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Cry Me a Pond – Art and Process

To develop this game, Sara and I really just wanted to make a game that kind of mimicked how we felt about life at the moment (probably more so myself, though). Somedays you really just need to talk it out when you’re having a bad day, but there are also good days along the way (hence the happy cards). However, on top of all of these overwhelming emotions doing schoolwork can also become a lot, which is where the frustration of the game design questions comes. This game is definitely not made out of hate of game design, but more of the disappoint that we can’t put effort into the class because we are already so drained from other stuff.

A big part of the process for this game was the brainstorming we did on the whiteboard (what we wrote is a secret though). We originally thought of having Ames having laser eyes or flames that dry up your pond and then you have to “cry” (or really just talk about your emotions) in order to fill it back up and hop along the lily pad spaces. We elected for something that fit with the pond theme a little bit better, but having spaces disappear and reappear may be something we revisit for future prototypes.

For the design, I did the basic card templates and the pond design. Sara did the fabulous drawing of Ames as the Vengeful Water Spirit.

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Game Maker’s Play Test Notes – Cry Me a Pond

  • What questions did your players have? Players started asking questions about the movement of the duck, especially when we started to modify the rules a bit to make the game go slower. They were also not entirely sure about the path of movement and what lily pad to go to next. 
  • How quickly did they learn to play? The players learned pretty quickly because a lot of it was simple discussion-based cards 
  • What kinds of interactions did the players have?  Players engaged in really good discussions with each other, as was intended. 
  • What confused players? What space to move to next, 
  • What made players excited? The idea of the Ames water spirit card 
  • What did your players enjoy doing? Players seemed to enjoy answering the questions and listening to other players’ stories and answers. 

Did any aspect of the game frustrate players? I think the movement more than anything, but also players didn’t like the game design-related questions as much (kind of reinforcing the concept of the game though).

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Video Crit Notes

Emma

Rules

  • shoot in 5 different locations
  • can only use one part of a song (can repeat it as many times as needed)
  • only one actor
  • no cartoons
  • can only use one song throughout

Was the rules for the obstruction followed effectively

  • Yes

What was your favorite part of the video

  • I Really like the transition from sharks to land texture (also liked the locations she went)

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • Maybe change the song fading

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • It’s really well paced though when the song fades I thought it was done already but then it continues

Mason

Rules

  • No music
  • Only natural light
  • In color
  • Don’t show the actor’s faces
  • Each scene must be in a different location 

Was the rules for the obstruction followed effectively

Yes

What was your favorite part of the video

  • I love the constant voice and more serious tone

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • I liked everything

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • I say it’s well paced

Bryce

Rules

  • Form of slow motion
  • Black and white
  • Any type of filter

Was the rules for the obstruction followed effectively

  • Yes

What was your favorite part of the video

  • I really like the dancing effect where they dance and another them faded dances with them

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • I liked everything

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • I say it’s well paced

Aleah

Rules

  • Don’t use one scene more than once
  • must hambone three times for 3 seconds
  • someone must do a cartwheel
  • eat a piece of cake
  • must play good feeling by flo rida in credit roll

Was the rules for the obstruction followed effectively

  • Yes

What was your favorite part of the video

  • I really like how the cake is important to the story and the effects

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • I liked everything

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • I say it’s well paced

Andrew

Rules

  • Not using yourself
  • no audio
  • No interaction
  • Filming cat
  • Cat doing basic needs

Was the rules for the obstruction followed effectively

  • Yes

What was your favorite part of the video

  • I liked how how the cat is the main focus 

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • Maybe more action

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • I feel like the licking segments are a bit too long

Annabelle

Rules

  • No dialogue (Narration or character)
  • Minimal amount of cuts/shots
  • The actor must have a word written on their forehead
  • One person at a time 
  • Must include a bottle of Coca Cola

Was the rules for the obstruction followed effectively

  • Yes

What was your favorite part of the video

  • A liked the guy dancing

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • The coca cola seems like an afterthought (maybe add it more to the story)

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • I say it’s well paced

Harmony

Rules

  • Must be in black and white
  • No talking
  • Must be made outside

Was the rules for the obstruction followed effectively

  • Yes

What was your favorite part of the video

  • I liked the black and white

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • Have it one orange instead of two

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • Maybe the orange segment is a bit too long

Meredith M.

Rules

  • no filter
  • shot outside
  • no sound
  • animals can be shown, only one per frame
  • only one person per frame

Was the rules for the obstruction followed effectively

  • Yes

What was your favorite part of the video

  • I liked the jumping segment

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • I liked everything

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • I think it’s well paced

Kaley J.

