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Hey everyone! If you like what I have to say on my blog, feel free to join me on my new Discord server for more interpersonal communication and learning collaboration! Come share your thoughts and think Outside the Box with me!

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IST3310.01 - The Future

Let's take a look into the past, so we can understand things moving forward!

How have online and social media trends evolved over time?

When thinking about and researching the early days of the online/social media (OSM) spheres, much of the early internet encompassed information-sharing and social activity. These eventually developed into several differing directions, but with the main ideas of individuality and interactivity persisting. While organizations may have been present online, they mainly served to represent their own corner of the internet, rather than branching out and aiming to cater to large audiences. We've had lots of waves appear in how people utilize media as a whole, driven by differing categories of users. Much like the typical marketing system, we have several timeline markers of user adoption into networks and trends; examining how meme culture and meme adoption will cycle represents this concept well.

Where do organizations find the most impact with this?

As it is for most people existing in the digital age, many companies now face considerable pressure in being online and having a virtual presence. Going without any form of media is often seen as archaic, and can in some cases lead to the company falling behind competitors. This initiated a global pilgrimage, for better and/or worse. The knowledgeable or adaptable business was able to swiftly become established and widely recognized, but for the businesses that either struggled to adapt or poorly utilized their platform(s), they got swept under the rug.

What changes in attitudes and perceptions have arisen?

With the necessity of being online came the false urgency of staying connected, whether that was from the expectation of always being available/active, always having an opinion on any given subject, or always consistently posting new and relevant content. The internet is quick to roast someone who doesn't uphold these impossible standards... which, ironically, is recognized by that same crowd as "cancel culture."

As we look to how OSM will develop and change, for both the better and worse, it is important that while we stay ahead of the game and retain adaptability that we also keep a level head. Just as we treat school, work, relationships, and other facets of our lives, there needs to remain a balance wherein social media remains a resource and not a dictator. Utilize the toolset provided, but don't fall victim to the domineering nature of algorithms and toxic attitudes.

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IST3310.01 - Persuasion

This entry is based off of the following article:

Just as we are taught in English courses in middle and high school, there are essential elements of persuasive arguments that have to be employed in order to win over your audience to your cause. Applying that to a business marketing strategy is no different, as there are several different areas in which you can focus in and create that sense of urgency or validity in which customers can be driven to purchase from you.

It pays to have a solid strategy surrounding how you aim to sway your audience, as going into any kind of social media sphere blind will likely result in little success. Determining your company's best approach regarding your brand and goals will help to direct your advertising paths, optimizing overall flow and message efficiency. Will you aim to have a more ethos- (ethics), pathos- (emotional), or logos-based (logic) approach?

While being online may allow you to be able to reach a wider audience more quickly, existing in the virtual space has an underlying skepticism for a majority of online users. It is important to ensure that your business appears credible and trustworthy; even something as simple as poor graphics can cause distrust in a potential customer, as they would be worried about scams or low-quality goods.

Additionally, many smaller businesses fall victim to low engagement and a lack of overall visibility in online spaces. This is partially due to the fact that the online realm is becoming increasingly dense with populations of businesses for all types of industries, which can be hard for a consumer to want to navigate. Other times, business strategies may not coincide well with the various social media algorithms and best practices, which requires a level of adaptability on the businesses' part.

Taking these elements into consideration when exploring how your business will advertise to your audience will allow for a more balanced and effective message overall!

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IST3310.01 - The Social Media EcoSystem

For the purposes of this blog, we were instructed to review Social Media Ecosystem and Its Influence on Small Business Strategic Practices by Shirumisha C. Kwayu (2020).

When developing a small business and determining business strategies, a place that many people turn to in order to increase operational efficiency is the social media ecosystem. We've been talking about social media as primarily social networking and interest-sharing, but there are actually several different types of platforms aside from these, as referenced by Kwayu in his article. Kaplan and Haenlein (2009) talk about virtual social worlds like Second Life, collaborative projects like Wikipedia, and content communities like YouTube, to name a few. Kwayu also utilizes several platforms that wouldn't be considered social media by most, but do fall under the general definitions of a social platform. For his business, Kwayu uses platforms such as ParcelsApp for tracking and logistics, and Wave and PayPal for financial operations.

