Reflective Summary

Over this first part of my semester I have been set certain tasks to investigate different aspects of design. The first part of my project was to gather ideas from the barbican due its shape, form and architecture. When I first went to the barbican I didn’t find the place very appealing for inspiration, but it was a good start for my drawing skills for combining shapes. This has had an impact on my drawing skills for observation, patterns and shapes as well proportioning the design which is something I need to improve on. The second part of my project has had a good impact on my 3D design skills. The final outcome of my idea was to create a 3D model asset and by using primary research to develop my idea is an aspect of good design; ‘’10 principles of good design’’ -Quote by Dieter Rams who talks about each key principle about a good design…

• Innovation
• What makes a product useful
• Aesthetic’s
• Making a product understandable, etc..

Innovation can be a key method in design, it incorporates a transformation in design which can have an impact on 3D design. By following a different area of 3D design could change how I do things differently in the future. One thing I could focus on on the future is how to use new methods with more original style, which would be helpful from my 3D modelling skills.

Saul bass –  a famous artist for typography and motion graphics. Typography is something that can be crucial in 3D design, as it is arranging the style and appearance of a certain shape/form of art. Motion graphics can teach me how to manipulate something in 3D into an illusion for animation. Although my skills are very limited in animation, it is also something I can improve on for 3D design purposes.

Limitations in drawing can be problem for me, using more innovative ideas can help improve my motivation for drawing more and making my designs more broader. At the start of my project I came with the idea of making a creature using Mudbox for 3D sculpting. When it came to the thought process my drawings didn’t give me enough to work with to establish a theme for my character and his overall form which then I came out with something very cliche which hadn’t had enough input into it.

‘’Is it possible to make anything new?’’ By identifying new resources to create an idea can be helpful. When observing a structure, think about the culture around it, it’s overall form and typography. When this research is introduced to a 3D asset it will look more original.

Bibliography

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whatculture.com. 2015. 12 best video game story lines ever. [ONLINE] Available at: http://whatculture.com/gaming/12-best-video-game-storylines-ever?page=3. [Accessed 1 December 2017].

wikipedia. 2015. Avant garde. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avant-garde. [Accessed 1 December 2017].

giant bomb. 2017. Indie (concept). [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.giantbomb.com/indie/3015-2911/. [Accessed 1 December 2017].

Rolling stone. 2017. ‘cuphead’: Why 1930s Animation Continues to Grip Contemporary Culture. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/features/cuphead-and-the-surreal-influence-of-1930s-animation-on-modern-culture-w504847. [Accessed 1 December 2017].

Build Box. 2017. 10 Things Every Indie Game Developer Should Know. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.buildbox.com/10-things-indie-developers-should-do/. [Accessed 3 December 2017].

Springer Link. 2017. Human – Computer Interaction. [ONLINE] Available at: https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-0-387-39940-9_192. [Accessed 4 December 2017].

Blackboard Learn. 2017. Week 5 Human computer interaction – attached file history-hci.pptx. [ONLINE] Available at: https://blackboard.soton.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_177716_1&content_id=_3619490_1. [Accessed 5 December 2017].

Blackboard Learn. 2017. Week 6 Artificial intelligence – Attached file AITalkMin.pdf. [ONLINE] Available at: https://blackboard.soton.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_177716_1&content_id=_3619494_1. [Accessed 5 December 2017].

Legal zoom. 2017. The disadvantages of copyright. [ONLINE] Available at: http://info.legalzoom.com/disadvantages-copyrights-23119.html. [Accessed 6 December 2017].

Blackboard Learn. 2017. Week 9 Own – attached file own_slickdeck 2017.pdf. [ONLINE] Available at: https://blackboard.soton.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_177716_1&content_id=_3619496_1. [Accessed 6 December 2017].

Week 9 – Own

What do you see as the positives and negatives around copyright?

‘‘Culture builds on the past’’. A quote by Lawrence Lessig which means a majority of things that we see nowadays has been inspired by the past. In certain cases it is a positive aspect of copyright. ‘’Fair use’’ includes using certain a work for certain purposes like criticism, commentary, reporting and teaching for a certain subject matter.  

Negative aspects of copyright would be when the author of the work is seeking public attention for his/her work but it is being obstructed due to copyright protection which will prevent the work from being sold as quickly as possible due to other individuals trying to perform, reproduce or be displayed as their own.

Is it possible to make anything new?

Most creative industries try to come up with new ideas everyday without attempting plagiarism. A new idea can be developed by identifying new resources for research purposes. For example making an idea original, innovative and less mainstream. Research methods could involve using more primary based research which could be observing parts of our culture and taking less inspiration from ideas that have already produced.

Week 6 – Artificial Intelligence

Some definitions state that AI is when a system thinks/acts like a human and other definitions state that it is when a system thinks/acts rationally. Why do you suppose AI developers wish to hold up human intelligence as a standard rather than pure logic?

