lone phoenix

"It Is Time To Do The Design" by Tenney Tang on Dribbble . This week I finished the final set of tutorials for the arcade-style sumo battle game and completed a challenge. I learned how to spawn up to 3 enemies by adding a new void to the SpawnManager and using for-loop. I also learned how to make the number of enemies increase with waves using the (++) operator as well as getting the power-up to respawn in a random spot at the start of each wave.  Screenshot of my work in Unity3D. In challenge 4, I had to correct the scripts of a soccer themed game by applying what I learned from the sumo battle tutorials. I fixed the issue of the enemy flying towards the player instead of away when they collide by subtracting  "transform.position" from " other.gameObject.transform.position" instead of the other way around. I replaced the "Powerup" tag under the enemyCount variable with "Enemy" so that a new wave begins when all the enemy balls are ta...

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.

Illustration by Saikat Kumar on Dribbble . This week I completed the first three tutorials for building an arcade-style sumo battle game. In the first set of tutorials, I imported the necessary assets and brought a sphere into the scene then applied a texture to the sphere. I learned how to give the main camera a focal point so that it can smoothly rotate around the play area. Following this, I learned how to make the ball roll towards the camera no matter what direction it is facing.  I brought another sphere into the scene to act as an enemy in the second set of tutorials. I was introduced to physics materials where I was able to give the enemy the ability to bounce the player away. I made a new script and added code that allowed the enemy to follow the player. I also created a SpawnManager script for the enemy and applied the code which would cause the enemy to spawn in a random area at the start of the game. In the third set of tutorials, I brought in a star power-up and used ...

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...

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...

 Meme created using the Cheezburger website. Image from Cheezburger site.

Computer gamer illustration from Freepik . I went through the final set of tutorials for making a horizontal endless runner game this week. I was introduced to effects and applied an explosion effect for when the player dies. I also added dirt splatter particles to the player's feet to make it appear as though they are kicking up dirt as they run. I added an audio source component to the main camera object and applied a music clip which plays during the game. I also applied a jump sound for when the player jumps and a crash sound for when the player hits an obstacle.  After completing these tutorials, I did another challenge. The game in the challenge was a horizontal endless game where the player has control of a balloon and the obstacles are bombs. I had to apply what I learned in the previous tutorials to complete this challenge. The player was unable to control the balloon using the spacebar because the GetComponent method was not used so I corrected this. I edited the script a...

Video “In order for the player to be optimally engaged, challenges should be presented at a level equivalent or slightly higher than their current skill. Not too easy, not too hard”( Gigity McD ) The word 'flow state' was coined by Csikszentmihalyi (1975) also known as being “in the zone” This is when the player is fully engaged in the game experience. Csikszentmihalyi put a lot of work into observing and analysing various groups of people. This theory is focused on the idea of how people should balance their skills and the demands of particular tasks. An example of Flow would be a challenge in a game that interests the player such as a puzzle or a boss battle meant to keep the player interested and not get bored. Csikszentmihalyi also states that flow is related to an ideal psychological condition when a person engages in a challenge-skill activity, often resulting in concentration and a focused emphasis on a task. A practical technique for improving Flow is to look at what p...

 Images in a row:         Images from  @SF9_FANCLUB Twitter.

Laptop with program code from Freepik . In this week's Unity tutorials, I began making an endless side-scrolling runner game. The first set of tutorials showed me how to make the player jump by pressing the space bar as well as adjust the character's mass, jump force and the scene's gravity. I added an if-statement to the PlayerController script to prevent the player from double jumping. I learned how to make the background and obstacles move left towards the player as well as set the speed in which they move. I reapplied what I learned about making obstacles spawn from previous tutorials.  In the second set of tutorials, I learned how to make the background repeat so it does not disappear along with the obstacles. I also learned how to make the background stop and have a "game over" message when the player comes into contact with an obstacle. I learned how to stop the obstacles from spawning after the player hits an obstacle. I edited the MoveLeft script so the o...

Online games concept illustration from Freepik . What is the GDD for? A Game Design Document (GDD) is a blueprint for the design and development of a game.  The GDD is a way of being creative and documenting the approach to the development of the game. Gonzale (1999) states that “ the important thing is to have something that describes your game project (or any other project for that matter) before jumping into production .( Gamasutra ) It should help to plan out your game. Though it is recommended that the GDD should be short it needs to be detailed enough so as game developers and artists can coordinate the development of the game independently whilst still keeping to the design. The GDD is a blueprint for how the game is going to be designed and built, similar to a mind map. In conclusion, the game design document is vital to making a game and it is important to have in order to describe your game project. How do we make one? There are a variety of tools that could be used to ...

