The Research and Communication Skills module was not something I was looking forward to, but now that it’s done I think that it has helped me to improve some of my skills and investigate interesting topics that I would otherwise be less informed about.

I was surprised that each week I was able to sit through a two hour lecture in the morning and be engaged with it the whole time. This is down to the great choice of varied topics that were well presented in depth by the lecturers.

I can definitely see progress in my work from week one  in that I researched the topics more thoroughly and didn’t just use information that I already knew. My favourite week was on the topic of Artificial Intelligence because I probably new the least about it initially so I learnt a lot and feel that was my strongest blog post. It was also the first week that I properly referenced my work since I was unaware on how to do this until that point; it would have been better if we were shown that this was something we should be doing from the beginning. That leads on to the only real issue I had with this module: I think it would have been useful to get some guidance on what is to be expected from our writing, especially since I am not very well informed when it comes to writing essays. If I knew some tips for researching, referencing and writing from the beginning it would have been a lot smoother.

Going forward into studio work, I think the knowledge and skills that I’ve learnt through this module will certainly allow me to create work that is more informed and relevant. I now have a much better understanding on ways to develop and improve anything that I make and different ways that I can do this.

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

The copyright law, as it stands today, doesn’t quite work as well as it should; while it is great in some ways, it falls flat in others.

“The primary purpose of copyright law is to protect the creators of new works from unauthorized duplication.” (Hamel, N/A)

In theory the copyright law does work this way, as soon as you create a unique, physical product, you own the rights to it and no one else can duplicate it in anyway without your permission. This takes out the hassle of trying to register your product with proof of it being your idea straight away and, if no one challenges you or tries to copy your work, you need not worry about anything else. This is an excellent way to incentivise creativity however, there are also some deterrents towards being creative. Since the copyright law can be so strict and unforgiving, there is almost no chance of being able to use another product as a base for inspiration without being flagged.

Money is an important aspect of copyrights. If someone else does happen to copy your work and you want to challenge them to a lawsuit, you are required to pay a fee to officially register your product; this can put off smaller businesses who then lose out on their ideas. It also costs a lot of time to be able to get access to use someone else’s work or to prove that work belongs to you – again favouring big companies with more time and money.

– Is it possible to make anything new?

“I do believe that it’s still possible to create unique things in the contemporary world, and the usage of the same symbols by different people doesn’t mean ‘stealing,’ but an attempt to use the universal language in one’s own way.” (Glynska, 2016)

This quote stood out to be because it defines how we work as humans; we want to be individual, but we conform because it is easier to relate. This way of life means that we set trends as groups that slowly adapt into other trends. This is very apparent in the art world with clearly defined eras of art throughout time. What I think this all means is that certain parts of the things we create must be familiar. Writing a book in an existing language isn’t considered unoriginal because the reader needs to be able to understand it; let’s say that ninety percent of the ideas behind the story will already exist but it’s what the author does with the remaining ten percent that makes it a unique book. It’s the same with video games, developers must make games that contain enough familiarities from other games so that players know what is going on, but also include enough original ideas to make the game different.

Take the zombie apocalypse genre for example. This genre has been played out a lot over the last few years due to its initial popularity but still some titles stand out (such as The Last of Us) because they’ve taken this idea and added their own twist.

References

Glynska, M., 2016. Huffington Post. [Online]
Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/marianna-glynska/is-it-possible-to-stay-un_b_13501556.html
[Accessed 3 December 2017].

Hamel, G., N/A. Chron. [Online]
Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-copyright-laws-52554.html
[Accessed 3 December 2017].

A) Behavioural modelling is an important part of NPC development for games. Should emotive modelling be part of that development?

As video games are right now, I don’t think that emotive modelling needs to be a part of development but as technology progresses I think new types of genres will emerge that properly utilise these types of mechanics. (Stuart, 2016)

Open world RPG’s strive to create an immersive and believable world and for the most part they can achieve this, however NPC’s have never quite been believable enough. One of the restraints is memory; having one character that can remember player actions and react in meaningful ways isn’t too bad, but it becomes far too overwhelming when there’s a whole world full of these characters. Games, in the past, have found workarounds to try and mimic some sort of emotive behaviour.

