School Review

For this weeks class our teacher wanted us to talk on the intresting stories behind the creation of our favourite videogame, and since I don’t want to do research plus I’m slightly egotistical I decided to talk about the process of one of the videogames I didn’t end up finishing. I started this game when my knowledge for videogames was limited to polymodeling, base color texturing and the ability to only code within minecraft :’(. The Idea was a Wrestling game based on ‘Naural motion real time physics animation’ for those who don’t know what that means, is that they program the weights and mustles of the character to deturmine the animation, aka a massive scope. I first started my project by writing out designs and ideas for the game and by making a 3D model with working bones and textures.

 I knew I needed to first work on turning the stiff model into a ragdoll before I could give it life, so I put the model into unity and worked around with the constrants of each joint so that he didn’t act like he was boneless. I failed misribablyafter trying to make him stand up for a couple weeks and always ended up with a consistant pose of him hovering with his arms stretched out and the crappy code of him flying around, I knew continuing to fix this would drive me crazy so I thought of ways to go around this issue, I came to the conclution that this gameplay was actually really fun of controlling this mexican wrestler as he flies around like a jet plane so I changed my idea to an infinate ‘runner’ of the character dodging cactus, this transition I found even more fun then the previous gameplay I had planned out.

Finally I created some assets for the map of a grand canyon type deal flying through cactus’s and other plants, I also came up with ideas to keep the game intresting and unrepeatitive, by adding mini boss fights that you have to dodge and escape. While creating the textures and importing them to unity I had an issue where the textures shared the same names so the catus’s came out purple and bits and peices of the sand were red, I fell inlove with this mistake because it gave the game a really trippy psychedelic look which ultimately suited the gameplay more then the orignal, so I ended up implimenting it. I find this story very empowering for me because, even though I fucked up everystep of the way, it helped form and design a game that nobody could think of, which many of my friends played the shitty demo for an hour of just flying around. 

Before you read this blog, I would like to just state that my thoughts on this specific area are intirely opinionated. What I’m about to say is neither fact or an escuse for you to take out your represed anger on me, Lets start. Growing up with 45year old+ parents was definately limiting when it came to my videogame career, so the fact that they gave my older sister a ps2 and her letting me borrow it was a real life saver (raise your drinks for kendall). This was the only and only consol that our family had for a long time, hence when push comes to shove I would say I prefer PS controllers, fully knowing that preference Is based on adeptation. Using the study that I copied from a class mates blog (raise your drinks for Nathan) is that Woman and children prefer the PS over the xbox because the controllers are smaller. I am now considered a man and have BIG hands, and since I haven’t touched the PS2 in years, I wonder if my preference would stay with the PS since I’ve adapted to it, or would consider switching too the size of the xbox which better caters to the hands of a male.

Moving Contollers aside there is also the debate that a keyboard is also in the running for best controller, It’s kind of a strange thing to think. Forget all the years of PC gaming and just look at your keyboard through fresh eyes, Notice how the only thing that could resemble gaming is the arrow keys, yet these are hardly used in todays gaming, still many gamers would prefer the W,A,S,D controller above specifically designed platforms. I find PC gaming much more fun because the accuracy the mouse can give me is better then that of any joystick, aswell as other better features such as Chat, mullitple programs and a more relaxed hand postion then curved around a controller. Now for the number 1 Best rated controller in my opinion is... THE ARCADE MACHINE. A little before my time, but theres something so exciting and grand about these things. When you press the W key on your keyboard and you move forward is great, don’t get me wrong, But it’s much more satisfying to have to force a giant rod forward with as much strength that you can muster just to move forward, this is because it gives a feeling of rewarding or achievement for your struggles, same applies for the old school big red buttons, nothing is better then just slamming down and punching that button to have your character punch at the same time, is this normal or am I just the next chris brown? unfortunatly due to there bulkyness and lack of transport they are going slowly extinct.

What happened. Games used to be about having fun, now days its about your mums credit card details. Micro-transactions have ruined the game business, every transaction contributes towards establishing a economic difference in class separating the casual gamer too the typical 12 year old. Examples of modern games such as Fortnite base their profits of a rotating battle pass as well as a time limited store. By having a limited time store it not only hypnotizes kids to buy their product but also punishes the true gamers to have nothing to grind towards. Back in my day, “The golden years” we had games like, Poptropica and Minecraft, both games relying on strength of gamer knowledge rather then credit card enhancement, And when these games did charge the small cost, it was worthwhile. In the future I see games to become ‘buy-simulation’ inserting money for the satisfaction for the fancy, “You Win” sign that follows. As a society we cannot allow our children to fall into this marketing trap.

Finally something I’m super passionate about! Boss fights too me are a way to break up the regular pattern of the game and too challenge the player to think differently. Boss fights gameplay wise typically consist of learning and following a pattern of attack that ounce learnt switches it up. When considering storyline, boss fights can be used for major plot points are they are thrilling and climactic.

To make a boss fight stand out from the rest, there is certain considerations you must contemplate. Firstly you have to make sure that the pattern of the boss fight has to be fun, As stupid as that seems It is a major turning point if your boss fight is good or not. Secondly How much different is it from regular gameplay. There is a fine line between is the gameplay the except same as every other minute, versus this is so different that it off throws the vibe, Some examples of the previous can be found in borderlands 3: Revenge of the cartels', where even though the character of the enemy has changed, the players play style is still the same.

 Finally The the fight must be rewarding. You want to encourage the Player to do the boss fight, either through unique loot that increases gameplay, A way to flex on other players or simply satisfying animations as you complete the fight. It is important to remember to motivate the players to overcome the challenge though either story or gameplay, because most gamers have depression and can’t motivate themselves.

A game as old as my Puberty spike, Minecraft is a sandbox game that focus on simplifying a world full of complexities. It use’s an easy to follow blocky format that at first glance seems like it restricts the visuals, but ultimately can create masterpieces, not only is this game appealing to the architectural type but also too those who enjoy competitive PvP and those with a mathematical mindset. The game was Invented By Mojang, in 2011 and the game has only gotten better when Microsoft bought them out. other games made by Mojang consist of Minecraft Story Mode, Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Earth. Personally I like playing Minecraft as it is a social game that rewards Communication and teamwork. Some fans of Minecraft described it within a few words. Immersive, never ending, infinite potential, green. Here are all the reasons they are wrong. Minecraft is not immersive because its on a screen. If you beat the ender dragon it technically ends, Infinite is a very heavy word to use, and as for green, that one might be true of the game.