Here's a very interesting video from the new scientist magazine about how people are creating biological and technological organisms.
Quite interesting to be honest!
Monday, 30 November 2009
Dipity Timeline
Here is my Dipity timeline. Keep referring back to this as I am constantly adding things to it over the course of the next few days.
Also, I would like to point out that Dipity does not support the ability to include dates before 100 AD, so for all the dates that are before then, I have put in as "Jan 1st 100" then adding 100 on the year for more recent additions.
Here we go! this is my near completed timeline, after hours of re-making my timeline because dipity kept erasing it, I'm almost finished.
Edit:
OK the whole thing is now finished. Hope you enjoy reading through it and maybe gain something that will go towards your own FMP idea.
Also, I would like to point out that Dipity does not support the ability to include dates before 100 AD, so for all the dates that are before then, I have put in as "Jan 1st 100" then adding 100 on the year for more recent additions.
Here we go! this is my near completed timeline, after hours of re-making my timeline because dipity kept erasing it, I'm almost finished.
Edit:
OK the whole thing is now finished. Hope you enjoy reading through it and maybe gain something that will go towards your own FMP idea.
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Game research
I wanted to design a game that would be used on a mobile phone platform, because I feel that over the course of the next decade or so, there will be significant advancements between consoles and phone technologies, in which a merger will be the result. Smart phones are already on their way to this end, with devices such as the Android, and the Iphone. I feel that these current devices will become to steping stone for the standard at which mobile phones will become. I also conducted searches into touchscreen games, mobile phone games, mobile phone ergonomics & conventions, also some background information regarding my concept, Whack-a-mole. The underlying reason for my decision to use this platform for my game, was simply because mobile phones these days arent restricted to just text and calling people. They are having more and more technology intergrated into them, which is apparent in the touch screen technology that was intergrated into phones not that long ago, even though touch screens hae existed before this addition.
Microsoft, Apple and numerous other companies have began an arms race to develop the next standard fpr mobile phones. The app's store has proven that there is a way to make a viable profit for external applications, not only restricted to games, within this industry. In conjunction to this the hardware for mobile phones is still beoming more advanced, which indicates to me that, as I said earlier, over the next decade we will see new standards arise, and a time where applications and games will essentially be cross compatible between the phones of the future.
Phone ergonomics & conventions
Due to the amount of phones that have been on the market over the past few years, it can often seem difficult to adapt from one make to another. If you are used to a particular model, and switch to a totally different one it can be quite frustrating for some time. Take for example these three phones.
[ Show 3 images]
They seem to have similar layout for the buttons, however, the first only allows you to pick up an incoming call by pressing the green phone button located on the right hand side. The second phone also has this feature, but the buttons for pickup and end call, have switched positions. The final phone has its answer call button in the centre. As I said earlier, this switch of buttons can cause frustration for caller and reciever. Another Issue regarding these buttons are the text that often accompanies the icons. As you can plainly see, they are different for each model (providing they even have text). Which I find to be a useless addition for phones, as I believe Icons and imagery work far better at informing a person about something than text will. This is why most hazzardous or danger signs use colours and symbols that reflect their contents. They are also restricted in their content, because they have to represent something on a universal scale. If it was not like this, then the image in question would loose its power if it was to represent more than one thing. For example, if a 'biohazzard' symbol was also used to represent a 'Danger electricity' symbol, it would get confusing and loose its impact on people. It is the same thing, if greenpeace used the Nazi symbol for their campaigns, peoplw would have a different outlook on what the organisation were doing. There has been alot of research into this using primates and other animals to see if they can learn to understand what symbols mean, without them knowing or understanding spoken language. This research can be found here:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/research-eu/animality/article_animality18_en.html
http://ec.europa.eu/research/headlines/news/article_08_07_07_en.html
It is also known that all modern language drived from a language that was made up of symbols and pictures, such as Egyptian and Nordic. Infact our languages are comprised of symbols. The chinese language has many different symbols which represent words and sentences that make up every day conversations. So there is a great deal of evidence that supports the fact that pictures do indeed paint a thousand words. It is also really interesting, yet confusing that nearly all mobile phone buttons on/off button is usually the red, cancel button. This brings me onto another feature that nearly all phones share. The shapes of the buttons. As you can see from these examples, each of the main buttons are all different shapes. There is no universal design, so it means that you have to get acustomed to the interface. However, It is apparent that the main buttons are located in the same region across many phones, so atleast you know where to find them!
[ Image of upside down phone]
Another unusual ergonomic feature that has come to my attention, and is actually really interesting, is that almost every mobile phone has its screen sittuated at the top, and the buttons below. I am unsure why the phone as been designed like this, but the idea behind it was so your thumb could do all the work on the number pad. If you take your phone in your hand, you will notice that your thumb is actually sittuated at the top of the phone, not the bottom, where the numbers are. In addition to this, if you write a long text message, or play a mobile phone game for long periods, your thumb will begin to ache. This is because the design isnt ergonomically sound. The easiest fix for this, is to design a phone, where the number pad is above the screen. You can try this by turning your phone upside down, and moving your thumb across the pad. It feels very different, but alot better. There has infact been a paitent made for the design of a phone like this, carried out by an irish inventor. The 'new scientist' magazine has covered this and an article was published early 2007, so this idea is not new. The link is http://www.newscientist.com/blog/invention/2007/02/upside-down-mobile-phone.html
I find it equally as strange in that I cannot find any phone that has been specifically designed like this, although I think the nokia 7600 came close, due to its unusual shape, forced people to hold it different to how they would usually hold a phone. Perhaps this sparked the idea for a new design, who's to say?
The only issue with this idea of an inverted phone interface, is that now we have taken a step from tradtitonal touch pad phones to touch screen phones, people are using them differently. For example, people now text and navigate the interface using their index finger more, or turning the phone on its side, and interacting with it as if it were a game pad. So the question pops into my mind, do we really need a phone to have an inverted design now there are new ways to interface with them?
An ergonomic study was conducted in australia for the use of mobile phones. It was conducted in 2004, so the material is out dated, but its point is still valid none the less. The study was used to find out if erconomics were a factor in mobile phone design. Its results, to me, arent that supprising.
"Our preliminary studies of the latest phones suggest the buttons are only appropriately sized for five-year olds,". "And if the current trend of shrinking phones continues, soon the buttons will only be big enough for three-year olds."
These comments came from one of the sceintists in the study. She goes on to say, that another problem regarding these phones, was vision. Due to the human visual sense decreasing around the age of 40, using such small devices, puts even greater strain on the eyes, which causes greater visual degredation. This research is quite concerning, as it means that using mobile phones could be contributing to poor eyesight. With that said, a product marketing manager for sony ericsson, has noted that because cameras have started becoming integrated into mobile phones, the odds that screens will get smaller are very slim. And we can plainly see, five years on, this predicition has most certianly come true.
With regards to my previous statement, about companies assuming that thumbs are being predominantly used for mobile phone interfaces, Older users of the device, are generally using their index fingers to use the buttons with. I believe this is the case because when phones were introduced, and text messaging wasnt available, this method was the standard for its time. As the standards change, I think that people are reluctant to change how they operate the interface of phones. For example, phones which were ring dial operated, required the index finger to dial the numbers. I believe that because my father has grown up with this standard, he still remains to use his current mobile phone in a similar fashion, where as myself, I operate both the house phone, and mobile phone by using my thumb to dial the numbers. As i mentioned earlier, the new touch screen interfaces have started seeing both methods getting combined into a new standard. The scientist, Dr Head, who was interviewed for the ergonomic study, states that "A device should adapt to a person. A person shouldn't have to adapt to a device,". The research gained from this study, does have some weight, because a study published in 2002 had found that the thumb has now become the most dexterous digit for people under the age of 25. Also a british report, published in 2004, regarding mobile phone use in eight metropolitan areas found that thumbs are getting bigger and more muscular, that could be due to mobile phone usage. The American Society of Hand Therapists, have called this 'Nintendo Thumb', which is "a swelling at the base of the thumb, linked to the dependence on the digit when playing video games".
Mobile phone games
The first mobile phone game was snake, which was released in 1998 and was pre installed on select nokia models, such as the 6110. It was actually designed in the late 1970's, and was called 'Worm' at the time, and was created by the company 'Gremlin'. The game in itself was very simple and straightforward. Games for phones at this point were very basic, and resembled very, very early console games in terms of graphics and sophistication. The problem with this was, the games were limited to the hardware of the actual phone. Because of this huge limitation, the games developed were entirely monochomatic and monophonic, and the games were no more indepth than pacman, Which still did not stop them becoming a huge success. This success can even be seen today, with the latest Orange advertisement making a reference to the game snake. All games at this point were also pre installed, not download or upload. For the best part of 4 years Nokia had majority control over this market, but in 2001, with the advancements in mobile technology, other developer companies began emerging, and soon, there was a vast amount of competition in mobile gaming. From this point onwards, mobile phones started becoming more widely used, much more advanced microprocessing technology was developed, data storage cards and with the advent of colour phones, games were developed in their droves. It was now possible to download games onto your phone. Popular console games such as Pac-man and space invaders were being created for mobile phones too. Research from 2008 showed that mobile phone games were now a very sucessful industry, reaching over $5 billion. Today you can even get very sucessful games such as Guitar hero for mobile phones, which tells me that the industry for console games has now reached a point where they are able to go into cross platform genres. This is apparent with a companie called CCP Games, sittuated in Iceland. They have designed an MMORPG set in the far future. They recently held a fanfest in which they discussed some ideas for what they plan to do in the future. One of their plans is to integrate a mobile phone minigame, which affects your account for the online game. They plan to do this across as many platforms as they can, including the Xbox, PS3 and even applications such as Facebook. The link to view this video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNhPig8inEY&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=E7A45268BF4505BC. The video is roughly an hour and fourghty minutes long. This tells me that projects such as these are proving that there are no boundaries between games an the technology that is used.
