Blog 19 - Third Answer

The rules of any game-- digital or physical-- serve as the formal structure of the game. They're a set of guidelines that describe how a game functions.

What is your EQ?

My Essential Question is, "How can a video game be designed to enhance the player's experience?"

Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)

Rules that are well-defined, functioning, and balanced attribute to creating a more positive player experience.

List 3 details to support the answer.

• Rules constitute the inner, formal structure of a game. While they do not create the player experience as a whole, they work to constitute the experience. Rules of any given game (physical or digital) share a few set characteristics:
• Rules limit player action
• Rules are explicit and unambiguous
• Rules are shared by all players
• Rules are binding
• Rules are repeatable

• The rules of a game exist on three levels: constituative, operational, and implicit. The relationship of the three levels creates a formal identity for the game, or an identity that allows players to distinguish a game as formally unique and distinct from other games.

• Rules are directly concerned with players' actions and the outcomes from those actions. The rules of a game manifest in many different ways: through game logic, visuals, audio, player input, game output, and more. Games are multi-layered and complex, but better understanding the abstract formal system of rules can attribute to creating a meaningful player experience. 

List the research source(s) to support your details and answer.

• Salen, Katie and Eric Zimmerman. Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2004. Print.
• Fullerton, Tracy. Game Design Workshop. Burlington: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2008. 151-156.

Concluding Sentence

Rules of a game are a vital piece of a game's design: they provide the structure out of which play emerges. Meaningful play, or positive play experience, can emerge from a game with a defined set of balanced, functioning, and cohesive rules. 

Blog 12 - Holiday Project Update

Writing is not only an exercise of the mind, it's an exercise of patience. 

In other words, writing is really hard sometimes. 

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

Over the course of Winter Break, I've been working on further expanding the current world, characters, and story I have set as some of the main creative design features of my Independent Component. I've spent some time drafting my story, designing characters and their roles to be seen in the game, and crafting the overall setting of the world. It's very much like the creative writing process-- planning, planning, and more planning. There's been research done, of course-- I've looked into how stories, characters, and setting all play significant roles in crafting a positive game experience for players, and I'm adopting what I've learned into my planning processes. 

I've also tinkered a bit with programming, specifically C++ and HTML, though I'm not sure if I want to directly use either of these programming languages to create my game, or create the game through other means. It's still something I'm putting some thought into-- I don't want to get too carried away from pre-production of my game and end up focusing on programming. Either way, programming is a helpful skill to have under my belt for the future.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

From my time working on my Independent Component and sifting through research, I've learned more of the heightened importance of portraying not only a likeable player character, but one that is deep, complex, and three-dimensional; it's vital that characters have and maintain characteristics that make them meaningful to players.

I've learned quite a bit about this topic from research from a book I've been looking into recently, Better Game Characters By Design: A Psychological Approach. Aside from being an incredibly interesting read, it provides a comprehensive and detailed look into why we as humans enjoy, dislike, or hold importance of a variety of character archetypes and character traits. The way we treat others, and by extension the way we view characters, is explained through psychology; the book conveys that through appealing to this psychology, it is possible to create significant and memorable game characters. 

Though the book also covers story, setting, and other creative design aspects, I've also learned from my research that I personally find characterization to be one of the most (if not the most) important design decisions in a video game. Characterization is something I'm looking forward to learning more about as I continue working on my project. 


3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?

For my third interview, I am planning to talk to Richard Lemarchand, current professor in the USC Games program. Formerly a lead designer at game developer Naughty Dog, I've been told that Mr. Lemarchand's area of expertise lies in player experience-- an area of development I am most interested in.

I believe that the player experience is majorly enhanced through creative design, but I know other design aspects (technical, creative, or otherwise) also play a role in shaping players' experience in a video game. I would like to learn more from him about what are the most important factors in enhancing player experience. I believe in doing so, I can further improve my senior project. 

Blog 1 - Senior Final Lesson/Interview Reflection

1. What three lessons were most helpful for you to see, and why?

The three most helpful lessons for me to see, I believe, were that of Security by Mike Rivera, Film Production by Micah Chambers, and Language Interpretation by Claire Dix. 

Mike Rivera's presentation on Security was helpful to me in that I learned that multiple activities throughout a presentation is a method to hold an audience's attention. He had three activities throughout his presentation, all of which had ample time between each of them for him to be able to present on his topic adequately. But with the separated activities, he was able to hold the audience's attention long enough before the next activity would occur. Essentially, he never once lost the attention of the audience-- a feat I thought was impressive.

Micah Chambers's presentation on Film Production was extremely helpful in that she showcased the makings of an excellent presentation. She was incredibly knowledgeable about her presentation-- to the point where she was able to interact with her powerpoint without relying on it. She was very passionate and invested in her presentation, and the fusion of her knowledge and investment aided in making her presentation so interesting and memorable.