For example, the Nemesis System in the Middle Earth series lets previously defeated enemies come back for revenge having remembered and adapted to how you defeated them before. This mechanic gives the illusion that each individual enemy that you kill has its own ‘AI’ but in fact there is just a general algorithm to generate these adaptions.

Shadow of Modor

‘Think of the Nemesis System as your opponent’s turn in a board game. On your turn, you kill a bunch of the captains in an area’s orc army ranks. Your turn ends when you die (or when you choose to advance time at a fast travel location). On your “opponent’s” turn, new orcs are promoted into those vacated positions and others advance up the hierarchy. These promoted orcs become captains.’ (Parkin, 2017)

B) Consider your favourite video game. If it contains AI controlled agents how individualistic are they and their behaviours, and, how might you set about improving them?

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been one of the most influential open world RPG’s of recent times; it is well known for its immersive lore and engaging story lines but also its strange and often quite hilarious character interactions.

The world of Skyrim is home to an impress number of interesting characters with unique motivations, so it would be nearly impossible for Bethesda make sure each NPC behaves like the player would expect an actual human to behave all the time. Most emotions portrayed by the NPC’s are either scripted or are extremely polarising. One minute a guard could be congratulating for saving the village from a dragon, the next they could be trying to arrest you for killing a chicken. It all comes down to the lack of individual NPC memory; if a villager remembered you completing a long quest for them, they might not get as mad if you steal a cabbage from their market stand. (Anon., 2015) Not many interactions have lasting value in the game, it usually comes down to recent events.

References

Anon., 2015. Reddit. [Online]
Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrim/comments/3br2rl/what_are_your_best_stories_of_ai_incompetence/
[Accessed 29 November 2017].

Parkin, J., 2017. Polygon. [Online]
Available at: https://www.polygon.com/middle-earth-shadow-of-war-guide/2017/10/9/16439610/the-nemesis-system-and-you
[Accessed 29 November 2017].

Stuart, K., 2016. The Guardian. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/12/video-game-characters-emotional-ai-developers
[Accessed 29 November 2017].

A) select one game of your interest and explain why does it have a good/bad game UI

User interfaces can make or break games; without a simple, streamlined display the immersion of the player in the game can be ruined. Fortunately for Hearthstone players, the interface in this game is slick, stylish and compliments how the game is played.

After watching a GDC talk about the development of Hearthstone’s user interface, I learnt that it is an aspect of the game that the designers took very seriously. It took multiple iterations and redesigns for them to decide on a strong theme that balanced charm and simplicity. The idea of physicality is what drives this design; having grown up collecting cards as children, the designers wanted to translate that sense of magic into how the game should feel when being played and when opening card packs. They settled on a design that made the game look like it was expertly hand-crafted and carried value – an incentive for players to purchase and collect cards. The most interesting part of this design for me is how integral it is to the game; the mechanics and user interface influence each other – rather than like some games where the UI is an afterthought.

Hearthstone

Overall, I would say Hearthstone has one of the most elegant and meaningful user interfaces in all of gaming; each texture, sound and animation has been specifically selected to direct players and best create the illusion of a physical experience.

B) discuss how technology augments human abilities. Reflect upon the implications of the future of HCI.

Voice commands are becoming a more popular way to interact with computers at home and on the go. Software such as Siri has been a staple on Apple products for a while now, with equivalents on competing mobile devices appearing shortly after, but the introduction of voice activated home devices is a relatively new feature.

The dream of a ‘smart’ home is still yet to be a reality for most people but products such as the Amazon Echo and Google Home are pushing that dream. Being able to control home appliances and general household duties with voice commands is slowly being implemented; at least 8% of US households are estimated to have an Amazon Echo according to The Guardian. This number is expected to grow, thus more companies are going to jump into the smart home device market and push the smart home dream.

