Schedule
The jam schedule has been updated accordingly since
participation in this particular jam.
The Jam
Myself,
Tom Sharman and Wayne Jackson worked together for the Global Game Jam from the 24th - 26th of January
2014 under the theme "We do not see things as they are, we see them as
we are". The theme was nice an interesting with room for a lot of
interpretation. This was my 3rd time participating in The Global
Game Jam, and my 2nd time working alongside Wayne and Tom. We
created an aesthetic heavy game with our main focus towards polished visuals
and achieving a sense of mood. Working within team was a lot of fun and we all
had blast together throughout the weekend.
The Game
Our entry
is entitled 'I Wish I Could Fly'. Player’s experience the life
cycle of a girl from a young age to through to adulthood, as the seasons pass
she begins to grow old. I Wish I Could Fly is best defined as an interactive
storytelling game with hidden object elements. As players interact with the
swinging girl, time passes, seasons change and the character grows old. Time is
dependent on players keeping the swing in motion.
What Went Well?
Setting,
Tone, Mood
The game
is set across an ever-changing landscape that fills with unique elements over
time. Setting the game outside in a natural environment with a tree
allows us to represent with clarity the time passing of time. Players can
easily understand the visual representations of the seasons. Changing these
seasons’ helps to set the look and tone of the game; we wanted to create an
experience that encourages players to consider their own time, and the
shortness of life in a reflective, natural environment. The constant seasonal
also change makes things feel like they are moving forward and a constant rate.
A lot of thought went into the pacing of the game, although it would be
interesting to what impact would occur in the game if the pacing of everything
was ramped up. Setting the right pace in your aesthetics allows you to achieve
the most impact and create a memorable experience.
Experimental
Mechanics
The
mechanics of the game are not fun, but from a learning experience were
interesting to explore in terms of game aesthetics. The minimalist interaction
that takes place in the game was initially a big unknown for us as a team – we
did not have much of an idea towards if this envisioned mechanic would work. We
wanted to try to induce players into some sense of dream or meditative state
that calms players.
The focus
towards a rotation mechanic was a conscious decision through influenced of
hypnosis techniques such as in the video presented below. The idea of the
movement of a clock swinging in front of a person is an attempted in inducing
them into dreamlike or relaxing states of consciousness. This was something we
were keen to explore. The swing in I Wish I Could Fly is a reflection of that
swinging clock idea and an attempt from us to try to achieve senses of
relaxation or dreaminess in the player. Moreover, the choice of this mechanic
was also intended to make players feel immersed into the world.
The
successful implementation of this gameplay mechanic also meant that we
accomplished one of the many diversifiers.
- Round and Round: Rotation is one of the primary
mechanics in the game
Time
It was
interesting exploring time as a gameplay mechanic. The game ‘Passage’ By Jason
Rohrer was definitely a big influence towards this. Passage follows the flow of
time until death which was an area we wanted to explore. “Passage for
example essentially explores one idea, which is one little nuance feeling of
coming face to face with your own mortality.” (Rohrer in discussion with
Chris Crawford, 2009) Passage does well at trigger emotional responses from its
players; the idea of aging over time can be very powerful. Jason Rohrer has
described Passage to be a ‘love letter game’ to his wife – it is wonderful
thing that he shares such personal expression for free to the world. For
me personally, Passage holds many things that I want from a game experience.
The main one being that it is so meaningful to the developer, playing it felt
like having a personal conversation to the developer.
One way
we visualised this concept in I Wish I Could Fly is by the ever changing
seasons to give players a sense of long periods of time passing by. We wanted
to explore some similar themes of death and mortality like in passage, but also
the idea of how quickly life goes by. Although it was clear players interpreted
this in many different ways, the essence of the message we wanted to give to
players can be summarised nicely, “life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop
and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller.
