The Weekly Developments

Last week, when I was doing my project, I realised that my timer was set at 59 seconds and that I couldn't add minutes - I thought this needed changing. I found three tutorials to see if I could find a way to add to the timer I already have rather than to completely change it considering it took me quite a bit to get it to work. I selected three tutorials to try out separately and then I'll try and incorporate them into my project on Friday when I do it.  ( pinterest.com , digital alarm clock showing 9:24am) Firstly, I created a 'slider' timer which was really cool. It worked after the usual bumps along the way. I also felt more comfortable with the code than I have been because I'd used most of it when I was doing last week and the week befores' work on the project. However, I don't think this timer would suit my game. I just wanted minutes and seconds, not slider or anything fancier. I also don't need hours or milliseconds but  it was interesting. Then...

In the first article I read  (Sutherland, 2005) , the author discusses what makes a story in a game work and what it took to get to a place where they can be done well. He made a really interesting point about story being conflict. Conflict is just as important as the rest of it. It gives us drive to want to play the game, progress to the next level, get the job done - whatever it is, it makes us want to do something . I also liked that he pointed out that to have a good story, it has to be simple and it has to work. While you're gaming, you're often learning new mechanics and adjusting to the new world you're in. If your story is really complicated, it can overload someone's brain. Although a story often determines chapters, levels, etc (which is why it's done at the beginning, according to the author), nobody wants to watch a movie when they buy a game.  The next reading was a paper  (Bizzocchi and Tanenbaum, 2012) about what makes Mass Effect 2 a highly regarded...