Day Six

Today we were making our paper prototypes. In the experiential learning cycle we were on the active experimentation step of the cycle. We had to plan out our book storyline and branches before we could actually illustrate the pages and add the text. It took a long time, we spent the entire lesson on it. I'm sad to say that we didn't get the prototype finished. The planning was the most time consuming because it was the most important. After that it would have taken us a lot less time to make the actual book. Because we didn't get a concrete book finished, we couldn't really reflect on how it worked. So we thought about how we could have sped up the process of making it instead, and all the hurdles that we faced while making it.

Day Five

We took our Tate project further and analysed it. We wanted to see if it met criteria that makes for a good game. Things like goals, challenges and rules were discussed. This was a good place to stop and think about whether our book would work in the real world. We really took it apart, and analysed the details to see if there was something missing. In the end our book was deemed acceptable by the group. We also decided on a title for our book, Detective Dan.

For more, go here: http://sedar-b.blogspot.com/2010/02/formal-elements-of-our-interactive-book.html

Day Four

In the lesson we tried to work out how our game would work. This was more a reflective observations step in the cycle, even though we had not done a concrete example of our game yet. We visualised ourselves playing the game and in the end we decided it was way too complicated to be a board game and went back to the Fighting Fantasy choice book idea. I think this was a good choice, as we had spotted several problems with the idea that would make it virtually unplayable. The reflective observation really helped us to stop and think about the idea.

It was also neat that we got to meet Ian Livingstone and hear him talk about games and the industry. He was the creator of the Fighting Fantasy books and he made a big impact on me.

I went to talk to him after the lecture and introduced myself. He said hello and then asked this very simple question,

"So what games do you play?"

It completely threw me off. Ok, this is probably just me making a big deal out of it.. but what is up with people and that question? It's like asking me which books I read. I read everything that is good. In the same way that I play anything that is good. I'm thinking that I get asked it because I'm a girl. Maybe people want to know what attracts us to games so that they can create more content for us.

This guy has an amazingly annoying voice.. but he makes a few good points.

Day Three

I was absent on day three. But here's a nice video to distract you from that:

Day Two

We were given the task of creating a product for the Tate. During the lesson we focused on who we were selling this product to. We had to come up with a single person and flesh them out. In an experiential learning cycle, this would be the abstract conceptualisation part.

Our group came up with a 30 something mom who is looking to get something for her young son. She wants the product to be both fun and educational. I think we could have fleshed out our character a bit more during the lesson. This would have given us a better understanding of what she would want to buy.

Then we had the other groups suggest things that already existed that might be suitable, and they came up with things such as pictionary and scrabble. This gave us some ideas for products that we could come up with.

Day One

On the first day we were put into two groups. We were each given 5 post-it notes on which we had to write an aspect of our every day lives that could be in a game. This was a bit tricky seeing as how I don't really so anything. "Laying in bed all day" didn't really seem like a viable option. I did manage to come up with some after a while:

- Travel (This is the first thing that came to my mind. I had just gotten back from Finland two days ago. The airline lost my luggage and I hadn't recieved it yet. I really hate airports. And planes... I don't want to think about how much time I spent in airports in 2009.)

- Drawing for yourself vs for money (This is a big issue in my life. Usually I don't draw for myself, it's for people online that ask me to draw them something. It's how I earn virtual credits for whatever new online game I find. This leaves me with no time for my own character design or experimentation.)

- Getting on the tube (Have you ever tried getting on the tube at 9.00 at King's Cross? On any typical day I would have to wait for at least 2 trains to go by because there isn't enough space for me to get on.)

- Trying to get money and never having any (No job = no money = no new shoes = no happiness.)

- Sex and all the problems it brings (Having sex and not having sex. Both those situations bring so. many. problems.)

When everyone had written their post its we had to categorise them into groups. Then we had to come up with a game idea based on the post its and re categorise them based on that. We cam up with a pretty solid game idea based on these post its:

-Sleeping during rainy days
-Dreaming
-Walking

The game is about some insomniac who can only fall asleep when it is raining. The player gets to walk around in his dreams. The player is tossed out of the dream when the rain stops.

I think this game has a lot of potential. Character and monster design can do whatever they want, there is a lot of range for creativity.

We named out team "Team Awesome" because clearly we are just that.