Develop components of simulation and game development programming and products

Transcription

1 Parlor Games Backgammon Blackjack Checkers Chess Chinese Checkers Gin Rummy Mah Jongg Mancala Othello Poker Rummikub Bingo Charades Concentration Connect Four Stratego Sudoku Tic-tac-toe Yahtzee Team Project: GAME TENETS Activity Identify and explain the similarities found in these games (see "parlor" games list), then group those similarities into common tenets of game play. Goal(s) Discover common game actions and develop a language to describe those actions. o Example: The "language" could include specific gerunds like Capturing, Commanding, Building, Collecting, Trading, Connecting, Escaping, Finding, Hiding, Solving, Learning, etc. Link common game actions to the themes (balance, acquisition, etc.) of game design. Grading Rubric (how to judge student's ability to apply, synthesize, analyze, evaluate concepts, skills, and information)

2 A - Work reflects clear ability to recognize themes of game design and group game actions according to those themes. B - Clear ability to categorize game actions. C - Could use better categorization of game actions. Not enough game actions or themes were recognized. D - Categorization is disorganized or there is too much overlap between categories. Not enough game actions or themes were recognized. E - Weak categorization implies lack of effort, or there is a woefully inadequate number of game actions or themes, thus making categorization of little use. Applicable objectives leading to certification Not applicable to Adobe certification. Corresponding course standard from State Advisory Group 2.1 Analysis of communications and media products, including cultural, social, political and business contexts Team Project: CASUAL GAME Activity Propose a design for a casual game. Focus on playability and simplicity. Goal(s) Derive simple game actions from: o themes (balance, acquisition, etc.) of game design o simple "story" ideas (for example, think of chess as a story) o associating verbs, controls, and actions Achieve balance and playability by adjusting the amount of risk and reward associated with game actions.

3 Experiment by dramatically changing the rules or adding new components of game play to existing parlor games. Grading Rubric (how to judge student's ability to apply, synthesize, analyze, evaluate concepts, skills, and information) A - Game design feels achievable with a clear scope and unique simplicity. Game play seems well balanced with clear levels of risk and reward, strategy and chance. B - Game design is interesting but unbalanced. The player may discover a strategy that reduces interest in repeated play, but player feels a sense of agency or control. C - Game play is too derivative or unbalanced. Player feels unsure. D - Weak and derivative game design with poor game play balance. E - Game design does not make sense or player feels completely lost or not in control. Applicable objectives leading to certification Not applicable to Adobe certification. Corresponding course standard from State Advisory Group Standard 3: Students will use teaming and problem solving skills in the course of project design and development o 3.1 Student will use elements of project management and file management (information architecture) in the production of art, media and communication products

4 Deliverable: BINARY MORALITY Activity Use a set of moral choices as an element of game design and assign narrative consequences. A list of sample binary choices should be apportioned among students. Care vs. neglect Clean up vs. destroy Save vs. trap Goal(s) Apply storytelling concepts to game design. Experiment with how narrative consequence in game design would affect (i.e. expand or contract) game play. Incorporate empathy and tension into game design with an awareness of player psychology. Use immersion and player acknowledgement to influence or support player choice. Think how Tetris could be adapted or expanded so that game play involves moral choices (i.e. off-shore oil drilling/spilling game?). Grading Rubric (how to judge student's ability to apply, synthesize, analyze, evaluate concepts, skills, and information) A - Effective use of empathy, tension, and choice. Clearly game-friendly while establishing the foundation for rich storytelling and immersion. B - Interesting game-friendly ideas whose effectiveness or execution is unclear in parts from a game or story perspective, but potential for development is clear. Choices are satisfying.

5 C - Ideas and choices seem disjointed but grounded in a core game-friendly concept with some potential for story, immersion, and player acknowledgement. Some choices are compelling but not overly simplistic. D - Choices are not compelling in the context of game play. Little potential for effective story and immersion. E - Not enough choices, or choices are not interesting. Not very gamefriendly. Applicable objectives leading to certification Not applicable to Adobe certification. Corresponding course standard from State Advisory Group 2.1 Analysis of communications and media products, including cultural, social, political and business contexts Project design and development process Using Relevant Interdisciplinary Studies to Develop Concept, Approach, Laws, Dynamics, and Player Incentives Psychology Cognitivism - very important in development of interactive "brain training" applications reflexes/intuition analysis/deduction memory concentration perception learning problem solving attention language emotion

