Week Eight

I will mainly use three different methods, concept creation, prototyping, and playtesting, throughout my research and creating my project. 

 

The methods that I have chosen to focus on work together and form a combined process starting with concept ideas. Concept art and conceptualising my ideas will allow me to explore a multitude of ideas. I will be looking at conceptualising ideas around interactive narrative and the artistic style that I am interested in using for both the 2D and 3D aspects. I will be specifically looking at concept sketches that are traditionally and digitally drawn and 3D concept mock-ups that will aid in the prototype stages. To do this, I will be ultimately using Photoshop and Maya for the digitally created concepts and a pen or pencil and paper for the traditional. I plan on focusing on using conventional drawing processes for the most part during the concept phase. However, I will also be using similar approaches to try ideas for the narrative aspects that I plan to explore. These will help me to visualise my ideas and use trial and error for different concepts. Conceptualising is a vital starting point in creating games. It is one of the first processes that bring ideas to life, and since I am looking at how 2D and 3D can work in a single space, I need to trial concepts using different forms to understand how I may use them. I like to work with different mediums in art and design; concept sketching and making is something I have always done, so I try to involve it more in my game design process. Conceptualising ideas has become a vital process to creating anything, so it can be seen as essential to understanding better all aspects of what I can make by using it. Concept sketches have always been a large part of many design practices, most notably would be architecture and fashion design. Without the concept stage in any medium or practice, a project would not go through. Even for writing, authors use idea dumps to get all thoughts, ideas and concepts out on a page to start the process of forming work. This is why concepting ideas specifically around 2D and 3D assets is vital, as I would not have a solid starting point and would struggle to continue with my project.

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Concept sketches and concept ideas will be an essential aspect in beginning my second method, prototyping. Prototyping is one aspect of the iterative process game developers use when making a game. To trial my ideas, I will need to prototype as much as possible to find out what works and what doesn't. There are different stages of prototyping that evolve as the game goes along and incorporates all parts of game design, such as the level design, asset creation and more. To prototype during my project, I will mainly be using Unity. Unity is a game creation software with extensive capabilities. I will be able to use it to design and build my game, and it works alongside other programs that I may need. Therefore, Unity will be the predominant software that I will use throughout my research. This software allows me to trial ideas constantly in various ways that I can then bring together into a single space without having any complications. In addition, Unity has coding software that aids me in being able to prototype different ideas. Because of this, I do not need to worry about starting from scratch each time, as I can reuse coding throughout the project once I have trialled enough to find something that works. I chose Unity as my game creation software, as I used it throughout my undergraduate degree. Originally I planned to use software that was new to me; however, that was proving difficult. So instead, Unity is familiar to me, making the ability to research and create my project significantly more manageable, even if I am still learning new things.
Within the game design industry, there is a few different software that gets used to make games. Unreal Engine and Unity are in the top two. Each software has its pros and cons and so get used depending on needs. For the most part, Unity is much easier to use and understand, and it's still gaining traction in being one of the best software to use. Unity is what I am comfortable with, and it would be helpful for it to become more predominately used within the industry. As Unity is one of the leading game creation software, I would like to prove its usefulness and importance through my project. Suppose I can showcase its abilities and what designers can do more with it. For most Indie game companies, Unity is a go-to for its ease of access and its more extensive range of abilities; the only con is the graphics are below that of the game software Unreal Engine. 

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Playtesting is the last method that I will be predominately using. Prototyping and playtesting go hand-in-hand in game design; playtesting allows me to view my prototypes within an actual playable game space. Play-testing is when a player tests out the game to find faults and give feedback throughout the game creation process. The game creator or other individuals playtest to determine if the creators’ ideas have been successfully implemented within the game. Playtesting can only be done either through Unity directly or once the game has been built and made playable without Unity. Each time I have prototyped or added something to my game, I will be playtesting it; without doing this, I can’t find any faults in what I have created or how it works within the game space. 
Finding errors and viewing my work in an actual playable space is why I am using playtesting and why it is most suitable for a game designer who can test a game an extensive amount of times before continuation. Playtesting is a constant process within game development. It is a central point within the iterative design process as it allows for actual viewing of a playable game and feedback. After working with Unity throughout my undergraduate games, I have found that playtesting has become a subconscious method that I deem incredibly important. It allows for tests of the game numerous times before a final product is made; thus, changes can be done constantly. To find out if a player is viewing or playing the game the way I intended, I use playtesting. Audience playtesting is usually done when milestones are made within a game, as feedback is not necessary during the entire game creation process. Playtesting is quite a large part of the game industry as it allows for studios to showcase their work to an audience. Events such as Armageddon, Chromacon, Play by Play and the Indie Game Showcase are just some of the few that showcase games regularly for people to playtest and get real players feedback.

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