Month: 02 / Term 2 Overview
Hey guys, what’s up? A few weeks ago ended the second month, and the Term 2 just started. As always, we barely have free time, that’s why I’m being so absent here in the website. This kind of post to talk about the whole month is usually huugeee, but I will try to simplify the maximum, ok? So, basically I will talk very fast about the assignments that we had in the second month, and a quick overview of Term 2.
Term 1 finished with the following last assignments:
Game Production
We had a last/second exam following the same style of the first one. The exam was fine and we had our exam correction in class, right after the exam. Nice!
- Assignments:
- For this class we had no assignments!
Game Theory Analog and Practical
Presentation and documentation of the final version of my Board Game: Dragon’s Burrow. More details you can read in my last post here on the website, where I described better each one of the steps of development of the game.
- Assignments:
- Board Game Final Version;
- Rules Book;
- Playtest Document.
Storytelling
We had the Hero’s Journey Final Presentation, that basically was a 10 minutes presentation analysing the Hero’s Journey in a movie of our choice, and creating a game concept for it. In my case I choose Le fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain. The presentation was very nice and I think I did a very clean, beautiful and cool powerpoint. 
- Assignments:
- Hero’s Journey Final Presentation.
Cinematics / Storyboarding
The final presentation of the Cinematic concept, that we create in the beginning of the term. In my case I did the Cinematic Concept based in an idea for a Open Cinematic for my Board Game Dragon’s Burrow, imagining that the game could be developed in a digital version.
- Assignments:
- Cinematic Final Presentation.
Programming 1
We had two more assignments. One that we needed to create a Pet Sim Game in which the player should use just two actions by “day” to interact with the pet, and revealing his status in the end of the “day”. And, finally, the last assignment was in group, that we needed to do any type of text based game using C# with all techniques that we learned before.
- Assignments:
- Pet Sim Game;
- Programming Final Project.
Level Design Theory
After we studied some Level Design characteristics using Lego pieces, we finished the Detailed Level Design Document with the level that we were working in this last month. My level was based in the final game concept that I presented with my group in Pre-Production Class. I’ve created a new level for the game and I explored the whole Level Design Documentation part, with player’s path, triggers, enemies, Asset Summary, Potential Risks etc. I really loved to do this document. 😀
- Assignments:
- Detailed Level Design Document.
Pre-Production Techniques
We had the last game pitch presentation. This last pitch was a full presentation in group, using powerpoint.
- Assignments:
- Pre-Pro Final Presentation.
Visual Design Principles
And finally, for this class we had two more assignments. We did a Dynamic Game Health/Life Bar, animating the frames using PhotoShop. And the last assignment was a Game Cover that we choose between the options that the teacher gave to us. With the cover, we needed to create a Mood Board to use as reference of colors, textures and images.
- Assignments:
- Dynamic Game Health/Life Bar;
- Creating a Visual Target / Cover.
BOOOOOOM! And that was the end of Term 1. It’s good to remember that the biggest project of Term 1 was the Board Game. While the biggest one of Term 2 is the Flash Game.
Term 02 – Overview
“The second term builds on the foundation of game theory and also introduces game mechanics into the designers toolbox. Along with learning to work effectively in teams, the specialized aspect of game design continues with level design, game art, critical analysis and coding in Flash. This programming language will allow the designers to create their own mini-games.“
- Game Theory – Digital
- Game Mechanics
- Team Management
- Level Design 1
- Flash
- Game Audio
- Game Art
- Critical Analysis
As I already said before, in this term we are more focused on the Flash Game. But for me that really loves Level Designer I’m trying to dedicate my time with the Level Design assignments and the maps that we are creating on UDK.
For the Flash Game the teams were chosen almost in a “random” way. My team consists of Ryan, Gustavo, Siddharth and me. Our project is called Jack and we have a “partnership” with the project Compendium of VFS. Compendium is spearheaded by the Entertainment Business Management program at VFS. Compendium is a showcase of collaboration across industry sectors by the entertainment professionals of tomorrow.
More details about the classes and assignments I will be posting here later. I will try to write some specific posts related with the classes that I most like, explaining everything that we are learning so far. If you want something in special, just let me know here in the comment box of the website. Thanks!
acompanhe esse texto em português
Eaí pessoal, tudo bem? O segundo mês já acabou há algumas semanas e o Term 2 já começou. Como sempre, o tempo livre tem sido cada dia mais curto, por isso a minha ausência por aqui. Esse tipo de post normalmente como o de hoje normalmente é muuuiitooo grande, mas vou tentar resumir ao máximo, ok?
