Game Design - My thoughts on the Readings

This week was my first time tackling academic reading in a long time. It was a challenge but also rewarding when i finished each one. Here are my thoughts on the 3 required readings.

I started by reading the article published by Vasiliev Ilya which was titled:
"Four Basic Methods for Generating Ideas".

I had heard of only one of these methods before which was brainstorming although once I read the concentration method I realised that this is one method i use a lot in daily life when facing a problem solving situation. The Scamper method sounded like the most productive method to use in my opinion since it can change so much about your initial idea just by changing a few things here and there. 

The Ramsey method, while labelled as the "most difficult" could also be very beneficial for idea generation albeit time consuming. It involves collecting a huge amount of information on your chosen topic or theme for your game and then studying the information in great detail to find appropriate links between the pieces of info you have discovered. I could see myself using this method during this semester because I do like to examine topics in great detail when I have a passion to create something.

The second article I read was "The organic nature of game ideation: Game ideas arise from solitude and mature by bouncing" by Kultima Annakaisa. Annakaisa describes how a vast amount of "talented and creative people work in the game industry" but the creative process itself doesn't come naturally for many of them. She then presents the findings from two interview studies conducted in 2005 and 2007 regarding game design practices in the industry.

One finding from the studies was that while ideas may occur to designers quickly enough, the ideas may not be right for the topic at hand or even that good in the designers opinion. This shows that self criticism can be a major obstacle when generating ideas.

The interviewees also described various methods of idea generation including both informal and formal methods and their associated pros and cons.

Annakaisa concludes by recognising that initial concepts for games are usually solo generated ideas but feedback from colleagues and peers is a very important part of the idea generation process.

The final article I read was "What is a Game, Anyway?" by Ian Schreiber. I connected with some of what Schreiber talks about in his article.

For the most part I agree that the definition of a game consists of "an activity with rules that involves conflict" however there are clearly some exceptions to this rule. One that comes to mind would be John Conways "Game of Life" which can be played online here. The game was invented by Cambridge mathematician John Conway and is a perfect example of a zero player game. A zero player game is one that requires an initial input from the user and no further action is taken once the game begins. The game is so complex that even working Turing machines can be simulated in it! However, my point is that this game has rules but there is absolutely no conflict, therefore breaking Schreiber's rule.

My favourite part of the article was the "Let's Make A Game" exercise. I found it very useful and it broke down many aspects of what is required when coming up with an idea for a game too.

I plan on referring back to these articles when developing my own games this semester!

Image Sources

1. A Man Sitting on Chair in Ocean Reading Newspaper by Anastasia Shuraeva