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 

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Games MDA

 

 

This week’s reading task had a focus on understanding the MDA framework.  The term MDA stands for mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics. My understanding from these reading sis that the MDA framework was created as a formal body to be able to help understand games. It was created to help connect all the elements of game design, development,  criticism and technical game research.

 

I learnt that this framework is used for game developers and designers because it helps them to understand how gameplay decisions can affect the user experience of the game. Which can also be useful to make changes to the game further down the line of developments

 

Another thing I learnt about the MDA framework is that it has limitations and is often criticised. This is because it neglects many aspects of game design and has a focus on mechanics, making it unsuitable for all game types. I learn that there are alternative design frameworks that can be used.  The other two frameworks can be described as follows:

 

-          Elemental tetrad – defines mechanics and aesthetics as central components similar to the MDA framework. however, it does not agree on how they are connected

-          DDE framework – Design dynamics and experience – this overcomes MDA frameworks weaknesses and is therefore used in place where it is limited.

 

I enjoyed learning about this framework and its uses and it limitations, I look forward to progressing more with my knowledge throughout the course and applying it to my future game projects

 

Below are links to resources I used to create this blog post

 

MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research

Design, Dynamics, Experience (DDE): An Advancement of the MDA Framework for Game Design

Explaining the MDA Design Framework | Video Game Design

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Reading 12

 

The final week has come and I didn’t think I would make it this far! I have to say I am very proud of myself for challenging myself each week to not only complete each of the research and essential tasks but also to complete extra credit tasks. And yes the extra points were a good motivator for completing the tasks but also the extra knowledge gained form the tasks were also useful. From the coding tasks to the tech tips to blog commenting and learning about growth mindset, each proved useful and beneficial for not only this module but this whole course.

 I thought it was a great idea to collectively create a book as a class, it allowed for peer review and analysis of each others work, this proved beneficial because I was able to get feedback from like minded individuals who were going through the same process

I really did find the researching skills very beneficial, although they were a bit tedious at times the end result proved to be worth it. I'm looking forward to applying these research skills to all aspects of my academic future, and hopefully use them to progress in my studies, hopefully to pursue a masters degree!

Check out my final book here 

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Doing Reading 11

 

Week 11 is here and it is coming towards wrapping up the final bits for the book chapter and making final edits. My main focus for this week was to proofread and make any last final edits for my book chapter. Last week I added my authors bio and images to my chapter in the working document. This week I gathered all the content that was in my chapter, the text, the images and the bibliographies, and I put them into a single word document.

As it is coming toward the end of the term and completion of the book chapter, I found myself reading through my other classmate’s chapter to get a sense of the content that they were writing. I also had a read through my other classmates authors bios, to learn more about them and their process when making their book chapters.

I have enjoyed this experience of writing a book chapter, prior to creating this chapter I had no knowledge of games, I also did not realise how many components where involved regarding games, such as the origin of games, gamer psychology, gaming addiction and so much more!

 

My completed and separated book chapter can be found here

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Doing Final Chapter Edits

For this week’s reading task, I was required to update my book chapter by adding in some final edits. I was required to add in some graphics relating to my topic into my book chapter. I was also tasked with creating an author’s bio for the chapter and including my references.

The title of my book chapter is “Psychology of why people are gaming/gamer psychology”

I chose these two images to include in my book chapter because I believe they best represent what my chapter conveys. They also represent the aspects of gaming that my chapter conveys, which in this case are both positive and negative. Both images are sourced from Pixabay, a free online copyright free catalogue of images for use.

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As I am now coming toward the end of this module and towards the end of the reading tasks of this module, I am able to look back on the full body of work that I have completed relating to this chapter and feel proud. I am quite proud of the research skills I have attained from this module. I’m happy that I’ve obtained these skills and I am looking forward to using these skills in future aspects of this course and module.

My updated book chapter can be found here!

Beginner Scripting : Delta Time

 

For this week’s extra credit task, I decided to choose the tutorial about Deltatime.

I chose this tutorial because the term delta time was a familiar statement that I had always come across when completing my unity tutorials and I wanted to further and recap my knowledge on it.

Some main points I was able to take away from the tutorial were:

The term Delta time, means the time between each update or fixed update call

Time between frames is not constant therefore they need to be modified by using delta time

It makes the movement of objects more smooth and takes away that glitching effect that would occur if it wasn’t implemented.

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Reading 09

 

This week’s reading involved critically reading two of my peer’s work, commenting on them, providing feedback, and reviewing any feedback that I myself had received.

 

I found the task of reading my peers groupwork very beneficial. I was able to gain valuable knowledge of different chapter topics and gain an understanding of new topics relating to games and gaming.

 

Some feedback I was able to provide for my teammate’s where to change their style of writing, I found that when reviewing the text, they were written in the context of the first person. Based on what I have learnt thus far about academic writing and academic writing styles, I learnt that it is to be formal and that it should avoid personal opinions.

Some feedback I received for myself, were to break up long sentences into shorter ones and to ensure that each factual statement is referenced. I found this feedback very useful because I feel that as writer I can sometimes forget to include pauses and breaks between sentences. Moving forward I will be more aware of this and chose to structure my sentences better.

 

My book chapter and comments I left for my classmates can be found at this link here:

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