Day 9324

 

Next Tuesday, all the blonde is coming off. I'm hoping if I cut it now by the time I'm 30 it will grow back to this length 🤞 Super short hair here I come! 

Good year? Bad year?

It's been a pretty hectic last couple of months. 

• Middle of a pandemic.
• Find out my father has cancer. 
• My job contract ends and they legally can't renew it.
  
• Start trying to find a job whilst working on Locomotion marketing in free time.
  (Dipping my toes in and learning about marketing was an amazing rabbit hole of a journey.)
  
  Two months later 
• Locomotion comes out on switch! Sells 333 copies during launch week/pre-order <3
• 40+ job applications later, three job offers along at the same time!  
• Now working as QA with VR games! 
• Dad had an operation,  cut out cancer, check-up says now it's all good!!!
  
  
• For the new job I'm leaving the house at 5am and getting back at 8pm. 
• Our lease was running out so we decided to move: closer to work and has a car parking space.
• House falls through because I'm on a 0 hours contract and they don't accept a guarantor. 
• Decided to renew where we are. 
• Now working from home for the short term because of the pandemic. 
• Next step is getting a car to help with that commute. 
• Still have a few more Locomotion marketing posts to make. 
• Then onto Isolated Incident and I suspect this time next year back onto Don't Trust Larry. 
  
  Currently typing from my new office. When we originally moved into this flat I envisioned it as each of the bedrooms being a study for my partner and I, then using the main room as a sort of studio. In the end, we had a bedroom and living room in the two bedrooms and used the main room as a large study/ VR space with a dining table tucked away.
  As we aren't moving we still decided to do a bit of a clear-out and change around.
  Long story short I'm excited to have my own space.  

This year really has been a rollercoaster news-wise, it definitely feels like a disaster movie is happening in slow motion each time I look at the news. But in reality, everything has been nothing more than a slight inconvenience for me personally, and I'm honestly so grateful for that. If anything being able to work from home has been a wonderful change of pace, and because I live with my partner and talk to most of my friends and family over the phone/online anyway it's been pretty much the same. 
Either way here's hoping 2020 settles down a bit over the next few months. 

Day 9089

A write up from my 2019 diary. Here's to 2020! and tomorrow I'll be 9090, maybe I should bring cake into work ;)

Game:

Get Sh*t Done. 

Keywords:
Motivation. Dedication. Discipline.

Visuals: 
Koala in space. Mehndi planets and stars. Planet per goal.  Galaxy background that slowly shifts over the year (timelapse)

Sun bottom centre of the screen is the home main menu button and takes you to a more traditional diary. 5 rings coming out each with their own planet. Each planet can be clicked on to take you into its goals breakdown.

UI Prompts: 
Up to 5 planets with 52 growing stages and 12 key developments.
Goals - x 10 you got this year
Monthly - x 10 reason
Weekly - x 52 Small tip / good wish
Day - Happy, Sad, Bored, Sleepy, Excited, Star

Small space flower with the date top-right, small spin wheel to get accessories for your planets, both rocks and space things floating in the orbits of planets also.

Monthly and weekly push notifications to remind you about the app, if it's not been opened in 3 weeks one last notification to say turning them off for now.



Know it, apply it, turn simple things into a habit.

1. Plan. Big steeps planned so you have the clarity to change. See the competition and know where you are going. Break down into 5 major steps, start at your goal and work your way backwards reverse engineer.
   30 MIN break the day into 30 min intervals and plan it out, use Sunday nights to plan the overall week and each day the night before.
   Discipline = freedom 
   Procrastination is a habit to keep you safe. This is all about creating habits, what is the vision behind the vision? Plan it out. What are you scared of?
   No clarity. No change.
   
2. Productive environment. Create an inspiring place to work in. Plants, Sunlight, A clean mental environment. Tidy = more productive organisation.
   Reticular activator - clear mental space.
   Brain dump all the things your brain is nagging at you. 
   
3. Get shit done buddy. Speak it. Share it. Stick to it. 40% more change (citation needed?)
   Don't say anything to naysayers, say to people who care about your success and will hold you accountable.
   
4. Say NO! Literally taking time from the goals you want to do. Protect your energy. Each day 3 things that would happy to do. At least 3 things that are moving you forward in life.
   One life + One of you.
   
5. Choose long term>Short term
   Wake up 1 hour earlier / stay up 1 hour alter/ give up 1-hour tv/sleep a day.
   365 hours (366 for 2020) buy giving up one of the above. basically getting a whole extra month each year. (That said sleep is very important, for health, memory). Remove yourself from addictive things. 
   Stay focussed. Let people know when you need to be distraction-free. Pomodoro 25/30min do the thing then stretch, breathe, repeat. Set a timer if needed.
   
