Hero Machine and Google Sketchup

Hero Machine - make your own hero

Google Sketchup use this to download 3D objects for use in your game design documents

Today's class cancelled

I'm sick today so don't come to class.

Instead make sure your final projects are fully completed ready for next week's marathon
student presentation session day.

See you next week.

Regards

David Cox

Games Certificate Program Information

http://www.ccsf.edu/Departments?multimedia_Studies/conc_08.htm

Today's Class

1) Beth Cataldo, Head of Multimedia Department, Graphics Dept, CCSF will visit to discuss offerings for Fall 2010 and beyond and can answer questions you might have about CCSF's games certificate program.

2) Lecture Will Wright (creator of the SIMS games) discusses the "Metaphysics of Game Design" form 2010 Games Developers Conference. Please take notes.

BREAK

3) More presentations from students demonstrating final game design and/or prototypes

4) Finalization of FPS game level mapping exercise.

DC

Movie - "Pixels" by Patrick JEAN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugV6cLgwomo&feature=player_embedded#

Formal Presentations

This week and the subsequent weeks will include the following:


Formal Item 4 presentations of completed Item 3 assignments (graded) part one Show and tell via data projector of each group's ideas for item 3 projects, and opportunity for students to provide feedback to each other and to invited guests.

Please sign up on the sheets on the wall near the door to schedule your formal show and tell of your finished main assignments.

DC

Play Donkey Kong online

Play the game here

Try here as well

King of Kong

"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is an American documentary film that follows Steve Wiebe as he tries to take the world high score for the arcade game Donkey Kong from reigning champion Billy Mitchell. The film premiered January 22, 2007, at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival[1] and has been shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the Seattle International Film Festival, the SXSW Film Festival, the TriBeCa Film Festival, the True/False Film Festival, the Aspen Comedy Festival, and the Fantasia Festival. The film opened in limited release in the United States on August 17, 2007, in 5 theaters, and by September 9, 2007, the film had expanded to 39 theaters in the U.S.[2] Later in 2007, it appeared on the cable network G4.

Today's class April 23rd

Today we will examine the role of videogame arcades as depicted in the movies - a compilation of different scenes from films in which games arcades are depicted.

WIKI ENTRY ON VIDEOGAME ARCADES

Our exercise today will be to play videogames on the consoles and to draw maps based on the play fields of these game spaces.

Two teams can also work on creating levels using Far Cry (regular XBOX) and Far Cry II (XBOX 360) level editor.

Us Vs It in a Star Wars episode

http://www.starwars.com/video/view/000995.html

Scott Rogers Disneyland talk - main points

Link to Scott Roger's blog (includes slides from the Disneyland presentation)

TOPICS:

What the heck are Weenies?

Enhanced Weenies and encountering player movement

Using lighting to encourage player movement

Posters

Alternative Maps & Posters

Presented Path & Posters

Presented Path vs. Exploration

The Power of the Path - the illusion of Freedom

Rediscovering Rewards

Thematic Level Goals

Moral Story Telling

Lesson of Main Street

Level Items

Thematic Level Goals

Illusional Narrative

Adding Danger

Applying it All

Warning/Foreshadowing

Maximizing the Path

Storytelling through Environment

Implied Threats

The Tutorial Section

Map and Discovered Information

Building Anticipation

Weenies and Foreshadowing

Juxtaposing Interior and Exterior Space

Illusional Narrative

The Clear Path Out

Scott Rogers - Games and Theme Parks

Today we'll hear Scott Rogers discuss the similarity between good game design and the effectiveness of Disneyland in building and maintaining visitor interest.

A blurb from the introduction from 2009 Games Developer's Conference:

Scott Rogers (GOD OF WAR, MAXIMO) reveals his secret weapon for designing levels: Disneyland. Learn how to inject the genius of the Magic Kingdom into your own game designs. Topics include player's thematic goals, pathing techniques, and illusional narrative. From skeletons to trash cans, there’s a lot to learn from Disneyland!

I'll ask students to provide a one-sentence summary of where their main assessment items are at in relation to the upcoming submission deadline.

We'll also pick up where we left off with the "Us vs It" iterative game tuning exercise.

Videogame appraisals using the consoles will follow, along with show & tells of commercial game releases.


DC

Midterm this week

Class,

We will have the mid term exam this week on April 9th.

There will be true/false, multiple choice, short written response.

The chapters we have covered in Ernest Adams as well as the blog will provide
preparation.

"Us Versus It" board game activity for Friday April 9th

This board game designing activity is one of a number of workshops undertaken at the games developers conference to help build the craft of gameplay and game design.

This link has all the components you need to build the game - the pieces and board need to be transferred to cardboard (i.e. printed then glued, or printed on sticker paper then stuck onto card), but I will bring prepared items to class mounted on cardboard (thanks to our printing department!)

This will be an in-class activity for the April 9th Class.

DC

Types of Sound Effects for Sound workshop

Sound Effects:

Using Audacity and sounds from Freesound, create sound effects for your game which
do the following:

Contextual sound/Narrative sound
Focusing attention
Defining space
Establishing place
Creating environment
Emphasizing/Intensifying action
Setting pace
Symbolizing meaning
Unifying transitions