Entrepreaneur

The visual pitch for my proposal can be found Here.

If that link doesn't work try here.

Looking back

I have mixed feeling about the end result of this project. While I am glad I was able to work long hours to have my project how I want it I still think it let down other areas of my work, mostly my final presentation. I can look back on the work I have done and see how it has developed from fungal parasites. I think that the research and development were more of my higher points that then seems to get me stuck in production with redevolpment. The more I wanted to articulate my idea across the more the progression of the production of the project started to go down. I let things draw out for too long and become too complex for anything to go that far. As I tried to tick all boxes of what my work is about I started to lose what was really possible for a individual semester project that would also allow me for better reflection and refining. Overall I am glad I have a finished project, now I just wished it could be backed up with more indepth surroundings. As well as sound.

Contextual statement

Contextual statement

There is a parasite fungus called the Cordyceps Unilaterus that can take over an insect into moving and acting the way the fungus wants. The insect on the other hand thinks it is moving and acting the way it wants to and is not aware that this fungus is having control over it. My work lies within the 'digital' having the same impact as the fungus and us being the insect. My work allows the participant to get sucked into this digital media only to be shocked with feeling that they have been manipulated into doing something that they are not aware of and outside of the digital space they are used to, much like the way the fungus takes over an insect.

The way the person is to feel manipulated is from a virus hacking into their email account and contact real people from another digital source. This is all granted from the person's continuous use of a specific digital media source.

The purpose of allowing this feeling of manipulation from using a type of digital media is to give an understanding on how we already allow the digital in our lives to impact us from large amounts of  consumption. If you have a Facebook account with a few friends you could easily have one of those friends request for you to try an online game or look at an online article. What this can do is have the digital invest in your 'real' life, for what would be an absurd amount of time to which has now become normal. This is all done from the persons desire to complete a personal specific goal. Whether it is first the courtesy of filling out the request of the friend or the curiosity of what it is the friend has been interested in enough to ask the person to be a part of.

My work uses an email request from a known contact to draw the person into the game. This could easily be from a different digital media such as Facebook or Twitter. The contents of the email will be both stating that by the person playing the game it will have beneficial outcomes for both the contact and the person. This will not be effective for all receiving the email (just as the Cordyceps fungus will not infect all insects) and is aimed for people with a larger use of an unproductive digital media.

My work uses a game as its digital media source. After the person accepts the contact's request they will be brought to a game of unsolved puzzles. For the person to be further intrigued and to have a larger desire to continue playing, it has been stated by M Osman there is a higher chance of with a specific goal for the person to achieve. The game uses 3 well known face card images and mixes their body shapes. These card faces are well known especially within the gaming context. This unnatural use of the card faces will be what the person desires to fix, similar to most card games involving a sorting of colours or numbers.

The way to which the person will solve these puzzles will be from using a hand tool to control a non player character. The purpose of not having a player character is to distance the person from being in the game and to see the person as separate from the character rather than them being transported into another world that is separate from the 'real' . On each ring there is a puzzle that represents each stage of hacking the email account, the character responds to these puzzles by morphing into only what is required to help solve each one. This character is taken from the many traits of the crow from Native American mythology. The crow can transform into any being it sees as necessary to get what it wants.

Learning

About my learning goal: My goal changed once I understood that I was in a 7 person group. My goal is to keep the to my idea I had at the beginning of my project because it is this idea that I have always been interested in and is what made me join the absurdity within metaphors project in the first place. My idea was to show this control over the player and have them feel a final revelation at the end that they have been controlled by the game character.

I think I have kept with my idea but not as specific as what I stated before. I haven't kept to this thought of being controlled by the character but still framed it around this final realisation that the player has been deceived into doing something they did not know was happening. I still see this link between my original research work (especially the parasite taking over a insect which is tricked by its senses to do something harmful to itself).

As for how my concept is, I see that it has developed overtime with slight changes to what makes it less recognisable to how it was stated 10 weeks ago. With elements of absurdity in the metaphors my project is more about the unabsurd of the digital impact rather than the actual absurd of the meaning behind solving the puzzles. I see that framing it around this digital infiltration on the real still needs more support if its to be recognisable for the player to see after experiencing it. The context to which my work fits only works once I was able to find similar discussions to how I feel about the digital space having this deceiving impact to our real world.

I also understand that the priority of my work is lacking quite a bit. for instance I focused on some aspects of the game that was not needed for my presentation and I felt that the quality of my presentation was affected because of not so important coding problems spent instead of displaying my work in a professional manner.

