passion4games

Professional Masters in Video Games Development

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/Living/Digital/article/10210c2/abertay-university-equipping-students-for-the-business-of-video-games.html

Piece in Dundee Courier, all about my Master's Course.

Computer Games are not all the same, believe it or not!

Here's a link to a post on my mother's blog:

Rant In Defence of Video Games

Charlie C

 

 

Types Of Creativity

The idea for this post came about after a chance remark from my mother during an over dinner chat one weekend. The discussion revolved around our childhood hobbies and pastimes; at a certain point in the conversation, she stated "You liked things that you could use as a spring-board to your own imagination"

This sentence had a great impact on me, to say the least. I feel it is a word perfect description of the majority of activities I enjoyed as a child. I would play with a set of toy dinosaurs, inventing stories and role plays; apparently I invented a RPG-style ranking system without really realising it at the time! I could spend an afternoon pretending that a cardboard box was a battleship. Among other things, I would create my own puzzle books and stories. For some reason it is almost cringeworthy even writing these words, and it certainly shouldn't be. What I have described above is a key form of creativity that tends to be ignored as we move into adulthood.

As a child I wrote and drew pictures constantly. However, I don't think I ever considered myself to be a true artist in the making, because the pictures were always secondary to the story or game which I was inventing. They were in a way illustrations of what was going on in my own imagination, and just a stage in the procedure rather than an end in themselves. In fact, they were more like diagrams than artworks. My family always joked that I liked to draw disaster scenes. Looking back on this, I think I was drawing plans for games before I really realised my love for them.

All of which leads me to speculate about different types of creativity. It is important to recognise that what I have described above may be different to the creativity shown in many other artforms. I did not enjoy Lego as a child, as this involves physically building an object, or creating an artwork. I found this frustrating as the reality of the final creation was never consistent with my original vision. Either that or the object would fall apart before it was even remotely finished!

While video game design is difficult to define, you will no doubt hear many games industry professionals describing the role as 'creating fun'. This is exactly what I used to do when playing as a child; I would create entertainment. It is also interesting to point out that using the creations of another individuals to ultimately make a game, or create fun, could also be a good definition of game design.

From Dust

Thought I'd take a short break from essay writing to post briefly about From Dust. It is effectively a game where the player will manipulate nature - a take on the God game genre. It is designed to remind the player of the childlike emotions experienced when playing and building sand castles on the beach. (As stated in the developer video diary).

The game will not be box released; a download only title. Just goes to show how far games have come, and indeed that the future, or a large part of the future of video games, will be with digital distribution. Apparently, the designers of From Dust stated that Ubisoft would not have allowed the game to be developed for box release.

PS3 and the Red Flashing Light of Death.

Here at passion4games, the PS3 has just displayed the Red Flashing light of death and gone belly up, approximately two and a half years after purchase. We are totally despondent. And also, being penniless writers/designers, we can't afford to buy a new one right now. Maybe some kind company out there would like to give passion4games a nice new PS3 Slim to test, as well as a few new games. We promise faithfully to review them - and the console - on passion4games - and to spread the word. After all, we strongly believe in viral marketing!

Just that little bit more experience....

Although I have my own (strong) opinions regarding the games industry, in particular the role of the designer, up to now I was unable properly to judge something I had not practised. Things are a little different now, as I am currently working as a designer for a small start-up, and even at this early stage I am gaining far more accurate impressions.

A little disclaimer for myself: I understand that I am still a novice, with a lifetime of learning ahead, and I also understand that design differs greatly depending on the company and genre considered. Therefore, what follows is simply my opinion, and it is not intended to be an angry blog post!

1) The job of a designer is often misunderstood.

I believe every aspiring designer is guilty of this to some extent, party due to the mere handful of famous designers of the world attaining the god-like status not too dis-similar from that of a Hollywood director. They'll have a distorted perception of the designer conceptualising cool superhero characters, imagining tough boss fights, and devising a storyline consisting of a two paragraph description. I'm certainly guilty and it is this idea that makes design so attractive.

Of course the reality is far different, and design is actually hard work. The above misconception does (very loosely) actually occur during the design process, but it is far less romantic, and is sometimes referred to as initial concept design. After this, the development design stage commences, and with a small studio with only a few designers, will likely involve much documentation, sketches, using specialist software, level design, holding meetings, etc, etc.  Still sounds appealing though doesn't it... That is why I love what I do.

2) Design is the cool job you graduate to after years of programming or art

Believe it or not, there are still some people who hold on to this obsolete idea. It is simply not true. While many of the design directors of today originally entered the industry as programmers, it is important to remember that the industry has changed greatly. You may not be able to code or animate a game if your life depended on it, but this doesn't necessarily stop you becoming a designer. Thinking back to my childhood, I always loved games, as games, not as software programs. I was interested in how they play, rather than how they work. I always loved to play and create board games, as well as my own puzzle books!

3) Everyone wants to be a designer

This was one of the biggest surprises to hit me, after becoming a QA tester and working in large departments with many ambitious people. It is frankly amazing how many people do not want to be designers, dare I say the people who are not affected by the misconception of 1)!

I feel the reason for this might be because, as a designer, you don't really create a tangible final product at the end of each day, week or project. Your work is the manipulation of other people's creations. Some people simply prefer to create something themselves. I have always enjoyed convincing other people to do things for me... j/k Some may see this idea in a different light, but it is a valid reason for an aspiring game industry professional favouring a career path other than design. 

