Advanced Play Design - Week 12 - Folio 2

Link to Folio

Advanced Play Design
Folio 2
by
Eliot Zambrano Barrera
s3685171

Abstract
This Folio compiles the responses produced regarding the following topics: Observation, Tinkering, Materiality, Place, Objects, Character, Events, Time, Force and Stillness. It discusses how each of them is related to play, and what the response itself seeks to accomplish. 

Rationale
The following series of small projects, describe game ideas that attempt to generate different concepts seen in class, and the way they relate to my Studio Practice. This following approach is taken after iterating through an approach towards “Emotions”, and attempts to generate a conversation with the users, through experiences that could be visualised in the form of a character. I reflect upon each topic, and provide references to how they were constructed and their specific intentions. Finally discussing the way these ideas were translated into my Studio Project, in order to design multiple experiences, based upon these principles. Which were an interesting approach to create new ideas and playful outcomes.
 

Week 1 - Play and Observation 

Method:
Video Editing

Context:
I wanted to create a documentary of things as seen through my eyes, I then recalled the game A Way To Go, by Vincent Morrisette 
http://a-way-to-go.com/

It was a very enriching and abstract experience, which triggered many different responses, depending on your interaction with the surroundings. I wanted to create something that sparked a similar level of mystery.

Response
Using observation to produce a self-portrait, I decided to make a footage of mobile captures I’ve taken during my stay in Australia, and some of the places I saw in airports. Reminiscing these moments, made me feel nostalgia, which is why I decided to apply a filter and add a tune that would convey this sensation. 
The playful aspect of this footage resides in the fact, that it is subject to interpretation, the audience may find themselves questioning if the footage makes any sense, or where this footage was captured in. Linking this excercise to my studio practice, it was a first approach towards representing an emotional state through visual media.

Week 2 - Play and Tinkering 

Method:
Construct 3

Context:
I used the game Machinarium as a reference, in this game you play as a robot, and attempt to solve multiple puzzles in order to move to the next stage. One of the main mechanics, consists in finding external objects, which can sometimes be fed into the character. This makes the character be transformed and enables it to do things he couldn’t do before.
http://machinarium.net/

Response
With tinkering, I ended up creating an endless feeding game, the aim was to create a simple mechanic that would showcase shifting of shape in the character. 
This practice helped in shape my Studio project, due to the nature of the shifting character, and the reactions it obtains while interacting with different objects. 
With this response, it is my intention to evoke play by making the user wonder how differently will the character react each time. Eventhough it was a very basic idea, this mechanic permeates throughout my Studio 2 practice.

Week 3 - Play and Materiality 

Method:
Construct 3

Context:
I thought about the trend that is to make weather and time affect in gameplay. An example of this game mechanic being applied is in the game animal crossing, which would spontaneously generate changes in the weather. Thus affecting the way characters respond in the same world, as well as other gameplay factors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8QJW4J_AF0

Response:
With this excercise, I intended to portray the idea I had in CPS, in which I made objects interact with the real world in unexpected ways. At the same time, I used the concept of Playful Materiality to merge the real world, with the world of animation. This is why I decided to use the setting of a windy storm, and place a lantern that sways due to the ferocious wind.  This response served to illustrate this mechanic, in the end I wasn’t able to implement this mechanic due to a lack of coding skills. But it served to reflect on ideas and possibilities.

Week 4 - Play and Place 

Method:
Construct 3

Context:
I used many references for this concept. The first one is Gatebox Virtual home robot, I wanted to use a similar stage for my game, a container in which the character would be able to be alive. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkcKaNqfykg

I also used Minecraft and Terraria games as a reference, since these are game that allow player to build their own houses and stages, and this could also be used as a form of visualization of one’s internal state.

Response:
I used this space to develop the place where my character would revolve in, which had already been established in my CPS excercise. I linked my previous iterations and decided I would design a stage that could adapt to a mobile screen, in order to allow touch interaction with the character. I simply designed a lantern and added a rough doodle of the character that moves around. This is key in helping me visualize where my project is headed.

