Call out for Cardboard

Yup, this is a call out for carboard packaging/tubing of any kind that anyone feels nice enough to hand over. Boxes, kitchen roll tubes etc. Preferrably whole, but I am a dab hand with the trusty PVA. I'm pretty sure no one will bother, but I know I won't ask in person, so :P.

I had a stash ready, you see, for the purpose I have in mind... And then the mice picked up hay mites, and all of it found the bin pretty quickly after that. I shouldn't have packed in all in their cage to bring it home, but there was not a lot of room.

And no, hay mites aren't contagious. They don't like people, we're icky.

R.I.P Shirley

So, first day back and I already managed to make myself look stupid. How basic a mistake is it to not save something in the right format? I am going to kick myself for weeks. Add another rank in idiot.

My graphics tablet is dead and I'm about ready to claw my eyeballs out. Don't get me wrong, I love pencil. Really. But I want to paint. I have wanted to paint ever since the damn thing gave up on me before Christmas, and now its frustrating. I just can't do what I want to do with a pencil right now, and it irks. Of course, once I order the replacement I will suddenly have no urge to pick it up for weeks on end.

Let's see... Something positive... Ah, my mice now hate me ever so slightly less. Maybe. And Santa brought me some cool stuff, but no one wants the run down of my girlie girlie non gamer presents.

Oooh, and my Grandmother had the next Cornwell book already. I know, its sad to borrow from your Grandmother's library, but we are talking about the woman who possesses the largest horror movie collection I've ever seen, and asks me to keep her company at the newest sci fi and or fantasy films.

I nearly managed an anime free Christmas, a minor miracle considering I spent it with the Fiance's Japanofile parents. Then they made me sit through Death Eater twice (or tree times. Eugh.) and some other stuff that's warped into a vague blur of bright colours and panty shots. Don't get me wrong, I like some anime. I am just a fussy, fussy viewer. Mostly its the art style that gets to me, if I don't like how it looks then I'll hate having to look at it for half hour.

The nerdy TV series of choice for this holiday was... dun dun dun the second series of Battlestar Galactica. Well, the second new series or something. Its complicated, it confuses me. Still, it was a good choice. Would you believe I picked up the tip to watch it at a Christian music festival? Well, its true. And I'm glad I did. Now just to source the next one and no one will see me for three days.

Still, despite the lack of artwork it wasn't a bad three weeks... I didn't break any bones, no new members of my family disowned me and I didn't mortally offend any further members of my Fiance's family.

Pretty good going.

Task - Week Ten

Games have a big visual impact, and the first thing most people will have to judge a character with is their appearance. Often the main character/s will be the very first thing someone sees on the art on a poster or the front of the box for the game, and the way they are portrayed is the starting point of a person's opinion of or reaction to that character.

There are a lot of visual tricks to use to trigger a response in someone to a particular character. Their clothing, stance, facial expressions, the way they move and what body language they use should be planned to a specific end in a good character design. Often silhouette and good choice of colours is essential, as these often get a subconscious response that the player may not even be aware of. Certain shapes and patterns symbolise things that have been ingrained on our brains for such a long time that we are not always aware when we recognise them. These can be very helpful in very stylised games, that allow for exaggerated shapes and facial expressions.

It can often be hard to use these in heavily realistic games, as there are strict design boundaries to be followed that mirror real life. Often this calls for greater subtly of design, and less exaggeration. How far can those boundaries be pushed while still remaining intact?

While appearance and visual are important, the way they behave (if this is out of a player's control) and they way they address other characters are also key to getting the desired response. Their dialogue has to fit the image you've built for this character, otherwise he becomes completely unbelievable... or ridiculous. The character's actions in turn have to mesh with his appearance and his dialogue, otherwise he appears to be contradicting himself.

