LUUG 30 and New Horizons

Another month has gone by and this meant that the regular London Unity User Group meetup were due an evening of talks and networking, an invaluable tool for any designer. This month's LUUG was gratiously held at London South Bank University, but the organisers are always looking for venues (free of charge mind) so if you know of somewhere within 30 minutes or so of Central London that is wored for sound, projection from a laptop, can hold a decent amount of people and would be willing to host the LUUG meetings get in contact with the organisers on the LUUG Meetup page, they'll be more than glad to hear from you.

This is Harry the Hobo, LUUG's lead organiser, scouting for locations (Source)

The show this month featured Tom Matcham, a solo indie developer and founder of coAdjoint with a maths background, who was discussing the idea of personalised, adaptive games and non-linear narrative as a tool for creating a more involved experience for the player. Also featured was Danny Goodayle from JustAPixel, a small indie outfit who are set to release Light: The Game, a Team17 published stealth-puzzle game on the 14th of July. Danny was discussing procedural generation and the techniques and methods he had used to create terrains, water, environments and buildings.

Tom Matcham believes that games, especially AAA titles, have illusions of cinematography. This is a very true statement for a lot of reasons; games are still a relatively young medium while film is now over a century old. Games often take cues from film as the tropes are well established and any time not spent explaining things to your audience the easier, quicker and cheaper it is to create something. We are now at a stage in our society where the budget of video games is fast overtaking the budget of even the biggest movies. Bungie's latest offering, Destiny is reported to have cost $500 million to make, a far larger budget than any Hollywood movie has ever had. With such a large amount of money riding on a title it's understandable that companies want to reduce risk and appeal to the masses, and a cinematic format is a good way to do that. But as young as games are, they have proven time and time again that they are capable of presenting more than just mindless entertainment and it is certainly time to push the envelope and design games as a medium all of their own and not rely on the conventions of another medium. Tom believes that dynamic, responsive games are a step in the right direction.

Tom's background in mathematics really pays dividends in his approach to a solution as it seems to give him the tools he needs to break down and analyse his response to the problem. His method of injecting more dynamism into a gameplay experience is quite central on data collection and runtime analytics; by collecting data and using the right tools to analyse it a game can adapt and change based on certain criteria. Tom showed a demo of his software, Orbit (available on the Unity Asset store along with Tom's other contributions) which collects data based on rules set by the designer. In the example shown it was used to analyse morality of a player based on actions they chose; a player who chose to adopt a child would have be assigned a more positive morality rating, but if they then chose to rob a bank that rating would be reduced until eventually, after enough robberies, the character would be assigned a negative morality rating. This allows for a deeper morality system beyond the Infamous style binary system of "this action = bad; this action = good". Instead, each action is evaluated by a number of criteria, and while some actions are inherently good others cover more of a moral grey area and this is displayed in the data. This data can then be used to inform the structure and narrative of a game.

Tom mentioned his love of the old "Choose-your-own-adventure" books that he grew up reading in the 90s and sees non-linear narrative such as this as a way forward, and I'm very inclined to agree, though Tom does make the point that branching story lines like these books are based on decision trees, which can lead to repetition and a less-engaging experience. When an experience is new every time it is played users cant help but be intrigued as to how it twill turn out next time, what decisions they could have made to change things, and thus is the beauty of non-linear narrative. A point was raised in the Q&A after the talk that non-linear narrative is not a goal of the AAA industry simply due to the economy of game creation. In a AAA producer's mind a whole section of game that many players may not even see is not worth the time and money spent on it, and so it is avoided. But this is where the indie community can and does really shine, especially with the ease of access we now have to professional grade software. It is up to us to shape and form the future of games as a medium and creating a truly interactive experience that not only learns from the player but responds is a a great way to increase and improve player retention and interest.

I spent an entire holiday choosing my scare once,

true story (Source)

Tom goes a little deeper into the theory behind his tools and his method for modelling player-game interactions and has even written a whitepaper on the subject (And you thought maths was boring!). Tom's an intelligent man with a noble goal and it is my belief that his desire for deeper experiences through interaction modelling are a great leap forward from the usual binary morality systems we see. Combining this with non-linear narrative and the possibilities become almost endless. The issue lies in convincing larger budget developers that this is a way forward, and that is the job of the indies; push boundaries and break barriers, create amazing experiences and show the industry that games can be more than point, shoot, pretty explosion, cut to expositional scene . Just because a player may not necessarily even see part of your game due to their play-style it is not a wasted effort, as to create a more personal, engaging experience one must also create a unique experience. This inherently means that they may see parts others don't or miss parts others were able to play, but the experience is entirely their own. Doesn't sound like a bad thing does it?

