Senior Project Reflection

PART I: Two-Hour Presentation
(1) Two-Hour Presentation Student Assessment
         I think I should get at least an AP. I believe I deserve that because I met the requirements but I felt like I rushed through my presentation because I was so nervous. I also think that I didn't really have much eye contact with the audience. I really need to work on my presentation skills. 


(2) What are you most proud of in your 2 hour presentation and why?
       I am most myself while presenting. I thought I would miss a lot of information out and I thought I wouldn't meet the time requirement, I did miss a bunch of stuff I was gonna say but I went straight to the point when presenting.  Before I presented I had a pain in my stomach, I guess it was just cause I was nervous. 

PART II: Overall Senior Project Experience

(3) What do you think you did well on in the project? What could you have done better? Please explain.
         I think I did well on my presentation, probably most proud of that. I think I could have managed time much better or even had better contacts because I couldn't find many people to interview or do service learning with. I also learned I should talk to the teachers when I need help, I am really shy so it is very hard for me to do this. 

(4) What is your EQ and what is the best answer to your EQ? 
     My essential question: What is the most important element in a successful video game?
Best answer: Gamaplay. I chose gameplay as my best answer because it is what makes the game fun overall. It is the fun factor to a game, without it, it would be just like watching an animated film. Gameplay is also the hook to a game, it makes the player keep playing and playing until they quit. 

(5) How has the last month of culminating events (e.g I-Search, Two-Hour, Exit etc) affected your answer to your EQ? Has it changed? Why or why not? 
    Yes my answer actually changed after my service learning. Before my service learning I was more lenient toward Graphics being my best answer, but when going to service learning and watching all the kids and adults play I realized that what they are most into when playing a game is gameplay, not the visuals.  

(6) What suggestions do you have in order to improve the senior project?
           For me, none it all seems to be flowing well. I think I ran into some trouble because I didn't really have contacts that where in the video game industry so that's what made it hard for me. After getting help from my teachers and finding people I actually stayed on top of things and got them accomplished quickly. 

(7) Overall Senior Project Assessment
        I think that my max high grade should be an AP because I missed a lot of due dates. I could have done better if I had asked help from my teachers before stuff was due. 

Service Learning

(1) LIA Response to blog:

Literal

• I finished 10 hours with Koray Hagen up at Cal Poly. He thought me the basics of programming. I wasn't able to finish the 50 hours with him because he had to move to Seattle for some business.
• Completed 40 hours of service learning at Odyssey Gaming. I updated their computers and some of the programs that needed to be installed. I also helped them install some games and updated their graphic cards. This took a very long time because they have 45 computers at Odyssey Gaming were the computers also had to be cleaned. At times I did sit down and play when they told me I should play a game with them, it was pretty fun.

Interpretive

What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
The most important thing that I gained from this experience would probably be what gamers do and why they do it. I realized that they play the games to have fun not just to look at them when they look pretty, that would be just like watching a film. Most of the gamers I've seen there stay for more than three hours at a time, boredom rarely hits them when playing a fun game. 

Applied

How did what you did help you answer your EQ? Please explain.
I got to hang around with some of the gamers there and talked to them about what they look for in video games. Most of them said they are more interested in a game only when its fun not when it looks cool or flashy. I also got to witness this when they would play, they would play games where gameplay was mostly applied not much of the graphical aspect.

(2) Confirmation of Contact Person

Morgan Beilby - President/CEO of Odyssey Gaming 

Business: 14586 Pipeline Ave. Chino, CA 19710

Work #: 909-393-3900

Mobile: 909-342-3015

E-mail: morgan@odyssey-gaming.com

May 14, 2011 – 3 Hours

May 15, 2011 – 8 Hours

May 17, 2011 – 5 hours

May 18, 2011 – 10 Hours

May 19, 2011 – 5 Hours

May 20, 2011 – 6 Hours

May 21, 2011 – 3 Hours

Independent Study 2

1.4/27/2011 4 hours
4/28/2011 3 hours
4/30/2011 6 hours
5/1/2011 5 hours
5/3/2011 4 hours
5/10/2011 2 hours
5/14/2011 4 hours
5/15/2011 2 hours


2. Posted Evidence:

3. Complete the LIA:


Literal


(a)I, Elias Giron, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.


(b) I recreated a game by following tutorials on how to put everything together and how to add pre-made scripts to the game to make it all work.


Interpretive


What I did was: Recreated a game that had already been done by following a set of tutorials that would help me accomplish the final product. I did what I did on my first independent task: added texture, sound, pre made scripts, some parts were already done but I had to make them work by adding mesh to make them not fall through the map/ platforms.


Applied


When recreating this 2d game, it thought me that gameplay is most important because not all games will be as fun as others. For example this game I recreated seemed to be much more fun than the game I created before, not much thought was put into the game I had made before.

Independent Study 1

1.2/5/2010 - What I did this day was watch tutorials on the program I was using and started playing around with it for a while. 2 1/2 hours total

2/6/2010 - I started to create a FPS game (adding terrain, bots, texture, and actions). 6 1/2 hours total. 

Did not get to finish the FPS I wanted because it was very difficult to accomplish without any knowledge of scripting. So I moved on to recreating a simple car game. 

2/9/2010 - I started building a car, I found the texture I wanted and installed it to it. 4 hours total.

2/11/2010 - Built a simple terrain with grass and hills where the car could roam around. 3 hours total. 

4/12/2010 - Worked on the car's specs. : Maneuver, brakes, buttons, top speed, acceleration, sounds. 9 hours total. 

4/13/2010 - Ran into a problem: Every time I wanted to use the car it would fall through the terrain. 3 total hours.

4/14/2010 -  Ran into another problem: Car wouldn't run so I found scripts that fit it and made the car run. 2 total hours.

2.

Here is the car falling through the map.

3. Complete the LIA:

Literal

(a) I, Elias Giron, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work. 

(b) What I accomplished was: I recreated a normal racing game by making terrain, texture and making the car run on the terrain. Creating and coming up with an original one is very difficult because I am only a beginner at this program, there is so much to learn about this program.

Interpretive

Well, what I did was create a game that actually ran on my computer and the car actually ran. Also, I applied texture to the terrain and the car, I also added sound and music to the car (engine, brakes, and background music), assigned the buttons, added point light, also added they physics in the game.

Applied

This helped me answer my essential question because it led me to believe that what should be the most important thing in a game is gameplay. This independent task led me to believe that gameplay is most important because  the graphics were already set in the program, there isn't really much to do with the program. What was needed was brainstorming to create a story line for a game and create the game play. 

2 Hour Lesson Plan Rough Draft

EQ: What is the most important element in a video game?                       

Classroom Theme: Video game theme.

-Classic Video Game Logos/Characters

-Fonts

-Posters 

Sponge Activity: Brainstorming

1. What is the activity: The students will be required to come up with a character and his or her background.

2. How it will be done (materials included): Students will write down (pen or pencil) the name of their character and his or her background on a piece of paper.

3. How the activity relates to answer: It relates by giving the students a feeling that game designers go through when creating a game.

 Introduction: I will start off my presentation by introducing my topic and explaining my essential question. But first I will talk more about what my topic means (go into detail). After I will explain the meaning of my essential question.

Foundation: For this part of the presentation I will go into the career aspect of my topic. I will explain what a designer goes through and how it all works. I will also go into a little bit about the history, not a whole lot just a little bit. 

Answer 1: Gameplay

Information taught:

I will talk about the importance of game-play in a video game. I will inform what the next several things have that tie in with game-play.

-          Story line

-          Replay-ability

-          Online Play

Anwer 2: Graphics

Information taught:

Graphics are probably the most noticeable element in a video game that can be seen improved. I will explain about graphics and why it is significantly getting better.

Answer 3: Mechanics

Information taught:

Mechanics are the bonus parts to a game. For example the death mechanism in a game is usually the same for every game; you die and they you respawn. Making mechanisms original and creative can really make a game great.

Answer 1 Activity: Minecraft

1. What is the activity: Minecraft play.

2. How it will be done: Students will play Minecraft on the computers.

2. How the activity relates to answer: Minecraft is a great game that has super pixilated graphics. This will show that with great game play graphics sometimes don’t matter.

3. All materials for activity: Computers. (I will bring an extra)

Answer 2 Activity: Not yet thought of one.

Answer 3 Activity: Not yet thought of one.

Best Answer: 

I am still debating on my best answer. My two choices are either graphics or gameplay.

Conclusion:

What I’m thinking of doing: Talk about three games and relate them to each one of my answers. For example graphics: Crysis after I talk about Crysis I will explain why it ties into graphics. 