6. Heart hustle. If you're feeling a little uncomfortable push through. Show up for yourself. Determined, desired, intention.  Goal to wake up at 5am. Start by waking up 10 minutes earlier, then 15, then 20. Wake up a little earlier each day and inch towards that goal.
   
7. Generate energy. Listen to yourself. Exercise, food, supplements. Things that help your brain get focussed, use tools for production and make sure to drink water. Figure out if you are naturally a morning or night person and work with your energy flow.
   If you can afford to get a cleaner /doing an online shop getting other to do admin, outsource and get help where you can don't need to do everything. Be efficient and effective.
   
8. Celebrate not berate. Flip the switch on what you've done/ 3 things to do and get them done and actually do them! what have you done? Not what you haven't. Let the negative go. Have rewards, on a birthday / Celebration level.
   
9. White space. Leave empty space in your plans for you to do whatever you want in. Some time for you to meditate/yoga etc, chill, watch tv. Plan week on Sunday and have fun on Sunday. Divine downloads your brain will help you get the answers.
   
10. Be a badass. Visualise and affirm what you are about to do. Choose to be disciplined. You live one life this is not a dress rehearsal. 

Game:

Draw Cats With Eyes Closed 

Keywords:

Fun, Pun, Cat, Party 

Visuals:

Pastels and cute, you open the game to see a cat with buttons on its tummy that take you into the main game. 

Main sections: 

Menu / Gallery / Settings / Play 

The animation UI style is elastic and squishy
Cat stretching loading animation chasing a ball. When you interact with a folder in the gallery section little cat paws poke out, an ear twitches, a tail flicks out, small hints of squishy cats appear. When scored for your drawing (out of 5 stars) they briiing into existence, like flashy jelly.  Words describing your drawing pop up
Smushed cat face for the app store icon.

Different "Cat-egorys" 
Cat / Octopus / Girafe / Koala / Sloth / Mountain goat / Duck / Whale / Turtle / Rabbit
Random each time you unlock, change colour of the background for differnt animals. 

But for cat-related ones, puns to critique your drawing/rate it.
Clawful. Apawful. Catastrophe. Furmidible. Unfurtunate. Purrfect. Clawver. Purrty. Pawsome. Cattitude.

Gameplay: 
Click play -> pop up category -> 3,2,1 -> Timer 1:30 - 10sec timer (Player can change but default is 30sec) -> images share of players session -> Rate drawings (No names, thumbnail gallery) Rate out of 5 -> Reveal~ see who drew what and see all side by side, save pictures into folder if wanted.

The closing game screen blinks closed to black, cat's eyes open

Cost:
Colours to draw with, player cap, Add free


Game Story notes from February with Colin:

Don't Trust Larry 

(marketing imgur DTL 35 second gif, game food transition to real food, less than a second intro and outro. Make the 3D food in real life. White duck icon comes out at the end)
A1)
- Ducks have an aggression meter
- Narrator "you take care of the ducks well being they'll look after your well being" all calm and nice
- Larry becomes more aggressive trying to eat bread, you have to try hard not to feed him
- Narrator "oh, I've given one duck a name, here is Germima, who's actually a duck. Not Larry, because Larry, is not a duck"
- Non-sequential random order lines to flesh out pre bush Larry and after bush Larry.

B4)
- "You can smell what the rock is smashing"
Rock Johnson
Rebel Rubble

A2)
Shop - Each time you go back to a shop the character gets more annoyed for different reasons
- Narrator translating the duck squawking noises "I don't know if you speak duck but they are not happy" "oh dear, no need for that language"

- Ammo slots for different weapons
- Drake Canaveral

A1 - Tower bridge boss
A2 - Tunnel boss
A3 - Train boss

Gun - Cycle through ammo left and right hand. After each area boss, there is a gun upgrade.

(A) Security guard zoo. Police on the streets. Scientist ducks (gun upgrade). Cowboy duck (level boss).
(B) Museum security. Ninja ducks (gun upgrade, makes bread bigger). Right-hand man (level boss).

- Suck larry into gun then feed him to make him big again?

A2)
Big and small bread Larry.
/........../......./...../../././/.(I).//././..../......./........./
Normal uck size at duck pond smashes through gates then starts to shrink to "waist height"
Some food makes him grow some makes him shrink, takes less effort to maintain "normal size/waist height". Each food has it's own value +/- to time wheel depending on the food.

Size management: food, growth value + time value that stack on top of themselves.



Game:

Koala game

Level based or never ending?
I quite like the princess drop style with 10 "levels" in a row but very hard to reach level 10. (Although I did find it very frustrating as much as I did fun) 

Fail? 

