Games Testing

 

 For the reading task this week, we were reading about the different types of the game testings.

Something that I learned by just reading the articles was “Control Testing”, which is getting a group of people from the target audience together to test a product and see what they think of it and to get more feedback . The reading made me realise that you could literally spend hours and hours even months making a game and it may not be peoples, and you’ll just have to deal with it is quite a long process, but each little bit of feedback helps you along the way but it will benefit in the long run and each change you make from receiving feedback , it will be better for your target audience.

Its made me open my eyes to realise I should start testing my game to see if people enjoy it but all the feedback I have gotten so far were all positive so that’s all good news.

Games Stories

 

 The reading task this week was different ,it was about building a story for the game, how its made and the timeline.

 

There were alot of interesting facts that were in the reading documents that actually clicked to me , and one of them was that a games storie arent the same as a movie and in the article they said thats where alot of mistakes were made when making them , dont base them off movies, its not dialog.

Im not mad into games but by reading these articles like i do actually think what there saying is very true in a sense. If you base a game off a movie, youll know the ending and there needs to be different paths to take, and if a game is mostly dialoge.. youll just get bored very easily.

 

The article then discusses how stories are conflict, theres always a good person/hero and theres an obstacle they have to over come.

In which if you actually take a step back and think about it thats so true, even when i was making my game i just always thought of ok well whos the good person? what are the obstacles?

 I actually found the articles very interesting to read!!

Week 9 Reading and Writing

 

From looking at all my other post prior to this with my project and reading weeks, its literally just come so clear to me that I have been improving since week 1.

I genuinely think that by learning the about the growth mindset its really helped me. Im not like a gamer type of person whatsoever,

I have 0 interest in games at the moment bar one game which I was addicted to for about a week (Among Us) but other than that that’s it, but by changing my fixed mindset into growth has really helped and made me really want to succeed with making this game.

As said before im not a gamer, so all this programming is quite new to me so lucky enough Shaun actually chose a software which gave you step by step tutorials to help you along the way otherwise I would have been so lost.

But from seeing my post from week 1 + it just reminded me how much I was nervous for this module and with making a game and now from TRYING to change and use a growth mindset I actually kept trying and trying, I would have given up by now if I didn’t really challenge myself.

Reading back at  prototypes and game ideas im really happy I went for the maze in the end, and its not too difficult either, there are some good assets that really helped and when starting off I learned some cool tricks just by watching youtube videos.

My biggest accomplishment from this class is looking at things in a different perspective and really push myself even If I don’t like it.  This was my prototype of the game when I had my idea, I used a map as the plane to help me make the maze with the walls ect , I know it looks pretty messy but it’s the start off point I had to then switch from the 2019 back to the 2018 due to problems which was so annoying bu ti guess it was worth it in the end! , then the image below is actually my real game “The Eerie Chase”  in which I used two assets for this, a male and a maze asset. The asset had everything I was looking for!

The reason why I picked these to images is because it shows progress which is pretty decent, lik eif you look at the first picture it was incredibly messy and  from the updated version it just looks so  neat and all my assests on unity are more organised

From looking back at all my progress, im really looking forward to seeing how my game turns out and so intrigued to  what it will look like when its 100% finished and what other things I add/change.

Not going to lie I also cant wait to finish this semester and hopefully get back into college  for next semester and be able to physically communicate to the lecturers and everyone else.. fingers crossed!!

Game Stories

Games can be described by the 3 components Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics (MDA) or otherwise stated as rules – system – “fun”. The three reading selections this week and the synopsis below all address the term “fun” in relation to game design.

There are eight types of Fun outlined by the MDA. These eight are both a source of reference and player experience that blend together in many ways, and essentially what makes a game engaging and enjoyable.

Figure 1: Eight kinds of Fun

Both Oxford and Merrian dictionaries define Fun as an enjoyment, delight but within the context of a game it refers to a form of pleasurable entertainment. MDA papers define the '8 kinds of fun' sensation, fantasy, narrative, challenge, fellowship, discovery, expression, and submission, remain a source of reference and possibly the most popular list of player interactions combining in various forms to attract each player to a particular game.

Nicole Lazzaro presents four types of fun that are involved in defining how fun a game can be for different players.

