Critical Play project Pt.1: Feedback, Structure and Ideas

Monday’s pitch and feedback

After pitching my idea to the group I had received some feedback from David K. and Madelena G.

• I could look into different approaches to the creative process, this may not be confined within games design but in other creative fields too. Writers, graphical designers, architects, any creative discipline that entails a staged creative process could be used as a basis for a structure for the game.
• One personal aim is to explore 3D space, David K. had commented on how the loading screen is presented in a 2D form, this could be interpreted in 3D space, certainly a transition between the two could be captured within the game.
• Maddy referenced There Is No Game, this game turns the loading bar into an interactable element. The idea of trying to start the game being the main stage for gameplay is also prevalent as such it is worth looking into.
• Also Maddy referred to Davey Wreden’s blog [http://web.archive.org/web/20170603112100/http://www.galactic-cafe.com/] which was written after the release of The Stanley Parable.

Moving forward

In response I will begin with reassessing my pitch.

• The player will be shown a barely finished game, that has bugs and loads incorrectly and shows error messages. The V.O (Voice Over/Designer) will come in and begin berating the player for starting the game and chastising them for being here(in the play space.)
• The Designer will then relinquish and ask the player to help them finish the game. First to tackle the loading screen, then handle the title, then help the Designer decide on an aesthetic for the start screen. Eventually the player will be asked to come out of the game into the Designer’s space to help develop the game.
• Each puzzle/stage would mirror a step in the design process which I shall research into later!
• I will also commit to the “Broken Unity” aesthetic at least until there is the transition to the 3D space. At this point I imagine there will be a simple 3D space, a blocky space that features simple models of furniture and colours that represent my own workspace. Then that transition between 2D and 3D space should mirror the transition between the two aesthetics. These aesthetics would be informed by the case studies on particular games.

Game structure

The current structure of the game involves the player moving from one puzzle to another, but it must mirror steps in the creative process. As such I will look at various creative processes to base the structure of the game. This may also help inform my own process in this project too.

Creative Process case study

Below I will look at creative processes from different disciplines. I will pay attention to the structure of these processes and how they progress from one to another. What I hope to get out of this is a base to inform different levels for the game.

• 10 steps to Design a Tabletop Game by Jamey Stegmaier– In this video, Jamey explains the different steps he takes to create a tabletop game. There are ten steps that can be broken down to three parts. Firstly his process begins with Inspiration, Brainstorming and Market Research these steps involve forming the concept of an idea by looking at other media including games and works of fiction. Then follow this with listing themes or mechanics. Market research looks at the viability of the ideas that have been listed and tries to gauge whether those ideas would be engaging for the intended audience. Next part includes the First prototype, Consider Constraints, Internal playtesting and Local playtesting. To me this is the development cycle, a prototype is made and it is continually refined. The first prototype would prove the concept, then it would be assessed for monetary costs for things like materials. The game would then under go playtesting, finding issues and proposing solutions to these issues. Lastly he finalizes the process by Writing rules, Blind Playtesting and Deciding if it’s finished. This focuses on preparing the game for release, it considers the readiness of the game and how best to present the rules. There is a final playtest that involves playtesters outside of his immediate circle. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgEt7PysQgc]

• Resources for writers: The Writing Process by Comparative Media Studies M.I.T-This post details the writing process and breaks it down into four steps. First beginning with Prewriting, “It includes thinking, taking notes, talking to others, brainstorming, outlining, and gathering information.” This correlates with the previous source and focuses on gathering information and ideas which is then followed by Drafting. Comparing this to the above process this would be prototyping, it instructs the writer to begin writing on the ideas formed from Prewriting. Then followed by Revising which places emphasis on the reader’s experience, what may need defining on the reader’s part or what can be better organized. Lastly Editing begins, this involves checking for spelling, punctuation and grammar. [https://cmsw.mit.edu/writing-and-communication-center/resources/writers/writing-process/#:~:text=Writing%20is%20a%20process%20that,develop%20and%20expand%20your%20ideas.]
• An Architect’s Process by Karin Patriquin-This process is described as a collabortive effort, it is also targeted towards clients too but it does encapsulate their approach in design. Beginning with a Pre-design phase where the clients needs are discussed in detail, their team then consider the clients current situation. What is feasible under the budget and research the regulatory parameters. This is followed by Schematic design where the previous findings are put into models and plans that are shown to the client. Design development begins by refining the schematics with detailed drawings and documents that capture the major components. This is all packaged in Construction documents, where all the plans and drawings are prepared for a contractor to carry out the construction. [http://www.patriquinarchitects.com/an-architects-process/]

What I gather from the above is that the process usually has three or four phases beginning with an initial research phase. Taking in ideas from other sources and trying to form a solution or concept to develop upon. After that is the development phase, the concept is worked on until a prototype is made. Then refinement phase where the prototype is reviewed for weaknesses and areas of improvement. Finally the finalising phase where it is prepared for submission, details are refined and small mistakes are resolved.

The structure of my game

As shown above there are four distinct phases(Research, Development, Refinement and Finalising), my game should capture these four different phases in some way, either by voice over or in 3D space.

Four phases

1. Research-Here the game would first position the player with different loading screen formats expressed as different images. These would vary in the positioning of the loading bar/title, colour themes and choice font. The player would be able to cycle through them to appease the Designer for the what he perceives as the perfect look. This perfect look may be completely random and not have any basis.
2. Development-An emphasis on a building process, the player would be given a series of boxes, each box labeled different assets and these must be stacked in the correct order which the Designer will dictate and mislead.
3. Refinement-Forced to take what they have stacked and begin to reform it into a loading bar. At this point the player maybe in the 3D space. It is understood that steps 2 and 3 are iterative. There is possibility to make these two steps loop back over, so maybe the game backtracks or forces teh player to start at Development again.
4. Finalising-The player will then be transported into the Designer’s workspace and will play the game from their seat.

Initial ideas

With these phases I began to come up with ideas for these phases. I will still use the idea of playing with fixing a start screen as the main setting, that is the puzzles will act as metaphors for each different phase. This will be communicated through a mix of Voice Over narration and gameplay mechanic.

Research phase

Research phase focuses on dragging and dropping start screen items, the V.O comments on how the placement is not ideal and refers to research results (that the player never sees) and compares how different the player’s placement is.

Development phase

The player must now fill the loading bar with content represented as odd shapes that are labeled as generic content phrases like “Story” or “Gameplay”. The V.O will instruct the player in filling the loading bar with content tnhe Designer feels is necessary.

Refinement phase

Here the V.O chastises the player for the odd number of things being stacked into the loading bar, challenging the player to fix the content so it fits into the loading bar. The player can now also turn and look around their envrionment. It should now be clear that they are inside the game screen.

Finalising phase

The player now traverses out of the game screen into the V.O’s space. That room is surounded by notes as shown here. A door appears where the player can exit.

These ideas are a rough draft and will be refined soon.