Game Studies / Lectures & Exercises

06.04.2023 - 04.06.2023 / Week 1 - Week 9
Yung Siew Weng / 0339847
Game Studies / 
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Lectures & Exercises

LECTURES

#WEEK 1
For this particular week, same as all the module, we had given a brief about the introduction to the module, including the subject outline and expectations, learning and assignment objectives, student's responsibilities, and the assignments and assessment methods within the full semester of the module.

Game Studies Lecture #1: Game Studies Introduction 


#Important Notes :

1. Why Games Mattered?
- Celebration : celebrating times of the year especially harvest, battle victories, tributes to gods, festivals of cultures.
- Distraction and escapism : to inculcate a sense of optimism and hope, to look at different perspectives, to provide entertainment.
- Strategy and education : one earliest form of simulation. Substituting real battles with strategy games or even educational value to teach and explain religious and philosophical values.

#WEEK 2
Game Studies Lecture #2: Game Principles, Framework + Playful Experiences


#Important Notes :

1. What is Ludology?
Ludologists assert that a game's rules and mechanics alone express the game's meaning, and deny that games can be analyzed via literary methods. It is also defined as a competitive play such as Monopoly and Candy Crush. 

2. The Essence of competitive play [the principle of Ludology game plays]
- Play to win
- Play to gain
- Play to understand/ learn (must be someone that don't know how the game works and play to learn something or even the rules of the game)
- Play to stay alive
- Not dependent of a complex narrative
- Challenge the rule

3. What is Narratology?
The study of how narratives are put together [create a story], as well as how these narratives are shaped by human understandings and how these understandings (such as language) in turn shape narratives.

4. The Essence of Narratology [play as a part of a story]
- Play to achieve story conclusion
- Play to develop character
- Play as part of story simulation
- Play to fulfil quests
- Dependent on a main story

5. Development cycle
Game Design [game mechanism] ➜ Play-test [player's behaviour]  ➜ Analyse [game motives]

#WEEK 3
Game Studies #3: Self-directed Class

#WEEK 4
Game Studies Lecture #4: Three-Dimensionality since Early-1990s


#Important Notes :

1. Components of Gameplay Immersion
Three main components :
- Sensory immersion in the sounds and interactive images of virtual space.
- Challenge-based immersion in the actions of play
- Imaginative immersion in the world of fiction in a game.

#WEEK 5
Game Studies #5: Self-directed Class

#WEEK 6 >
- No lecture. Game Exploration & Finalisation -

Exercises

MODULE INFORMATION


INSTRUCTION
Students are to investigate continuously analogue and digital games to identify gameplay patterns and concepts. This would be done continuously with a minimum of 5 types of games each and each review will juxtapose two similar games for comparative study. The reviews and analysis will be presented in the form of presenting samples, visiting gaming sites, video logs (vlogs), powerpoint presentation, and rough sketches or drawings which would be posted in the Games Studies e-portfolio/e-journal (blog).

Game Studies - Exercise 1 : Personal Gaming History 

TASK INSTRUCTION
Do you remember the first video game you played as a child? Go down that memory lane, and revisit the best memorable games you had played as you were growing up. Review the best parts of the game could use some improvements. These childhood games and memories are most likely to inspire your potential game ideas. Present your findings as a video presentation and upload it Into YouTube (set to Unlisted) for submission.

EXPLORATION
For this particular task, I did spend some time recalling memories from my childhood and summarised some game that I think that played a significant role in my memories. Since we are required to present it as a video presentation, I arrange the findings under the document below and create a slide for a better interpretation throughout the process :

Fig 1.1 Findings compilation document, PDF (week 1/ 09.04.2023)

Although my first plan was to present the TOP 3 findings of my personal gaming history, I discovered that the time length would be too long, so I limited the presentation to the TOP game that I desired the most :

Fig 1.2 Presentation Slides, Exercise 1 (week 2/ 11.04.2023)

To reduce the lengthy timeline to produce a video outcome, I converted the slides to PPT and utilised the Powerpoint features to record directly from the site. Since I had a small injury on my forehead (I knocked the wall), I choose to record my voice instead of present physically in the presentation video : 

Fig 1.3 Presentation Video, Personal Gaming History (week 2/ 11.04.2023)


Game Studies - Exercise 2 : What makes "this game" playful?

TASK INSTRUCTION
Now that you had fun going down memory lane, choose one of your most favourite games. The one that made you a loyal fan, and play it again and again. Based on the Playful Iterative Design framework, review the game’s components - DESIGN, PLAY, and ANALYSE - as in how do they all come together to create playful experiences for this particular game.

These findings are most likely to strengthen and improve your current ideas for your game.
Present your findings as a video presentation and upload it into YouTube (set to Unlisted) for submission.