While appearance is important in games, as a largely visual kind of entertainment, all of the elements of a character have to mesh together to support each other, or one particular element will seem jarring and wrong.

http://www.designersnotebook.com/Workshop/CharacterWorkshop/characterworkshop.htm
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20000720/gard_01.htm
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10216
http://gamasutra.com/features/20060324/cifaldi_01.html
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20001204/davies_01.htm

Task - Week Nine

Should a console designer concentrate on how it looks, how it feels to play, or how easy it is to use? As the size of the actual technology involved decreases, the scope for creativity for the average console designer increases. A good looking console should sell more, but if there are other problems then it will soon be all over the magazines and internet. A revolutionary console who's new technology means it looks rather 'strange' might sell more to people who've done their research and want to try it out, but its less likely to attract the eye of a passer-by looking into the shop window. Or is it?

The major drive for early development was always practicality, making the box as small as the technology of the time would allow and selling on the sheer novelty of having a game console in your home. As this becomes commonplace, there's an increasing demand for a game console that looks good in the home.

Console design, shape and colour, help to establish an identity among competition at the same level in the market. Repeated shapes or colours also tie together generations of consoles from the same developers, which often have backwards compatability. Or their own hand-held consoles (often generations worth too now.) which can sometimes be compatible with their TV based systems. The need for branding, for creating something that's instantly recognisable as being from a certain company, is important for creating a name in the marketplace.

The need to stand out, and be one ahead of competitors, often drives the development of new technologies, such as the touch screen or the first game cartridges or the wireless controller. Where once military and academic was used to develop games technology, now the games industry is offering technologies back.

New designs are made to appeal to certain audiences. For example, the controller that minimises the damage done to one's wrists while gaming is just the thing a responsible parent might buy for their gaming offspring (or themselves). Or perhaps the more health conscious gamer, or the one who already has bad wrists from many years without this wonderful device.

The look of gaming consoles and their paraphernalia will probably continue to develop to more extremes, the smaller the technology gets. After a while the main factors of consideration have, and will continue to change to things like comfort, over all 'look', convenience and easy storage.

http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050523/console_timeline/
http://ps3.qj.net/The-Ergonomics-Behind-the-PS3-Controller/pg/49/aid/503
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/gaming/productdetails.aspx?pid=091
http://wii.kombo.com/article.php?artid=6355&pg=1&comments=full

Task - Week Eight

Modern gaming is a form of escapism that relies on realistic visuals coupled with an interesting storyline to draw the individual in, and hold their attention until the end of the game. Or at least, that's my opinion. Like reading, only with (usually) better pictures, it gives people the chance to be someone else, do something completely different than they would try in real life for a good few hours at a time. They allow us to experience, at least in part, things that we would never otherwise be able to do.

Some games have an in depth and linear storyline that guides the player from beginning to end, like an interactive story with a beginning, a middle and an end. Not everyone buys for the story behind a game, often it will be because they know the series already, or because of the game genre. Its assumed that whatever the other qualities of the game are, there will be some kind of story or explanation in there somewhere.

Some of the larger online games only have a vague storyline, perhaps more of a backdrop for your character. In these situations its up to the characters within the game to create their own story. So a group of different people team up and go off and make up their own adventures, within the constraints of the general background history. That might be something along the lines of who gets along with or who hates whom, who is currently warring with whom and why, or some other racial drama that might effect the character you're creating. Its assumed you'll take these into account when playing within the game, giving the player responsibility to continue to work within the 'story'.

In a game its hard to create a story that the player can actually effect, or change with his or her actions in more than a limited sense. Some try to get around this with adding features, plots or specific story ending that key to specific actions. For example, a good, evil or neutral ending depending on how your character has acted during the game. Generally the player likes to feel like their in control at least a little bit, but there are only so many different outcomes a game can generate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Payne_2:_The_Fall_of_Max_Payne
http://uk.gamespy.com/articles/596/596254p1.html
http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun98/lazy2.htm
http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Interviews.Detail&id=10
http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/forum.asp?forum_id=32

Task - Week Seven

An Art Director has a vast array of everyday jobs, but their key role is to monitor the visual outcome of the game they're directing for. They have to keep track of and break down the art related production tasks, and manage people as well as game assets. They have a responsibility to help mentor less experienced team members, and monitor the consistency of any outsourced art.

In itself it doesn't appear to be a very creative role in a project. The Art Director rarely works on assets or art for the project, and is mostly in charge of managing other people's art within a project. This is limiting, as in most companies Art Director is the top of the art career path, and without moving across to the programming path (which also ends in a managerial position) this is the only position available at that level. Some people wouldn't be happy with the move away from art, and into managing people.