The only issues that lie between mobile games and their popularity, is the fact that there is still a wide technological gap between consoles and phones. This is due to their dependance on the hardware they use. This means that the industry is limited to casual gamers, and people who have 20 minutes to spare on a bus journy. Also I feel that most users are acustomed to the graphical advances seen in many games developed for consoles today, whereas the mobile games offer much less in terms of the graphical content displayed. Perhaps the biggest of these issues is that mobile phone games are currently restricted to the service provider your contract is with. This means you cannot purchase any game you like. You would need to ensure that the game is compatible with your current phone. With the possible addition of new standards being developed, I believe this will be overcome.
Touchscreen games
Touchscreen games arent restricted to mobile phones. The nintendo DS and even the Ipod touch uses such games. From the reseach conducted and examples that I have seen, it is apparent to me that there is a large market for these games. I feel that because the technology within gaming is relatively new, its potential has not yet been fulfilled. I have noticed that games released on a touchscreen platform, either involve a degree if user interactivity, (I.E. using a stylus to write information down) or are re-releases of arcade games. (Dungeon crawler,Sword of Fargoal). This gives me inspiration in that, to achieve a level of game that could potentially sell and be enjoyable, I would need to include these features. I have also come to the conclusion that the game I develop would have to be easy to pick up and understand, else the player would be reluctant in buying it. A balance of challenging and entertaining would also heavily come into consideration. With this said, I believe a simple 2D arcade game would be a perfect choice, because they can be addictive if designed correctly and because It should require very limited coding and designing time constraints.
Games
Upon looking into the touch screen games genre, I looked at two games, that were based on the Whack-a-Mole Arcade game. The game was originally created in 1971, by Aaron Fechter. With this basic design it was sold onto a company called "Bob's space racers". Aaron did not realise the potential of his invention, and in doing so, he failed to get the protective patient for it. From here it sold world wide to predominantly carnivals and arcades. The game has changed since then, and has had many upgrades, but it is essentially the same game. I have found two flash versions of the game which I found reall interesting. The first is essentialy a remake of the original. The score system is, you hit a mole, you gain a point. If you miss, you loose a point. This is a very good idea for the game, as it prevents cheating by constantly tapping the mouse button. I feel that it would also help with hand eye coordination development skills.
The second version of the game is basically the same. The difference is, the designer has given it some variation. For example, If you hit one of the moles as they pop up, there is a chance it will act out one of three animations. Also, a very good feature to this addition, is the moles pop up from random locations, not set ones on the screen. This makes the game more challenging and fun for the player, due to the even greater random setting. A big factor in playing games I think, would be the game rules themselves. I feel that rules which are set in place, give players boundaries and limits that they can work with. Alot of games today are sold without any instruction books with them, but people still have an inherent ability to know how to play the game. I think that this is because rules are transfereable from all aspects of games, work, and life in general, and applied to games. Rules are also set up to prevent people gaining unfair advantages over other people. I would guess that games without these sorts of rules would have a much smaller fan base as oppose to a game with a more ridgid structure of rules and boundaries. If we look at the whack-a-mole game, and break down its rules, you will notice that each player gets an equal set time frame, say 2 minutes, to hit as many 'moles' as they can. The moles will pop out of their holes in a random order, in which the player has the opportunity to generate a score. This system ensures that players have the same time frame, and a fair chance to guess where the next mole will pop up, with a set time limit to hit the mole. In addtion to this, there is a high score system, where players can have a healthy competition to see who can win. Every fair ground will have one of these whack-a-mole games, and it is guarenteed that people will use it and have a good time playing it, because essentially, no matter what platform this type of game is on, it is still a fun game to play, which is why I think it has lasted so long, and probably will last for years to come. I will take these games and ideas on board, and hopefully it will help me create my own version of the game, because fundimentally, a good game will always be a good game.
Conventions within games
Generally most successful games will have a powerful rule system in place, as I have explained. these rules define the essence of the game, in that players will know the limitations of themselves, and what the game has to offer. I personally believe in giving the player as much fredom within a game as possible, without damaging these core rules. I feel this way because I get the sense that newer games are no longer looking at playability. The seem to be "spoon feeding" new gamers, due to the fact that games now can usually be completed within a matter of days, where as I remember spending weeks on some games when I was a child. I believe that giving players more fredom with a game is entirely possible, but I also think that it is sure to be very challenging, because you would need to find a balance between rules and fredom. too much of either will surely detere the player from playing the game. Games also have similar interface content, in terms of, a main menu, where you can view options screens, quitting hte game, starting the game, saving the game, etc. For example, the majority of playstation games respond to the start button on the pad as being a pause button. Or the Escape key on a PC pausing the game and bringing up some form of menu. I think these conventions are quite possibly a corner stone in games design, purely because the majority of players will automatically know what each key does. This isnt restricted to games either. For example, pressing the Escape key will also close some windows with certian programs, E.g. MSN messenger. This can cause a problem also, in that when you are designing certian software, you need to be aware that you yourselfs are restricted to certian rules before anything can be desinged. You ofcourse can break the mould and design something entirely different, but in doing so you are taking a big risk, in that you cant be sure if your program will be a success atall.
Ergonomics & Conventions links -
http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=961
http://www.hfes-europe.org/badergo/bad41.htm
http://www.infovis.net/printMag.php?lang=2&num=18
Mobile phone games -
http://www.answerbag.com/articles/The-History-of-Mobile-Phone-Games/455adc5b-1122-ebc9-55ce-28560e5b8fcf
http://www.eamobile.com/Web/
http://www.handson.com/
http://www.namcomobile.com/
http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_5279970_history-mobile-phone-games.html?cr=1
Touchscreen links -
http://toucharcade.com/
Games links -
http://www.bobsspaceracers.com/whac-a-mole/moleknows.htm
http://www.addictinggames.com/whackamole.html
http://www.molepro.com/products/game.htm
http://fun.familyeducation.com/games/family-games/45713.html
Microsoft, Apple and numerous other companies have began an arms race to develop the next standard fpr mobile phones. The app's store has proven that there is a way to make a viable profit for external applications, not only restricted to games, within this industry. In conjunction to this the hardware for mobile phones is still beoming more advanced, which indicates to me that, as I said earlier, over the next decade we will see new standards arise, and a time where applications and games will essentially be cross compatible between the phones of the future.
Phone ergonomics & conventions
Due to the amount of phones that have been on the market over the past few years, it can often seem difficult to adapt from one make to another. If you are used to a particular model, and switch to a totally different one it can be quite frustrating for some time. Take for example these three phones.
[ Show 3 images]
They seem to have similar layout for the buttons, however, the first only allows you to pick up an incoming call by pressing the green phone button located on the right hand side. The second phone also has this feature, but the buttons for pickup and end call, have switched positions. The final phone has its answer call button in the centre. As I said earlier, this switch of buttons can cause frustration for caller and reciever. Another Issue regarding these buttons are the text that often accompanies the icons. As you can plainly see, they are different for each model (providing they even have text). Which I find to be a useless addition for phones, as I believe Icons and imagery work far better at informing a person about something than text will. This is why most hazzardous or danger signs use colours and symbols that reflect their contents. They are also restricted in their content, because they have to represent something on a universal scale. If it was not like this, then the image in question would loose its power if it was to represent more than one thing. For example, if a 'biohazzard' symbol was also used to represent a 'Danger electricity' symbol, it would get confusing and loose its impact on people. It is the same thing, if greenpeace used the Nazi symbol for their campaigns, peoplw would have a different outlook on what the organisation were doing. There has been alot of research into this using primates and other animals to see if they can learn to understand what symbols mean, without them knowing or understanding spoken language. This research can be found here:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/research-eu/animality/article_animality18_en.html
http://ec.europa.eu/research/headlines/news/article_08_07_07_en.html
It is also known that all modern language drived from a language that was made up of symbols and pictures, such as Egyptian and Nordic. Infact our languages are comprised of symbols. The chinese language has many different symbols which represent words and sentences that make up every day conversations. So there is a great deal of evidence that supports the fact that pictures do indeed paint a thousand words. It is also really interesting, yet confusing that nearly all mobile phone buttons on/off button is usually the red, cancel button. This brings me onto another feature that nearly all phones share. The shapes of the buttons. As you can see from these examples, each of the main buttons are all different shapes. There is no universal design, so it means that you have to get acustomed to the interface. However, It is apparent that the main buttons are located in the same region across many phones, so atleast you know where to find them!
[ Image of upside down phone]
Another unusual ergonomic feature that has come to my attention, and is actually really interesting, is that almost every mobile phone has its screen sittuated at the top, and the buttons below. I am unsure why the phone as been designed like this, but the idea behind it was so your thumb could do all the work on the number pad. If you take your phone in your hand, you will notice that your thumb is actually sittuated at the top of the phone, not the bottom, where the numbers are. In addition to this, if you write a long text message, or play a mobile phone game for long periods, your thumb will begin to ache. This is because the design isnt ergonomically sound. The easiest fix for this, is to design a phone, where the number pad is above the screen. You can try this by turning your phone upside down, and moving your thumb across the pad. It feels very different, but alot better. There has infact been a paitent made for the design of a phone like this, carried out by an irish inventor. The 'new scientist' magazine has covered this and an article was published early 2007, so this idea is not new. The link is http://www.newscientist.com/blog/invention/2007/02/upside-down-mobile-phone.html
I find it equally as strange in that I cannot find any phone that has been specifically designed like this, although I think the nokia 7600 came close, due to its unusual shape, forced people to hold it different to how they would usually hold a phone. Perhaps this sparked the idea for a new design, who's to say?