O Term 1 se finalizou com os seguintes assignments:
Game Production
Nós tivemos a prova final seguindo o mesmo estilo da prova anterior. Logo depois da prova nós recebemos a correção em sala de aula.
Game Theory Analog and Practical
Apresentação e documentação da versão final do meu jogo de tabuleiro: Dragon’s Burrow. Mais detalhes quanto ao processo de desenvolvimento você pode acompanhar no meu post anterior aqui no site.
Storytelling
Rolou a apresentação final do Conceito de Hero’s Journey, que consistia em uma apresentação de 10 minutos de algum filme de nossa escolha, analisando a Jornada do Herói dentro do filme e criando um conceito de jogo para o mesmo. No meu caso eu escolhi o filme O Fabuloso Destino de Amélie Poulain e consegui fazer uma apresentação bem interessante, bonita e organizada.
Cinematics / Storyboarding
A apresentação final do Conceito da Cinematic que cada um vêm fazendo desde o começo desse term. No meu caso a minha Cinematic foi baseada em uma idéia para uma abertura do meu jogo de tabuleiro, caso um dia ele se tornasse um jogo digital.
Programming 1
Nós tivemos dois últimos assignments. Um em que deveríamos criar um Pet Sim Game em que o jogador deveria interagir com ele, podendo usar apenas duas ações por “dia” e revelando seus status sempre ao fim desse “dia”. E, finalmente, um projeto final em grupo em que deveríamos fazer qualquer Text Based Game utilizando a linguagem de programação C#.
Level Design Theory
Nós criamos o Documento Detalhado de Level Design, baseando-se no level que estamos trabalhando desde o começo desse term. Meu level eu decidi me focar em cima do jogo final que apresentei na matéria de Pré-Produção do curso. Eu criei um level e explorei toda parte da Documentação de Level Design, com o player’s path, triggers, inimigos, Asset Summary, Análise de Riscos Potenciais etc. Eu gostei muito de fazer esse documento.
Pre-Production Techniques
Nós tivemos a última apresentação de um conceito de jogo que criamos em grupo. A apresentação foi feita em powerpoint.
Visual Design Principles
Nós fizemos a animação de uma Life Bar Dinâmica para Games. E, por fim, a capa de algum jogo que escolhêssemos, junto com um estudo visual de Mood Board, para ajudar na criação final da capa.
BOOOOM! E esse foi o final do Term 1. Lembrando que o grande projeto desse term foi o jogo de tabuleiro. Enquanto o grande projeto do Term 2 é o Flash Game.
Term 02 – Overview
“O segundo term se constrói na fundação da teoria dos games e também introduz mecânica de games dentro das ferramentas do designer. O term também se foca em ensinar o trabalho eficiente em equipe e especializa-se nas áreas de game design como level design, game arte, análise crítica e codificação em Flash. Essa linguagem de programação permite aos designers criar seus próprios mini-games.”
- Game Theory – Digital
- Game Mechanics
- Team Management
- Level Design 1
- Flash
- Game Audio
- Game Art
- Critical Analysis
Como eu disse acima, o foco principal dess term é o Flash Game. Mas para mim que adoro Level Design eu estou me focando bastante também nos assignments que envolvem a matéria e nos mapas que estamos criando atualmente na UDK.
Para o Flash Game os times foram praticamente “randômicos e sorteados”. Meu time é composto por Ryan, Gustavo, Siddharth e eu. Nosso projeto se chama Jack e estamos como uma “parceria” com o projeto Compendium da VFS. Compendium é gerenciado pelo curso Entertainment Business Management da VFS. Compendium é um grupo de trabalhos com colaboração através de setores da indústria, pelos profissionais de entretenimento do futuro.
Mas detalhes sobre as matérias e os novos assignments em específicos, eu estarei postando nos próximos posts. Vou tentar criar postagens em individuais das matérias que eu mais gosto, explicando tudo que estamos aprendendo até agora. Se quiserem algum detalhe em especial, comentem aí embaixo e eu respondo. Valeu!
nice write up !
that gives some nice insights on what to come up next for our class :D.
Really like the LDD! It looks very good! One can see that you felt in love with Level Design! 😀
keep on rocking !!!
Hey ya, thanks for the comment. (Again! haha). I really enjoy the level design classes/assignments. That one that I posted there is a very simple part of the whole document, but it was cool to do. 😀 I will show you later the document. Cyaa!
Great summary, I should just join alex’s program and follow your blog… Life will be so much easier 😛
Everybody should follow my blog. >P Hahaha. Thank you again for the comment. 😉