Google Home

What this means for the future is that this type of technology is going to improve year by year until we can seamlessly control every aspect of our homes with a short sentence. Because of this, products may be stripped back due to the lack of a need to use buttons; after all, humans are able to talk much quicker than they are able to type or navigate menus. The combination of AR and VR technology mixed with voice commands might be the way forward for the innovation of smart devices.

Sources:

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/289637/6_examples_of_UI_design_that_every_game_developer_should_study.php

https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1022036/Hearthstone-How-to-Create-an

https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/hearthstone/images/e/e4/Hearthstone_UI_Guide.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130324192626

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/22/home-battleground-amazon-google-voice-technology

A) Choose one of the indie designers / developers and outline why there work and approach is of interest to you.

Minecraft, the second bestselling game of all time, started life as a simple indie game being developed by one man. Over the last seven years the game has continued to grow in features and popularity, but I believe part of its success was down to the way it was developed and shared in the community during the earlier stages of development.

I have been playing Minecraft and following its development process for many years now and I was always interested in how open the developers were. For the most part, they stuck to a cycle in which each week they would release a snapshot of the upcoming update that would feature some of the new things they had been working on. By doing this it gave players an extremely steady and frequent stream of new content to try out on a regular basis; complimenting the creative and explorative nature of Minecraft. So of course, more content means players stick around and eventually the player base just keeps growing and growing. As well as this, by using a weekly release format, Mojang were be able to take in feedback from the community then adapt and cater to the community’s desires. As a devoted player I always looked forward to what was going to be added to Minecraft each week and, through means such as YouTube and social media, was able to keep track of each snapshot. This method of development would not work for most games, but I think for Minecraft it was vital in contributing to its long-term success.

Minecraft

B)  What do you think could be the most exciting indie projects that are in development

Earlier this year during E3, I sat through a rather dull and generic Microsoft press conference livestream only to be absolutely blown away by a minute-long trailer for an indie game. While the Xbox team were busy shouting “4K” at the world, I was left in awe at one of the most visually unique and beautiful games I had ever seen. This game is called ‘The Last Night’ and it is currently in development for a 2018 release by Odd Tales. The Last Night excites me for many reasons, the first being that it is pixel art – excellently hand drawn, highly detailed pixel art. The first glimpse of this game tells you how much effort is going into it and how passionate the artists and designers are. However, the quality of the art style doesn’t stop there; the 2D sprites of the world are generated in a 3D environment to emphasise depth and make use of incredible lighting and shaders. Another aspect that caught my eye was the cyberpunk setting; I love this sub-genre of science fiction, but it has been played out a few times. I am intrigued to see what direction Odd Tales can take this narrative in to make it unique and engaging. At the end of the press conference, The Last Night was only game to make me truly consider buying an Xbox One – it was an extremely convincing argument.

The Last Night

Sources:

https://www.polygon.com/2017/2/27/14755644/minecraft-sales-122m-copies

The Last Night on Xbox One – 4K Trailer

The Last Night: The Journey to One of the Most Beautiful Games of E3 – IGN First

https://minecraft.net/en-us/?ref=m

http://oddtales.net/

Interactive narratives are a form of story that give the user control over choices that influence the direction of the narrative. Essentially it is a step up from linear story-telling mediums, such as books and film, that allows for a more engaging and personal experience. Whereas books have you read about a characters life, interactive narratives let you escape your own life by putting you in the driving seat of another. There are limitations in that the multiple paths are  predetermined; but the concept of choice is what is so unique. Telltale is an example of a video game company that follows the ideas of interactive narratives. The games they create let the user make meaningful decisions in their stories – either through dialogue choices or actions. One of the most appealing parts of their games recently is how they have taken existing franchises and let you take control of the protagonists. The fact that interactive narratives let you not only experience unique and expansive worlds but also influence them is why I think it is such an interesting medium that with continue to evolve.

Telltales The Walking Dead

Early forms of this medium provided the building blocks for what video games have become today. The idea of living a fantasy life full of questing is still being developed in different ways but it all started with interactive narratives such as Dungeons and Dragons. Even though the way in which we engage with interactive narratives has vastly changed, the key principals have stayed the same. Comparing D&D to a game like Skyrim will quickly reveal similarities; the player begins a quest by creating their character and follows a loose path that they are encouraged to manipulate, all the while gathering resources and acquiring skills.