The only issue with this idea of an inverted phone interface, is that now we have taken a step from tradtitonal touch pad phones to touch screen phones, people are using them differently. For example, people now text and navigate the interface using their index finger more, or turning the phone on its side, and interacting with it as if it were a game pad. So the question pops into my mind, do we really need a phone to have an inverted design now there are new ways to interface with them?
An ergonomic study was conducted in australia for the use of mobile phones. It was conducted in 2004, so the material is out dated, but its point is still valid none the less. The study was used to find out if erconomics were a factor in mobile phone design. Its results, to me, arent that supprising.
"Our preliminary studies of the latest phones suggest the buttons are only appropriately sized for five-year olds,". "And if the current trend of shrinking phones continues, soon the buttons will only be big enough for three-year olds."
These comments came from one of the sceintists in the study. She goes on to say, that another problem regarding these phones, was vision. Due to the human visual sense decreasing around the age of 40, using such small devices, puts even greater strain on the eyes, which causes greater visual degredation. This research is quite concerning, as it means that using mobile phones could be contributing to poor eyesight. With that said, a product marketing manager for sony ericsson, has noted that because cameras have started becoming integrated into mobile phones, the odds that screens will get smaller are very slim. And we can plainly see, five years on, this predicition has most certianly come true.
With regards to my previous statement, about companies assuming that thumbs are being predominantly used for mobile phone interfaces, Older users of the device, are generally using their index fingers to use the buttons with. I believe this is the case because when phones were introduced, and text messaging wasnt available, this method was the standard for its time. As the standards change, I think that people are reluctant to change how they operate the interface of phones. For example, phones which were ring dial operated, required the index finger to dial the numbers. I believe that because my father has grown up with this standard, he still remains to use his current mobile phone in a similar fashion, where as myself, I operate both the house phone, and mobile phone by using my thumb to dial the numbers. As i mentioned earlier, the new touch screen interfaces have started seeing both methods getting combined into a new standard. The scientist, Dr Head, who was interviewed for the ergonomic study, states that "A device should adapt to a person. A person shouldn't have to adapt to a device,". The research gained from this study, does have some weight, because a study published in 2002 had found that the thumb has now become the most dexterous digit for people under the age of 25. Also a british report, published in 2004, regarding mobile phone use in eight metropolitan areas found that thumbs are getting bigger and more muscular, that could be due to mobile phone usage. The American Society of Hand Therapists, have called this 'Nintendo Thumb', which is "a swelling at the base of the thumb, linked to the dependence on the digit when playing video games".
Mobile phone games
The first mobile phone game was snake, which was released in 1998 and was pre installed on select nokia models, such as the 6110. It was actually designed in the late 1970's, and was called 'Worm' at the time, and was created by the company 'Gremlin'. The game in itself was very simple and straightforward. Games for phones at this point were very basic, and resembled very, very early console games in terms of graphics and sophistication. The problem with this was, the games were limited to the hardware of the actual phone. Because of this huge limitation, the games developed were entirely monochomatic and monophonic, and the games were no more indepth than pacman, Which still did not stop them becoming a huge success. This success can even be seen today, with the latest Orange advertisement making a reference to the game snake. All games at this point were also pre installed, not download or upload. For the best part of 4 years Nokia had majority control over this market, but in 2001, with the advancements in mobile technology, other developer companies began emerging, and soon, there was a vast amount of competition in mobile gaming. From this point onwards, mobile phones started becoming more widely used, much more advanced microprocessing technology was developed, data storage cards and with the advent of colour phones, games were developed in their droves. It was now possible to download games onto your phone. Popular console games such as Pac-man and space invaders were being created for mobile phones too. Research from 2008 showed that mobile phone games were now a very sucessful industry, reaching over $5 billion. Today you can even get very sucessful games such as Guitar hero for mobile phones, which tells me that the industry for console games has now reached a point where they are able to go into cross platform genres. This is apparent with a companie called CCP Games, sittuated in Iceland. They have designed an MMORPG set in the far future. They recently held a fanfest in which they discussed some ideas for what they plan to do in the future. One of their plans is to integrate a mobile phone minigame, which affects your account for the online game. They plan to do this across as many platforms as they can, including the Xbox, PS3 and even applications such as Facebook. The link to view this video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNhPig8inEY&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=E7A45268BF4505BC. The video is roughly an hour and fourghty minutes long. This tells me that projects such as these are proving that there are no boundaries between games an the technology that is used.
The only issues that lie between mobile games and their popularity, is the fact that there is still a wide technological gap between consoles and phones. This is due to their dependance on the hardware they use. This means that the industry is limited to casual gamers, and people who have 20 minutes to spare on a bus journy. Also I feel that most users are acustomed to the graphical advances seen in many games developed for consoles today, whereas the mobile games offer much less in terms of the graphical content displayed. Perhaps the biggest of these issues is that mobile phone games are currently restricted to the service provider your contract is with. This means you cannot purchase any game you like. You would need to ensure that the game is compatible with your current phone. With the possible addition of new standards being developed, I believe this will be overcome.
Touchscreen games
Touchscreen games arent restricted to mobile phones. The nintendo DS and even the Ipod touch uses such games. From the reseach conducted and examples that I have seen, it is apparent to me that there is a large market for these games. I feel that because the technology within gaming is relatively new, its potential has not yet been fulfilled. I have noticed that games released on a touchscreen platform, either involve a degree if user interactivity, (I.E. using a stylus to write information down) or are re-releases of arcade games. (Dungeon crawler,Sword of Fargoal). This gives me inspiration in that, to achieve a level of game that could potentially sell and be enjoyable, I would need to include these features. I have also come to the conclusion that the game I develop would have to be easy to pick up and understand, else the player would be reluctant in buying it. A balance of challenging and entertaining would also heavily come into consideration. With this said, I believe a simple 2D arcade game would be a perfect choice, because they can be addictive if designed correctly and because It should require very limited coding and designing time constraints.
Games
Upon looking into the touch screen games genre, I looked at two games, that were based on the Whack-a-Mole Arcade game. The game was originally created in 1971, by Aaron Fechter. With this basic design it was sold onto a company called "Bob's space racers". Aaron did not realise the potential of his invention, and in doing so, he failed to get the protective patient for it. From here it sold world wide to predominantly carnivals and arcades. The game has changed since then, and has had many upgrades, but it is essentially the same game. I have found two flash versions of the game which I found reall interesting. The first is essentialy a remake of the original. The score system is, you hit a mole, you gain a point. If you miss, you loose a point. This is a very good idea for the game, as it prevents cheating by constantly tapping the mouse button. I feel that it would also help with hand eye coordination development skills.
The second version of the game is basically the same. The difference is, the designer has given it some variation. For example, If you hit one of the moles as they pop up, there is a chance it will act out one of three animations. Also, a very good feature to this addition, is the moles pop up from random locations, not set ones on the screen. This makes the game more challenging and fun for the player, due to the even greater random setting. A big factor in playing games I think, would be the game rules themselves. I feel that rules which are set in place, give players boundaries and limits that they can work with. Alot of games today are sold without any instruction books with them, but people still have an inherent ability to know how to play the game. I think that this is because rules are transfereable from all aspects of games, work, and life in general, and applied to games. Rules are also set up to prevent people gaining unfair advantages over other people. I would guess that games without these sorts of rules would have a much smaller fan base as oppose to a game with a more ridgid structure of rules and boundaries. If we look at the whack-a-mole game, and break down its rules, you will notice that each player gets an equal set time frame, say 2 minutes, to hit as many 'moles' as they can. The moles will pop out of their holes in a random order, in which the player has the opportunity to generate a score. This system ensures that players have the same time frame, and a fair chance to guess where the next mole will pop up, with a set time limit to hit the mole. In addtion to this, there is a high score system, where players can have a healthy competition to see who can win. Every fair ground will have one of these whack-a-mole games, and it is guarenteed that people will use it and have a good time playing it, because essentially, no matter what platform this type of game is on, it is still a fun game to play, which is why I think it has lasted so long, and probably will last for years to come. I will take these games and ideas on board, and hopefully it will help me create my own version of the game, because fundimentally, a good game will always be a good game.
Conventions within games
Generally most successful games will have a powerful rule system in place, as I have explained. these rules define the essence of the game, in that players will know the limitations of themselves, and what the game has to offer. I personally believe in giving the player as much fredom within a game as possible, without damaging these core rules. I feel this way because I get the sense that newer games are no longer looking at playability. The seem to be "spoon feeding" new gamers, due to the fact that games now can usually be completed within a matter of days, where as I remember spending weeks on some games when I was a child. I believe that giving players more fredom with a game is entirely possible, but I also think that it is sure to be very challenging, because you would need to find a balance between rules and fredom. too much of either will surely detere the player from playing the game. Games also have similar interface content, in terms of, a main menu, where you can view options screens, quitting hte game, starting the game, saving the game, etc. For example, the majority of playstation games respond to the start button on the pad as being a pause button. Or the Escape key on a PC pausing the game and bringing up some form of menu. I think these conventions are quite possibly a corner stone in games design, purely because the majority of players will automatically know what each key does. This isnt restricted to games either. For example, pressing the Escape key will also close some windows with certian programs, E.g. MSN messenger. This can cause a problem also, in that when you are designing certian software, you need to be aware that you yourselfs are restricted to certian rules before anything can be desinged. You ofcourse can break the mould and design something entirely different, but in doing so you are taking a big risk, in that you cant be sure if your program will be a success atall.
