I suppose primarily, the gaming culture that i am a part of is the art side of things. Growing up my work was heavily influenced by concept art for games - both style and content. I wouldn't say that gaming is really a part of my life anymore these days. I still play the odd game, but I'm nowhere near as 'in to it' as i used to be. Back when i was at school my friends and I used to spend quite a bit of time on xbox live. It was immensely entertaining at the time, to be able to play some of the best games around in the comfort of your own home but be able to chat and socialise (virtually) with your friends too.
In that sense it was very addictive, i remember wasting many hours just sat on burnout paradise chatting to friends over the headset. Looking back, i don't think i would go back on xbox live again, mainly due to the fact that as I've grown up i find i have less and less time for games, as other responsibilities crop up.
Some games, almost have cult status and an incredible following. Take final fantasy 7 for example, or even just that series on the whole. Gamers have parties where they dress up as characters, films are made about games, and vice versa.
I think games have become a rather sophisticated form of entertainment and like anything which people are interested in and passionate about, the way in which it is reflected in our culture will reflect peoples passion for it.
I think for some younger children however it's quite a detrimental past time. I know some young kids that just sit on their games consoles all day everyday, chatting to people online, some of which they don't even know. I personally think this is a sad case, seeing as they should make the most of their time as kids, and be out enjoying the world, not cooped up. But then again i guess they have that option and can always take it if they want to.
Games have seemingly cemented themselves in our culture, how it will develop in the future still remains to be seen.
Monday 25 January 2010
Tuesday 19 January 2010
Boom
I think it's fair to say that the video game industry is in it's prime. No doubt it'll fly higher in the future but in the present the industry is a serious force to be reckoned with. Despite a large percentage of the population thinking games are just for kids etc, now, more so than ever the games industry is a successful, established and profitable industry.
The industry itself is constantly continuing to develop and new technology is the hallmark of an evolving industry. In order for the industry to continue, new developments consistently need to be realised so it doesn't stagnant. Consumers, fickle though it may be, will soon grow bored if nothing new is on offer or is likely to be offered in the foreseeable future. Happily though, at the moment the industry is going well.
Having said that it too is suffering the effects of the recent 'recession' and last year many games companies had to fire many employees as cutbacks were made. People working in this industry should try not to feel too secure at any given time. Although the industry is not in danger, due to it's very nature cut backs are made all the time. For example after a game project is finished the team working on it may be trimmed. For that reason many employees have had to deal with periods of no work and competing for new jobs and opportunities.
The main problem with this industry is that when it booms, it bloats and generally does itself more damage than good. There are a vast amount of established companies now which theoretically can stand the test of time, but the number if third party developers coming and going is still very high.
I think at the end of the day there will always be a demand for talent. However the industry is now extremely saturated with talented individuals, experienced and novice alike. This means that the level of talent demanded is even higher. So yes there will always be a demand for talent, but the bar is ever rising.
The industry itself is constantly continuing to develop and new technology is the hallmark of an evolving industry. In order for the industry to continue, new developments consistently need to be realised so it doesn't stagnant. Consumers, fickle though it may be, will soon grow bored if nothing new is on offer or is likely to be offered in the foreseeable future. Happily though, at the moment the industry is going well.
Having said that it too is suffering the effects of the recent 'recession' and last year many games companies had to fire many employees as cutbacks were made. People working in this industry should try not to feel too secure at any given time. Although the industry is not in danger, due to it's very nature cut backs are made all the time. For example after a game project is finished the team working on it may be trimmed. For that reason many employees have had to deal with periods of no work and competing for new jobs and opportunities.
The main problem with this industry is that when it booms, it bloats and generally does itself more damage than good. There are a vast amount of established companies now which theoretically can stand the test of time, but the number if third party developers coming and going is still very high.
I think at the end of the day there will always be a demand for talent. However the industry is now extremely saturated with talented individuals, experienced and novice alike. This means that the level of talent demanded is even higher. So yes there will always be a demand for talent, but the bar is ever rising.
Sunday 10 January 2010
Back to Basics
Right then, back at Uni at last. Time for a bad bed, no food and a freezing room. On the plus side, a decent desk and all the time in the world to draw! =)
Good stuff.
