Presented my thesis statements/abstract, which I evidently got completely backwards. I basically wrote 12 different abstracts and 1 super-short abstract, and as we tried to come up with a quick sentence in the middle of class to condense all these it became pretty clear that I've got, metaphorically speaking, an 80-card deck that I've got to cut down to a 60-card deck. As I try to conduct my thesis statement I'm going scattershot at EVERY possible means of making a story non-linear when I've got to pare it down to just one particular method. Fortunately I know which method that is (the more explicitly narrative-focused, branching structure), I just need to take the time to come up with those ten new short statements.
I didn't get much in the way of additional suggestions for research; mainly an article published by Wizards of the Coast on different player archetypes. Should still be useful as it says a lot about how gamers make decisions, but not necessarily the immensely broadening new perspective or enlightening psychological study I was hoping for. If I'm right, I should find that gamers universally think about intrinsic/material value rather than morality and that they'll do what they think gives them the greatest reward over what they think is good/evil. Right now that's all conjecture, though.
Showing posts with label class. Show all posts
Showing posts with label class. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Class 4 Log - Uplifting Revelations
Well, my exposition of skills wasn't great, but it was okay, but my thesis topics went swimmingly. All three were met with great enthusiasm, and my professor gave me some extraordinarily uplifting feedback! For the first time in months I feel like I genuinely belong here.
Evidently the Unreal 3 editor is a lot more malleable than I initially gave it credit for, and even without a whole ton of scripting it's quite possible to develop some branching dialogue or HUD-based option selection--that being the major feature that would be forcing me to work along the lines of NWN2 or the Elder Scrolls tool set were I to go with... well, practically any of these.
Having viewed sample projects from Level Design Mechanics over the last couple of days I'm actually really impressed with the kinds of things that everybody's been able to do just getting their feet wet with Unreal. I'll be looking into teaching myself the tools as I get the chance--though for right now I've got a lot to do as it is.
Most likely I'll be going with Topic 1: branching narrative, as it has the most doable and most provable project. The idea would be to develop one level following a particular narrative, then do several iterations of it, each one showcasing the particular decision-making paradigms employed by other developers, plus an additional one showcasing my own paradigm for comparison's sake; then I'd have a sample of gamers take the Pepsi challenge to discern which one is the most satisfying. It'd take a ton of effort to build and balance and even more effort to get testers, but it's doable enough that I could have this thing put together before I graduate, if not then not too long after I graduate.
Evidently the Unreal 3 editor is a lot more malleable than I initially gave it credit for, and even without a whole ton of scripting it's quite possible to develop some branching dialogue or HUD-based option selection--that being the major feature that would be forcing me to work along the lines of NWN2 or the Elder Scrolls tool set were I to go with... well, practically any of these.
Having viewed sample projects from Level Design Mechanics over the last couple of days I'm actually really impressed with the kinds of things that everybody's been able to do just getting their feet wet with Unreal. I'll be looking into teaching myself the tools as I get the chance--though for right now I've got a lot to do as it is.
Most likely I'll be going with Topic 1: branching narrative, as it has the most doable and most provable project. The idea would be to develop one level following a particular narrative, then do several iterations of it, each one showcasing the particular decision-making paradigms employed by other developers, plus an additional one showcasing my own paradigm for comparison's sake; then I'd have a sample of gamers take the Pepsi challenge to discern which one is the most satisfying. It'd take a ton of effort to build and balance and even more effort to get testers, but it's doable enough that I could have this thing put together before I graduate, if not then not too long after I graduate.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Class 3 Log
Went over other students' thesis proposals and expositions of skills today. Mine's next class.
I'm still nervous about it; less about the thesis proposals and more about the exposition of skills. My friends tell me I have nothing to worry about, but personally it's been a very long time since I've felt impressed with myself or felt like my own work is something worth bragging about. Maybe it's just me.
Anyway, nothing's changed. Sticking with the three topics I outlined, sprucing up my slides a little bit. Added a few to make it flow better visually, so I'm not freeze-framing on the same slide for like eight minutes while I rant about a tabletop RPG I made.
I'm still nervous about it; less about the thesis proposals and more about the exposition of skills. My friends tell me I have nothing to worry about, but personally it's been a very long time since I've felt impressed with myself or felt like my own work is something worth bragging about. Maybe it's just me.
Anyway, nothing's changed. Sticking with the three topics I outlined, sprucing up my slides a little bit. Added a few to make it flow better visually, so I'm not freeze-framing on the same slide for like eight minutes while I rant about a tabletop RPG I made.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Class 2 Log
Second class: Spent going over past theses at the library. Previously I was intimidated by the expectations of a graduate thesis, but after looking at these with the class it's pretty clear that I've got some solid ideas to work with and that the project expectations aren't in any way out of my league.
The specific theses I viewed covered the topics of symbolism in level design and creating emotion in digital games. The first was a very interesting read with very strong, very tangible research and comprehensive analysis of the games it covered, which included the likes of Psychonauts and American McGee's Alice, and it made a very strong case for using environments as a representation of the protagonist or the antagonist's psyche.
The second thesis... not so much. It just seemed to re-state over and over "games can create strong emotions! Look! Planscape: Torment! Isn't this just such a beautiful story?" Maybe it's just me, or maybe I just didn't look it over thoroughly enough, but its arguments just seemed intangible and uninteresting and it didn't seem to have any really conclusive, clear illustration of what it was trying to prove or why. According to Professor Cookson it was more of an artist's statement than a thesis, which is perfectly valid, but in order to really appreciate it you'd have to both have read it thoroughly and played the game that the writer created.
Overall the theses we reviewed seemed strongest when they had a tangible mission and when they brought in concepts from outside gaming to further develop on existing fields' foundations. Being that I've got a strong background in humanities, history, and literature I should have no problems finding material to work with, and being that I've got lots of theories, ideas, and general industry improvements I'd like to see bouncing around in my head it shouldn't be much of a problem to marry my background in writing with something in gaming. In fact, that's what I got into college for in the first place!
The specific theses I viewed covered the topics of symbolism in level design and creating emotion in digital games. The first was a very interesting read with very strong, very tangible research and comprehensive analysis of the games it covered, which included the likes of Psychonauts and American McGee's Alice, and it made a very strong case for using environments as a representation of the protagonist or the antagonist's psyche.
The second thesis... not so much. It just seemed to re-state over and over "games can create strong emotions! Look! Planscape: Torment! Isn't this just such a beautiful story?" Maybe it's just me, or maybe I just didn't look it over thoroughly enough, but its arguments just seemed intangible and uninteresting and it didn't seem to have any really conclusive, clear illustration of what it was trying to prove or why. According to Professor Cookson it was more of an artist's statement than a thesis, which is perfectly valid, but in order to really appreciate it you'd have to both have read it thoroughly and played the game that the writer created.
Overall the theses we reviewed seemed strongest when they had a tangible mission and when they brought in concepts from outside gaming to further develop on existing fields' foundations. Being that I've got a strong background in humanities, history, and literature I should have no problems finding material to work with, and being that I've got lots of theories, ideas, and general industry improvements I'd like to see bouncing around in my head it shouldn't be much of a problem to marry my background in writing with something in gaming. In fact, that's what I got into college for in the first place!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Class 1 Log
Our first class was spent in simple introductions and quick overview of possible directions for our theses. Not much to say so far, though it did become clear to me that clarifying the way I state my topic is going to be a big challenge. I have an "everything is relevant" point of view that tends to bring me down tangents when I speak, and I nearly brought us into a debate about moral choice systems while trying to relate about general decision-making.
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