Evaluation of video game

1. Evaluation
Georgia Brown
https://youtu.be/By1B_DNeNho

2. Research
I did quite a lot of research from a more detailed look into a case study to just a quick look at a couple of
games. I think that there are a lot of strengths in my research as the case study was very detailed because I
looked at every aspect from the world to the characters to the box that it came in. This meant that I had a
deeper understanding of what I had to think about when creating my own game and it therefore made my end
product more successful. My actual research into the four separate games was also very useful as it helped me
to understand how my game play should be to make it more interesting for the player as most of the games
that I looked at were very successful themselves. Since I had done this research I knew what I needed to create
my own game where as before I didn’t' know what the hud was or about being in the game world among other
things. This is because I don’t have much experience playing games and therefore this research was vital to
making my game as professional and realistic as it could be. My research also helped me to overcome problems
with issues surrounding how my game would work and the rules as because I had looked at many others and I
understood what a side scroller or endless runner was, I knew how to make my game to most suitable it could
be. If I were to do my research again I think I would go into more detail on the separate ones however at the
time it felt as though it was enough especially since I had the in depth case study. I think that on that separate
research I probably compared that game to mine too much as I didn’t know what else to say where as I should
have looked deeper into the workings of each game. Maybe if I had done this I could have stuck better to my
original plan as I would have known even more about video games. If I had have done this then maybe issues
like the layout of my game or the way it played could have been better and have worked much more smoothly.
I have definitely learnt a lot from the research as before I knew nothing about games and know I feel as though
I know enough to make an actual game if it were possible for me to code. Doing this research enabled me to
create my own as I had to almost answer each question that I had found an answer too, for example who are
the characters? What are the rewards? Doing this made sure there were no loop holes in my game and it
helped me to create a good final product.

3. Planning
I did a lot of planning for my video game as it was essential to creating a product which made sense and was realistic. I
did some initial plans at the beginning of the rotation and then I also did a proposal and some experiments and then my
pre-production plans. My initial plans were very successful especially compared to initial plans on other rotations as I
think that I had a lot of details in it and it really helped me to make my game as it was a guide for me regarding what I
was going to make. However I think that the mood board on the initial plans was pointless as I never once looked back
at it as I only made one as I had to. I think that it was very pointless and was a weakness in my planning. Something else
that could also be considered a weakness could be that fact that I changed a lot of aspects of my game compared to
what I had set out in the initial plans. However the initial plan was just a guide and therefore it was still helpful as it was
somewhere for me to look to see what plans I had at the beginning. I also made a proposal which is key to making a
successful game as it covers everything from audience to rational. This helped me to further develop what I was going to
make as I then found out more and more on what my audience would want or need. If there was any weakness in my
proposal it would be that I didn’t go into much detail when talking about how I would evaluate my game however I feel
that it is pointless to write about what will write about regarding my game. Despite that I still did more than I was asked
for and finished a positive proposal in my opinion. I also made some experimental games so that I could practise making
games on Photoshop. While one wasn’t very good the other one was quite successful and it helped me to realise how
complicated the layout would be of my game if I used that certain aspect. You could however say that the ‘match four’
game that I made was very poor as it didn’t move or have any rules or anything. This was slightly because of the time
available and slightly because it wasn’t necessary however it made my other side scroller experiment look very good.
The final bit of planning that I did was the pre production plans where I made layouts and important things like health
and safety planning. There were many strengths in this part of my planning, firstly was the layouts as I used almost an
exact layout as I had designed for my actual game. This meant that my production went much smoother as I knew what I
was doing and which would be the most successful layout to use. Altogether I think that my planning was very
successful as because I had done a lot of it my game production ran much smoother even though we missed a big chunk
of production time due to adverse weather. Seen as my planning was good it meant that my game was as professional as
possible as I had all the aspects that I needed to think about already planned meaning that nothing was left to chance.

4. Time Management
I think that I have definitely managed my time well throughout this video game rotation. We had five weeks to
complete all paperwork and produce a game which is realistic and think that I have done that in enough time. I
will not be using the Easter holiday to complete any work and it will be handed in on the last day of the
rotation. Despite adverse weather in the second week where I missed three of the four days at college I still
managed to complete all work and give it in when it was asked for. Although extra time would probably have
helped me to make my game a little more complex or longer I think that I have met the requirements for what
was asked for and I haven’t done less that I could have and therefore I think I managed my time well. If I had
more time to do extra production work I would make a better theme/game song. I am not very good at music
and audio and therefore if I had an extra week or so I would definitely redo the music that I put on the actual
game play so that it was more professional and realistic. Managing my time well definitely helped me to make
a good game as if I had let stuff get on top of me then I wouldn’t have had enough time for my production and
if I hadn’t have finished my planning and research I may not have made as good of a game. This shows that
keeping on track of time from the beginning is so important so that your end production turns out well,
especially if you have an allotted amount of time like we did here. I definitely handed in all f my work at the
right time and it was all completed and finished apart from my experiments which I had to give in slightly later
even though they weren’t asked for until later anyway. This was because they were stuck on my laptop and I
didn’t have access to it for a few days. This shows that you should double save all of your work else where as
well just in case you aren't able to get t it until it is already due in. Another piece of work which I should have
done slightly quicker although it wont be in late is my reflection which I normally complete in tutorial on a
Friday. I should have completed that every week however I was off one Friday and then the next Friday was
one of the bad weather days where college was closed and the one after that was replaced with a lecture. This
meant that I was three weeks behind and I had to do them all in the fourth week as I forget to do them in my
own time. This was bad time management on my part and in the future I will make sure I complete it over the
weeks instead of all at once as it is easier and better to do as you can remember what you had done that week
more clearly anyway.