Bring on round 2. I've decided that i worked as hard as i could in term one, but i need to work smarter. This term i shall work smart, and hard! My aim is to not have to redo anything next hols! Only had to redo one thing this time round so thats not too bad!
Was great to be home, free to just sit down with the books and study what i wanted to study! Made some great progress! Been looking at light in terms of representation rather than scientifically, and made some progress on representing form with mark making. Good times all round!
Good stuff.
Bring on round 2. I've decided that i worked as hard as i could in term one, but i need to work smarter. This term i shall work smart, and hard! My aim is to not have to redo anything next hols! Only had to redo one thing this time round so thats not too bad!
Was great to be home, free to just sit down with the books and study what i wanted to study! Made some great progress! Been looking at light in terms of representation rather than scientifically, and made some progress on representing form with mark making. Good times all round!
Tuesday 5 January 2010
Something From Nothing
I think our individual creativity is our personal response to the world around us in any given context. There are many instances in which one may be creative. Give someone a pen, and they might draw or write. Give someone bricks and they might build. Put on some music and they may dance. Give them drums and they will play. Give them a problem that they may solve. Give them the tools to lead a better life. Educate them to look differently at the world around themselves.
The human mind’s creativity knows no bounds in any area of life.
I think perhaps it is a great shame that we as a species have got into the habit of measuring creativity. We might say someone is very creative if they produce a work of art, but if someone else only creates scribbles on a page, then we may say they are not very creative. All too often creativity gets confused with innovation. Innovation, originality and novelty perhaps are measures in themselves and should thus be looked at separately.
The act of living in itself is a creative endeavour. Were we not so advanced as a race, we’d be creatively hunting and providing shelter for ourselves on a daily basis. In the modern world, social situations provide endless opportunities to be creative. Creative with words, for example, creating in jokes, nicknames or slang. If you are playing a game, how you respond and therefore play the game is a reflection on yourself creatively.
In these terms, creativity is very simplistic and basic, but it is creativity nonetheless. Once provided with tools, or certain situations creativity increases greatly in complexity. When working in a team, creativity gets even more complex. Now you have each individual’s response to a certain problem and then their individual response to everyone else’s response! This is why businesses have brainstorming sessions with large groups of people, because in doing so you can ensure that the creative ideas being put forward are also innovative.
Back to innovation again. Inevitably innovation is important because it is the holy grail of creativity. My earlier point was only that not all creativity should be judged on how innovative it is. For instance personal endeavours or hobbies. In business innovation is key to success, so we have people learning how to maximise their creativity and really nurture it.
Can creativity be nurtured? Yes because unfortunately there are those that simply shy away from life. People that are not truly living. Take someone who just sits on the couch all day, interacting with no one, watching TV. They are hardly living life to any extent at all.
I think creativity can be nurtured by opening our minds, and trying new experiences and constantly challenging how we think on a daily basis.
Whilst I may have said earlier that creativity is all around us and should not be measured, I do however think it should be encouraged. Someone might not be that innovative, try as they might, but they should still be encouraged to be creative as it will undoubtedly enrich their lives.
The human mind’s creativity knows no bounds in any area of life.
I think perhaps it is a great shame that we as a species have got into the habit of measuring creativity. We might say someone is very creative if they produce a work of art, but if someone else only creates scribbles on a page, then we may say they are not very creative. All too often creativity gets confused with innovation. Innovation, originality and novelty perhaps are measures in themselves and should thus be looked at separately.
The act of living in itself is a creative endeavour. Were we not so advanced as a race, we’d be creatively hunting and providing shelter for ourselves on a daily basis. In the modern world, social situations provide endless opportunities to be creative. Creative with words, for example, creating in jokes, nicknames or slang. If you are playing a game, how you respond and therefore play the game is a reflection on yourself creatively.
In these terms, creativity is very simplistic and basic, but it is creativity nonetheless. Once provided with tools, or certain situations creativity increases greatly in complexity. When working in a team, creativity gets even more complex. Now you have each individual’s response to a certain problem and then their individual response to everyone else’s response! This is why businesses have brainstorming sessions with large groups of people, because in doing so you can ensure that the creative ideas being put forward are also innovative.
