Lecture 3, well this was nothing like a lecture

Not much to say today but for everyone who asks me 'Will you be playing games all day then on your course', I do now formally say I am sorry (-ish). For the duration of my 3 hour lecture today, we played GAMES. Yes, board games for "Research" which has actually helped as I have realised that all board games involve you going around space by space on a shape and on a chipboard board.

Even better these were brand new games which you can get and make from the internet easily. The website we got the games from is called CheapAss, yes the Company which makes the games is called Cheap Ass Games. Why, because they make games which you can download and make the game board required from paper and download the instructions to play the game. Then you use little counter pieces which you might have around the house to use as players and a dice. Simple, fun and all for free (may I suggest Take-Back-Toe and Devil Bunny needs a Ham (don't ask because I'm still not sure and I have played the game)).

So in all, a very productive day (fun also). Ohh and also by next week, we have to have a working model of the game, lots of meetings to report next week.

The Official Start

Today, what I would call my first official lesson/ lecture (that's what Uni students are to call lessons) in the module, I had the task of presenting myself to the class.

Form the previous lecture going through the course module handbook (dull and boring) and getting our mission for the first semester, the class was also given a advanced, get to know you task to present yourself and favorite childhood board game to the class. This weeks lesson I was presenting myself to the class and my favorite childhood board game which I decided to do Jenga. It had to be 5 slides long, no more or no less and present it in 5 minutes.

Now presenting in front of people, big or small (small being 10-ish people) I have always found it a bit hard but over years I have been trying to develop my confidence and presenting skills at any opportunity available to me to get to grips with doing it. Thankfully, for the first time it really helped with all the practicing I have got in. It went really well as my lecturer is said to be very critical to bad things that you have done ,but he didn't say anything bad just good. Woo hoo.

So that was very good. Then the exciting part happened, form the first week of being given our task, we got to choose who we wanted to be in a teams with. Thankfully I would happily say that I have a very good, kind, friendly and most of all smart people in my team called Fraser and Peter. A good friend I have met in Uni and another friend who has come up with me from College.

And as the A-Team we went to go and get our image in which we had to base our board game around. Well at random choice, PETER choose this very weird strange picture by a girl called Bridget Riley called 'Ease'. Well to finish off this post, please offer us as a team good luck (Image beside).

Bridget Riley 'Ease'.

Our Object

Details.....
Objective..... Create two full working board games
Count Down ....... T- 2016 hours (12 weeks)
Location..... University of Wales, Newport 

As the blog description says above, this is a blog showing the progress through the Computer Games Design module 'The World Played and Controlled'. In my very first lecture for the module, we were given our mission objective, 'Control the World'. Ha ha, joke. Our actual task to create two fully functioning board games within 12 weeks.

Why two. Well, divided into two, I have six weeks to create one and the other six for the other. The first board game we have to create comes with a circumstance, the game we have to create has to be based around a randomly given picture by and artist. The other (better one) has to be a physical game that takes a considered
game mechanic from a digital game and rethinks it in physical form, so basically design a game which is based around a game mechanic.

For now, more of the focus is going on the first board game. From the picture in which I will be given within a team of three people, the game doesn't need to be based around the theme of the picture of the elements of the picture only. It can if we want to but it could be based around where the artist original idea can from or an even deeper meaning.

Well now briefed and given our mission objective. My official start time is in next weeks lecture when we will be assigned into teams and given our initial start plans for our first board.