Unity Tutorial

For this weeks Unity tutorial I watched https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uOdm2wt43E, a tutorial on character movement.

I decided to watch this tutorial again as I was having difficulties when getting my character to move. The video was very beneficial and I was then able to get my penguin character to move. It still needs some work but my game is starting to come along now. I find the free Youtube Unity tutorials have really helped my progress as a developer and there is a Youtube tutorial for every challenge I face.

My game is not completed yet but I am feeling confident that it will be playable by the deadline!

Screen shot from link about.

Game Testing

For this weeks reading I read all about game testing. Without a doubt game testing is one of the most important parts of the game making process. You should test your game throughout the whole making process so you can change and improve parts of your game and to ensure your game is working fluently.

This is a variety of different kinds of game testing;

Bug Testing

Focus testing

Usability testing

Balance testing

Fun testing

It is important to constantly test your game in order to improve your game and so it suits the games target audience. It is good to get feedback from other game designers but receiving feedback from players is more beneficial as they know what needs they want the game to meet in order to enjoy the game. Feedback from other game designers can be beneficial when you are having trouble with your game technically but at the end of the day the players opinion is most important as they are the people who will be using and buying your game.

Asking peers for feedback and giving feedback can be very beneficial in the game  making process. Constructive criticism is very important in order to improve your game.



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Alpha

So this is my Alpha at the moment. I know its really behind and I have tones of coding to add to my game in order to make it work but I keep adding to my terrain to try and make it look a bit better. Im finding it hard to find everything I need in the free asset store, still searching for a free water asset that I could use for my game. Im beginning to worry as I've had no look finding this and its getting frustrating. I might have to improvise or change up my game slightly if I can't find something that could be used as water.

I still need to add a timer to my game and add additional coding. At the moment I feel slightly stuck and I'm not entirely sure what I should be doing but Im continuing to add to my game daily even if its just small things in the terrain for appearance.

Unity Tutorial

Welcome back to my blog!

This week I was given another chance to explore the online Unity tutorials. I really enjoy browsing through Youtube and looking at a variety of different tutorials from all different angels. The tutorial that I liked the most was by N3K EN and it was a tutorial on how to make a subway skater kind of game.

 Link to video

In this tutorial he uses a penguin running on a track against the clock. I wish I had seen this tutorial before I began my game because I think this style of game would of suited my game idea a lot better. The game he was creating seemed challenging but I think with some work I could achieve it.

After watching this tutorial Im on two minds either to start my game from scratch. I might test this style out and see if it would be manageable to create in the short amount of weeks I have left to create this project.

Online Penguin runner game

Game Stories

This weeks reading was all about game stories. I think for a game a strong story line really adds to the engagement of a game for the player. The mechanics and the minor technical details are all very important, but that the main story, or feeling you get when you play is what is really important for the player. 

First article I read - Best Games of the year

Second article I read - Q&A: New AAA studio from 2K Games all about players' stories

Third article I read - The Blue Shell and its Discontents

In each article I read, they all state how the content and the story of a game is very important. They talk about how a story in a game really catches the players attention and makes them feel immersed in the game. They talk about how stories can add to the overall feeling and impact you feel when playing a game, I think this is important as it makes game playing that bit more exciting and enjoyable!



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First Playable

Prototype: After doing some rough sketches on what I wanted my game level to look like, I had a good idea how I was going to design my level on Unity.

I downloaded some snowy mountains off the asset store and I downloaded a snow texture for the base of my website. I then downloaded a penguin character off the asset store, unfortunately all the normal penguin characters were not free to download but I found a toy collection which was perfect for my game as it had a cartoon look.

So far I have come across some difficulties in my game. Setting up the terrain and adding texture was a breeze. I then added some rock textures and trees and a bright sky box to make my game look more realistic. I made a dip in the terrain, this is where I would add water to my game which is a very important part of the game I am making. I looked over the Jimmy Vegas tutorial where he went through adding water to a scene but I struggled to find the water asset that he used. I browsed the asset store and I had no look finding a free water texture that worked for me. Besides this small problem my game has been going to plan and I think its beginning to take some shape. I have to still add controls and a timer to the game. I must also create the ice caps in which George must jump across in order to return to safety. 

This is a screen shot of my game so far   

I have been meeting all my targets.

Growth mindset

Part One:

For this weeks growth mindset I watched a video by Carol Dweck. In the video Carol spoke about what is the problem with easy. She speaks about how she thinks that people have made mistakes with child rearing and in the educational system as kids were told that they should feel good when things are easy for them and they got everything right. This is not a case in Carols book. In Carols book easy means that you are not learning to your full potential and she stated that if it was easy, well then you probably already knew how to do it. She spoke about making challenge the new comfort zone which I found very interesting. She spoke about how kids should feel cheated when the work was too easy for them. This is didn't really understand or agree with but I did understand her point when she stated that kids should be given harder work or be asking for challenges. She wants challenge being the new comfort zone, not easy being the comfort zone. I found this video motivational to step out of my comfort zone and try do tasks that challenge me instead of taking the easy route.

Part Two:

For the second part I made a Motto using Cheezburger.



I think this motto is important to live by, especially in a college environment. We should never look down on someone who is struggling, it is important to offer help to those who need.

Tech Task - Meme Generator

I found this tech task really fun and enjoyable. I love looking at memes I find them really funny and relatable most of the time, but never thought of creating my own. Imgflip meme generator was a really straight forward and enjoyable way to create memes and it only took me a few minutes.

Link to my meme



I created this meme as it is one I've seen a lot online lately. It is also very relatable as I have a strong tendency to ignore all my responsibilities, especially when I have a lot due.

