Dr. Mike Reddy - "Play in Progress"

WhyWHY you do something is WHY you succeed.

2010-01-16T09:48:00Z

This article is quite short, but touches on possibly an obvious truth once stated that why you do something is why you succeed. Something that I feel I've taken for granted until now. am I alone, I wonder. http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/2010/01/entrepreneurs-its-not-what-you.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29 Well worth checking the TEDx video link half way down. :-)...(read more)

Exams v Coursework

2010-01-15T13:24:00Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/education/8460189.stm In this article, private schools are described as wanting to move away from modular A-Levels towards "traditional" assessment by exam at the end of two years. In HE there has been an emphasis on coursework that parallels the intake experience; in the case of degrees that I teach on, very few exams at all. I suspect that other awards in NBS might be towards the other extreme. At our recent revalidation event for the games degree,...(read more)

My morning coffee wbnetz reading today is... Why your game idea sucks!

2009-09-30T08:40:00Z

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_221/6582-Why-Your-Game-Idea-Sucks An entertaining read on The Escapist, fast becoming a personal favourite web site; not at all because they've started giving out "Achievement Badges" for viewing content!!! A close second today is a look at the history of Guitar Hero: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_221/6577-Anyone-Can-Play-Guitar...(read more)

Let's make sure we are worth £23K

2009-08-18T15:15:00Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8205539.stm details how students will be at least £23K in debt due to studying for a degree. Last year, I (and I know others) had students stating "I pay £... a year for this." before starting to dictate what and how I should teach. This was difficult to manage, and reflects the financial stress that students are under. I had one student suspend studies this week, citing the cost implications in his reason for withdrawing. This is regrettable, but understandable...(read more)

Lesson 8 (LATE) - A game for Griefers

2009-08-06T15:56:00Z

Lesson 8 of the Games Design Concepts on-line course was intended to investigate types of fun, with the homeplay challenging participants to create a game with the main mechanic being "griefing" (that is, deriving enjoyment from the act of ruining other people’s enjoyment). We had to create just the concept (no rules, etc) for a game built to appeal specifically to griefers (i.e. Bartle’s “Killer” player type). The Uneasy Edge of Edgy Uneasiness: A Tim Langden Simulator Target medium or platform...(read more)

Lesson 9 (LATE) - Put a story on a pre-existing game

2009-08-06T15:10:00Z

Lesson 9 attempted to get the idea of narrative and story into games. Ian Schreiber posed the challenge of making the game Pente into a story mode. For reference, from his blog post, here are the original rules: Players: 2 Objective: Place your stones to either create five-in-a-row, or to capture five pairs of your opponent’s pieces. Setup: Place a grid-shaped board (you can use a Pente board or a Go board, or make one of your own – try making it 19×19) on a table between the players. Choose a player...(read more)

Working Backwards - Lesson 11 Game Design Brainstorm

2009-08-06T13:44:00Z

Lesson 11 of the Game Design Concepts on-line course has asked for three game ideas. The constraints are as follows: 1) Create a board game, card game, or tile-laying game (that is, it must either have a board, cards, or tiles as physical components). 2) You may choose any theme you want, as long as it is original – do not use an existing IP (intellectual property). 3) You may not make a trivia game, or any other game that relies on large amounts of content 4) You may not use “roll-and-move” mechanics...(read more)

Driven to distraction - or How to get an XBOX Live Vision Camera working on XP

2009-07-21T13:27:00Z

Trying to get your XBox 360 Live Vision Camera working on your PC. Well, of course it SHOULD be Plug'n'Play... I have found the hack to get the XP SP3 PC in my office to finally recognise it, and you may have the same problem. If you go to the Device Manager and look under USB devices and DON'T see "Security Method 3" after "Microsoft Live Vision Camera" then it is likely that the camera will not be recognised by XP. Trying to uninstall or update will give you the message that drivers are up to date...(read more)

EquiSCRIBBLEum - Scribblenauts evil twin (Lesson 6 homeplay)

2009-07-19T15:04:00Z

This is homeplay for Lesson 6 "games as art/art as game" of the free online course "Game Design Concepts"; details available at http://gamedesignconcepts.wordpress.com/ The challenge, in brief was: "...a choice of designs, based not on experience level... but on area of interest... four options, all inspired by the “non-digital shorts” at the end of the Challenges [course text] chapter [17]: Option 1 (Creating emotions): Design a non-digital game that introduces children to the concept of grief....(read more)

Eagle Alight - A Board Game inspired by Lunar Lander

2009-07-10T14:58:00Z

In honour of my FAVOURITE Computer Game (Arcade), Lunar Lander, and the upcoming 40th anniversary of the (faked?) Apollo 11 Moon Landings, I present... Eagle Alight - A Lunar Lander inspired board game Use fuel, Fuel, FUEL to rotate and slow your craft for an "Eagle Has Landed" moment! Board: As this is effectively a simulation of gravity, two hex maps are required: One with a small playing piece for the larger wide scale view of the moon surface; the other representing the various landing sites...(read more)

Lesson 3 homeplay - Design a World War One Game

2009-07-07T09:11:00Z

The Lesson 3 homeplay is a slightly modified form of Challenge 2-5 in the Challenges text, with an optional difficulty level based on previous experience with game design: "Most war-themed games have an objective of either territorial control or capture/destroy (as described earlier). For this challenge, you’ll be pushing beyond these traditional boundaries. You should design a non-digital game that includes the following: EASY - The theme must relate to World War I . The primary objective of players...(read more)

Second homework for GDCU course - Something for Nothing!

2009-07-06T18:44:00Z

Lesson 2 homework was to read an article on Formal Abstract Design Tools (which I will come to later) and chapter 2 of Schreiber and Brathwaite, which included several end of chapter exercises (subsequently were confirmed as not being necessary, but desirable) that were the topic of some discussion on the forum, and concern over USA bias in content. This was acknowledged as something that had only come up because of the course being international in scope, with previous deliveries only be presented...(read more)

First homework for GDCU module - "I have no works & I must play"

2009-07-01T13:31:00Z

Reading for the first lesson consists of: Challenges for Game Designers , Chapter 1 (Basics). This is the course text by Ian Schreiber and Brenda Brathwaite I have no words & I must design" by Greg Costikyan. The Understanding Games series of interactive "playings". Flash games that attempt to explain some basic concepts of games in the form of a game. Being already familiar with the latter, which are great fun and available from the original source at: http://www.pixelate.de/games/understanding...(read more)

My first "homeplay" assignment - design a game in 15 minutes

2009-07-01T07:50:00Z

Ballpoint Sumo Ballpoint Sumo is my homework for the 15 minute Board Game Challenge - details at http://gamedesignconcepts.wordpress.com/ but basically, this is the brief: "Following the four steps set forth in Level 1 (summarized below), try to create a board game in only 15 minutes, using a sheet of printer paper for the board, and a sheet of notebook paper for the rules. Four Steps: Draw a Path Come up with a theme or objective. Create a set of rules to let the player move from place to place...(read more)

Review of Hotel Dusk

2009-06-30T11:44:00Z

Here, after spending my birthday money, I finally get and finish (almost in one sitting) the DS game Hotel Dusk. Quality of the audio is poor towards the end (sorry) as I did this recording with the headphone mic in the car. A mistake I won't be making again....(read more)