Social media allows for small businesses to become interconnected with the grander web of global communications and media. Having an online social presence makes a business more approachable, even from simply having an account, because it shows that the company is aiming to connect themselves and stay up-to-date with developing technologies. Social media allows for consumers to quickly gain information about your business and its offerings, as well as providing easy methods of contact. There are countless business deals and transactions being made daily through various forms of social media that otherwise would not have been completed without existing on the platforms they did.

Social media allows for businesses to gain a foothold in their operations, providing a place for people to communicate and/or sell with a low threshold for entry. When businesses can launch from an elevated starting point, rather than building from the ground up, they're able to grow more quickly and focus on other areas in operations. With that, the loop can be closed and your social media ecosystem can begin to funnel into your business, which funnels into your ecosystem, and so on.

Two of the biggest hurdles for small businesses (also mentioned in Kwayu's article) are knowing how to establish an ecosystem and knowing what social media platforms to use, and how to use them. We had previously discussed in class on what types of businesses are best suited for different platforms, and I'll be honest, I wasn't aware of some of that information before we had looked over it. It's important to know not only what your target audience uses regularly, but also the types of content on each platform that is the most responsive for your business niche. The graphic below is a little outdated (2022), but it helps to showcase some of the ways that different industries are better suited for certain social networks than others.

Before hopping on Facebook and creating an account for your brand, make sure to do your research and find out where it is that you should create accounts at, and how to best market yourself on those platforms. It may not be feasible for your business, but it also may be good to hire a social media coordinator or enlist the services of an advisor to handle that side of your business. The establishment of social media ecosystems can help grow your business, but just as a natural ecosystem, it has to be well maintained and stable before it will reap any benefits.

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IST3310.01 - Who Chooses Which Channels and Why?

Let's explore the channels involved in a digital ecosystem!

What are the functional distinctions of various social media channels that would merit an organization to incorporate them into their ecosystem over another channel?

I'll discuss the differences as described by the major players in social media today:

Facebook (social networking) - user-generated content (UGC), memes, and content designed to be shared to a user's feed and start conversations

Instagram (social networking and image sharing) - images, videos, behind-the-scenes; following trends; capturing selective glimpses into the culture of a company

X (Twitter) (microblogging) - text-based content; conversations and debates; news sharing; informative and relevant niche content

YouTube (video sharing) - walkthroughs, vlogs, guides, and stories that cater to specific interests; long and short-form video

TikTok (short-form video sharing) - versatile story-sharing and flexible content; relatable, authentic information sharing

Pinterest (image curation) - visual search engine with inspirational, motivational, and aesthetic ideas

LinkedIn (professional networking) - thought leadership, insights, industry updates, and job postings; professional development

Discord (instant messaging and VoIP) - group and individual messaging platform with video chat capabilities; internal communications or public fan conversations

While there are countless other social media platforms out there, these are the main ones that companies look to when branching out their digital ecosystems.

Which channels lend themselves to specific purposes within an ecosystem and which channels tend to be consider globally integrated by all organizations and why?

Most organizations I have seen will have a website, email, SEO, online PR, and social media. From there, depending on the company, SEM, mobile apps, display ads, and various forms of marketing (including video and influencer marketing) will be selectively chosen based on needs. For example, a startup may choose to incorporate influencer marketing to promote their product, but they may not have the funds or even the need to have an app or to utilize display ads. Choosing the channels for your business primarily depends on your target audience and the areas of which they would be impacted the most.

Highlight an example of an organization that you believe has an effective digital ecosystem. What leads you to this conclusion?

A local to Lubbock digital ecosystem that I find very effective is the LHUCA (Louise Hopkins Underwood Center of the Arts).

The LHUCA has established themselves very well, not only culturally in Lubbock, but also in their digital presence. They have their recently-updated website which details all of the many events and initiatives the non-profit has, as well as links to their different socials (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok). While the weakest of those three is definitely their TikTok page, they still post relatively regularly and maintain a good following and view ratio. The detail that they put into each of their channels and their organization's image have created a thriving ecosystem that only continues to grow.