Anyway here is my presentation talk to help clarify my work:

My project is about the unseen absurdity of the digital and us and how the digital space has slowly come into our real world space and impacted us. My project is based on looking at that digital space and showing it in a context or way that makes it have the impact on our real world that it normally would not.

With us now spending so much time staring at a screen whether it be the phone, laptop or television it has become apparent that we see it for being normal to spend this much time and effort on this digital space.  

What my project does is allow a person to use a specific digital media source and have it manipulate them with real world impacts in parallel to the unabsurd time use the digital has already taken from the person.

My project starts by pulling a person into a game via personal email by one of his or her own trusted contacts. The email states in a friendly manner that the person can come play this game of which the contact has already tried. It comes with the free voucher code that is required upon entering. This is similar to what you might get on Facebook. For my game it is in a physical space in the studio but would be more realistic to just play online. I will however also have an online version to play.

When the player comes and plays the game they will enter their voucher code to which they will be brought into this digital game. Upon entering the player can do a multiple of things one of which is to zoom out to the full scale of this world like puzzle.  This puzzle is what will be the key to the player’s goal as I have found from research about the importance of having this goal for the player to accomplish.

This ring puzzle uses the image of 3 of the card faces all being hearts. The use of these were not only something most people are familiar with and can feel some want to put it the way that they are used to but also to represent the common use of cards which is sorting them into an order. Games like solitaire or even poker are based around finding a match out of the cards. Now this puzzle by itself is simple enough and so I have included 3 smaller ones, one for each ring to give that bit of challenge and also to bring more meaning to the ‘real’ act that is happening which I will explain soon.

Now for the player to be identified as their own character and rather not a character on screen I have no player character but a tool which is a hand that they can use to move around this digital character on the puzzle. Now this character is what is required to move the puzzle pieces and will transform into only what is needed at the time to get through the world. It starts out as a ball that carries weight to push down the buttons, a dog that picks up newspaper to deliver to letterboxes. The player will do what it can to have control over it, like prodding it or intimidating it. Now once the player is able to figure out how the character needs to be used and what needs to be done to compete them the character will slide onto the next level to solve that ring.

When the world puzzle is solved and the character reaches the middle it will be revealed the true purpose of this game and this character. The whole thing has been designed to gain the information from the player to get into their own email account and send that same email they received to all the contacts. How the game does this is by each ring puzzle representing a part of the hacking method. The first ring is about gaining the password, the second is about gathering the contacts information and the third is about getting the character to send the emails. This is revealed by the background fading from black to white as well as the world becoming black and white with each ring completion to reveal a terminal code based hacking in the background with all the information. The player is left there to be in shock and can only watch as this digital media invades their ‘real’ space.

I have absurdity within my metaphorical game by giving this player the false sense of hope that they will find meaning to their persistence in completing the puzzles and fixing the card faces. I see it, as being more absurd by it causing a real impact outside of the digital, which we think as not being absurd lifestyles for having a large intake of daily digital consumption.

Contradictions

Something I am concerned about is someone seeing a contradiction in my project.

One thing I have noticed is I am both trying to display the game in this manipulative way for the player to think it is just a game, and also show the character as being the parasite sucking the life out of the world. This is difficult because not only am I making the world look darker as the character progresses but also how traditional notions of games have a system to tell the player what is right and what isn't (like having a colour code with green as pass and red as fail).

The buttons that are green when correct and grey when not.

The puzzles on each ring are what prevents the digital character to progress so they should be full of colour and a part of the world when not solved and death like when they have been. If I show them as not solved with colour the player should recognise that they need to do the opposite to solve it. I will look for feedback from others to see how well they pick it up for my final decision.

For the other problem I have decided that what the player is focusing on will be the part that looks colourful and like everything is fine while the outer solved part is to be what is black and grey like it is dying. So the area around the character will be fine but the part before that will not.

The outer ring which is solved is desaturated and out of focus.

Die Hard 3

Over the weekend I tried to incorporate the third puzzle into the third ring. After some thought and understanding of how these blocks would work with the consideration to the rotation of the world I realised that there were too many variables that created a lot of complications.

Die Hard 3 water riddle
http://onthesetofnewyork.com/locations/diehard3/diehard25.jpg

So with more brainstorming I started to remember a riddle in Die Hard 3 that used water jugs. As Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson run around New York, they get to a riddle with a 3 gallon and a 5 gallon jugs. Using both of them they have to make 4 gallon out of the fountain water to defuse a bomb. Here is the explanation and solution. I see this as an interesting puzzle that is not too hard and can be easily coded into my game. I want to make it though not on jugs if water but passageways into the end of the puzzle as if to get the final confirmation of the emails being sent.