Maybe fall from the tree, or gets eaten? Or the koala starves to death? In some way a sad death for the koala.  If there is water intake, koala slowly dehydrating from sun/need to collect water for the tea.

Win? 

Top of the tree? Maybe a golden leaf at the top? Quest of the god's style. 

Obstacles?

Spiders, Sun, Snakes, Snapping branches, Scoundrel koala...

Power up? 

+1 <3... Probably decide after obstacles and then added, the koala-fications 

Level playtime? 

<10seconds but with high replayability.

Fun features? 

HATS :D Different koala, different hat. 

Cost?

70% free, can be played 100% for free and not super grindy with everything available but then the option to buy if feeling lazy.  

Graphics? 

Pixel art. Center of the tree moves up the middle, branches move off to the left and right, main play area split into three sections [_!_!_] far-left and far-right has empty sky, the camera follows koala that can either jump inside same area or move left/right depending on branches climbed onto.  

Marketing: 

Before the launch plan

 100 days before launch~ 

100 images, 100 statues, 100 RTS/tags 

10 gifs, 10 polls, 10 mentions 

1 video, 1 blog, 1 thank you 

200 days before launch 

20 YouTubers

10 bloggers / streamers 

1 website  

Game: 

Sneaky Slime

Power-ups: 

Golden chicken (boss drop) 

Cake slices: one slice, half cake, one slice missing, the whole cake 

Animation: 

Pose

- A strong line of action: flow, direction, guiding the eye, shows a force 

- Mountain peaks, not all are super exaggerated one big mountain theme of the shot 

- Flip the S curve for dynamic 

Most humans look to the face and "feel" the language of the body 

Use pose to direct to face / important parts. Visual elements used for clean flow to point of interest in the shot. 

Don't force a silhouette - focus on the lines. Clean and flowy poses are key. Can use to flow through multiple points ( travel up a leg / to face, travel up a lifted arm / to something they are pointing at) 

Can use eye line to connect body parts for an added bonus. 

The link between characters use the entire scene, 

*head tilt* this action is human, can add persona and show weight and appeal, it also makes them more accessible.  

Rotate hips and shoulders independently not the head. 

If it's in the shot then use it, use shoulders and briefly show hands to imply gestures but save time.

Try and avoid showing only one eye on the screen (one-eyed Pete), instead have the nose forward with the eyes to the side, this way you can direct with both eyes. 

Think of a human as 3 weights on a line, where the weights lie can help show the personality of the character.  

To show an introvert imagine them inside of a bounding box and they don't move outside of that, lots of open space on the screen.  For an extrovert a lot of space really big bounding box, less empty space on the screen. 

Animation: 

Timing

- Mini anticipation to big anticipation will make it flowier (1 + 2 frames) 

- But anticipation into ease in will create popping, avoid! 

- S curve computer-generated in-betweens aren't great, make sure to add the frames in 

Start by blocking the poses/shapes with no timing just the images, then add drag and lip-sync get it all in there so you feel the movement. Then timing away. Wait to spline, the pc may not be your friend.

Projects: 

- Inktober gif

- Animation mentor games gif

- DTL 

- Cat with eyes closed 

- Sneaky slime 

- Koala tea  time 

- 100 vector ladies 

- 11-second club 

- Get shit done koala planner 

- Overwatch healers 

- Profile pic 

- Steff drawing 

- Tom card background 

- Locomotion marketing plan 

- Prize studio 3 commission if they ever get back to me 
- Demon cycle drawing (powerful book series?)
- Dragon dynasty 

- Timmy the reaper 

Day 9023

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

 exercise. exercise. exercise. 

It keeps coming up. Healthy brain? Exercise. Better quality sleep? Exercise. Feel less tired in the day? Excercise. Want to feel happier by both decreasing cortisol and increasing dopamine? Exercise. Want to learn quicker/retain more info when studying? Exercise.

Cue all of my excuses as to why that's not going to happen:
I currently haven't found a place to put it into my schedule but I think it's the next habit I'd like to start working towards, that and actually doing work outside of work. I'm tired just after that sentence.  Things like Beat Saber and Superhot VR heck even Budget Cuts definitely gets you moving. And I've been seeing a lot about going for a run. Which is both free and can be for as long as I want it to be. There is a gym around the corner that is £30 a month, which on one hand isn't a lot and on the other it really is, but it also has a swimming pool.

I like the idea of waking up early and going for a jog, as long as I warm up properly it should be fine, my partner and I have done this on the random occasions we get the motivation to do so and all in all it worked out fine. There is also a couch to 5k  or varients of it. Perhaps I shall try doing beat sabre for now, as that is both fun and gets me moving and start going for walks in the mornings, where if I feel like running I will, but once it starts hurting I'll stop. There is also less time for me to talk myself out of doing so. And now the clocks have gone back "early" isn't quite so early anymore.