Art Directors have to be good with people. They have to be well organised, keeping track of who's doing what and where its going when its finished. They have to know how to motivate people, and how to offer criticism well. Criticism is often taken the wrong way, when it can be very helpful. Mostly they have to love their job, and have a genuine enthusiasm for what they're doing. There are long working hours involved, and the sort work required takes a lot of dedication. They have to not need a lot of sleep to function well, too.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/jobs/perpetual-entertainment/north-america/art-director-id4218
http://my.safaribooksonline.com/159200430X/ch11lev1sec2?portal=oreilly
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20001204/davies_02.htm
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050912/bossant_01.shtml
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20020903/london_02.htm
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050718/mencher_01.shtml

Task - Week Six

Gameplay is a broad umbrella term that most people are unsure of the exact definition for. The Gameplay incorporates the way the technology effects how we play the game, how the art effects our response to the game or how the storyline draws us in. It could also take into a account hardware specifications, and the music used on a game, or a specific colour palette.

Initial game development is normally down to one person, who writes the design document. This should detail their ideas and concepts for their game, and is presented to the publishers in the hope of gaining funding. However, this design documents need to be constantly modified and updated once the game is in the process of being made, otherwise it soon becomes outdated. This in turn means the responsibility is shared between people who have expertise in certain areas, and should mean the game turns out better as a whole.

Personally I'm very picky about art styles in a game. While the visual isn't everything, it is very important to me as a gamer, and often I won't consider a game that is visually unappealing to my specific taste. The move towards realism in games tends to make this less of a problem – if everything looks like reality anyway, what is there to disagree with? Over complexity can be off-putting too. If it takes too long to learn the basic controls, then generally I won't bother, hoping to pick it up later. Inevitably this leads to failure. I know I know, I'm a blight on the gaming world.

http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Coverpage.html
http://gamasutra.com/features/20060425/shahrani_01.shtml
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20041101/rouse_02.shtml
http://www.randomterrain.com/game-design.html
http://www.paranoidproductions.com/gamedesign/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_design

Task - Week Five

Subjective and Objective. Is it terrible that I had to look them up? Personally I think my own writing tends to swing between both, but then I've never been good at assessing myself. I try to be objective most of the time, but often bias or strong opinion can affect things without being noticed. I think that since I did all of the reading for week four, these last couple of blogs have been very different to the ones before them. Must be all that NGJ stuff.

Both have their own values and downsides. On the one hand, objective writing offers a balance of facts, and allows someone to make up their own mind, which can be important. It can be very easy to influence someone with your own strong opinion if you only list the arguments that back yourself up, especially if that person hasn't formed their own opinion yet. So, for example, a game review can create a bias in someone who hasn't played the game for themselves, if it isn't balanced and supports only the negative or the positive elements.

Subjectivity can be more interesting to read, especially if there are strong opinions involved and you've already taken the time to form your own opinion about something before reading. Often someone with a well worded opposing argument will have picked up on things you didn't notice, and can often show a perspective that wouldn't be present in a well balanced argument.

I'd like to think I do both. Objectivity and subjectivity play off of one another. The well rounded argument first of all allows you to highlight the flaws in the opposing argument later, and that makes it easier to justify your subjective point of view.

http://gillen.cream.org/wordpress_html/?page_id=693
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/egrr_550_62798
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/game_culture/2005/03/ten_unmissable_examples_of_new_games_journalism.html
http://gillen.cream.org/wordpress_html/?page_id=3
http://shinyshinyshiny.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_shinyshinyshiny_archive.html
http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/popups/objectivity.htm

Task - Week Four

Wow, I did a lot of reading for this one.

Game reviewers have a lot of issues. I mean, face a lot of issues. One of the biggest seems to be that reviewers have a genuine love of games – or they wouldn't be doing the job that they are – but that 90% of what comes in to be reviewed is disappointing in some way or another. There's an expectation that each magazine will review the same games, too, which must be limiting. Wages tend to come from publishers that are sponsored by someone with a vested interest in the score or rank a particular game is given, and that also puts pressure onto a reviewer to highlight the good points, perhaps.