I went around asking other students for ideas for the second puzzle as it was still causing me trouble as to what I could use in relation to the gaining contacts of the email hacking part. After some help from Jenny Ko I am now creating a puzzle based on putting colours together. I will have coloured letterboxes and scattered coloured newspapers around the ring to which the player will use the character to pick them up and put in the letterboxes of the same colour. I think this works well as a representation of gaining the information from the emails.

I will go back to using a dog like figure as the creature being a maildog. 

I see that these puzzles are beginning to have complexity that is not required or even understood by the viewer. I think they need to step back and have just the simple explanation to their purpose and allow the audience to take as much meaning from them as they want. This is something I will work on for my contextual statement.

References

How to Solve the Water Jug Riddle from Die Hard 3: 9 steps. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2012, from http://www.wikihow.com/Solve-the-Water-Jug-Riddle-from-Die-Hard-3

McTiernan, J. (1995). Die Hard: With a Vengeance. Action, Crime, Thriller.

Puzzle work

I have been working on the game puzzles over the week and created a quick schedule to have them finished by next week Wednesday. This should give me enough time to practice my presentation for next Friday. The purpose of the puzzles is not only for there to be some challenge for the player to experience throughout the game but to also represent the player's own self hack into their email address. This is why I want each ring puzzle to represent the stages of the hacking.

Starting with the first ring I have made a simple cryptic password which requires the character to change 8 symbols by standing on them until they are all the right symbol. I chose this as the first puzzle because not only is it an easy first puzzle but also gives the perception of the player giving their password to the character for their emails.

Rush Hour board game.
http://onuruludag.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/rush.jpg

I want the third puzzle to represent the player's confirmation to send the emails to all the contacts. This is why after looking at a few puzzle examples I will make something similar to this game Gridlock which is the online version of the original board game Rush Hour. With the character as the block that needs to get through, the player will move the blocks out of the way allowing the character to finally send the emails.

I am still deciding on what the second puzzle should be and  hoping from working on the first and third one I will get some better ideas.

References

Corwin Derkatch. (n.d.). grid lock. Retrieved from http://gprime.net/game.php/gridlock

Rush Hour. (2012, September 6).Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rush_Hour_(board_game)&oldid=505398782

Rush Hour. (n.d.).BoardGameGeek. Retrieved October 6, 2012, from http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5082

How to play a video game

Over the weekend I read the book "How To Play A Video Game" by Pippin Barr. I want to be able to talk about the video game relationship between the player and the character and identify how it is viewed in my project. I am also looking for research of what it means for the player to be playing video games in the first place (from their perspective of what impact the game can have).

What this book discusses is the decisions, experience and impact video games can have for a person. What was important to me was how it talked about the choices the player has when playing. The choice of performing as the game was designed to such as missions and objectives, or playing which is doing anything you want to do that you can in the game. When the player chooses to perform they will make their player character act from instructions they get from the game. The player has a goal and will perform to complete that goal, when this happens the game has control over the player which is brought onto their player character.

How to play video games

This type of performance I feel still separates the virtual space and the real is spoken in a virtual context. It has the player play as their virtual self. What I am doing is having no player character and trying to identify the player and the character separately. In my game the player identifies that the character is a tool that they need to use them to get through these rings and complete the puzzle. The player is performing and by doing so is pushing the game character. As the player wants to solve the ring puzzle they expect a meaning for putting the pieces right. Their perception is to only see the virtual space as having the impact and by the end of it can switch off the machine and not think about it again. The players impact is not only a deceitful one but one that interferes with their real personal space without that impact to the character. Games are usually with purpose for completion. My game does not create that virtual purpose but gives a very literal real one.

References

Awa Press Non-Fiction Publishing New Zealand : How to Play a Video Game. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2012, from http://www.awapress.com/products/published/books/TheGingerSeries/howtoplayavideogame

Climbing up the wrong mountain

So for the past two weeks I have been focused on the creation of my project. There has not been much to talk about except for the occasional coding error that comes up. I have made the puzzle world, the player hand and the character (but not visually). All of which interact the way I want. I am also half way through the terminal code hacking that is seen at the start, plays during the puzzle solving and revealed at the end. This is not holding me up.

