22.3.19 – Survey Results

Here are the results of my survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/stories/SM-26QL7XCL/

Unfortunately, I was only able to get three responses to my survey, however I do still feel that the responses I gathered have been useful and informative.

The feedback for my concept was positive and encouraging, and the suggestions that were made have been very helpful for developing my ideas. I now need to work out which ideas I would like to use. I will do this based on how easy these ideas will be to implement, as well as how well I feel that they would work within the game.

20.3.19 – Review of Last Week and Planning for This Week

Last week I worked on creating mood boards and gathering reference images for the sorts of assets I want to create. I used a lot of my own photos, but also gathered some from online.

I also made posts that went into more detail about my game concept and what kind of assets and ideas I want to include in my game.

This week I would like to try and finish the majority of my planning and research, including going into even more detail about the concept for my game. One aspect of my concept that I would like to focus more on this week is the representation of chronic illness/disability. I need to look into more ways I can represent certain symptoms, as well as deciding what symptoms I would actually like to represent. I have a few ideas already, as well as a few suggestions from my survey results, which I would like to analyse at some point this week.

13.3.19 – Mushroom Reference Photos

 

Here are some reference photos for different types of fungi I would like to include in my game:

Fly Agaric (Amanita Muscaria):

See the source image

amanita muscaria wild red mushroom photography free wallpaper

amanita muscaria wild red mushroom photography free wallpaper

(source: http://artforyourwallpaper.blogspot.com/2014/09/photography-amanita-muscaria-wallpapers.html)

Young Amanita MuscariaMature Amanita Muscaria

(My own photos)

Birch Polypore (Fomitopsis Betulina):

 

(My own photos)

Devils Fingers (Clathrus Archeri):

(source: http://jonathanneed.blogspot.com/2011/11/devils-fingers.html)

Jelly Ear (Auricularia Auricula-Judae):

WP_20151228_048WP_20150504_051WP_20150504_053

(My own photos)

Turkey Tail (Trametes Versicolor):

WP_20150111_002WP_20150111_001

(My own photos)

See the source image

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trametes_versicolor)

Dryad’s Saddle (Polyporous Squamosus):

young squamosusMature squamosus

(My own photos)

Shaggy Inkcap (Coprinus Comatus):

Young inkcapyoung inkcap 2

(My own photos)

Shaggy Ink Cap - Coprinus comatus

(Source: http://www.english-country-garden.com/fungus/shaggy-ink-cap.htm)

See the source image

(Source: http://www.mushroomexpert.com/coprinus_comatus.html)

 

12.3.19 – Game Concept Explanation and Details

As I explained in my project proposal, I want to create a scavenger hunt set in an outdoor environment. I also want this project to act as a sort of chronic illness simulator, so as to speak.

In order to do this, I will need to figure out a way to recreate certain symptoms and experiences within the game. I intend to have the game be from a first person perspective in order to improve the player’s immersion.

Some initial ideas for how I can replicate certain symptoms include:

  • Giving the player a limited amount of stamina that runs out over the course of the game. Certain actions such as sprinting and jumping would decrease the bar faster. When the bar gets below a certain point, more symptoms would kick in more often, mimicking the way that fatigue can trigger other symptoms to get worse.
  • Having the unique aspects of the collectibles fade away randomly (Eg, if the collectibles have a colourful sheen or make a specific sound, the sheen would get fainter and the sound would get quieter). This mimics brain fog and memory problems by making it harder for the player to know and remember what items they need to collect.
  • Including certain imagery such as swirling patterns within the player’s field of view. This could be used to mimic migraine and/or seizure aura. I would have to be careful when designing this aspect, since certain imagery and patterns can actually trigger migraines and seizures, which would make the game inaccessible and even potentially dangerous for certain players. I will most likely consult people with these conditions to get their thoughts and opinions on the best way to go about designing this aspect of the game.

My inspiration for this concept came from conversations with other disabled and chronically ill people. Many of us are disappointed by the lack of representation and accessibility in video games. I also had a conversation with one particular friend who suggested that this would be an interesting way to incorporate some of my own experiences into my project. This friend, as well as a couple of other people took part in a survey I created last week to get ideas for my project, however I’m still waiting for more results to come in before I publish them.

I decided very quickly that I wanted this project to have a wide target audience. I want the game level demo to be as accessible as possible for the disabled gamers who are represented in it, while also being interesting and somewhat educational for able-bodied and neurotypical gamers who might not have experienced the symptoms being represented in the project.

12.3.19 – Initial Asset Ideas

I’d like to base a lot of my FMP assets and level design on the assets and environment I created for my Unit 7 project. Here are some examples of the assets I created for that project:

Mushroom

 

Textured tree 1textured tree 2

Rock.pngMushroom2.png

These assets could be used in my FMP, however I will probably attempt to remake the trees with fewer polys and better textures. I would also like to create other assets, including:

  • ferns, flowers, tall grass, and other plants
  • a larger variety of fungi
  • a larger selection of rocks
  • water
  • some animals

I need to look into what objects I will include as collectable objects for the scavenger hunt aspect of the game. Some of the collectibles could be the same as other assets found within the scene, while some could be unique objects.

In terms of animals, I could include small animals such as rodents, bats, snakes, lizards, small birds, and possibly insects. Some of these could also be included as collectibles. I would like to use this as an opportunity to improve my animation skills by giving the animals simple animations.

To make the collectibles stand out from the non-collectable objects, I might add incandescence to their materials to give them a colourful sheen. This would also be useful when it comes to the chronic illness/disability aspect of my game, as I could simulate symptoms such as brain fog and memory problems by having the colourful sheen fade occasionally, mimicking what it’s like to forget what you’re looking for or what you’re supposed to be doing.

12.3.19 – Overview of Week 1 and Planning for Week 2

Last week I worked on creating my blog, including uploading my project proposal and time management plan. I also managed to create a survey, which I initially planned to do this week. This means that I’m already slightly ahead of schedule in terms of my research. I now need to work on producing mood boards and mind maps about my concept in order to further develop my ideas. I may begin working on some of my other research too, although this depends on how quickly I am able to complete my mind maps and mood boards.

I also need to create posts detailing the kind of themes and topics I want to include in my game level demo. I plan on doing this at some point this week – hopefully today or tomorrow. These posts will include lists of the sort of assets I need to create, as well as the game mechanics I would like to include, however whether I actually include some of these will be influenced by my survey results and research.