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IST3310.01 Social Media and the Human Condition

Welcome back! Today I'm discussing the many effects of social media in the (anti)social society.

In what ways and to what extent has the emergence and prevalence of social media affected interpersonal interactions?

Social media as a revolutionary social factor has completely changed how people, especially younger generations, interact with each other and the socio-cultural norms within connection, networking, and relationships. People from all over the world are untied by common interests, ranging from hobbies and music, to political stances and real-time news. As such, you do not need to have a face-to-face interaction with someone in order to become friends, which has increased the average person's social network dramatically as well as continually perpetuating the need for being online. It is also an expectation that you have some form of virtual presence, almost demanded at times, due to peer pressure, FOMO, networking, or work-related use. To find people in most modern, high-tech civilizations who have no online presence of any sort would be nothing short of a miracle, and they are likely viewed as "weird" to say the least. (I personally experienced a similar kind of ostracization in middle school, where I was one of the few kids who didn't have a phone and/or social media.)

Social media has, ironically, made us less social in daily P2P interaction. Simply observe the students walking between buildings on-campus, and if someone isn't having a direct conversation with the person they are walking with, they have their heads turned down towards their screens. Phones are common at dinner tables, in living rooms, and other communal social spaces where it acts as an almost supplementary device. There is a genuine difference that one can notice on whether someone is actively responding to an important message in these instances, rather than mindlessly scrolling alongside others. The cultural impact on us from social media has also been immense; much of our daily considerations tend to revolve around how others perceive us, and a huge factor in that is our social profile.

What are the mental health considerations are directly related to the use and influence of social media?

Social media is a dopamine-boosting machine, especially with algorithms designed to curate content specifically to your liking. While this may make us feel good in the moment, we enter into a dependency on social media apps to make us feel happy and fulfilled, which we quickly burn out of once the phone is put away. This creates a brutal cycle that swiftly steals away our time, attention span, and happiness. Additionally, the high levels of comparison to others makes us feel inadequate, furthering our negative mental state and driving us to inauthenticity in online spheres. You can read more on these effects from McLean Hospital:

How should society respond to the current and emerging trends in social media?

A huge part of the reason why I feel that there have been so many negatives to social media is the fact that there is a bandwagon mentality to the "online buzz." One of the biggest ways we can not only improve overall mental health but also decrease social media dependency would be to slow down and give ourselves more time and space from the online realm. Before turning to our devices, we can focus on the physical things that need to be accomplished around us (whether that's from our to-do lists or from our body's internal cues). Before purchasing the new "trendy" item, we can sit down and determine if it is a reasonable way to spend our money. Before we try to record a video to the funny audio clip on TikTok, we can research where the clip originated from and determine if making a video to it would be a good, appropriate, and sometimes even safe way to utilize our time.

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IST3310.01 - Taking Social Media Beyond the Personal

In what ways can social media be an effective part of an organization's internal and external strategy? Do you know of any real-world examples that demonstrate this?

Some of the best and most effective social media strategies have primarily involved one thing: synchronicity. When a company has a stable brand identity that allows them to accurately represent themselves in a social sphere, and dedicates themselves to making a consistent, good business image/tone both within and outside of the organization, they are able to thrive and create a universal, simplistic method to follow. This even goes beyond social media of course... if an external audience sees a company as one thing, but someone is later hired and sees that the internal energy doesn't match, it severely discredits the perception of that person (or if internal workings are discussed with the external audience, which is a common discussion in modern social media). Consistency and synchronicity go beyond visuals, and rather focus on the more discussion- or people-based elements of a brand.

One example I've experienced personally (internal and external) is Crumbl Cookies, the baked-goods franchise that specializes in a rotating selection of quality baked goods. (See one of my favorite cookies below)

As someone who has worked at two locations and is an avid Crumbl fan, I can say that this company represents brand stability and consistency across both internal and external social media. They pride themselves on high standards of food service and quality, friendliness, and customer service, and this is evident through their external app and internal communications channels. As an example, customers are able to review the cookies they receive from a store in exchange for loyalty points, and submit photos of their cookies for review. In turn, managers are able to evaluate reviews and report back to their teams accordingly, addressing customer complaints or quality concerns within a day. This serves to continually improve each store and encourage team members in their victories as well!