What is holding me up is bringing it back to what it is I want the project to be about. From the very beginning before I even knew what my project and group were to be I had this idea I was interested in. I have developed it throughout my project and tried to keep it as my main focus of my project. This has severely impacted my project and I do not mind that. I have made choices about the project to what I see as best fit both from feedback from others and from what it is I want my project to be. I want my goal of keeping the initial idea that kept me interested in my project to stick so when I talk about it at the end it makes sense to me. Unfortunately what I thought I was doing and what it is I am showing can be considered different in work. It could be difficult for others to recognise the work the way I do. What I thought I show as a game character, player's interest, manipulation may not be what will be looked as the absurd or relevant. Am I making the player feel they are being manipulated or are they being part of this absurd conclusion to a game? It looks to me that I have to make a decision to what it is my work actually is:

1. I keep to what it is I am making and fully resolve the production of my work but understand that what I have created has changed from what I pursued at the start. Accepting it for not being the work that I thought it was.

2. Changing the project to fit in with the conventional absurd requirements. To put the project as absurd in an easier way for the sake of it being understood to others from the outside perspective. (This would change it to what the initial project was explained to be about instead of what my project is.)

3. Underline what my project is, underline all parts of what absurd can be and underline the components for what my work contains from the outside world. Conduct research on all this and find a medium to what my work is and define it. Thoroughly explain how I have seen my project through my process and how I see it now with explanation.

I am most likely to go for 3 as I am determined. I also want to do the work that I enjoy and am interested in. So for now its research and creating my work.

http://203.86.194.7/Images/children/VideoGamefrontwebsml.jpg

Part of the research has been suggested to look at a book called "How to play a video game" by Pippin Barr from Wellington. For the absurdity I have been given a thesis called "The digital absurd" by Steve Hodges.

References

Awa Press Non-Fiction Publishing New Zealand : How to Play a Video Game. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2012, from http://www.awapress.com/products/published/books/TheGingerSeries/howtoplayavideogame

Steve Hodges. (2010, May). The digital absurd. Georgia Institute of Technology.

The Character and the Player

As my project is being fleshed out I am still looking at how I can explain what my work is and the relation it has to outside material. When I set out to do this project I did not think it would be heavily involved in video games, but now not only am I using video games within my work I am also using it as research of my absurdity.

The relation between the game character and the player is important in my project. It is what I have focused on to understand the control between player and character. I do not have a player character though because I want to make sure there is that separation between the player and the character. The character has to be identified as something that does things by itself without the player. Otherwise the player has too much identity with the character.

Uplink. A game based around fictional hacking and getting players to do things in similar style to ARGs.
http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/uplink_map.jpg

A post I found to be useful about character/player relationship talks about the definition of the character and how it changes once the player is in control, even doing things opposite to the character's own choices. I try to disconnect this control by allowing the character to be identified as its own, not allowing the player to actually control it but instead influence it.

References

J. Shea. (n.d.). Exploring Believability: The player/character relationship. Exploring Believability. Retrieved from http://exploringbelievability.blogspot.co.nz/2011/01/playercharacter-relationship.html

Uplink (video game). (2012, September 29).Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Uplink_(video_game)&oldid=515092449

First draft game

As the weeks begin to become less and less I have made a schedule for the production period of my project to follow so I don't overload myself at the very end. I see that if I keep to this schedule I will understand what needs to be done and how much time I have left.

Prototype version. There is a small man on the top

So far for the first week the production has been going well. Most of my initial goals for the week that I thought could be troublesome have been completed. There is though something I believe may have a large impact to my work and that is the way I code. I have made a lot of it very simple so it does not take up too much of my time and not learning and adapting to the smoother ways of programming. This means I have been making excess amount of code that could make things difficult for finding where my errors are coming from or create more errors for me. I do think that the more practical I am the more I can learn the coding and go back to the old work and clean it up.

I have found the tutorials to have been adequate in providing me quick solutions I can use for reference. I was sceptical at first as I could barely remember exactly the way of writing the code but I have come to learn that that is not the way I learn. I learn by using the code and understanding its purpose when I have to use these methods from scratch.

Also the copyright of using the code from others I know will need to be referenced. That is why I have started creating a list of forums, websites, tutorials etc. of all the useful solutions I found for my project.

References

Controlling Uncertainty: Learning and Decision Making in complex worlds. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://qmul.academia.edu/MagdaOsman/Books/425419/Controlling_Uncertainty_Learning_and_Decision_Making_in_complex_worlds

My Entrepreneur presentation

Here is the link to my presentation video.

I had fun creating this video. I hope it doesn't come across as being arrogant.

Game tutorials

I have been working hard on these tutorials for XNA game development for the past week and have been able to produce 4 games from them, in each one there are some key skills to learn about the language. These games are the result of going through the tutorials as you learn each step to creating them. It has been a lot to take in for a week and I dont think I can easily start my game from scratch. I will look at using a structure of one of the other games and taking aspects of the tutorials to implement into my game. While going through the tutorials I was able to document the different tasks each game went through and I can see these tasks are similar to what I want to do.

