Balancing Offense - Capstone

                                     In an effort to further my knowledge of balancing and mechanics, I have read even more of Jesse Schell’s novel, The Art of Game Design to get an idea of how these balances should be implemented.  An aspect of balance I had never thought about was the “risk versus reward”  factor:  moments during gameplay that offer little risk yield little reward, and therefore actions that involve high risk would yield a high reward.  A way to implement this is by creating a light, medium, and heavy version of each attack, all with minor changes.

                                An example of this is a move common to fighting games: the command grab.  A command grab is an input that certain characters can perform while directly next to an opponent.  If the grab connects (aided by the ability to go through an opponent’s guard because of its grab status) a decent amount of damage can be dealt.  But with light, medium, and heavy versions of attacks, we can add variety to each attack by offering the player 3 different versions to choose from.  The light version would deal the least amount of damage if it connects, but it would activate the fastest.  It also has the shortest reach, meaning you would have to be right up next to your opponent to activate it.  The heavy version on the other hand is the opposite:  deals the most amount of damage if it connects, has great range, but activates slower.  This means that if the opponent were to throw out a move at the same time as his command grab, the opponent’s attack has a better chance of breaking through because of the lower priority of the heavy command grab.  The medium version is a nice balance of the two for safer players.
                                Another addition to this strategy of multiple versions of attacks is allowing the player to use their a portion of their “hyper meter” (or whatever meter is being used to display special attack energy) in order to power up a normal attack to have essentially the “best” combination of effects.  Using the command grab as an example again, this powered up command grab utilizing a bit of hyper meter might have the damage of the medium version, the range of the heavy version, and the priority of the light version.  This means that the attack is better in every way, taking the better aspects of each version in order to make the “best” version of the attack.  It is up to the player to choose which one of these to use depending on the situation.  It also adds more depth to the fighting because even if a character has four attacks, if they have four different version of each attack then they can stand a fighting chance.  Sometimes the hyper meter versions of moves have effects like projectile invincibility, or home in on an opponent if the attack is a diving kick for example.
                                In my quest for obtaining balance the next topic I need to research is defense.  As a constant reminder from Schell, keeping both players on a level playing field is ideal, so I must find a way to level the playing field even when two polar opposite characters are fighting.  A lot of fighting game rosters suffer from “bad matchups”, where certain characters are just plain not good against others.  Hopefully the combination of defensive and offensive tactics implemented will combat this dilemma. 

Types of Frames - Comm 343

 In the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegleman, a tale of survival is presented to us in the form of a father's storytelling.  The artistic style of this novel feels very hand drawn and written, and the frames for the most part are always neatly in squares.  The large connection between all of these frames come in a variety of forms in order to successfully tell his tale.  According to Scott McCloud's novel Understanding Comics, there are six main types of panel-to-panel transitions found in comics.  In Maus, I have identified at least four different types used.  The transitions used usually always follow the same pattern, which I will identify!

#1 Moment to Moment

Moment to Moment #1 - most of the scenes where the father and son are talking feature this very  subtle transition.
Since the father an son are talking in a normal speaking voice with no huge action taking place, the changes are small.

Moment to Moment #2 - Again, the father and son talking with little differences in each panel.

Moment to Moment #3 - The father continues to tell his story with small transitions in the panels.

#2 Scene to Scene

Scene to Scene #1 - When the father's storytelling starts to envelop the scene and we start a flashback, a scene to scene transition is used.  Since this entire story consists of flashbacks through storytelling, we see this transition used a lot as well.

Scene to Scene #2 - Where the first three panels make up a Moment to Moment transition, once the flashback is the main point of the stor again we quickly travel through time as a reader.

     
#3 Action to Action

Action to Action #1 - We move quickly through these scenes using the action to action transition in order to make the stories faster and more fluid 

Action to Action #2 - again, the scenes move faster  with the action to action transition.

#4 Subject to Subject

In moments of high stress we see the subject to subject transition used, as it can easily bounce from person to person in  order to give an idea of what everyone is going through.

