Pod handler(1)
- 3. Research • Strengths – The quantitative research helped me come up with a setting and theme for my game. I looked into abandoned / apocalyptic environments and themes such as buildings and textures, which helped me land the idea of an abandoned / apocalyptic world setting. – The primary research allowed me to take control of materials & sources that helped me progress with my product during the research. – I took time looking into different products that were similar to what I wanted to do, and it helped me expand on my ideas and create new ones. – I was able to find different valid ideas from existing products such as games, and change them so they would fit with my theme. • Weaknesses – It took a while to put all of my primary research together to help me come up with a full, working idea of what my project was going to be about and how it would function. – Finding suitable sources and websites during my secondary research that gave me valid ideas on my project were not easy to find, and I spent a lot of time going through different sites.
- 4. Planning • Strengths – I was able to map out all of my ideas in a way that I could process my thoughts clearly, and have them expressed clearly via mind maps. – The planning kept my ideas organized, and it was easy to change something in my planning of I didn't want it or wanted to change something, as well as focusing all of my attention on my main idea, that I would eventually use to create my product. • Weaknesses – I was only able to use one of my ideas out of three that I had mapped out. – Although the planning was organized on paper, I was unable to know if my project was going to be hard to make, or if I would run into any problems during the production of the game. – I feel I could have mapped out time a little better on my planning, e.g. how long I should spend on certain things. I believe this would have helped me finish my product a lot quicker, as I did find myself rushing towards the end.
- 5. Time Management • I believe I should have managed my time a lot better by either creating a time management sheet, or mapped out how long I would spend on certain things in my planning. Although I completed my product on time, I feel I did spend too much time on things that I shouldn’t have, and I did find myself struggling and rushing towards the end of the project. I think if I had mapped out my time, I would have spent a lot more time on more important things in my product, rather than wasting time on things that didn't need too much attention, and I feel this could have effected the quality of my final product, and could have maybe given me some extra time to work on other things / adding new things in.
- 6. Technical Qualities The Manhattan Project (My Game) Sword of Xolan (Existing Game) Both feature a 1 on 1 combat system. Both survival based. Both feature a main antagonist & protagonist. Both feature a working health system. Both feature enemies you must defeat. Weapon / item collection system. Similar settings / design. Both feature boss battles. Horror theme.
- 7. Aesthetic Qualities I really like the atmosphere in my game, and how it contrasts to the theme of a zombie apocalypse, e.g. the rotting abandoned buildings. I also like how the characters fit the theme of the game and their overall designs, I think it makes the game look extra gritty, and highlights to the player that they are not in a good situation. I feel like one way I could improve next time, is by adding a little more scenery, for example putting in some more buildings & playable areas. Dark & scary setting which fits the horror theme. Good use of textures to make certain things stand out. Cinematic sounds which fits the current scene. Abandoned building which links to research. Working heart health system. Intimidating looking boss character antagonist. Minor additions e.g. working weapons.
- 8. Audience Appeal My target audience is people specifically male & female aged 16 – 24, that are interested in survival video games. The games social status will appeal to those who are interested in the more violent & horror styled games, and I feel this game will most definitely appeal to my audience, as it has content such as zombies, shooting and has an overall horror themed atmosphere. I feel that the gameplay itself will appeal to my audience from different social economic groups, as it has the basic survival styled gameplay where you have to defend yourself and survive, and is free to play. Product analysis would suggest that my game has features that appeal to communities & fans of the horror survival genre, as found by speaking with multiple people about my product, giving me in depth detail on what features my product has that fits this criteria, such as interesting & exciting gameplay, as well as survival mechanics.
- 10. Feedback 1 • What did you like about the product? – 'Good use of terrain obstacles and textures in the buildings. I also really like the effects used, like the gunshots and the health system. Good use of characters also, and the characters fit the game with their designs. I also thought the use of sound effects were done very well and the background music fit the scene of what was going on.' • What improvements could have been made to the product? – 'Maybe introduce more playable areas into the map and make the map a little bigger by adding some more places for the characters to go.'
- 11. Feedback 2 • What did you like about the product? – 'I really liked the overall design and the colour scheme. I also really like the characters and the action displayed, e.g. the gunfire. I think the location of the game suits the situation very well and it look very apocalyptic like.' • What improvements could have been made to the product? – 'I think that there could have been more buildings and zombies in the game to make it have more of a variety and to make it look more apocalyptic.'
- 12. Feedback 3 • What did you like about the product? – 'I think the gameplay looked very good, as well as the use of characters and the roles they play. I really liked the addition of a boss fight. I think that the character designs are appropriate for the situation and theme of the game also.' • What improvements could have been made to the product? – 'I think that the boss battle could have lasted a little longer to make the fight seem more interesting and tense.'
- 13. Peer Feedback Summary • What do you agree with from your peer feedback? – 'I agree that I could have added more playable areas to give the game more realistic gameplay, and add areas so the player has more of a variety of options to chose from, e.g. where they would like to defend themselves from.' • What do you disagree with from your peer feedback? – I feel like adding more characters would have been a little difficult, as I only had a limited amount of space to work with.
- 14. Peer Feedback Summary I would like to add more playable areas in my project as I feel it would have expanded the game out and the player would feel as though they had more of a choice as to what they wanted to do in the game, as well as making the gameplay itself more interesting by adding new areas that the players stumble across as the game goes on. Though I only had a little space to work with, I feel like one thing I could also improve upon next time is creating my terrain a little smaller, so I would have had more room to add different areas for the players to venture to. One reason I feel like I should have added more playable areas is because it gives the game more of a realistic tone, when the player is given a free choice in the game, and is able to make their own decisions about how they want to play the game. I feel this would give the game more publicity, and would improve the games social status, as it would fit more into the category of survival horror, because most games in this genre typically give the player freedom of choice in the game.
Editor's Notes
- #4: What were the strengths of your research? How did your research help your product? What were the weaknesses of your research? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
- #5: What were the strengths of your planning? How did your planning help your product? What were the weaknesses of your planning? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
- #6: Did you manage your time well? Did you complete your project on time or would your products have improved with additional time? What would you have done if you had more time to produce your work?
- #7: Compare your work to similar existing products and discuss the similarities and differences Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page alongside an existing product Use text boxes and arrows
- #8: Does your work look good? Was it creative? What aspects of your game’s visuals do you like? What would you improve? How would you improve it? Discuss the strengths and weaknesses Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page and analyse them Use text boxes and arrows
- #9: How have you appealed to your target audience? What specific bits of content would appeal to your target audience. Refer to your findings from your questionnaire. Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page and analyse them Use text boxes and arrows
- #15: What changes would you make to your product based upon your peer feedback and why?