Next, I feel I need to take a better look into sleep as I'm starting to feel it's less about quantity and more about quality. 

LIST OF THE DAY: 

Meal plan!  

Healthy (around 400 calories per meal) Cheap (total spend of £50) Long-lasting (one big shop that will last for 2 weeks). Each meal needs to be £1.20 or less for 2 people. 60p a portion. Taste nice and be filling. Ideally, things that are easy to clean up and quick to make will also be bonus points. Who knows maybe I'll make a mini recipe collection book. We recently got a "men's health" magazine that has a whole bunch of recipes that are only meant to take 15 minutes...Ignoring the 40 minute clean up time from the 100 pans it suggests you use. So we probably won't be following it word for word but we shall be giving it a go :) 

Taste
Filling

Difficulty

Portability

Making time

Shelf life ingredients

Shelf life created

Clean uptime 

Calories 

Cost

	Monday	B)	Cheese on toast with a poached egg		£0
		L)	Sandwich/choc/crisps		£0
		D)	Mini pizza		£4.55
	Tuesday	B)	Mushroom and onion omelette		£5.85
		L)	Sandwich/choc/crisps		£2
		D)	Chorizo stew		£4.45
	Wednesday	B)	Chorizo egg and leek mash		£5.25
		L)	Sandwich/choc/crisps		£2.85
		D)	Chorizo paella		£2.30
	Thursday	B)	Banana pop tart		£3.75
		L)	Sandwich/choc/crisps		£0
		D)	Garlic mushroom rigatoni		£2.35
	Friday	B)	Banana porridge		£1.60
		L)	Sandwich/choc/crisps		£0
		D)	-		£0
	Saturday	B)	-		£0
		L)	-		£0
		D)	-		£0
	Sunday	B)	-		£0
		L)	-		£0
		D)	-		£0
			Total this week:		£35

(Using men's health, the cost is of ingredients we don't already have and based on Sainsburys prices.  We'll also be eating out a fair bit this weekend so that shall be accounted for at the time. My plan is whatever ingredients we have leftover shall go to make next weeks shopping list a touch cheaper) 

SUMMARY OF TODAY: 

Improving the future●

Score on life: 79
Celebrate: Getting meal plan done and the online shop! And blitzing new beat saber songs 
Motivated: Roll the dice 
Thankful: I don't have migraines every day

Day 9017

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

Pumpkins and snow. 

65 days till Christmas! Halloween hasn't happened yet but the cold has set in and the shops are fully seasoned. Egx is over and my body and brain are slowly returning back to normal, now just to make it through the spot phase and restock the house with food.

LIST OF THE DAY: 

A to-do list! Get the house in order 

1. Set up my desk 
2. Put away clothes
3. Wash more clothes 
4. Change the bedsheets
5. Put away clean dishes 
6. Wash dirty dishes 
7. Make a meal plan for the next two weeks 
8. Do an online shop for the next two weeks 
9. Figure out how to make the place warmer 
10. All of the rubbish outside  

SUMMARY OF TODAY: 

Enjoyed the now and added to the future ● 

Score on life: 66
Celebrate: Good thing and a bad thing, a friend gave me the most amazing gifts! But I also found out today was their last day... 
Motivated: Get clean and prepped 
Thankful: That right now I am feeling very content. 

Day 9017

---

I  want to be an animator am an animator.

---

2020 feels right around the corner. Since graduating university my working life has not gone to plan. Moving from one non-industry job to another has felt like moving sideways away from my creative goals. Working on my own projects has proven to be incredibly enjoyable when I do them, but actually doing them seems not to happen, leading to anxiety, apathy and overall inefficiency.

My current role is a more diagonal step towards the creative industry. The structure, pay, lack of stress and challenges I can complete, coupled with the amazing people, facilities and freedom to listen to what I'd like to, leave it, all in all, to be a job I am enjoying - just not feeling fulfilled in. Long term? No. Midterm? Yes very much so. As I write this I am currently riding the post-event high of EGX coupled with a cold that allows me to appreciate the amazingness of actually being able to breathe. I met absolutely wonderful people there and entrapped them in a random game of roll the d20 because why not. Something I've realised at this event is whilst my limit is really two days and after that, it's not quite as fun and I am socially drained and don't remember people quite as well, I REALLY love meeting new people. Getting to know them, seeing what they are passionate about is super interesting. That the games industry has such wonderful people in, it really does give me hope for the future and has solidified that that is the industry I'd like to work on. I also found I still love VR and it is a very powerful experience although some of the flatter games were just as engaging. And ultimately I think it comes down to telling stories.