Flower, Flow and Mainstream Games

The concept of flow in games has been covered on passion4games in recent history... It is a psychological concept that certain titles such as Flower attempt to induce. Although there is a potential lifetime's worth of research regarding flow as a concept, the means by which it is realised within the title Flower is through the emotions the game attempts to bring to the player. Instead of aiming to create 'fun' in the conventional gaming sense, and indeed aiming to create challenge, Flower aims to stir different emotions in the player.

Although you could describe Flower as collecting objects gameplay, it is the 'doing' rather than the satisfaction that is enjoyable. For example, gamers will collect all the 'treasures' in an action game to get the achievement and bring themselves one step closer to 100% completion. Once 100% is attained, there is a strong chance the game will be left to gather dust. Petal collecting in Flower is completely different. It effectively puts the player into a trance-like state and he or she almost forgets that there is a loose objective to the game. It is a remarkable achievement in design and a slap in the face of the sceptics of the world who do not believe that games are art.

This ultimately brings me to the purpose of this post...

Think about your favourite game. Is it an action adventure/RPG? Any game with exploration and a vibrant world in some form? Have you ever become lost in the game? You forget about the missions and challenges, and just wander (or drive) around the game world.

I found myself in this state when playing the original Shenmue on DC. The quiet, sleepy setting became the focus rather than the next character in need of a visit. It was an incredible experience. This feeling, if you can relate to it, is what I believe to be a form of flow. I have heard many others talking about their own favourite games in the same way.

I also believe this it is what defines our personal favourite game; the special game in our collection that we have never forgotten.

Although the focus of Flower is to put the player into flow, flow can be achieved in other ways and in titles where you might least expect it to be the case. A fruitful area for future research perhaps?

Jenova Chen's Flower, again...

Still playing through this amazing game. It's actually so intense that it's hard to play more than one level at a time - especially level number five, which is a tour de force, involving electricity, rain, storms, heart-in-mouth danger and - of course - flowers. As one of the developers puts it, in the online trailer here the whole game is essentially a poem in video game form. We would agree but perhaps go further. It has the same effects as a well written poem, but there is also something theatrical about the experience which is intensely involving and emotional, in the way that a fine theatrical performance is involving and emotional. It is infinitely more than the sum of its parts, and as a mature adult, you bring your own life experiences to the game, and have your understanding illuminated by it.  By the time you come to the end of a particular level, you realise that you have been sitting in one place, for perhaps an hour or more, unmoving, while your mind has been somewhere else. Writers and artists know this total absorption, the absolute 'flow' of being so absorbed in another world that nothing intrudes, but it is rare, in our experience, for such a seemingly simple game to induce this strange state. Except that it isn't simple at all. The subtlety of the way the game is designed, the way in which the player interacts with the world of the game, is nothing short of astonishing.

Fighting Games - 2D vs 3D

I'm going to begin with a potentially controversial statement amongst the fighting game community. 3D fighting games are better than 2D.Of course, if I were to post this on a tournament forum, it would be met with a wave of disdain. I think the problem is largely due to nostalgia, particularly pertaining to the Street Fighter series. I also find 3D hatred to be particularly popular in America. The Evo Championship Series has become virtually a 2D tournament, with SF4 last year taking by far the majority of sign-ups.

Ok, so the popularity of SF4 is not the problem, as such. It is the disregard for good game design, which it seems to instill in certain people. Below is just a small sample of the comments I have stumbled upon over the years.

"SF requires a greater skill level than Tekken to play"

"2D is better than 3D"

"No one cares about Soul Calibur"

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, however some people have the wrong opinions... Pertaining to the first quote. This is simply wrong. Tekken 6 contains 40 characters, each sporting a 100+ moves list. It was released in arcades as Tekken 6, play was monitored over an arcade machine network system and the game was tweaked, then re-released as Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion. There are players of all abilities, and the game has a tremendous scope for learning. SF does not require a greater skill level than Tekken. In actual fact I believe Tekken requires a greater skill level than Street Fighter! You'll find a great deal more depth to a 3D game.

The argument is nullified by Tougeki (Super Battle Opera), the major Japanese fighting game tournament. Here, the top 3 games presently are Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, Virtua Fighter 5 and Street Fighter 4. That's 2-1 in favour of 3D...

Virtua Fighter seems to be a forgotten franchise in Western tournaments. I'll admit it's too technical for my taste, but this characteristic only serves it well amongst the loyal supporters, and certainly results in immense popularity in Japan.

I had seriously thought of going to Evo one of these years, but the 2D focus is far from enticing...

A Game versus Qualifications - Just some thoughts...

First off, I am not going to rant during this short post... At least I am not intending to rant, and it is not intended to offend anyone (I sometimes have a knack for this!).

After working in, and 'studying' the video games industry for years, I can't help but notice a strange attitude spread amongst the present day veterans. There is an inclination to overlook highly respectable qualifications. There still exists the romantic notion of the bedroom coder becoming famous for his or her awesome game. Of course, it manifests itself in a tendancy for potential employers to say "one great game is infinitely more valuable than your first class degree". This is probably true but the chance of finding that one great game is probably on par with winning the lottery or writing Harry Potter. It doesn't happen very often. However somebody who has stuck with a tough degree, at least has the virtue of tenacity and a certain level of intelligence. It is important to remember that making a little game in your own time with no constraints is completely different from working in a team with all the time and financial constraints which the industry demands. This is of course not to be confused with a student team making a game as part of coursework and portfolio.

But what makes one game amazing as opposed to another which is just good? It is that X factor which always comes out of left field. All the creative industries suffer from this. William Goldman writing in Adventures in the Screen Trade said "nobody knows anything". His contention was that these industries are always looking to replicate the last big success while the next big success invariably takes them by surprise! Quite a cheering thought actually!