Semester 1 Feedback

Proposal Grade:  B+
Feedback:
- Be careful with the use of the term "modern", "contemporary" might be better suited.
- When including images, directly discuss it in the text .
- Be careful with repetition.
- In methodology be clearer about who exactly will be testing my artifact
- More evidence needed to back up that 2D horror games are rarely explored (sweeping statement etc etc).


Pre-Production Portfolio Grade:  A+
Feedback:

"The pre-production portfolio showcases an excellent approach to skills development, research and conceptual development.  The practical work is appealing and considers the subject matter, visual style and design well overall. The portfolio could benefit from further consideration of gameplay design and it’s relation to environment design, flow and user experience.  The concept is appealing; however there is limited evidence of iteration possible interactivity and the impact this would have on the player experience and thus the impact of the horror aspects of the game.  Experimentation with design of set-pieces of interaction (through further animatics), considering timing, flow and pacing (of which there is evidence of research in the blog) would greatly enhance the final game moving forward."

As the majority of my feedback has been directed towards the design of my game, I've decided to collaborate with a programmer.  I feel my skills in this field are not strong enough for my game to reach its full potential and focusing on improving them would take away too much time from design and art which are the main fields I am interested in.
I'll need to get a rough prototype ready ASAP with my current design in place in order to implement Jesse Schell's theory of the loop, where I will be able to constantly test and iterate the design throughout the rest of the year until satisfied with the result.

I've decided to scrap the idea of creating a paper prototype as I feel it will be much more effective to dive straight in to creating a technical prototype as this will keep my skills with Gamemaker fresh (I still plan on working on additional code for the game whenever possible) and I imagine conveying a horror atmosphere will be much easier in game than on paper as visuals and audio play such a key role.


Concept Development Document Grade:  B
Feedback:

"The concept development document is clearly structured and links each inspirational source to the project aim.  The project draws from horror games a great deal therefore moving forward it may be helpful to expand inspirational sources looking beyond games and films to consider how other media/theories/artists can challenge conventions within these kinds of games and offer you a fresh perspective on the genre.  The document discusses sound, mechanics and art style clearly; however the link to your own work is very direct and it may be beneficial to consider these techniques as an inspirational tool kit which you will contextually consider with sensitivity to the most appropriate methods for your developing project idea.  The analysis of examples is to a good level but could benefit from further depth to unpick the impact of the identified techniques on the audience (and your project) further. "

For inspirational sources outside games and film I could look more in depth at artists who tend to use horror scenes as their subjects.  Off the top of my head I've always found the work of Francis Bacon to be quite disturbing so this could be a good starting point.  I could also look at game artists specifically and analyse individual horror assets they've created.  I could even go out and explore some creepy environments in real life, like graveyards or woods at night to see why (although that might be a bit dangerous to do alone so I might have to rope in a friend!) and take notes on why people find these environments so unsettling.  Might even be worth taking a field trip to the old primary school my game's setting has been unintentionally based on!

Game design-wise, in retrospect I've been sort of Frankenstein-ing the mechanics I've come across in horror games for my own game design which is obviously not the best way to go about my design.  During case studies I should definitely start putting more emphasis on mechanics rather than mostly focusing on art direction.  Furthermore, as my feedback for this module addresses, I need to analyise why certain mechanics frighten me rather than just pointing out that they do.

Project name change:

During a supervisor meeting, Ryan also suggested that I should change the title of my project as "Unsettling" is too vague a word to describe what I am trying to achieve.  Currently the title of the project is:

"Two-Dimensional Horror:  Creating an Unsettling Atmosphere in 2D Horror Games"

However some alternatives could be:

"Creating a Horror Atmosphere in 2D Games"

"Creating a Sense of Suspense and Apprehension in a 2D Horror Game"

I'm sort of stuck however I think something short and sweet like the first title here might be more in the right direction.  I have a supervisor meeting tomorrow so I'll run it by Ryan then!