THOUGHTS ON UPCOMING ASSIGNMENTS

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After reading about the layout of tasks for the semester, I have a better understanding of what I'll be doing each week. I think that having the list of assignments available helps me come up with an idea of how I should use my time efficiently.

Among the different assignments, I think I'm most intrigued by the Unity3D tasks. Creating games is something I never thought of trying so I'm excited to start learning how. I might be someone who isn’t really into gaming but thinking about how they are created seems quite interesting. I'm always up for exploring new programs and applications.

For my other modules, assignments are usually given to us one by one as the year progresses. This way, we can only focus on one assignment at a time. The assignments tend to be bigger and have larger gaps between due dates. This is different to Multimedia Development because the assignments are not as heavy so we have several pieces of work due throughout the week. I like the layout of this module because I'm aware of what's to come.

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FIRST PLAYABLE

Continuing with the creation of my game, I resized the player character to make them even smaller based on a comment that was left on my last project blog. I also repositioned the trees to make the space slightly narrower and added some flowers to bring some colour into the scene. With reference from the animal feeding game tutorial, I was able to get the player moving left and right by clicking the arrow keys. I brought in rocks and a branch for obstacles but I need to apply a SpawnManager script and get them to spawn randomly during gameplay. I also have to figure out how to get some branches falling from the trees and bringing in power-ups and points too. Screenshot from Unity3D of my game production.

PROTOTYPE

I browsed through the Unity asset store to find a package with nature objects that I could use to set up the scene for my infinite runner game. I downloaded the Nature Starter Kit 2 and started building my scene in Unity. This was a little time consuming but I'm satisfied with the way it turned out. I upscaled the trees and bushes, keeping in my mind my initial idea of gaining inspiration from the movie "The Secret World of Arrietty." I got the character from a tutorial I have completed for this module before and positioned the camera behind it. Screenshot of my work in Unity3D. With reference to the lesson 3 Unity tutorial, I started coding by creating the PlayerController script. I used the AddForce method and allowed the player to jump by clicking the spacebar. I declared two public variables to be able to adjust the gravity and player's jump force. Looking into the player's animator controller, I applied a static running animation. I then added a jumping ani...

GAME FUN

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 and 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. These 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 fun that...

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