Theme Moodboard

Group Critique Forms

Group Critique Forms

General Knowledge Quiz

With this idea, my original game would ask questions about a celebrity. The problem with this is that if the game was asking a question based on a celebrity that isn't as well known then it would be hard for the player to actually answer it, as the questions may be too specific. Shiam had an idea that rectified this. If the game was to actually just ask general knowledge questions, with the intent to narrow it down until you get the answer, then it may make the objective of the game more attainable without removing the challenge.

Alternative Elvis Choices

Shiam wanted me to follow facts about Elvis to see if it would still play out the same if certain choices in his life were different. As an example, if Elvis were to take this opportunity in his life as opposed to another one, then his life may play out differently. These opportunities that are presented in the game are related to the questions that are asked so that is how it would tie into the game as a whole. I feel like this idea is creative, but I’m not going to implement it because I feel like it distracts from the idea of the game as a whole. The game isn't about one person in general, and it varies from people to locations, so because of this I feel like the idea may not even be able to be implemented without completely changing the game’s concept. As an example, it may work with Elvis, but it wouldn't work if the question was based on guessing a location, or a less known celebrity.

Research For My Theme

What was your theme?

My theme was based on Puzzle games and educational games. I took inspiration from a lot of portable games to create the concept drawings for my pictures. I tried to make everything as colourful as possible as I felt it fits with the theme of 2D drawings. A lot of older, classic games have a very bright colour scheme, which really made the art style pop out, even if the graphics weren’t that amazing. Something like Tetris uses its colour scheme to make the different objects pop out at you, because the different pieces are supposed to stand out from each other, while another game like Donkey Kong contrasts its black background with bright pink walkways.

My game is portable, so I should be looking at Nintendo games from the 80s as part of my theme instead of modern games that are on the next gen console for the most part. The reasoning behind this is the comparison in graphics that classic Nintendo games and portables offer, due to the limited graphics that a mobile phone or portable device can have in comparison to a next gen console.

A lot of the Nintendo DS games that were released during the mid-2000s are a good reference for how games can both look and function when working on a portable device, especially with the amount of touch-screen games that are available on phones at the moment. Big Brain Academy was available on the Nintendo DS, and it allowed you to highlight and answer questions that you wanted to by clicking on them, which cut out a lot of the hassle that would have possibly been in the game had it opted for a scroll through the menus system.

Games that are available on touch-screen phones at the moment take full advantage of this, with a game like Clash of Clans having everything completely controllable from the touch-screen. Clash of Clans takes this to such an extent to the point where you can’t even download the game on phones that have keypads. The complete functionality of the game is designed to be played on a touch-screen which would ideally be the way in which how my game would be played. You would have the whole screen show the game (as opposed to the Nintendo DS which had two screens, one for viewing, and one for the touch screen) with certain boxes on the screen which would allow you to access certain menu functions. This would hold the best functionality for a game which is based on asking and answering questions in my opinion.

Here are some examples of games that relevant to my theme

Big Brain Academy

Big Brain Academy is my main reference for most of the things that would be in my game, as it is a solid template for what I need in order to make a question based game fun and interesting. Big Brain Academy is a great game to reference because the game is simply based on questions and answers, with minimal gameplay that is based on the technical skill of the player. I think this is one of the main reasons why it found such a huge audience which spanned across multiple generations due to both its versatility and its ease on the technical skills that the player needs. The graphics are also a great example that games that are question based can follow, because I think that the simplicity helps the game. If the game's graphics were too much, I think that it could overpower the game's overall objective and take away from the quiz show, competitive atmosphere that the game has.

Donkey Kong

The original Donkey Kong had a black background that really contrasted the bright colours that were shown everywhere. The game obviously has graphics that aren't meant to be taken seriously within the context of its own universe, but are instead designed in the way that they are as a means to highlight the different things that are available on the screen. The ladders are usually a very bright colour, whereas the platforms are usually a very contrasting darker colour with some pattern design on them which allows you to distinguish one from another. Donkey Kong himself is multiple colours, with his fur being a dark brown, while his skin tone is a mix between a light brown and pink. This is just another way to distinguish the character from the background. If Donkey Kong was one solid colour, then there could be some situations that would have Donkey Kong blending into the background. If that happens to throw the player off for even a second, then it could mean the difference between the player living or dying, which could then contribute towards the player not enjoying the game because they died due to something that is out of their control.

Clash of Clans

Clash of Clans is one of the most popular games available at the moment, and it is a perfect example of how a game can take advantage of touch screen functionality. With the main game being played in the background on a visual level, while the functions of the game are overlaying this visual with a number of menus and things that the player will have to physically press in order to access.

Analysis of games styles

Analysis of games styles

For games that rely on audience knowledge, there are a few games that I felt were very helpful in giving me a reference in what makes an educational game both fun and challenging. I've also looked at the platform of the medium of what my game is played on. In this case, I've looked at some mobile phone games as a way to analyse what games I feel really capture the addictive essence of the games that are popular. 

Big Brain Academy

This is one of the most popular games that are considered educational. This game had a very wide audience, which ranged from avid gamers to newcomers who may not play games on a regular basis. I feel like one of the combining factors for its popularity which really identified with most people is the challenging aspect of wanting to get a high enough score. Without any actual physical reward, people are encouraged to come back and play over and over again.

