Nate Multimedia Blog

When thinking about what to do for Dundoc, I had to carefully think about what I wanted in the game but also to keep in mind my skills, limitations, the fact I want the game to have a challenge but still be fun. So I had to understand what was needed and make sure everything is thought out well. My thoughts on Dundoc is that I find it rather useful I can put down everything on there that will be in the game and helps give me a scope of what's needed and can be amended if anything arises. It takes a while to get used to but everything has a section and helps focus and categorise the different elements of the game and what is required. Here is a  link to Dundoc  .

For this weeks Unity tutorials, I had to watch two videos. The first video was learning how to add a dynamic HUD in unity. The video's length was just over 20 minutes and the tutorial proved useful. It showed how to look at an object and pick it up, using extra cursors and working on the game's script helps achieve this, using Microsoft Visual studios and programming it using code. The code will help implement the feature of picking up the gem in the game and the sound is triggered as this is done. In this next tutorial, I learned how to add more environment to a project and creating a weapon with animation as well. Firstly I downloaded an asset which was a fence and then added it into unity by dragging and dropping it in, changing the size and making it look good within the engine. Then a box collider is added to the fence. Then a texture is added to the fence to make it look better within the game. Now I have to add the weapon, an axe to be specific. I downloaded it and i...

Megaman style gameplay link:  Link to image The genre of game I was thinking of doing was a retro style platformer in the same vein as Mario or Mega Man. What I mean by that is the game will be a side-scroller with enemies and possibly bosses at the end, finding collectables and use power-ups. The gameplay will take a healthy mix of Mario and Mega Man. The gameplay will take the style of attacking and powerups and consumables like Mega Man with the simplistic and casual fun Mario provides. It's challenging but not annoying or frustrating to the point of forcing the player to quit.

For this weeks Unity tutorial, instead of following a video, I had to go through a step by step article on how to make a clock in unity without any extra asset packs, textures etc. This required some basic knowledge of unity and the most up to date version. Screenshot of tutorial I started by creating a clock in unity, there's an actual option to do so, then I create a cylinder to help create the face of the clock. Then to create the flat clock face, the Y component must be reduced to 0.1 and the X and Z components increased to 10. Then I created the indicators on the clock, I created 3-D cube shapes and changed the scale to (0.5, 0.2 and 1). Then I Changed the colour of the indicator to black. Then I placed the indicator onto the clock and then changed its angle on the Y-axis so it looks correct. Then copy and paste more indicators, changing each angle to suit the position of each hour until there is 12. To create the clock arms, I had to create a 3-D object, which was a...

Image source For this blog, I had to read up on 2 articles about feedback. They were informative and insightful and are a good read. I would recommend them as they are helpful and the information they provide will be useful for future use, especially in college work etc. The first article I read through was,  Five Reasons To Stop Saying "Good Job" . The article lists 5 detailed points in no particular order, about why you should stop saying "good job" and in the long run actually give detailed and well thought out critiques. The five points are: 1: Manipulating Children: This means saying "good job" when unnecessary and is known as "sugar-coated control". In parenting it just makes the child comply and is a short-term fix, instead of talking to them and trying to reason with them, which does apply to other situations like workspaces and schools etc 2: Creating Praise Junkies:  This is another interesting point while praising someon...

A collection of different platformers I took inspiration from. I have decided on a game idea from the many I thought up of in last weeks blog post and the idea I have chosen is. A classic platformer, while yes some might say its overdone, I love these kinds of fun and easy to pick up and play games, they are simplistic but charming and fun. There will be 3 mechanics that I have thought about implementing into the game. The game will have a simple story, and charming yet again simple graphics and art style. The key word for this game is simple as I want to make it easy to pick up and play but also be fun and not a chore to play either. The story is about a lone wanderer who has to travel through and discover many places, along his way he has to traverse dangerous perils and collect some artefacts and defeat a villain who, if not stopped could be dangerous. 1. The health bar and a checkpoint system:  The first and most obvious mechanic in games will be the player's health ...