What you did there, I see it... and I like it (Source)

Danny Goodayle was up next explaining some techniques he'd used in procedural generation in Unity. His discussion was more of a forum for conversation about techniques but he did go through some of the basics of what he had done. Using various methods of pseudo-random number generation, e.g. Perlin Noise he was able to produce a mountainous landscape including rolling waves and a daylight system by using noise to affect the height and position of verts and a sine wave algorithm to produce the wave effect. The demo is available on JustAPixel's website and Danny is always looking to learn and pass on his own knowledge via his personal blog and his Twitter account. Danny also showed off a piece of procedural generation that could create cityscapes by taking user-generated data about the size and shape of buildings and applying them to a map. The example he showed was of downtown Manhattan and the effect produced was great.

As always, the guys from Space Unicorn were there to catch the whole thing on video and get some exclusive interviews with the speakers so keep an eye on their YouTube channel, like the Facebook and follow the Twitter for updates on the next video. On a further note, the new horizons spoken of in the title of this post refer to my new role as host of Space Unicorn's weekly news show! So follow my Twitter and keep up with my blog for news of my first episode, which was filmed this week. There's a little teaser below so you can see how cool I look with a bit of editing but the full episode is OUT RIGHT NOW so go ahead and watch for all your gaming news needs!

"Space Unicorn, made with 100% Dan (from concentrate)"

Thanks to everyone at LUUG, speakers and organisers alike, for another great evening. If you want to attend LUUG tickets are free but they run out quickly. They are always released exactly a week before the event, so 7pm the previous Thursday. Get yours quick or miss out! If London's a bit too far or rooms of real people aren't your thing then catch Space Unicorn's coverage, usually released the week following the event. Hopefully I'll see a few new faces for LUUG 31, and remember, LUUG needs free venues! Help the cause, be a pal :)

End of an Era, Start of Libella

So here I am, I've finished my final piece for the year and for my degree and now all I have to do is show up in July to collect my certificate. I achieved a 2:1 which I'm super happy with and I'm so glad it's finally over! I've been in some form of education since the age of four and now, 20 years on, I can finally say I'm done with learning organised by someone else (I am fully prepared to have that bubble burst when I start some proper work but hell, let me enjoy it for now). Now the true hunt begins though, finding a real, proper job I can turn into a career. Anyone hiring (he says with his sweetest grin)?

Sadly I am currently unable to show you my final project at the moment as it takes a bit of setup and file download and, although it worked great for the one night of the exhibition it was needed to work it has since decided it doesn't fancy it. I am awaiting a meeting with my co-designer, Francis so we can plan continued development and figure out the bugs. But not to worry! We should also be recording some footage of gameplay and taking a few high-res screens to show off to all you lovely people. Onto the show and the lessons learned.

2spooky4me guys!

First up, never put a barrier between you and your audience! For the show Francis and myself had secured a space separate from most others pieces, a double-edged sword. Being right near the entrance but not in full view of it we felt people were walking past without even stopping to look in a lot of the time. That wasn't such a big deal as we were able to grab people in by asking if they wanted to play. The problem was that initially, we had decided to hang a white sheet over our entrance onto which we stuck a Victorian silhouette of a man in a top hat. This was removed with great speed and placed on the table holding the TV. Putting that sight barrier up did us some damage in terms of foot traffic. We had assumed it would add to the mystery of the thing, make people wonder what was behind the curtain. Well apparently everyone had read The Wizard of Oz that night and figured that whatever was behind the curtain wasn't going to be any better than a fat man in a suit with a bunch of empty promises. That or they thought it was storage. Either way, that might have been ok to do had others been set up similarly and nearer to us. Line of sight is important and we broke that, didn't do enough to draw people in. The show was on the inside of the booth and really there should have been more outside of it to entice people in the first place. Hard lesson learned well!

