Studio Game Project-Creative Process

In the beginning, every group member was allowed to think of their own game ideas before having a vote for the best idea. After many debates among ourselves and consultations with the lecturers, we settled on the simple idea of using sunlight as a resource for creating a concentrated beam to burn enemies to death. It was a simple idea that I had initially thought wouldn’t go that far, but instead turned simple gameplay elements into creative ones. One example is the level design. Because the player’s weapon can only be fired when standing under sunlight, and enemies appear around the level, the battle becomes a very intense fight inside what little area of sunlight there is. And because of that, we were able to catch the player in a number of gripping situations.
We weren’t rash on our decisions on ideas to improve gameplay but argued over how the player would react to these new elements. We also questioned the creativeness of these elements, whether the player would find it new and interesting or generic and useless. Creativity in our game is subtle and not prominent except for the main mechanic. But that is because we do not wish to stress our programmer too much as it is our first time constructing a 3D game, and the idea isn’t a casual game. I wouldn’t say this is a generic shooter game, but a creative product of our group’s collaboration of ideas.

RECOMENDATIONS: Paprika & The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Heya,

If you're bored right now and wanna watch something fun. Take a break from those books and watch-

PAPRIKA:

Paprika is a Japanese animated film about a research psychologist who uses a device that permits therapists to help patients by entering their dreams.
If you like Inception, then get ready for a ride of MindFK watching PAPRIKA.

Unfortunately, the writer/producer of the movie died a few months ago... do his grave a favour and watch one his his best films. Soundtrack is good too.

THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA:

It's anime revolving around the most interesting character yet. First off, it looks like one of those 'school life' animes. But that's just the norm of the story disguising the true out of this world adventure. I have to warn you that the episode arrangment is... messed up by Haruhi herself, so I hope you will be able to follow. The first few episodes seem like they're stupid stuff such as fanservice (not excessively), but after a while... things get much more complicated and... weird.

The story is of Haruhi who can unconsciously change reality... nuff said.
Go watch it. I'm still watching it so I'm not sure if it gets more interesting later... But its getting all sci-fi'y lately.

ALCHEMY- Faris Lecture

Alchemy was a transformative process which will change lead into gold, or otherwise, to purify one’s soul through the body and its senses beyond the material world to a spiritual transcendence. During the Renaissance, a new generation of designers emerged as erudite, philosophical, and learned in the form of art and architecture. Art and architecture was proved to be an original science based on Greek philosophy, Christian Faith and Roman ambitions. The soul was greatly valued and medicine evolved into a medium for art. The doctors are also artists who believe that the right medicine for the soul would be to channel heaven’s divine energy through the eye to the soul. The patient’s medicine would then be to study pieces of art related to the divine by sight. How does this relate to DGDD? The artists of the Renaissance age weren’t only learned in the arts, but in science as well. Games have the potential medium to perform “alchemy”. People find enjoyment in games, so can games cure illness or purify our soul? Games may actually be a medicine already. Without the entertainment industry, where would our souls be? We wouldn’t be exposed to the divine and wondrous realm we call the alternate universe, which we can find so easily in entertainment. Games may be the most direct medium with the alternate universe, because of that, we can create games to actually benefit us beyond entertainment. Games can appease our souls to realize the ‘if’ of reality.

Pervasive Games and the Future of Gaming

A pervasive game is a game that has one or more salient features that expand the contractual magic circle of play socially, spatially, or temporarily. Pervasive games exist in reality where there is no specific platform, genre, or location to limit the entertainment that it will bring. Examples of pervasive games are the Amazing Race and Singapore Idol where they break they expand the boundaries of traditional games. Although the future of gaming is uncertain, we can see how games can develop. Casual games are a popular industry for being enjoyable while utilizing simple gameplay at an accessible time. The media is changing, games are transforming into other forms of media or vice versa. Games will be used for enhanced interaction, and educational purposes. The interaction with games will improve when we wouldn’t need to use a controller to control the way we interact within a game. Even our daily lives will become a game. In the future, games will become an essential part to our way of living whereby we not only have fun, but we benefit from it in reality.

Video Games in reality?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeNr33gIhIM

Sharing dreams to create a reality- Paprika the movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqg3Sw3s9Wg

Games in Movies

Games have existed in movies where the character follows the hero’s journey and is faced with challenges. The character has a will to win and complete the game, but must keep in the boundaries of the magic circle, which is an area for the game to take place with its own set of rules. Stepping out of the circle would break the magic. In some movies where the character steps out from the magic circle of the game which they are put in, and suffer severe consequences. Why people watch movies instead of playing games is because the game in watching movies is putting themselves in the role of the character in the movie. Movies offer an indirect immersion into an alternate universe while games offer a direct immersion.

The game "Heavy Rain" is an interactive movie where you have to follow the actions of the character.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnck2oXdxMo

PSEUDOscience and FRINGE science

Pseudoscience and Fringe science are quite similar as their ideals are sourced from traditional science. Pseudoscience is usually the unconfirmed and rejected phenomena which we can barely link to our understanding of traditional science. Examples of Pseudoscience are Alchemy, Astrology, and Psychology. Fringe science is usually the partially confirmed phenomena which we can link to traditional science, but remains impossible because of the limits of current technology. Examples of Fringe science are hypnotism, psychic phenomena, and dimensional travels. Pseudoscience and Fringe science have developed throughout history as myths and speculations. Now in modern media, we have an idea of how we may reach the frontier of traditional science to develop into Pseudoscience and Fringe Science. As a conclusion, traditional science limits our capabilities, but not the creativity of the mind to wonder how the impossible can become reasonable.

Time Manipulation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXUO8l5NCIY

Philosophy of the World of Warcraft

The World of Warcraft is an immensely popular massive multiplayer online game. Gamers play the game for its epic gameplay elements. The common topic concerning the World of Warcraft though is Nihilism, which means nothingness and pointlessness, whereby gamers who play the game are doing it for a lost cause. These gamers may think that life and reality is pointless, play the game to give themselves a virtual purpose, realize that the game is pointless as well, but continue playing anyway because they feel fulfilled with a sense of satisfaction. Because the characters in the game are played by real players, the personalities of everyone are similar to reality. Even attributes such as racism, politics, and morality come into play in building an alternate universe. In truth, there is no war in Warcraft, but the game elements make the player believe there is. Although the World of Warcraft is a virtual universe which doesn’t reward the player in reality, it has become a popular game as an escape from the sad reality. It is up to the player to decide whether to devote to his/her real life or his/her virtual life.

Them Warcraft players
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-0EePhJEfw