From Beginning To...

  I'm going to let my screen capture do most of the talking for this week. Please note that it's only that laggy because my computer can't handle running Unity and Screen Recording at the same time.  I've managed to add music, sound effects, start, game over, and victory screens, as well as a short Quest UI screen. A troll now features in my game, and getting the animations to work with my scripts wasn't easy, but it's done. Unfortunately, for some reason when I make it so that the troll animates, he can't deal the player damage. I've tried a few different ways of getting it to work, but to no avail. Another small detail is the fact that my players clothes are still quite... revealing. I've made my peace with this, and want to base the entire game around the fact that his trousers inexplicably have no bottom.   I am extremely pleased with how my game has progressed. I have spent a long time trying to make it as good as I possibly could, and...

This week, I needed to add some more UI to my game. This included Start and End screens, and a quest system. I turned to Brackeys once again to guide me through the process. I tired to implement Brackeys’ simple quest system into my game. I created the UI template, and started with the coding. However, as his game is a UI only game, I found some of the code hard to follow and adapt for my own uses. Coding is one of the things I find hard to do independently, and I cannot yet create original code as I am very unversed in the C# scripting code. Another tutorial I tried to follow was by GameGrind. So far by the end of this video, nothing clashes, but it’s only the start of a series. Nothing functions yet, but because it hasn’t called other elements from the rest of the GameGrind RPG series, I am hopeful that this system will integrate more than Brackeys one did.  This is one of the toughest parts of development so far. Because it is a different series than the rest of ...

I won't be winning any Graphic Design awards for this one Source:  Quotes Cover   This task was to create a motivational acronym. One thing that motivates me is to be spurred on by challenge rather than apprehensive of it. The things that I have achieved by simply trying again are far more than the things I have achieved by getting it right first try.   Unfortunately, my image of mountains in the background was hidden behind a pay wall. I would have tried anything for those mountains... Except pay for them apparently. - Ultan

Now Google knows where I... Ah, come on. They already know everything   I find it interesting how simple things are now. Adding an online, real time map to my blog post was as simple as copy and pasting. I wonder about all of the nerdy computer engineers from the 20th Century who had to code onto physical dockets and what they think of all of this.    

  Two tutorials that were vital to me integrating the graphics into my game were by Sebastian Lague. I was able to use his Blender files to implement a customisable character, and some animated enemies too.   This episode brought in armour and clothing into my character. I was able to set up scripts for default clothing, and create armour pickups that I later combined with my inventory. Some troubles I had were to do with importing from Blender. My character only had half of a shirt and pants due to an error with mirroring. I was able to figure this out, but still have problems with clipping on the clothes. I followed Sebastian's steps to create a code that changes the weight of the body skin depending on the type of clothing the character wears. However, his fix did not work for me, and the clipping still occurs. This is a minor issue, and all of the other features work great.   I was able to bring in an animated enemy mesh and add some health bars to the UI...

  One article that I have read this week is " Into the Woods: A Practical Guide to the Hero's Journey " by Bob Bates. He explains that the hero's journey is important because myths are important. They are tales that teach us we should act in day to day life, and the morals that we should adhere to. Myths actively guide our actions, whether we are aware of it or not.   Myths influence our: Personal Identity Communities Moral Values Mysteries of Life and Death   Humans have survived by their communication of dangers to their kin and tribes. When they learned of danger, they would avoid the danger where possible, but also make others close to them aware of the danger, and they would live longer as a result. Myths and parables do the same. They spread awareness of dangers, and teach people how to avoid them. Even personal dangers such as greed, jealousy, wrath, gluttony, pride, lust and sloth are often warned against - more commonly known as the Seven Deadly S...

Inventory, Health and Combat Systems have been implemented   Progress has been made! A lot of the core gameplay has been implemented, including combat, inventory, equipable items, enemy AI and health systems. It was a difficult road, but I managed to make all of the code work.   My next step is is to add quest and dialogue systems. This will mean that my storyline can start to take shape.    The main thing that I am finding difficult is altering the codes I am using to fit my game idea. I have had to simply follow others methods and adapt my game rather than editing the code to suit me. I am hoping that the quest and dialogue elements will work with the features I already have.   Here is a video that shows my game in action.  - Ultan

  Looking back on my progress since September, I can honestly say that I am happy with where I am. I have worked hard to be in the position that I am in; I have learned plenty, my game is coming along nicely, and I have kept on top of the workload. That said, there was one week in particular that I fell behind. Other aspects of work and life took precedence, and I had not gotten far enough ahead of my schedule with this work to avoid missing out. This is my own error, and one that I was careful not to repeat. I have done some extra credit tasks to catch up, and will do more to bring my grade back up. My favourite tasks have been the Unity tutorials and the game development. I would love to have the time to get a lot of Inferno Lair done in one sitting, however with other commitments I can only spend one or two hours at a time.   For the next couple of weeks, I want to get ahead of my workload. I've been keeping up to date with everything, but I would like to get things done ...

