I found this quite interesting...read on

Report: Despite Economy, Online Gaming is Growing

Though the economic conditions here and abroad continue to worsen, a new report from analyst firm NPD reveals an impressive increase in online gaming over the last year.

"Online gaming for video game consoles and portables enjoyed a statistically significant increase from 19 percent in 2008 to 25 percent in 2009," according to Online Gaming 2009, a market research report released this morning.

Additionally, the report claims that Microsoft's Xbox 360 dominates the online gaming charts, holding 50 perecent of the market, "despite the noteworthy changes among other major console  systems."

"Use of Nintendo's Wii increased from 18 percent in 2008 to 29 percent in 2009, while PS2 fell dramatically and PS3 moved up from fifth place to third place," the report states. "This is a  testament to the strength of Xbox 360, both overall, and particularly in the  online gaming sphere."

http://blog.wired.com/games/2009/03/report-despite.html

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Casual gaming sites: www.chinesegum.com, and marketing games

I came across this site, www.chinesegum.com  and this review on this site. This site is a pretty standard gaming site you'll find but what interested me the most was the review. Take a look. 

In this final part of my review on ChineseGum.com, I'd like to discuss my experience on the site.

First off, I am a huge fan of the Gamelist.  It wasn't just a collection of my favorite games, but it acted like a playlist on my iPod.  I could click on my Gamelist and a window would pop up with an area to play the game and below that were tabs for each category.  If I wanted to, I could easily jump from one game to the next without having to return to my profile page.  Also, being able to favorite not just games, but other gamers' Gamelists was a nice touch.

Beyond that I enjoyed the selection of games.  It was nice to have a selection that were more casual games.  A lot of Flash games have broken past the definition of casual and have become complicated and long.  Which is fine, I completely support Flash games furthering themselves in the game industry.  But, sometimes you want to play games reminiscent of Bejeweled.  And yes there are probably hundreds of variations of Bejeweled out there, but that doesn't mean I don't want to play them.  To me, these games are more along the lines of casual games than the gritty tower defenses you see a lot of on Flash sites nowadays.

That being said, I'm sure a lot of the games I ran into on this site I could find elsewhere.  But the fact is, they'd be buried away and I'd have to know exactly what I was looking for to find it.

In regards to appealing to the female gamer, I do believe the site's design is not as dark, harsh, and intimidating as some sites.  Also the selection of games, as I said before, are more casual.  According to the Casual Game Market Report in 2007, done by the Casual Games Association, women had a slight majority over men as casual players, making up 51%.  But they made up 74% of paying casual game players.  So based on those numbers, the decision to focus on simpler casual games is an effective choice.

In regards to connecting designers with players, I look forward to seeing some growth on the site.  Right now the framework is definitely there.  The site is set up with plenty of opportunities for designers to blog about their projects, to be represented in designer spotlights, and to communicate easily with players.  However, right now it appears not too many designers have taken advantage of this.  I find this disappointing.  As one of my goals as Examiner is to help shed light on ways to get into the industry, I would highly suggest taking advantage of any opportunity to connect with players.  If players get to know you and like you, you'll have a following, which leads to more hits, which leads to popularity, which leads to bigger and better things.  The framework is there at your disposal and the market is a thriving one, don't miss out on the opportunity.

Overall, I really enjoyed the site.  It is still fairly young and has a ways to go.  From what I can tell though, it is off to a good start.

http://www.examiner.com/x-4242-Baltimore-Gaming-Lifestyle-Examiner~y2009m3d13-ChineseGumcom-bringing-back-casual-Flash-games-for-women

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We've all learned in class that statistics show that the number of women casual gamers as slightly higher than men. But what i did find is that for some of us girls, some sites you go on, like the author of the article suggested, is quite intimidating and dark. And she also mentioned that the 'casual games' are much more complicated and long compared to the ones before. I feel that this doesn't only affect female gamers, it also affect non-regular casual gamers. 

So what's the best way to go about marketing the games/game sites? For me personally, i won't go search up a game and play it. I don't take the initiative to find new games to play. Most of the time, the only way i start to play a game is when a friend sends me a link and i get curious. That being said, with facebook, twitter etc, it's a smart way to marketing through those channels that targets peer to peer communication. For example, having people to test out games and then pass it on to their friends. Hey, if the game is good, word will start spreading and games will become more popular. So instead of having a vast variety of games on a game site that only regular site-goers will go to, try different channels. This may even help promote the game site itself! 

User Testing Experience

So as of now, our group SMK2 has gone through 2 full rounds of user testing. User testing is a process that tests the prototype on individuals who were not involved in creating a game. The objective is to find out the usability of the game and the different problems (such as navigational, instructional, or the flow of the game) the game may have. A lot of times, when the creator makes a game, they don't find these problems because they are already familiar with the game. We assume the audience knows what we know. This is where the user testing kicks in. 