Temple Run

When Temple Run was at the height of its power, a lot of people were playing it both casually and competitively. The game had a system where you had a score depending on how well you played and how far you had gone, which made the game have such an addictive nature.

Super Why!

This is a much smaller game than any of the other games that are on the list, but I feel like it’s a great example of an educational game that can be played with a both a minimalistic design and execution. The game includes interactive storybooks in which kids are instructed to plug in the correct words to complete sentences. Another feature that the game has is that it lays out words which kids can then learn how to trace, as a way to learn how to spell words correctly.

Clash of Clans

In Clash of Clans, the addictive nature comes from the both the co-operative and versus nature of the games. The game encourages players to play against each other to earn resources, items and trophies. The reason why I've included this on the list is because I feel like it’s interesting that one of the most popular games available is a game that stresses both a competitive nature and a co-operative nature in equal measure. The way games are played is changing and I feel that online is becoming an interesting component that should be noted because of its availability in most games that are played. Online play isn't in my game, but I think that a game based on questions could work  

PEGI Ratings

PEGI Ratings

PEGI 3 – A PEGI 3 game is a game that is given this rating because it’s suitable for all ages. Subject matter shouldn’t include anything that is violent, scary or has too much of a negative connotation when connect to things that the child may see in real life. No bad language should be heard within the game, whatever the context may be. Violence may be acceptable if the violence is comical in its context, with an example being the Lego video games or the Tom & Jerry cartoons.

Some examples of PEGI 3 ratings

-         Mario Kart

-         Lego Star Wars

-         The majority of sports games

 

PEGI 7 – A PEGI 7 game is any game that would usually have a PEGI 3 rating, but contains certain mild frightening scenes or sounds that could be deemed to not fit into a game that is aimed at a PEGI 3 audience.

Some examples of PEGI 7 ratings

-         Minecraft

-         Pokémon

PEGI 12 – A PEGI 12 game is allowed to show violence to a slightly more graphic nature depending on the context of the situation. The game is allowed to show violence towards a character that can easily be identified as fantasy, so long as there is a clear distinction between the fantastical and real life. Characters that can be identified as more realistic must have violence that leans towards the non-graphic side. Mild bad language is allowed, but must fall short of sexual expletives.

 Some examples of PEGI 12 ratings

-         The Sims

-         World of Warcraft

PEGI 16 – A PEGI 16 game is applied to a game once the depiction of violence or sexual activity reaches a stage that looks the same as you would expect in real life. In this case, most bad language, the concept of tobacco and drugs and the depiction of criminal activities in a game can be shown.

Some examples of PEGI 16 ratings

-         Halo

-         Titanfall

PEGI 18 – A PEGI 18 game is applied to a game once the level of violence reaches a stage where it becomes a depiction of gross violence or shows violence in a specific way. If a game has a PEGI 18 rating, it is basically allowed to show anything that can be shown in a game as it is an adult rating.

Some examples of PEGI 18 ratings

 

-         Grand Theft Auto

-         The Last of Us

-          Gears of War

Photoshop Concepts

Here's some initial concepts for my game. In these pictures, my idea is shown in two pictures. The first picture in the game will have a grid that is one colour. Following this, questions will pop up that are related to the person who is hidden behind the tiles. If you answer the question correctly, you will have a part of the picture revealed. The challenging part of the game comes from the time limit that is set. You will need to answer enough questions to be able to guess who the person in question is. Once you have guessed this, you can move onto the next "level". You will be judged on your score based on what level you get to.. In this example Elvis Presley is shown so questions would be related to Elvis Presley, which would allow the player to identify the person that is hidden under the tiles.

                                                                                                                                      

Initial Ideas

Initial idea

Idea 1 -

My initial idea is that the game will be a puzzle game, which will use leader boards as a tool to allow players to compete, as well as allowing players to come back to the game, due to the addictive nature of trying to beat statistics in games.

The objective of the game is to solve questions regarding general knowledge. There will be multiple categories that a player picks at the start of their answering session, which the game will then proceed to give questions involving this subject to the player. 

As an example, the player would be given 5 different categories (e.g. sports, music, history), and will proceed to pick one. Depending on how many you get, you stack accumulative points. The more points you get, the higher you get on the leader board. This score can then be compared against other players.

The problems are solved on a timer. The other obstacle is that the problems that are given to the player will be at random. This is to avoid players redoing the same problems over and over again and learning to solve the problems through repetition.

The target demographic I am aiming at for my game is the demographic of people who will be playing games on their phone, or at the very least on portable devices. This means that the game needs to be quick, fun, interactive and most importantly, addictive.

Idea 2 (Updated version of Idea 1) -

While I want to retain a lot of the core components of my original game, I felt like the player would have to have a very specific interest to be able to answer some of the questions. A lot of people know of Elvis Presley, but how many would be able to answer questions about his birthplace, or the year that certain albums of his were released without looking it up? With this in mind, I've now changed my idea to allow the player to have more of a chance. 

Instead of questions coming up that are so very specific, the game will be played with through process of elimination. Questions will be asked with three multiple choice answers. Whether your answer is correct or incorrect, you will move onto the next question. The game will be played on an overall timer, and depending on how many questions you were able to answer once the timer runs out will decide what score you get. The faster you answer the questions, the sooner you'll move onto the next question, which in turn can help you get a higher score through answering a higher amount of questions.