when you finally do face them, your emotional response is much greater.

Apart from a failing in the plot of god of war chains of Olympus, I found the music and sounds were exceptional and the game play itself was exquisite, the way Kratos was portrayed in game play was fitting to his portrayal as a character. There was nothing in his actions that indicated he was anything less than a Spartan war leader and no mercy in his killing blows. I liked that after two games of Kratos being filled with anger and rage at what the gods had put him through, in this game, is was contrasted with his love for his daughter and wish to get her back. Though seemingly out of character, the developers used the cut scenes to extraordinary effect and made me believe that this rage filled man did have a tender side and truly felt for his daughter and it caused him great angst when he had to choose between her and saving the world.

Interactive world map

My idea is an educational game, where players learn about different cultures and countries using the world as there visual guide. Players would have a globe with an atlas mapped on to it. The players could then hover their mouse over each country, which would show basic information about the country, and then by clicking onto it, zoom in on the country, whether to the continent, or just the country itself or the country with its neighbouring countries also shown. Each successive click would then ‘zoom in’ closer, from the entire country, to regions, to states or territories then to cities and surrounds and then into the cities themselves. The closer and more specific the player gets, the more localised the information provided is too. For example, by zooming in to a northern region of France, such as Brittany, crepes would be part of the food information. To make this more than just an interactive map, players would be given the task of searching for clues and items and have to answer questions about countries they’d visited. Mini games would be littered throughout and results from these would make certain countries unlockable.

I don’t think this would work very well as a ‘game’, but I think as an interactive project it would be very useful and educational. I don’t think that learning about other countries and specific regions could be made into a ‘game’ as most games include some suspension of disbelief, whereas this game deals with the real world without any room for imaginary creations. This game if completely created with lots of detail in every country would require a huge amount of time, money and people, which in reality is unrealistic. It would be easier to gloss over places such as poor third world countries in Africa and focus on North America, as more information is available and it does not have a lot of sensitive issues that big companies would not want examined too closely. Creating a game like this completely unbiased would be impossible, as the country and people developing it would surely concentrate on their own county and ignore other places or write information showing them in a bad light.

The battlegrounds in World of Warcraft have the potential to be unbalanced. The developers have placed level caps on the events, so players of similar strengths are matched against each other. For example, as a level 29 character, you would be placed in the 20 – 29 match, with other players in that level range, and you would be one of the strongest players. But when you levelled up to 30, you would change level range to 30 – 39, making you once again one of the weaker players. This is balanced by both teams being in the same situation, the potential for both teams to be made up of lower level players. Once your character reaches maximum level though, difference in strength can become obvious. As all players are the same level, it is then dependant on the gear worn by the player that can make a large difference in the balance of the battle.

I find that this balance is sometimes uneven, as wish to run instances to get better gear, but teams don’t allow me to run with them because my gear is not good enough. It sometimes seems like an endless circle.

Balance in the PVP world among lower level characters is kept with graded honour system. If a player’s level is too low, there is no honour received if you kill them. This generally allows lower levels to play without fear of being knocked out without a chance in two hits by a passing higher level.

I find in wow that whilst everything is done to maintain balance, due to human influence, it can never be perfect. A fire mage on a PVP server for example, does not fair very well in unexpected close range combat, as they rely heavily on spell casting, which requires them to be uninterrupted in the one spot as well as having low health to compensate their high mana. But they also, if able to cast, can deal large amounts of damage in a single hit and if allowed, can end a duel, victoriously, very fast.  A fire mage out of PVP, in instances and dungeons, can be very useful. As they do not need to come into close range of a target, they can deal large amounts of damage, bringing the opponent down quickly.

I think that Blizzard is doing a great job in trying to keep all the different types of characters balanced, but it is not perfect, and it may never be, as even though on paper two classes may be evenly matched, it comes down to the skill and attitude of the player behind the character.

Your parents have just moved to the country for business, and have decided that it’s time for you to get a proper education. So they pack you up and send you to the best boarding school in the country, St Paxton’s School for Delicate Young Ladies. You arrive on your first day, greeted by Miss Paxton herself, great great-granddaughter of the founding Mistress. She looks down her long nose at you and ushers you off to the boarding mistress with a perfunctory “Good morning.”

You begin in your dorm room, shared with 3 other girls. It’s time for class and if you don’t hurry, you’ll be late. You follow your roommates to class and go through a start of game tutorial on all the basic game controls.  At the end of class, you are then able to go your own way, making friends or enemies. There is a main ‘quest line’ to complete, but it is optional.

The player is able to mould their character however they like in the game world. Examples of choices the player could make are detailed below.

The player could aim to become the most popular girl in school, by making friends with the ‘cool’ group, wearing stylish clothes, buying the latest gadgets, picking on the unpopular people. They may also climb to the top of a school held in check by fear, seeking revenge on girls who say mean things about her, making enemies of the cool group, threatening to reveal other girls secrets, fighting girls who insult her.

The player may aim to stay under the radar until the year finishes, by avoiding the schools bully, staying in the library, not insulting anyone.

If a player attends classes and studies and receives good grades, and beat the other students, she will become the school dux at the end of the year. But she will also be labelled a nerd if she does not make any friends.

The school has a brother school in the same town, and social functions are held between each school regularly. The player may meet boys, get a boyfriend, steal another girl’s boyfriend, or not attend at all, which will mean she won’t have a date to the school formal, a major school event. Some of the social function will also only be able to be attended if the girl meets the requirements. For example, the player must be in a band to go to the music festival or play a sport to go to the sports day. The player may also choose to become a lesbian, wooing one of her classmates.

Girls will be able to choose from a wide range of extracurricular activities, and each choice will affect their reputation. Joining a sport is good, but if you choose croquet, you won’t be very popular, but if you choose soccer, you will be looked on as cool. The same goes for musical instruments.

The player will be able to play pranks on teachers and other girls, using what resources they can find and purchase. If they are caught though, the headmistress will contact your parents and depending on the seriousness of the offence, will punish you accordingly. For example, if you are caught out of bed after curfew, your parents may decide to not give you any pocket money that week, which means you won’t be able to buy any flour for the prank you were planning.

This game will be a role playing game similar to Oblivion. Players may customize their characters looks, and this will affect how in game characters react to them. If the avatar is ugly, then the ‘cool’ group will tease them, if the avatar is beautiful, the cool group will like them, and probably bitch and be jealous behind their back. The game world will be able to be explored fully and modifiable, for instance, if you set of a pack of fireworks behind the garden shed and leave scorch marks, they will remain for the remainder of the game, unless the gardener repairs or cleans the building.