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Friday 25 March 2011

Rabbit Rescue

In the last blog I was talking about my project and the dreaded product demonstration. If you study games and multimedia technologies you have a report (minimum of 10,000 words) and a product to make. The report is actually the easiest part and you will find yourself moaning that there are not enough words to convey what you mean! Mad I know but it happens! The product is what I am struggling on because while I have clear ideas I am finding it hard to put them down on paper and show that I really know my research. The product I have created is a simple ‘escape the room game’ and I aimed to create two types of interface and compare the two. I went into my demonstration (apparently completely lacking confidence) and ready to sell my product. It was about 20 minutes later I came out in utter shock.
I had been told that the design was poor and that it’s a good example of how no to do it. I then completely panicked and thought I had completely failed my project. After a good amount of reflection I realised that they were right in some aspects of my designs and I could see the flaws which I now intend to improve and have all ready for my submission in 4 weeks time!
On other news my multimedia game development module is finally getting near to the finish line. We have a main character, we have a games engine, we have coding, we have enemies (they just need to be animated), we have an interface (built by me) and all we need now is a level! Yay! Oh wait not so good...
We were on track and steaming ahead thinking that we are doing quite well and then we had other coursework deadlines, project and student elections to contend with. This means we are now a little bit behind but we have a team of three designers so this Monday we are really going to push to get the level done. I don’t know if I have blogged this before but the basics of the game is you need to rescue little baby rabbits from the bad guys. I know it’s cutesy and sounds a bit childish but that would be because it’s a kids game and it also it ties in nicely with the Easter deadline! How we planned that I have no idea!
Aside from university I have not been out for ages! HELP!
Well I lie I went out last night for a quiz night and sadly we came third but we did win the bonus round for £20 which goes to a Christmas party and days out fund. But I would recommend quiz nights as they can be a laugh and it can surprise you how much you actually know. I know auctioneer the pub do have a Monday quiz which my friends all go to and do recommend but I am yet to go there! The auctioneer pub is also local to the Greenwich campus and last time I checked they do offer student discounts on certain days if you apply for a yellow card (all you need is student ID) although I last went there a year and a half ago so please check as it may have changed.
On a final, final note I have just been reminded of tapes which played music! How times have changed since I was young! Also I decided to show you the interface I have created for games so feel free to comment on how to improve. I think the buttons should be a bit lighter in colour.


Friday 11 March 2011

Another day, another coursework

I am going to start off today with a rant about third year and how you need to be committed! Then I will retreat and be quiet because I really cannot talk as I am behind with my work. What happened is I need to catch up in HCI (Human Computer Interaction) as I had a coursework due in so I neglected my project and focused more on that coursework. While it was fine and I look set to get a first in my HCI coursework I am now behind with my project. Ordinarily that would be fine but I have a project demonstration in two weeks! If you are a third year student you will either be doing a dissertation (minimum of 10,000 words, I think) or a project (pretty much the same but with a product at the end). As a CMS student I had to do a project.
My project is about the interfaces seen in game and how we can improve them to make them more appealing. So I am looking at new ways of presenting the same old information. For example, does a health bar need to be present on the screen why can’t the game add damage to the character instead so when life is low the character limps around. To be honest the project is a really good chance to go and explore something you really enjoy but at times it can be forgotten easily and it needs constant attention. In two weeks time I will be demonstrating what knowledge I have gained and what I have created that sums up that knowledge. I think I will be prepared in time but it’s always nerve wracking when you don’t know what will happen! Oh well I will keep you updated on how it goes.
On another note it seems Blackberry’s should never be dropped when rushing for the bus as there screen cracks rather easily L . I also did not realise how important a phone is to me. I use it to check my emails, to play music, to text, to check Facebook (extremely important) and sometimes to play games when bored. I have also been told to avoid going straight to O2 as they will want to sell me more stuff so I should go to an independent retailer to fix the screen. But tis a sad, sad day.
On a final note buying a webspace is a great idea to create a portfolio. I say this because it’s easy to update and keep changing the content. I would also recommend keeping copies of all the paper pieces of work you have for a paper based portfolio. I would suggest the website because it’s easy to distribute around to potential employers. One website (the one I am with) is One.com it was around £10 to set up the webspace for a year and it goes up to around £20 in the second year. Still it’s not bad seen as you get online software to help the web page if you are not so technically inclined!
And I will end this blog by telling you I am trying to learn to draw!

My Attempt at a frog!