Week 5 - Play and Objects 

Method:
Construct 3

Context:
I used as a reference the classic game Mario, I recalled the way the character uses different objects as a way to power up and move throught the stages, these objects often grant Mario skills and affect his mobility and gameplay, I wanted to take this into a different direction, by making those objects have an emotional attribute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd5EaXvBb5k

Response:
For this task, I combined what I did for the Tinkering, Materiality and Place excercises. And integrated it into the stage, in which objects interact with the character to produce different reactions. The stage also shifts slightly, depending on the character’s movement. This is a closer approach towards the game I have in mind, although it also helps me realise I need to add other kinds of goals and triggers in order to make the game feel more complete. In most recent feedback, I’ve considered reducing the scope of the reactions and emotions I am representing. 

Week 6 - Presentation 

This week’s presentation provided useful feedback, which made me realise what was lacking in each of my previous excercises. I first found out I would need to provide a stronger context for each of the concepts. 

So far I had been working with the same materials done in my studio. However, it was pointed out that these tasks were meant to be related, but be something separate from the Studio Project.
this is something I took into consideration for my future approaches.
This was a good learning process, which made me shape my ideas in a different direction. And turned my future experiments into more playful and meaningful approaches.

Week 7 - Play and Events 

Method:
Construct 3

Context:
I used the game Kirby as a reference to work on this particular excercise. I kept trying to think about the way a character is affected by it’s surrounding environemnt, and the way this might change it’s structure. Kirby usually absorbs it’s enemies, and his design changes, his skills change as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdeSrjsDva0 

Response:
I generated a simple interactive piece in Construct 3, the Flame is affected by the objects oscillating around it. The player is able to drag the objects and change the colour of the Flame. I want to use a similar idea for my Studio projec. I think it about using objects or events that could be fed into the character to make it produce an especific emotion, or change it’s state according to the object’s properties. These can be treated as special events that appear from time to time and could help keep the character’s emotions in check, or make it more complicated.

Week 8 - Play and Time 

Method:
I used RPG Maker to produce a small interactive piece, I used pre-established assets.

Context:
I used the Furby Organ by Look mum no computer, as a reference, in which every Furby is assigned a note, that gave me the idea to assign a different sounds to some of the objects in this interactive game. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYLBjScgb7o

I also used the old Mario games as a reference to use those 8bit sounds and sprites.

Response:
This is a game where you control a blue flame surrounded by multiple red flames, everytime the blue flame touches the other flames it makes different sounds, my intent was to create a basic sound producing engine, by using the timing, which is controlled by the player, since it depends on how fast they can move and which flames it interacts with. By doing so, they can create different sounds, if I had more time to develop this idea I would use a wider variety of sounds and make the flames have different colours, so that the player can identify which sounds to play.

Week 9 - Play and Force 

Method:
I used the generative particles system in Construct 3.

Context:
I was inspired by the game Mountain by David O’Reilly, in which the Mountain seems to have a mind of it’s own and produces a response to the player’s  input, I wanted to use something similar for my Studio Project, this is why I used a particle system that interacts in different ways with the environment, creating different and unexpected effects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp1PqxynwCo

Response:
The outcome is a piece that uses light as a force, the colour of the light changes depending on your input and the interaction with the object, the force applied to the object, makes it change colour as well. I think this idea will be useful for my studio project, since I was looking for a way to take advantage of the light to create different emotions, according to different inputs. This could help be stablish a color code for the user, for them to understand what kind of effect they are provoking to the character.

Week 10 - Play and Stillness 

Method:
I used Construct to create a shadow reflecting effect over the Flame.

Context:
I also used the Moaning Columns of Longing by Adam Nash, which are objects that demand the attention of the player in order to survive. This becomes a huge reference for my studio project, since it’s a game about User-Character (In-game Object) interaction and dependance. It is similar to my Studio Project since it’s about keeping the columns alive. I wanna shape this idea into a different concept, addressing emotions and empathy.
http://adamnash.net.au/secondlife/moaning_columns.html

Response:
The outcome is a short animation, of  shadows that are cast over the flame at random intervals. I used the concept of STILLNESS and tried to incorporate it into my Studio Project, this is why I thought, whenever the Flame character is STILL, I wanted to make it do something. I decided to make it display its thoughts, or represent a way of what could be going on inside its mind. This is a mechanic that ultimately adds up to fill a void in my Studio Project, since I was looking for a way to make a game that doesn’t solely rely on linearity. This mechanic will add a randomness factor to my project, and make it become more meaningful, adding a will tot he character, and creating a dependant relationship towards the user. Similar to Moaning Columns.