It's quite interesting actually, i've gone through 3 different user testings for three different interface/games. Each time, before the testing begins, i felt quite confident on the actual interface/game. But once the testing begins, i often find out problems that are common to all the testers. As a result, the actual interface/game after user testing usually looks drastically different than it used to. 

This time, when we tested out the games, we found that there were a lot of instructional problems and that the game may be too wordy. As a result, players get frustrated and skip through and click until they get the answer right. After the initial testing, we had to build the game from scratch all over again. It was a pain because we had to figure out a new way to build the game, but it did work a lot better. So the new game went through the second round of testing. This time, although there are still a lot of changes, we don't need to rebuild the whole thing all over again. 

So it's no wonder that user testing is so crucial. I just wonder if all the applications, interfaces, games etc that i used went through a ton of user testing processes. 

How did all your user testing sessions go? 

DAC 300: Casual Games: Analysis Assignment

So today, I’ll be reviewing a game called “The World’s Hardest Game” by Snubby Land. The game can be found on the following website, http://www.addictinggames.com/theworldshardestgame.html. I came across this game a while back when I friend sent it to me. It’s a fairly straightforward game yet I find myself engulfed by it.

So click on the game and play at your own discretion…because I have to warn you… this game gets pretty addictive.

There will be two parts to this game analysis. First, I’ll outline what this game really is using the 7 elements that helps define a game. Then, I’ll go more in depth, reviewing this game based on Conslavo’s article.

The World’s Hardest Game:

Part 1: 

1) Player: This game involves only one player against the “game” or the “computer”. You will be represented by the red square. The player, while playing, will have to be involved and invested in order to participate in this game. The player will constantly be active in order to achieve the objective of the game.

In a deeper level, the game is a fairly simple game that players can easier get the hang off, yet hard to perfect. Due to this reason, players can easily get addicted to the game. Since this is an Internet casual game that does not allow user to save their progress, it requires the player to be invested to a certain level.

2) Objective: The main objective of this game is to finish all 30 levels with the least amount of deaths.

3) Procedure: In the game, the red square will be controlled by the player using the arrow keys (Up, down, left, right). You main purpose is to avoid the blue circles and collect all the yellow circles. You will need to move from one green beacon, collect all the yellow circles while avoiding blue circles in order to move to the other green beacon to complete each level. Some levels may consist of more than one beacon that acts as intermediary checkpoints. Each time your red square touches any of the blue circles, you’ll have to start all over and “1” death will be recorded.

There are 30 levels and no time limits. In order to submit your score to the general score board of this game, you will need to complete all 30 levels. Since there are no scoring systems, the ranks will be based on the number of deaths required to finish all 3 levels. And obviously, the less deaths, the higher ranking you will get.

Image 1: Here is an example. Parts are pointed out by highlighted arrows.

4) Rules: The rules are pretty straightforward and simple. All you need to do is to navigate the red square, collect all the yellow circles, avoid all the blue circles and cross to the end green beacon.

5) Resources: Besides collecting all the yellow circles, there are no resources that need to be managed.

6) Conflict: The main obstacle that deters a player from accomplishing a goal is the blue circle. The blue circles moves and gets in your path, stopping you from reaching the end green beacon. The higher the level, the more blue circles. Often, in higher levels, they move in a less predictable way and are more scattered, rather than structured. This makes it extremely difficult to navigate and avoid the blue circles.

7) Outcome: As mentioned earlier, the outcome of finishing each level is that the player gets to advance to the next level. The measurable outcome will be the number of deaths, the less, the better. The player will have to finish all 30 levels in order to enter the score bored.

Part 2: 

A review based on Conslavo’s Article “Developing a methodological toolkit for the qualitative study of games article” Conslavo states that there are four main elements that are crucial when studying a game.

1) Object Inventory: As mentioned before, the player is the red square, and your purpose is to collect all the yellow circles while avoiding the blue circles, in order cross the green beacon and complete the level. Once you crash into a blue circle, you will loose a life and will have to start over.

The objects are multi use in a sense that they appear in each level. However, besides the red square, these objects are rearranged according to the level and the course.

The interaction of the object is controlled by the player, through the mouse. There are no time limits, and the red square will exist as long as you play. 

All the objects’ nature stays constant throughout the levels. However, the number of blue circle, yellow circles, and green beacon changes, and their movement, placement also changes while the levels advance. The game is fairly simple and the objects are in placed without any cost in the game. Also, there are no inventory management of objects involved with this game.

2) Interface Study: There are only three elements in this game that are involved with the interface study. The “menu” button, which takes you to the menu that has options like “Play game”, “leader board”, “more games” etc. Within the game interface, on the top middle section shows you the level you are in. For example, if you are in level 12, the screen will show “12/30”. The top right section will display the number of deaths you currently have. For example, if you have 54 deaths, it will show “DEATHS:54”

3) Interaction Map: Since this is a one-player game, there will be no interaction involved other Player Characters or Non Player Characters. The only interaction is the red square controlled by the player, and all the other elements mentioned earlier in the review.

