Student Reflections - Video Game Design #4

R.H.

10th

Game Design

Game Design is half design and half fundamentals of how to tell a computer to do what you want it to do. Learning to make sprites is one of those things you can do or you can't, but learning to code a videogame can be taught! In this class you learn the easiest way to code which is with blocks. They look like the squares above. They are like symbols that have real code behind them and all you have to do is drag and drop them in the area. The great thing about this class is you learn how to do the basic project but you're allowed to go the extra mile and make your game unique. The picture above is code that will check if you could move to the next level. I added to the code to also check for your score to be high enough and if it wasn’t it would add 15 points to your score when you retired. Mrs. Bachuss also has a rule where if you have a question ask three people then ask her. This is a great way to learn with each other how to solve problems and it's a great way to share ideas with each other. Since you can take your computer home you have plenty of time to work on your game at home or even start your own game ideas. This is a great class to explore and express your ideas.

Roller Ball, made with unity, was my favorite game because i found it the most fun to play. Even though a video walked us through how to make the game it still left plenty of room to customize it to your liking. This is also my favorite game because there is no end! It is basically how high can you get your score which makes it a fun game to play with friends to see who can get the best score. This project also introduced us to things like particle effects! Particle effects are like the colored trails you see coming from the ball and coins. This game also used physics and shadows like we haven't seen before.  

This would have to be a work that wasn't my best. It was the first game level I ever made so of course it had its problems! Even though it wasn't my best i still think it was a good simple level that introduced you to the game. If I went back to change something in it i would make more small rooms; like you see to the right of the character. Its very cool to be able and look at this game compared to my other games and see how they slowly get better and better! I did fix the background color on this level to make it easier to see everything! Another thing i hated about this level was making it because the walls would not fit in the block correctly and made it a huge pain to lay out everything. That is why there are not many rooms.

 

In conclusion- Game Design is an amazing new class that will teach you a lot about making sprites, laying out levels, and programing the game to do what you want. I would recommend this class if your interest in any kind of computer science, animation, gaming, or just want a class that isn't like anything else. Joining this class will also give you access to a mac computer that you can use for anything school related which can come in handy. I hope that my experience in this class showed you what it’s like and maybe will help you make up your mind! Also, when you look at these photos remember you start with nothing and everything you see was made pixel by pixel; meaning the possibility is endless.