Claire Dix's presentation on Language Interpretation was helpful to me in that she was constantly able to remain on topic, and did so through her immense amount of knowledge on her subject. She was able to connect ideas throughout her presentation multiple times, which made the topic overall more comprehensive to viewers. 

2. List one thing that you learned about the senior project in interviews that will help you get off to a good start?

One thing I've learned about the senior project is how incredibly important it is to choose a topic that I'm really dedicated to and passionate about, and just how much of myself I'd have to put into it. The project is demanding of one's time and attention. I had already known that senior year would be a busy one, but hearing about the project in more detail had only truly brought the demands of the project into perspective. I knew I was going to be busy, but I don't think I truly understood just how much of myself I'd have to immerse into this project.  

Potentially, I could've walked into senior year blissfully unaware that my heart and soul needs to be in the project to make it more enjoyable and rewarding. It's not just about the academics of the project anymore-- it's not like some school assignments where the need to really become enveloped in the assignment is nonexistent, because it's possible to get a high grade without being passionate about the topic.

Being passionate won't automatically equate to a high grade in the senior project, of course. But being passionate about the topic will definitely make the experience much more rewarding. By speaking to seniors, some of which who were not incredibly invested in their topics, I've learned that while the project is hard, choosing a topic that I'm interested and invested can has the overwhelming potential to bear the most fruit.

3. What topic(s) are you considering, and why?

I only have my eye on two topics currently: video game development and photography. 

Video game development has been a lifelong interest for me. I'm unsure of when the idea rooted itself in my head, but it's been there ever since. The development process is something I've always thought of as fascinating, and I know it's something I'd love to be a part of. While game design is a broad topic, I'd prefer to focus more on the creative design aspects of it, which concerns topics such as the game's story, characters, dialogue, and other elements of game-play. Building characters, their universe, and the relationships they share between themselves and the world they live in is fascinating to me. 

The interest may have been encouraged by my love of video games growing up, which may sound a bit like a worn-out mantra at this point. I know many people have said the same, but a number of those individuals truly dedicated to the subject have gone on to enter the video game industry, some of which have established themselves. I know game development is a bit of a long shot. Despite that, I can't deny my genuine interest in the topic, and as such, have listed it here.

Photography has not always been an interest for me. In fact, photography is not something that I truly began to seriously learn about until the beginning of Grade 11, where I began attending the ROP Photography on I-Poly. As it turns out, photography as a whole is much more complex and technical than many take it for. I was stunned. Taking a "good" picture depends on a variety of factors, many of which I had the opportunity to study and experiment with in my class.

Almost immediately, I found that photography already had a hold on me. I had never thought I'd be so enamored with any subject involving a camera (I'm not too fond of filming after Grade 10, as potentially interesting as it can be), yet here I was, completely immersed. Now, it's become something that I find as a method of expression, as well as a source for my creative drive. 

4. What EQ do you think might be interesting to consider in guiding a project like this?

Concerning video game development, I was thinking on an EQ that centered on how the creative development behind a game can make the game overall more enjoyable to an audience/consumers. I'm not incredibly focused on the technical or business aspects of the industry as much as I am invested in the creative side of it. Something along the lines of "How can a game developer oversee creative aspects of a video game to maximize player enjoyment?". It's a bit rough. Very rough, actually. 

As for photography, I was thinking of an EQ that focused on how to maximize the viewer enjoyment and visual appeal of a photo. An example could be: "How can a photographer compose different elements of a photo to maximize its visual appeal to viewers?" I don't expect my future EQs to be met with immediate approval, as I wouldn't go as far as saying that I'm in any way proficient at this. 

5. What are some ideas you have about finding summer mentorship?

Concerning summer mentorship, I have already contacted a few video game developers surrounding the Inland Empire area. One of which I'm anticipating reply is a developer by the name of Fenix Fire, who have a very professional but friendly persona online. Of course, that isn't the sole reason I'm anticipating their reply, but I'm impressed with the content they have released under their company.

Video game developers in Southern California are typically centered around Los Angeles, about an hour or so away from me by car. While I know that many of these developers are professionals, experienced, and could provide me with rewarding experiences, they are not my immediate go-to's due to the distance. However, this doesn't mean they're off-limits, either! I'm willing to make the trip if necessary.

As for photography, I know of a few people that I know I could turn to for mentorship. After taking the ROP Photography class at I-Poly, my teacher, Jack, is one available mentor. That's a topic I'd have to take up with him though, first. Furthermore, there are numerous independent photo studios in my area I'd be willing to make contact with to introduce myself and ask about mentorship.