THE ELDER SCROLLS

 Week 10 Game Stories This week is on the topic of stories in gaming, A good story in a game can be one of its defining factors and will make its players recognize and remember it for years. A good story with a satisfying ending can leave a great impression on the player and if there are going to be sequel games it's going to make them want to buy the next game more, this is because of the performance from the last one. Having a good story can also engage the player and they will ender a flow state where they are hooked and want to know more about the game, this will keep them playing or even have them play the game start to finish multiple times. If the game is single-player there is a big pressure to make it good because it's the story that's driving the whole game. It needs to have a good story in order to sell copies. One of the most popular ways of storytelling is the interactive narrative. This is so popular because the player gets a say on how they play the game, mos...

Week 09 Reading and Writing Looking Back Looking back at the reading tasks we've done over this semester it is safe to say I learned a lot more about the structure of games than I thought, I thought I knew loads about them already until this course. When I play a game nowadays I apply criteria I've learned to analyze the game I'm playing and what makes it work, Im even watching videos on youtube videos about this and the theory behind games. One of the readings that fascinated me was the "games MDA" topic, the thing that made this interesting to me is the fact that it's in every game ever made, and it's the core topic that the designers have to think about when making their game. This analysis technique really helps break down the game and you can learn more from it even more so than if you didn't apply it. By using this technique you can learn more from video games than you ever thought you would. There was this other article where I learned about the...

 Week 08 What is Fun in Gaming Fun is something that is very powerful in video games and it has been a very common component that a lot of game studios over the years, Most people see gaming as a way to escape stress and get away from it all, they want to relax and immerse themselves and most importantly have fun. When a player is having fun they will come back to the game and will play it again to experience the feeling of joy, happiness, and that sense of engagement. There was a guy who wrote a popular book on the theory of fun his name was Raph Koster said that "the fun of the game comes from its rich possibility to get better at it and offers a space for learning" Most games perceive fun in a challenging way, if there isn't something positively stimulating someone they ain't going to enjoy it as much. If there's a challenge and the player can beat it feeling accomplished afterward then they are going to feel good this is what's going to make the game more ...

 Week 07 Game Decisions This week's topic is on the flow theory with games. Flow is really important to create an engaging game for the audience to optimize replayability and fun. What is Flow? Flow is a psychological theory that we can adapt to our game to create challenges that are both engaging and matched to the player's skill level this will help the players stay interested in the game that they are playing. Games can be better suited to people with theories or aspects that are similar to human psychology rather than having the player just winging it and having no clue or thought behind the game. Flow is a very important aspect of gaming in today's generation and its key for all game creators to have an understanding of how Flow works A simple way of how works on the most basic way are: Present the player with a challenge The player then completes this challenge Maintain the flow state This is important that the player maintains the flows state because its what's g...

 Week 06 Games GDD What is a game design document? Game Design Documents are made to structure your game so you yourself and the others viewing the document can understand the ins and outs of how the game is going to be. The great thing about game design documents is that it helps you with structuring your game ideas so that you have it clear on what you want to do with the idea. Game design documents only work when the document is formatted properly and use the right concept template. Here are some other reasons why having a game design document is very useful: Memory aid:  When a group of people or even just one person is making a game there is a lot of information to keep track of and so much material to cover, from mechanics of the game to settings and the things that happen in the story of the game and overall lore. These documents cover all the details for these people to come back to  Communication tool: Since your bringing this game document to people who are goin...

 Week 02 Games MDA I was researching the meaning behind MDA when it come to gaming. I found that it stands for Mechanics Dynamics and Aesthetics is a tool that is often used in game design to break games into those three categories. Mechanics, mechanics are the base of any game, they are the foundation you lay when planning on making any game these days mechanics can range anywhere from a simple walking forward motion or jumping or sliding or looking around at the world in the game to something much more complex like a skill like using equipment in a game to find or detect things and having something to with the world or environment affect the player or character in the game. Once you find out these mechanics that you want to use in the game and put them together and this creates a dynamic within the game itself. "Dynamics are the behaviors and side effects that emerge from playing the game or gameplay when the mechanics are put into use". I really like this quote by the game...

 Week 04 Game Elements This week we're learning more about what makes a game a game and looking at the key things about a game. There are so many factors that make up a game it's hard to define what strictly makes a game. Let's look at the formal elements of a game, they're called formal not in the sense that they're fancy and wear a suit and a tie but because they are formal in a mathematical or a scientific sense and are things that are explicitly defined by the game. There's a book on amazon that covers this whole topic from a fun and informative perspective, Its is called "Challenges for Gamers" shorturl.at/mruBQ What are the Atomic Elements of Games There are many different forms of classifying the schemes and the elements of a game, There are so many different kinds of games, and the ideas you come up with in games cant be contained, creativity cant have a set amount of rules or guidelines. Although most games all have some factors in common some...

 Reading Week 03 Game Design In this reading week I was looking at loads of different views and perspectives on how games are developed and viewed in the eyes of the public and the eyes of the creators.  Some Sources from various people believe that a game has "ends and means" an objective and outcome and a set of rules to get there (David Parlett) In my opinion Games are meant to be enjoyed and not forced, for example there should be no mandatory missions needed to progress through the main story of the game they should be voluntary and give the player and choice, options like that would make it a better experience for everyone. I believe that most games need an end goal or a conclusion to satisfy the player and leave them with everything closed and all the build up conveyed in one final chapter to the story, some games can get away with not adding a proper ending like sandbox games where the story is yours to c...