Personal Gaming History.

I have always been a keen gamer for the majority of my life, so my gaming history is vast and elaborate.  Before i turned 12, i was never stuck on a particular genre of game. I played all kinds from 2D/3D side scrolling adventures such as 'Sonic', 'Yoshi's Island', 'Bug!' and 'Abe's Oddessey'. One in particular which was also the first game i ever played was 'A Clockwork Knight' for the Sega Saturn. I adored the concept for that game for it's artistic environmental attention. Playing in a world of a cluttered child's room, leaping and climbing from all sorts of toys, whilst using your clockwork ally to clear a path through the scene. I think i enjoyed it as much as i did because i could relate it to my lifestyle at the time. Being a young child i could connect with the concept and enjoy it's colourful and busy landscapes.

As i grew older i exposed myself to more video games. I began to take an interest in the genre of FPS (first person shooter) The first two definitive games that i enjoyed were 'Unreal' and 'Quake' for the PC. I believe fps appealed to me more at the time because of the multiplayer capabilities. I was finding myself in LAN matches with my father's colleagues at work. From that, competitive game play began to emerge within me. So much so, i started to buy and collect consoles to feed my interest.

Once i got hold of the Nintendo 64, FPS evolved for me. ' Turok 2: Seed's of Evil' and '007 Goldeneye' were perfect examples of how i paid more attention to the genre. They both had more depth to the stories, a vast array of weapons and environments that looked graphically stunning. In conjunction with that, multiplayer enhanced with customizable characters, sets and modes. You actually began to to think strategically to take down your opponents within using these new concepts. New textures and tones enhanced the experience for me and made the games more relatable and personal to me.

Then 'Halo: Combat Evolved' came onto the scene. Never before in my life did i ever see such a visually stunning and compelling concept: FPS had grown so much at that point. Everything about it was perfect for me. The concentration of portraying threats/war onto this truly alien planet gripped me. Playing as a legendary hero, through his eyes for the entire game. using cunning and wits to take for the enemy. Aside from that, every character had so much personality, you literally could've believed it was real. I was so incredibly immersed into FPS from then, learning the story through the character's personality traits made me connect emotionally to the game. The story was so intense that you had to keep playing, difficulties making you react strategically to succeed. FPS enables you to live the reality of the game, as you look through the eyes of that character, you began warping yourself to believe you were them, and when it came to game progression, you felt as if it was a matter of life or death to achieve, because you are so emotionally connected. That's why i believe Halo was the game that made me do what i am today. Saving the world changed for me as a concept because of the characters, environments and emotions. You wanted to protect everything because of that emotional bond, that is why i believe FPS is the best genre: For it's Total Interactive Immersion.

Bibliography:

. Google Images

Pleasure in Games - 'Rules of Play (Katie salen and Eric Zimmerman)'

It was interesting to read how the author devised the understanding of 'pleasure' and how it was enforced from the concept of rules. "Pleasure is commonly understood as a fundamental feeling this is hard to define but that people desire to experience (1)" Play within games helps outline the emotion of 'pleasure' by adding regulations to the design. obeying rules is a psychological torment, as achieving the goal will give you that feeling if excitement: However, with pleasure comes pain. Failing to play within the games rules could result in loss, which in human nature is often known as a bad and unwanted feeling. From this, winning feels more crucial and adds to the hype of the game play. using concentration and memory skills to aid the process of succeeding, gives you an adrenaline rush with the the thought of that exhilaration achievement. 

It's all within accepting the rules and using your actions wisely, with these factors in mind, the 'play' of a game becomes overwhelmingly exciting and defines the 'pleasure' within the game play.

(1) 'Rules of Play' By Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman. Page 330. Unit 3: PLAY

Chris Goodswen - 3D Artist Lecture analysis

Website: www.tincow.net
Useful Programmes noted: 'Unity 3', 'Marmoset Toolbag', 'Sculpturist' on ZBrush.

It was clear that Chris's experience as an undergraduate proved beneficial to his development over the last few years, as an aspiring game designer. It was interesting to see how he progressed from the same course, into areas of the industry by broadening his skills and finding his specific specialisms. To begin with, he solely was a 2D concept artist, who with dislike for 3D design, avoided anything to do with it where he could. It was obvious to me that he got compelled into a comfort zone which resulted him not to find motivation to attempt 3-Dimensional designs. However, through working  on the course he began to artistically mature, and introduce himself to art forms he would usually avoid. This enabled him to get not only a better understanding of the industry, but also of himself and his artistic ability.

Chris began finding his conceptual style by pursing his passion on anatomy. With all art studies, he benefited by researching existing materials alongside traditional techniques to devise his own designs. by focusing on historical and cultural depth, Chris could  adapt his ideas further within keeping that backlog of research. This made me realise the importance of  researching thoroughly before you begin drawing or designing. Finding out more statistics would aid my knowledge within a conceptual study, as i would have a memory of useful and factual data.

The way Chris developed his work seemed very crucial to his personal progression. He learnt that constant exposure to playing with ideas and drawings, aided him into sticking with a solid concept. He would do mass amounts of 2-3 minute sketches until he found a silhouette that stood out for him. From there he would adapt them by doing 5-10 minute speed paintings, that allowed him to explore with tonal and textural structure. Through exposing himself to different arts such as animation, 3D and 2D, Chris was able to narrow down his strengths and create his specialism. However, this was not the only factor that helped with his progression.

'Working in Teams' was the most crucial statement he said in the lecture. Connecting with the other artists opens endless networks into various industries related to this course. It also allows you to become influenced by other works being produced, which is key for development and gaining inspiration for conceptual ideas. You can obtain all sorts of information from each other, as every individual carries some sort of unique style, or has a process you would be unfamiliar with. From this, you can have endless possibilities in your designs, so staying close to a team will always be beneficial.