In-Class Exercise based on Chapter 3 of Adams

1) Imagine that you could use any content you liked in a game without regard for copyright. Choose one of hte following game genres and then select a famous painter,photographer, or film maker, and a famour composer or musician, whose work you would like to use to create the appropriate emotional tone for your game.

Create a short presentation (e.g. use Powerpoint or similar) that shows how the images and the music work together for your purposes. The genres are:

ACTION (survival horror sub-genre)

REAL-TIME STRATEGY (modern warfare)
or

CHILDREN'S NONVIOLENT ADVENTURE game

Feel free to use google to search for images from fine art history, photography, painting. You can use the sites of the major galleries around the world - e.g. Tate gallery, museum of modern art, Guggenheim Gallery, or wikipedia - assemble a number of images and put together a presentation on a game based on one or more of these images.

This link has links to the major Art Galleries of the world

Post your finished presentation to your blog using google docs 'share' function (it gives you a URL when you have uploaded your file; - post this URL to your presentation on your blog.

Email me the blog address - dcoxexploringgameworlds@gmail.com

Game Concepts Powerpoint link

Click here for the powerpoint file of today's lecture, based on Chapter 3 of Adams.

Pinball Playfield Exercise 9/2/11

This exercise is to enable students to better understand the nature of gameplay as it applies to the game of pinball, using online pinball games as the basis for a playfield component mapping assignment.

In-class exercise - 45 minutes.

For this exercise, follow the below steps:


Step 1) Play at least three of the following online java pinball games and report your favorite to class afterwards.

http://www.onlinepinball.net/

http://internetgames.about.com/od/webgames/tp/freepinball.htm

http://www.thepinballzone.net/game.php?id=online_pinball

http://www.guzer.com/games/pepsi_pinball.php

Use any other pinball resources online in addition to the above if you wish.


Step 2) take a screen capture of the playfields of three (3) different online pinball games from the above sites

e.g:





















To make a screen capture like the one above on the mac, hold down 'command', 'shift' and the number '4' key at the same time. The arrow-shaped cursor will turn into a crosshair. Click and drag the crosshair across the area you wish to capture, release the mouse button when you have defined the area to be captured. This will place a 'screen capture' image file on the desktop of the computer and save this as a .png file.

Step 3) Open the screen capture image of the pinball playfield in Photoshop, then add a layer to the image. In this new layer use the paint tools to mark out the various components of the playfield like this (the names of all these components are listed in the wikipedia entry on the subject)

1) yellow - flippers
2) orange wire ramps
3) blue - magnetic holes
4) light blue - flippers
5) green - rollovers

Thus:

Step 4) When you have posted both images of the playfield, write a brief paragraph describing the nature of the gameplay of this pinball machine in terms of its a) speed b) dynamism c) challenges d) gameplay 'fun' level and e) any other details you feel are relevant.

Answer these questions:

i) What is "good gameplay" when it comes to pinball game design?

ii) How do pinball playfield designers create exciting experiences?

Repeat above stages for two other online pinball games.

Homework on insight

Class,

Please visit the class insight area - http://www.insight.ccsf.edu

Post to the forum topic for week three and upload a 1 paragraph description for your main assignment game idea. If you are in a team, each team member should upload the same description.

DC

Pinball Terminology - Wikipedia entry

Click here for the wikipedia entry on PINBALL

In-Class Pinball Playfield Mapping exercise

In-class exercise - 45 minutes.

Play at least three of the following online java pinball games and report your favorite to class afterwards.

http://www.onlinepinball.net/

http://internetgames.about.com/od/webgames/tp/freepinball.htm

http://www.thepinballzone.net/game.php?id=online_pinball

http://www.guzer.com/games/pepsi_pinball.php

Answer these questions:

1) What is "good gameplay" when it comes to pinball game design?

2) How do pinball playfield designers create exciting experiences?

Tilt - the Battle to Save Pinball

We will be watching this movie in its entirety today.