Product: What I got through  this year of experience is how to make a game that will be financially succesful just by answering my essential question. I also realized that a degree isn't really needed in this business.

Art Rationale

What I am still planning on doing is creating a montage for my favorite video game. I have already worked on getting clips from the game this spring break, so far it is coming good. I am sticking to this idea because I feel most comfortable doing this since I have experience with video editing.

What I will do to make my art project get the "wow" factor is the following:

• I will put effort into the intro and the way it will be presented
• I will edit with the fullest of my capabilities
• I hope to make it very action packed

I am doing my creative expression idea this way because I want to show the viewers why a game is chosen as a top favorite. Video games can be picked as favorites due to their content such as game-play (story line, online play, quests, and etc.) and graphics. Being picked as a game that is massively played usually means that the game is financially successful. 

Apparent effort- I will make sure the video flows and there are no errors in my editing. Also, I will try my hardest to make the clips match background music (song). 

Creative Expression Idea

Elias Giron
Video Game Design
EQ: What are the most important elements when creating a video game?
Idea:
1. What I plan on doing is making a video of myself playing video games and reviewing them.
2. Make a video game commentary reviewing what the video game was like.
This idea relates to my EQ because I get to review a game and see what works and what doesn't.

Interview 4 Questions

1. Would making a game that focuses on one group of people be more successful than making one that focuses on many groups? (example: a game for a hardcore gamer that has game-play that is suitable for a 12 year old)
2.If I started to make a  game, what element do you recommend I focus most on? Why?
3. What is your favorite video game and why?
4. Do you think most games these days are mostly based on graphics? Why do you think so?
5. Through all your years of experience what is expected most in video games?
6. Do you think mechanics in a video game is important?
7. What game do you think would be more successful over time, a game with 4 buttons and less or a game with more than 5 buttons?
8. What games influenced you to become a video game designer and why?
9. Is there a difference between now and then, when thinking of what makes a good video game?
10. What video games have you played that have horrible graphics but great game play? Did you like it? Why?
11. What mechanics in a game have caught your attention over the years?
12. Do you know how much graphics have changed over the years? What do you think caused them to change so much?
13. Compared to games decades ago, games today seem to have better game play and mechanics. Why do you think this has happened? Do graphics have anything to do with this?
14. What does game play mean to you?
15. What do mechanics mean to you?
16. What parts of game play seem to be more important than others?
17. What kind of games seem to have the best game play to you and why?
18. What is your favorite game? Can you explain from a designer point of view?
19. What do you think will change the most in video games in a decade?
20. What are some graphical aspects? Is AI one of them?

Independent Study 2

1. What I plan on doing is paying video games and recording what I've played. I would also record what I liked and didn't like. I would record with a video cam and make a video at the end.
2. This relates to my senior project because I get to study video games and get to see what works and what doesn't.

ESLR Check

1. Summary of how you've been an effective learner this year.
I believe that I've been an effective learner this year because I've been doing most of my work on time. The only problems I've really had were from senior project; my service learning person is hard to get a hold of and I found out that he's actually moving to Seattle. I've been trying to stay on top of my stuff but it's too much stuff, I will try harder and make better use of my time.

2. Cite evidence from the senior project (be specific and use examples)
In my opinion, I think I've actually learned a decent amount of information from my research. I've learned stuff that I didn't really know about before like C++ programming. I've also found a program that lets you create your own mini video game (not super amazing) and lets you play it on a computer or a mobile device. Also, I found out that the video game industry is growing and there might be a lot of jobs available. 

3. What are specific ways that you can improve in this ESLR during second semester?
There are ways I can improve my ESLR during next semester. I can keep track of due dates more often. And use my time wisely to complete everything that is important and due soon. I also think I should ask questions whenever I need help, in both, senior project and core subjects. 

Interview 3 Questions

1. What elements in a game do you think are most important? (example: graphics, etc.)

2. Is it difficult to get a spot in the video game industry?

3. What kind of video games are the most difficult to create?

4. Who or what inspired you to take the path toward this career?

5. Asking for your opinion, what video games are very successful and why?

6. What video game genre seems to be the one that is most played? Why?

7. Is a perfect AI hard to accomplish in a video game?

8. Is creating a video game time consuming? Any tips?

9. What task is the most difficult to accomplish?

10. Are some video games made to attract certain people? Or age group?