Ergonomics & Conventions links -
http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=961
http://www.hfes-europe.org/badergo/bad41.htm
http://www.infovis.net/printMag.php?lang=2&num=18
Mobile phone games -
http://www.answerbag.com/articles/The-History-of-Mobile-Phone-Games/455adc5b-1122-ebc9-55ce-28560e5b8fcf
http://www.eamobile.com/Web/
http://www.handson.com/
http://www.namcomobile.com/
http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_5279970_history-mobile-phone-games.html?cr=1
Touchscreen links -
http://toucharcade.com/
Games links -
http://www.bobsspaceracers.com/whac-a-mole/moleknows.htm
http://www.addictinggames.com/whackamole.html
http://www.molepro.com/products/game.htm
http://fun.familyeducation.com/games/family-games/45713.html
Digital documentation
Introduction
Welcome to the User Assistance Guide for the whack-a-mole game, version 0.1.3.
In this guide we will be going over some points that will help explain to you what the game is all about. We will go over specifications, features, Future content and the development software used to create the final package.
As it stands, the game is essentailly kept as close to the original as we could get it. We wanted to develop the game so that people would recognise key features in the game they know from childhood fairground trips. Once this underlying theme was established, we decided to add certian features that we felt would increase our fanbase and ultimately profit margines.
Specifications
As it stands, this game will initially be released for the iPhone. We hope to have it ready for distribution by late january. Upon its release we will monitor the sales over a 6 month period and if the data comes back as a success, we will look into developing this game further for other phone operating systems, and possibly other game platforms, such as the Nintendo DS, negotiations will begin upon the evaluation of the data we collect. There is also the prospect of developing the game further and making it more indepth.
Currently we are developing this game to work with version 3.0 of the iPhone OS, but it will be compatible with all future releases of the iPhone operating system, such as version 3.1 which has already been released.
Features
We looked for inspiration in existing games and noticed that some of the popular games had 'power-ups' and 'power downs' We took this onboard and created a small story as to why these extra items would be used. In short, the game revolves around a collection of moles who have invaded a farmers land, and began stealing some of his posessions. There is a random chance, some lower than others, of these items popping out of a hole in the place of a mole. Hitting these objects will either reduce, or increase your time, score or any other variable we implement in future. In addition to this we have implimented a high scores system, where the game aranges your scores in ascending order. This will surely spark healthy competition between friends and further grow our fanbase. Further more, we have included a system where an animated cursor changes between different tools that you select prior to playing the game. This is a really interesting and unique addition, because while conducting our research we did not encounter a game with a similar system. Finally, we have included a difficulty setting, to introduce a more challenging aspect to the game, and encourage players to push themselves further.
Progression
With regards to the game as it stands, even though it currently has alot of fun and unique features, we feel the finished product should have so much more. And for this, we plan on implimenting several extra features to keep the player gripped into the game. For starters, we plan on introducing alot more key animations and 'power' items into the game, just to make it more asthetically interesting. Also an option to change sounsd that are in the game is being looked at. For example, we could even allow the players themselves to record a sound and attatch it into the game. We really want to push for the idea of multiplayer gaming, a head to head competition as such. We believe that getting more people involved this way would enrich the gaming experience for all players. This can be done via Wi-fi that the iPhone has built in. Another interesting feature that we want to include is an Online database for the high scores. This feature would be very interesting because we believe that a high score table on your phone can only push competitive players so far. If there was a permanent online record for submitted scores, we believe we could again generate a bigger fanbase. Also, currently the difficulty setting is just temporary. As it stands, it simply decreases your total time allowed playing, and reduces it in bigger amounts, as it gets harder. The final version will have this, but also award more points and harsher penalties as the difficulty rises. The items/moles will also jump up at faster incriments, and more numerously. We are doing this to encourage people to work towards a goal, and award the more skilful players with a greater challenge. There is so much we want to do for this and we feel that it would be a very successful adition to the game industry.
Development kit
The software that will be used to develop the final product will be the iPhone SDK(Software Development Kit). It is used for a variety of applications that the iPhone uses. It was released in 2008, and allowed thrid party developers to create applications for the iphone and ipod touch. The SDK is free for developing software and testing it in a working environment, but to distribute the application to actual devices, developers will need to pay a fee. Developers are then able to set any price for their software via the apps store, above a set minimum, and will recieve 70% of the sale price. There is also an option to release the software as freeware, but still requires a membership fee to host the program. In addition to this, there are no hosting or marketing fees for your software.
The SDK is to be used on any Mac computer, and there are also several official Development resources accessable via the Apple website.
The tools that come with the SDK are as follows.
Xcode - The underlying programming tool in which you build your applications from.
iPhone simulator - This is an emulation tool where you are able to test the finished product in its entirety. A powerful tool for testing and debugging your programs.
Instruments - This tool is used to collect and compare preformance data in real time for your application development.
Interface builder - Exactly what it sais on the tin. This tool is used for building user interfaces. Working in a similar way to Dreamweaver, simple drag and drop assebly.
Welcome to the User Assistance Guide for the whack-a-mole game, version 0.1.3.
In this guide we will be going over some points that will help explain to you what the game is all about. We will go over specifications, features, Future content and the development software used to create the final package.
As it stands, the game is essentailly kept as close to the original as we could get it. We wanted to develop the game so that people would recognise key features in the game they know from childhood fairground trips. Once this underlying theme was established, we decided to add certian features that we felt would increase our fanbase and ultimately profit margines.
Specifications
As it stands, this game will initially be released for the iPhone. We hope to have it ready for distribution by late january. Upon its release we will monitor the sales over a 6 month period and if the data comes back as a success, we will look into developing this game further for other phone operating systems, and possibly other game platforms, such as the Nintendo DS, negotiations will begin upon the evaluation of the data we collect. There is also the prospect of developing the game further and making it more indepth.
Currently we are developing this game to work with version 3.0 of the iPhone OS, but it will be compatible with all future releases of the iPhone operating system, such as version 3.1 which has already been released.
Features
We looked for inspiration in existing games and noticed that some of the popular games had 'power-ups' and 'power downs' We took this onboard and created a small story as to why these extra items would be used. In short, the game revolves around a collection of moles who have invaded a farmers land, and began stealing some of his posessions. There is a random chance, some lower than others, of these items popping out of a hole in the place of a mole. Hitting these objects will either reduce, or increase your time, score or any other variable we implement in future. In addition to this we have implimented a high scores system, where the game aranges your scores in ascending order. This will surely spark healthy competition between friends and further grow our fanbase. Further more, we have included a system where an animated cursor changes between different tools that you select prior to playing the game. This is a really interesting and unique addition, because while conducting our research we did not encounter a game with a similar system. Finally, we have included a difficulty setting, to introduce a more challenging aspect to the game, and encourage players to push themselves further.
Progression
With regards to the game as it stands, even though it currently has alot of fun and unique features, we feel the finished product should have so much more. And for this, we plan on implimenting several extra features to keep the player gripped into the game. For starters, we plan on introducing alot more key animations and 'power' items into the game, just to make it more asthetically interesting. Also an option to change sounsd that are in the game is being looked at. For example, we could even allow the players themselves to record a sound and attatch it into the game. We really want to push for the idea of multiplayer gaming, a head to head competition as such. We believe that getting more people involved this way would enrich the gaming experience for all players. This can be done via Wi-fi that the iPhone has built in. Another interesting feature that we want to include is an Online database for the high scores. This feature would be very interesting because we believe that a high score table on your phone can only push competitive players so far. If there was a permanent online record for submitted scores, we believe we could again generate a bigger fanbase. Also, currently the difficulty setting is just temporary. As it stands, it simply decreases your total time allowed playing, and reduces it in bigger amounts, as it gets harder. The final version will have this, but also award more points and harsher penalties as the difficulty rises. The items/moles will also jump up at faster incriments, and more numerously. We are doing this to encourage people to work towards a goal, and award the more skilful players with a greater challenge. There is so much we want to do for this and we feel that it would be a very successful adition to the game industry.
Development kit
The software that will be used to develop the final product will be the iPhone SDK(Software Development Kit). It is used for a variety of applications that the iPhone uses. It was released in 2008, and allowed thrid party developers to create applications for the iphone and ipod touch. The SDK is free for developing software and testing it in a working environment, but to distribute the application to actual devices, developers will need to pay a fee. Developers are then able to set any price for their software via the apps store, above a set minimum, and will recieve 70% of the sale price. There is also an option to release the software as freeware, but still requires a membership fee to host the program. In addition to this, there are no hosting or marketing fees for your software.
The SDK is to be used on any Mac computer, and there are also several official Development resources accessable via the Apple website.
The tools that come with the SDK are as follows.
Xcode - The underlying programming tool in which you build your applications from.
iPhone simulator - This is an emulation tool where you are able to test the finished product in its entirety. A powerful tool for testing and debugging your programs.
Instruments - This tool is used to collect and compare preformance data in real time for your application development.
Interface builder - Exactly what it sais on the tin. This tool is used for building user interfaces. Working in a similar way to Dreamweaver, simple drag and drop assebly.
Game project work
These next few posts will be my game project work, feel free to browse through it at your leisure. Again if you wish to see me about anything, let me know.