• Easy Fun:  This is essentially for players who are new to a game who want to satiate their curiosity. 

• Hard Fun: It is essentially for people who love a good challenge.

• People Fun: Amusement from competition and cooperation. Meaning Co-op. 

• Serious Fun: Excitement from changing the player and their world.

Figure 2: From A Theory of Fun 10 Years On: Fun Is Just Another Word for Learning

Flow also has an influence on the feeling of “fun”. The concept of Flow is characterized as a balance between skill-challenge and the individual's enjoyment. When in flow the player is focused on the activity they are participating in. This gives a sense of reward and promotes further engagement in the activity.

Flow theory provides a good framework for analysing motivation in gaming activities, in particular enjoyment, engagement and positive affect.

Figure 3: Graph showing the flow zone, where the game is not too easy where the players abilities are very high (Boredom), but also not too hard that the player is unable to complete the challenge (anxiety).

Fun has everything to do with learning. “Fun is just the dopamine in our brains firing when we are presented with a new situation to learn from” Koster (2005) discussed about this saying that the different patterns that we take in helps our brain especially when it comes to enjoying a video game cause once you understand the many patterns that it offers you your brain has nothing to feed off making it unenjoyable to play anymore. Fun provides the brain with feedback of the game allowing it to observe and learn different patterns/sequences within. 

Games help people to become more imaginative, engaging with their creative side of the brain and creating new ideas/designs that can be implemented in games.

Being more creative when developing your game will help you see what challenges the player may face and what ones will help further improve the progression and also add to the player's determination to complete the story.

Balance is an even proportion or distribution of elements to keep them at a steady rate. When playing chess, we learn about strategy, tic tac toe teaches us about reading people’s mind about their next move and when we play games like civilisation or sim it teaches us resource management. When playing games we should be provided with a balance of fun and challenges. These are called either type 1 or type 2 games and these have their own unique way of being played. The type 1 games involve strategy and thinking to complete these games such as in Chess or Poker whereas type 2 games mainly involve quick reflexes and combo memorization in games such as “Mortal Kombat and Call of Duty”

The GameFlow model shows that the inherent structure of games is associated with the experience of flow and enjoyment during gaming, at least for strategy games.) As stated by Kaye and Byrce (2012) “a large body of research has investigated the negative effects of playing video games” yet “there has been less examination of the psychological experiences associated with the activity”

We come across different types of fun in games that fulfil our amusement. Fun in games is provided in many different ways for example through socialising with friends or exploring the game world. People experience different emotions when driven by gameplay. Gameplay creates opportunities for “Flow”, “balance” and “learning”. 

References:

Velev, A., 2016. Gamification Design: What’S Fun Got To Do With It?. [online] Megamification. Available at:<http://www.megamification.com/727-2//> [Accessed 16 November 2020].

Kaye, L. and Bryce, J., 2012. Putting The “Fun Factor” Into Gaming: The Influence Of Social Contexts On Experiences Of Playing Video Games. Available at: <https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/9632557.pdf/> [Accessed 16 November 2020].

 

The Game Overanalyser., 2020. A Theory of Fun for Game Design | Raph Koster and The Art of Designing Fun Games. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sZJYA06z7Y&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=TheGameOveranalyser/> [Accessed 16 November 2020].

Game Fun

 

Video

In order for the player to be optimally engaged, challenges should be presented at a level equivalent or slightly higher than their current skill. Not too easy, not too hard”(Gigity McD)

The word 'flow state' was coined by Csikszentmihalyi (1975) also known as being “in the zone” This is when the player is fully engaged in the game experience. Csikszentmihalyi put a lot of work into observing and analyzing various groups of people. This theory is focused on the idea of how people should balance their skills and the demands of particular tasks. An example of Flow would be a challenge in a game that interests the player such as a puzzle or a boss battle meant to keep the player interested and not get bored. Csikszentmihalyi also states that flow is related to an ideal psychological condition when a person engages in a challenge-skill activity, often resulting in concentration and a focused emphasis on a task.

