message(s)

speak(s) / common(s) / slide(s) / session(s) / cycle(s) / communication(s) / talk(s) / display(s) ?

script(s) / AR

reflection(s)

... yesterday, Dennis Reidsma asked me: "will the students develop an actual game in your course serious games?" And I answered: "yes, of course!", explaining that although I would accept unity, my current interest is in html5/js games and (mobile) AR. And, given the projects suggested by Rieks op den Akker, as well as possibly the gogbot festival as a target for the student's production(s), the mobile platform, including phones and tablets seems by far the most promising! Now that I think some more about it, the phrase serious should not be misunderstood, but taken as an opportunity to explore relatively simple game mechanics, as in the invader(s) and platform classic(s) and animation(s) such as boid(s) and blob(s), provided that these are properly extended with serious message(s) ortheme(s), for example when used as an overlay on an AR scene. Have a look at quintus, fir a start.

And one step further, reflecting on what is a game, I can only refer to two books that I recently read: (1) the art of failure, by Jesper Juul, and (2) the grasshopper -- games, life and utopia, by Bernard Suits, see reference(s)., The latter giving an intriguing definition of playing a game as a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacle(s), with the former characterizing games as the strongest art form yet for the exploration of tragedy and responsibility, emphasizing games gives us nowhere to hide, which seems serious enough, I think ...

Oh, and I almost forgot Jan Kolkmeyer's track(s) and lapse(s), elaborating on my urban run(s).

What do you think?

Æ, 10/4/2013

elaboration(s)

..., of course, ..., creating an actual game is not an easy thing, and dependent on what role(s) you're willing and able to take, the actual task(s) may widely diverge, and as you will probably have experienced, working in a group can be quite demanding, to say the least. So, keep it simple, and, whatever you do, focus (also) on your skill(s)!

..., in this course, every student must write a brief reflection on utopia and create a moodboard, however when developing the actual game you may choose whether to work on design, graphics, animation(s), using client-side technologies or server-side issues involving sockets and (preferably nosql) databases, with node.js, see theresource(s)

..., admittedly, this already sounds almost too ambitious, so take it step by step, set your own rule(s), and have fun!

and finally

..., take the projects suggested as a starting point, and start the practical work as soon as possible, simply by exploring the examples and the various technologies ..., and don't hesitate to ask questions!

..., I know it might still be confusing, so that's why I spell it out in somewhat more detail here, with the accompanying announcement(s) on facebook:

prepare yourselves, and don't get lost:

..., and, to be honest, since nobody like(d) it, to my disappointment(s), and (still) lacking a sitemap, although making (my first) mobile endeavor(s), I am not sure where this will lead us, but hopefully the goal is clear, let's just make some game(s) !