"I can toooooootally show you a good time, don't you

trust my warm smile and happy, sunshine eyes?" (Source)

Anyway, sheet removed we soldiered on through some technical issues, got them solved and continued to show the game. We had a nice chat with Maria, a producer from Sony UK who gave us some advice on how to better present our game for a pitch meeting and the things she would like to see from us and the game, so perhaps we'll spend a little time creating a build closer to what she wanted for showing to industry types. For the course we had to design a more complete experience than what we might have made for a pitch meeting, because that's the brief we had and that's how we were marked. What Maria would have liked to see was one room where everything worked the way it was supposed to and we could show off all the important mechanics and features of the game. So there's a little life lesson for you budding designers and developers looking for funding; short, sweet, compact and dense with polished content, or as much of that as you can manage in the time frame you have.

Most of the reactions we had were very positive and encouraging, there were a few salient points we took away with us. We were aware going in that our controls weren't amazingly polished, but we'd had to do a last minute build before the show began and before we had time to make edits. This left our forward movement relatively smooth but our turning and rotation was a little clunky and slow, but that was an issue with a simple fix. One thing we picked up on throughout the course of the evening was the importance of playtesting. We had kept the project mostly under wraps, saying little and showing even less and the show was the first time anyone had played our game. We discovered so many things from people simply playing through the experience. Even though it's something I've read about and had drummed into me for years, "Playtest, playtest, playtest" it had completely slipped my mind for this one and suddenly the mystique was more important. I think there's a balance that can be achieved between secrecy and still allowing for playtesting and in this case it was tipped too far in the wrong direction. But there's nothing like an experience to teach you a lesson. But seriously, playtest!

"It isn't a storage area? Really?" (Source)

All-in-all we had some great advice, some super positive feedback and learned some really important things from the show and having people play our game. I look forward to keeping everyone updated on the further development of Libella and hopefully screens and gameplay vids will be uploaded soon. Keep your eyes here and on my Twitter feed for more in the coming months.

LUUG 29: A Feast for the Senses

UPDATE: Space Unicorn's coverage of LUUG is live so head on over to the Tubes of You to check out what you missed.

LUUG, or the London Unity User Group is a mostly monthly meetup, featuring talks and discussions from indie developers and industry experts alike, all united by their love and use of Unity3D. Now being organised by Darrenlloyd Gent, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich, this months event took place at the University of Greenwich in one of their lecture rooms and featured 2 guest speakers, both with very different things to discuss, but more on that later. LUUG is a very exciting opportunity for current indies living in London and using the Unity engine, and it doesn't solely focus on games either. Any use of Unity is acceptable discussion matter and an open mic session at the end of the discussions, a 'Pitch & Putt' session an hour prior (where people are able to freely show their work to other attendees) and a drink at a local pub after all is said and done provide a perfect opportunity for discussion of your own work and ideas, along with a breeding ground of thought and intelligent discussion of Unity. It's a great place to network and even find projects and work, with most people taking the mic offering opportunities, at least at this particular event. If LUUG isn't on your radar as a London indie now's the time to turn that all around!

Is... is that what opportunity looks like? (Source)

The first talk was from Barnaby Smith, a Unity3D developer at Kwalee. His topic of discussion was some work that he'd been doing in his spare time on procedural rendering of planets and terrain in Unity. He talked about the various methods of generating noisemaps, the algorithms used and their benefits and shortfalls. One very interesting technique for noise generation is known as Fractional Brownian Motion, a technique that layers multiple frequencies of varying wavelengths, called Octaves, to create a line of random troughs and peaks, ideal for terrain generation.

There's a poop joke in there somewhere, I just know it! (Source 1 / Source 2)

Smith then had to solve the problem of mapping these new textures to objects. Standard mapping usually uses a rectangular texture that is wrapped around an object, not ideal when your goal is to create spherical bodies like planets as you run into problems with seams and polar distortion. Cube maps on the other hand deal with many of these problems for you. Smith decided to map his textures with a cube map and apply this to his planet object. Many of the mapping issues dealt with themselves as cube maps are designed to display reflections of the environment around an object, meaning seams and distortion are less likely to cause problems. Combining various techniques like the ones described, combined with vertex placement and the creation of an atmosphere using a noise map with alpha controlled by height makes Smith's planets look unbelievable and he can produce a wide array of results with the tools he has built. He wishes to work on more tools to create even more stunning environments, including erosion algorithms and climate generation and it all adds up to a very exciting bit of kit that can really take the hassle out of creating terrain and environments! He is also working to reduce the rendering times of the tools, as the tools render everything live within Unity. A 20 second render of three planet objects was demonstrated, ,which is a considerable achievement, but with optimisation Smith feels he can take this down even further. None of Smith's work is up on the asset store but he's quite open to discussion about his work and you can hit him up on Twitter if you're interested in his techniques and expertise. You can also find his slides from his LUUG talk with more detail and code snippets if you're interested in trying out some of the thing's he's discovered riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight aboooooooooooooooooooooout here.

Next up was Leonard Burton, a freelance Web Designer by trade but a VR enthusiast by night (a Batman-esque existence to be sure). His topic of discussion was VR in Unity and its potential going forward. He began with a brief history of VR, beginning with astral projection and spiritual journeys. These experiences, in a sense, are a kind of virtual reality; a spiritual and mental precursor to the technology driven VR under discussion here. The idea and feeling of being transported elsewhere is not new or recent and has been a human goal for a long time, proven in both our history of fiction & narrative and our longstanding interest and study of things like astral projection and hallucinogenic compounds. Later, in the last century, we begin to see technology evolve to accommodate VR. Stereoscopy and binaural sound are used as a spectacle, to enhance the immersion experienced by the senses and to dazzle and amaze. Later, technology is developed by the military for training and combat and, as it often does, this technology eventually trickled into the public sector. By the 1990s it had exploded and VR machines were in every arcade, with VR glasses the talk of the time. The technology still hadn't matured and was often viewed and designed for as little more than a spectacle or a show, with many VR applications featuring large amounts of movement and many even utilising hydraulics to move the player's chair. This high speed action and large amount of movement often resulted in people feeling ill and never really explored the things that really immerse a person in an experience.

"Woah, these space boobs are so real!" said nobody, ever (Source)

We are now at a stage where many of VRs past technical problems have ceased too plague us, or at least have become more manageable and affordable to resolve. With things like the Oculus Rift, Sony's Project Morpheus and the the newly announced ControlVR (which has a Kickstarter which you should totally go to right now and back because it looks fantastic), combined with the thriving indie community that is now able to get their hands on such devices, virtual reality experiences are now very possible and we can begin to explore a more personal space with it, a space someone is comfortable visiting in their own home, a more matured and deep experience. Burton views VR as a medium unto itself, and I fully agree. While the platform can and most definitely should be used to create games it can also do so much more in terms of interactive narrative and experience. Burton then discussed the Oculus guidelines for design and stated that some of them will lead to a better experience while others are rules perhaps made to be broken. As an example, a seated experience is suggested but this may not always be conducive to the experience. A group at Zurich University created a device that places the user flat on their stomach with arms outstretched and is able to tilt and roll. Combined with motors, fans and an Oculus Rift the user is able to feel like they are flying through a virtual world. Burton calls on designers to design for VR as now is the time to do it. He states that experiences should be designed for VR from the ground up, not ported later as this tends to be less convincing. He also believes that designers shouldn't shy away from problems or wait for others to solve them but should actively pursue them however they can. He also discusses the importance of 'presence' within VR, something that goes beyond immersion. One can feel immersed in a book or film but to feel present and to experience a world through ones own senses is a far greater feeling altogether.

Did someone say presents!? (Source)

Burton then discussed some interesting examples of the use of VR. Aldin Dynamics have created an Oculus experience called Trial of the Rift Drifter; the game puts the player in the role of a someone who is accused of using the Oculus Rift to travel between dimensions. The game is advanced and controlled by gestural movements; shaking or nodding one's head, looking away guiltily as one is asked questions. Sightline is a game developed as part of a VR game jam but is now finding it's footing on the internet and being turned into a much larger experience. The game revolves around using the player's line of sight and altering the environment when the player isn't looking. Paths that may have been broken will be fixed once one looks away and then returns their gaze back to it, an extremely intriguing concept. Burton urges all indie designers to break into VR and be a part of shaping its future, and I myself am currently looking into the financial viability of an Oculus dev kit and some hand and gestural tracking devices to develop some ideas. Leonard Burton can also be hit up on his Twitter if you're so inclined. Both talks were covered by my pals at Space Unicorn Productions (website pending), who will be taking on the duty of covering all the LUUGs from now on. Subscribe to their Youtube channel to keep updated with LUUG so you won't miss it, even if you can't attend. The information is invaluable and the speakers even give private interview after their talks to the Space Unicorn guys, so you're getting even more than LUUG attendees!

I have so many ideas floating around in my head now, if anyone has an Oculus they're giving away I will take the burden off your hands, and I will do it for free because I'm a real nice guy like that.