I think my main passion isn't just making people feel things, it's not even about making people happy or distracting from reality per se, but more about telling a story. It sounds so obvious, it's what I like about games, films, books, meeting people, it's about finding these amazing stories and experiencing them then moving onto the next one, the novelty factor that builds up onto itself. Not how pretty something looks, or how mechanically sound it is, or about growing as an artist for better self-development absolutely none of that holds any real weight for me experiencing a great story hell yes. Does the consumption translate to creation? It does, but I think that is more related to positive/constructive feedback... Or money.

Koala park studio is going to be an amazing side hustle, I am going to be an amazing animator, I am going to work with an amazing team and we shall make, you guessed it AMAZING games!

Definition of amazing? Causing great surprise or wonder.

Day 9009

Random thoughts:

Returning from far away

It'd odd that the last time I posted on here (or didn't post as it was left as a draft) was just before an EGX event.  And what dear reader is happening next week? You guessed it EGX!

My life has somewhat changed recently with a new job and a new awareness of my mental health. I think now having the time to think has left me with time to realise the unhappiness I've been smothering and now am facing. The main feeling comes from a lack of creating.

Not that procrastination is a new thing. My lack of discipline and lack of work ethic aren't really new, just things I've put down to being lazy and accepting instead of trying to address. Although I am currently writing this instead of getting on with things... It's a journey, let's go with progress not perfection on this.

I've been researching more into motivation and have come to three solid conclusions.

1. Healthy lifestyle to allow your brain to have dopamine receptors 
2. Changing too quickly will send your lizard brain into overdrive
3. Having fun is just as important as working hard 

Also, all being key components: Drinking water, getting plenty of rest, planning your day into 30-minute chunks, keeping the end goal in mind and celebrating the small steps. 

I'd still like to create a " Get Sh*t Done" digital planner (with a koala mascot), however, for now, I'm using a pen and paper planner, Jiffy, and an Excel sheet that has "sims" stats out of 100. (Currently on 60) Essentially testing it out before making one.

I've started tracking my moods and also how my week has gone all in all. Recently I've been having days of complete apathy which aren't currently affecting my life outside of those days but if they continue I think I shall try and talk to a doctor about them and see what's up.

If only researching and making lists directly led to me following through with them. I'm brilliant at sticking to my plans at the start, but once the novelty has run out so does the motivation to continue. I've yet to find a more consistent way however I find something often becomes novel again after a couple months so can reuse them over time. Currently, I cycle between these things.

List of the day: 

My top 9 novelty motivations 

1. Waking up early
   5am wake up time with 30 minutes of it being used to actually wake up. I find I will work for at least an hour on a project and feel the same amount of tiredness at the end of the day as if I'd woken up at 7am. Actually waking up at this time however is another step in and of itself. This can also work with staying up super late/ doing an all-nighter, though I have found the quality of this work is often not that good so not worth it. 
2. Listening to a show/book
   This one is somewhat dependant on finding a good show and can turn into a negative if I become too engrossed in the show to the point that's all I want to do.  
3. Money
   I do not have a problem with short term commissions or going to work, long term ones, however, I flounder at or working for free I'm also not so great at.  
4. Entering a competition/Going to an event
   Not one I've used in a while, but having the deadline that is out of my control with a great potential reward is always enticing. 
5. Only 5 minutes
   This one is when I'm really bad but still, in control, I'll set a timer for 5 minutes and do "the thing" if the timer goes off and I want to stop then that's fine. If I want to keep going that's also fine. Normally once I've started it's all good. 
6. Take a chance 1-10
   This one is quite fun and I do in a variety of ways, I'll make a list of for example 10 things, with number 10/0 always being something fun. I roll the dice, whatever number it lands on I do for 1 hour. Unlike the 5 minutes one however once that hour is up I stop, save and re-roll. 
7. 1v1
   Again not one I've used in a while, but when I'm racing/competing with someone else. Trying to match another person either intellectually or skillfully for a short time can be a real motivator. Looking at other peoples work can also be an inspiration and help keep my eye in.  
8. Change of scenery
   This can be moving my desk from one room to another or sometimes working portably outside of the home in a new place.
9. Starting a new project
   This doesn't have to be something entirely new. I've found if I break things down but not too much, that starting on a new area of a project can also fall into this, but this is the height of novelty and often only lasts a few days. 

Summary of today: 

Neither enjoyment nor building for the future ●

Score on life: 60
Celebrate: Getting food for breakfasts and all of the bed washing done
Motivated: Watch shows and draw
Thankful: Having such an understanding partner and seeing my grandparents, also, seeing how much they've improved since I last saw them.