EXPLORATION
After receiving the task, I spent some time brainstorming which video game is suitable for this particular task to be explored and how the game interprets our current ideas. Since our current idea is to create a Taylorian edition game with the combination of Monopoly and the Malaysian Dream concept, I tend to choose Hay Day as the topic for this exercise. In fact, in all three games, players need to manage resources effectively to progress. In Hayday, players need to manage their crops, livestock, and products to grow their farm. In Monopoly, players need to manage their money and properties to become the wealthiest player. In The Malaysian Dream, players need to manage their resources to achieve their objectives and become the most successful Malaysian.

To achieve the task instruction, I summarised the ideation under the PDF files below. And, the brief contents was about one of JQ's favourite game, HayDay. HayDay is a popular mobile farming simulation game developed in 2012, which players manage a farm by planting and harvesting crops, raising animals, producing goods, and selling products through the game. Throughout the contents, I will be reviewing on the game, HayDay's playful iteration framework - DESIGN, PLAY and ANALYSE as well as interpret the ideation on how HayDay's game concept can help to strengthen the group current idea [a Taylor's version of combination of Monopoly + The Malaysian Dream].

Fig 2.1 Findings compilation document, PDF (week 2/ 15.04.2023)

For this particular task, I had selected a template with the farming designed concept since the discussed game was all about the farming and harvesting video game applications :

Fig 2.2 Presentation Slides, Exercise 2 (week 2/ 15.04.2023)

Fig 2.3 Presentation Video, Playful Iterative Framework (week 2/ 15.04.2023)


Game Studies - Exercise 3 : Re-mediating the non-digital?

TASK INSTRUCTION
Identify a non-digital game which has been converted into a digital version. Discuss on:
- Brief explanation of the gameplay
- Differences and similarity of play dimension (real life vs on screen): Pick a game with either real-time or turn-based action; describe its core game mechanics and explain how the player experiences them temporally during both play dimensions.
- Benefits and disadvantages of three-dimensional: Find a game that has appeared in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional versions; compare, and give grounds for whether three-dimensional is beneficial or not in games.

Present your findings as a video presentation and upload it into YouTube (set to Unlisted) for submission.


EXPLORATION
For this particular task, when I received the task instruction, the first gameplay from my brain popped up was the Monopoly, which is also the gameplay that we identified in our project proposal.

Fig 3.1 Findings compilation document, PDF (week 5/ 02.05.2023)

Fig 3.2 Presentation Slides, Exercise 3 (week 5/ 02.05.2023)

Fig 3.3 Presentation Video, "Re-mediating non-digital?" (week 5/ 02.05.2023)


Game Studies - Exercise 4 : The world's evolution in "This Game"

TASK INSTRUCTION
Identify a video game series or franchise that revolves around the same world (i.e: The Sims, God of War, Civilisation, Guild Wars, Super Mario Bros) and discuss how each game’s iteration affects the world’s evolution.
1. Brief description of the chosen game
2. Differences and similarity of the world building throughout the series/franchise
- TIP! Pick a game that revolves around the same world and lore. From here you can easily track the evolution of the worlds as the game progresses throughout the series/franchise.

Present your findings as a video presentation and upload it into YouTube (set to Unlisted) for submission.

EXPLORATION
For this particular topic, I was inspired by my visit to the cinema to watch the Super Mario Bros. movie, which is based on the iconic Super Mario Bros. game. Super Mario is a beloved video game franchise created by Nintendo, featuring the adventures of the iconic Italian plumber, Mario. In the game, players guide Mario through colourful worlds filled with obstacles, enemies, and puzzles, with the ultimate goal of rescuing Princess Peach from the villainous Bowser.

Fig 4.1 Findings compilation document, PDF (week 6/ 14.05.2023)

Fig 4.2 Presentation Slides, Exercise 4 (week 8/ 24.05.2023)

Fig 4.3 Presentation Video, "The world's evolution in "This Game" 
(week 8/ 24.05.2023)


REFLECTION

Reflecting on my adventure with the four exercises given, I found the experience to be both interesting and challenging. As someone who is not an avid gamer, it required extra effort to conduct research and familiarise myself with various video game in order to brainstorm the games I had experienced before and select a suitable game for each exercise.

Although the process was tough, I'm grateful that I was able to overcome the challenges and successfully complete the exercises. Throughout the journey, I gained valuable knowledge about different video game series and their evolution. It was surprising to realize how much I had learned about video games, a subject I hadn't expected to delve into deeply.Overall, despite the initial difficulty, I found the adventure to be rewarding. It broadened my horizons, expanded my understanding of video game culture, and allowed me to approach the exercises with a new area of knowledge. 

Comments

Post a Comment