Auto-Ethnography 3

Walking to uni and home with my canvas bag I've realised that I unknowingly hold the side of the bag even though it is safe and secure without me holding it. 

As walking you can hear the movement of the bag if I’m not holding it and it will move across my leg. However this isn’t enough reason to hold it and is purely habitual.

The bag also holds a distinct feel of rough canvas which becomes noticeably specific and I would notice if it were different. With this in mind the sense of touch dominates this experience, making my fingers constantly reassure me that the bag is secure and safe. 

Auto-Ethnography 2

For my morning drink I have a milo, which is quite a normal thing socially.

However the way I make and eat the milo differs from the way that normal people do. First I pour a glass of milk and drink half of it. Then I refill it to the top and put a copious amount of milo on top. After that I eat the milo off the top and drink the milk.

Before the milo is added:

The cold milk is smooth and completely white. 

After:

The milk becomes slightly clouded and tainted on the top where the milo has sat. It also gives the milk a crunchier texture as there are bits of milo left. It also allows the milk to be closer to room temperature which is not as refreshing as before, but still able to almost 'clean' my mouth of residual milo.

Auto-ethnography 1

For my first ethnography, I looked into the first part of the day. From here I studied they way that I set an alarm and the thinking behind this to see if it was something that was socially implied or something I had simply made habitual.

I have ascertained that my way of setting an alarm clock to wake up is a little different. Each night I set three alarms, each a minute apart and then when they go off I snooze the last one until I feel the need to get up.

This is a strange because really there isn’t any need for the second two alarms because I could just snooze the first. However my justification has been that I get up straight after the third alarm because the first two have woken me up enough. However, each morning the want to sleep over powers the need to get up.

I also looked at where I place my phone. For some reason I put the phone under my pillow instead of on my bedside table which most people too. I've always justified this as having the phone close enough to grab whenever I need it, but theoretically having it on the table means less movement and so less uncertainty of where it is throughout the night. 

Sight: Sight involved on this is based mainly around connecting the other senses of touch and sound. The body hears the alarm go off and must use the sense of touch to stop the alarm. 

Touch: The sense of touch within this are minimal but still apparent as you have to hit the snooze button. Waking up and having to use this sense makes you more likely to be more alert as you have to focus to some extent, however overall it is very minimal.

Sound: The ringtone I've chosen is one which is shrill and sharp. This is because if it weren't then I might sleep through it. I realise that alarm sounds can differ from person to person, based on how they sleep.

Idea

Regeneration by Respawn

Damage is directly relatable as I said in one of my earlier posts and this slide simply shows the different types of weapons which can be directly responsible for the player to need to regenerate.

Without regeneration the game play changes dramatically with the player being a lot more cautious. Games without regeneration such as "You Only Live Once" are dramatically different to ones where you can respawn as the player is a lot more thoughtful.

Regeneration by Medic

The role of the medic is one which has only been added into games successfully fairly recently. This part of the mechanic creates a sense of camaraderie within team players who can help each other out. This can be achieved by simply healing each other in specific games or in some having one specific player as the medic. 

Regeneration of Health

These two slides go into the idea of regeneration of health and are related to games such as COD and Hydlide through random regeneration without any specific reason.

They are also related to games such as wolverine where the aspect is explained through the character.

Both of these are still showing an unrealistic characteristic that regeneration of health holds, however this is still relatable to players as humans heal and this is just a sped up version.

Connected mechanics

Damage/ Regeneration

Within the mechanic of regeneration there is the directly relatable mechanic of damage. Without damage there would usually not be a need for regeneration.

 However there are a few games which have put a twist on the mechanic by simply changing game play so that regeneration is still necessary however not through damage. These games are ones where the player must regulate their energy otherwise they run out and need to recharge. 

Here the runner can run at a sprint for a certain amount of time but must balance this as his energy goes down at a faster rate and must regenerate it to use the sprint function again. Also if the energy is not managed properly then the player can not even run at an average space.

This is an example of the mechanic being changed by incorporating the resource management mechanic to turn it into a more interesting game, especially when damage is not included in the game but they still want regeneration aspects. 

Mechanic: Regeneration 2

Within the mechanic of regeneration I will also have images which show the healing liquid in motion. Therefore I will need inspiration for the way that the regrown tissue appears.

Regeneration of an arm on The Amazing Spiderman.

http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?t=453279

Mechanic: Regeneration

For the mechanic of regeneration I plan on stripping back a soldier and illustrating how the player can respawn. For the explanation of respawning and having a character also regenerate their health after being shot, I plan to show it as though their is an actual physical factor which heals them as they are out of the line of fire. 

The tubing that will go into the heart will go in through the Call of Duty logo in some way.

For this I wanted to use some sort of tubing which goes into the heart and is activated when the player gets hurt. Within this liquid there will be a droid or robot that heals the player when inserted into their body.

Buzz Droids from Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith.

(http://www.dk.co.uk/static/html/features/starwars/technology_gallery/pages/Confederacy%20Buzz%20Droid.html)

Brain Scanners from The Island. 

http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/category/movie/style/awesome-cyberpunk-visuals/

Three mechanics to examine

From the mechanics that I chose out of the three games I have decided to further look into regeneration, damage and communication.

I've chosen these mechanics because they are such core mechanics within games of all genres and will therefore allow me to look into as many aspects as possible. 

From here I will further develop my ideas around these mechanics and choose one to specifically go into and explore how I would utilise it to create a rough game draft to do with sustainability. 

Black Ops 2- mechanic adjustment

I have decided to go away from the zombies aspect of the game and focus on the multi-player alone.

Within this I have decided to change from the mechanic of rebuilding to the mechanic or regeneration in the form of respawning.

