by Annie | Jun 28, 2011 | Psychology of Games
We’ve always been taught that the opposite of play is work. Play is fun. Work is not. However, positive psychologists have found that work and play can be one and the same. In fact, people tend to be happiest when they’re working hard. That’s why games are so popular and so many people spend so much time playing them. Games provide achievable goals with rules and obstacles. Games make you work hard, but that means you’re having fun! If you’re interested in learning more, I highly recommend checking out Jane McGonigal’s book Reality is Broken. I’ve just started the book but have already learned a lot about the psychology and real world application of games....
by Annie | Jun 24, 2011 | Game Design
It’s hard to put into words all the thoughts and emotions that come with graduation, especially one marking the end of such an intense year. I went into the year not knowing what to expect and was blown away every step of the way. I learned more than I ever could’ve imagined and met passionate and creative people who continue to inspire me every day. Moving forward into the real world is a scary step, but with the vast amount of knowledge and skills I’ve acquired at VFS and the extensive support network I now have in my corner, I’m confident I’ll be able to tackle the next big challenge. By now, most of you know that my main interests in game design lie in serious games. That is, those games that reach into the real world and have the potential to effect change in players’ lives. And you also know that I crave opportunities to solve big problems in creative ways. So, I’m excited to announce that my next big venture will be with a startup company here in Vancouver whose aim is to create games to encourage kids to be more physically active. With growing issues of childhood obesity, physical fitness has become a huge societal issue. I’ve seen firsthand how much kids love games. Games transformed my classroom and turned even the most reluctant students into eager learners. Thus, I know that games have the potential to change people’s lives. Like I said, it’s scary stepping out into the real world. I’m now accountable for designing real games, rather than just concepts for various assignments. But...
by Annie | Jun 21, 2011 | Game Design
Check out Blokhead and some of the other games from our class on the VFS...
by Annie | Jun 8, 2011 | Game Design
From our first day at VFS, Industry Night was dangled like a carrot before us, that seemingly unreachable goal light years away. Yet after months of hard work, countless brainstorming sessions, and tons of great feedback, we’d produced a game. And a few hours ago, we presented it to the industry. In many ways, Industry Night is the culmination of the VFS game design experience. After working closely with a small team for several months to produce a game, you’re invited to present your game to a group of people from the games industry, who then come and play your games. Our Industry Night included action games, puzzle platformers, adventure games, and shooters. Our games incorporated creativity, solid design, and unique mechanics. And after working day in and day out with these guys over the past several months, I can say that I’m extremely proud of all the games we showed tonight. If you’re interested, you can read more about the games and even try them out for yourself. Be forewarned, though, that some of them can be very addictive....
by Annie | Jun 3, 2011 | Other
It’s been a year and a half since I first put up my website. I still remember those early days, my first introduction to web design. “What do you mean the textures have to be tileable?” “Why isn’t the font I chose showing up?” With this new site redesign, I can say that I’m still not over those confusions and frustrations, but I’ve learned to be more flexible and open to change. With some help from my husband, web programmer extraordinaire, my new site is ready to show off. Consider this the official ribbon cutting. Bye-bye, duckie. You’ll be missed....
