Dr. Mike Reddy - "Play in Progress"

WhyWHY you do something is WHY you succeed.

mreddy01 — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:48:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Exams v Coursework

mreddy01 — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:24:00 GMT

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...(read more)

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

mreddy01 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:40:00 GMT

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"...(read more)

Let's make sure we are worth £23K

mreddy01 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:15:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Lesson 8 (LATE) - A game for Griefers

mreddy01 — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:56:00 GMT

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...(read more)

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

mreddy01 — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:10:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Working Backwards - Lesson 11 Game Design Brainstorm

mreddy01 — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:44:00 GMT

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)...(read more)

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

mreddy01 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:27:00 GMT

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...(read more)

EquiSCRIBBLEum - Scribblenauts evil twin (Lesson 6 homeplay)

mreddy01 — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:04:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Eagle Alight - A Board Game inspired by Lunar Lander

mreddy01 — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:58:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Lesson 3 homeplay - Design a World War One Game

mreddy01 — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:11:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Second homework for GDCU course - Something for Nothing!

mreddy01 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:44:00 GMT

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...(read more)

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

mreddy01 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:31:00 GMT

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...(read more)

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

mreddy01 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:50:00 GMT

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...(read more)

Review of Hotel Dusk

mreddy01 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:44:00 GMT

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...(read more)