Back to innovation again. Inevitably innovation is important because it is the holy grail of creativity. My earlier point was only that not all creativity should be judged on how innovative it is. For instance personal endeavours or hobbies. In business innovation is key to success, so we have people learning how to maximise their creativity and really nurture it.
Can creativity be nurtured? Yes because unfortunately there are those that simply shy away from life. People that are not truly living. Take someone who just sits on the couch all day, interacting with no one, watching TV. They are hardly living life to any extent at all.
I think creativity can be nurtured by opening our minds, and trying new experiences and constantly challenging how we think on a daily basis.
Whilst I may have said earlier that creativity is all around us and should not be measured, I do however think it should be encouraged. Someone might not be that innovative, try as they might, but they should still be encouraged to be creative as it will undoubtedly enrich their lives.
Saturday 2 January 2010
Scales
My own personal description of ‘gameplay’ is the balance between challenge and fun in games. The game mechanics serve to create gameplay, for instance, the challenges themselves, the options available to the player, and the control systems in place allowing the player to make independent decisions.
No one likes a game that is too easy. Conversely no one likes a game that is so challenging that it is almost impossible to get through without some serious frustration. For someone to continue playing a game there must be some sort of payoff to the user. They must essentially be having fun and enjoying themselves. A lot of games try and address this with rewards, and level completion bonus along with unlockable extras. The best games get the payoff just right as the user is playing the game, providing just enough challenge that as the user makes progress through the game the satisfaction comes from the user being ‘good’ at the game, if that makes sense. There is no universal measure of whether a user is good at a game or not. But we all know from personal experience that some games we feel we are good at, and others we feel that we are not. When playing a game and you pull off a great headshot, or drift round a corner, or get an awesome combo, or do something generally perceived as skilful, you feel somewhat proud in that moment. This feeling is only enhanced if you feel that you have pulled this action off in spite of the challenge of the game.
So as I said, for me it is all about balance. If it’s too easy, you might pull off some ‘skilful’ things too often, lessening the impact of them. Games are a little like rollercoaster’s, you have to balance out the ups and downs, and then throw in the occasional loop.
So is it important? Yes! I think if someone so desired they could probably break down the individual gameplay for individual games, but there are no overarching themes/rules or categories that you can apply to all games. Even if someone can’t explain it, they understand gameplay on some level. They know when it is good of bad. With this in mind, it should most definitely be planned for and implemented in games carefully. It is possibly the most important factor in designing a game and also the hardest to get to grips with.
A little balance can go a long way.
No one likes a game that is too easy. Conversely no one likes a game that is so challenging that it is almost impossible to get through without some serious frustration. For someone to continue playing a game there must be some sort of payoff to the user. They must essentially be having fun and enjoying themselves. A lot of games try and address this with rewards, and level completion bonus along with unlockable extras. The best games get the payoff just right as the user is playing the game, providing just enough challenge that as the user makes progress through the game the satisfaction comes from the user being ‘good’ at the game, if that makes sense. There is no universal measure of whether a user is good at a game or not. But we all know from personal experience that some games we feel we are good at, and others we feel that we are not. When playing a game and you pull off a great headshot, or drift round a corner, or get an awesome combo, or do something generally perceived as skilful, you feel somewhat proud in that moment. This feeling is only enhanced if you feel that you have pulled this action off in spite of the challenge of the game.
So as I said, for me it is all about balance. If it’s too easy, you might pull off some ‘skilful’ things too often, lessening the impact of them. Games are a little like rollercoaster’s, you have to balance out the ups and downs, and then throw in the occasional loop.
So is it important? Yes! I think if someone so desired they could probably break down the individual gameplay for individual games, but there are no overarching themes/rules or categories that you can apply to all games. Even if someone can’t explain it, they understand gameplay on some level. They know when it is good of bad. With this in mind, it should most definitely be planned for and implemented in games carefully. It is possibly the most important factor in designing a game and also the hardest to get to grips with.
A little balance can go a long way.
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