Day 8460

EGX rezzed 2018 talk notes.


PR for indie games panel talk.

- Keys to PR is to get people to find your game, play your game and buy your game.
- The sooner you start the better, think of PR like sound or graphics
- Ideally you want to get your game on sites that people trust
- Right now the consesns from the panel that at least 60% of their effrors goe's into finging streamers
- Jounralisists and streamers feed off one another, everythones looking for views, more people stream more people want to write about it, more people write more people want to stream etc...
- Keep in mind journalists/streamers are going through 100's of games and maybe only make 10 posts a week tops, you need to target the right people and make sure it's going to reach the right audience
- Plus side to Twitch

Day 8387

Previous note posts were created but then posted a couple of days later so my daily counter is a tad out. Figured I'd get it all running back on track with a general life update!


Good day? Bad day?
Pretty good! Almost completed signing up for animation mentor and the ducks are well underway! Packing is still happening but it's coming along. The major downside of today is feeling so completely and utterly socially drained, I went to games forum and it was an amazing few days of talking and learning but since I feel like that side of my brains stopped working. Tommorrow will be back to normal >:3  But for now today is a me day~

Health 
10/10 Awww yiss, I'm all physically good today >:3

Work vs Play
 - Work
1) Finished writing up notes
2) Packing continues!

 - Play
1) Playing post knight~ All of the phone games
2) Watching Underground, really good series

The thing of today:

Michael Doig

To do list:
1) Finish packing for the move
2) Finish concepts

Day 8385

Games forum 2018 VR Notes

AR - How to unlock AR's Business potential

Will Freeman @spadgy_OTA- game journalist. Phil Charnock @Phil_Charnock- Draw and code. Russel Harding@russhar - Conspexit. Travis Ryan@travisxuryan - Dumpling Design.

- More humans use AR in Snapchat daily than use Twitter
- More humans viewed the super bowl Snapchat add than watched the game live.
- 5 years 2 billion regular AR users
- Pragmatic to work on mobile VR which has the audience but future proofing for glasses/headsets is a good idea. Just takes Apple or Google to make the leap
- Snapchat and Pokémon has helped create an investment buzz for selling products
- How to get people using the technology without forcing, they out a tower in the middle of the level and then people naturally leaned and learned for themselves
- Key things to consider for AR is Camera, battery power, fun.

AR  101 - Oliver Clarke, Modern dream (Awesome talk o3o)

@OllieClarke

- We have created a range of inter-subjective ideas to interpret our world. Road signs for example
- Exciting is digitising our reality, e.g photo > digital currency> AR digital reality
- Intersubjectivity - unique ability to share something created and believe it is real e.g money we believe it is real for the purpose of accountancy.
- AR has so many possibilities,  picking up on light we can't see, facilitating productivity, potential for experiences new ranges of emotions to name just a few
- AR/VR can be used for Science! Visualise the microscopic and macroscopic. In medicine, it can be very difficult to train surgeons introducing the VR cadaver~ More outside of just marketing and entertainment
-Andrew Lacey VR/AR world 2016 chart, predicts that in 2022  is when everything really starts to take off
- What's great about AR is you can do things now,  we are in an experimental stage before exponential growth in 2021 mobile, AR especially, the rules have not been written yet
- Solving clunky problems will be when it takes over (e.g holding your phone to look at a map)
- Stats a wonderful chart that I didn't take the name of... Premium VR 1.3x increase. Mobile VR 4x increase in 2021
- Untethered is the most compelling, powerful features are great but ultimately performance is key
- If it runs well on a smartphone now then it will work wonderfully with the tech to come
- 100-150 max keep draw calls, batch as much as possible, atlas textures. (what they currently use)
- To keep in mind: Scale is an issue in AR, often things are gigantic when assets are taken in first. (Physics don't scale very well, especially in unity that works on real-world scales)
- Goo.gl/KPDNU3 - books used for the talk
- Things of the future/now~ High fidelity texture, haptic feedback, real-time collaboration, machine learning, blockchain

Design and Art in VR games  (50% great talk >.>)

Anna Hollinrake@AnnaHollinrake - Dream reality interactive. Russ Earwaker @climaxstudios- Climax

