Thomas Battams conducted research on video games to inform the development of their own game. This included researching similar existing games to learn from as well as primary research surveying their target audience. While the primary research provided some useful insights, it did not significantly impact the final product. Their planning process helped manage time and inform what to include, but could have included more details and contingencies. Peer feedback praised the animations and design but noted the music and length of the game could be improved. [END SUMMARY]

1. Evaluation
Thomas Battams

2. Production Process Evaluation

3. Research
When I was researching different Video Games, I had researched several different video
games in order to get an idea of what I was going to make, this included several similar
products to what I was going to make, with the main focus being based on the shared
settings of said game, as well as this, I had also conducted some primary research in
order to find out who the target audience of my game would be.
The strengths of researching these different products were that since most of the
games that were researched were similar to the one that I ended up making, I ended
up getting a lot of useful information that had helped when it came to developing what
would go into the game. In terms of the Primary Research, this helped me to find out
what people had wanted when it came to developing the game, with questions ranging
from what level theme they wanted, to what unlockables should be obtainable in the
game, to what features they felt should be in the game. With the Mood Boards, they
also helped quite well, as it meant that I had a lot of images of similar products to work
with when it came to any other research, and it also provided a base for the Similar
Products Research.
However some weaknesses that came from this were that whilst the Primary Research
was somewhat helpful, it also didn’t impact as much as I thought it would’ve, and
overall if the Primary Research was cut out entirely, it likely wouldn’t affect what the
final product would’ve looked like. Another weakness is that some of the Existing
Product Research either ended up being too vague or too specific, meaning that the
research didn’t end up helping too much when it came to the other parts of the
project.
One thing that could’ve been done better would’ve been to add some more questions
into the Primary Research, specifically some more about the Box Art, as during the
Audience Research I didn’t focus on what people would’ve been looking for in terms of
the Box Art, this may end up impacting my game negatively because I only had similar
products to go off, meaning that I may have ended up creating Box Art that people
wouldn’t end up liking.

4. Planning
Some of the strengths or my planning were that by planning out what I was going to
do before the main research and production tasks, it meant that I could not only
manage my time more effectively with certain tasks, but it also meant that I would
know in advance what I was going to need to add to the game, for example, by
planning out what type of game I was going to create, I was able to do the research
more effectively by narrowing down what type of games I would need to compare.
Planning out the game using mind maps also helped out with any future development,
as it meant that I was able to know what I wanted out of the game initially, before
starting any research or development.
However some weaknesses involved with the planning process was that there wasn’t
enough detail when it came to planning out certain aspects of the pre-production
PowerPoint, for example the style sheet was quite simplistic, showing off the different
colours and fonts that would be used in the game, however there wasn’t any evidence
of how they would end up being used, and with certain things like the Sound Effects
and the Music, there wasn’t that much detail added to them, and I felt like they
could’ve easily been improved. Another Weakness with the planning was that more
things could’ve been covered in pre-production, for example some hand-drawn
sketches of certain parts of the game (e.g. Level Design, Enemies, Items etc.), as this
would’ve helped out more when it came to creating certain aspects of the game, and
it would have given me more of a base on which to improve on, rather than potentially
having to think of new things to add in last minute.
One thing that I could’ve done better when it came to the planning would be that I
would need to put some more development into the Style Sheet, as well as what could
go wrong during development of the project. This may end up improving the game
somewhat as I would be more prepared for if any potential problems came up during
development.

5. Time Management
Because this was the FMP and not just a regular project
like the others, this meant that we were given double the
amount of time in order to complete everything, in order
to balance this out however, it meant that I also had to
make everything much more detailed when compared to
other projects. At the same time this also meant that I was
able to add several improvements to what would’ve
otherwise been a more rushed project. But because of all
the extra time that was given, this has meant that
everything could be completed in as much detail as
possible, meaning that I could get the best grade possible.
If I had more time however I most likely would’ve just
spent more time on the production, as while the finished
product is fine as it is, there also could’ve been more
added to the product. As well as this there could’ve been a
bit more added to the menu screens, such as showing off
some of the other menus, or at least having a pause menu
shown during the main game. The Box Art would’ve been
slightly improved as well, adding some more visuals onto it
in order to make it look more appealing towards its Target
Audience. For everything else I would’ve just spent a bit
more time improving on each document in order to make
sure that everything was as good as it could’ve been.