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Extra evaluation
As an extra for the evaluation I submitted earlier today, I wanted to express how reliant we have been on the software working around us, when in fact it seem to be the opposite. For example, today I needed to use Final Cut Pro to finalise the storyboard movie that I was creating. To my horror, the software did not actually work on several of the groups user accounts, which would have caused me to spend extra time, reworking what I had nearly completed. Luckily for me, it was working for Craig. I felt that I needed to point this out, because we need to try and break away from relying on the software being there all the time. I know that it should, but it never seems to play out like that. To that end, I plan to ensure that in future, I leave a bigger gap for myself to have more time to play around and fine tune my project work. I most certainly will take this on board for the FMP!
Also I noticed another issue with DVD pro, whilst burning my final DVD. It appeared to be very picky with the video tracks that I used, when it come to burning it to DVD. It was constantly coming back with different error messages telling me that Video X wasn't compatible, when it clearly was. After attempting to re-export the videos into different file formats countless times, I over come the problem by switching computers. I think its not really the software itself which is to blame, but the more likely culprit is surely the network.
Hope you all enjoy the read, and agree with what I have said.
EDIT:
Just after posting this I find out that the Bubble.us website is down, quite ironic.
Also I noticed another issue with DVD pro, whilst burning my final DVD. It appeared to be very picky with the video tracks that I used, when it come to burning it to DVD. It was constantly coming back with different error messages telling me that Video X wasn't compatible, when it clearly was. After attempting to re-export the videos into different file formats countless times, I over come the problem by switching computers. I think its not really the software itself which is to blame, but the more likely culprit is surely the network.
Hope you all enjoy the read, and agree with what I have said.
EDIT:
Just after posting this I find out that the Bubble.us website is down, quite ironic.
Friday, 20 November 2009
Supporting Research
The inspiration that I had for the idea in making this video, was partly from the song itself. The song gave me invisions of fast moving objects, but also serine landscapes. I knew that it would not be possible to replicate fast moving material in a convetional sense, which brought to mind time lapse photography. From this point I felt that I had stumbled onto a brilliant idea, even though I had found alot of the footage to seem very slow moving at the majority of the time, I believe that if edited correctly it can come together nicely and be very successful. Now that I had a workable theme, I looked at some existing work for time lapse imagery, and find out if it was at all possible to do with our limited hardware and software that was available to us. I found several films that worked in time lapse, and I found them to be exactly what I required, because it helped me get a perspective on camera angles, distances from the objects, and what type of scenery to look out for. one of the pieces of material that I had gathered, was called Vermillion. This is a music video created by slipknot, and it showed time lapse working with the background, but put focus on an individual within the video, moving at a normal speed. To me, this concept seemed very different, to the other material that was collected. From here it gave me the idea of putting focus onto a character within the video. From this idea, it spouted into recording several shots of an individual from different angles, on a greenscreen canvas, then overlaying the result againsed the time lapsed footage. The differenece being, that there would be multiple shots of the individual all appearing at once. I have included Video footage of my influences within the project folder. We also come up with the idea of prolonging the shutter speed on the cameras, to give a blured effect. This actually worked really well in that it gave off a unique lighting effect as light passed by the lense. This meant that time lapsing for hours and hours could potentially be avoided. The only hardware limitations were the lack of long recordable tapes, which meant that we had to swap the tapes every hour or so. But because we were working with time lapse filming, this wasnt a problem atall.
Video within interactive media & Conventions
Introduction
Video is becoming more widely used within interactive media, mostly due to the advancements of the technology within the industry. For example, Web video has started to emerge as a key tool which helps businesses streamline communications (e.g. Video conferencing), which in turn enhances the productivity. Video is rapidly becoming accessible to the public due to the hardware it is now available on, (Mobile phones). Because of this, video is becoming a core asset within politics, and other areas of major industries. With the impact of video on our cultures, amateur and professional video editors have found themselves developing new forms of a viral pop culture, where memes such as 'The dramatic chipmonk' and 'numa numa' have shown. There are numerous surveys being conducted in support of the video evolution within interactive media. One of these reports is called "Enhancing Productivity with Web Video: How Online Multimedia Improves Communications and Fosters Business Efficiency," It contains real world examples of how Video is allowing businesses to gain leverage and ultimately benefit. A free copy was obtainable from their home website, www.feedroom.com, but the link has since been removed.
Conventions
The jump from VCR to DVD recording has given plenty of benefits, such as higher image & sound quallity and higher signal consistancy, I.E. no degredataion of video. Also the fact that DVD isnt a linear medium comes into play here. In a sense, designing a DVD menu, is like designing a website, because it doesnt have to be used to view everything it contains. However, there was a simplicity with video dubbing on a VHS platform, where as on DVD it has become far more complex, e.g. Filters and effects added after recording. The same is present when ameture DVD designers come to burining DVDs, as there is some authering knowledge needed to conduct this. In the case of authering, it is important to know how to structure your DVD menus correctly, linking them to the appropriate content on the disk and in a way so the user is able to navigate through it with ease.
DVD interfaces generally come with their 'First play' screen with warnings, such as copyright law and anti piracy warnings. These are menus taht the user cannot skip past, which on a VHS the user could fast forward past. From here it will automatically navigate to the main menu. From this interface the user is able to select a list of menus by navigating via their remote control. As a standard, DVDs generally have the option to play the full movie, an option to choose which chapter to start from, and a Quit/eject button. Other features of DVD menus could be Extras, Comentaries, concept ideas, Trailers, removed scenes, outtakes and more. There may also be options to choose audio pereferences, screen size format and language settings, although these are generally options that the television set may already have embedded. These settings are ultimately down to the authers decisions. They could even be included on other DVD disks.
When desining a DVD menu, the auther needs to heavily take into consideration the end user. This is because, if a DVD menu uses the best imagery, is very unique and original, but is too complicated to navigate through, the chances are it will not sell as well as it should. This is why most designers like to keep it simple. There are some standards of DVD menu that exist. These include things like, araingement of the buttons, or inclusion of a video clip on the main menu. The titles and captions are generally located at the top of the screen, with the buttons for menus are located down the left side of the screen. The lower right would be set aside for text of information. With this said, there are still some DVDs which break this standard convention, Such as 'The IT crowd' and 'Tenacious D - PoD'.
The main reason why DVD authering has now become so easy and widley used, is due to the advances in GI software. Programs such as Final cut pro make the process of linking DVD components easier and much more cost effective, especially on a large scale production. Years ago DVD authers would need to take their time to code each component to work as one unit, and work in a DVD player. However, even with all the advancements, VCR dubbing was much simpler to conduct, just not as robust.
I believe that DVD authering will, atleast for the forseable future, be a combination of technical specifications and asthetics. To design a good menu, it is required to pay close attention to both of these components. As I mentioned before, creativity and uniqueness is not always a guarenteed sucess. DVD's need to be as flawless as possible before being mass produced. There are a series of checks in place to ensure that this happens, but the standard conventions also play a big roll in this. The only problems here are that because more people are able to crete amature DVD's, that find themselves into the market, these standards begin to deminish. One of the tasks that the checks preform is to ensure that every button leads somewhere, checking that they do not lead to a dead end. With that said, it is still important to check and verify your own work, prior to any checks.
Games
Over the years, computer games have used video within them. The video they use is a mixture between 3D animation, and real life video, which is becoming more and more difficult to tell apart. (Beowolf is one film where 3D animation has been taken to a new level in terms of photo realistic imagery). The uses for the video in this instance are usually asociated with the theme of the game itself. For example, If you are playing a war themed game, the video could involve a mission briefing from yuor general, issuing you an order to do something, which allows you to progress further. Stratergy games such as Command & Conqure use this often. Games also use video to edge the player on to continue playing. This is apparent in Tv interactive board games. These games are usually themed towards existing TV programs, that audiences are familiar with. Examples of these games are 'The Family Feud DVD Game - 3rd Edition' and 'The Office Trivia Game'. These games rely on input from the player, to determine an outcome which the character on screen will react to.
Youtube
Youtube, as I have previously mentioned, has shot certian individuals to fame. From what I gather, most of these have no real background knowledge in video or advertising, but it is apparent that they have a unique idea, in which they feel people would enjoy. In terms of interactivity, the videos which are hosted on youtube, can have comments attatched to the video itself. They also allow anyone viewing the video to post comments about it. These comments are accessable to both registered and anonamous users. The comments range from assistance towards the authers work, to people expressing how they feel towards the video. There is also features to attatch the video links to blogs, facebook, and other websites, via copying the embedded HTML code. I did come across an interesting youtube video, where you could actually play an interactive game within the video. Unfortunatly I cannot find this link, but I recall it being a Street fighter game.
Supermarket pay points.
These automated pay points in supermarkets, offer short video clips that are usually orientated in assisting the user by informing them on how to conduct their purchase. The videos that are displayed are usually vector images, rather than real life footage, generally due to cost implications. The video is interactive, in a way that the user can skip parts of it, if they know what to do. Because the video is automated, it jumps to chapters setup by the creator, as the user interacts with it. For example, If the user has finished scanning their items, and is busy looking for their money to put into the machine, the machine will repeat the section of video which asks the user if they are finished scanning their items.
DVD menus
DVD menus are not really what you would consider interactive, but to a degree they are. They have numerous features where, as the user, you must input information, possibly via a remote, to control what happens on the screen. Although the interface is basic, it is quite robust, in consideration of what limited use it has. I allows you the ability to flick though images, video and possibly audio at the pus hof a button. It also allows the designer to include video, still images and audio to be overlayed ontop of each other while it is in use.