This is where suggestions can go... Not really, I'm quite receptive Image Source:  iStockPhoto   Looking back on some of the feedback I have received on my game design, there are a lot of useful comments that I shall take on board. The quality of the feedback is quite high, and it varies from positive feedback to constructive. There have been no unnecessary negative comments, or unhelpful advice. The comments I find most useful are the ones that pose questions. They ask about aspects that they are unsure of, or would like more clarification on. These questions make me stop and think through the area that has been queried. Occasionally, it will be something I hadn't given any thought to, but should have. Other times it may be a suggestion on features that could be added, or ways to approach designing. The hardest feedback to give was when there was little or no content to discuss. It could be tough to find positives to laud, and tougher again to think of any suggestions w...

  Over the past 8 weeks, I have read several articles and publications on Game Design and Development. Some have been difficult to digest, and others were a joy to read. All of them were informative, and contained valuable insight into game design. Writing about them in an academic manner has occasionally been a challenge, but has been as important as the reading itself. Academic writing is not always my strong point, as I am very expressive, and like to add opinion and personal touches to my writings. However, it is a skill that I will need in the future, and now is a good time to get some practice in.   I have learned and / or refreshed a great deal from the weekly readings. There are an awful lot of elements that seem quite obvious when reading about them. But when it is time to implement them myself, they are easily forgotten. For me, they stressed the importance of planning the game first, before even opening a game engine. This was very useful in my own design. I would...

  Who would have known that game development could be so hard?   Oh right, literally everyone.   So this week I attempted to get my first playable level up and running. I did a lot of work this week, and a lot of trial and error - mostly error. A lot of time was spent trying to combine two types of character controller - WASD and Point and Click. As I explained in a previous post, the only way I could get Point and Click to work was by implementing Click to Move rather than WASD. I tried to combine C# codes and amalgamate the two, but to no avail. My character and controller have been completely stripped back to basics, and I am going forward with a Click to Move control scheme.   Another change I have made is an active camera. Originally I planned to have a static camera that did not move or rotate, just simply followed the player from one position. I found that the player would get lost behind buildings and other assets quite easily, and I found that the acti...

This is what my computer may as well have been doing Image Source:  Wikimedia   This week, I am completing tutorials that suit my specific game. I have already used several tutorials thus far, although I can’t recall exactly which ones. At this point, I am skimming several different videos looking for the information that I need and then moving on to the next one. The toughest part is getting different codes to work in tandem with one another. My initial plan was to control the player character using WASD, and have a mouse cursor to interact with objects and characters in the game world. However, it seems as though I will have to choose between click to move as well as interact, or using the keyboard to do both. I’m sure there is a way of doing what I want, but I am unable to find out how. Tracking Camera This is a video by Brackeys - a developer who’s work has helped my own quite a bit. I was able to use this tutorial to get the main camera to smoothly follow the Play...

  " Natural Funativity " is an article by Noah Falstein where he explores the reasons why we find games fun. Falstein's previous boss, Steve Arnold, began working in the games industry after years as a child psychologist. He understood the minds of the target audience for games, and would often ask, "What is the Funativity Quotient?" This question implied that fun could be "categorized, defined, perhaps even measured."   Games are a specialised form of play, and play is an activity that all species use to practice survival skills. It is an instinct. Education and entertainment are very closely linked, and even when it isn't obviously apparent, often times entertainment is, at the same time, educational. We see this in children - a lot of their play involves imitating adults and the tasks that they do. Play can keep skills sharp in a safe, controlled and relaxed environment.   Physical, Social and Mental fun are all parts or what makes games en...

Low Poly Low poly is a mesh that uses fewer polygons than other applications. It optimises performance, but will have an effect on graphics. Nowadays, it is often chosen for the aesthetic rather than the optimisation factor. This is the aesthetic I plan on using in my own game design. Normal Mapping Normal mapping is something I have come across several times in Unity, but I never actually understood what it is or how it works. Basically, it fakes the lights of bumps and dents. It adds details without adding more polygons. I read the part about how it works, but it really just reminded me of my Physics class back in Leaving Cert. That was the grade I got to discount... Shader Flat Shading may come in handy for my Game Design Image Source:  WikiMedia I've been interested in adding shaders into my game, but never really knew where to start. The basic function of it is to add light, dark and colour to a rendered object. There are a lot of mathematical figures inc...