A practical technique for improving Flow is to look at what players like and find interesting, it is an invaluable resource as this will give you a better understanding of how to structure your game in a way it flows naturally without affecting the players’ experience and enjoyment. If the player has a high skill set and the game is not a challenge, the player will become disinterested and lose interest in the game. The game must allow the player to grow and learn with each challenge or obstacle so as to stay motivated to continue.

If the player has little to no skill set and the game is too challenging, then the player will become frustrated with anxiety and lose interest in the game as well. A flow chart helps to prevent the game from being too boring or too difficult(create anxiety) which makes the game more successful in terms of achieving Flow. 

The x axis is the player's skill and the y axis is the challenge. When the player starts off, the challenges are easy in order to introduce the player to the game system. Overtime, this will  increase the player's skill. After the player has progressed through the game the challenges get more difficult. This is known as the flow channel and is the ideal place to maintain the player in the flow state. If the challenges are too easy the player will become bored of the game. If the challenges are extremely difficult for the player, the player will get overwhelmed, frustrated or fed up with the game. This is the point where the player reaches the anxiety state of the flow map.

Studies have found Cook (2008) that there are both positive and negative consequences with game flow. The positive representing cognitive flow   “composed of challenge-skill balance, clear goals, and unambiguous feedback,” and a negative element viewed as the emotional flow “composed of action- awareness merging, concentration on the task at hand, sense of control, loss of consciousness, and time transformation.” In the development of computer games, designers must be aware of these two characteristics when developing games.

References

Numinous.productions. Dan Cook 2008. Building A Princess Saving App. Available at: <https://numinous.productions/ttft/assets/Cook2008.pdf> [Accessed 9 November 2020].

McD, Gigity (14th June 2018). What is FLOW THEORY in game design? - The Basics - (Part 1). Game Design with Michael, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H8pQyyXxHg [Accessed 9 November 2020].

Sanjamsai S, Phukao P. 2018 Flow experience in computer game playing among Thai university students. Available at: <shorturl.at/rtvGM> [Accessed 9 November 2020].

2nd Paper explaining Flow theory and its connections to Learning

(Introduction for Second Paper)

Flow state?

The state in which the player is in full focus to complete a certain task or section.

Flow state can be identified as one’s maximum focus, dedication and immersion of a game. 

A state where the player is actively engaged in the game

Flow state is the emotions experienced when the activity is going favorably.

Flow Map?

The X axis is the player's skill and the Y axis is the challenge. When the player starts off, the challenges are easy in order to introduce the player to the game system. Overtime, this will  increase the player's skill. After the player has progressed through the game the challenges get more difficult. This is known as the flow channel and is the ideal place to maintain the player in the flow state. If the challenges are too easy the player will become bored of the game. If the challenges are extremely difficult for the player, the player will get overwhelmed, frustrated or fed up with the game. This is the point where the player reaches the anxiety state of the flow map.

Ideal Flow State: Challenge the player - Obtain flow state - Maintain flow state.

Boredom: When the player has a high skill set and the challenge is too easy. This causes them to lose interest..

Anxiety: When the challenge is too hard for the player causes them to lose interest..

To challenge the player by not making the game too easy that the player becomes bored but also not making it too difficult to make the player give up.

How can we adapt our game to deal with the two points above?

By making the challenges harder when time goes by and the player gains more skill.

The learning curve for games has a similar path for the flow state curve. 

‐ Remove extra features

‐ Focus only on the task at hand.

Here’s the learning curve for a game. You can pick up a well made game and start enjoying it

in a few minutes. The better games have weeks of learning.

They steadily crank up your skills at a much faster pace than most applications. There is no

dreaded dip where users are struggling to acquire the next level of expertise.

Hacks:

‐ Segmenting features by user skill level,

‐ Layering less commonly used or expert features so they are out of the way.

‐ Creating a unifying UI metaphor that lets users understand new tools more easily.

‐ Elegant information architecture and clean visual design.

‐ Use skills that people already know. Don’t force them to learn anything new!

Academic Paper

This study was based on the flow theory of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. A cross sectional study was performed to examine flow experience in computer game playing among university students and to identify behavior that led to positive consequences and addictive behavior. Multi-stage sampling was conducted to select a sample of 478 university students aged 18- 24 years old who usually play computer games. Data were collected using the assessment instruments of computer game addictive behavior and perception of the consequences from game playing.