Information extracted from
http://www.videomaker.com/article/10690/
http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/User-Interface/Multimedia/DVD
http://www.dynamicdigitalcdrom.com/cd-rom-dvd.html
http://pingv.com/services/dvd-authoring-and-design
http://www.smileycat.com/miaow/archives/001683.php
ttp://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/fair_use_in_online_video/
Video is becoming more widely used within interactive media, mostly due to the advancements of the technology within the industry. For example, Web video has started to emerge as a key tool which helps businesses streamline communications (e.g. Video conferencing), which in turn enhances the productivity. Video is rapidly becoming accessible to the public due to the hardware it is now available on, (Mobile phones). Because of this, video is becoming a core asset within politics, and other areas of major industries. With the impact of video on our cultures, amateur and professional video editors have found themselves developing new forms of a viral pop culture, where memes such as 'The dramatic chipmonk' and 'numa numa' have shown. There are numerous surveys being conducted in support of the video evolution within interactive media. One of these reports is called "Enhancing Productivity with Web Video: How Online Multimedia Improves Communications and Fosters Business Efficiency," It contains real world examples of how Video is allowing businesses to gain leverage and ultimately benefit. A free copy was obtainable from their home website, www.feedroom.com, but the link has since been removed.
Conventions
The jump from VCR to DVD recording has given plenty of benefits, such as higher image & sound quallity and higher signal consistancy, I.E. no degredataion of video. Also the fact that DVD isnt a linear medium comes into play here. In a sense, designing a DVD menu, is like designing a website, because it doesnt have to be used to view everything it contains. However, there was a simplicity with video dubbing on a VHS platform, where as on DVD it has become far more complex, e.g. Filters and effects added after recording. The same is present when ameture DVD designers come to burining DVDs, as there is some authering knowledge needed to conduct this. In the case of authering, it is important to know how to structure your DVD menus correctly, linking them to the appropriate content on the disk and in a way so the user is able to navigate through it with ease.
DVD interfaces generally come with their 'First play' screen with warnings, such as copyright law and anti piracy warnings. These are menus taht the user cannot skip past, which on a VHS the user could fast forward past. From here it will automatically navigate to the main menu. From this interface the user is able to select a list of menus by navigating via their remote control. As a standard, DVDs generally have the option to play the full movie, an option to choose which chapter to start from, and a Quit/eject button. Other features of DVD menus could be Extras, Comentaries, concept ideas, Trailers, removed scenes, outtakes and more. There may also be options to choose audio pereferences, screen size format and language settings, although these are generally options that the television set may already have embedded. These settings are ultimately down to the authers decisions. They could even be included on other DVD disks.
When desining a DVD menu, the auther needs to heavily take into consideration the end user. This is because, if a DVD menu uses the best imagery, is very unique and original, but is too complicated to navigate through, the chances are it will not sell as well as it should. This is why most designers like to keep it simple. There are some standards of DVD menu that exist. These include things like, araingement of the buttons, or inclusion of a video clip on the main menu. The titles and captions are generally located at the top of the screen, with the buttons for menus are located down the left side of the screen. The lower right would be set aside for text of information. With this said, there are still some DVDs which break this standard convention, Such as 'The IT crowd' and 'Tenacious D - PoD'.
The main reason why DVD authering has now become so easy and widley used, is due to the advances in GI software. Programs such as Final cut pro make the process of linking DVD components easier and much more cost effective, especially on a large scale production. Years ago DVD authers would need to take their time to code each component to work as one unit, and work in a DVD player. However, even with all the advancements, VCR dubbing was much simpler to conduct, just not as robust.
I believe that DVD authering will, atleast for the forseable future, be a combination of technical specifications and asthetics. To design a good menu, it is required to pay close attention to both of these components. As I mentioned before, creativity and uniqueness is not always a guarenteed sucess. DVD's need to be as flawless as possible before being mass produced. There are a series of checks in place to ensure that this happens, but the standard conventions also play a big roll in this. The only problems here are that because more people are able to crete amature DVD's, that find themselves into the market, these standards begin to deminish. One of the tasks that the checks preform is to ensure that every button leads somewhere, checking that they do not lead to a dead end. With that said, it is still important to check and verify your own work, prior to any checks.
Games
Over the years, computer games have used video within them. The video they use is a mixture between 3D animation, and real life video, which is becoming more and more difficult to tell apart. (Beowolf is one film where 3D animation has been taken to a new level in terms of photo realistic imagery). The uses for the video in this instance are usually asociated with the theme of the game itself. For example, If you are playing a war themed game, the video could involve a mission briefing from yuor general, issuing you an order to do something, which allows you to progress further. Stratergy games such as Command & Conqure use this often. Games also use video to edge the player on to continue playing. This is apparent in Tv interactive board games. These games are usually themed towards existing TV programs, that audiences are familiar with. Examples of these games are 'The Family Feud DVD Game - 3rd Edition' and 'The Office Trivia Game'. These games rely on input from the player, to determine an outcome which the character on screen will react to.
Youtube
Youtube, as I have previously mentioned, has shot certian individuals to fame. From what I gather, most of these have no real background knowledge in video or advertising, but it is apparent that they have a unique idea, in which they feel people would enjoy. In terms of interactivity, the videos which are hosted on youtube, can have comments attatched to the video itself. They also allow anyone viewing the video to post comments about it. These comments are accessable to both registered and anonamous users. The comments range from assistance towards the authers work, to people expressing how they feel towards the video. There is also features to attatch the video links to blogs, facebook, and other websites, via copying the embedded HTML code. I did come across an interesting youtube video, where you could actually play an interactive game within the video. Unfortunatly I cannot find this link, but I recall it being a Street fighter game.
Supermarket pay points.
These automated pay points in supermarkets, offer short video clips that are usually orientated in assisting the user by informing them on how to conduct their purchase. The videos that are displayed are usually vector images, rather than real life footage, generally due to cost implications. The video is interactive, in a way that the user can skip parts of it, if they know what to do. Because the video is automated, it jumps to chapters setup by the creator, as the user interacts with it. For example, If the user has finished scanning their items, and is busy looking for their money to put into the machine, the machine will repeat the section of video which asks the user if they are finished scanning their items.
DVD menus
DVD menus are not really what you would consider interactive, but to a degree they are. They have numerous features where, as the user, you must input information, possibly via a remote, to control what happens on the screen. Although the interface is basic, it is quite robust, in consideration of what limited use it has. I allows you the ability to flick though images, video and possibly audio at the pus hof a button. It also allows the designer to include video, still images and audio to be overlayed ontop of each other while it is in use.
Information extracted from
http://www.videomaker.com/article/10690/
http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/User-Interface/Multimedia/DVD
http://www.dynamicdigitalcdrom.com/cd-rom-dvd.html
http://pingv.com/services/dvd-authoring-and-design
http://www.smileycat.com/miaow/archives/001683.php
ttp://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/fair_use_in_online_video/
1000 word album review
The album that I have decided to give a compatible review about is called Scars, by The Basement Jaxx. The album was released in September 09, and the review by Jesper Persson claims that this album was a far greater success than the previous album, Crazy Itch Radio, released in September 06. He also mentioned that the Crazy Itch Radio album did nothing for the musical career of the Jaxx. This comment is also supported by Evan Sawdey, the auther of the second article that I am extrapolating information from. Both authers are music critics from their respective websites (links are listed at the end of this document). Evan states that this was due to the previous album being such a breakthrough with regards to the melodic attributes associated with the songs within the album (Kish Kash). However, Evan does comment that the album does offer some redeeming songs that have later been re-recorded as singles by the Jaxx. which again, this statement does gain equal support from the first auther, Jesper. I myself have listened to some of the songs from the Crazy Itch Radio album, and although the songs arent something I would normally listen to, I must admit, some do peak my interest. Hush Boy, one of the songs that became a single, which to me sounds very much like a 1980's disco song, using trumpets, drum beats, and other jazz instruments which give me a 1980's feel. It also reminds me of Ska music from roughly the same era, although it is not aparent through their entire album. It also includes an RnB soul singer, which does sound relatively good with the beat, but as I stated earlier, this isnt something I personally enjoy, because I find the more modern beats are not uplifting like 1980's Hiphop, which I am a fan of. (afrika bambaataa, Grand master flash, Run DMC). The music videos which I have seen containing more modern hiphop and RnB, are usually over zealous in their content, protraying alot of scantally clad women surrounding the singer, which involks sexism, and portrays a negative steriotype. I also notice that the lyrics often contain the word "nigger" in them, which I find incredibly derogative in the sense that, even though it was originally used to refere to a black person, it rapidly became incredibly offensive and racist. Also I myself, prefere a more rock, heavy metal, and even symphonic music, because it helps inspire me, and provokes me to think about things that I am interested in, such as skateboarding. Another song from the same album, called Take me to your house, sounds like something Sophie Ellis Bextor would sing. To me it did not feel like something the Jaxx would usually record. I am more familiar with their music having a more Jazzy and Ska-like sound, as oppose to a pop sound. With that said, I still find that I am in agreeance with what both of the articles have stated.
Evan Sawdey talks about how the Jaxx have progressed from the start of their career, as straightforward dance genre musicians, to having a broader outlook with their music. He portrays a story of how they began to break out of the current archetypes of their genre, which many people argue to be house, and evolving, even creating a subgenre of their music. This means that they have taken all what we know to day to be the standard of house music, and put their own spin on it, thus creating a new subgenre. This story is re iterated with Jasper Persson's article. He however, talks about how the Scars album is a significant turning point in the Jaxx career. He calls it a metaphor for the basement jaxx, showing how they have pushed through boundaries on their journy. This becomes apparent though little hints such as, the album name 'Scars' depicts a person who has retained the scars from an adventurous past, possibly giving off the impression of experience. Also the character on the album cover depics a character who appears to be traveling across a wasteland, wearing unusual clothing, which could again be a metaphore for lessons learnt along the journy. I also feel that the face of an owl give the impression of wisdom and possibly solitude. With all these mixed feelings and concepts, I feel that this album does give the impression that the group know what they are doing. This is obvious with their rapid increase in the dance charts. Eventhough both articles give praise to the Scars album, Evan doesn't seem to think that the album itself isnt regarded as good as its predecessors, excluding Crazy Itch Radio. He thinks that the earlier works were of a higher standard. "Though superior to Crazy Itch Radio in many ways, Scars is not a masterpiece on the level of Remedy or Kish Kash" he states. There is no mention of the superiority of the previous albums within Jespers article, which leads me to believe he atleast thinks its on par with them. Personally I cannot see any apparent improvements across the albums, again with the exception of Crazy Itch Radio. I feel that the quallity, if anything, has slightly diminished. I feel that the songs in the older albums offer a better sound and thought invoking music.
