blog? what? oh yea... that thing I do sometimes

Due to an extreme absence of me, I feel I have to inform all of the minor changes in my life, whether you like it or not! READ IT!!!

My experience of halls has become... interesting: I've found a little too much pleasure in aggravating my flat mates: putting salt in Jacks drinks over and over has proved...amusing. Also putting his beer in the toilet when he got a bit bossy was fun. This has started a chain of events in which nearly every time something is stolen from my room! grrr I want my monkey back!!





Aswell as this my internet has failed to work for a good 5 days in a row... and for somebody that is a bit too in to facebook, this tends to give me a cold sweat like some kind of addict: the kind who's only your friend so that he can "borrow" your DVD player.

The course has become increasingly difficult and I am finding it difficult to juggle everything at the moment but I'm filled with determination to become better at every aspect. I've really struggled making the Transit Van but I feel like I'm alot better than I was before I started. Now I just have to texture it... yay. It is really strange because I want to be able to do these things but the process of learning is a real uphill climb. However, I am so happy at what I have learnt and it is great being able to show my friends from outside uni what I am up to.



I am excited about doing the workshops that are coming up. We are going to be having inductions which will allow us to use more traditional materials, which I love. We had a life drawing class with charcoal a few days ago which was great! I have missed being able to get a bit messy in order to make something look great. The current drawing project is to do a self portrait, which is quite exciting because it allows you to express yourself quite literally in whatever material you want!

"WOOT".. as some idiots say.

Week 11- Gameplay

The definition of "gameplay" given by a man called Patrick Mount is 'A set of basic elements, which - when implemented in an interactive environment, ensure that the end-user can make interesting choices, thus leading to a vicarious experience which is both memorable and fun.' This definition is a very mathematical approach to solving what gameplay means and is, in my opinion, in need of further exploration.
This seems to imply that gameplay is governed by rules set out by the creators of the game: This does not immediately sound fun. However, the rules of a game should allow the player to perform exciting actions and provide a way in which the player can perform these things. In order for a character to run and jump in a game rules need to be in place within the environment to make sure that this happens. Games tend to give the player a sense of freedom and exploration when in fact they are performing preset actions in a game engine or are exploring within a set of rules created in order to stop the illusion becoming ruined.

If you seach for the definition of 'play' on a definitions site such as dictionary.com you will find a incredibly long list of definitions and context examples. It seems to be one of the most vague words in the English language which seems to cover actions such as pretending, having fun and doing any number of things. In the context of games, gameplay is anything that the player controls or interacts with in order to affect what is happening in the game.

Can these ideas of play be programmed into a game? Are we really playing them at all? I recently showed Half Life 2 to my Step-Grandmother in order that she could understand what it was my course was all about and I was challenged when she asked me "Is this really playing? It is not playing in the same way that you would on a board game or a sport: you seem to be living out a little life". My Mum's immediate responce seemed to grasp what 'Gameplay' is perfectly. She said "The person playing has to overcome several challenges in the same way you would overcome the challenge of solving a puzzle or running a race and by completing that challenge the game becomes fun or satisfying".

GET A LIFE!

Yet again I have stumbled across ANOTHER "games forum" which basically means long childish arguements including ridiculous "your mum" jokes and unnecessary abbrieviations of things that people don't even say that often! Why are gamers the only people in the world who argue over such stupid things?! You don't see people having a punch up when one of them wants to play monopoly and the other prefers pictionary. Gamers seem to think it is perfectly possible that they know everything about games and that they are the definitive masters of everything! It comes from sitting and pretending you're that 'brave' hero when in fact you've just sat pressing buttons and sweating in your dark room which you havent left in days. Why are gamers so angry?!

Get some exercise, get over yourselves, and get a life. You're not special! You're a sweaty and most likely, unnattractive man that needs to get some real friends: So stop telling everybody else what to think. So what if (insert any game here) sucks? I'm sure you'll get over it.

Week 10- Story and Character

Characters in games are traditionally wooden and stereotypical. In a recent visit from a games artist, Ben Mathis, who has worked on characters for games such as Tony Hawk 8 and 9 and Oblivion, he explained that he is tired of the games industry creating typical muscly manly characters or women who are an idealist vision of what a man wants to see. He explained that with his characters he tries to avoid such stereotypes in order to create original ideas.

It is true that most games I have played, the women are attractive and the men are strong and violent. Generally, within all media this isn't true. I think the characters that I connect most with in films and books are men that are actually sensitive and just, mostly because it appeals to me more after seeing way too many explosions and butt whoopings.

The Bourne Ultimatum has become my favourite film and I think this is mostly due to the strength of the Bourne character: he is not just a killing machine, but actually has a concience about what he does to survive. Although not an incredibly expressive character, it is clear that he loves, fears and regrets. In one particular scene he says that he can see all the faces of the people he has ever killed but does not know what their names were. The incredible amount of guilt portrayed here is really attractive when it comes to his character, it makes him human.

One of the things that games are missing at the moment are beleivable characters that could have come out of everyday life. When I play a game, watch a film or engage in anykind of story, I want to see people like me thrown into incredible situations in which their full personality, weaknesses and strengths can be seen.

