For our Level Development class we had a look at the GDC video titled ‘Level Design in a Day: Wayfinding & Storytelling Techniques’ by Brendon Chung (2015). I found that this talk relates to our lecture in week 2 about architectural structures, one of the examples being the Florence Cathedral aka Il Duomo di Firenze and how it stands out above the surrounding buildings using Hierarchy. Brendon spoke a lot about the player’s line of sight and also the games use of UI (user interface) and how it affects the players ability to navigate the level. Something that I found interesting about this was his mention of elevation to give the player a vantage point which allowed the player to easily scout the layout of the level.

Il Duomo di Firenze (Florence, Italy)

This concept is something that I had planned to do in my Portal 2 level for my first assignment. Using high vantage points will allow the player to easily scan the layout and create a mental map so to speak, which makes it easier to navigate. Something I plan to include in my level that was mentioned by Brendon is the fact that if the player gets lost, then it’s not the players fault, it is the designers. Through play testing this is something I want to ensure is perfected before completion so that the map can be both complex in design, but easy to navigate.

Regarding the players line of sight and “guaranteeing but not forcing” the player to see an event I immediately think about the ‘A Train to Catch’ mission from Borderlands 2. The player has to place Tina’s missiles on a roof and arm them before they are fired at the train, the way the level is set out is so the objective is between the players position and the event that is about to happen. This method guarantees the player will see the spectacle of the train derailing without taking control away from them and without obstructing their view with UI markers.

Borderlands 2 (2K Games, 2012)

Bibliography:

Brendon Chung. Level Design in a Day: Wayfinding & Storytelling Techniques. 2015. GDCVault.com. (http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1022117/Level-Design-in-a-Day)

My use of media is primarily PC games, music, animation and YouTube. Videogames on the PC have always appealed to me more than console or mobile phones, even though I have owned many consoles in the past and spent most of my gaming experience as a child on consoles. As an aspiring game developer I do not plan to restrict my future creations to only PC, there is so much opportunity in both console games and mobile games and I have nothing against the two.

I’m not an avid user of social media sites other than YouTube and occasionally FaceBook and Snapchat, I like to browse through FaceBook and  Snapchat on my phone when I’m on the go for something to do and to keep in touch with the world. YouTube is a fantastic media outlet that I use to research or just enjoy watching my hobbies such as videogames and skateboarding. Also it’s great getting lost in random videos where you can find new interests and learn various things.

Why am I here?

What brought me to games development was simply from playing videogames! I have always loved playing videogames with my friends and meeting new people online. Some games that have influenced me include Diablo 2 and 3, World of Warcraft, Counter-Strike Source, The Elder Scrolls and Borderlands 2. After finishing high school I wanted to study something creative like art or music, I got a graphics tablet and tried drawing but I just couldn’t feel it working, I played the drums when I was younger but didn’t have my drum kit to play on any more. Videogames is something that is constantly growing and changing, once I found out about game development courses at universities it became a goal of mine to study games development.

Most of my games experience as a kid was at my best friends house where he had multiple PC’s. We use to play games like Diablo 2, Counter-Strike Source, Halo 1 and Maplestory which have always been some of my favourites, from both their quality of development and the experience we had as players. More recently a game that has heavily influenced me would be Borderlands 2, from being new and creative to just being plain stupid and outrageous. Known for its comedic value, its unique art style and limitless loot system, Borderlands 2 is a game that I enjoyed immensely.

 

My main interest now in videogames is player progression which has lead me to play many MMO (Massively Multi-player Online) games where I can progress my character to get maximum level and the best gear. My first MMO would have been Runescape, I loved playing RS from as early as 2007 with my class mates every day, the idea of playing online with thousands of people participating in PvE, PvP and meeting new people was great. It wasn’t until later in my high school years that I managed to pick up a World of Warcraft subscription. WoW has been a big part of my influence to become a games developer, it showed me so many new mechanics and features that heavily affects many other MMO’s to this day.