Upon reading further into each article and doing some background research of my own, I have found out that several of the songs that are compiled onto the Scars album, appear to be singles that were previously released. Also the album features a whole host of artists who were used for vocals on the album, one of which is Yoko Ono. There are also up and coming artists used for vocal components for the songs, most of which are Rappers and soul singers. One of the new songs that was preformed with Yoko Ono, 'Day of the Sunflowers (We March On)', has been given some interesting attention by the article authers. Jesper has talked about it being interesting, because of the emulation of sexual thrill that Yoko invokes. Evan, on the other hand, sais it sounded very inspirational on paper, but turned out to be incredibly dull. He sais that the bassline remained dry and tired, the track relied heavily on the synth, and that Yoko's unique voice wasnt used anywhere near its potential. With all this in mind, I felt compelled to lsiten to this track and evaluate it for myself. Upon listening to the track, I feel that both of the authers points become valid. The backing beat does seem repetitive and dull. It gives off the feeling that it belongs in a sleezy club, untill the chorus comes in. At this point I get the feeling that it becomes rather grungy, with images of soldiers marching through streets. Towards the middle of the song, Yoko seems to get taken over by a spirit and starts moaning awkwardly, which then leads onto the sexual conotations. Some of the lyrics could also be interpreted as sexual, for example.
"And so they came!
Twenty thousand fishs, flying down from the sky"
This seems harmless on the face of it, but I gave it some thought and this could be interpreted as possibly an ejaculation? and there are numerous other verses thoughout the song that could be interpreted in a similar way.
Evan seems to be complaining that the album is 2 tracks too long, which is something I really cant understand, and am quite enraged about. He could be a very reputable critic, but I dislike the fact that he is talking an album down due to the fact that it has extra material. To me thats like saying "I would give you £10 but I felt generous so I gave you £15 instead" His excuse for not wanting these tracks is that they "Simply destry the mood". People these days generally composit their CD collection onto an MP3 player or Ipod, so if they are as bad as he makes out, then he doesnt really need to include them in his play list. I also feel he contradicts himself in saying that "the moments that shine on Scars rank as some of the best tunes that the Jaxx have ever done, outstripping some of the highlights on Crazy Itch Radio, even". Jesper's only queries with the album is that it tends to jump around abit with the music that it plays. He sais that one song will be relaxing and quite melodic, the next could be really upbeat, and would make you want to move. To an extent this is quite true. there is defonatly a variety of songs on this album, which I think compliments the albums feel, which I discussed earlier on in tis article.
Towards the end of Evans article, he talks about how he feels that, despite the Jaxx will continue to create "Awe-inspiring" music, Their innovative streak has now come to an end with their last two albums. He thinks that they have now surcome to the pressure of developing another masterpiece. Jesper finishes his article with similar views to Evan. He mentions that Scars is one of the Jaxx's most exotically intruiging albums to date. Yet he feels that their ability to create truly memorable material appears to be fading. However, he also mentions that it has taken many years for people to understand their genius forward thinking, which reflects that their music isnt as "futuristic" as it once was. I am agreeing with Jesper in saying that people have only just began to understand their music, which is why I think I prefere the older material over their new music. We can only speculate what the Basement Jaxx have planned for their next album.
Information was extrapolated from the following links.
http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/10/07/album-review-basement-jaxx-scars/
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/111148-basement-jaxx-scars
Evan Sawdey talks about how the Jaxx have progressed from the start of their career, as straightforward dance genre musicians, to having a broader outlook with their music. He portrays a story of how they began to break out of the current archetypes of their genre, which many people argue to be house, and evolving, even creating a subgenre of their music. This means that they have taken all what we know to day to be the standard of house music, and put their own spin on it, thus creating a new subgenre. This story is re iterated with Jasper Persson's article. He however, talks about how the Scars album is a significant turning point in the Jaxx career. He calls it a metaphor for the basement jaxx, showing how they have pushed through boundaries on their journy. This becomes apparent though little hints such as, the album name 'Scars' depicts a person who has retained the scars from an adventurous past, possibly giving off the impression of experience. Also the character on the album cover depics a character who appears to be traveling across a wasteland, wearing unusual clothing, which could again be a metaphore for lessons learnt along the journy. I also feel that the face of an owl give the impression of wisdom and possibly solitude. With all these mixed feelings and concepts, I feel that this album does give the impression that the group know what they are doing. This is obvious with their rapid increase in the dance charts. Eventhough both articles give praise to the Scars album, Evan doesn't seem to think that the album itself isnt regarded as good as its predecessors, excluding Crazy Itch Radio. He thinks that the earlier works were of a higher standard. "Though superior to Crazy Itch Radio in many ways, Scars is not a masterpiece on the level of Remedy or Kish Kash" he states. There is no mention of the superiority of the previous albums within Jespers article, which leads me to believe he atleast thinks its on par with them. Personally I cannot see any apparent improvements across the albums, again with the exception of Crazy Itch Radio. I feel that the quallity, if anything, has slightly diminished. I feel that the songs in the older albums offer a better sound and thought invoking music.
Upon reading further into each article and doing some background research of my own, I have found out that several of the songs that are compiled onto the Scars album, appear to be singles that were previously released. Also the album features a whole host of artists who were used for vocals on the album, one of which is Yoko Ono. There are also up and coming artists used for vocal components for the songs, most of which are Rappers and soul singers. One of the new songs that was preformed with Yoko Ono, 'Day of the Sunflowers (We March On)', has been given some interesting attention by the article authers. Jesper has talked about it being interesting, because of the emulation of sexual thrill that Yoko invokes. Evan, on the other hand, sais it sounded very inspirational on paper, but turned out to be incredibly dull. He sais that the bassline remained dry and tired, the track relied heavily on the synth, and that Yoko's unique voice wasnt used anywhere near its potential. With all this in mind, I felt compelled to lsiten to this track and evaluate it for myself. Upon listening to the track, I feel that both of the authers points become valid. The backing beat does seem repetitive and dull. It gives off the feeling that it belongs in a sleezy club, untill the chorus comes in. At this point I get the feeling that it becomes rather grungy, with images of soldiers marching through streets. Towards the middle of the song, Yoko seems to get taken over by a spirit and starts moaning awkwardly, which then leads onto the sexual conotations. Some of the lyrics could also be interpreted as sexual, for example.
"And so they came!
Twenty thousand fishs, flying down from the sky"
This seems harmless on the face of it, but I gave it some thought and this could be interpreted as possibly an ejaculation? and there are numerous other verses thoughout the song that could be interpreted in a similar way.
Evan seems to be complaining that the album is 2 tracks too long, which is something I really cant understand, and am quite enraged about. He could be a very reputable critic, but I dislike the fact that he is talking an album down due to the fact that it has extra material. To me thats like saying "I would give you £10 but I felt generous so I gave you £15 instead" His excuse for not wanting these tracks is that they "Simply destry the mood". People these days generally composit their CD collection onto an MP3 player or Ipod, so if they are as bad as he makes out, then he doesnt really need to include them in his play list. I also feel he contradicts himself in saying that "the moments that shine on Scars rank as some of the best tunes that the Jaxx have ever done, outstripping some of the highlights on Crazy Itch Radio, even". Jesper's only queries with the album is that it tends to jump around abit with the music that it plays. He sais that one song will be relaxing and quite melodic, the next could be really upbeat, and would make you want to move. To an extent this is quite true. there is defonatly a variety of songs on this album, which I think compliments the albums feel, which I discussed earlier on in tis article.
Towards the end of Evans article, he talks about how he feels that, despite the Jaxx will continue to create "Awe-inspiring" music, Their innovative streak has now come to an end with their last two albums. He thinks that they have now surcome to the pressure of developing another masterpiece. Jesper finishes his article with similar views to Evan. He mentions that Scars is one of the Jaxx's most exotically intruiging albums to date. Yet he feels that their ability to create truly memorable material appears to be fading. However, he also mentions that it has taken many years for people to understand their genius forward thinking, which reflects that their music isnt as "futuristic" as it once was. I am agreeing with Jesper in saying that people have only just began to understand their music, which is why I think I prefere the older material over their new music. We can only speculate what the Basement Jaxx have planned for their next album.
Information was extrapolated from the following links.
http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/10/07/album-review-basement-jaxx-scars/
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/111148-basement-jaxx-scars
500 word Video proposal
For the theme of my concept idea for the project at hand, I want to try an capture the essence of imagination and to get the audience to think about what is happening on the screen in accordance to the audio accompanying the footage. To achieve this I thought it would be a fantastic idea to combine the natural world in all its wonder, with the urbanised industrial feel of big cities. I have decided to pursue this concept because the sense of emotion that I get from listening to the music piece that, we as a group have decided upon (Papua New Guinea – Future sound of London), depicts each of these settings, converging as one. This is largely due to the drum and base sounds being along side a soft chanting voice. I want to push this forward because I have seen it done in numerous time lapse videos both on television and the internet, and in my opinion, they seem to capture the viewers imagination. In addition, I would also utilise the use of vibrant colours, dynamic effects and transitions to aid me in conveying this emotional message of the unique juxtaposition from each of these environments.