Various devices illustration from Freepik . This week I completed the final set of tutorials to create a simple animal feeding game. I learned how to make animals spawn on their own rather than having to click "S" to do so. This involved creating a custom function and moving the if-statement under "void Update" to this new function. I also learned how to make the animals spawn after a certain timeframe. I learned how to add box colliders to the animals and how to edit the size of these box colliders. Moreover, I was taught how to make the animals and pizza disappear when they came in contact with each other. I added an else-if-statement that triggers a "Game Over" message when an animal surpasses the player without being fed.  Following this, I completed a challenge in which I had to correct a game similar to the one in the previous tutorials. The final product should allow the player to spawn dogs to catch falling coloured balls. The dogs were initially a...

Young person playing with computer from Freepik . In this week's set of tutorials, I learned how to make a basic animal feeding game. The first section of tutorials took me through the steps of how to make the player move left and right using their arrow keys and how to prevent them from leaving the play area. I also learned that if-statements check for a condition within the game and if it is true, then whatever is inside the block of code will occur.  The second section of tutorials introduced me to prefabs. I turned the GameObjects, in this case animals and slice of pizza, into prefabs so they were able to be easily duplicated. I learned how to make the animals and pizza disappear once they leave the scene. I also learned how to launch the slices of pizza from the player's location. I learned about else-if-statements. The block of code under this occurs when the condition checked by the if-statement is false. The final few tutorials brought me though the steps of how to spaw...

Runner animation by Otilija Morozaitė from Dribbble . Following last week's game brainstorm , I have decided to focus on and develop my idea of creating an infinite runner game and will be thinking about three game mechanics I will include. I will be drawing inspiration from the Ghibli Studios film, "The Secret World of Arrietty" for the theme of my game.  Obstacles are implemented within games to create a challenge for the player and to make it more difficult for them to win or in the case of infinite runner games, prevent them from playing forever and becoming tremendously bored. For my game idea, I plan to scatter stones along the lanes that the player must jump over or switch lanes to avoid. There will also be twigs falling from the trees which will create shadows before hitting the ground so the player is aware and can attempt to avoid them. A feature will be applied that allows the player to move left and right. Rewards will be available to the player throughout th...

Megaphone with speech bubble illustration from Freepik . Revisiting the concept of growth mindsets, " Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a Growth Mindset " written by Gravity Goldberg mentions how we can take on the role of a "mirror" by focusing our feedback on effort. Therefore, we can "reflect back what is there, without judgement." I can agree that I'm someone who tends to give unspecific praise or focus on what I think should be improved, when giving feedback which I'm assuming is not the best way to approach feedback giving.  This article outlines five feedback methods that can help instil a growth mindset within others. The first strategy is to be specific. By detailing the steps that the other person took, they can clearly see, understand and remember the approach they took to their work. The second method is to pay attention to what they are doing which reinforces the concept of being a mirror by focusing on the efforts that a...

Young person playing with computer illustration from Freepik . In this week's set of Unity tutorials, I finished creating the driving simulator from last week. I learned how to give the player control of the vehicle so they can steer using the arrow keys on their keyboard.  I also learned how to make the vehicle rotate when turning, rather than sliding left and right.  Following these tutorials, I completed a challenge where I had to correct bugs within a plane flying game and then add any missing features. This challenge involved making the plane go forwards instead of backwards, slowing the plane down to a manageable speed, making the plane tilt up and down when the player uses the arrow keys, repositioning the camera so that it is beside the plane and making the camera follow the plane as it moves. After I edited the script to allow the camera to follow the plane, I found that the camera did not actually end up doing so. I took another look at the script but everything seem...

Online game concept illustration from Freepik . " What are the Qualities of Games " written by Ian Schreiber reexamines the definition of what a game is, takes a look at the elements of a game and the relevance of a critical analysis. We see many repeating themes when examining different definitions of games. Some of these commonalities mention that games have rules, conflict, goals, decision-making and an unknown result. Games are an alternate universe outside of reality, a simulation, voluntary and more. The author sees these as "formal elements" because they can be defined. According to " Challenges by Game Designers " written by Brenda Brathwaite, these components are "atoms" because they are the smallest pieces of a game that are able to be singled out and examined individually.  The atomic elements of games cannot be boiled down to a single definition. However, by looking at a number of different opinions, commonalities can be identified ju...