6. Technical Qualities
Some similarities between them is that the basics are pretty much the
same, get to the goal whilst collecting different collectables (in my
case Coins), and beating as many enemies as possible. However, when
comparing the movement between the two games, whilst the
movement in my game isn’t bad, when comparing it to a more fast
paced game like Sonic, the movements would look worse by
comparison, however when compared to other 8-bit games like Mario
and Megaman, the movement system looks a lot more fluid, and looks
like it would belong in that era of games, especially once the graphics
of the games are compared. When comparing my game against both
Sonic and Megaman, there are similarities and differences with both
of them, as the movement style somewhat resembles that of a
Megaman game, however the way the games meant to be played with
the concept of Score, Time and Coins means that it is more like that of
a Mario Game or a Sonic Game.
As well as this, the power up system is like its own twist on several
concepts that platformers usually explore, whereas Megaman can get
his power ups from defeating each boss in an area, and where Sonic
get temporary power ups from items or from collecting the Chaos
Emeralds and a certain amount of rings, in my game the item boxes
gave a permanent boost until the player either got hit, died, or hit
another item box.

7. Aesthetic Qualities (Game)
When comparing the visual qualities of my game to the two previous ones made
throughout the course of the year, it has made somewhat of an improvement in
terms of the background, partially because of how the setting is different compared
to the others, being set in a city instead of being set in fields.
When comparing this game to the last one that I made some things have improved,
whilst others have gone backwards. For example the visuals and ‘lighting’ have
improved, with different shades being shown on pathways, platforms and trees, and
visuals being improved on buildings, however clouds didn’t feature much in the game
this time, partially due to a lot of different objects getting in the way (buildings,
platforms etc.), as well as how the platforms help to show off multiple pathways in
the game, meaning that they would’ve been shown going the top route instead.
Further improvements to the item box were seen briefly as well, with more power
ups being briefly shown. With the enemies, explosions were shown when they were
destroyed, and this ended up helping to make it more fluid, as one problem with the
last game was how frames were needlessly added in for the enemies being damaged.
In terms of the menu, slight improvements were made to it with fluid movement with
some animations, as well as transitions through the menus. The save screen had also
helped to improve some visuals, however one noticeable problem with the animation
of it was when moving through the different saves, as one of the transitions ended up
stuttering throughout the animation.
When comparing my game to another game with similar graphics, this would be
where mine still falls a bit short, as some visuals still look quite bland, however at the
same time some visual elements were made to try almost fit into a game of the 16-
Bit era, so it helps to balance out some of the faults. When comparing it to an 8-bit
game like Sonic 1 for the Master System/Game Gear, certain graphics like the
buildings are an improvement when comparing it to the basic format shown in the 8-
bit titles, however other visual elements like the appearance of both the playable
character and the enemies still need improvements.

8. Unlike with the Game itself, I am unable to compare the box art with
either of my previous attempts, however when comparing the box
art to one of a similar product, one of the biggest differences
between the two is the lack of a character on the cover, this was
partially due to some slight issues with timing when it came to the
final stages of production, as well as partially my own fault due to
not being very good at making sprites for characters.
On the other hand, the background is comparable to that of a
similar product, being able to show off a little of the content that
would be included within the game, this can also help to set the
scene for the game without even having to play the game, for
example the box art 'Shadow the Hedgehog' can be seen as being
quite dark and gritty just by looking at the destroyed city in the
background, as well as the explosions happening behind Shadow.
Comparing that to my game, the setting shown is quite peaceful,
giving off the impression that the game isn't going to be too serious,
if I had added a character to the box art then this could've changed
the tone somewhat.
Aesthetic Qualities (Box Art)