Rules

  • 15 frames
  • theme of technology
  •  must be shot with older form of video (camcorder/ older phone etc)
  • told through music
  • black and white

Was the rules for the obstruction followed effectively

  • Yes

What was your favorite part of the video

  • I really like some clips being on a screen

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • I liked everything

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • I think it’s well paced

Angelina

Rules

  • Black and White
  • No humans
  • Two Characters need to interact

Was the rules for the obstruction followed effectively

  • Yes

What was your favorite part of the video

  • I liked how the character seem to interact with music instead of audio

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • Maybe less flashing lights

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • Some of the images take too long

Norina

Rules

  • two people never actually interact in the same scene
  • soft music, (barely hear it)
  • natural light 
  • two people

What was your favorite part of the video

  • I like the music and calmingness of the video (also how different the characters are)

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • I liked everything

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • I say it’s well paced

James

Rules

  •  can only film in not as professional clothing
  • no filters are allowed (cannot apply a color change to the film)
  • have one black and white scene as an exception from the no filter rule.

Was the rules for the obstruction followed effectively

  • Yes

What was your favorite part of the video

  • I liked how he visited different places

What would you edit, shoot, etc?

  • Maybe interviews of people that you visited

Was the video well paced? Did any parts feel too long or too short

  • Segments like the basketball and boxing are too long

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Super Mario Party Jamboree – Game Review

I played this game with Amber while we were on break!

Most Frustrating Aspect?

I will say only this: The NPCs are way better and harder than they were before. But Amber ended up winning, so I was happy Rosalina LOST.

Favorite Moment or Aspect?

As a fan of the Mario Party Games, it was nice to “come back” to a game that was familiar in the basis of its mechanics, but exciting to see what is new as well. I enjoyed being able to know what I was doing, but also be pleasantly surprised by new features. I think my favorite new feature is the graphics and how Nintendo tries to keep it fresh, but also spice it up a bit. For instance, in the first few games, Bowser was pretty awful and difficult to deal with. Now he rarely shows up for the whole game, and his “Negative Prizes” are never that bad.

Anything I wanted to do that I couldn’t?

In the game, it seemed like it was easy for everyone else to get a lot of coins, and it didn’t feel like it was just luck. (I’m not good with money anyways..)

Magic want to set, control, or change anything?

Now I don’t know if this is controversial, but I believe the price of the game overall is the first step of playing it. (Obviously) but I played this game with Amber, who got it for christmas, and I really wanted the game, but I don’t have a spare $60 to drop on a game, especially now that I know someone with the game.

Improved in the next version?

I want more chaos, and I really want the game to feel super engaging in terms of fighting over things. Yes, we can fight the NPCs, but I want the game to be just as questionable of who really won as it was in the older games.

Games Message?

It’s like monopoly, but less capitalism…maybe..

Describe the game in three words:

Party, Stars, Minigames.

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4d Video- Harmony Jablon

4d VideoDownload

Rules: 

Black and white

No talking 

Filmed outside

IF I would have subtitled the script would be: 

“Here is the perfect human”

“The perfect human gets ready for her day… keeping it simple brushing her hair, nothing crazy” 

“The perfect human doesn’t like chaos”

“The perfect day so far for the perfect human… no obligations, no chaos… just a simple and calm day”

“The perfect human eats her snack, just a simple orange and some water… basic”

“The perfect human enjoys her snack, along with a sip of her water”

“The simple, calm, and perfect day for this perfect human”

*the end

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Educational Game Questions

  • What are the challenges a team faces when working on an educational game? Each team member might have different priorities within game production. Content experts might want in depth background text, game designers want an interactive and compelling experience, while pedagogy experts believe it must be the ultimate teacher. The challenge is coordinating expertise and perspectives to create a final product that balances them all.
  • In the case study team members vetoed each others game ideas, what were the scientist’s, pedagogy expert’s and designer’s issues? The game designer immediately dismissed game ideas proposed by the pedagogy expert and scientist because they did not constitute “a game.” The scientist immediately rejected many of the game designer’s ideas because the science was incorrect. The pedagogy expert didn’t like the idea of levels as it inhibited learning
  • What did the team learn from play testing their prototypes?
    • The scientist learned that extinct animals are not so intrinsically interesting that players will want to learn more about them naturally (solution: less educational information immediately provided rather than a lot of optional info)
    • Levels were needed for motivation and maintained engagement
    • A certain card mechanic was not adding to the learning benefit in replayability so it was substituted
    • Reduced irrelevant information that distracted and decreased engagement
    • When more customized feedback was provide to users, they felt more engaged and like they were learning more.
  • How does play testing resolve conflicts among team members? Game testing is an objective way of proving what works and what does not. It actively tests each person’s perspective and proves its value.