Neat HTML5 websites

http://agent8ball.com/


http://www.ryandelaney.co.nz/


http://www.qlassik.com/

First Flash Drawing

This is my first drawing on Flash. Its a drawing of a Lemonhead wearing a hat and riding a skateboard.

Neat Flash Websites

 The Museum of Me

http://www.intel.com/museumofme/en_US/r/index.htm

 Monoface

http://www.mono-1.com/monoface/main.html

Moodstream

http://moodstream.gettyimages.com/

4th Six Weeks Reflection

     I do believe last six weeks was successful for me. I got through two projects, and I'm pretty sure both turned out quite well. Also, as I worked on the second one particularly, I noticed that many classmates around me were falling behind, whereas I, who had missed a full class period on a field trip, managed to finish it in a timely manner. I think part of this is thanks to my work ethic. I had to fight the urge to put my head down and sleep, or lose myself in a daydream, or go off task in order to get work done. The second project was quite large, and this ability to focus was necessary to get it done on time.

     I preferred the game design project over the typography one. Although both had a lot of freedom, I feel like the game design project allowed to me use my imagination more and create exactly what I wanted to. Successful typography is also quite amazing, but I do not think I am at all at that level. Instead, my work ends up looking like a pitiful attempt to be something I am not. It was also painfully repetitive, at least in my opinion. Even though it was longer and more difficult, the game design project was more rewarding in the end.

     For both of these projects, I almost exclusively used Photoshop. I used this program because I am most familiar with it, as we have been using it for a long time and it was covered most recently. It also has a nice balance of potential for creative diversity as well as ease of use. I also thought, at least for typography, that its text tool would come in handy. After finishing up with the projects, I do regret not using Illustrator for the game design project. For the gameplay mockup illustration, the easy-to-use shape tool in Illustrator would have been better than that of Photoshop.

     One thing I learned this six weeks was from the game design project. When developing the plan for the game itself, I kept deciding that I had included enough. The teacher, however, would keep challenging me to add more. First, it would be lacking in the fun element. Next, the education element would need more development. In hindsight, I realize that this drive for settling with nothing less than perfection can become very useful in the real world. Those who give more effort will almost always be the successful ones in life.

Game Design Project

Investigate

     When I was first assigned this project, I wasn't quite sure where to begin. I knew that I was going to have to create a plan for an educational game, but was overwhelmed: It seemed like such a large project. I began to consider what academic topic I might try to teach through my game. I decided that chemistry would be a good choice, as it is often viewed as confusing, and has a lot of opportunity for education. I then decided on what type of game it would be. I have always had an interest in Flash games, and decided that a platformer-style game with chemistry related subjects mixed in could turn out quite well.


Plan

     At this stage, I began to work on the plan for the game itself. I wasn't creating anything yet, I was just crafting the theory. I googled how to make a good flash game, and took note of all of the different aspects. I copied down a list of elements found in successful flash games on a sheet of paper. I played a few games too in order to see what made a game fun to play. I looked up common issues people had with chemistry and and saw that the periodic table and the information it provided on the electron shells, mass, and chemical symbols was often confused. I got out a sheet of paper and sketched a few images of what a particular level of my game would look like. As I made revisions to the game, the sheet got messier and more informative, and the idea developed more and more. In the end, I ended up with a game where you control a character who jumps from platform to platform trying to enter the door marked with the correct chemical symbol, element name, and mass that corresponds to the level you are on. You have to avoid falling into the lava while also avoiding various enemies such as a type of rocket that homes in on you. If you can collect the electrons hanging around the map, you will get bonus points. There is a jackpot bonus if the player is able to fill up their outer shell. The player also has a certain amount of time to complete each level.