The NGJ is awesome. Personally, I never tend to read game reviews. I know that a lot of my friends do, so on the rare occasion I go out to buy a game, I normally ask them if they've played it, or read anything about it, or just buy it because I know my curiosity won't be satisfied until I do, no matter what anyone says. This is largely helped by the fact that I can play utter drivel and enjoy it. Game reviews that retell the story of the game, or appraise its technical abilities tend to be dull, boring even, unless that's your specific interest... And although it will give you an idea of how the game runs, or progresses, it can't tell you how you will react to the game, how you will enjoy the game or which parts of it are going to make you react in a certain way.

The New Games Journalism is more keyed to convey a feeling or an experience of playing the game, rather to outline it in its entirety. Its much more personal, and is easier to relate to. They still tend to highlight important issues within the game, but without the impersonal feel of a list. Its more interesting to read, there's more 'fluff' to it, less filler and more personal experience. Each one is very different, as each person writes very differently. None of them follow the same format. And while some will hold your attention right until the end, some I couldn't even read – but someone else will have a completely different opinion about it.

It must be good. I haven't played any of these games and I've been trawling NGJ reviews for three hours.

http://gillen.cream.org/wordpress_html/?page_id=693
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/egrr_550_62798
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/game_culture/2005/03/ten_unmissable_examples_of_new_games_journalism.html
http://gillen.cream.org/wordpress_html/?page_id=3
http://shinyshinyshiny.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_shinyshinyshiny_archive.html
http://www.alwaysblack.com/blackbox/possessingbarbie.html
http://www.alwaysblack.com/blackout/zangband.html
http://www.alwaysblack.com/blackbox/bownigger.html

Task - Week Three

The future of gaming is looking increasingly uncertain, with the economic climate and the costs of game development. One failed project can lead to the bankruptcy of the investors, and they are now tightening their belts. This means that an investor is more likely to put money into something they feel is going to be successful, and they can only base this judgement on what has been before. This limits the creativity of the game developers – how can they work on something new when investors are only interested in the old, the branded, and the been before?

There has also been a movement toward the cross platform releases, as the publishers try to reach a wider audience. Where as before, a console might sell on the games that were available to it, now it needs something more. This also puts more stress onto the development team, lengthening the project as the game is adapted for each of the different platforms. The innovations that differentiate each platform from another are also the obstacles that a development team has to overcome.

Also, the length of the game development projects have increased to meet the capacity of the newest generation of consoles. They can easily span years, and if a project isn't ahead of the technology curve when it begins it may find itself outdated by the actual time of release. This can also cause problems if release dates are set to occur at the same time as the release of a new console, or also if a different console upgrade is released before the game is finished.

With all of this new technology available, the prices of consoles are rising again. This can be off-putting for someone who only plays casually, not avidly, and doesn't feel the pressing urge to keep up with all of the licensed releases or sequels.



Personally, if the gaming market regains some stability, I can see the next big thing in gaming being full 3D, or 'virtual reality' type capabilities in home consoles. Actual 3D that appears to come out of the screen has become increasingly popular in cinemas in the last year, although the glasses still look as funny. I can also see a return to stylisation. The market has been pushing for gritty realism for a long time now, and I think that its almost reached capacity at current technology levels. I think it will go full circle back, and stylisation will become the trend instead.

http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/crossplatform.ars/2
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/
http://www.idw-online.de/pages/de/news149909
http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/050517e.pdf
http://news.cnet.com/2100-1040-866288.html
http://www.unrealtechnology.com/
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/tv/2007/06/24-week/

Task - Week Two

At the beginning of the 'middle' history of computer games, games split off into several different development areas, such as arcade machines, hand held consoles, university computers and computers for personal use in the home. Games went from a very limited niche at the beginning of this period to widely available at the end of it, and became accessible to everyone as the home computer and the games consoles brought gaming to everyone's front door.