5. Technical Qualities
(Crossy Road)
(Crazy Mare)
On the top right hand side of this page is a screenshot from the game Crossy
Road which has a similar style to mine in that it is an endless runner and you
are watching/playing from an aerial viewpoint. Underneath is a screenshot
from the game play of my game that I made. Both mine and the other game
have many similar aspects between them, one being that they both have a
similar colour scheme using lots of greens and red which are part of the main
primary and secondary colours. These colours are also not associated with a
certain gender meaning that all genders can play this game. Another way both
games are related is that they both have an element that gets faster. While my
jumps come towards you quicker, the cars and vans go down the road quicker
on Crossy road. This element makes it more exciting for the player and it is a
way professional games become more interesting. In addition both my game
and Crossy Road are endless runners, they are both very competitive as you
play until you die and people often thing ‘just one more go and I can get
further’, this competitive nature of the game is very appealing to the younger
generation. However in contrast there are many differences between these
games, firstly being that my game has no shadows in it. This is mainly due to
time restraints and that I am a beginner at games yet the shadows in Crossy
Road, even though it s a cartoon, make it somehow seem much more realistic.
This shows how even small things make the professional games so much better
than my amateur game. Finally I would say that the pixels and design is
different as m game is obviously 2D whereas the Crossy Roads aesthetics look
3D which is much more advances than my drawing could ever be. After
comparing my game I definitely think that I would change specific aspects of
my game if I could for example I could add shadows to everything that could
have a shadow and I would have the background move like the one in Crossy
road does as it makes it look realistic and more professional.

6. Aesthetic Qualities
I think that the aesthetic qualities of my work is actually quite good.
Considering that I am not very god at drawing at all I think the final product is
okay. You can definitely tell what everything is and I have checked with multiple
people and they can the that this is a horse jumping jumps and therefore I think
it’s a success. I also think hat it was creative as it isn't just a stick figure the
whole design of the game is though out well and it has colour and shading and
therefore it is definitely creative. I really like the whole part of the game where
you choose a horse, I like how the horse changes colour with the click of a
button and I think that the unicorn’s funny and cute compared to the rest of the
normal horses which are just black and brown etc. if I could improve it I would
add more shading to each object but to do that I would have to have had a
bigger screen with more pixels but I chose this size as it was recommended and
we only had a shot amount of time. If I had had longer I could have added more
detail to the colours. I think the strengths of the aesthetics would be the way
things stand out and look real. You can tell that the floor is grass and the jumps
are jumps and that the horse is jumping things. Even these simple things make
the game much better than it could have been if the drawing hadn't have gone
well and that makes it much more realistic and professional. However despite
the positives there are a few things which I don’t like, the hud is very small and
if I could change it I would enlarge it also as I don’t think the coin counter or
time stands out very well. This is a problem as they are a main part of the game
ad you cant really spot them unless they are pointed out. Another thing that I
would change would be the background as I wish it would move across the sides
as the game progresses. This would make the game more realistic and
professional as all other games have moving backgrounds. However it was very
time consuming and even though at first the railings did move I realised that the
trees would have to as well and therefore I decided to leave it how it is still
rather than potentially ruining it.

7. Audience Appeal
I think that I have definitely appealed to my target audience as younger people
between the ages of 16-19 are statistically more likely to be on and own a smart
phone than other ages and therefore they are more likely to be playing games on
them too. Another way that it appeals to my target audience would be through being
addictive, as even though people aren't generally interested in, for example playing a
game about a road (Crossy Road), when its addictive that part doesn’t mater as much.
Therefore my game should be appealing to my audience as it is an endless runner and
therefore you should theoretically be able to keep going further each time and
knowing that you could do better or get more coins would be addictive. When I had
people from my target audience answer some questions for me one of the main
things that I found was that people wanted some kind of reward. Because of this
feedback I decided to do a coin wen you jumped over certain jumps. The coin hovers
over the jump and you have to try to jump that specific one to get a coin, when you
have collected it it makes the number in the top left hand comer of the hud go up. If
this game were real there may be a facility to do something with the coins like buy
more colours of horses or something a-like. I think that if there are any weaknesses in
my audience appeal it would be that even though my game is aimed at all genders it is
less desirable for the male gender as girls are usually more interested in horses when
they are young than boys are. Despite that it is not it is not aimed at any gender or
sexuality and therefore it shouldn't matter too much. I also think that as my game is
easy to play, you point you phone left or right and tap then it should appeal to
everyone as its so easy and therefore doesn’t exclude anyone from my audience.