For this first tutorial, Its all about improving graphics, simple objects like walls, water and sounds in unity. Firstly we add a sounds effect to unity then we do some coding. This helps with the sound effect just added.  After that we work on implementing the sound when the player touches the object, it makes a ding sound. Then we work on creating a brick wall to add more to the world and add textures to the world to make it look better and more natural.   In the second tutorial, we learn about implementing UI into the game (user interface) and a cursor into the game, a common part of UI when dealing with games that have a first-person perspective. And we also go through Raycast aswell. We start creating the cursor by going into the game object tab and then UI and then raw image, it creates a canvas amongst other things in the hierarchy. Then the raw image is in the centre of the screen when we play the game, so we need to size it down to something more manageable to b...

For this blog post, I had to read some articles about different formal elements of games and the design tools In this article  here , after reading all 7 pages. I learned about how games build off existing ones and strive to improve upon past games. Design tasks determine pacing and player goals. The gaming industry makes a diverse selection of games, look for common elements and learn from mistakes. Games are built of what works already and trying to improve or one-up the previous one game in the same genre. The article then talks about Mario 64, a classic game and revolutionised 3-D games. Its open-ended offers freedom but still has clear and concise paths and isn't messy or hard to navigate. And also talks about replayability in many of the same areas the player has already been to. The game's world is odd but concise and doesn't cheat a player and gives gratification in results and journey. The article also mentions random events and the choices that can be made ...

I have thought of 4 possible ideas for games for this multimedia project. The first idea I have thought of was a 2-D platforming game in the same vein as old 8-Bit platform games. It's simple to control, fun and easy to pick up. With some enemies sprinkled throughout to help add variety. Sort of like Super Mario Bros. but with a different art style and the levels are designed differently.   The inspiration for the first Game Idea Image source The second Idea I had for the project is an endless runner that's either 2-D or 3-D.  It has some jumps and enemies to deal with but the objective is to keep running and not get stopped or killed. It can be 8-bit or highly stylised to try and separate it from other games of this nature. The third idea for the game is in the same vein as an old 80's game called contra and the endless runner idea, the point of the game is that you have to keep moving right while shooting all the enemies on the screen and there's some platf...

I have viewed two Unity tutorials, the first one was an introduction to unity, how to set up a new project, select for different options like 3-D, asset packages when setting it up. How it works, how customizable the program is, tabs can be moved around to suit the user, what different sections there are. Your project can be used for pretty much any platform. It shows how to create an object (a cube or sphere ) and what you can do with it and changing it, creating ridges and making them an asset. I didn't find this section hard, just took a bit of getting used to the terms and where everything is placed. Link to video:  Unity tutorial The next tutorial explains the graphics in unity. the tutorial starts off with adding textures to an object in the game, this video goes through making mountains and adding textures to help create the look and changing colours. Even showing how to create a shader and the effects it has. I did this tutorial a little more complex but was still inte...

I have read two rather interesting articles for this blog, they all relate to feedback and learning about it, these articles deal with negativity and self doubt.  The first one I read was,  Seven ways to crush self-doubt in creative work.  This article is rather useful and informative, as it should be. It goes through different things that people feel when it comes to self doubt and it explains how to deal with them and what they are about. For instance, it makes the point to not compare yourself to others, it creates unnecessary competition and is just an issue you'll create yourself, you will lose a sense of community with others in your field It also means you over work yourself to become "perfect". That article goes through other points like, being vulnerable to a trusted community, embracing a growth mindset as it helps you see mistakes and grow from the. Another point thats good is try and be experimental with your work and setting goals within reason and in...

So You're Going To Make A Game For The Very First Time? Note: This article was interesting, especially to someone who likes games but isn't pushed on making them. It talks about the fact that you need good programming skills and also it says to try and take inspiration from other good games and modify them and change it up. It also talks about reining your self in and trying not to be too ambitious or go too big too quickly, focus on functionality over appearance, which is important. Take time to test it and see if it works or is fun and then improve it and take time to do so. Pulling the Plug: In Defense of Non-Digital Teaching and Learning Note:  The article above is a rather interesting one indeed.  Gaming requires a lot of high technology tools and programs but also a lot of knowledge on them too. The article tries to make the case that games should take inspiration from non-electronic games. The article poses a fascinating concept that is well executed. When...