Some examples, interface and in-game, of what RPG Maker looks like and can create.
LITERAL
(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.
- Isbister, Katherine. Better Game Characters By Design: A Psychological Approach. San Francisco: Elsevier Inc., 2006.
- Schell, Jesse. The Art of Game Design. Burlington: Elsevier Inc., 2008. Print.
- "Tutorials." RPG Maker MV, RPG Maker, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
Updated the log. My hours can be found here.
(d) Explain what you completed.
Over the course of 33.5 hours, I created what I consider my first lengthy digital game. Throughout the process of crafting this game, I dabbled heavily in both the creative side of game design, as well as the technical side. I created the storyline(s), characters, settings, dialogue, character-relations, and more; on the other hand, I also created a great deal of "events", or key occurrences, that activate throughout the game, all of which serve to keep the game pushing forward towards its conclusion.
(e) Defend your work and explain the component's significance and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work. Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.
What I've learned from multiple interviews and my mentorship at USC is that the best way to learn how to make games is through doing-- simply start making games, of any given variety. Game design is a very experimental subject of study-- as it is a creative art form, there is never typically a right or wrong way to about doing things-- it's all very subjective and up to the minds and decisions of the designers.
My component is vital to my beginnings as a budding game designer. The best thing I can do for myself as an aspiring designer is to start working now-- start designing games now, even if they are far from artistic masterpieces, even if they're far from reaching the ultimate player experience goals I want my future games to reach. My games that I make today, including my Independent Component 2, don't necessarily reach those standards. I've yet to form and hone the skills and abilities necessary to create more advanced games-- games with more potential to become the meaningful, personal experiences I want them to for players.
In my second Independent Component, I very much focused on telling a story. As a writer, I'm a bit self-conscious, so I can't say if my story is ground-breaking or amazing-- because I don't think it is. Rather, I think it's a story that is interesting; maybe not unique or fresh, but definitely not boring. The process of creating a game takes many hours of creative thought, of course, but takes much more time actually digitally crafting. Scripting, coding, and more take time-- it's easy to make mistakes when creating a game, so I had to be very careful in my work.
Regardless, I like my end result. It isn't perfect (far from it), but I'm satisfied at the point I'm at for now.
Title screen of the game.
Opening screen, where the player first dives into the game.
Example of the interface I was working with to create the game.
RPG Maker MV simultaneously looks both simple and difficult, but is
quite manageable once you get the hang of it. It's quite the powerful tool.
An example of a map in-game.
The interface through which I enter any actions I want to have happen
within my game, at any given space on a map I choose. Each black circle indicates a new
action of sorts, ranging from dialogue, character animation, choice indicators, and more.
A close-up example of some of the coding/scripting I do to make sure
the game works the way I want it to.
In-game interaction between the main character, Ezra, and his mother.
In-game interaction between main character, Ezra, and his friend Leo.
Multiple signs can be found throughout the game, but not all
are quite as meaningful as this one.
One of the mazes I built for the game. This one functions quite simply.
One of the mazes I built for the game. This one is more complicated than the others,
but is rather simple overall.
An in-game event that occurs as soon as a player steps near a specified
square on the map.
(f)How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped.
One of my three answers to my EQ, "How can a video game be designed to enhance the player's experience?" is rules.
Rules are not typically outlined in digital games explicitly-- in fact, most rules within digital games are considered to be implicit, as they're not usually mentioned at all. Rules within digital games are finicky, because it's all within the programming. Rules in digital games aren't spelled out for you, but they have to be placed somewhere; therefore, they get placed in the coding of games. Rules are the limitations and affordances of a digital game-- things you can and cannot do as your character.
For example, I can't tell my players in my game that they can't engage in battle with just any other character-- the only way for battles to occur is if I program the battle to happen at a specific point in the game. The player's inability to engage in battle with any character at any moment is but one of many limitations of my game-- it's an implicit rule that I utilized to have my game focus more on narrative, and less on combat.
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