Progress Report

After deciding that it is a game about a student trying to escape college that I would most like to produce, I've started experimenting with the idea on Game Maker. Firstly, I've had to try and find different sprites that are applicable for my ideal character. After I found the sprite I liked the most, I had to edit the separate frames together so that they would animate. Had I not done this process, then my character would be static throughout the entire game. After animating the frames together, which was in itself a long, difficult process, I had to code the game so that the character would travel at the right speed. This again, was quite time consuming, but in many ways, was the hardest part of the production of the game. This means that as I've got this part of the game out of the way, that hopefully the rest of the game will run quite smoothly and I wont stumble across anything else that is as much of a struggle to make, than what the character was.

Progress Report

Since downloading the program Game Maker, I've used its tutorials to familiarize myself with its features and functions. After learning most of its tools, I felt I was at the stage where I was ready to produce my own game. To help me decide on the game that I would produce, I downloaded different packs from YoYo Games that contained sprites and backgrounds, and then used them as an insight into the different objects I could use, and would most like using. I found a sprite of an explorer/archeologist type character, and this gave me the idea of making an RPG game where the player takes up the role as an adventurer trying to search for an ancient relic. However, after considering the audience that my product, and the show itself, is targeting, I thought making a game about someone like a student would be better, because my target audience is primarily made up of college pupils; therefore they could connect with my product more. After drafting different stories and narratives that my game could follow, I thought a fun game would be about a student trying to escape college, but comes across different obstacles on the way; such as teachers for example!

Minutes Of Group Marketing Meeting

Today, the rest of the group and I used one of our lessons to discuss the marketing aspect of this unit. Before thinking of the ways in which we would advertise our show, we all discussed what the name of our show, and the logo of our show, could be.

First of all, we all acknowledged that it would be difficult to come up with a name too specific because all of our ideas wouldn't fit under the same title. Because of this, we all decided on choosing a name that is more general. The ideas that we were torn between were Collective and Connect. Conclusively we decided on choosing Collective because although the ideas our media group have come up with do relate to the idea of 'connecting' to their audience, the performing arts aren't doing anything that could really relate to this. So we all decided on Collective because all of our individual ideas are different, but collected together and displayed in one show.

As for the design aspect, we all decided on choosing a symbol or emblem that represents the unity of our individual ideas. We came to the conclusion that a jigsaw shape would best fit this criteria. We are now at the point of producing this logo on the college computers using photoshop and illustrator.

YoYo Games Website

Below is the link to the site YoYo games; where people can play and even create their own games. This is the site where I've downloaded the software, Game Maker.

http://www.yoyogames.com/

Game Maker

After further research into the idea of producing a game, I've come to understand that maybe creating an app is a little too ambitious considering the constraints on this unit. Instead, I've found an interesting website called YoYo Games. On this website, you can download a software called Game Maker. This software is great for beginners because it doesn't require any programming skills. The software promises to help you develop exciting computer games without spending countless hours learning how to become a programmer because with this particular software, you don't have to write one single line of code. The software is also free but you can download a pro version which has more features and will cost only 16 pounds.

Presentations

On Tuesday, some of the students and I presented our ideas to the rest of the group so we could get feedback to help us choose the most appropriate product. The students opted more towards both my animation idea and and my idea of producing a game. In the end, they came to the collective decision that I should just choose the idea I feel most motivated about. Although it was originally the animation that I was most motivated towards doing, I soon became uninspired by the idea and that's when I came up with the idea of doing a game instead. When I pitched my ideas to them, and explained that I hoped on making the game as an iPhone app, they all thought it was a good idea for a product, but is may be a bit too ambitious considering the constraints on this unit. Since the feedback, I've researched into other ways I could produce a game and have found a website called YoYo Games; where users can play, create and share games. On this website, a software called Game Maker is available to download and users can create games without the trouble of programming; because the encoding is already done for you. The only other way to program a game in the time we have to make our product, would be to hire a real programmer; because learning how to program games would take a lot of time. Therefore, I think YoYo Games and its software, Game Maker, would be the most logical choice for the program I use to produce my game.

Show Learning Outcome 2 Task 2

For the second task of learning outcome 2, the other students and I have to use a full range of technology, techniques and materials to produce something of high quality that fulfills our creative intentions and appeals to an intended audience. As I am producing a game, I thought one way in which I could try and improve upon my product by using a wider range of materials, would be by exhibiting it in an arcade machine. Being there an arcade not far from here, I thought when I had the chance I would go and inquire whether they have one they are willing to lend me for the project.

Show Learning Outcome 2 Task 1 Ideas

So far for task 1, I have managed to generate ideas that I would be interested in pursuing for this unit. Originally, I wanted to produce street art. I liked the thought of doing this idea because it is quite unique and original, and would also be perfect for a unit like this where we have to show it at the end. In terms of the show itself, the reason why I think street art would be a perfect choice is because there are many ways in which you could display a product like this. Whether it be a gallery of street art, an exhibition, or even displayed through photographs in a screening, street art opens up many opportunities in terms of the way it can be shown.
After further developing the idea of street art, I decided I wanted to get even more out of it. I tried thinking of ways I could combine other forms of creative and media products with street art, and finally concluded that a good creative idea would be an animation. However, after advancing further into the project, my idea became considerably more dominated by animation; and eventually I was talking of producing a stop motion without the intervention of street art at all.
However, most recently I have again changed my idea. Although I felt thoroughly pleased with the idea of producing an animation, I soon found myself uninspired, and felt like changing my idea completely. The third and most current idea that I've generated is to produce a game. The first step I've taken towards developing the idea of producing a game, is researching the different game platforms that are out there. The type of game that has so far interested me the most, is the hand-held platform. From the traditional Game Boy, to the more contemporary Nintendo DS, hand held games have certainly been one of the most successful of all the platforms. However, it would be anything but easy to develop a game that would be compatible with the likes of Nintendo's leading hand held console. So, when I had to develop this idea further, I tried thinking of easier ways in which I could still get a game onto the more contemporary mainstream market. This is when I instantly thought of Apple's iPhone, iPod and iPad applications, or 'apps'. These applications could arguably be seen as the next step in hand held games. Not only is it a good choice for a type of game, but it would also be a great choice for the wider context of the unit. This project is all about the show, and rather than being something like a performance, screening, installation or an exhibition, it gives me the chance to add something original to the unit because people could actually interact with this idea.

Street Art Animation

The second idea I generated was an animation. After further developing my idea for street art, I decided that I wanted to produce something more out of it. I started researching more creative multimedia products that I could combine with my idea of street art, and then I found a video on youtube that shows exactly the type of product I was looking for.

Street Art

The first idea I generated was to produce street art. I liked this idea because it is quite original and would be great for the purpose of this unit; to put on a show. The reason why it would be a good idea to produce for this unit, is because you could display it in many ways. You could show street art through an exhibition, gallery or even a screening; if you were to take pictures of your street art and display them through photographs.

This photograph shows an example of the street art that has mostly took my interest. I think 3D street art is one of the best forms of street art because being able to create the illusion of 3D with just a paint brush requires a lot of skill.

Show Learning Outcome 2 Task 1

For show's task 1 of learning outcome 2, the rest of the students and I have to generate imaginative and innovative ideas for a production which will contribute to the show. There are many ways that we could present our show. This includes performances, screenings, installations or exhibitions. However, first the rest of the students and I have to undertake pre-production which will enable us to progress further into the latter stages of the unit. We all have to produce a proposal, pitch our ideas to the rest of the group, gain feedback, specify how we will target an audience, and reflect upon this all in our blogs and process portfolios.