One of the games you get to create in the tutorials.
http://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/packtlib/protected_files/9781849690669/graphics/0669_02_01.jpg

The next step is to write the structure of the game so I can look at it from a programming perspective. I still have a deadline to have a very simple draft version by next Friday. I want to stick to my goals.

References

Kurt Jaeger. (2011). XNA 4.0 Game Development by Example: Beginner’s Guide – Visual Basic Edition | Packt Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-xna-4-0-game-development-by-example-beginners-guide/book?tag=as/xna-abr1/1211

Silhouette cards

Karin my main tutor was able to give our project team a better understanding of what it is for something to be absurd. I have already thought that my work can be absurd but wasn't quite sure how to explain it all. Now I have been reassured that I am on the right track and can clarify it with a stronger and assuring answer.

Two faces, one vase.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiH3weZZvoGNGpRqsSCeI_qeoyTEy8yQ86ZEOH_wpRp70dA-O02ZSj4VmiauHbu0A71uu1w8MwQiP26hqwEIdgtaKthF5wHwAzueZLf-Lyz-opt3HPNjyO9JtQn7UxqiKaTOT1jMJ4pW4/s1600/Rubins_Vase_Illusion1.gif

My catalyst for the player's interest in the puzzle world is still in deep construction. The more I begin to think about it the more I think it needs curiosity. I have thought of using the famous heart card faces as there will be familiarity with them and when they do not look right it could bring on the urge to 'fix' them. They also can bring good metaphorical reference as they each have a dark past about them. From talking with the tutors I was able to get some good feedback about it becoming silhouette style to give it some uniqueness to it as well as creating some confusion to what they are when muddled. I still want to stick to a colour code to guide the player of where the images are meant to align. 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5atw7rESf1rvgxklo1_400.jpg

The other piece of feedback was to use more than one image for the silhouettes. I could use the space inbetween the card faces to have another image like the vase and two faces silhouette. Another (easier) option could be to put the second image inside the first one. This I thought would be a good opportunity to use the card jokers that will fit in well with my concept. The jokers won't be able to be recognised as much when the image is muddled up and could be some fun to play around with. 

Email Hacking

With further discussion with tutors and students I can see a clearer outcome of the final manipulated effect on the player. Right now I will simulate a hack on the player's email address while they solve the puzzles throughout the game:

At the beginning the player will receive an email advertising to play this intellectually challenging game. In the email they will be given a password that is required to play the game (this is to allow me to know who is playing the game and what email address they were invited from). They enter the password (I am thinking the intro screen is to look like the end hacked email screen) and play the game and solve the puzzles to pull the character along to find out what the puzzle world image is. Once they solve the puzzle world or when they decide to stop playing, it will be revealed that the purpose for the character to have the player completing the puzzles was to hack the player's email and send the orignal invitation to all their contacts. How many emails are sent will depend on how many puzzles the player solved or just by how long they played the game. I would like to see the puzzles in the puzzle world as the hacking steps needed for the character to get access to the emails. This would mean the player was hacking their own email account without knowing they were.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORnrtA7pf0KH52kIJtqX-qALdoXXGIXDP6ru2wI3rOYIusnY9i4QiaY_mnzJnvrrBpdiTrd6HOcS_nwkBUcEZW2QxbJOKBG3sMA4g-FH6ikvZIpVCzvkyNODha2WnstxQExXkfvjBQWx8/s1600/IPS+officer+Email+Account+Hacked.gif

So from this I have made the purpose of the character's manipulation is to draw more players into playing this game and keeping the character alive. This I feel relates to the Cordyceps Unilaterus fungus as well as the method similar to multi level marketing (Amway etc.). I see the game character will be as much alive digitally as the Cordyceps Unilaterus fungus is biologically because of how it works and what its purpose is.

http://belgranolapelicula.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Network-Marketing.jpg

For my final presentation it will ask for them to come to my studio to play where it is set up. If this was to be real not only would the game be online but (for ethical reasons to why not) it would also use a real hack instead of a simulated one. Because this is directed at my tutors I will use the AUT email design to make it look like the emails are really being sent using the tutors email account.

