So class has ended now. We finally finished out game after long and hard worked hours. I must say this was one of the hardest things I have had to do and without the help of my teammates it would not have been possible. So thanks guys!

Our levels were complete, and I think it is amazing how much our game has varied from our original plans.

It started off as Tetris-like and turned into a version of brick breaker. We had no problem creating the first level but when it came to the others...well we encountered some problems to say the least.

Then we created a hard level but it was WAY to hard to be level #2. So we fiddled with that and ta da there we have it. We were able to make it easier and add new icons to make it look different. MMF2 was a hard program to deal with and use. I found if I didnt keep up with the Tutorials, it could be even harder for me to try and build on my game. A lot of the features we used in our game were concepts learned through the tutorial. Anyways, it was fun and it is over now. I feel quite accomplished!

Good Job TEAM! and so long Sarah!

The end of the term draws closer and closer and I will be honest, our team is nervous. We have been working hard on our game redesigning levels and changing the concepts. In a way, we have started from scratch many times but each new product is better than the last.

We built our level one game and then built another level. The other level we intended to make as level 2 but realized it was way too hard. Instead it is now our level 4. We are currently working on a level 2 with the template of the level 4 game. We are trying to "simplify it" by taking out some of the obstacles and images of course. It has been challenging since everytime we deduct something from the template, it interferes with something else. We are frustrated but we will not give up. An adequate level 2 will exist!!

Game Testing

So as my team and I prepare for Usability Test #2 I thought about how much we learned from the first test.

Basically we redesigned our whole game after the test. First of all we realized our instructions were not clear enough. Most of our testers did not realize right away that the game was played using the control keys and not the mouse.

We also realized that the last frame that revealed the answer was not very amusing. We realized that our game was fun because the testers wanted to keep playing the game again and wanted to try the level again if they failed it. As well, we got some positive feedback towards our idea. We also got some constructive feedback that called for major changes.

We are in the process of changing the main frame around so that we can reveal the "answer" as the player catches the sufficient amount of coffee cups (score increases). That is it for now, and I look forward to the feedback from next test this thursday.

tutorial 12 was the end of me

I found MMF2 to be really hard to use at first.
I am so glad I was able to follow most of the tutorials because I found when it came around to working on mine, it was easier to do it once I had the skills set needed to accomplish it.

The first tutorial I was assigned to do was very hard to do because it required a more advanced version of MMF. Fortunately I was assigned a new one which proved to be much easier to do.

PS3

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ohpoUA3uVn8

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=LPQ1XrllZmA

Playing video games by yourself is so 2007

I have a friend that sits at home on his days off and plays Call of Duty 4, NHL 09, Call of duty world of warfare, Halo 3, and Fabel II. What do these games all have in common? You do not need to play by yourself! Apparently 2008 was the year to play games online or side by side in a co-op mode. I asked my friend what he liked most about co-op mode and his exact words were "because I can say what I want to whoever I want with no consequences and I never have to play alone again." It allows him to escape from reality as a pro hockey player and although it involves others, he does not need to treat them as real people. Let me explain. He can play a game with a complete stranger and take his frustrations out on them without ever having to worry about seeing them face to face. As well, having someone else to play with escalates that sense of competition to a whole new level.


Yet in some cases you need to play with someone else because it's simply the game. One example is "Left 4 Dead" for Xbox 360 where you can have up to 4 gamers. In my friend's opinion NHL '09 for Xbox 360, PS2/3 and PC is the best game to play with others. You can have multiple game modes and create online leagues.

Maybe I am the typical girl but so what. My favourite co-op mode games are ROCK BAND. I love playing with anyone, it does not matter who. You can't have a band without others so it is the nature of the game. It serves several purposes; good family game, its very entertaining and commitment and skill are not vital. It's a great game for people of all ages and for someone like me that rarely plays games, it is perfect!

So video games started off with single players-one control and have now evolved to multiple players in different cities/countries/etc. all interacting in one game in real time. Who knows what the future holds!

Video Game Sales Increase Despite Economic Situation

This caught my attention today...

"Banner year for Canadian video-game salesDespite rising unemployment, plummeting consumer confidence and scarcer credit, the video-game industry in Canada is booming, according to market research group NPD."