Teamwork
In the
survival guide it states that “…to be sure that you have practiced using
your entire art creation tool chain.” As a team this was our 3rd
project together, meaning by now we are relatively comfortable with each
other’s work flow, style, strengths and weaknesses making for an enjoyable
design experience. Working with the guys made this Jam a lot fun and is the
most important thing; the fact we made something that played smoothly and was
polished is an added bonus! It was awesome to step away from our group project
(Softlegs) and work on making some new. This
jam has enabled us to go back to our group project with some positivity and
familiarity to skill set with working within a team, as well as new
perspectives to design and approaches to 2d Flash development. When in the heat
of the Jam, it is important that communication within the team is constantly
taken place to keep things on track and to avoid un-expected surprises – it is
essential that you listen with much attention towards your team. “The
most important skill for a game designer is listening… listen more deeply, pay
full attention to body language, subtle facial expressions, tone of voice and
gestures.”(Schell, 2012)
Visual
Influence
Component that helps to illustrate the progression of time to players is the
scaffolding into hut building asset that appear after in a couple of yearly
cycles of seasons. We liked the idea of representing a presence of civilisation
overtime. The game Black & White was a big influence on this. The process
of building Norse huts in Black & White allows players to see the
progression of the scaffolding grow over time which was something I always
thought was cool. I adopted this idea and interpreted it into a projected 2D
perspective in a number of building states for Jam simplicity, shown below.
Dealing
with the Game Jam Theme
One thing
that went well stated in The Game Jam Survival Guide when digesting the
theme was to, “Talk about the theme over dinner with a friend”.
(Kaitila, 2012) As a team, we all went to a restaurant the moment the theme was
announced to talk it over. This approach has become yearly Global Game Jam
tradition for us as it allows us to think in comfortable environment and does
not force any strain towards coming up with an idea. Also, this gets us away
from other teams meaning that we avoid becoming influenced by any other Jammers
ideas that may be discusses in the labs.
Aesthetics
‘I Wish
I Could Fly’ is a nice proof of concept prototype that could one day be
developed into something much more substantial. With some focus towards the
mechanics of the game, among other things, this entry could potentially be
enhanced into an enriching experience that players can appreciate on a
meaningful level. My goal as a designer is to create a game experience that
touches players on deeply meaningful, insightful or enriching way – overtime;
I hope to show players something that they have never seen before. I Wish I
Could Fly is a stepping stone to the next game and towards one day achieving
this goal.
"Aesthetics
is how the game looks, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels.” (Schell, 2008) By further
understanding game Aesthetics, I am able to get a sense of how I can approach
achieving my goals. The word aesthetics is interesting one. To truly understand
the nature of this, I made further research briefly into the area. The research
I undertook has enabled me to learn more about the specific types of strengths
and weaknesses I encompass as a games designer. “You will want to choose
mechanics that make players feel like they are in the world that the aesthetics
have defined, the right pace and have the most impact” (Schell, 2008)
|
Polish
& Scope
One thing
that we achieved well in the short time frame is a good level of polish which
meant the concept was scoped well. Working alongside Tom and Wayne with all the
visuals and throwing around animations was great. I good way of keeping your
game in scope is by designing a game that takes place across only one
screen – this will help you to achieve a good level of polish in your game
(Scrappy Chappies, I Wish I Could Fly, Channel) As you will be focusing on
making the one screen perfect for the entire weekend – this can often impress
judges “do one thing well as opposed to 21 things poorly” (Kaitila,
2012) I often find that if your Jam game has only screen or limited to one area
that you can usually get a fairly decent level of polish throughout the weekend
- which can sometimes make for award winning entries. This of course will vary
depending on your skill level, experience and number of people in your team.
Avoid overscoping is a big challenging to achieve in Jams and one of the most
common traits of unsuccessful Jam games.
Our own
cursor was also implemented to add a level of personal flair and
professionalism. Custom cursors also allow players to get a sense of the type
of game they are playing. Often, they will intuitively go for the mouse instead
of the keyboard upon seeing the custom cursor.
Public
Reviews
A couple
of online reviews we written about the game which has been exciting for the
team. More than once, the game has been defined as a meditative experience -
which is an interesting way to define the prototype. I Wish I Could Fly was
featured on two websites as selected Global Game Jam 2014 submission
highlights.
We had a surprisingly fair amount
of response considering the prototype was not fun in anyway. People said many
encouraging things and I even had a personal e-mail from a fan
complimenting the game which was encouraging.
What Went Wrong?
No Win
Condition
We made the
mistake of prioritising certain elements of the game over implementing a ending
to the prototype. “Concentrate on the important parts of your game…
Triggering a ’win’ state” (Kaitila, 2012) A lot of people said that they
wish something would have happened to end the game. This in turn made for
players walking away from which is a shame - I learnt how important completing
your Jam game can be. In the short time frame nearing the end, we could have
achieved this by simply fading the character out into nothing once players
obtain all hidden objects in the game. This would then climax the game and
potentially trigger some emotions and more concrete meaning/interpretations
from players.
