Multimedia Dev Blog

 Unity Tutorial 04 In the first part of the tutorial was fairly straightforward it involved spawning the animals at different intervals and creating a hit box for the animals and the food so that when they collide they get removed from the game before reaching the player. I enjoyed following this tutorial and found it quite easy. The game is much more easy to play with the automatic spawning of the animals. The randomness of the way the animals spawn also makes the game more enjoyable.  A screenshot of this weeks Unity Tutorial The challenge on the otherhand I found really confusing. I think this was due to doing the end of the tutorial on one day then the challenge on the next day. I couldn't remember a single thing from the tutorial and had to go back and look at how I completed tasks to solve the challenge.

 Unity Tutorial 03 This weeks Unity Tutorial was a bit easier to navigate now that I know how some more of the mechanics work. I have to say I enjoyed the more complex tasks as there were more objects to maneuver and they all had separate roles within the game. The part I enjoyed the most was being able to code the keys to do certain things instead of just moving a character up/down or left/right. A screenshot of today's Unity Tutorial at the end of lesson 2.3   Something I didn't enjoy about this Unity Tutorial was the instructor would explain one way to write code in part 1, but then change it to a simpler way in part 2 of the tutorial. I find this very confusing because you never know what he will be altering. This is then frustrating because I know I will mix up the first way and the easier way when I have to complete a challenge at the end of the tutorial. Other than this hiccup I'm enjoying learning the mechanics of game development. I thought it would be almost all c

 Game Idea Research I have decided to go with the idea of a game similar to "Firewatch". I feel like I can do more with this kind of game style as it has a more open world feel to it rather than a level type game such as "Monument Valley". I think a Covid-19 themed game would be appropriate as it is relatable and everyone is affected by it one way or another. This idea could either deter people or intrigue them as the virus is viewed differently, some care about the well being of others and some don't. Game Mechanics 1. Role play:  I like the idea of playing as an entity that cares for the well being of the populous of the area they are in. They would be protecting the people from the virus as it spreads around the map. 2. Collecting: The entity would collect the virus around the area stopping the spread and keeping people safe. After collecting there will be a safe area to put all the collected virus and contain it to stop the spread. 3. Capture/Eliminate: At t

 Unity Tutorial 02 The last part to the vehicle tutorial was very interesting! I really liked learning how to make the vehicle actually turn instead of just sliding left or right on the road. The plane challenge on the other hand was quite a bit more difficult as I actually had to think about what I had to do instead of following along with an instructor. I found the camera a lot easier to use this time around which was nice. I struggled a bit with getting the plane to move up and down, at the beginning I had the up and down arrow keys set to make the plane move like the vehicle. This was frustrating but I figured it out in the end and got it all to work. I got the propeller to spin too which was just the cherry on top and I feel accomplished after completing this challenge. A screenshot of my Unity challenge.

Unity Tutorial 01 I found the first tutorial interesting enough. It was challenging but not too hard to figure out. The instructor in the video tutorials speaks very slow so I found myself putting the video speed up to x1.5. The one thing that I found to be the most confusing was the positioning of the camera. I don't quite know what it is but it doesn't seem to sit right but that could just be me. The coding part of the game works very similar to website coding e.g. HTML and CSS. I think that could be a factor in why I found parts of this  tutorial fairly manageable. I enjoyed playing around with the physics of the crates and the vehicle, seeing what happens when you turn up the speed of the vehicle and the mass of the crates is quite funny. Overall I think the Unity tutorials are good but I can see myself running into some spots of bother with some aspects as I can't seem to wrap my head around certain physics but I'm optimistic!   A screenshot of my Unity Tutorial

Game Brainstorm  I don't play many games but I have seen Youtubers and my friends play many games over the last 6/7 years. Recently I have been trying to get into playing games so I can play online with my friend. Yet again I have no motivation to sit and play games.  I would like to make a game similar to "Cuphead", a run and gun game where you're task is to kill enemies to collect their souls. I tried to play this game a while back and it is so frustrating yet oddly addictive. I have seen people stuck on one level for hours making almost no progress but still going again and again. I would like to create something like a run and gun without the almost impossible aspect to it. I would like it it to still hold that difficult aspect but have it more playable by people like me. Resources Screenshot from the game: Cuphead Image source     Another game I would consider creating is something similar to "Firewatch", this is an adventure game that I have seen playe

 Game Design What I really like about games is that there is no right definition for it. A game can be anything as long as you have the right criteria. There are so many different genres for games and sub-genres, for example action games, action-adventure games, adventure games, role-playing games, simulation games, strategy games, sports games, puzzle games and idle games. Each of these have sub-genres have multiple different options within. In my opinion I feel like game development is really difficult there seems to be a lot going on but hopefully with this module I will find a better understanding to the ins and outs of game design and development.  A screenshot of a simple game in development Image Source

 Time Management Time is never on my side I always leave things to the last minute. This is terrible for college assignments which never seem to stop coming so I get overwhelmed and panic and end up procrastinating to calm down. Thus wasting more time and not getting anything done. As much as I have the good intentions of starting an assignment and finishing it within a reasonable time, that never happens. I would love to just be able to write all these blogs with ease but it's really difficult. What works for me at the moment is leaving things to the last minute so I'm put under pressure to get it done before Moodle closes the quiz. I'm aware that I can give myself extra time with this or not even do it at all but that's not the right thing to do. If I give myself the extra time then I'll waste it by procrastinating so there is no winning here for me in this situation. I am terrible at time management but I sometimes get things done. Whether they are of good standa

 My Assignments I'm really interested in what I can create in Unity3D. I've never had any experience with game development or seen the process so this will be all new to me. I'm also looking forward to the extra credit Wikipedia Trials. It seems like it would be interesting and fun. Ori and the Blind Forest a video game made with Unity3D Image Source

 Growth Mindset I find that with certain things I have a fixed mindset like I said in my previous post where I give up on learning new songs on the piano. I have a better mindset with skateboarding, I fail but try again and again until I get it right. This is a simple way to look at this as my motivation is obviously stronger with different things for different reasons.  I like the image below because it's something my sister would often say to me when I was feeling down.  Image source: twitter

Introduction Post Hello! I'm Lauren Hetherington a 2nd year student studying Creative Digital Media in TUD. I am 20 years old and I enjoy skateboarding and playing piano.  I have only been properly learning to skate since the start of September. I've fallen more times than I can remember in those 4 weeks but they're worth it and a sign of progression in my eyes. Not only have I learned to skate but I've made some good friends too. The skate park is now a second home to me and I am so thankful for the good people in that humble community.  I've played piano since I was 7, first starting on a keyboard then a few years later moved on to a piano. I have a love/hate relationship with piano after being practically forced to do lessons every week for over 10 years but I have a special place in my heart for certain songs. Every now and then I go to learn a new song but ultimately just learn the first few bars and then give up. I hate that I do that so with skateboarding I&#