The beginning of this period saw a lot of people jumping on the gaming bandwagon. University students were turning expensive mainframe equipment to their nefarious gaming needs, and shared the fruits of their labour illicitly between themselves. Magazines and books published lines of code that you could input into your home computer system to programme your own games, often classics or arcade games. Early game designers never thought to copyright their game codes, and soon saw them reproduced without their names attached. Disks and cartridges were often physically mailed through the post by amateur programmers, who sometimes sold copies of games in plastic bags before they managed to get them published.

The first consoles had a finite number of games stored in their memory, and no further games could ever be added. The second generation of consoles saw the beginnings of the cartridge system, which instead meant that the game would be stored on a separate memory inside a plastic casing, which slotted into the console to be played. This meant that a much broader selection of games could be played on a single console.

Market competition pushed for better graphics, better colour and sound capability and more flexibility for the consumer. Genres began to appear, and trends came and went with the capabilities of the technology that they relied on. Text based adventures became popular for a time when home computers couldn't handle graphics, but soon fell out of favour as affordable computers caught up with, and surpassed the graphical capabilities of the consoles. Concepts of 3D crept into game art, and also level designs. Platform gaming gave way to full 360 degree movement, and the modern style of 3D games.



The first console I played on was an Sega of some kind, I have no idea which one. It was always referred to as The Sega and it lived in my brothers room. (computer games are for boys, remember.) He always had the FPS games, or the Disney games from well meaning family members. I used to sneak in there to play Sonic the Hedghog, and occasionally the really awful Toy Story game. I always got stuck on the same toy box level, and eventually gave up after fifty gazillion tries.

A couple of years later I was privileged enough to be allowed part ownership of a Nintendo 64, one of the limited edition Pokemon print ones. Yes, I was one of those irritating Pokemon craze children. Again though, this was kept in my brother's room, and I was rarely allowed in there to play on the thing. Mostly I spent my childhood on my yellow Gameboy Colour, which I obtained one Christmas when 'Santa' had to provide fairly for both of us... And my mother could assure herself that she'd provided something girly in the Harvest Moon game.

http://www.jesperjuul.net/thesis/2-historyofthecomputergame.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computer_and_video_games
http://www.designboom.com/eng/education/pong.html
http://www.pong-story.com/intro.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_Moon_2

Task - Week One

The early history of computer games seems to be a point of contention for some people, especially those who wish to differentiate video games (games that can be played on a home TV set) and computer games. The first computer game was non graphical, and used a system of vacuum tubes to simulate a missile being fired at a target. The targets had to be hand drawn, and stuck in place. The patent application for this game was filed on January 25th, 1947.

The first video game was designed by Ralph Baer in 1952. He worked for a television company, and was challenged to build the best TV set in the world. He decided to push the boundaries by adding a new concept to his design – the ability to play games on your TV set at home. His Boss wasn't very taken with the idea, and it would be more than ten years before he came back to the idea, and built his own prototype models.

The CRT missile game was soon followed by a more graphical computer version of tic tac toe, where the player was pitted against the computer. The game was part of a thesis about human interaction with computers by A.S. Douglas.

The first video game was designed by someone who was pushing the boundaries of his work. He knew that his designs needed something extra, and he hoped that the first gaming system on a normal TV set would take him that extra distance. In the end he achieved his success by building his own prototypes, although it took him ten years to take up the idea again.

The first computer games were designed by academics, sometimes as part of other projects and sometimes as a hobby, but their access to the modern technology of the time was crucial to their success. This access depended on their positions at the time. Also, their understanding of the technology and how to get the most of what they wanted out of it meant they could adapt their ideas around its restrictions.



Personally, the first game I was allowed to own and play to any length was probably one of the various Pokemon off shoots. Computer or video games and gaming is generally held to be a boy's thing in my family, and a waste of time and a lot of money. Before that it would have been the educational games from school, things like the Zoombinis. There was always a fight for the single computer in our classroom to play that one.

http://www.jesperjuul.net/thesis/2-historyofthecomputergame.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computer_and_video_games
http://www.designboom.com/eng/education/pong.html
http://www.pong-story.com/intro.htm
http://www.pong-story.com/inventor.htm
http://www.pong-story.com/RHB_getting_things_straight.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoombinis