Blog 9A: Gaming Presentation

The gaming assignment was my favorite assignment we have been given this quarter. We didn't have to grapple too much with technology which was some of the more frustrating parts of previous assignments and we got the chance to truly just be creative. Though I was very proud of the concept and game that we created, our presentation needed work. We all new exactly how the game would work and how fun it would be but we had trouble getting this across. Our presentation was flat and we didn't quite sell our game. We needed to be more enthusiastic and more prepared. Our game incorporates aliens and explosions and a mad dash to escape an exploding earth and a race to a new planet. Excitement is around every corner! What we failed to do was express the adrenaline and excitement laced into the games mechanics. What we should have done was perhaps had more images. We could have had a narrative prepared to suck in our perspective audience.
"You are a pilot for America's Intergalactic Fleet and until now you were only in training. Your true mission starts today. The worlds greatest astronomers have discovered a new planet, Planet X. This planet has been proven to be habitable for life and is in a nearby solar system. Unfortunately, we disturbed a nearby alien race. They are angry, violent, and armed with weapons and technology we have never seen before. Your mission is to protect "The Ark" and guide it safely to Saturn where you will engage hyper-speed and slingshot your way into Solar System X. As you navigate your way through space, you will be attacked and you will be virtually on your own. The road is treacherous, unpredictable, and unforgiving. You are the best of the best and you will succeed! We'll show those alien scum that earth is a force to reckoned with and we will NOT go down without a fight!"
Or something along those lines. We also could have gone more into depth into the missions. You use your ships lasers to blow up enemy ships and you must also avoid obstacles. Damage done to the Ark is cumulative and you must pick up health boosts along the way. The game is difficult but engaging and full of constant action.
Another weak point of our presentation was our sounds. We could not find any sounds for a space ship taking off and were limited in the sounds we could find. We also failed to find any music or something exciting to get a player truly into the game

I personally think that the objectives are the easiest part of a game to explain. An objective is simply what you are trying to accomplish in order to complete the game. The objective is usually stated very clearly before the game or a specific mission is begun. Telling someone you have to defend object A, destroy object B, and make from point Y to point Z is fairly simple. It's straight forward and there is generally no confusion about what you must do.

Blog 8B: Hero/Villain Assignment

the program pencil is HORRENDOUS and it ATE my animation about 3 times AT LEAST. and I had to keep doing it over from scratch. Luckily, when I finally finished it, I recorded it on my cell phone to send to a friend to prove I had finished it. The next day in class, the animation had been corrupted AGAIN. So the only record of my animation ever existing is this video. Sorry it's such horrible quality

Patrick does not have his hero/villain posted

Sam did not have his animation posted but rather images of his and his partners hero and villain, so I do not know the names or anything about the hero/villain combo other than what is in the images.

This character is obviously seen as the villain. The colors of his costume, green and red, personify his evil intent. The green is mute and overbearing while the red is very minimalistic. The orange and yellow flames that engulf his hands embody hatred. The way his hair is drawn like the flames is symbolic of his hatred and firey passion toward destruction. The mood of this character is very sinister. His expression makes him seem like the villain with his eyebrows pointed inward and his curled mustache of evil. Very villainous.

In contrast of the obvious villain, is the hero. His color scheme of red and bright yellow contrast against the more mute colors of the villain. Though the red is the same shade and creates a bit of affinity between the two characters.


Shannon does not have her hero/villain posted

Blog 8A: Audio Response

www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/178/superpowers

Alex of "Golden Sun" using Water Manipulation

Blog 7: Video Joke

For the video joke assignment, my group chose joke #1, the used brain joke.

This was our first approach

And this was our second approach

The original joke at it's very core focused on the price of a female brain being much lower than a male brain on account of it being used merchandise. By using the same joke in both videos, there is a strong sense of affinity between them. That, however, is where the similarities end.

 

In each approach we chose a different genre which greatly changed the way the comedy was presented. For the first video, we chose to present it as a spoof of a soap opera. The dialogue was doused in a thick layer of cheese and poorly dubbed to create the atmosphere of poor quality and terrible acting; also having terrible actors was merely a bonus. To contrast with this first video, we took a more serious approach the second time by implementing horror, drama, and murder mystery elements. The difference most immediately brought to ones attention is that we chose to make this second film in black and white, whereas the first video was bright and quite colorful. We tried to make the second film of a higher quality of the first, to contrast even more between how serious each one took itself.

The way each approach was filmed also presented us with a variety of differences. In the first film we used a multitude of wide shots giving it more feeling of open space. This added to the lighthearted feel and absurdity that was sprinkled throughout the film. However, in our second attempt, more close up shots were used to limit this space.  We found that this created more drama and presented the seriousness of the characters situations. 

 

Line was another component present in both videos but used in different ways. The first film uses actual lines as well as virtual lines, in the way that the characters are sitting, to direct ones attention to the ICU door. We used these lines to create sort of a spoof on suspense leaving the audience wondering what is beyond the door and who will suddenly burst through it!? The second film used lines to create power. The evil doctor is seen in a variety of low shots with the vertical lines of the walls leading the eye upward toward the doctor, putting him in the position of power, one to be feared.

My friends are hipsters. Ironically.

Welcome to my blog. I am not pictured on this blog. Ironically. I only know one person in this photo. Ironically. Most people use the world ironically incorrectly. Ironically.

K thnx. bye! :P