Within the first week, my expectations of the course were completely shot down - I had to design and develop board games, puzzles and levels along with the expected prototypes and documentation. This surprise was by no means a negative one however, as over the year, I have grown to understand the fact that games come in all packages, and to truly understand Game Design as a whole, I needed to start with the platforms that exhibit the basics until eventually, implementing all that I had learnt into a final game design - this turned out to be Synergy.
My secondary goal was to document my year long progression as a Games Designer. Regular updates on work along with miscellaneous posts were a priority consistency in updates and post content was important.
Considering my primary goal, I believe I have succeeded tremendously. Over the course of the year, even with all of the personal issues that effected my attendance (and in some cases, the work), I have received straight 1st's throughout this year's module (I'm still yet to find out if I have gained a 1st for the GDD). All the hard work paid off, and I'm confident in saying I am a far better Games Designer than I was 7 months ago. I've developed Board Games, Puzzles, Smart Phone Games and Console Games, all of which I believe are good designs (even if deadlines prevented them from reaching their full potential). In this design venture, I've received brilliant feedback, feedback that has really given me that much needed criticism, advice and recognition I have lacked in the years before starting University - I'm really happy with my work, my working environment and personal progression in Game's Design!
Considering my secondary goal, I believe once again, I have succeeded. With over 60 posts and over 1500 views for this blog alone, I can honestly say I have kept this blog up to date whilst even adding in the odd miscellaneous blog that interested me and hopefully, other people. At every single milestone in my work, I have written a blog post, eventually increasing the different forms of media content within these posts - images, .GIF's, and starting from the next post, even videos to document my individual progression and course progression. What I am left with, is a week by week timeline documenting my entire year at Futureworks University. Which leads nicely onto my final goal.
My true aim was to look back at my work a year later, and see how I have clearly progressed. My first board game "I Do" was a real challenge to get my head around. After all, it was the first game I had ever designed and developed a prototype for. Looking at Synergy, I can see a clear progression in not only my ability but my confidence to attempt something a little different both visually and technically. With each assignment, I have progressed, and as the months passed, I have slowly began to implement knowledge from other modules into my Game Design work, resulting in more comprehensive work. My work has been on the most part consistent, and on the most part, successful, but I still have room to improve. Before I conclude and discuss my new goals, I shall provide a link to each of the assignments I have completed this year.
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ASSIGNMENT 1
GAME DECONSTRUCTION (NO LINK)
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ASSIGNMENT 2
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ASSIGNMENT 3
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ASSIGNMENT 4
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ASSIGNMENT 5
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ASSIGNMENT 6
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ASSIGNMENT 7
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ASSIGNMENT 8
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ASSIGNMENT 9
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ASSIGNMENT 10
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ASSIGNMENT 11
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ASSIGNMENT 12
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So looking at all of my assignments, I can say that there are some inconsistencies, and some truly rough game concepts, but they all did the job for that specific time. But before I get into where I went wrong or where I should improve I'd like to talk about which assignments I enjoyed.
The Pitch Document, the UDK Level, The Character and Level Narrative and the GDD - those were a whole bunch of fun! They developed my knowledge, tested my knowledge, and showcased my knowledge, the three things I wanted to do when I applied for this awesome course! However, there where a few assignment It though weren't to great - the Repetitive Game, the Twister Interface and Chance Chess. It's not that I lacked ability, it's just that personal issues and in result, deadline issues, forced my hand on these assignments. Even so, I still got 1st's which is great! So now I can move onto my downfalls and my goals for next year.
In retrospect, I think my only real issues are one, time management and two, hardware. When it comes to time management, I think on the most part I was fine, however, half way through the year my father lost his battle with cancer. The events leading up to that required my priorities to focus on family, which understandably made work a second priority (if one at all). Ever since my father passed, I seemed to be 1 second behind my work: work was late, and work was not up to my own desired standard. Along with this, the aftermath of my family loss required my time, which again, made work a second priority. Up until the GDD, this continued to be the case, and I'ts clearly evident in my work above. Considering the issues I've been through, I can honestly say that I am truly surprised and proud of my grades. Next year is a new year, and hopefully I can keep on track with my work as I did at the beginning of this year. I must say though, that if it wasn't for my tutors, my year would have been a lot harder! They are amazing! I cannot thank them enough.
When it comes to hardware, I don't really know what to do. My computer simply cannot run any software, whether Photoshop or UDK, my computer constantly crashes and prevents me from completing work. Towards the end of the year, I had to spend at least 30 hours of the year in University using Futureworks facilities, which is fine, but I'd rather get things done at home - it's more efficient for me. It can't tell you how many times I have lost hours or even days of work. I have an £800 computer eyed up for next year, whether or not I can get it is a different matter.
My goals for next year? Better time management, better work organisation, less deadline stress, a better computer, and most importantly, better games!
My goals for the summer? Read Rules of Play, read even more, learn Unity, learn UDK and attend game conventions and Game Jams! .... oh, and play lots of games!
I've loved my first year at University, it's been the most amazing experience of my life - I found my educational stride! I truly believe that this course will change my life forever, I'm already seeing the signs now! Hopefully next year, I can look back at this year, and laugh at how ridiculous my ability was. And if I try as hard as I did this year, I don't see why that's not possible!
NEXT POST: UNITY: MAKING A CAR GAME (FIRST ATTEMPT)
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