Good Things, Small Packages

UPDATE: According to their Twitter, @ustwogames are currently working on new levels for Monument Valley, yaaaaaaaaay! :D

I recently saw a bit of gameplay for a mobile release called Monument Valley by ustwo studio and was instantly hooked by the visuals. The following day, with it fresh in my mind, I decided to purchase it and experience it for myself. What I found was a beautiful, perfectly balanced, relaxing and engaging experience. The look alone, the thing that initially grabbed me, is gorgeous; a 3D isometric view of your environment, mostly simple shapes and models, a soundless, almost featureless protagonist, solid, pastel colours and a slightly eastern architectural design. It's beautiful to just sit and watch for a while and reminded me of another amazing title, visually anyway, Journey from Thatgamecompany, an amazingly beautiful experience that I am not at all upset to be reminded of.

Simple, clean and a little bit gorgeous

Next, on to my favourite bit to talk about, the simplicity of its rules. Everything is so simple in this game one can learn to play simply by playing. There is little in the way of instructions except for a couple of prompts at the start, directing you to touch a point on screen to move your character. The character will then follow a path, if it is clear, to the point you have touched. Some aspects of the environment can also be manipulated, from dragging and rotating blocks, chunks, buildings and platforms to manipulating levers and handles in order to create a path to the goal. All of these things are clearly marked and introduced at a perfect pace, if I was ever a little stuck on a puzzle it was because of me, not the game. The more interesting and exciting aspect of the title though was the echocrome-like perspective puzzles. These can be difficult to explain, but essentially, as the perspective is changed parts of the environment will link up, move, connect or disconnect based on the viewing angle. This was a very exciting feature of echocrome and Fez, two titles that used their camera angles very effectively to produce some mind-bending platform puzzles.

If Escher made games... Dick...

The puzzles in Monument Valley are handled extremely well, and a couple had me really flexing my ability to visualize the spaces and consider the angles, but the wonderful thing about this game is that if you're not sure, try it out! The best way to figure out any of their puzzles is by twisting, turning, swiping, rotating and tapping until all becomes clear. As each chapter is split into a few separate puzzles most sections do not take very long to complete and aren't massively sprawling. This allows for experimentation, as a wrong step won't send you very far back or force you to complete a huge amount of steps for the puzzle again, only to fail at the same point. To use the phrase again this title is perfectly balanced; it feels like something that would be easy to pick up and play for most users, new or veteran, yet has enough to keep any fan of puzzles, whatever their status, happy and playing for a while. While not much of a gripe, the game is extremely short; my play-through lasted around an hour, give or take. It isn't much of a bad thing to say you want more of a game but perhaps a slightly more expanded experience would have been nice as the replay value is virtually nil. In saying all this, I think the price of £2.49 for the app was pretty fair but hope there is some sort of expansion or update that allows for further play.

More, more, more! (Source)

All in all this game follows the design principle I love so much, simplicity. With simple graphics, simple rules and a serene and relaxing soundtrack Monument Valley is a beautiful example of what can be done with touchscreen devices. These perspective and spacial puzzles I'm seeing is something really, frustratingly fun and difficult and stretches the mind, even in a simple form. Touchscreens are a perfect platform for games like this as they allow for a player to use their hands and physically manipulate objects in a far better way than any controller or mouse can offer and it was a delightful learning experience in the design of these puzzles to play Monument Valley. Thanks guys, keep up the good work!

Something EGX This Way Comes...

EGX tickets went on sale yesterday morning. The four day event will host the cream of the crop of the world gaming industry from big publishers and developers to smaller indie teams and solo devs. You'll be able to play new releases, future releases, hear from industry industry insiders and mingle with people who love the thing you love and do the thing you do. Last years event saw 70 000 gamers come together and this years event is expected to be even bigger. Get your day or weekend tickets from the site and perhaps I'll see you there! I'll be there with the SU Productions team, taking notes as they interview some awesome people! It's a little ways away but best to get those tickets early, don't wana be late to the party.

It will be better than this. I think...

In other news, I have begun the planning stages of a new game that will be exhibited around June at my University for the final year exhibition. I don't want to say too much about it now but I would like to point to the IGCCGD conference that I attended recently. Simply being in that environment, hearing people talk about their ideas and learning about one's trade is such a valuable resource. I strongly urge any and all who are interested in becoming part of the industry, in whatever capacity (I mean you voice actors, PR people and producers), attend events! Aside from the obvious networking opportunities it is unbelievably helpful for your grey matter to be in that environment, and you'll learn more about your tools and new tools you might want to use too.