- Scale and movement are key to great art
- Tiny animated characters feel great, simple interactions (just picking it up) feel cool
- Negatives to consider: Motion sickness - restricted audience - still developing - space, wires, heat and weight
- Don't scare off new players bridge accessibility gap, keep the excitement with clear ideas
- No standardised controller (though really there is more than controller buttons to work with....)
- Gestures for tutorials/actions should be natural to real life movements
- Give players time to get their VR legs
- Make speed constant and avoid turning too quickly, the acceleration is the sickening factor
- Scale camera and move in closer for more toy-like view
- Restrictions to keep mobile VR running nicely: Low poly, no alpha, no particles, few bones(blend shapes instead)
- Include artistic rhythm
- Silhouette interesting from all angles, pull out edges, remove chunks, add kinks don't have overly thin else you'll have flickering, sweeping curves, no chamfering, every loop and vert say something
- Atlasing - one 4k texture per environment
- Keep in mind headsets get hot - use light baking and be careful with bright colours and things that will overheat
- Second UV texture of paper over the top of all to tie it together

Surviving and thriving in the VR market 

Vincent Brunet-Dupont @trebuchetvr- Trebuchet. Tanya Laird @TanyaLaird- Digital Jam. Fernando Montalvo @ferm3ogs- 3OGS. Erik Desiderio@Erik_Desiderio - Erik Desiderio music.

- All of the areas, don't be prudish and stick only to games, explore! Defence industry (synthetic) medicine, housing,  larger markets that can pay
- Many big cooperate brands don't understand narrative design
- They don't understand the return they get, helps if you can show them and compare audience reach mobile app Vs VR experience. A lot of the people who are in charge of paying and deciding where the money goes haven't tried VR - educate all of the humans
- Still very much a VR bubble - people in shock over having to have a pc/laptop shock and horror ensues
- Current gen VR is very much a family set up ( like how it used to be one shared TV, then one shared pc etc.)  Keep the spectatorship in mind
- When it comes to marketing -  explaining the tech. Then explain the game.
- Game arcades talk to them about the game VR arcade Facebook group - far East arcade culture still there
- Shareable as well as playable - key to getting people to know your game/experience 
- Circus, theatre, magic - reference for VR staging

VR esports  - Patrick@ndreams-tea-.com

@patrickol

- 3million high-end VR
- Oculus go, give pro, Santa Cruz coming soon~
- VR arcades lots of money
- Echo area, the unspoken tournaments already in place
- Interactive spectating twitch and YouTube, voting for harder easier play, food drops, take part as otherwise ai like a zombie
- 350k peak watching a match
- Seeing Dota 2 final from inside VR
- VR very exciting to watch. Throwing, moving, sneaking, jumping, finding, cover, etc
- SOS interesting game and a new idea

Creating content that matters - Ben Maltz Jones - rewind

@V_Ben 

- People 100% focus and engaged, making people feeling in VR makes them act
- People feel more in VR 15% more donations
-  Immersive, memorable, impactful
- 100% attention, more emotion and a physical connection memory, will last longer

Day 8384

Games forum 2018 notes!

Video games with mum - Rami Ismail Vlambeer & Alysia Judge IGN 

@tha_rami & @AlysiaJudge

- Choose game for mum based on narrative
- Option of just holding attack, someone new to controller and gaming is like learning a new language
- Shopkeeper concept XD (in ff, human at night selling weapons...)
- Often in games now it shows you how to do a mechanic but not explaining why you should use it
- Often hearing from audience that they don't like tutorials - elegant solution, tooltips coming out if you have difficulty, ff18 at start a mini-match/skills test to assess player and adjusts difficulty accordingly 
- Achievements straight out the gate, make a couple casual gamer explosion trophies
- Cuphead a good example of accessible to many people (Teaching wise at least)
- Don't perfect what already exists add value by incorporating other perspectives outside of gaming (Someone who has never played a game is very valuable)

Understanding desire - Kirsty Rigden (Awesome talk o3o)

@KirstyRigden

- Future lab creating Tiny trax VR game
- What do players want? Power
- Power comes in different ways = Creation, destruction, control and knowledge
- (Creation) Individuality, and exploration satisfaction, customisation of character, vehicle, environment, names.
- (Destruction) Humans love breaking stuff, interesting to watch and visually stimulating seeing things break in different ways, destruction is a complete goal, it's easy to understand and a repeatable task
- (Control) 3 ways humans like to learn: Jump right in with instructions to refer to - humans who like their handheld to make them feel fully in control - and humans who like to try as they go and just mess around.
- In their game, had 3 core tutorial stages,  then optional stages from each with low risk
- Reasons to play - Status (high score and streaming), collectors, exploration, completionist
- Incorporating different levels to cater to different needs: Speed levels, multiple route collection levels, puzzle efficient areas, thoughtless smash and get through it levels.
- This also allows for peaks and troughs in intensity catering to different playstyles
- Time, collectables, points - rewards at the end of a level, enough from different individual tracks to progress to next level
- Key is to let the player know what the goal of the game is at all times
- Provide all the information to the player, how far through the game, how much is collected, what to do next etc.
- Plant seeds, items that they can see but can't get to, very early on in a level
- Can use collectables as breadcrumbs to steer player (banjo and Kazooie)
- Add rhythm, jump jump slide, jump jump leap etc.
- Either have the player: I know what I to do but not if they can OR I don't know what to do but once it's been figured out it'll be easy.
- New mechanics wait a bit, then give humans the new one, doesn't overwhelm and keeps the game fresh.
- Rewards make people feel smart and powerful, turns mediocrity into magic
- That amount of congratulations makes you feel like you've done something wonderful, all adds up and makes people feel they've done well
- Empathy - Remember people who are not you will be playing your game
- When adding something ask, will it benefit the player or is it just cool?
- Analyse media that doesn't appeal to you, try to find what others enjoy in them and why
- Look at game reviews for what people like - the most positive or negative and analyse
- Personality tests - life motivations and communication styles
- Playtest - Sure listen to what they say, but also watch them play, this will help you truly understand
- As long as a player is comfortable with everything that has happened, then allowed space (almost like starting a brand new game) for player to readjust, adding a twist to the game style can be very powerful

