Xaeas Games and Software

https://youtu.be/vDmpoP4L4A8 

Self-Evaluation Write Up­

 In this analysis I wanted to cover how each course in the program had contributed to the final product of my capstone project. Mastery was a good course to reiterate being passionate about our area of study and have a good amount of grit to move forward even when there are setbacks. Computer Science was helpful for the fact that it let me get more comfortable with Android studio and some methodologies in mobile design and programming. Approaches to Game Design was fantastic for the very fact it started to help me think about dissecting other mobile games. Dissecting not only technical features and art aesthetics, but also UI layout for usability. Which goes into the next course Usability Engineering, with this course I was able to test a number of different layouts to optimize usability and it let me have some thought on just how I wanted each element of the user interface to be laid out in my capstone project.

In all honesty using this course as another month of production with User testing too was probably a great choice. There was a really big hurdle I had to get over during these four weeks. That hurdle was getting encryption/decryption of the adolescent’s/user’s data when they’d go to one of the goals or get a word or phrase incorrect. It actually only decrypts the data when it needs to write the information then instantly encrypts the data again. This way even when someone goes out of the app and tries to explore the files it will be an encrypted file and the only way to get the file is if the user sends it to their email or creates a local file. The biggest thing for this hurdle was how to get encryption and decryption working correctly on an android device. I’ve worked with both encryption and decryption on the PC before but never for a mobile device.

               This second part of the development of my capstone project I really had to dig down deep and work quite hard to keep making sure I’d met my milestone goals. The first two weeks of this course I made sure to refine my features and get in the placeholder assets needed for the first interactive story goal. Whereas the last two weeks were mainly used for user testing and that had opened up my eyes on a few things.

So this was definitely an awesome yet intense course. It really puts into perspective the drive and want to get tasks done in a given set of time. There were some sprints in which I was getting my tasks done in quite the fast manner, but there were other times that it felt as if I’d almost bit off more than I can chew. Trello is a magnificent application that helped me keep track of these tasks, and what I had to get done in each of these sprints. 

I’d have to say that the most difficult weeks were week 3 and week 4 when it came to creating the user profile aspects of my capstone project. Though weeks 3 and 4 were probably the most fruitful. As I’d even created functions for encrypting and decrypting the user files that they were written in. Aside from the speech recognition part of this capstone and each of the goals being directed toward aiding in the symptoms of childhood Apraxia of Speech, I’d say that the profile features came along quite well. Especially with the reading and writing to the user profile, and the current user staying the same even after the application stops. 

How does business and marketing affect the design and development of a mobile game?

           This question can be very broad, as there are a lot of things that business and marketing depending on business plan, and budget. Without a proper budget some corners may need to be cut in order to get the product shipped on time. The same could also be said about a proper business plan. Not only could features and mechanics be cut due to not having a good business plan, but also the aesthetics and details of the different aspects of the game. Without good marketing there could be a lack of motivation which could cause issues with budget, scheduling, and even the whole foundation of the application.

How does the proposed revenue model affect game design?

           Methods of monetization can affect many things of the game design process. Depending on the method of monetization some mechanics, and even aesthetics of a game could be designed specifically to be put behind paywalls for the user. Depending on the revenue model, some aspects of the design of the game could be affected either for the better or worst. Sometimes developers could leave out some content that could also be marketed as DLC. Other things that could be affected with a free to play, microtransactions type of revenue model is the use of stamina. This way the player can only play so many rounds or levels, before they either need to wait to play another level again or potentially pay to play more rounds.

How can you be sure you are developing a game that people will want to play?

           This is a great question! Not only will my game provide a great experience for its target demographic. Not only will it provide a good experience for the user, but it also is a device and tool that has the ability to help those who this application is intended for.

What is involved in game development other than coding and artwork, and how does this affect your development budget and schedule?

Some of the things other than artwork and coding that goes into game development, is community, business plans, and project management. Without a good business plan, deadlines might not be met, causing a project to go overbudget. This would not be good for developers, and more specifically stake-holders. It’s also good to have a community as this can motivate stake-holders, investors, and those that are working on the game. A good flow of project management can keep everyone on schedule and meeting deadlines either on time or potentially early. This also means

What do you need to do in order to convince an investor or publisher to fund your game?

           Good documentation not only for the project, but business plan, a functional prototype, and solid information are just a few things needed to give a good presentation to be persuasive enough to convince an investor or publisher to provide additional funds for my product. One of the most important things I need though to convince investors and publishers is not to be so hard on myself, and just be confident.

How do you think what you have learned in this class will affect the way you approach your capstone project?

How well did you utilize your time in this course?

           I think I did a really good job with time management in this class. Not only was I able to cover the material in class, but I’ve made some really big strides in my prototype. In addition, I got to spend a lot of this class documenting and figuring out more about my capstone project. As well as get all the narrative recording finished for the first goal in the Childhood Apraxia of Speech disability. The technical Software specifications allowed me to also get a good handle on how I plan on breaking up each part of the project in bite sized iterations to keep production and development alive.

What have you learned / achieved in this course?

           One of the very awesome things I’d learned is more about monetization and where I want to not only go with this current project, but other forms of monetization I might implement in other projects. I’d not known anything about the V-Model before either and think that the process is interesting. There was also some really great information on agile sprints that I had not thought of. It has also covered some terms and definitions that I’d know of previously, but needed a better understand of too.

How does the material you learned in this course relate to your thesis / Capstone Project? **

           The material I’ve learned in this class makes me more confident in my project, how I plan on managing my project, and presenting an elevator speech. The startup/flow canvases have really helped me pinpoint why I’m working on my capstone, what problem it intends to solve, and potentially how to capture and attain the interest of my target audience.

What steps have you taken in your capstone adviser process this month, and what was the outcome of that interaction? **

So far, the interaction is really good. I’m much further in my prototype and ideas. My advisor also likes the progress I am making. Not only am I furthering the development of my prototype, but I’m creating more solid documentation, and creating a solid foundation for my capstone project.

Are you ready to move on to the next phase of the approval process?

Overall, I think I’ve managed a good amount of my time on this course and exploring what I want to do for my potential capstone project. Aside from stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new frameworks and programming languages for game development, I’ve started learning the importance of unit testing and just how much time can be saved with automation. I’ve also grown more interested in trying to use Godot and get better at using this framework. I’ve been interested in using different technologies of mobile devices and the materials covered in this class have also been quite helpful in letting me explore some of them. Augmented Reality being one of major interest. Learning more about these technologies has been helping me narrow down my potential capstone ideas, and just what I want to base my thesis/capstone one.

Ultimately, I think I did use my time wisely as I spent much more than the advised time on all of the material that we were given. In the end, I’m really happy that I’d gotten to take this class. In all honesty there was quite a lot of writing, but the research made it just as fun. As for the things I’ve learned from this class, it’s a bit difficult to say where to start. I guess the best place would be at the beginning. I’d learned just how important it is to build an enjoyable experience and not just for myself. After detailing what type of experience, we not only want game mechanics but make sure these mechanics are balance to make the game more enjoyable for the player. Though there may be some things that I’d already known they reiterated on just how importing they are when approaching game design. For example, just how important aesthetics can be for the atmosphere of the game, game-world, and player. One of my favorite chapters from the reading was how the player is connected to the game world through the interface, and how detailed the chapter goes into making a smooth/juicy interface so the player can better connect with the game world.

Every age has its storytelling form, and video gaming is a huge part of our culture. You can ignore or embrace video games and imbue them with the best artistic quality. People are enthralled with video games in the same way as other people love the cinema or theatre.

- Andy Serkis