I found an article on the CBC News that I thought would be of interest to all DAC300 students. The article states that "Canadians spent a record $2.09 billion on video-game consoles, games and accessories, and year-over year growth was 23%"

I was not surprised at all to read that the Nintendo Wii "dominated the console market, taking 44.1 per cent of sales". In the fall of 2007 I tried to get one and after lots of research and long line ups at various stores, and many phone calls with no success, I finally got a hold of a Wii...in FEBRUARY! Yes, I had to wait in line for an hour in the freezing cold if I might add, before Toys R Us opened, and ran in, did the crazy line up again to pay and walked out victorious.

Microsoft Xbox came in second with their sales at at 25.5 per cent and Sony's PlayStation in 3rd at 21.7 per cent of the console market.

Referring to the Wii, Matthew Tattle, account manager at NPD, told CBC News. "It's really expanded the user base. It's gone beyond the traditional gamer market." The wii has motion-sensitive controllers and is considerably cheaper than the PlayStation 3 at $520 and the the Xbox 360 at about $400.

The best part of the article I thought was that overall, 1.9 million consoles were sold in Canada over the year including the portable consoles such as Nintendo DS with 76.5 per cent of sales and with Sony PSP accounting for the rest.

The top-selling game of the year was "Electronic Arts's Rockband, which beat out Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 4. These were followed by two Wii games: Mariokart, complete with a driving wheel, and the Wii Fit."

Again, I can totally see why since I personally was one of the ones who bought Mariokart and am interested in getting the Wii Fit.

http://technology.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/News/ContentPosting?newsitemid=video-games&feedname=CBC-TECH-SCIENCE-V3&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True

Surprise surprise, it's BrickBreaker time

I know I have stressed already my love for Brick Breaker but honestly, I could not think of a casual game I played more often than this one. So after analyzing it in detail, I found the following to be of interest.

Brick Breaker is a non violent casual game. This game was originally installed in Blackberry devices originating in Research In Motion although other Motorola devices may have adapted a version of the game. (http://na.blackberry.com/eng/deliverables/2590/BrickBreaker_26062_11.jsp).



Here are the instructions that my Blackberry has for the game: Destroy bricks using a paddle and a ball. Scroll to move the paddle. Press space key or click to launch the ball. That in itself, explains why Brick Breaker is a casual game. It requires only one player and one button to play the game. On a blackberry the button is the white center 'pearl' button called a thumbwheel used as a directional tool for the paddle.


The objective of the game is to aim the ball at the bricks on the screen to break them down and to prevent the ball from stopping by bouncing it off the paddle. Since the ball is bouncing off at every angle from the bricks, the player needs to anticipate where the ball could fall so it can bounce it off with the paddle. Once the ball has hit every brick in the screen you move on to the next level in which there are more bricks and they are arranged differently and slightly harder. As well, the speed that the ball bounces at accelerates with every increasing level.

Procedures:
As you destroy bricks, capsules fall and in order to be unlocked, need to be caught by the paddle. When the ball hits the red brick in the middle of the pile of bricks, certain bonuses are available to you but in order to use them you have to catch the capsule with the paddle (while still keeping the ball in the air). If you are unable to catch the capsule with the paddle you simply miss out on the opportunity but continue to play at the level you were at. It is important to remember that at this point the object of the game is still to keep the ball in the air so to bounce it off with the paddle is more important than a bonus.

Below is a brief description of the capsules and their function.

• The ammo function shows how much ammunition you have obtained from the capsule caught. For instance, you get an ammo quantity of 3 every time you obtain the falling capsule named "gun". The gun is the only bonus with ammo. If you happen to receive more than one gun capsule the ammo does not add, the ammo has a maximum quantity of 3 and anything unused does not carry over for the next level.


• The Wrap capsule allows you to pass through the borders in the screen. The paddle moves horizontally beyond the borders but the ball remains within the borders.


• The flip is a capsule that reverses the original horizontal direction to make left right and right left. The direction you would move the thumbwheel on your blackberry to move the paddle to the left, now moves the paddle to the right because its direction is reversed.
  
• The multi capsule sends several balls bouncing all around the screen to hit more bricks at the same time. The trick is to try to keep them all in the air by bouncing them off the paddle.


• The Laser capsule allows the player to aim the ball when it hits the paddle. This is similar to the way you begin the game by aiming and releasing the ball.


• The capsule called life is self explanatory. When you catch this capsule it gives you another life that you can use throughout the game.


• The bomb is a capsule that empowers the original bouncing ball to act as a bomb. This means that when it is aimed at a brick it will cause a ripple effect and hit more surrouding bricks.
  