So in an effort to increase my tech knowledge, I looked into a very useful skill: Using an online meme generator. The result...? I'm better at stealing memes than making OC - a truth I will have to live with for the rest of my days.

  This week, I have continued on to the prototyping stage of my game design. It was a daunting task at first - I honestly didn't know where to begin. But as I've learned from other tasks this year, it's all about breaking the big tasks down into smaller ones. I began by sketching some of my level designs. Level Designs for the villages in Inferno Lair   I decided to get started in Unity, as I had a feeling it would be more of a challenge than just opening the software and everything going swimmingly... I was right.   I immediately forgot how to do all of the things I learned in the Jimmy Vegas tutorials, so had to spend some time brushing up on my skills. I started by creating my terrain, and just as I thought I had it perfect, I realised I had created it far too big. When I started bringing in assets I realised that they were miniature compared to my giant landscape. However, I rallied and made some decent progress from there. An early iteratio...

  This week in Unity, I am continuing to follow Jimmy Vegas' Cobalt Series. I picked up from where I left off last time, with my axe in hand.   The first thing I did with Jimmy was to change the skybox. I hadn’t given too much thought to this, but as soon as he mentioned changing it, I knew it needed to be done. I used the New Dawn skybox, and used an orange colour overlay on it to give the lighting a sunrise feel. Jimmy went over some other things that can be done using intensity and the directional light. I saw him put the Lighting Source on the player character, so that the world lights up when the character gets close. This would be a good feature in a dark horror or survival game where the player needs a torch to see.   Next, I added a wind zone to my world. This adds an element of movement to the trees in the world. There were variables to change here such as turbulence and main wind, but i found that keeping these low down was the best way for a more realistic ...

  An article that I read this week is " Building a Princess Saving App ", by Daniel Cook. It is a transcript of a talk aimed at Interaction Designers, but contains a lot of useful information and draws comparisons between game and app design. Fun is one of the core concepts of Game Design Source: Article   The author writes that game players learn new skills, and they have fun doing so. He uses the iconic video game staple of "Rescuing Princesses", to compare games and apps. While this theme is usually associated with video games, Cook attempts to make a princess rescuing application. He creates three different types of application: Basic Web App Simple Web 2.0 App Complex Web App   The learning curve on the basic and complex web apps are slow, but there is much more learning involved. The positive thing about this is that there are many more features than the other applications, but learning them all can be daunting, frustrating and time consuming. ...

Artwork that I feel captures Inferno Lair perfectly Source:  UHD Paper This week, I drew up a Game Design Document for Inferno Lair, my top down Action / Adventure RPG. I used Dundoc for this task, which was a major help and time saver. Having the templates there to guide me kept me on track, and made me aware of all of the design choices I had to consider. Inferno Lair has already become a more refined, better planned game than it was before I started this document. I realised some features that did not need to be there at all, and also some features that I didn't consider that definitely SHOULD be there. Link To Dundoc GDD:  Inferno Lair As I was considering how my game would be created, I started downloading more Unity Asset packs. Character models, SFX, weapons and armour etc. All things that I knew I needed, but writing this document made it feel like the time was getting near to start actually building it. I've been looking into the coding behind the combat a...

- Game Title : Inferno Lair (subject to change) - Introduction:    Inferno Lair is a single player, top down, fantasy RPG with point and click mechanics. The player must explore the game world to defeat enemies, gain experience to level up, and find or purchase improved weapons and armour in order to defeat the Inferno Dragon. The game will take place in one overworld, with many dungeons, caves and crypts to explore. It will be created using Unity 2018, and will be rated 12+ due to some violence. - Description:    As the leader of the local Warriors / Mages / Thieves Guild , it is your responsibility to keep Warmhearth Village safe. But when a ferocious dragon nests in a nearby cave, trouble comes with it. Townspeople are carried off as food for the dragon and her young. Having failed to protect them from the dangers around them, you are forcefully removed from your position. While your successor has no more luck in defeating the dragon, they are see...

