Protoype

This week I began creating my prototype for my game ‘Flying Bird’ I began by creating a new 2D unity workspace and finding assets that I would like to use for the game. I used the unity store to source my assets as they had free options available as well as options you could buy.

I can say that at this stage I am finding it difficult to set up the game world and create the game, although I have gathered all the assets it  proving to be difficult to create a game from scratch without the guided notes of the unity tutorials.

As I have a clear idea and plan of the game that I would kike to design I  have created the following plan for how I want to build my game:

1: collect all game assets, i.e. world, sounds, avatar and audio

2. decide and create the appropriate number of scripts required for the game to function 

3. Decide how the player will control the avatar in the game, ie which keys will be used to move up and down/ avoid obstacles/ die 

4. start implementing the code required for the game to function 

Below I have included an image of my initial game prototype. I began by importing all my assets and avatars for the game. Next I will start scripting to bring the game to life!

source: screenshot from unity hub 

Unity Tutorial 6

Picking up from the unity tutorials I had halted last term proved difficult. After spending time trying got recover the tutorial files, I was able to continue from where I left off.

 Some new functionality I was able to learn from tis weeks tutorial were animation controllers, animation states, transitions and how they work.

I was able to learn how to change animation parameters which allowed the player to run faster. I learnt about animation programming and how adding in things like Inclusion of triggers to allow player to jump in script. After adding in some final particle effects and audio, I can now say I have created a well-rounded game on unity!

Although my game still has some glitches, and some bug fixes would be needed.  I am quite proud of the game I created and the new skills I had gained from them.

The final challenge task involved adding in floating balloons bombs and Booleans within the game, adding in cool effects when you grab them and including sound effects. I enjoyed this game task as it allowed me to refresh and practice the skills I had already learnt in previous tutorials and apply them without a step by step guide.

source: screenshot from unity hub

Game Decisions

 This week’s reading task was based on game decisions and flow theory within games

Some points that I learnt and can apply from this week’s reading task can be listed as follows:

I learnt the meaning of flow theory in games. Flow is a theory that we can adapt to our game to make challenges that allow for a more engaging gameplay. I learnt that flow theory is necessary to create an engaging gaming experience, and it is also based on human psychological trends.

 

I learnt about flow state. This can be described as being in the zone of the game or in a state of hyper focus. I was able to learn about the benefits and drawbacks of flow experience. Whilst self-improvement is one of the benefits, a drawback caused by overconsumption can lead to devastating effects on mental and physical health,

 I learnt that the term flow experience can not only be applied to gaming but it can be applied of all aspects of life, such as flow experience in work, flow experience in playing sport, or flow experience in playing music

 The last keyword vital to gaming is the term game decisions. Decisions and decision making are vital to creating a game most games have some manner of decision-making, and it is here that a game can be made more or less interesting. I learnt that in order for a decision to be interesting or good, it needs to involve some sort of trade-off. This can involve

 

But what makes a decision “interesting”? What Makes a Good Decision?

Generally, interesting decisions involve some kind of trade-off.

All of these decisions involve the player judging the value of something, where values are shifting, not always certain, and not obvious.

my sources can be linked below:

Flow experience in computer game playing among Thai university students

Flow Theory 

What is flow theory in game design 

source