Task
Priorities
We simply
did not prioritise the Win Condition and other tasks for the game well in order
for it to have the impact we wanted to have. We did in fact have a number
Player animation frames that did not make into the game, frames which would
have made for some strong emotional impact in players. We wanted players to
physically see the life cycle of a young girl, grow into teens, to adulthood,
to an elder until eventually deteriorating into nothingness leaving players
with an empty swing.
Demographics
I have
recently come to understand the importance of considering demographics for when
planning to release a game that will have an audience. Before I started this
project I was very much in the mind set of overlooking demographics, but simply
being aware of them with some consideration can help your game find its players.
“We know that all individuals are each unique, but when creating something
meant to be enjoyed by vast numbers of people, we have to consider ways that
groups of people are the same. For games designers the two most significant
demographic variables are age and gender. We all play differently as we get
older, and males and females play differently than one another at all ages.”
(Schell, 2008) It is important to be aware of demographics when creating.
Any drastically wrong component that conflicts against the types of players you
indent to tailor for could resolve in a non-existent audience for your game.
If we
were to develop I Wish I Could Fly further into a potentially public online
release then the research that follows is critical:
- 0 -3: Infant/Toddler. Children in this age
bracket are very interested in toys, but the complexity and problem
solving involved in games is generally too much for them.
- 4 – 6: Pre-schooler. This is the age where
children generally show their first interest in games. The games are very
simple, and played with parents more often than with one another, because
parents know how to bend the rules to keep the games enjoyable and
interesting.
- 7 – 9: Kids. The age of seven has long
been called the “age of reason.” At this age, children have entered
school, are generally able to read, are able to think things through. This
is also the age where children start making their own decisions about what
kinds of toys and games they like and dislike, no longer just accepting whatever
their parents choose for them.
- 10 – 13: Preteen. Children this age are going
through a period of tremendous growth and are suddenly able to think about
things more deeply and with more nuance than they were a few years back.
This age is sometimes about their interests. For boys especially, these
interests are often games.
- 13 – 18: Teen. The job of a teenager is to
start getting ready for adulthood. At this age we generally see a
significant divergence between male and female interests. Boy continue to
be interested (and often get more interested) in competition and mastery,
whereas girls become more focused on real-world issues and communication.
This makes boys and girl game interests very different at this age. Teens
of both genders are very interested in experimenting with new kinds of
experiences, though, and some of those can happen through gameplay.
- 18 – 24: Young Adult. This is the first “adult”
age grouping, and the mark of an important transition. Adults in general,
play less than children do. Most adults do continue to play, but at this
point with their teenage experiments out of the way, they have established
certain tastes about the kind of play and entertainment they enjoy. Young
adults usually have both time and money on their hands, which makes them
big consumers of games.
- 25 – 35: Twenties and
Thirties. At
this age, time starts becoming more precious, this is the age of “peak
family formation” As the responsibilities of adulthood start to add up,
most adults in this age bracket are only casual game players, playing
games as an occasional amusement, or playing game with their young
children. On the other hand, “hardcore gamers” in this age bracket – that
is, people for whom playing games is their primary hobby – are an
important target market because they purchase a lot of games, and are
often quite vocal about what they do and don’t like, potentially influence
the buying decision of their social network.
- 35 – 50: Thirties and
Forties: Sometimes
referred to as the “family maturation” stage, most adults in this
bracket are very caught up in career and family responsibilities and are
only casual game players. As their children become older, adults in this
age group are often the ones who make decisions about expensive game
purchases and when possible look for game playing opportunities the whole
family can enjoy together.
- 50+: Fifties and Up. Often called the “empty
nesters,” adults in this age bracket suddenly have a lot of time on their
hands – their children have moved out, and they will soon be facing
retirement. Some return to games they enjoyed when younger, and other,
looking for a change turn to new game experiences that have a strong
social component. Such as golf, tennis, bridge, and online multiplayer
games.