• The catch is a capsule that allows the paddle to catch the ball instead of bouncing it right back. This way the ball is caught and you can aim it again at the bricks you wish to break.
  
• The longer is a capsule that extends the length of the paddle thus covering more surface area for the ball to possibly hit. It makes it easier to bounce the ball with the paddle when the paddle is longer.
  

Visuals and Interface:
On the right of the screen your current score is noted, current ammunition for the gun, number of lives left and the highest score ever achieved on the device. Having these updates on the screen state the importance of them to the player. I find that having the highest score recorded and visible while you play the game, a motivator to want to continue to play the game and obtain a higher score.


I think the layout of the visuals is very organized and user friendly. One can easily play the game while being aware of the ammo, lives and current score. I personally like how the game remains constant throughout the levels with incremental difficulty to challenge the player. Yet it also gives opportunites for the player to earn more points by presenting the capsules. A nerve-racking feature is employed after hitting the ball with the paddle 50 times on any level causing the bricks to descend one space every few seconds. This can make it easier to hit the brick but harder to catch the ball with the paddle.

Brickbreaker is a very easy and addicting game to play because even though you can pause the game, if you decide to end the game the highest score is saved and anything below it is lost unless you choose to continue to play until you beat the highest score. The game is not designed for interactions with other players but with objects such as the capsules that affect the immediate performance. The player does not have much choice in the direction of the game since the game is constant.


Brickbreaker provides the player distraction and relaxation while competing and having fun. This game is used mostly for relaxation since it does not have steep learning curves and does not require high levels of involvement. The settings for the game give the player the choice of speed to set the paddle at. This game is played in short time increments specially because it is so accessible in mobile devices but it can also be played for many hours to achieve the highest scores. Because the game allows players to save their progress I think it offers a convenience that most games do not. The current game you are playing can be paused and one does not have to worry about the score because either way the highest score ever achieved is saved on the device. Also, Very high scores get sent to the BrickBreaker website directly from your device. This may add to the sense of competing against other players and beating their highest scores.


Another conclusion one might derive is that as humans we tend to like clear and organized settings and hence the objective of the game to clear the screen of all the bricks that are impeding this. My highest score so far is no where near amazing. I have only gotten to level 14 out of 34. Maybe as an end to a good night and hard work writing this analysis I will relax to a good old game of BrickBreaker...

Blackberrys are Great!

By far my favourite game to play is Tetris. I love everything about it, down to the unforgettable soundtrack. But when I am waiting at the doctors office or for any other appointment I can't pull out my tv and equipment required to play it...luckily I have a blackberry.

I play Brick Braker a lot more often than Tetris simply because I have access to it ALL THE TIME. I play Brick Braker on my blackberry almost every day. I like the fact that it keeps the highest score saved so that each time I am competing against myself to beat it. As well, if I need to end it fast, it's not a problem. I can always come back to it without any detrimental effects. Even if I am just bored, I can pull it out and play it for as long as I want.

Why I'm a Casual Gamer

I'm definitly not a hardcore gamer since that would require me playing somewhat complicated games. I like to play for fun and relaxation.

I don't have the desire nor the time to devote 10 hours to learning a game and master it. Let's say I do master it, I don't know when I'll have the time again to play it in which case by the time I return to it, all will have been forgotten (and believe me this happens fast for me). I have played MARVEL many times in my life but every time I sit to play it again, I have to start almost from scratch to know which buttons do what and how I can do the specials for the specific characters.

I enjoy games like Solitaire, Mario Kart, Donkey kong that have the simplistic gameplay. Pretty much anything on the Nintendo Wii, I enjoy because of the simplicity of the buttons and controls. I like to sit down and know that I don't need to read a manual to know what the game is about and how to play it. Mind you I do enjoy Mario Kart because there is some learning throughout the game (like if you shake the controller when you jump over a ramp you can gain speed). Also the levels to choose vary from easy to hard so there is always a challenge for me to play this game because I don't play it enough that I can win in the hard levels and there is always competition in the sense that I can try to beat my past scores.

It is very true for me that games have replaced television. I would much rather be involved in "fun" or competition with some sort of strategy than simply sitting in front of the t.v.

Sarah's presence

To make Sarah present in all of our discussions and tailor our decisions to her persona we could do the following:

• keep Sarah's profile in the middle of the table at all meetings
• create a facebook profile of Sarah
• wear 'What Would Sarah Want' bracelets
• create a life size doll of Sarah that we take to every meeting