Spiegleman utilizes mostly the Moment to Moment, Scene to Scene, and Action to Action transitions in the same type of way throughout the entire comic.  This is not necessarily a bad thing as the familiar setting becomes easy to read as the story becomes more involved and intense.  It also keeps the moments of flashback and present tense separate in order to make the story easier to follow along with as well.  I have definitely come to realize that more is not always better if you're following a theme, this can make your work flow better and have a concrete pattern that is easy to follow whether you realize it or not.  We pick up on patterns easily as humans and this has been an application that has inspired me this semester, along with the importance of simplicity.

3 Novels - Comm 343

            The three novels I have chosen to read for class are The Sandman Vol. 1 by Neil Gaiman , X’ed Out by Charles Burns, and Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel.  I chose each graphic novel for different reasons after doing a bit of research about each of them to find their summaries.  I feel that each graphic novel will assist me in my writing and creative process.
                The first novel I chose, The Sandman Vol. 1, is a New York Times best seller from a widely acclaimed writer.  I chose this in part for its popularity (having never read many American comics before like Watchmen or the Batman series, American comics are still somewhat novel to me) because I will be able to pick up on ideas and aspects of a successful comic that has had positive reviews.  Since graphic novels are such a diverse form of literature, being able to see what makes one so widely accepted and praised will be a good starting point on learning how to make my graphic novel more accessible to all audiences.  In all, I mostly picked this comic so I can see for myself what truly makes what critics would agree is a “best selling” graphic novel.
                The second novel I chose is X’ed Out.  From the little research I did (mostly consisting of looking up summaries that did not spoil any story for me), I came to find that this novel features “adolescence taking drugs and performing risky behavior”, which sounds like an interesting topic in itself.  As a young adult living in a liberal day and age it will be interesting to see an artistic take on these types of actions and use of drugs.  One reviewer commented that this novel was “similar to other works by Burns, but with more hallucinogenic scenes”.  I am very interested to see this art portrayed, and how he interprets the altered mind on paper.
                The last novel I chose, Fun House: A Family Tragicomic is actually an autobiography of sorts from the author Alison Bechdel.  The “fun house” is short for the funeral home that her father worked at, and this story tells of a young daughter living with her distant father and her inner struggle with her sexuality.  As a lover of sociology I am extremely interested in the roles of the family, and in particular dysfunctional families.  This will be a great insight on the communication between characters in a novel, as I am sure that there will be many heartfelt moments and inspiring scenes.  This will truly be a comic that will make me think on an emotional level, which I feel is a nice compliment to the reasons I chose the other two.

Balancing Mechanics - Comm 461

              Aside from the creative aspects of my game (which come flowing naturally like a golden river of honey), I have been very interested in learning how to make my game as balanced as possible.  A common critique of older fighting games (and even some of the more complex fighting games we see today) is that there is a complete lack of balance.  Some games like Marvel vs. Capcom 2 have been revolutionary in the sense that they offered over fifty playable characters.  Even though this game is over ten years old, a roster that size is unheard of even by today’s standards.  Although it grants the players the widest selection of playable characters, it also creates countless difficulties when it comes to actual gameplay.   Even though there are over fifty characters, only maybe twenty of them are “worth using” because their frames, hitboxes, and priorities are just simply better than others.  For example, having a giant robot as blatantly the most powerful character in the game has been a common theme of these older fighters.  It just seems…unimpressive.  I want a level playing field where fire-ninjas are going up against crystal Goddesses, and the battle could always go either way depending on the player’s actual playing skill.  I have taken ideas from some of my favorite games to implement this.
                In Jesse Schell’s book The Art of Game Design, he spends an entire chapter on balance and game mechanics, many of which I intend to utilize in my design.  The first is symmetry, making the playing field even for both players.  This means always giving each player the same “materials” to each have at their disposal when the round starts.  Tools such as “Burst” and “Parrying” have been tools implemented by fighting game designers to give skilled players an advantage despite what character they are playing as.  Burst frees you completely from an opponent’s assault (which is a refillable gauge used by each player) and parrying can completely negate an opponent’s attack with precise timing.  This way a player can concentrate on playing a character that they actually like rather than a character they know is just plain good.
                Another need for balance lies in the difficulty in the game itself.  I find that most retro fighting game creation was not tested as thoroughly with professional players as necessary.  Way too often in modern day fighting games a professional player can quickly find and exploit any unbalance in a particular character, and these game-changers usually are not discovered until months after the game’s release.  This calls for updates, patches, or even re-releasing games which has caused fan appreciation to drop heavily for companies like Capcom.  I would intend to have the game tested heavily and thoroughly by players of all skill styles.  It would be interesting to see if there is a trend in the type of character selected by each type of gamer (from casual to professional).  From there, we would be able to determine if a certain character is too “hard” to play as, or just simply mechanically difficult to use (to a point where the player would have no control over the difficulty).
                All of the balancing issues ten to be resolved by extensive testing, which companies usually cut short due to release dates being so strict.  I will further look into what other options or aspects I can add into my game in order to make it enjoyable for all ages and skills to enjoy. 