The Turing test was devised by Alan Turing and was an experiment based the capability of a machine being able to understand intelligence. This experiment involves two different parties, both using a keyboard and a screen, without knowing if the other party is a machine. Based on a certain subject; each party will test each other to see which is a machine. If the judges are fooled by the other party, then the computer has passed the test and has achieved true consciousness. This test states that the machine can act and think like a human.  

A lot of people are scared by the prospective of AI. What do you think would be the ramifications of us achieving true “strong” AI?

The AI could think rationally without a proper justified reason which is why it not safe to introduce too much information to a computer. The other ramification of a ‘’strong’’ AI is its capability of gaining greater consciousness to its surroundings.

Introducing an AI to a neural network will train the computer to do certain tasks. What happens when the AI acts above those tasks?. A neural network is the same way biological neurons work inside a human brain. A neural network can be used for predicting things. If the AI was to think rationally by its own predictions, it could have consequences, which is why human intelligence should be at a certain standard.

Week 5 – Human Computer Interaction

Select one example to outline the key concepts of human – computer interaction. Reflect upon the role of the ‘human’ , the ‘computer’ and the ‘interaction’.

Human – computer interaction can be used to educate a human’s mind for a design aspect. One aspect would be ‘usability’ so that the person using the computer can be satisfied on how to use the computer. Making sure that the computer technology is easy to use is key, when it comes to interaction. This technology can be used for may other aspects as well, such as in – car navigation systems, mobile phones, household appliances, etc. The person using these computer based devices, should be able understand how to use them, how they work and most importantly how effective they are.

Discuss the relationship between games design and human – computer interaction

When it comes to games design, human – computer interaction is used a lot. For instance, a CGI model based from a human’s shape and figure is a way that computer interaction and link to a games design aspect. When playing a game the human can interact through VR (virtual reality) or a hand held controller.

A person can also interact with the use of, hearing and visuals. The hearing can consist of sound waves, vibrations and electric impulses. The visuals are more to with colour, patterns and font aspects.

Week 4 – The History of Indie

Explain and showcase examples of key concepts of the indie game concept?

The key concepts of an indie game is the unique advantages it provides, by having more creative control and can produce new methods or non mainstream games, compared to the publisher back industry. As a result of this, indie games are able to produce more innovation and step over the normal boundary of the video game industry.

When making an indie game, the industry can be quite competitive. It is key to make sure that your game idea is original and innovative, something that the games industry has never made before. An example of this would be a that demonstrates the term ‘avant garde’.

Discuss an application/ example of the indie game concept outside of what we consider the traditional video games industry?

One example of this would be a game called Cuphead, a run and gun indie video game. Heavily inspired by the rubber hose animation which was the first animation style brought into the animation industry and based on cartoons of the 1930’s, it follows a different concept of animation compared to a normal mainstream game. The developers started by drawing the characters by hand and then using water colours for the background which is different  compared to more traditional techniques that the industry uses.

Week 3 – Skill stamina and luck

Select one example to outline the key concepts of the interactive narrative genre?

One example would be an e-learning (Electronic educational learning) strategy. As the interactive narrative is popular in the gaming world, it can be used as a digital learning experience that uses storytelling to structure learning. The purpose of this is to place the learner in a digital environment, so that the learner can decide on the outcome of the story.   

Does the interactive narrative still have a role to play in video games today. Give exemplary examples?

An interactive story can always be told through a game because they have vast amounts of technological aspects in them, such as a game engine which shows interaction between two characters in a game. A story can be told through sound of one character talking to another and describing a journey. An example of this would be The Walking Dead, made by Telltale games which is a story driven game based on its narrative rather than gameplay and other aspects.

Another example would be The Last of Us, which is a shooter game which features a fair amount of zombie killing, but its main focus is the tender bond between both the protagonists of the game.

Week 2 – Design and Games 101

What does the term avant garde mean?

The term avant garde is expressed as introducing unusual, yet new ideas to the music, art and other industries. It pushes the boundaries of what is accepted which promotes what more can be expected from an idea. The first recorded use of ‘avant garde’ was through ‘The artist, the scientist and the industrialist’ pointing out that the power of art is the most immediate and fastest way to reform social, political and economic standards.

The idea of avant garde refers usually to artists, writers, composers and thinkers whose work is disagreed with compared to mainstream cultural values and expresses an edge to society.

Is it truly possible to be ‘avant garde’? And if so provide game examples.

Dumpy: going elephants is VR game (virtual reality) which is a game that holds realistic a interaction with reality rather than using a controller to interact with the environment the character is in. This pushes the boundaries from what is expected from a simple video game.

Limbo is a 2D puzzle – platform game which has a very dark and dystopian theme to it, as a young boy makes his through a dark forest trying to find his missing sister. The art style is very dull yet very moving. Most of the characters and assets in the game don’t have much detail and are just silhouettes yet the figures of the characters in it can look quite disturbing. The game expresses a dark art style which allows other games to communicate on another level.