Quantic Dream have developed movie-like games with deep narratives. Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain could have been made into a book or a film but having them be interactive adds more layers of depth and potential. Many other video games take aspects of the interactive narrative medium to enhance stories and gameplay; and with the technology of VR available, soon enough we will be able to fully live another life.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_(video_game)

Click to access aimag.pdf

http://dnd.wizards.com/dungeons-and-dragons/what-dd/history/history-forty-years-adventure

> Visualise Dieter Rams 10 Principles of Good Design.

Dieter Rams is a renowned and revolutionary German industrial designer who created products for the likes of Braun and Vitsœ. He followed many beliefs when it came to designing products as a response to the concerning state of the world around him. He described the world as:

“An impenetrable confusion of forms, colours and noises.”

Thus, he developed his own ten principals for which he felt constituted good design. This is my interpretation of how some of these principals apply today.

-Innovation

As time goes by and technology advances, I believe it is increasingly challenging to be truly innovative. Rather, we as designers tend to take existing concepts and push them further to create the illusion of innovation. For example; the iPhone was once a ground breaking and innovative piece of unmatched technology but is now at a stage of incremental additions each generation.

-Aestheticism

Aesthetics are purely subjective; something that was considered aesthetically pleasing a decade ago might not be any more or might be by different people. Unfortunately for designers, the way something looks is incredibly important. Trying to shape products that the majority of people find attractive is a challenge due to the varying, subjective nature. Despite of this, there are always general trends and themes that can be applied to each generation and taken advantage of by designers.

-Honesty

It can be hard to tell how honest companies are being when they slap a price tag on their products and send them off – it is probably best not to think too much about this. Dieter Rams believes for a product to be ‘good’ it must be honest. Going back to Apple and their iPhone, it is estimated to cost $247.51 to manufacture each iPhone 8 unit yet they are marketed at $699. I wouldn’t say a difference of $451.49 per unit is truly honest but that all depends on how much you value the quality and style of the product.

Dieter Rams

> Do you feel that these ideas are relevant within Games Design today?

I feel that the ideas of Dieter Rams are from the perspective of someone with passion and good intentions for their industry and the target market. Larger, purely profit based companies tend to skip over some of these principals to maximise profits. In terms of the games design industry, big triple-A companies such as EA and Ubisoft have a reputation for producing formulaic games about similar, reused franchises. For instance, looking at a franchise such as FIFA would show how little innovation is applied to each iteration. The game compromises on some of Rams’ principals; lacking lifespan, simplicity and honesty. Despite this, FIFA has extraordinary sales figure. According to Video Game Sales Wiki, FIFA is the 11th bestselling video game franchise ever.

On the flip side of the gaming industry is the indie games. These games are much more personal and artistic, focusing on the experience of play rather than the profit of sales. I would say that Journey (developed by thatgamecompany) follows much closer to these principals. It’s incredibly simple yet beautifully immersive and emotional; it pushes how games can deliver compelling narrative through only sound and visuals. Keza MacDonald from The Guardian said: “Journey’s visual and sound design sets new standards for interactive entertainment.” Surely this constitutes good design.

Overall, I wouldn’t say that Dieter Rams’ ten principals for good design necessarily apply to the games industry or that they should. They can be applied to some games better than others but that doesn’t correlate to the sales figures. With some slight alterations I’m sure ten principals for good games design could be created but for now we’re left in a world of repetition with the occasional outstanding piece of art.

~ A l e x

Journey

Sources:

• Journey quote from <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2012/mar/13/journey-ps3-review>
• Dieter Rams facts from <https://www.vitsoe.com/gb/about/dieter-rams>
• Dieter Rams quote from <https://www.vitsoe.com/gb/about/good-design>
• iPhone cost estimation from <http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/09/26/apples-iphone-8-heres-how-much-it-really-costs-to-build.html>
• FIFA sales stats from <http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Best_selling_game_franchises>
• Ten Principals from <https://www.vitsoe.com/gb/about/good-design>