No! Bad reader! Not those kind of tools!

Even if you think you're anti-social and hate crowds, go to smaller events and talks. You don't have to run around shaking everybody's hand. Just listen and absorb. I'm not the most social penguin but by attending stuff like this I've learned so much and it's sparked so many ideas. If there aren't any events near you, have a go organising some. Meet in a local pub, talk about your latest efforts, issues with design and development, future projects, whatever! Twitter is another great tool for this stuff but you'll get so many more Twitter contacts by attending events as well as digital networking.

He's not sad because he's lonely, he's sad because he missed EGX.

So do it! Get out there, show your games, discuss your trade, hear others and develop your own ideas further. The best thing you can do is be there for this stuff. Whether you want to create something fresh, new and unique or improve on something you think can be done better these events can be key to your success, whatever your view of that is.

UPDATED: UK Tax Cuts for 'culturally British' Pantomime Dames

UPDATE: The UKIE has released a PDF (download) explaining the criteria that must be met in order for a game to apply for tax relief. Projects will be assessed with a cultural test and granted points based on the criteria, which include the amount of characters and the portion of the game set in the UK or an EEA country, whether or not a game's story is based on that of a British or other European story, the amount of work completed in the UK and whether or not the creators are usually UK based. This is good news as it means that companies can't just move to the UK and start applying to tax cuts and will hopefully allow British cultural games to shine through. The PDF also explains how the tax cuts will break down over a game's cost and which companies are eligible, including a note that abandoned projects will not have the relief affected.



That's - erm - that's games in Cockney rhyming slam... Pantomime Dames I mean...

"You what guv'na?!"

The European Commision (EC) today approved a tax relief plan for the British games industry that may see up to 25% in tax cuts for games that meet cultural criteria. There is little information as to what these criteria will be as of yet but they are sure to be discussed at the upcoming event hosted by the UKIE to discuss the impact and effects of the tax relief, announced two days ago. This event will be attended by "a senior government minister" as well as representatives of the industry and the UKIE. The tax relief is thought to affect 25% of games produced in the UK and will surely bolster an already thriving industry.


So is that the future of UK produced games? Desperately strong-arming British references in there for tax cuts? It's hard to say without seeing the criteria that's being conveniently skirted over in every press release and statement. At the same time, I don't want to be a cynic. I'm not particularly patriotic but having lived in England my whole life it is the culture I know and understand, a humour I get that much of the world doesn't, a certain British-ness in the way we are, in the way the characters we create are. My concern is that what we'll see is a rise in games that contain a bunch of British stereotypes, not for the purpose of amusement, satire or affectionate ribbing but simply for the sake of tax cuts.

Then again, maybe it's time time for a second go at this?

I don't just refer to comedic characters and references, in the vain of say Family Guy (I find this particular clip encompasses so many British-isms it's like art, Seth McFarlane gets it), but even more supposedly serious characters. I don't want every game to be set in jolly old London town and be surrounded by fruit sellers, buskers singing George Formby and chimney sweeps doing delightful jigs.

This... this actually looks okay

But I have faith in British developers, faith that they won't just be out to make a quick buck and they truly want to add to the British cultural lexicon. The UK has had a massive cultural impact on the world in the past, and not just because they went round taking over every country they step foot in. We are a nation with a strong identity and mixed culture and the media we produce is often uniquely British, but the world in recent years has started to pick up on not just our fashion but our media too, a thing that was often confined to out little island as the rest of the world "wouldn't get it".

What does it all mean?!

An immediate and obvious example of this is Ricky Gervais' hit show The Office, a show that took the world by storm and became more than just a cult hit, spawning various regional versions worldwide. This was a uniquely British show with uniquely British humour; the awkwardness of daily interactions, the polite, reserved way we tend to deal with situations, the fools we suffer so as not to be rude. All of this was blown a bit wide for comedic purposes in some cases but the show was often based on real events from the writer's lives. It made it feel real and like home for me, like I could meet these people at any pub in the country. There were stereotypes but the character's were genuine and it made them feel more like character quirks and flaws. Perhaps having British culture in the hands of British developers is the best thing for it then.

And seriously, GTA: London 2 you guys! GTA: London 2!

IGCCGD: A PR man in a suit isn't always 'the Man'

Sadly I was unable to attend the second day of the IGCCGD event due to a few factors but I found the first day very enlightening and wanted to note some points of consideration gleaned from the discussions and talks.

