Morgan's Thoughts..

11/20

2010-01-19T12:24:00.002-05:00

We played LIFE and realized that we weren't going to have enough time to complete a game similar to it. Instead we have brainstormed ways to keep the game's idea, but maybe shorten the game time. There will be no scoring or ways to win before others. It is simply an easy and interesting way to learn about governments. I have started level two and it is similar to the first level just with different examples. Instead of playing an activity, we may possibly just make the game matching.

Game Update

2009-12-14T12:48:00.002-05:00

We finally changed the name of our game to Match the Governments. There's still aliens in it instead of humans, but I think that it gives it a nice little twist even though they have nothing to do with the theme. I've been working on navigation, but there are still some parts in the graphics that i need to clean up. The only task that i really have left is coding.

Game Update

2009-12-04T12:25:00.002-05:00

The game is progressing. However, we've made some changes. Due to our lack of time, we are just making a matching game. We're using the same ideas we started with, but there will not be a small activity for each type of government. Instead there will be four governments and definitions beside of them. You will click on one of the governments and then go on to the next page. That page will have four pictures, each representing a government. All you have to do is find it's match. There will be two levels and 8 government types.

17 Days to Go!

2009-11-16T11:47:00.002-05:00

The game progress is coming really well. We still haven't really came up with the whole idea. Speaking to people from globaloria helped. We decided we could make a game similar to Life and incorporate civics. We can still use our aliens and keep our theme, but this will keep the same idea and stay on one path instead of trying to make four different scenarios. I've learned more about the four types of government. I'm starting to be able to use flash much better. However, I'm more like the rough draft. Alexa perfects it all for me. Because I have the ideas, and she's the artist.. we make a perfect team!

New Game

2009-11-06T11:46:00.002-05:00

The new game we are creating is "On the Moon." In this game, you will be matching certain situations with a type of government. Then, you will have to play as a citizen in the government. The game will give you knowledge about governments around the world. The game doesn't seem to be progressing very well. We are now being rushed to come up with something brilliant, and I can't work fast and have a good outcome. I have learned about different types of governments since I started creating this game. There are several countries I wouldn't want to live in because of the laws.

Adding Start and Stop Button

2009-10-23T12:35:00.003-04:00

Although I love creating music on garage band, I got really irritated when I had add it to flash. Making the buttons on flash were pretty simple, because there were no keyframes involved. I didn't really have time in one day to find a way to represent the music playing. The code was easy to follow. Overall, I'd rate this as one of the easiest things I've done. Especially if I could complete it in one day.

After Adding Civics

2009-10-20T11:38:00.002-04:00

I found out many new things about my game topic after we incorporated civics. I was unaware of many laws and regulations for windmills and water wheels. I also learned what water wheels were used for. Designing the game will be more organized now that we have actual topics. We will actual have something to work towards instead of just throwing things in as we go. I can't wait to get my second paper prototype done, because its my absolute least favorite thing to do. I don't even think there's a reason for a second one. I haven't watched the first one since I uploaded it.

Adding Interaction

2009-10-16T12:44:00.002-04:00

Adding Interaction was simple because we've already done it. I hadn't added the left and right buttons yet, but I figured it out easily. Lately, the lessons haven't had an impact on my game. They haven't really related to the topic. However, the game ideas are still getting better. The graphics really seem to be improving. So the mood of the game is fun because its very organized. Adding a civics theme into our game is improving the overall excitement as well, because before we didn't really have a theme. It also sets goals that we didn't have before.

Adding Sound

2009-10-15T12:38:00.002-04:00

Adding sound was simple compared to the last few lessons. I gave mine a horse sound when you roll over the button. I think sound is important in a game because it sets the mood and creates better effects. You will get more into a game if they're are sounds that go along with it. For example, a farming game would have farm animal sounds. Instead of them being pixels on your screen, they seem alive and real. My game seems to be making some progress. Its a good think animation isn't a big part of the game, because I still can't get my windmill to spin. However, if I get ahead on my lessons I will go back to work on it.

Adding Animation

2009-10-14T12:12:00.002-04:00

I really disliked animation, because my game didn't require any movement. The only thing I needed was to drag & drop. That is something I still can't figure out. I'm not really into animation. Maybe if I were to add more to my game I could make a windmill spin or something. Thats the only example that I could really use.

Game Relating to Civics

2009-10-13T11:29:00.002-04:00

My game topic is about saving energy and finding more efficient ways to produce energy. It didn't relate to civics until we added a few small details. We first had questions about the structures. Instead of using the questions, we deleted those scenes and added an inspector guy that tells you all of the rules and regulations about the structure you are beginning to build. It will help you build a safer and sturdier structure. The player could learn how a windmill, water wheel, or solar panel contributes to the earth and what situations they are used for. Some of these structures will please the citizens with proper construction.