9. Audience Appeal
When I started to do the research for my game, I had created a questionnaire for people in
my Target Audience to answer, as it would have given me a baseline to base my game on,
this meant that I could cater to the demands of my Target Audience in order to appeal
more to them.
For example for one question I asked about what was quite essential for a Platformer, and a
lot of the responses were implemented into the game, such as good controls, improved
graphics, and customization, this would appeal to the Target Audience as by including the
things that they recommended to be in the game, it meant that it would help to improve
the ‘experience’ for them by appealing to what they wanted.
Another question that I asked was about Level Themes, and varying responses were given,
with the most common themes being City and Water, which ended up being implemented
into the game as the theme for the level, the plains theme from my last game also ended
up making a small appearance on the menu when loading up the saves. I’d asked them in
the questionnaire to choose a level theme because I wanted to see what themes would
appeal to them most, rather than potentially picking one that they would dislike.
Another question that I asked was about whether they’d want a good story or good
gameplay, and the vast majority wanted both to be implemented, and whilst at first glance
it doesn’t look like story had been implemented, there are some small story elements that
were added into the game, in particular the save screen and in the background.
Another question that was asked was about any Co-Op features, and while the Co-Op
feature wasn’t properly shown during the animation, on the start screen an option for co-
op was shown, as well as there being multiple characters shown on the save screen, having
the co-op feature in the game would appeal greatly to my Target Audience since most likely
they will want to play the games with a friend, and with this option it would increase
replayability for them, as there would be multiple options available for them to play
through the game together, for example playing through the game normally with two
players, or they could potentially race through the stage trying to be the first one to get to
the goal.

10. Audience Appeal
Another question was more so about how long the video
would be for the project, and it was generally quite mixed for
people, some wanted it to be quite short, others wanted to
see a longer stage. In the end I had decided to make it over a
minute long although the actual length of the project ended
up being a lot shorter than I had hoped for. There’s still
enough there to show off the game, however the appeal
would be somewhat lost considering people were hoping for
a longer clip.
Another question that I asked my Target Audience was about
unlockables and if they should be in the game, all of them
said yes to it, so they were implemented in some form,
mainly showing off some when the item box broke, however
this could’ve been implemented a lot better, and thus it
would have a small negative impact on audience appeal, as
they can’t immediately tell that they’re unlockable and may
think that unlockables weren’t implemented at all.

11. Peer
Feedback

12. Feedback 1
• What did you like about the product?
– The animations were really good
– I really liked the designs of the game
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
– The music could’ve been a lot better
– The game could’ve been longer.
– There could’ve been more on the Box Art.

13. Feedback 2
• What did you like about the product?
– The animation is amazing, you can tell that you
spent a lot of time on it.
– The audio blends well with the animation.
– The menus make the game look really interactive
and expansive
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
– The music could have been slightly better.

14. Feedback 3
• What did you like about the product?
– I like the designs of the characters and objects.
– I like the detail in the project as its unique and
interesting
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
- I would improve the animation as it looks blurry
- I would improve the music to make it more
dramatic and suspenseful.

15. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you agree with from your peer feedback?
– I agree that the music was quite bad in comparison to the
rest of the project.
– I also agree about how the designs looked quite good,
especially because I had spent so long on the design of the
game.
– I agree with how someone had said that the game was too
short
• What do you disagree with from your peer feedback?
– I disagree slightly with people who said that the animation
looked blurry.

16. Peer Feedback Summary
Based on all of the peer feedback that I got, if there was at least
one thing that needed to be changed if I made this product again,
it would need to be to make the music a lot better, as at the
moment it sounds really rushed and doesn’t sound like it would
belong in the game. I would also need to make the game slightly
longer, perhaps by making the level longer, showing off the other
pathways, or even by adding in another level.