Create

     Finished with the planning phase of the project, I began on the creation of the three required illustrations. I decided on using Photoshop for them, as that one was freshest in my mind. My original intention for the first image was a main menu screen. The more I added to it, the less it looked like a menu, so I simply converted that first work into the gameplay mockup itself. This was my favorite image, and also the one I spent the most time on. I used the shape tool a lot, and eventually started wishing that I had used Illustrator, as that one has an easier to use tool. When I thought I had added enough, I realized that the image still looked a little flat. With this in mind, I changed the "style" of most of the shapes to make them flashier and more fun to look at. I made the user-interface image in the form of a main menu screen. I was sure to keep the same theme as I did in the mock-up illustration. I played around with font styles and effects in order to keep the screen appealing. I also decided to add a door in the background to further increase the similarities between the game idea, main menu, and mock-up. Lastly, I needed to create an illustration of a person playing this game. This one seemed to be the least important. Even the blog confirmed this, so I decided to try something new. Using Photoshop as with the first two illustrations, I began to get images online to try and combine them into one image in the hopes of creating a coherent, appealing image of a person playing a computer. I haven't really done anything like this, so I had trouble with it. In the end, it turned out far better than I could have hoped for.


Evaluate

     I am satisfied with how the final products of this project turned out. I have an expansive, creative, educational, and enjoyable idea for a game. I also have not one, not two, but three detailed illustrations full of effort that show how different aspects of the game would look like, from the outside (person playing game) to the main menu to even the very gameplay itself. No detail was neglected. It was a fairly fun project. I appreciated the amount of free reign I given when it came to coming up with an idea for a game. The potential was almost limitless, and the human mind works best under such conditions. The step I enjoyed the least was the creation of the illustration of a person playing the game itself. For a physically involved game, this seems logical. For a computer game, not so much. Nevertheless, I made sure to give this step my all.

Image of my written plan

Image of person playing Periodic Sojourn

Image of Main Menu

Image of Gameplay

Bibliography
-Wegscheid, Shaun. "Multimedia." Technology. Blogger, 25 Jan. 2011. Web. 8 Feb. 2012. <http://sw-multimedia.blogspot.com/search/label/multimedia>.

-Willey, Ira. "How to Make a Successful Flash Game." One More Blog. Wordpress, 17 Feb. 2008. Web. 8 Feb. 2012. <http://blog.onemorelevel.com/how-to-make-a-successful-flash-game/>.

-D, Damien. "Find out How to Make a Flash Game within Minutes." Game Innovator - Helping You Create Killer Games. Game Innovator. Web. 8 Feb. 2012. <http://www.gameinnovator.com/quickflashgame.php>.

-Barnett, Jeffery. "Office Seating : Moment Side Chair." Knoll. Knoll. Web. 8 Feb. 2012. <http://www.knoll.com/products/product.jsp?prod_id=849>.

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-Stutzman, Chad. "Claires-art-07-02-1024 Back of Head « Chad Stutzman.com." Chad Stutzman.com. ChadStutzman.com, 22 Aug. 2011. Web. 8 Feb. 2012. <http://chadstutzman.com/08/2011/a-leader-you-never-heard-of/claires-art-07-02-1024-back-of-head-2/>.

-Barrywhit. "The Periodic Table « Nuke Matters." Nuke Matters. Wordpress, 18 Feb. 2010. Web. 8 Feb. 2012. <http://nukematters.wordpress.com/2010/02/18/24/>.

-"Mars Clock." Mumford Micro Systems - The Crackpot Inventor. Web. 8 Feb. 2012. <http://www.bmumford.com/clocks/martian/>.

-"LG 23" LCD Monitor 16:9 Full HD Black - LG - W2353V-PF - CCI Distribution." CCI Distribution: IT, Computer Peripheral & Computer Storage Distributor to Trade Resellers. CCI Distribution. Web. 8 Feb. 2012. <http://www.ccidistribution.co.uk/monitors/lg-23-lcd-monitor-16-9-full-hd-black/>.

Sub Day 2-8-12

Today, I finished up work on the game play mock-up portion of the project, looked at a few more ideas for the main menu screen, then finished up that, and then finally began on the Illustration of a person playing my game. I read that that part was less important for computer based games that aren't physically interactive, so I decided to experiment on a different type of Photoshop work. I started getting different images from the internet and then putting them together with the use of the magnetic lasso tool. It isn't perfect, but I wouldn't expect it to be, since Ive never done something like that before. Here is what I got done:




I also went to the restroom.



I wont be in class on Friday due to the MUN field trip.