Research Day 2

2009-10-09T12:32:00.002-04:00

Today, I researched more about windmills. I found more information about the windmill farm at Mt. Storm. Even the people that live in the Davis/Thomas area like the windmills. Some regulations deal with the way the neighbors feel about them. Sometimes the noise level can be a bother. I read about a guy that really appreciates the production of windmills. NIMBY stands for "not in my backyard." Maybe I will incorporate the neighbors into the game as well.

Windmill and Water Wheel Research

2009-10-08T12:42:00.000-04:00

After finding information about how windmills produce energy, I have gained more ideas for my game. Many people put a windmill in their community or backyard to produce energy for themselves. I was unaware of that, because the windmills closest to my home are in Mt. Storm and there are tons of them! I'm not even sure what they do. For the game, I will probably only use one windmill or a few to support a poor community. The water wheel is used for circulating water or drawing it from the ground. For my game, I'm going to have the water wheel supply water to livestock. At the beginning of each stage, there will be an inspector. He will explain the regulations and the reasoning for the construction. If it is not built to his expectations, you will not go on.

Adding Navigation

2009-10-06T12:40:00.000-04:00

Adding navigation was the best thing we've done yet. The only thing difficult about it is remembering your labels, because without the labels you're just using codes. I wrote my labels down to keep things more organized. I'm more excited to start adding animation to move things forward with the game. There are some things on my game that I'm unsure about. I don't know if my pieces to the structure are considered navigation or animation. I'm sure once I move on I will figure it out.

Drawing in Flash

2009-10-06T11:40:00.000-04:00

Drawing in flash was my least favorite thing to do. It was too difficult to find other things to trace so I just drew them myself. I still haven't done much research on the actual topic. I know more about windmills than water wheels, but I think windmills will stay the most interesting. I need to do my research soon, because its needed for the about and manual in my game section. Once I got the play screen, instructions, and level 1 drawn, it became easier to add details.

Planning Your Game

2009-09-25T12:07:00.000-04:00

While creating the "blue print" for our game, Caleb and I have tried to distribute the work evenly. However, he knows more about this topic than I do. I am going to make the title page, instructions, and level 1. We had disagreements about the strategy of the game. It seemed as if the game were going to be so difficult that it wouldn't even be enjoyable. The game is supposed to be educational, so it can't be completely entertaining. I'm interested in seeing how the game will come together with my ideas for level 1 and Caleb's ideas for level 2. The ideas for the game were inspired by going green and Caleb's interest in solar panels.

Paper Prototyping

2009-09-18T12:25:00.000-04:00

The game we are creating is named "Green Zappers." Our team name is MC UglyStick. The title of the game was created because the main topic of the game is green energy. Our team name came from the first initial in each of our names and ugly stick was just created from a pack of gum. Paper prototyping is the most difficult thing i've done since this class started. Coming up with ideas is simple. However, keeping your levels and ideas organized is a struggle. When we record our game, i hope that i have a better idea about what our game is about.

Imagining Your Game

2009-09-15T12:29:00.000-04:00

I enjoy using flash. I am still learning more about the program. I'm excited to see how much more I can learn. The game we're creating has to do with tools that produce energy, which i know nothing about. I'm interested to learn more about them. The game should be pretty technical, so I believe that it will be difficult to learn everything we need to know about flash to complete the game. However, i'm excited to learn as much as possible about the program.

Flash Mini Game

2009-09-09T12:34:00.000-04:00

I enjoyed creating this mini game. Without the tutorial, I wouldn't have known where to start. I did have some difficulty with figuring out where buttons were just simply because Flash is a new program for me. Although I still don't understand the point to the game, I'm proud of myself for creating it. I don't typically play games in my free time, but whenever I get really bored I do. My favorites are tetris, bejewled, and solitare. I guess I'm a fan of puzzle and strategy games. I hope to create a game similar to one of those in the next few months.

Playing to Learn

2009-09-03T12:48:00.000-04:00

My favorite game was 3rd World Farmer. It seemed so realistic and was actually difficult. The only strategy to the game was to earn money and stay alive. I also played a jigsaw puzzle game which was actually boring. It wasn't difficult, but maybe a first time game designer created it. The pictures could've at least been more interesting

3rd World Farmer

Jigsaw Puzzle

Classroom Rules

2009-09-01T11:48:00.001-04:00

I believe that the classroom rules that apply in some classes should be altered for other classes. In game design, some finish tasks before others so there's no reason to not allow talking. The no horseplay rule should definitely be applied because we're around all of the equipment that makes this class even possible. Also no food or drinks at the computers are reasonable. Of course you should always be respectful and not speak while others are speaking and be open minded to other people's ideas because we do share alot of thoughts amongst each other in this class.

Globaloria

2009-09-01T11:25:00.000-04:00

I hope to learn more about games while taking the Globaloria course. I'm not sure what game I want to create because I'm not sure what options I have yet. I'm nervous about how much time this will consume and if i'll be able to get it done in the time frame given or not. I'm most excited to put my creativity into the game I create.