See Em Es - Comm 447

                Content Management Systems allow for us as web designers to create consistent series of text that is easily manageable.  This technology is also used in blog websites in order to make the blogging experience more streamlined in its pursuit of simplistic information and communication. Utilizing a Content Management System allows for the creator of a site of a blog to focus less on the design process or extensive coding that may take hours of time an effort that could otherwise be spent on actually working on content, so using these systems can be very helpful and not to be frowned upon for being a “shortcut” by any means.
                According to Web Design Land (conveniently hosted by Wordpress), one of the most important aspects of Content Management Systems are their affordability.  Most of these hosting sites offer their services for a relatively cheap cost considering the time that could be speculated to be saved – especially if you do not know where to begin.  For those that simply want to present information or text, this can be a fast way to get started effectively with little problem.  Another way to combat the cost of signing up with one of these CMS is realizing that most of these systems allow for easy customizability of your site at your fingertips.  This cuts out the need for a web developer, and thus an entire extra person entirely. 
                ShiftCMS gives similar praise to these systems.  Since it is so easy to change the layout of your site, you can constantly and easily update the same information for years to come and keep it fresh.  They compared it to a billboard that you can constantly update to meet the chaning desires and needs of your audience.
                SMS really does allow for more freedom while editing a site.  With a site that’s easy to manage the creators have the liberty to edit what’s truly important more frequently.  Not that the layout and design are not important, but the content is what the viewer is looking for at the end of the day, and CMS ensure that you will have one less thing to worry about.

Understanding Maus - Comm 343

Both Maus and Understanding Comics have done a fantastic job of illuminating basic and universal elements of comics.  One of my favorite topics brought up by Scott McCloud in Understanding Comics is the simplicity of the human face as an icon.  We need such a little comparison to the human face in order to make a connection, and he was able to explain this concept very intelligently.  The example he gave where you draw a series of blobs an then simply add dots for eyes also put into perspective just how easy it is to personify inanimate objects that have only a loose representation of a face – because it is what we want to see.
                I noticed this simplistic face mechanic was used in Maus to make these mice more believable as a substitute for humans.  They walk upright and wear clothes yes, but it takes more than that to sympathize with a drawing.  It takes emotion.  What really astonishes me about the artwork in Maus is the facial expressions that are present, no matter how simplistic they may be, all successfully portray their respective emotions.  The simple chancing of the eyes from a dot to a “ ^ “ shape is enough to express joy.  At moments during the story when Anja was depressed, she had dark lines running along her face that make her seem worried, stressed, and ill.  Again, a simple addition of lines to the face can change what we perceive as a noticeably different emotion. 
                The final interesting piece of information I found in McClouds book was the information of the hieroglyphics.  Considering ancient Egyptian writings as “comics” never dawned on me until I read the definition he provided.  Again, their style is the essence of simplicity, at times not even requiring text an just letting pictures do the talking.  But what’s important is that right from early times we realized that sequential images really do work as a means of communication.  This is easily seen in man instruction manuals – tiny black and white images that show a three or four step process that requires no text to any audience. 
                If it’s anything I’ve learned so far is how simplicity is not to be underrated or underestimated.  We as humans see what he want to see in imagery, and I just need to use that to my advantage.