Danny Goodayle, co-founder of Just a Pixel discussed the events surrounding the development and pending release of his studio's game Light, their first effort. The game was a hit on Steam Greenlight and the developers, a small team of 2, excitedly decided to begin a Kickstarter campaign to fund their game. During the course of the campaign they were contacted by Team17 who wished to publish their game and were also Greenlit. They cancelled their Kickstarter, finished up their contracts and have been building the game since late 2013, to be shown at REZZED later this month. Goodayle discussed the difficulties and stresses of building the complex AI they had devised and his thankfulness to people they had hired into the project, even commenting that the visual design of the game was altered due to some music written by Gavin Harrison. Team17 were also given praise for their hands-off approach to their involvement, offering help where it was needed but otherwise allowing the developers to work to the beat of their own drum (with deadlines of course).

Light looking all gorgeously volumetric

Hearing of their highs and lows was an extremely interesting insight into their development cycle and Goodayle says he learned much from the experience; the value of delegating tasks and not being too untrustworthy with handing your work off to others, the fish-out-of-water feeling of suddenly being introduced to deadlines, QA tests, concerns about optimising the game for a range of systems. The game is currently in a prototyping stage and has no release date as of yet but follow the guys on their twitter feeds and check back on their site for updates.

Steve Iles gave his perspective from the PR side of things, one rarely considered and often considered too late by many designers. He stressed the importance of PR in a successful game, even an independent once. While PR doesn't guarantee success, nor does a lack of actively presenting a work deny its success, Iles discussed what a publisher can bring to the table, including expertise, contacts, experience and an existing market position in many cases. Publishers and producers can really take a lot of the work load of presenting, advertising and spreading news of your game, freeing you up to build; they know the business and will do their best to make your game a commercial success if that is your goal. He also discussed the importance of knowing your target market, knowing what they respond to and knowing how to market to them, noting the Asian mobile market as one of particular importance at the moment. Finally Iles discussed the future of games as a medium, using a term close to my heart, transmedia worlds. These are narrative universes spanning over various media, not simply retelling the narrative of the original but expanding it. Iles considers these transmedia worlds as a large part of the future of games as a medium and I am inclined to agree.

I've already talked a little about Louise James but I'll happily discuss her again. James, the young director of Generic Evil Business Inc., gave her reasons for loving Twitter as a social tool but also as a tool for finding work and making contacts. She discussed the Twitter conversations that led her to work with Dan Marshall of Size Five Games on their game Gun Monkeys and led to a collaborative relationship that they still maintain. Through Twitter James was also able to secure work with other teams, studios and developers and was able to aid others in finding opportunities. The social networking site also enabled her to boost sales of tools she had built by getting the word out of their existence across a network of individuals with similar interests and careers. These relationships built on Twitter have provided a network of contacts and client base that is invaluable and exhaustive, so give her a follow because she's a great contact to have!

Monkeys... with guns... Gun Monkeys!

James Parker of Opposable Games and Alastair Aitcheson, a solo indie developer, were both at odds in their design ideals. While Parker discussed Opposable's interest in second-screen or dual-screen games and networking players, Aitcheson was enthralled by the idea of large touchscreens with multiple players on the same device. Parker lamented the use of second-screens in gaming today, commenting that they are often gimicks that can detract from the play experience by removing vital tools from visible space and putting them on a phone. It is his studio's intent to create second-screen games that utilise both screens effectively but do not force the user to shift their focus when it is needed on another screen. In their upcoming title Salvage they aim to do this by limiting interactions to the second-screen and not forcing a user to use a mouse or keyboard or controller in addition to it. Parker also commented that though people understand the term second-screen and it is easy to use it does not mean the so-called 'second-screen' has to take second place to the 'first-screen'. They also know the audience for their game is a core audience, tech savvy and more able to set up and understand the technology. Catch the game and the guys at REZZED later in the month as well.

Second-screen? First-screen

Alistair Aitchison is a lover of the interactions between people and aims to make games that people have to be in the same room to play. He likes to foster cheating and sabotage, designing his titles to allow and encourage players to screw each other over to win. For him games are about the meta-narrative, the interactions between friends that produce fun and humour. In his latest offering, Tap Happy Sabotage, players must collect cards by tapping them while tapping other players' 'trap' cards, reducing their points. It is a mad rush of tapping and finger wrestling with some extra mechanics thrown in to make the game more competitive and fun. In order to achieve all this, larger screens are much more effective and Aitcheson said he has played his game with 10 players on a single screen. After discussing the ubiquity of touchscreen devices in the near future he went on to say that large screen games are a niche market at the moment and so designing for them now will place you ahead of the curve, though there are many ergonomic considerations for larger screens that must be considered like fidelity of movement in comparison to a smaller screen and fatigue from large, long, extended periods of movement and play.