Looking at the gem from a close distance changes the UI This week's Unity Tutorial takes me back to the world I have created following Jimmy Vegas' Cobalt series tutorials. I started off by editing the UI, so that when the player is close to the gem and looks at it with the crosshairs, an action command is shown telling the player how to pick up the gem. This was a simple enough process, made easier by Jimmy's very easy to follow tutorials. As per usual, there was some C# coding to be done. I'm definitely starting to get the hang of it, and the actual logic behind the coding is beginning to make sense to me. If / else statements now seem simple, and the tags are becoming familiar. Now after inputting some code, the gem disappears when the action button is pressed, the cursor reverts to normal, and a sound chimes to indicate that the gem has been picked up. After creating some fences, the next step was to create a weapon. Now it's starting to feel like a v...

Various coloured pieces from Settlers of Catan Source:  PxHere   An interesting article that I have read this week is “ Design Considerations ”, by Greg Aleknevicus. In this article he discusses the factors of games that he really enjoys. These all fall under the category of physical presentation in board games. He states that he limits himself to “ideas and concerns that do not (for the most part) require extra expense beyond time”. He separates his views into categories; Components, The Box, Cards, Theme, and Rules. - Components   The design of the components of a game can drastically increase the enjoyability and functionality of a game. Aleknevicus suggests making game tiles “smaller than the spaces they’re placed upon”. This leaves room for movement of the tiles without disturbing the other tiles around it. Making the player pieces easily distinguishable is another suggestion, albeit somewhat more difficult. Many people suffer from colour blindness, of whi...

In this weeks Unity tutorial I made a functioning clock. I used techniques that I had already learned from previous tutorials; creating 3D objects, using parent and child hierarchy, and adjusting position rotation and scale. Unfortunately C# is still a bit of a mystery to me, but the language is becoming a bit more familiar. I'm happy that I managed to get it working. There was some time during the coding where I thought I wouldn't get it. But I persevered and managed to make a functioning clock! - Ultan

The D20 system from Dungeons and Dragons Source:  Wikipedia   Last week I started brainstorming potential video game ideas that I could make in Unity 3D. I have decided to continue researching my Dungeon Crawler RPG.   Some game mechanics that I have decided I would like are: - A Cursor   I like the idea of a point and click style of gameplay. When objects in the game world are hovered over, they will be highlighted, and can be interacted with by clicking on them. This may be used for doors, NPC's, treasure chests, and enemies. Clicking on an enemy would engage in combat. - An Inventory   Many RPG's have collectible weapons, armour and items. To be able to collect them, one needs an inventory. I would have a simple inventory that displays as either a grid or a list with a preview of the item. - Attacks   As I would plan to have enemies in my game, I would need to have a fighting system. This would go along with my cursor mechanic. When a...

Feedback works best as a dialogue Source:  Pixabay How does one give feedback effectively? "Put a slice of praise on the top and the bottom, and stick the meat of your criticism in between. It’s the compliment sandwich"   This is the piece of advice that I've often heard, but it is difficult to implement. The quote is from a very interesting article called " How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk ", written by Adam Grant . I found this article to be of particular use, as I often find it difficult to deal out criticism. Here the author states that the "feedback sandwich doesn’t taste as good as it looks". The initial praise can be glanced over; seen as a mere attempt to soften the blow of the upcoming criticism. It can come across as insincere. Alternatively, if the praise is believed, it can outweigh the negatives, leaving the criticism null and void in the receivers eyes. But the author has given some genuinely helpful advice on how t...

Sure, I get it... Source:  Giphy   This week on Unity - Some C# coding that I'm not gonna pretend I understand! I understand the functions that they performed, but the actual elements are going to take some time and practise to become as familiar as HTML and CSS. I've come across 'if' statements before, but I'm still unsure of what some of the more complex coding involving 'public', 'static', and 'Raycast' really do. I will definitely be researching some basic C# coding, to get a better idea of what these functions are doing behind the scenes.   I began by adding a sound effect to the gem I created last week. This was a simple process that involved creating some subfolders and ticking some boxes. I can handle this much. Adding water was a much simpler process than I expected. After creating a dip in the terrain, I dragged and dropped in the water prefab and adjusted the desired height of the water. To create a wall, I added some new te...

  All games have several formal elements, meaning that they can be defined. While some games will contain elements that are not necessary for functionality, there are core elements that are needed for a medium to become a game. A chess board set up for play. Source:  WikiMedia Players :   Without at least one player, a game cannot be played. It must be defined how many players are needed for play. Chess needs exactly two players, and it cannot function properly without both players. Solitaire needs exactly one player. and they play versus the system of the game. There are many games that do not need an exact amount of players. Many first person shooters do not need an exact amount, and the game can be played with either odd or even numbers. Once the game establishes how the players interact, the play is in motion. eg One v One v One - Free for All, Team Competition, Head to Head etc. Objectives :   For a game to be completed, there must be a scenario th...