Based on exploratory factor analysis, the construct of flow experience could be divided into two dimensions: 1) cognitive flow which was composed of challenge-skill balance, clear goals, and unambiguous feedback, and 2) emotional flow which was composed of action- awareness merging, concentration on the task at hand, sense of control, loss of con-sciousness, and time transformation. 

However, the state of flow in computer game playing was indeed a key factor that could perpetrate positive or negative outcomes.

It’s recommended that youth-related organizations should promote cognitive flow experiences to develop the self-improvement of computer game players rather than emotional flow experiences which can cause contentment, intense concentration, and low

consciousness and physical impacts.

Flow theory has been considered as a comprehensive theory to explain both sides of the impact from computer game playing because the state of flow refers to what happens when children are playing computer games that involve enjoyment, challenging, reacting, active thinking, feeling, and behaving (Voiskounsky, 2010). Flow theory was developed by Mihaly Csikszentmaha-lyi, and describes a state of concentration or complete ab-sorption with the activity at hand and the situation (Csikszentmihalyi,1997). The flow state is an optimal state of intrinsic motivation, where the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing. However, too much involvement In flow by being over absorbed and engaged for example, can harm children, since they might obsess with the state of enjoyment but ignore self-care and interpersonal relationships (Chiang, Lin, Cheng,& Liu, 2011). Therefore, flow is considered as the state leading to either positive or negative consequences in computer game playing.

The flow experience structure in the context of

computer-game-playing behavior was different from the

original theory's structure and could be divided into

Cognitive flow and emotional flow. In particular, if a player had a cognitive flow experience to evaluate, analyze, plan, set a goal, and become aware of self-improvement, he/she would be more likely to have a positive outcome. On the contrary, if a player had emotional flow experience causing contentment, intense concentration, and low

consciousness, it could cause psychological and physical

impacts.

From this study, organizations related to children and adolescents' affairs, science and technology, software in-dustry promotion, education, and public health should encourage children to play a game in a positive way.

This study could be applied in other contexts for social benefit, such as flow experience in work, flow experience in playing sport, or flow experience in playing music.

References

Numinous.productions. Dan Cook 2008. Building A Princess Saving App. Available at: <https://numinous.productions/ttft/assets/Cook2008.pdf> [Accessed 9 November 2020].

Sanjamsai S, Phukao P. 2018 Flow experience in computer game playing among Thai university students. Available at: <shorturl.at/rtvGM> [Accessed 9 November 2020].

Games MDA

 

From reading the first article MDA - A formal approach to Game Design and Research, I now understands that MDA is an approach/ the bridge  to understanding different game elements like design, developments, criticism and research .

(Mechanic , Dynamic Aesthetics) 

The second article is Design Dynamic Experience (DDE)

• Design - everything that is done by the designers ( replacing Mechanics)
• Dynamic- is how everything comes altogether (D)
• Experience- includes the player subject/persona (replacing Aesthetics)

For the final piece I watched Explaining the MDA design Framework, In the video it discusses the Mechanic, Dynamic and Aesthetic of the games and what it really is. 

It also talks about how game designers actually comes up with their ideas for games and what inspires them 

Game Elements

Game Design

From viewing the reading documents, its really opened my eyes to game design. 

I was so nervous to even think about it because I'm not much of a gamer myself but just by reading the document I'm more at ease.

Games are an activity that we play voluntarily. Games have rules, uncertain outcomes, conflict, goals and no physical gain.

There are so many different types of games, boards games, video games, outdoor games and even virtual games.

  Board games: Monopoly

  Virtual Games: 8 Ball Pool

   Video Games: Sims

   Outdoor Games: Stuck in the mud

When wanting to make your own the best thing to do is brainstorm what ideas may work together, find ideas through primary researching like interviews, surveys etc, group and select then eliminate and one big thing is to use the Ramsey theory which is looking closely at ideas and how you could link them all together. 

 It literally can be ANYTHING. 

So in this semester this is why were using 'Unity3D' in order to help us with our own game.

This image highlights how broad gaming is in realtion to genres, it just all depends who your target audience is.