They're certainly happy about... something

It seems the main points to take home throughout the talks was that accepting help when it's needed is never, ever a bad thing, and actively employing or seeking that help from someone who knows what they're doing is even better. Though you should try new things and make an attempt at something, even if it seems daunting, knowing when you're beat isn't a failure and neither is a helping hand, sometimes it's the difference between success and failure! But the main thing is exposure; follow up on leads, message the right people about your product and efforts, get the word out and have a presence online. People will want to search you and your game and the easier you make it for them to find that info and then buy your game when it releases, the more likely your game is to be a success. Think about marketing and press from the very start of your project and give yourself time to implement some PR. You can make your game a success and earn a living from what you do as a game designer or creator but you have to be active if that's your goal.

New Day's Resolution

Too long once more! It is my New Day's Resolution (New Year's was a little far...) that I will try to update this thing at least once a week. But onward, to content!

I've been to Prague and back for a short holiday to get away from the madness and had a great time just walking around and taking the city in.

There was so much to see this guy didn't even

live to see it all!

The astronomical clock, the Charles Bridge and so much more! I took a bunch of photos and got blisters I'm still recovering from due to all the walking on cobbled streets but being alone in a new place like that was something I had to do at least once. I'm glad I did and I'm glad I didn't die. I really want to go back in the summer one day though, visit Chapeau Rouge and take a stroll by the Vltava River and see some live music in the evening. But there are so many places I must visit, perhaps I'll save my return for another year.

I've also been working hard as hell on my dissertation and second term project. The dissertation is titled 'Narratology vs. Ludology: Rules, story and their impact on design' and was extremely interesting to research (and well worth the late fees from the library which I will totally pay off soon and return the books...). I had to delve into transmedia worlds, hypertext fiction, ludological definitions and tenets and more. I think it really helped me to solidify some of my ideas about design and forced me to look a little into the future and see where game design is going. An invaluable mad rush that I would repeat any day!

The project is a game prototype I've been working on for about 3 weeks. It was the third design iteration I'd been through and none of the three designs were anything alike. The first was uninspired and rushed, a side-scrolling platformer with little substance. The second was a good idea but too vast and the territory was too new for me to feel confident in successfully completing it in time. I won't discuss that one for now because it's an idea I'm still developing and may resume work on soon. But the third is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up, filled with goo monsters, French themes and the cutest darn cat you ever saw ^^ (Simple characters, simple game, simple*3). I didn't have much time after the re-design so I put together something that's scalable but simple and hopefully fun as heck! I'm not releasing anything for now but watch this space! I intend to develop it further although the project may be a little too large to focus on completely and the design needs to be fleshed out a lot too.

The start of something beautiful?

I was at the awesome Indie Games Collective Conference for Developers all day yesterday and will be heading back there for the second day later this morning. Day 1 was informative and all the talks were a really interesting perspective on game design, development and distribution from both an indie perspective and a PR perspective, an interesting side of the process rarely considered by many devs until it's too late. There was a particularly awesome speech from Louise Adams on why Twitter is so amazing for making contacts. She seemed nervous and not particularly willing to give the talk at first but as soon as she opened her mouth she had the whole room laughing and hanging on her every word, and rarely have I heard so endearing a phrase as "I was supposed to do some slides but I panicked and made a physics engine instead".

This is how all presentations should be given.

There was a great panel at the end and and Paul Marrable had us all cracking up. Some very interesting discussions about dual-screen vs. second-screen, developing games for large touchscreens and plenty of great advice for any indie developer, new or old to the scene.

A friend of mine is producing a web show based at his university and they will be joining me at the IGCCGD day 2 for interviews, filming and some more of that great advice from industry experts and indie devs alike! So keep your eyes peeled for the vid. In the meantime they have a few news videos and coverage from a couple of events with some killer interviews so check them out at SU Productions on Youtube and Facebook, subscribe and like and share and all that malarkey, help them make it great!

I shall be back to report on day 2 of the IGCCGD and will attempt to sort through all my notes to write something at least relatively informative for once :)