6 Physics Freud (ego, superego, id) Connundrums/Prisoner's Dilemma Lateral Thinking Mass Psychology Collision Detection Newton's Laws of Motion Work, Energy, and Power Impulse and Momentum Gravity Mathematics Watch episodes from the show Numb3rs. Logic Decision Trees Puzzles Connundrums/Prisoner's Dilemma Zero Sum Games Topography and GPS Mapping Google Earth Application of Mathematical Concepts Economics (RPG's, MMO's, simulations, virtual worlds, e- commerce) Principles of Capitalism o How Cash, Credit, Debt, and Interest Work o Valuation (wages, commerce, exchange rates)

7 MMO "gold farming" Gold Farming $500 million industry Standard of Living - relationship of income to price of living expenses, or the varying degree to which your dollar is able to purchase goods (i.e. what makes value of dollar go down, what makes prices go up) Banking Systems (privacy, authentication, message integrity, non-repudiation, etc., link) Gold Standard - created to facilitate authentication of interstate commerce Essence of E-Commerce Internet Banking (ebay, PayPal, Virgin Money, TipJoy) Monetization of product or service (microtransactions, advertising, subscription, etc.) Blizzard Dismisses Microtransaction Model Exchange Rate Policies for Virtual Worlds Females Don't Quit MMO's Linden Labs' Second Life (Second Life) Real World and Game World real world: free enterprise, corporation as a person, corporate shield/indemnification, bankruptcy game world: NPC fetch quests, classes, invincibility/attribute-based immunities, losing half your money if you perish MMOG versus VW (massively multiplayer online games versus virtual world economics) A virtual world is a sandbox-like environment without a direct purpose or game objective. Virtual worlds often rely on user-generated content, while an MMOG restricts the user with supplied inventories and methods for customization to avoid copyright issues. Exchange between real world currency and game currency presents legal issues.

8 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), part of the 2006 Safe Port Act After 2006, all online gambling business moved off-shore. Assignments Compare the concept of game "grinding" to a summer minimum wage job. Explore game relationships of weapons, armor, experience, and currency in RPG's. Grinding is a term used in computer gaming to describe the process of engaging in repetitive and/or non-entertaining gameplay in order to gain miniscule rewards that, over time, enable access to other features within the game. Grinding for pay is called "gold farming." Create a PowerPoint presentation comparing the concept of game enemy/experience escalation to the real world concepts of changes in standard of living. For Advanced Students - Early RPG's allowed unlimited money and "backpack" item inventory. Later games addressed this with larger storage vaults and smaller "backpacks" (i.e. Resident Evil). Propose an alternative game system/structure that would limit money and items using a banking system instead. In this system, reflect how the Federal Reserve System works. Team Project: UPDATE PROPOSALS Activity Update proposals to incorporate ideas and concepts derived from relevant interdisciplinary studies. Goal(s) Web proposals could incorporate economics; TV or film proposals could incorporate sociology, philosophy, and/or mythology; mini-game proposals could incorporate psychology, physics, and/or mathematics.

9 Final Project: WEB SITE Activity Students must design for a web site for an artist or business that has a diverse product line of many media properties based on songs. The web site must reflect a full-fledged business, including products and services for sale that involve different revenue structures. Goal(s) Come up with interesting arts, media, or communications products and explain how or why they are designed for a mass market, narrow market, or niche market. Follow the guidelines for marketing copy (under Effective Communications, Course 1). Consider the demographics of the intended audience, whether the audience you want is traditional or non-traditional for your type(s) of product(s), where (else) your marketing materials will appear, and whether the product is (also) sold by retail, subscription, membership, microtransactions, tickets, tokens, or incentive coupons. Evaluate the degree to which similar products have saturated the market for your particular demographic and why success was achieved or not achieved for that demographic. Compare to marketing techniques of properties that have a similar audience. Think about what else the consumer of your products would spend money on and whether or not your product would extend or displace the use of those other products. Focus test ideas on team members by designing a survey covering these goals. Artwork, source code and database documentation Related excerpts of individual contributions should appear in portfolio.

10 Final Deliverable: PORTFOLIO See notes from State Advisory Group meeting. Emphasis will be placed on group project development and individual portfolio development. Students will update their IMP Portfolio with: Interactive Media Product Proposal Specifications Document Media Product Career Exploration/Resume Proposal (in the form of script or storyboard) Transcript showing minimum GPA 2.5 Portfolio Assembly Tips Strong Cover Don't over-emphasize your name. Establish theme. Organization Feeling of progression Exclude mediocre elements. Think in terms of significant quality work product, not significant proof of work. Avoid the "Look, Ma! I touched this tool!" syndrome. Voluminous work may not be needed to demonstrate skill.