What price is right?

Stewart Rodgers@TheRealSJR - Venture beat. Alex Moyet @AlexMoyet- Curve Digital. Mike Bithell @mikeBithell- Bithell Games. Mark Sorrells @Sorrell - Rovio. Alex Moukas @wappier- Wappier.

- Mostly a free to play and mobile talk
- Something that costs more can appear more valuable, especially in countries that are more cost elastic.
- International audience, variance in price, based on how good they think it is (is game as good as a trip to the cinema or compared to another game etc.)
- 1/3 budget on advertising 2/3 marketing to existing customer base
- Demand and supply, selling umbrellas is all well and good but making it rain is also important (Value and price)
- In game bundle deals create a higher pricing sense, keep in mind game economy but upscale value (50% of etc.)
- Honesty with user and transparency is key, especially in freemium games, world is connected and can compare notes

Good news and bad indie talk - Phil Elliott (Also an awesome talk o3o)

@Sly_Rebirth

- 250 games per week released steam 2017 (something like 25pw 2016), growing, even more, every year
- Media channels are also flooded - sites give everyone love
- They want things that are going to generate clicks and views - drive traffic and excite people
- Fighting against the pile of shame on steam - people have accumulated so many games that aren't played
- There is also the expectation of promotion, there is a value proposition waiting in wishlist
- enough user reviews to justify? Overall humans are being taught to wait
- It's no longer so much the spike at launch but more so is normal for over time and in updates and sales
- 50k-100k year 1 sale opportunities for steam are still there
- Forecasting - Steam spy, understand data for what it is (Mike rose on twitter, rave of Ravensdale)
- Ignore data more than 3/4 months old - proportion of revenue, promotions/humble bundle, don't look at games you've heard of either
- Costs to consider - Localisation, age rating, UI restrictions etc. for different platforms, consider these at the very beginning and plan for them in your game
- Leave at least 3 months for submissions and QA
- No substitute for a thriving community - small polished gameplay is much better than an hour of dullness
- Choose your audience, then how to get them excited
- Key art, grab attention, generate awareness, most people will only see this as a thumbnail though so make sure that looks good, needs name of game and recognisable art piece
- Events are great for feedback but limited sales impact
- Wishlist > pre-orders. Algorithms for steam spikes something to look into, but spikes are better overall

No filthy casuals - Dirty Mitchell 

@SpaceApeGames

- Cookie and radish test - ego depletion 
- Better to make fell good than know they are good, keep in players favour, it is better for your player to feel mastery instead of actually having it
- Provide your team and player base with transparency, build knowledge based on previously learnt things 
- Tension with experience = excitement, tension with casual = stress 
- Include small doses of tension even with a super casual experience, it adds context and consequences 
- Keep humans motivated in your team, give them the autonomy to get the game done and then trust them to get things done, if there are any problems and humans don't believe in the game early on it's best to address this then and talk it out rather than have it as a sideline
- Small well-knitted teams are a great place for creating teams 

Original IP 

Sean Lee @wargaming_net - Wargaming, Calgar Eger@CaglarEger - Goodgame, Sebastien Kriese@FoxNext - FoxNex, Monty Munford@montymunford - Game industry Journalist 

- Brands often sell on a case by case basis, it's no longer about the highest bidder but about what a company can bring to the table, for example, past experiences and quality are key to costs
- 10-day turnaround on approvals 
- Easier and Quicker to create your own IP
- A good game will be easy to market - Do you know the right people? "Trivial marketing costs" publishers have the money out there, it's just about the quality of your game and getting it noticed
- Best ways to talk about IP are reaching out in person at conferences, having a meeting or a drink is the best way to go