References

Multilevel marketing is superb idea for Business | Premium Article Directory. (n.d.). Retrieved September 3, 2012, from http://belgranolapelicula.com/multilevel-marketing-is-superb-idea-for-business/

Parasite Attacks Ant - Video. (n.d.). Retrieved July 30, 2012, from http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/6977/

Understanding MLM Companies | How Multi Level Marketing Works | First Class MLM. (n.d.). Retrieved September 3, 2012, from http://www.firstclassmlm.com/2007/12/05/how-mlm-works/

An illogical world

To emphasize the meaning behind the control and what the character is to represent as a puppet master, I have thought of steering back to one of my original concepts of the impact technology is having on our lives.

If the game character is to represent technology or be the cause that results in technology than the puzzle world itself can represent a life that is living without it. As the puzzle is to be further solved the world will be affected by technology (or a representation of it), because the game character will need these technologies to keep moving. This is to show the juxtaposition between the character who cannot be situated in such an environment and a world that can live in laborious chaotic ways without technology. As we have designed our life around technology in current times it would be seen as absurd to be in a functionable world without it.  The impact the player has by changing this world by using technology will subsequently be the underline for what we as humans have allowed technology to be the dependance of our lives.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKVKQpjWaAwazmRHW7gIhfpnUIi7dnhigPwPtftECZ09KMuLPU9kaBOCZoAsuRfnayplrivncjuvmerwzwwWBzJg6y7-jCk0vVSMqIvLvOrfCzy-_shvz1zCyebqknKX2RoHul_z2mwwAU/s1600/computer+evolution.jpg

I thought this compared well to a Mickey Mouse cartoon in which Mickey and Minnie went to a town that is backwards in everything it does. From the clouds to the way they wear their socks, the town is abnormal to us but can function fine on its own. Mickey and Minnie however have difficulty to get by in such a place and cause havoc for the town until their fates are decided for them. This story ended in an opposite way to what they had expected by being punished with paradise. I am wanting to do something similar in structure but opposite in outcome. The player is to think they are fixing the world instead of causing havoc. The player is to find out they were manipulated into ruining the world instead of falling into a relaxing and joyous punishment.

Topsy Turvy Town

This can become very complex very quickly and could easily have problematic holes. I do not plan on this being a priority step in the project right now but a step to make the project itself better.

References

David Wygant: Can You Survive Without Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved September 2, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-wygant/can-you-survive-without-t_b_1245526.html

Topsy Turvy Town (1999) [Better Quality]. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-oOU0PhL2I&feature=youtube_gdata_player

What Would Happen If Technology Was Gone for a Day? (n.d.).eHow. Retrieved September 2, 2012, from http://www.ehow.com/info_8750907_would-happen-technology-gone-day.html

Player learning skills

For the player to realise once the game finishes that they are being manipulated, they need to be doing something throughout the game they are not aware of that is more than just finding out that the character wanted to be guided to the puzzles completion. The puzzles within the puzzle world could themselves have meaning to what it is the character is really doing.

An idea was to have the player taught useful skills from completing the puzzle that can later have use outside of the game. This is similar to America's Army, designed to give future soldiers training and motivated to join the real army. The problem with this for me is the character having no purpose to giving the player training or skills unless the player was forced to reuse these skills in some other way for the character. Looking at code cracking training could be beneficial anyway for me to create puzzle constructions and is something I am to research over the next few weeks.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c3/America%27s_Army1.jpg/220px-America%27s_Army1.jpg

As I continue to read my book Controlling Uncertainty I start to think about the gameplay elements that can contribute to the puzzle work and part of the absurd nature of the character is from its function in movement. Most game characters stick to the basic style of movement and are not expected to change. This is to give the player an understanding of how to control the character so they can focus on what needs to be pressed at what time and for how long. But for the player to be or feel like the puppet master they need to understand the unpredictability the puppet can have and when the mechanisms of the puppet are to be of the player's nature or the puppet's.

References

America’s Army Official Website. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2012, from http://www.americasarmy.com/

Controlling Uncertainty: Learning and Decision Making in complex worlds. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://qmul.academia.edu/MagdaOsman/Books/425419/Controlling_Uncertainty_Learning_and_Decision_Making_in_complex_worlds

XNA game design

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Xnalogo.PNG

I have chosen to work with XNA because it has been created for video game development. This is to ensure that there will be a lot of knowledge of using XNA and Visual Basic to create games. My focus for the project is not on the programming (although I want to learn and become better at programming) but the framework and execution of the game aspects. This may be only possible through good programming but I only want the basic understanding to know what it is I need for performing the outcome I want. I have a basic XNA 4.0 game development learning book by Kurt Jaegers on how to make XNA games by making games (thanks to student TJ). I will work towards having gone through it by the mid holidays. By that time I should have enough knowledge with XNA to take what I need and get a draft version ready by the end of the first week.