Because the time lapse video clips that I have seen are full of emotion and work beautyfully in how they are created with an audio peice, I am pushing this idea forward. I believe this would work fantastically with the audio track we have selected, because I feel that, again, it would greatly exaggerate and amplify the underlying theme of what I am trying to achieve. From here I get the idea of filming a large build up area, or busy road with alot of fast moving traffic rushing past the video camera. With the camera's shutter speed set at afew seconds, it would be possible to capture some exciting colour patterns from the passing traffic. This would then switch from a scene like this, to perhaps a mountain side or valley, with a time lapse of clouds flying overhead. This switching back and forth would go on over the course of the video, with the scenes altering, to give it more variety. I believe that this unique mix of video sequences would surely invoke provocative thought with the audience, as it has done with me while conducting some preliminary research. A good example that uses these methods would be the music video Vermillion, by slipknot. I hope to achieve such a high standard of work within my own music video. Some scenes that I have in mind for using, are places such as, A bridge overlooking a motorway, On top of a building that overlooks a busy road, a path, that is directly facing traffic, A city scape where you can see the sun setting, a hill side where you can see the sun set, a lake or stream for a serene setting, a fast flowing stream with the reflection of lights on the surface, and a hillside or open spaced fields where I am able to capture cloud formations. I am anticipating more discussions upon our next group meeting, but I am confident that I can persuade the group to use the underlying concept of my idea.
Because the time lapse video clips that I have seen are full of emotion and work beautyfully in how they are created with an audio peice, I am pushing this idea forward. I believe this would work fantastically with the audio track we have selected, because I feel that, again, it would greatly exaggerate and amplify the underlying theme of what I am trying to achieve. From here I get the idea of filming a large build up area, or busy road with alot of fast moving traffic rushing past the video camera. With the camera's shutter speed set at afew seconds, it would be possible to capture some exciting colour patterns from the passing traffic. This would then switch from a scene like this, to perhaps a mountain side or valley, with a time lapse of clouds flying overhead. This switching back and forth would go on over the course of the video, with the scenes altering, to give it more variety. I believe that this unique mix of video sequences would surely invoke provocative thought with the audience, as it has done with me while conducting some preliminary research. A good example that uses these methods would be the music video Vermillion, by slipknot. I hope to achieve such a high standard of work within my own music video. Some scenes that I have in mind for using, are places such as, A bridge overlooking a motorway, On top of a building that overlooks a busy road, a path, that is directly facing traffic, A city scape where you can see the sun setting, a hill side where you can see the sun set, a lake or stream for a serene setting, a fast flowing stream with the reflection of lights on the surface, and a hillside or open spaced fields where I am able to capture cloud formations. I am anticipating more discussions upon our next group meeting, but I am confident that I can persuade the group to use the underlying concept of my idea.
Music Video project Documenation.
I'm posting my music video documents up here, well.. as much as I have at this moment in time. Some requires some video evidence to support it, but i do not remember the links that I downloaded them from, so if anyone wants to see it desperately, please send me a message, or comment me, and I will bring them into college for you.
They will be separate posts, so you can easily view them.
A word of warning, they WILL have spelling mistakes, due to the fact that I do not own Microsoft word or any software with a spell checker. I usually do that when I get into college, so I apologise for that.
They will be separate posts, so you can easily view them.
A word of warning, they WILL have spelling mistakes, due to the fact that I do not own Microsoft word or any software with a spell checker. I usually do that when I get into college, so I apologise for that.
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Back on track
OK, after digging up stuff across the Internet in terms of where to push my FMP, I think I have semi finalised my idea. I'm swinging back towards one of my original ideas, which was mech orientated. I found numerous website, but this one in particular has helped me out quite significantly. The link is http://type-17.com/
The site is still relatively new, and has limited resources, but what I had found helped inspire me to get back on track. the idea still requires some fine tuning, but I think I have what I needed to get back on track!
BTW, is anyone else interested in this topic, and maybe considering a similar path for their FMP, give me a shout, so we can do some brain storming, because like I said, this idea still requires some fine tuning.
The site is still relatively new, and has limited resources, but what I had found helped inspire me to get back on track. the idea still requires some fine tuning, but I think I have what I needed to get back on track!
BTW, is anyone else interested in this topic, and maybe considering a similar path for their FMP, give me a shout, so we can do some brain storming, because like I said, this idea still requires some fine tuning.
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Bubbl.us map
I have taken Raj's advice on board, and developed a mind map on bubbl.us. I will update it further as and when I think of more content to add to it. Not entirely sure if this is correct, but here's the map as it stands. I will edit this post when I make any changes.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
More future research
Ive been looking more and more into the future and things associated with it, and it has lead me on to things like String theory, FTL, the Casimir effect, and I am currently reading about the 10Th dimension. Its incredibly complicated! I'm not even sure I should be reading this stuff, but I cant turn away, Its really interesting! The book im reading over is called "Imagining the Tenth Dimension" by Rob Bryanton. I wont even pretend to understand a fraction of the stuff that is being talked about, but it is giving me some interesting ideas for what to do with my FMP. The only issue is these ideas aren't really something I can work with just yet. I could turn this around and create a space themed idea perhaps? I don't know, I'm really frustrated because it feels like I'm just going down dead ends, and time is gradually running out. Ironic really that I'm talking about how time is catching me up and I'm reading about quantum mechanics!
I feel like I have a fantastic theme to play around with, I'm just not sure what exactly to do with it. Anyone want to give a little input here? because I really am struggling.
I feel like I have a fantastic theme to play around with, I'm just not sure what exactly to do with it. Anyone want to give a little input here? because I really am struggling.
Monday, 9 November 2009
New ideas
I have some new ideas with where I think I would like to take this FMP. Its based around the things that Tom spoke about during his presentation. Hes talking about using his FMP time to help him build up a portfolio to help him when it comes to university or getting a job. I think perhaps I should go down this rout also, because ultimately I to would like to get into a similar industry as him. I still need to keep thinking about what it is I want to develop though.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Feeling lost!
After thinking back on the presentation, I'm really lost with what I want to do for the FMP. I have all of these ideas, but I feel that they aren't up to scratch. I still want to push forward with this futuristic thing, but I really don't know which direction to push with it. I want to make it a memorable one, because with last years FMP, I got the sense that it had been done before, with nothing really different or new. I know I wont create something that no one has ever seen before, but I would still like to make something that breaks the mould of the past few years. I think what I really want to do also, is make my mark here, maybe for other people to possibly aspire to? Give them an incentive to push and make something better. Either way I think I need to go back to the drawing board, and maybe look around, or talk to some people to see if I can steer myself back on track.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Todays presentation
Hey guys, I just want to make a quick post about today's presentation. I'm creating this post just because I really want you to put some comments on here to help me out with my FMP idea, giving me some feedback as to what I could possibly do to develop my idea further, or even if the idea is worth pursuing at all?
Anyway... Leave some comments for me to think upon.
Thanks xD
Anyway... Leave some comments for me to think upon.
Thanks xD
Wack-a-Ninja Evaluation.
OK.. Not sure how many words this thing needs to be so I'm going to just talk about things as they come to me.
I was very eager to get stuck into this little mini project that we had lined up, because I had a similar idea to this for the current game assignment that we have. For the game brief I wanted to try and design a game for a mobile phone, both a touch screen and non touch screen version. I felt that this sort of design for a game would not just cut some of the pressure from the overall work load, but it could also enable me to think about the potential market for mobile phone users. These days everyone usually has a phone on them, usually one that is roughly a year old, so the compatibility is definitely there for this platform. I also think that within the next coming years, mobile phone games will become more diverse and much more used. Focusing back to the mini project, I am now able to take all what I have learned and apply it to my own design and concept for this mobile phone game. I liked that we were set tasks so that we could learn off our own back, because I feel I tend to learn A bit better through making mistakes and correcting them as I progress. I must admit, I did make several errors along the way, but managed to overcome them by looking back through the work previously done, and applying some common sense to the set tasks.
Overall I am pleased with the result for the task. I felt it was unique and enjoyable. Perhaps later, I will go back into the project, just to add some things like, "View top 10 players" or something to the effect of reading from the saved scores list. I would also like to point out that this feature will definitely be included within my game concept.
I was very eager to get stuck into this little mini project that we had lined up, because I had a similar idea to this for the current game assignment that we have. For the game brief I wanted to try and design a game for a mobile phone, both a touch screen and non touch screen version. I felt that this sort of design for a game would not just cut some of the pressure from the overall work load, but it could also enable me to think about the potential market for mobile phone users. These days everyone usually has a phone on them, usually one that is roughly a year old, so the compatibility is definitely there for this platform. I also think that within the next coming years, mobile phone games will become more diverse and much more used. Focusing back to the mini project, I am now able to take all what I have learned and apply it to my own design and concept for this mobile phone game. I liked that we were set tasks so that we could learn off our own back, because I feel I tend to learn A bit better through making mistakes and correcting them as I progress. I must admit, I did make several errors along the way, but managed to overcome them by looking back through the work previously done, and applying some common sense to the set tasks.
Overall I am pleased with the result for the task. I felt it was unique and enjoyable. Perhaps later, I will go back into the project, just to add some things like, "View top 10 players" or something to the effect of reading from the saved scores list. I would also like to point out that this feature will definitely be included within my game concept.
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