4) Gameplay Log: The game does not allow players to save their progress. This causes a restriction because if the player chose to finish the game, they will have to do it in one sitting.

The players will not be able to break the rules of the game. Each level is plain and simple with no twist. Since this game is simple, no situations that are not intended will appear. The game does not make reference to other media forms or other games.

The game fits into the genre of casual games. Interestingly, in the website, it is under “Addictive” games. This game can reach out to different types of audience since the rules are simple and straightforward. 

Other important things:

Graphics, audio, user interface etc: graphics are very minimal in the game. The game contains a blue background, and a course/pathway. The top center will tell you which level you are in, while the top left, shows you the number of deaths you currently have. In terms of audio, a background song plays on repeat on each level. The song fits well with the game, as it is upbeat and simple. When a red brick crashes into a blue circle, a punching sound will play, letting the player know they’ve lost this life.

Strengths: The strengths of this game are that it’s simple and everyone can learn. Although it’s simple, it’s hard to perfect and it’s quite difficult to finish each levels, As a result, it attracts player to keep playing as a challenge.

Weaknesses: Although the sounds do accompany the game, it does get quite annoying and I find myself turning off the volume. The graphics are very simple. Maybe if it were more interesting, the game would be more eye catching as well. One of the main turn-offs of this game is that there are no “save’ function. So this means, if a player wants to beat all the levels to enter the scoreboard, they will have to finish it in one sitting, which can take quite long as the game is challenging. The last criticism is that the games do have glitches here and there which interferes with the game-play.

Overall: Overall, I find this game extremely difficult and very addictive. I see myself sending it out to my friends to try. I personally won’t play this game until I finished all the levels, I just play for pure fun and relaxation.

Tutorial 3: Arkanoid

Hi! I hope all of you aren’t swamped with schoolwork yet, I know I am.

So after going through all the previous tutorials, Pong (One and two player), I had to think of a way to present tutorial three. Since I’m no video expert (Like Katrina, hers’ was awesome) I created a step by step PowerPoint that goes through and teaches you how to create the casual game “Arkanoid” on Multimedia Fusion Developer.

The PowerPoint is a step-by-step guide including images. If you are stuck on a part or you’re not sure what you’re supposed to do, take a look at the images. I’ve included arrows and highlights to help you. The arrows and highlighted parts usually show you what you should be changing/editing. Also, please be aware that this tutorial is dependent on the first two.

I’ve always made the PowerPoint into a video to post on my blog so you can get an idea of the tutorial. I know there’s a big fat watermark in the middle of the video, but the original PowerPoint can be downloaded through this link.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jecba0

I hope you all enjoy this tutorial. I also hope that this tutorial will help you easily create “Arkanoid”. (I got to tell you, the game can be pretty tough…to me at least). If you have any trouble downloading or if you don’t understand a certain part, please feel free to leave a comment or email me. I’ll try my best to help you. I also welcome any suggestions and constructive criticism.

Cheers. 

Not so 'casual' when it's addictive

I'm no avid hardcore gamer. I've tried my hands of Call of Duty, Gears of War, even NBA Live... and I'm pretty much hopeless. So i stick to simple games, and in this course's case, casual games. I play games on my phone when I'm bored, i play with my DS, play on the computer etc. They're simple 'no strings attached' kind of games, but yet i find myself sort of addicted to them from time to time. I remember i played tetras on my DS for more than an hour... and when i stopped playing... those tetras shapes were still moving in my head. So... here's something for you to think about... are casual games really casual? Just because it's more simple in nature, does it mean that they don't have the same effect on us as those more complicated games? 

It’s all about the end users

It’s week one and we're beginning this course by familiarizing ourselves with casual online games, designing user experience as well as personas. Our reading today includes: Designing New Casual Game Experiences: Competition and Social Interaction Converging Website and Games; The Origins of Personas; and Perfecting Your Personas.  

Thoughts on the readings

Designing New Casual Game Experiences: Competition and Social Interaction Converging Website and Games: This report gave a good introduction of what casual gaming is and where it stands in our society right now. There are a lot of interesting things I learned. When I play casual games, I do not think twice about the different components, rules, and the technical work behind the games. But there are a lot of parts that come together to form the simple games we play online or on our phones. For example, learning about the different phases of creating a beta version of a game, or the idea of competition, avatars or chatting with other users. These are all fairly new concepts to me and I intend to learn more about casual game as this term goes on. In the meanwhile, let me show you some casual games I’m familiar with. I'll be sure to do a small review on them later on. (From left: Labyrinth, Jawbreaker, Tetras, Bubblewrap)

 

 

 

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The Origins of Personas and Perfecting Your Personas: I was a bit more familiar with the concept of personas as I took DAC 201 last term. One of the more interesting facts that I learned is that designers tend to design for themselves rather than their end-users or implied designee. The persona is a great tool to help the designer stay focused on the end-users. Below, is a sample of the persona I’ve done.