References

Kurt Jaeger. XNA 4.0 Game Development by Example: Beginner’s Guide – Visual Basic Edition | Packt Publishing, 2011. http://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-xna-4-0-game-development-by-example-beginners-guide/book?tag=as/xna-abr1/1211.Wikipedia contributors. 

“Microsoft XNA.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., August 31, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Microsoft_XNA&oldid=509593163.

Too game like

I am afraid that my work will be known as just another generic game instead of a project about the absurdity of control and manipulation in a game character. How the game looks, feels and controls will all impact the experience the player has and how they define the work at the time of playing it. This is why to branch out from this overused platform style of game I need to look at my core elements of my goal and to accentuate them instead of having a fox being prodded to jump on certain ledges at the right time.

This is where I think the absurdity surrounding the character can come in use. What the character does, or what the player has to do to keep their goal moving forward can be done without the conventional use of the standard platform/puzzle style of work. The game itself needs to be designed for the character's purpose.

http://hans.wyrdweb.eu/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/trickster-raven-239x300.jpg
A trickster that can take up many faces including the crow.

For it to be not about a game and really have that impacting manipulative result, the experience could become personal to the player and for it to effect them outside of the game. For the player to be drawn to the game there can be some real world interaction so they personally feel that the character is directing them.

So from this I am to delve further into the absurd elements of the manipulating character and how that will impact the gameplay style and the out of game experience. Still reading Controlling Uncertainty. Still getting articles on parasites. Who knows what is happening in our body and thoughts.

References

Controlling Uncertainty: Learning and Decision Making in Complex Worlds, n.d. http://qmul.academia.edu/MagdaOsman/Books/425419/Controlling_Uncertainty_Learning_and_Decision_Making_in_complex_worlds.

“Native Americans in Olden Times - How Raven Stole Crow’s Potlatch (story)”, n.d. http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/stories/raven.html.

“Recent Study Links T. Gondii Parasite to Suicidal Attempts”, n.d. http://www.doctortipster.com/10789-recent-study-links-t-gondii-parasite-to-suicidal-attempts.html.

Game Making

I have been researching on what would be a good program to create my game in as well as the platforming aspects to my game. The feedback I received was to start learning and making the programming because I need to understand what I can create and get an idea of how this will impact my idea and project. I don't want the programming to be the main focus of the project but rather my need for this absurd manipulation of the character to be understood.

There have been multiple programming languages that I can make a game out of and I want to make sure I get the one that is most effective for this platform/puzzle style. Suggestions online and from students and tutors have led me to look at ActionScript 3,  XNA and OpenFrameworks. I will look through a few tutorials in the weekend and see how easy the languages (C#, C++  etc.) are to pick up so I can move quickly to the desired one.

Also after explaining my idea to a few students I have been told that the player may not get the meanings of the visual impact of the mythological resemblances. If they do not understand the reason behind it then they may not experience this feeling of being manipulated and used. For now I want to get a simple version of the game so I can analyse the effectiveness of the player feeling manipulated and get more of that constructive feedback.

References

“How to Create a Platform Game in AS3 – Part 1 | Flash Game Tuts”, n.d. http://www.flashgametuts.com/tutorials/as3/how-to-create-a-platform-game-in-as3-part-1/.

“openFrameworks”, n.d. http://www.openframeworks.cc/.

“The Guide to Implementing 2D Platformers | Higher-Order Fun”, n.d. http://higherorderfun.com/blog/2012/05/20/the-guide-to-implementing-2d-platformers/.

“XNA Development: Game Development for the Masses”, n.d. http://www.xnadevelopment.com/tutorials.shtml.

Used and Manipulated

I am wanting to take my idea further than just the player being the one in control and manipulating the character. I don't think this relates well to my idea or gets that real feeling of control, especially with absurdity. This is why I have looked at it being absurd by the character revealed as the one who is in fact the real puppet master, pulling the player along for its own personal gain. I have constructed a basis of it so far:

I am to have the player see this puzzle world and have a need to fix it but only because this is what the character wants from the player. The character wants the player to guide it along the puzzle world for benefits unknown to the player at the current time. Only once the puzzle is completed will the real puppet master be revealed and the character's true form shown. Once the player realises this they will be shocked to know that they have been manipulated by a digital character in a game.

http://freestylebit.com/sites/christina/images/illustration_hi/Manipulated.jpg

I see the execution of the beginning and the end to be vital parts to the game. The puzzle itself will have to draw the player into aiding the character and once the puzzle is complete the player will need to feel as if they have been manipulated and used. At present I am not sure how I can execute this in such a crucial way but am hoping throughout the production of my game, thorough research and critical feedback from others there will be a better understanding to how I can pull that off.