Da Vinci inspiration

For the layout and inspiration for assignment 1 I was looking at Da Vinci because he combines the technical and the artistic into a meld which clearly illustrates his examples. I'm hoping that this inspiration can help me to form my mechanics into clear illustrations and bring a cohesion into my design. 

 

I will attempt to replicate the technicalities as well as some of the artistic attributes that he creates. 

I really appreciate the technical lines and linearity of his drawings, coupled with the symmetry of his drawings and the explanatory notes which also make the drawings more official and understandable.

               

Limbo core mechanics

Solving- Limbo is a game filled with puzzles and solving them is an action which the player must take to move forward within the game.

       Solving is not only needed within puzzle games but also used in games to understand the environment and solve it to move forward. Games such as tetris also use this mechanic to complete their goals.

Progressing- Because Limbo is based around a boy finding his sister, the mechanic of progression is key as the character must forward, solving the puzzles as they go to get to their sister.

       As with most platform games, progression is key as the end goal is a certain destination which needs to be reached by the character moving forward. This is also apparent in Journey, in the post below.

Avoiding- As the character in Limbo you have no ways to attack or fight against creatures or mechanics within the game. Therefore, the only way to continue through the games and solve aspects is to avoid death.

       Avoidance is a key aspect within many genres, such as platform games which have opposing characters, or traps while also being a main aspect in complex games such as first person shooters where you must avoid enemy fire. This relates to Black Ops 2 where a branch of avoiding is utilised in the form of hiding.

Journey Mechanics

Progression- Journey is a game created around the goal of reaching the end destination of the mountain. The core mechanic of progressing forward is therefore a key aspect for the agent playing.

        Progression is a core mechanic which can be seen in many different games, featuring heavily in ones centred around an end goal.


Collection- Within the game, players must collect parts of a scarf which allow them to fly and move forward in their journey.

        Collection is a common mechanic throughout games of every genre. Whether it be collecting tokens to buy new abilities in games such as temple run or collecting objects which aid the advancement of the character.


Communication- Players can only communicate with one musical sound, but is a key part of the character's interaction with others in the online world.

        Communication is an essential aspect of most online games and aids players in their quest to finish the game. And as game mechanics are defined, mechanics are actions used by players in order to interact with the environment.

COD- Black Ops 2; Zombies and Multi-player

Shooting- The aim of each game within Black Ops 2 necessitates shooting and eventually killing opposing characters or players.

        Shooting is obviously a key aspect of first person shooters and also many other games with opposing characters involved. It is definitely a main mechanic as it allows the player to interact successfully with the environment and in the case of Black Ops 2 and other first person shooters, is essential to game play.

Rebuild- Within Black Ops 2; Zombies, one of the key mechanics is to rebuild in order to delay zombies from being able to approach and attack.

         Within a lot of games rebuilding or at least building is a mechanic which allows the character to further their game and even better their game play.

Hide- Multi-player games which require tactics and players to work together often require the players to  advance and attack but also requires them to hide or take cover when necessary to bide their time.

         Hiding is often a mechanic which is necessary in games for players to avoid damages, or simply time gameplay well. This is also a context mechanic where the environment only allows the action/mechanic in some situations.

Precedent games

The three games that I've chosen to look into for mechanics are:

Limbo: Limbo is a puzzle based platform game developed by Playdead, an independent indie company. The game follows an unnamed character navigating dangerous traps and objects in a 2D environments. Playdead described the type of play as "trial and death" as the solutions are often indirect and seemingly unachievable.

Mechanical environments within Limbo.

Natural environments within Limbo.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2- (within this I will look at the multi-player and zombie aspect) Black ops 2 is a first person shooter created by Treyarch gaming company. Within the multi-player function of the game there are many different gaming options, but all have the same objective of defeating opposing players through killing them.

Representative of base characters.

Game play within "Kill Confirmed".

Journey: Journey is a thatgamecompany produced game, following a robed character on their journey toward a mountain in the distance. Players are limited within the mechanics, in that fact that although they can assist other online, the only form of communication is a singular musical sound. The creators focused on creating a sense of wonder and insignificance and create emotional connections between other anonymous players.

Mountain destination in the distance.

The robe lights up and the scarf allows flight when a certain length.

Defining Game Mechanics

In reading "Defining Game Mechanics" by Miguel Sicart I have developed a more deep understanding of game mechanics.

One of the main definitions/ quotes that aided my understanding was:
           "Game mechanics are often, but not necessarily, designed to overcome challenges, looking for specific transitions of the game state. Designers create the basic mechanics for the player correlating the central challenges of the game with the set of mechanics useful for overcoming them."

Other parts of the article that I found interesting, even if not directly relatable to the actual game mechanics that will be involved in the assignments were:

      - "Game mechanics are designed for gameplay, but they can be used for toyplay. For a player who is playing the game, a mechanic serves a specific set of purposes, while a player that is playing with or within the game, a game mechanic loses its formal game design origin and becomes an instrument for agency."

      - "Game mechanics are concerned with the actual interaction with the game state, while rules provide the possibility space where that interaction is possible, regulating as well the transition between states. In this sense, rules are modeled after agency, while mechanics are modeled for agency."

      - One mechanic can be engrained in us so much so from repetitive use that it moves from a series of inputs to one synonymous action, becoming the mechanic:

      - Side note on AI agents:

“since bots are agents that optimize their interaction by focusing on a core set of mechanics.”

       - "Another interesting approach from this formal perspective is the possibility of describing mechanics that are triggered depending on the context of the player presence in the game world, what I define as "context mechanics”."

       - "Thus, the concept of compound game mechanics can be of use: a compound game mechanic is a set of related game mechanics that function together within one delimited agent interaction mode. These modes are defined by the interaction of these different modalities."

         Overall I felt that it was an article which helped me understand the concept of core mechanics and secondary also.