Reflection
These responses, helped me generate and consolidate my Studio project, I will list the way each of the concepts was represented and how it is reflected in my studio project:

Play and Observation
What I did:
A video that attempted to portray a state of mind.
How it reflected in my studio:
This led towards the concept of my studio, it gave me a direction. Knowing what I wanted to portray.

Play and Tinkering
What I did:
A game that plays with the character’s appearance
How it reflected in my studio:
This became the main way of representing emotions through my game.

Play and Materiality
What I did:
An animation that proposes external factor affecting the game.
How it reflected in my studio:
This made me think about different ways I could make the character be triggered into displaying certain emotions.

Play and Place
What I did:
I turned the inside of a lantern into a stage.
How it reflected in my studio:
I decided I would use a lantern as the setting for my game.

Play and Objects
What I did:
Added objects with emotional attributes across the stage.
How it reflected in my studio:
It is a pathway that wasn’t used but helped me scope my project.

Play and Events
What I did:
An interactive game, which colours the character, using objects.
How it reflected in my studio:
This wasn’t added to my studio project, but it makes me think about more possible mechanics, that could be used to make the game more interesting.

Play and Time
What I did:
A musical game, using different sounds to be triggered by players.
How it reflected in my studio:
This made me think each emotional state of the character can produce a different sound. As well as each of the interactions.
Play and Force
What I did:
An animation that proposes external factor affecting the game.
How it reflected in my studio:
This made me think about different ways I could make the character be triggered into displaying certain emotions.

Play and Stillness
What I did:
I casted a shadow over a flame, attempting to represent it’s inner state of mind.
How it reflected in my studio:
I used the idea of using thoughts as factor that is out of the player’s control, in order to add challenge to the game. And a mind to the character.

Conclusion
This subject contributed greatly towards shaping my studio project, experimenting with these concepts and techniques is a useful method to work on future projects and create unique and richer outcomes. 

Reference

Adam Nash 2009, Moaning columns of longing, video game, Australia.

Capcom 1992, Kirby’s Dream Land, video game, Multiple Platforms, Nintendo, Japan.

David OReilly 2014, Mountain, video game, Multiple Platforms, Double Fine Productions, USA.

Gatebox 2017, Virtual Home Robot, interactive, Gatebox, Japan.

Jakub Dvorský 2009, Machinarium, video game, Multiple Platforms, Amanita Design, Czech Republic.

Look mum no computer 2018, THE FURBY ORGAN, A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MADE FROM FURBIES, YouTube, viewed 15 September 2018, < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYLBjScgb7o >

Mojang AB 2011, Minecraft, video game, Multiple Platforms, Mojang AB, Sweden.

Moore, M 2011, Basics of Game Design, 1st edn, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Nintendo 1983, Mario Bros, video game, Nintendo Consoles, Nintendo, Japan.

Nintendo 2001, Animal Crossing, video game, Multiple Platforms, Nintendo, Japan.

Re-Logic 2011, Terraria, video game, Multiple Platforms, Re-Logic, USA.

RMIT University 2018, Harvard Referencing for Visual Material, RMIT University, viewed 31 May 2018, < http://rmit.libguides.com/harvardvisual/computer/video-games>.

Schrier, K & Gibson, D 2010, Ethics and game design: teaching values through play, Information Science Reference, Hershey PA.

Silicon Knights 2002, Eternal Darkness, video game, Nintendo, Canada.

The Pokemon Company 1996, Pokemon, video game, Multiple Platforms, The Pokemon Company, Japan.

Vincent Morrison 2015, A Way To Go, interactive, website, France.