Why glitches in navigation is bad for games

I have 665 views on my blog, if I get one more I become cursed, lol.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about something that's been bugging me that I can finally put into words; navigation glitches in games are really annoying. Now let me explain something: right now I'm playing a game called Fallout: New Vegas.

 

At the bottom of the screen is a compass that points me to my objectives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see the compass at the bottom left of this screen. The one with all the triangles at the bottom.

 

So, here's my dilemma: I have to go somewhere, but the compass isn't pointing me in the right direction. See that's the big problem. It's not that it isn't working. Games like this train players to depend on the compass. Open world games that allow players to go wherever they want need to have a way to guide them toward important objectives. When that system fails, its like having your legs cut off. Its incredibly frustrating.

 

Problems with game design

I'm working with a group on a fan game. I'm not allowed to give out too many details but I can say it's about an RPG from the 16-bit era. But the problem comes from the fact that communication is...just not happening. I, and my fellow designers, don't know what the overall story is. I don't know if the head designer just hasn't had time for it or if it's some other problem but I can't write dialogue for a plot I know nothing about. So, despite the setbacks, I have definitely learned that communication is key and that a post site is probably not the best place to post ideas.

Basically what happens is that someone (lets call them A) will post something on the site and waits for someone to respond (lets call them B). After B has posted his response he has to wait for A to respond which can take about a day. Once A has responded he has to wait for B to respond. Since we're all from different time zones and have different responsibilities, we end up missing each other.

Its like a giant game of phone tag!

So, it would probably be better if we had a list of goals we want to accomplish and chisel those out until we know what we want. Then we need to decide what to focus on first. Once we decide what we need to focus on, we can begin to work. The biggest issue we need to cover is "what is the gameplay experience?" What do we want the players to experience? Happiness? Sadness? Connection?  Do want the player to laugh throughout most of this game or be scared?

If we, as designers don't know these things, we start running around like headless chickens. No, not like chickens, more like people tossing ideas into a pit. Then sifting through the messy pile of ideas in an attempt to make a game.

That's another thing I've learned; you have to organize. Well, I'll post more stuff about the game design process later. I'm a bit tired now. See ya!!

Game Design Lessons: Foul Smell

So I've decided to kind of make these "Lessons" series a type of information for myself. I often forget things and I always fantasize about teaching so I figured "why not."
The point of these lessons is to collect data and teach me, and possibly anyone else what I've learned about games especially since there isn't a video or book on games that says "this is how you do so and so."

First Lesson: How to Create a Foul Smell in a Game.

Games, of course, can't let players smell things but images can be a powerful source nonetheless. I think that telling stories with pictures in games is better than long instances of text or dialogue. Just look at the incredible amount of dialogue in MGS 3! Who wants to sit around listening to a history lesson about a codename?

 

 

Dialogue may not always be the best way to convey a story, actions speak louder. But on to the main point; if I were to make, say, a horror game, how would I go about making a bathroom that was unpleasant.

 

First, I think I would start with the color.

 

White is easy to stain with brown and black shades which gives it a gross and smelly appearance.

 

Second, misplaced objects add to the effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Objects placed haphazardly create a sense of disorganization which adds to the grossness of the room.

 

Finally, I would add small insects, especially flies. disguising creatures that like gross places create a nasty atmosphere.

 

 

In hindsight, this wasn't as good of an idea of a paper but whatever, its my lessons for myself...lol

 

Working on games

I went to a game meeting a week back and made some new friends and got a chance to look at their stuff. Some of them said they wanted my opinion on things. Holy Crap! That's awesome. My biggest issue? I have to be careful about what I say. This is their project, not mine, so how do I input my opinion without hurting theirs? I don't want to come across like a glory hog or as a...I don't know...someone who takes control of things and takes them from other people. I hope I get a chance to learn that.

Epertase Interview

I finally finished my interview with author Douglas Brown of the Epertase series.

Check it out!
http://www.badhaven.com/books/book-features/legends-reborn-an-interview-with-author-douglas-brown/

Adult Cartoons

I was watching American Dad on Adult Swim and I was thinking about how my parents kept me from watching cartoons that weren't meant for me. I think my parents told me they were boring and, to a certain extent, they are. At least some of them are boring or I just didn't get the jokes.

 

I don't know if that stigma has stayed with me but I still avoid some cartoons just because I was told they were boring. To this day, I still think some of these adult cartoons are just plain boring.

RTF writing

I finally started writing fiction again. It feels good to have motivation again. Maybe I'll post it. I decided to start with a small story of RTF and move on from there.

Top 10 WORST Games of 2013! (+playlist)