Media use and Identity

The main media outlets I use is my PC and my mobile phone because they have one thing in common which I believe is the largest media outlet in the universe, the internet. Because of the internet I can experience all of my favourite forms of media such as videogames, anime, movies and YouTube which wouldn’t have been possible 20 years ago. My favourite hobby is skateboarding and through YouTube I can connect with other skaters around the world and learn about the skating scene in some of the most remote places. My use of media in skateboarding consists of both YouTube and skate magazines, they’re great ways to keep updated with the professional scene and products that I’m interested in. I don’t watch TV any more and I use advertisement blockers on the internet so I am very conflicted against having ads forced onto me. This is something I found to be common in the skate scene but because of YouTube and skate magazines, I can choose what ads I want to spend my time looking at.

Future Predictions

Looking back to gaming in the 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s one thing I notice is how much more competitive games are now. With the recent rise of eSports many young people are looking for careers in competitive gaming, but leads me to believe that some people aren’t even playing for fun any more. The future of games is difficult to predict because of how new it still is and how big it has gotten, it can go in many different directions and still be successful. I personally believe that Virtual Reality will be one of the biggest things in gaming for a long time and has already gotten massive popularity over the past years. A good thing about this in my opinion is that it takes away from the competitive scene and focuses more on fun player experiences.

Virtual reality aside, I also think that games of the future will continue to become more visually beautiful. With recent and upcoming games such as Ori and the Blind Forest, No Man’s Sky, Black Desert, Sea of Thieves and Star Citizen, there is so much opportunity out there and I can’t wait to see where videogames and other media are in 10 years time.

Curation

Here is a link to my YouTube Playlist, the videos in this playlist contain things I really enjoy such as skateboarding, music and video games. I’ve been skateboarding since I was 10 years old and it is easily my favourite hobby. Skateboarding’s biggest media outlet is definitely skate films, they are very entertaining to watch and they get a lot of popularity in the skateboarding scene. I added some YouTube videos containing some of my favourite small clips of skate films to my playlist. The video games I have featured in my playlist include Black Desert, Monster Hunter and Skyrim. Something they all share in common would be their medieval setting and fantasy aesthetic. Although they seem similar they all have very different melee combat, Skyrim’s combat is basic and not very interesting, Black Desert’s combat is combo based and unique, Monster Hunter’s combat is very slow and realistic.

Review of Media

I chose to review the videogame Downwell, it was released on the 15th of October 2015, here’s a link to the Game Site.

“Downwell is a rogue-like shooter where the player must navigate their way down a well, killing enemies and dodging various traps. The goal of the game is to survive as you dwell deeper and deeper through randomly generated levels. Downwell has a much faster pace when compared to other rogue-like games, it utilizes the idea of a well as the setting so gravity will make speeding up much easier. The concept of have the levels progress vertically instead of horizontally makes for a much more unique game style.

There are many enemies to be found in Downwell such as floating slimes, bats, turtles and frogs and they all present a threat to the player. Luckily the player is equipped with shooty boots, when in mid-air the player can press the jump key again to shoot bullets out of their feet. While shooting the player will stop falling for a short period and makes for an interesting mechanic. If the top of an enemy is coloured white then you can stomp on its head to instantly kill it, but if you touch any red parts of an enemy, you will take damage. After each round the player must choose an ability from a selection of 3, these are randomly selected from a pool of abilities. Every time the player uses their shooty boots, they will use energy depending on what weapon they are using. The energy will refill whenever a player kills an enemy or touches the ground. Throughout the well there are small rooms to the side that the player may enter, these may include a new type of shooty boots or some gems. There are many different types of weapons including shotguns, lasers, machine guns etc. and they all provide different experiences. The laser will penetrate the platforms below the player and all enemies a swell, making for a very powerful attack. But in turn has high energy cost so the player is heavily limited to the amount they may shoot at a time. Some of the small rooms may contain a shop where the player may spend their gems, which is obtained by killing enemies and finding gem rooms. The items will generally restore health or maximum energy, because gems are a representation of your final score, it’s usually not necessary to buy anything from the shop unless you absolutely need it.

Overall I think Downwell is a very well created game, it uses a simple mechanics and minimalistic visuals to produce something that works so well. Although it may not appeal to a large audience because of its visuals, I think it really appeals to someone who appreciates good game mechanics and the unique art style. Downwell can be very challenging and I find it hard to get far at all, but that’s what keeps me coming back for more. This game excels at providing a truly great feeling game and sometimes this is where a simplistic game can be better.”