Week 8 Progress

Looking back at my progress in this module, I am over all happy with how far I have come. At the beginning, I was very unfamiliar with writing for a blog as it is something I never had any interest in doing. Now I really enjoy writing on my blog and it almost comes naturally to me.

Before this module I had no idea what Unity was and had no idea how it operated. At the beginning it was like looking at another language and I didn't know where to even begin. I found the Jimmy Vegas tutorials so helpful and after watching a few I slowly began to get the hang of things. Although I am no where near where I would like to be in terms of using Unity and I am still very unfamiliar and confused with the coding side to Unity, I will continue to learn and try my best. 

Although I think I have made good progress I do have some regrets. I got slightly lost in this module and failed to submit blogs on time due to having poor time management skills and from struggling in this module. I now have my head down and know what has to be done in order to succeed.

Looking forward, I will strive to complete deadlines for this module on time. I will continue to work hard on my game and hopefully I will be very happy with the final result. I am finding this process enjoyable even though I have had some bumps along the way.



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Week 8 Comments and Feedback

I find the whole Feedback system very beneficial. The feedback reading tasks each week are enjoyable and in some way motivational. Although I have not received much feed back on my blogs, the feedback I was given was very constructional and helped me when moving forward with my project idea. I enjoyed reading my peers blog posts and ideas and giving my opinions on them. I hope that my feedback helped them when progressing in this module. I found Shauns feedback very helpful especially in times when I was struggling with this module.

One comment that Chloe left on my game design document was very beneficial she spoke about how the story of my game made the game more interesting. I think it is important that your game has a strong story line for the player to follow. As I am not very strong in the technical aspects of this game, I think my story could help my game.

I never got around to writing my introduction blog, there for people might not really had the opportunity to get to know me. I wish I had as it would of given my classmates the opportunity to get to know me before reading all my game ideas.  I gave a short bio in my about me section of my blog so hopefully that helps a little bit. I read a lot of my class mates introduction blogs and I found them very enjoyable and it gave me a good sense of who they were. I try to connect and get to know people through the comments but it has mainly just been feedback for my peers. I now have a good sense of there interests just judging on how they are creating their game.

Looking forward I wish to continue commenting and giving feedback on my classmates blog posts, and hoping that they will benefit from them. I hope that they comment on my blog posts more and continue to give constructive criticism. I find the feedback I've been given really motivational and make me strive to move forward in my game project. Sometimes I can feel a bit unmotivated in this module as I find it slightly difficult, but when giving kind comments and feedback from my peers it helps me keep going.



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Week 8 Reading and Writing

I found all of the reading week tasks very enjoyable and beneficial. After reading over previous blogs I has written my favourite one was week 3's blog - Game Elements. This was my favourite reading exercise as the more I read the blog, I began to appreciate the amount of effort and time that is involved in game design. I never realised how many disciplines were involved in game design such as design, art, audio and codes. A well designed game should look and play good and be enjoyable for the player.

I really enjoyed that weeks reading assignment. I liked learning about the making and elements behind Mario. I found the article easy to understand for someone who is still learning about gaming and game elements. From reading the article I now feel more informed about game tools and look forward to creating my own game.

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This Image was my favourite image I included in my blog. This image was from my blog post Project week 2. This image represents that you should not let people stop you or get in the way of your goals. I think this is something that is very important in college life.

Looking forward: 

I would like to continue updating my blog and writing actively. I am moving forward with my final project and look forward to seeing if my hard work and effort reflects in the final piece. 

Prototype A

Georges great escape.

Basic Level design sketch

 

The level for Georges great escape follow a straight forward pattern. The aim of the game is for the player to guide George across the melting ice caps so he can return to safety with out falling into the water or time running out!

A hazard in this game is the water and if the player falls into the water they will re spawn at the beginning of the game and the timer will reset. The player is only given a matter of 60 seconds to complete this game.

I considered putting in an enemy, but I found it to difficult. I think the timer challenges the player enough that adding an enemy might just make it too difficult and not as enjoyable.

When the player successfully returns to the safety of Anthracite they will pass through a winning point. I will then include some text saying. George has made it back safe! But Im not to sure about that at the moment.

My games audio will be the sounds of wind stirring and stormy weather but I think I will include a light festive jingle in the back to liven it up again. As the timer starts to run out the ticking on the clock will increase and if you fall into the water you will hear a splash sound and if time runs out you will hear a not so pleasant noise. ( I haven't decided on that just yet)

Unity Free Tutorial

Hello and welcome back! 😄

For this weeks Unity series we got to explore our own Unity tutorials which may help us when making our game.
Since Im making a platform game, I thought it would be beneficial for me to explore some straightforward platform games. I found a Youtube series on how to make platform games on Unity.

Video one

This first video was pretty basic and Jimmy Vegas did go over how to set up a terrain etc in his earlier videos. So for the first part of this video I didn't really learn to much. He then talked about creating objects for the character to jump and climb up on which I will use in my game.

Video two

In this video we looked at how to player moves round the game. In my game it will be first person player not the rigged body method. Since there is a first person player mode built into Unity I did get any new information from the first part of this video but it was still very interesting.

After watching a few of these tutorials I realised that they weren't really that helpful or what I was looking for.. I also watched Jimmy Vegas's tutorial series on platform games and there was nothing really beneficial to put in my game.. So I began to worry a little.

Video three

I then found this video which wasn't ideal but it covered using a goal point which is something I would like to use in my game so I wasn't a complete waste of time!

Video four

This video was a really straight forward tutorial how to create a timer in Unity which is something I am including in my game.

From doing some research on Unity tutorials it made me realise how straight forward Jimmy Vegas's videos are, and when Im stuck on something in my game I think I will be referring back to his tutorials.