Capstone Expectations - Comm 461

     My capstone project is an idea that has been floating around my head for the past two years or so of my college career.  I am going to create an entire design spread for a conceptual fighting game I have been working on as just a "fun side project".  It's going to feel great to actually make this idea into a concrete an tangible creation.
     My biggest goal is to create a great story that envelopes all of the characters in some way.  There will be a narrative attached to the game, and all of the characters (24 of them I believe) will have a role in the story progression that forces them to interact with one another.  The characters themselves will all have specific personalities, abilities, and goals that set each of apart from another.  There won't be any "palette swap" characters that have the same moves just in different clothing, as I detest this in fighting games.  As a lover of the fighting game genre since I was a young teen, I will be able to take all of the things I have liked and disliked about the games I have played over the years in order to create a game that I think could actually work.
     The characters I have created are all based off of my friends, with some of the characters' careers or abilities being completely parallel to the individual they are based off of.  For example, the character Myriah is an archaeologist that fights with two pickaxes and is outfitted in the beige uniform worn by these scientists while they are out in the field.  This is based off of my friend Jennifer who is studying History here at Shepherd, and her dream of one day being a field archaeologist.  Other inspiration for characters via my friends sometimes come from personal moments or inside jokes that can be made into reality.  My friend Travis is being portrayed by a ninja style character with a Tiger motif - inspired by this gigantic painting of a tiger that he considered his prized possession for a while (which never ceased to make me laugh).  Since my friends are the inspiration for these characters, I also want as many of them as possible to do the voices for the characters as well.  This will include taunts, pre and post match quotes, and in battle quotes that include grunts for when the character takes damage or yells an attack.  I literally want there to be a sound test available to the viewers when they see this project, because voice is such an important factor when it comes to characters in video games nowadays.  It also creates the diversity I'm looking for in my characters.
     Along with characters and story I am going to include stages, game options and settings, and ideas for online support and play.  I literally want to do as much as I can creatively for this game without actually being able to make it.  This is going to be a lengthy process, but I remember Monica mentioning that this project should be fun, and now that I see this becoming a reality this will definitely be one of the most exciting things I have ever done.

Dreamweavin' - Comm 447

               After using Dreamweaver last semester, I must say that I found editing and utilizing HTML to be not as difficult as I initially thought it would be.  Upon first using this program I was reminded of my eighth grade career of editing layouts for my Myspace page.  All of the silly codes like “a href” or “img src” came rushing back to me as I realized that this was something I had actually taught myself a long time ago and just never really knew what I was accomplishing.  This made diving into these procedures relatively easy to follow (“always close your doors”, for example).  With this knowledge I was able to make it through Comm 352 with virtually no serious problems, and the entire class was relatively painless.  It was nice to experience something so meticulous that could lead to such simple results.
               After what we learned today in class, however, I realize that there is still much for me to learn!  Having only inserted codes manually to every page in Comm 352, I’ve become used to this tedious way of writing.  It’s surprising that using these shortcuts like templates, widgets, and…sprys(?) were available to me all along and I went without them, making learning them now incredibly useful, but hard to learn.  You would think that learning a shortcut after knowing a program would make it easier to use, but in actuality I keep looking for the old way of doing things.  I definitely enjoy using Dreamweaver, and since this is the only HTML coding program I’ve ever used I would like to be very fluent in all of its components in my career. 
               I think this class will help me understand both the difficult and easy to use components of Dreamweaver, and if anything my coding should only get faster with more practice and knowledge of these shortcuts.  It is just surprisingly tricky to learn an “easier” route to a code after learning the long, manual version.