Final Challenge

This week we’ve been asked to look towards the future, the next module and the final project.

First, here is what I have put on the Spark Forum about what I’ve done well, what I’ve learned, what I should do differently and what still puzzles me. I think there are some good reflections in here.

What did you do well?

I got through both of the rapid ideations and produced a game for each which I was reasonably happy with, especially my second game. I managed my work, course and life well. After my first rapid ideation where I was a bit more random with when I’d do Uni work, I’d do 2 hours of Uni work after work and have one of the weekend days off completely to recharge which made a big difference so organisation was better by the end.

What did you learn?

I learned more about organisation such as using a Kanban board which I used for both of my rapid ideations. I learned a bit more of how Unity works and improved my coding skills. I also learned from researching into gaming companies I’m interested in working for, Unreal would be a better engine to learn. I am also going to learn how to make my own assets as I don’t think the visuals for my games are very good, just what I could find online so it didn’t look like it all matched. 

What should you do differently in the next module?

I’d like to get on top of the weeks challenges straight away rather than leaving them until later. I am going to use github in future projects to have a backup. Try and have a bit more confidence in my work.

What still puzzles you?

To be honest, the reflective writing of my journal still puzzles me. I don’t know if my reflective writing is good or not. I decribe a lot but I think it’s necessary to setup my reflections so not sure if I have to cut back on this. 

For the next module, my main focus is going to be using and learning the Unreal engine and C++. Based on the research from my last post, a lot of the companies near me that I’d like to work for use Unreal engine so I want to be able to become good at using it. For starters I need to carry on using project management techniques such as a Kanban board and organise my time appropriately, using 2 hours after work has worked quite well. I had the idea to make a roguelike type game, I’m interesting in procedural generation and to see how it works. Some of my favourite games are roguelike’s such as The Binding of Isaac and Spelunky. If I make something I would enjoy playing, I think this will help me motivate me to carry on and help me learn. Lucardie’s (2014) research shows that there is a link between having fun and learning.

For my final project, I’m not sure what I want to do. I know I want to produce something of great quality that I can put on my portfolio and impress potential employers. As my skills improve throughout the course perhaps I’ll have a better idea of what I’m capable of over the time period of 2 modules. The time did feel like it went very quickly for this module and with only 3 modules this length between me and the final project it is quite worrying. It’s easy to put off but I need to put some thought into this so I’m prepared. Honestly, I’d like to make a full publishable game. I don’t particularly like mobile games so I’m not going to make something like that, I’d make a game you can play on the computer, there are many great Indie games on PC and seems to be the biggest platform due to Steam. I can also upload via itch.io which I have done with some games I’ve worked on in the past. I want to focus on learning Unreal engine, improving upon my C++ skills and creating fun gameplay elements as that is what I’ve enjoyed the most so far but obviously I’ll have to do a bit of everything if I’m working on my own. What I am writing does seem a bit vague right now so I need to put some thought into this going forward. Hopefully I’ll have a good idea by the end of the next module. I need to research what makes a game fun in order to understand how to make the games I create fun. Some of the categories of fun are “Concentration, challenge, player skills, control, clear goals, feedback, immersion, and social interaction.” (Jegers, 2009). This shows that there is a lot to consider so it would be a good idea to create a smart goal for further research throughout the course.

I’ve created a smart goal going forward. It will help my development and it’ll especially useful during the quiet times before the next module.

• Specific: I want to gain skills in Unreal and C++ to be good enough to start my career as a gameplay programmer for a company I’m interested in working for such as Dambuster Studios.
• Measurable: I will practice for at least 5 hours a week.
• Achievable: This can be achieved if I do this straight after work as it seems to be my most productive time. I can do 1 hour a day after work on weekdays which also gives me the weekend if I want to spend extra time on it.
• Relevant: After researching different companies I want to work for, I found this is relevant to start my career in the gaming industry as this is the software they use.
• Time bound: I will do this throughout the entire masters course.

I’ve also created a smart goal to research what makes games fun in order to be better at creating fun and engaging games.

• Specific: I want to research what makes games fun to produce better games
• Measurable: I will read relevant articles and books for 5 hours a week
• Achievable: Similar to the other goal, I can do this for 1 hour after work, before or after I have practiced with Unreal engine as part of the other smart goal
• Relevant: This will help me improve the games I make and create a better portfolio for when I’ve finished the course
• Time bound: I will do this throughout the entire masters course

References

Jegers, K., 2009. Elaborating eight elements of fun. Computers in Entertainment, 7(2), pp.1-22.

Lucardie, D., 2014. The Impact of Fun and Enjoyment on Adult’s Learning. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 142, pp.439-446.