Concept drawing of the dog-coyote like figure. By Sam Reddington.

To bring forth some metaphorical reference to what is visually displayed I have thought of including some mythological resemblance and meaning to the game, specifically Native American mythology. The character in my game has many traits of a trickster and could be put to good use as resembling this in the form of a known trickster such as a coyote or raven. If it was to resemble a coyote and have a dog like figure then it could be seen as both. First as the player sees it; a dog that obeys and listens to commands without question. Or as its true form; a coyote that is tricking the player to complete the puzzle. The game could include puzzle obstacles such as the Thunderbird which is known to be an enemy to the coyote.  

The coyote is to start out fragile and weak, barely being able to move. As the puzzle becomes closer to completion, the coyote will be getting stronger and stronger as it has more control over the player. This is impacting the world itself, which starts out vibrant and full of life but then is slowly becoming dead and colourless.

References

“The History of Dogs and Native Americans - Page 1”, n.d. http://www.petplace.com/dogs/the-history-of-dogs-and-native-americans/page1.aspx.Wikipedia contributors. 

“Thunderbird (mythology).” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., August 10, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thunderbird_(mythology)&oldid=506784700.———. 

“Trickster.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., August 20, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trickster&oldid=504205987.

A game

I have been reconsidering what it is my goal is and what I want to gain out of this project. I originally wanted to make sure I had an on track and cohesive team but didn't expect to be in such a large group. Now that the team has split up I have changed my main focus to the idea and how it is portrayed to others. What interests me about this project is being able to explore the idea of control and seeing where it takes me. I want to show my interest in control and to leave the viewer feeling this connection to control. This was one of the things I focused on originally and still is my priority goal.

Taking this goal of mine within the puzzle work I have made so far I have used it to help with making a  conceptual game around control. By using the players interest into wanting to 'fix' this muddled image puzzle they will have to manipulate an AI character sitting at the very top of the puzzle to move the rings. The AI character cannot be controlled directly by the player but rather the player has to use ulterior means to get it moving. This could include intimidation, fear, desire, anger or curiosity. I am wanting this to allow the player to feel they are a puppet master, pulling the strings to get this AI character to move. There are to be puzzles within the large puzzle to be the challenge for the player to try overcome.

Some games that have helped develop this idea and provide me depth into what makes platform/puzzle games good are:

Braid
Limbo
Lemmings
Metal Gear Solid (Screaming Mantis)

I am thinking I will need some outside help as this project looks to be larger than one person can handle. I have some interest in animation and the drawing factor but it is not my strong point and with the amount of programming involved I will find it difficult to learn it well within the time span.

References

“Braid”, n.d. http://braid-game.com/.

“DHTML Lemmings™ by Crisp - Menu”, n.d. http://www.elizium.nu/scripts/lemmings/.

“Murdoch Denies Playing Puppet Master to British Elite | Reuters”, n.d. http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/hacking-murdoch-idINDEE83N0JA20120425.

“Screaming Mantis.” Metal Gear Wiki, n.d. http://metalgear.wikia.com/wiki/Screaming_Mantis.Wikipedia contributors. 

“Limbo.” (Video game). Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., August 18, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Limbo_(video_game)&oldid=507584472.———. 

“Pierson’s Puppeteers.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., August 14, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pierson%27s_Puppeteers&oldid=507337602.

Round Puzzles

I may be too focused on this puppetry idea. I decided to start creating something to get others feedback and to branch out from my puppet idea. I have created some ring puzzles in processing that have some relation to the puppetry layering system Master > Puppet > Puppet's puppet. It is not a very strong link to go with but it is a step forward that will allow me to evaluate some more. If I don't look so much into the puppetry and maybe into the work and the surroundings of the work I should have more interest. At the moment it is too literal and will need some development.

My ring puzzle game of a gradient of colours

The game is be played by two players, each has to try and 'fix' the image by turning the rings until it goes back to its original image. There is a timer to get the players amount of time it took them to complete the puzzle. The rings are setup randomly so there can be a tilt in favor for one player.

The game can be found here.

I think by me making a brief earlier on in the week has really got me set on the puppet master concept too much, but now I am creating something without a concept. I don't know what is worse, creating something without a solid reason behind it or having a thought out concept with nothing to show for it. Probably the creation is better.

As a group I see it becoming individual projects unless we can create a link between everyones work. We wouldn't want it to be confusing and chaos with 7 pieces of work together. I see us discussing next week how we will approach the critique and see where we can go from there.