Description
Write a game design journal consisting of your thoughts on the week’s readings and game assignments.
Be sure to address the following points each week:
-What did you find most interesting about the week’s readings?
-Name a concept introduced in a reading this week that is new to you?
-How did this weeks reading help you to see your semester project in a new way?
Week 1 – Understanding Mobile Games
Oct 1 – WATCH: “Game Design: The Medium is the Message” - Jonathan Blow
WATCH: “Ready Player Two: The Emerging Feminine Gamer” – Shira Chess
Oct 3– READ: “Mobile Games Booming As Global Games Market Hits $108.9B in 2017” – James Brightman
READ: “How to Identify Whales in Your Game” – Game Analytics
READ: “The ‘Freemium’ Model is Brilliant, But It’s Ruining My Life” – Dave Smith
Week 2 – Interface I: Card Games
WATCH: “Magic: The Gathering: Twenty Years, Twenty Lessons Learned” – Mark Rosewater
Oct 8 – PLAY: Magic: The Gathering
READ: “State of Design 2005” – Mark Rosewater
Oct 10 – PLAY: Star Realms
READ: The Playing Card Platform – Nathan Altice
WATCH: “Hearthstone: How to Create an Immersive User Interface” – Derek Sakamoto
Week 3 – Interface II: Touch and Twist Games
WATCH: “Designing for a Touch Screen – What Games Play Best on Mobile” – Extra Credits
Oct 15 – PLAY: Subway Surfers
READ: “Endless Runners: Procedural Map Generation and Difficulty Curves” – Orcun Nisli
Oct 17 – PLAY: Super Mario Run
READ: “Shigeru Miyamoto on Designing Mario for Mobile in ‘Super Mario Run’” – Danielle Riendeau
WATCH: “Design Over Time: Super Mario Run” – Design Oriented
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Running head: REFLECTION ON GAME DESIGN
Reflection on Game Design
Name of Student
Name of Institution
1
REFLECTION ON GAME DESIGN
2
Week 1 – Understanding Mobile Games
In week one readings, they were focusing on understanding different concepts of mobile
games. There were several interesting facts about reading. On Jonathan Blow's video, I enjoyed
the part that explains the confusion encountered in the video game arguments focusing on
cultural, empathetic, emotional, moving, and human forms. Additionally, from the reading, I was
able to get an idea of how the gaming industry contributes to economic growth and influences
the world at large (Brightman, 2019). Monetization is one concept introduced in the reading that
was new to me. Before, I just thought gaming was another entertainment conception where
developers did it for fun. However, this was different since there are people who have become
wealthy from investing in gaming development. The spread of mobile games is mostly
encouraged by the large number of smartphone users from all over the world. Before mobile
games used to be free, and as the years went by, games were customized and optimized in a way
that they were able to define prices.
The readings look at different behaviors between non-monetizes and converted players.
I am able to learn statistics of mobile gaming from James Brightman's article. Furthermore, it is
estimated that the gaming industry as a business will continue to grow. The study shows that
smartphone gaming revenues topped the list, followed by tablets with 280 million users across
the globe. China and North America are a massive market, and their growth is attributed to an
increase in the number of spenders. Games have significantly evolved from being in-built in a
phone to downloadable. Therefore, users are given the freedom to choose a game that suits their
taste and preferences. Similarly, gaming was more of virtual concepts as compared to the
current, which users are able to relate and interact with easily. The games are also developed in
such a way that they relate to current e...