The stories that appeal to me most are ones that show the ultimate strengths or weaknesses of characters. One of my favourite films is Gladiator and I love the spirituality of this film and the way that strength and weakness are juxtaposed. When Maximus loses his wife and child he cries in a way that a typically masculine character would not, losing all sence of dignity and showing that he is just like the rest of us. The hope expresses in this film of the next life is inspiring, he is so sure of what he has to face. Why can't game characters be like this?

I think game characters tend to be very one dimensional, what you see is what you get. Why can't games try making complicated, exciting characters? This may be due to the interactivity of games. The character you portray could not do too much on his own otherwise you would not be deciding how he acts. However there is nothing stopping the characters surrounding you to becoming easier to empathise with.

Pan's Labyrinth

I just got the chance to watch Pan's Labirynth and I was impressed by several features of this film. For those who havent seen it, it is based in the 1940s and tells the story of a little girl who moves to the countryside with her mother who is due to be married to the Captain of an army of Franco's. The little girl is highly imaginative and from the start it is clear she loves fantasy stories. On the journey there she discovers a "fairy". This film is bizzare in the sence that half of it is ultra realistic and the otherhalf appears to be the fantasy of the little girl and it is not ever really clear whether it is or not.

The characters impressed me also. The little girl meets a "fawn" which is very different to the classic depiction. He creaks and groans like a tree would in the wind and seems very organic as if he is made of the elements.

Week 9- An introduction to game technology

The hardware for games and the interface which we use to interact with them is rapidly changing. In the early days of the Atari and simple arcade games, a single dial or joystick could do everything needed in order to complete a set of actions. As games have become more and more complex, we have had to learn to use increasing amounts of buttons and dials. Not only this but the appearance of consoles has also had a considerable evolution.

Taking a look at early console controllers such as the ones for the Atari and the NES there are very few things needed in order for them to complete their purpose. A couple of buttons on a very square chunk of plastic. During the age of the Playstation and the N64, analogue sticks allowed for joystick-like control and ergonomics were starting to be considered with the playstation adopting "handles" and the N64 taking a three pronged approach to its controller to seperate the different types of interface. Since then many new ways of playing have been explored such as tilt technology along with things like Eye Toy.

In the current generation of consoles, there seem to be 2 different paths that controllers are taking. The Nintendo Wii is at one end of the spectrum. focusing on simplistic control and movement based technology. On the other hand, is the Xbox 360, which is continuing the "traditional" control system of analogue sticks, triggers and buttons. The PS3 seems to hang in the middle in a kind of personality crisis, not sure whether it wants to conform to the seemingly crazy new ideas of motion sensitivity or play it safe.

There are advantages to both motion sensitivity and traditional controls. It feels frustrating to play a game on the Wii that doesn't utilise many movement sensitive controls as you expect an alternative experience and its equally as frustrating when it's done badly. I believe that traditional controls work very well but are becoming a bit stale and that very little can be done to change them for the better. It seems that improvement has been mainly focused on power and graphical capabilities and that now the control systems have to catch up in order to complete this experience.

Consoles themselves are looking more and more stylised. Nintendo is trying to make it's consoles more a part of a technology filled home like a DVD player or surround sound system while PS3 and 360 are trying to look like powerful stylish additions to a home.

Week 8- Storytelling in Games

Games are essentially another media in which we can express ourselves or become immersed in a world. There are many ways that we have told storys in the past such as passing them through familys orally or through the written word, or film. Fundamentally, game storylines are generally structured much like a film or book: characters are introduced and their personality introduced to you and then an interesting situation arises that you can then feel like you are a part of or a spectator of.

I beleive that storyline helps to rescue a game once you become uninterested in its mechanics. It acts as a way of motivating you, or even inspiring you to carry on playing. In a sence, it makes the game have purpose therefore giving you an ambition to fulfil and secrets to be unlocked.

However, I don't beleive that the storyline has to be spoon fed in order for the player to become immersed in the story. Half-Life 2 is a game which I have played a couple of times, and although I am not 100% sure what is going on all the time and the political reasoning for the battle between the alien forces and the rebels, I am drawn in to the game by the fantastic use of character.

One of the writers for Half-Life 2 said in an interview that he wished to create characters that people care about. To quote an interview with Gamasutra in relation to characters "We want to convey their sense of humor, their fears and vulnerabilities, and create a sense that they have an interior life and an existence that continues when they’re offscreen."
My personal opinion is that it is the curiosity that a player experiences through storyline which magnifies the experience. As human beings, we are curious to hear new things, or have the answers to questions: what storys in games do, is ask us questions and then give us the means in which to find the answer, if we are good enough!
Ultimately I think that games can be enjoyable without storyline but that it drastically shortens the experience when a game is lacking any narrative direction. For example, having bought Brain Training for the Nintendo DS, how many of us are still playing that today? Or willing to go back to it for it's gameplay? Although a great idea and a useful tool, as a game it fails when it becomes boring and stale due to lack of direction and goals beyond having a "brain age" of 21... whatever that means! As a fan of story telling, (a human) I think that storytelling in games is just as important as storytelling in films or indeed any other media.