Here you will find my final entry for the first module in which I summarise the key points of my development practice:
You can also download the video here:
Transcript:
Introduction
Hi, I am Luke J Perry, and I am currently studying for my Master’s degree in Indie Game Development at Falmouth University.
I have a background in film production, my ultimate goal is to work as a Narrative Designer; however, I am aware that it is extremely beneficial for employers within this industry to hire those that possess experience in game development.
The most accommodating and enlightening aspects of this module were the two rapid ideation sessions.
RI Session 1
Utilising my film editing experience, I set myself a SMART Goal of conceptualising a minimalistic, yet effective prototype for a game’s narrative cornerstones.
To assist us in our ideation, we were provided two themes that we could either choose to adhere to or completely ignore. I decided on blending the two to devise a single theme.
Theme Part A was a Dixit Card, of which I decided to personify and characterise into a sort of supervillain. Using the blue-sky approach, I drew potential associations from the imagery including factors such as colour theory, before narrowing down the idea afterward.
Even though I was initially devising an antagonist, I was more interested in conjuring a character’s mind rather than a character’s physical attributes as I found that this would restrict my ability to ideate such a story within the time constraints provided.
Theme Part B was a news headline of our choice and seeing as I devised a character, I needed a place for the character to reside in and so I thought it best to use the headline from 2019: “New ‘super-Earth’ found with water and the right temperature for life”. Using this real-life event as a historical influence, I was able to create a story for this planet so that it could act as the story world. It was obvious to me at this point that it would be of the science-fiction and fantasy genres.
I was interested to see how far my skills would transfer to the games industry in terms of ideating and prototyping narrative and I soon realised that I had to use a sizzle reel although I did not know too much about them, so I had to research them first. My sizzle reel showcased the feel of the artefact both in relation to aesthetics and narrative, to see if what I had ideated would work, and most importantly, to receive feedback from my peers about it. To do this, I took existing clips that were akin to that of my vision and worked them into a sort of trailer format utilising Adobe Premiere Pro CC. I knew that the sizzle reel had to have a beginning, a middle and an end to demonstrate how I wanted the narrative to pan out.
I was fairly pleased with the outcome, although I would have liked to go beyond this and create the cinematic within the Unity game engine of which I am hoping to have a play around with in future.
RI Session 2
Now seeing as I found my footing creatively regarding the devising of narrative for games, I thought it best to practice game development tools themselves and design levels within Unity.
We were presented with a list of themes to pick from: social issues, economic issues, healthcare, education, and environmental issues. I decided on environmentalism. Being a huge fan of the original Final Fantasy VII, I have always wanted to write the world as a character and incorporate this into how players behave within this world. After simply brainstorming, I devised the initial foundations of the game prototype in which you are tasked with getting from A to B but the world is affected depending on how you get there, for example, if you were to use a car then it would become increasingly difficult as you progress, whereas if you were to make your way on foot or through more environmentally friendly transport methods then it would be easier.
I ended up pairing with a fellow student due to similar mindsets surrounding the environment and creative influences. I decided on level design due to it being more relevant to the entry level jobs within the games industry that I am actively applying for. The positions I have applied for are: Junior Level Designer and Junior Quest Designer.
Upon pairing up we decided to brainstorm with Miro, to get a broader sense of what the game was and input this into a Game Development Document, whilst using Trello’s Kanban board to add and keep track of tasks to be completed. With this, we devised the narrative as a pair but over scoped massively due to the point that what we were supposed to be doing suffered as a result. Despite this, I was not aware of Miro or Trello before the course and so these tools will be used when ideating and scheduling in future, particularly in teams.
As this was my first time properly getting stuck into level design, I made plenty of rookie errors and there is most certainly ample opportunity to improve. I should have grey boxed the level firstly but instead I was so focused on polishing the game before it was even properly prototyped. I incorporated textures from the Unity Asset Store into the project before cementing what the basic level design elements were to be. A huge take away for this for me was how to use Probuilder paired with ProGrids to create levels. I would have liked more time to work on this project and practice working within Unity, however, I came down with severe flu for the second half of the rapid ideation session which put an end to my contributions.
Research
The research conducted that will be the most beneficial for future project development is audience research. Without audiences, our products are essentially irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
To stay relevant and provide consumers with what they actually want, it is best to include them somewhat in the project’s development through certain tests or assessments to be logged as either qualitative or quantitative data.
I did not take advantage of any form of market or audience research in the Rapid Ideation sessions and so I will be doing this for future projects. The only qualitative method utilised was that of the critical reflective journal itself in which I justified my decisions whilst at the same time focusing on which skills can be improved on.
Smart Goals
I will Continue researching level design methods and tools to develop these skills within Unity without getting too caught up on narrative. An emphasis will be put on greyboxing initially to get the fundamentals down instead of getting too carried away with polishing.
I will present ample audience and market research to better support creative decisions in the development of games: I will carry out cognitive walkthroughs, observations, and questionnaires at each stage of production to attain quantitative and qualitative data.
In future, I must be sure to create and constantly refer to a project roadmap for projects and not over scope, particularly when working within a team. Goals must be realistic and achievable for the time provided whilst also introducing contingencies that help deal with unforeseen circumstances. I will achieve this through careful implementation of sprint objectives, adhering to these and then amending when necessary.
Bibliography
Adobe. 2021. Premiere Pro CC (2021) [Software]
Aguado, K., 2018. Medium. [Online] Available at: https://ken-aguado.medium.com/all-about-sizzle-reels-55b5b420ebb [Accessed 14 July 2021].
Brackeys, 2019. MAKING YOUR FIRST LEVEL in Unity with ProBuilder. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtzIXCKr8Wo&ab_channel=Brackeys> [Accessed 14 July 2021].
Imindq.com. 2021. What is Brainstorming And How Is It Helpful?. [Online] Available at: <https://www.imindq.com/uses/brainstorming> [Accessed 14 July 2021].
ITV News, 2019. New 'super-Earth found with water and the right temperature for life | ITV News. [Online] Available at: <https://www.itv.com/news/2019-09-11/new-super-earth-found-with-water-and-the-right-temperature-for-life> [Accessed 14 July 2021].
Miro. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_lQWVdP4=/> [Accessed 14 July 2021].
The Interaction Design Foundation. 2021. How to Conduct a Cognitive Walkthrough. [online] Available at: <https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/how-to-conduct-a-cognitive-walkthrough> [Accessed 14 July 2021].
Trello.com. 2021. Trello. [online] Available at: <https://trello.com/> [Accessed 14 July 2021].
Unity Technologies. 2021. Unity (2021). [Software]