It is a
big achievement to accomplish near completion of a Game in a Jam. One thing
that we were conscious of before the jam was that we wanted to appeal to a
certain type of audience – we wanted create and experience that appealed to
females. At the time underestimating how truly challenging this is, I have made
some additional research since so that next time we will hopefully be one step
closer towards appealing to types of players.
By
looking into Jesse Schell’s Art of Game Design we can understand that females
tend to like different things to males in games, it is important to be aware of
these. “Females want experiences where they can make emotional and social
discoveries that they can apply to their own lives.” - Heidi
Dangelmeier. I Wish I Could Fly was designed to be focused with the female
target audience in mind. Since the Jam I have learnt a lot more towards the
likes and dislikes towards this target audience and some iteration would need
to be taken place in order to achieve this.
Female
Players
If I Wish
I Could Fly was to be aimed at the female audience then much research is
required to take place. I spent some time looking over Jesse Schell’s Art of
Game Design book towards the sections that discuss gender; I was able to digest
some useful information. Additionally, I came across Schell’s list of Five
Things Females Like to See in Games (presented below) and discussed how they
link to I Wish I Could Fly or could with further development.
Five
Things Females Like to See in Games
- Emotion – “Females like
experiences that explore the richness of human emotion. For males, emotion
is an interesting component of an experience, but the seldom an end in
itself.” (Schell, 2008) I Wish I Could Fly is emotionally focus as it
allows players to experience the life cycle of human emotions.
- Real World – “Females tend to
prefer entertainment that connects meaningfully to the real world. If you
watch young girls and young boys play, girls will more frequently play
games that are strongly connected to the real world (playing ‘house,’
pretending to be a veterinarian, playing dress up, etc.” (Schell,
2008) I am unsure if the game ticks the box of some of these points, but
the game does offer an experience that connects meaningfully to the real
world by simulating the act of play on a swing in a natural environment.
- Nurturing – “Females enjoy
nurturing. Girls enjoy taking care of baby dolls, you pets and children
younger than themselves. It is not uncommon to see girls sacrifice a
winning position in a competitive game to help a weaker player, partly
because the relationships and feelings of the player are more important
than the game, but partly out of the joy of nurturing.” (Schell, 2008)
Unfortunately, this prototype does not allow players to nurture with any interactive
elements in the game. Perhaps, the game could be iterated with
opportunities to feed a pet of some kind that sits next to swing in
attempt to achieve potential nurturing opportunities.
- Dialog and Verbal Puzzles – “It is often said that
what females lack in spatial skills they make up for in increased verbal
skills. Women purchase many more books than men do, and the audience for
crossword puzzles is mostly female.” (Schell, 2008) The game features some
hidden object elements that allow players to obtain the thoughts of dialog
from the character. However, these elements were implemented in the later
crunching stages of the Jam meaning much attention and interaction would
need to take place in order to fully achieve this aspect of likeability from
female players.
- Learning by Example – “Just as males tend
eschew instructions, favouring a trail-and-error approach, females tend to
prefer learning by example. They have a strong appreciation for clear
tutorials that lead you carefully, step-by-step, so that when it is time
to attempt a task, the player knows what she is supposed to do.”(Schell,
2008) The game does not offer players any opportunities to learn by
example, you simply have to dive in and figure out the system through
trial and error. Meaning this is a fundamental flaw if we were to aim I
Wish I Could Fly towards the female market. Some instruction that visually
shows players step by step how to play the game would potentially need to
be implemented. Particularly as additional mechanics could find their way
into the game potentially adding complexity.
Conclusion/What I learnt?
I learnt
many things from this Jam, specifically towards what my strengths and
weaknesses as a designer. Some of my weaknesses that I am now more aware of
are, designing ‘fun’ mechanics, crafting addictive gameplay and holding
players attention for long periods of time. I learnt that concluding a Jam Game
entry by having a win state can be vital in drastically enhancing the game. I
will take this forward with me to my next jams as a priority as this could be
the thing that brings your game one step closer in becoming an online Game Jam
hit! I learnt the importance of demographics in understanding the types of
player that you can tailor your game to. I will take forward with me certain
likes and dislikes from players when creating a meaningful experience that we
intend to finish.
I am open
to the idea of developing this prototype into a full release online towards
many of the more popular web portals. I like the idea that most of the players
of the game being female. A lot of attention would need to be made in the
way of appealing towards this demographic before the official public release.
List of Illustrations
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