What emerging trends are becoming evident in how organizations might utilize not only social media networks, but the dynamics of social media as a whole?

There are a few different elements and trends that I see emerging... I'll touch on each but likely won't have time to delve deep into all of them. These are gamification, the use of social media personalities, the rising role of social media managers/interns (SMM), and the permeation into meme culture.

Gamification has always had somewhat of a presence, utilizing methods such as giveaways and sweepstakes via responsive content creation or other entry means. However, some companies have begun to seek to incentivize both internal and external audiences with social media platforms themselves, using certain ways to collect and track points, earn achievements or recognition, and share in the broader community of the organization. One example of this from my high school years was the Business Professionals of America Torch Awards system, which allowed for students to manually input and track their points throughout the year, with the potential for awards recognition at the various regional, state, and national conferences.

Social media personalities and the increased roles of SMM go hand-in-hand. Some companies thrive on social media platforms due to the content they create under a specific company tone, or through the use of company mascots. Take a look at Duolingo, the language-learning app's TikTok and you will see a truly zany characterization of the green owl, one that wants you to learn your French... or else.

Finally, with the focus of social media as being so independent, many SMMs will strive to engage themselves in trends and current memes so as to not only be appearing on potential consumer feeds, but to increase their modern-day credibility. There are countless fantastic examples I could give, such as CBS Mornings' take on the "demure" trend:

Each of these has the potential to be misused or misunderstood and be problematic. In the grander scheme of things, I feel as though many platforms that give in too heavily to advertising and consumerism techniques, rather than focusing on the individual, have and will lose their user bases. There are several different platforms that I have stepped away from purely due to the overwhelming amount of ads I have seen between the content I originally joined the platform for. Additionally, there are many issues arising with data privacy practices, and with either a company abusing and selling a person's data or being involved via association, that is where the majority of issues lie with companies. Especially since many companies will include direct links to their websites that activate from an app, which automatically collects data even if a user misclicked when simply trying to scroll.

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IST3310.01 - The Critical Moment

This semester, I am taking an Online and Social Media Applications course, so expect to see some blogs discussing topics from the class (mainly as a course requirement).

Today I will be discussing some of the most impactful events or elements of *the internet* (as the course title may suggest).

"What would you consider to be the most relevant innovation or technology that has brought us to the current state of social media usage and influence?"

Right before the semester began, I sat down with my fiancé and watched the 2010 historical drama The Social Network. Little did I realize how great of timing that would be for a course like this. One of the first topics discussed in class was the creation of social media networking sites, and with over 2 billion active users today, Facebook was obviously the primary platform to be mentioned. It is one of the biggest platforms, used in almost every corner of the world, and is popular for good reason.

While it had predecessors that introduced people to communicating and finding community online, Facebook has revolutionized social media as we use it today. It has a relatively low barrier to entry; as long as you have an email or phone number, you can make an account. You are recommended friends based off of your location and interests, you can search up people by name, and the profiles each have a controlled level of customization (it's not a free-for-all like Myspace was). Facebook's profits have allowed the giant to absorb other smaller companies and make them part of the larger Meta suite, appealing to a variety of online users. When they can't purchase a company, they hop on the bandwagon and make features similar to their competitors, such as Reels replicating TikTok's short-form video content. I won't keep rambling as I have other questions to answer, but here's an article which discusses a little bit more about the power and sway Facebook has had over the realm of social media:

"What have been the essential services or online applications that have had the most impact to organizations or businesses?"

Email services, such as Gmail or Outlook, immediately come to mind. Out of every place I have worked, email has been the primary means of communication and organization sharing. Other web tools that I have found being primarily utilized are document creation (Docs, Word), slideshow makers (Slides, PowerPoint), and spreadsheet organizers (Sheets, Excel). Usually a version of all of these are a staple for each business or organization.

"Recall a specific example of both an online application and social media platform that you use. What was the function of it and what has made it worth using?"

Social Media Platform:

TikTok has provided one of the most well-curated algorithmic social feeds out of any platform I have used. I joke about it knowing me better than I know myself, the number of times it has almost been predictive of something that either hasn't happened yet but soon will, or something that I didn't know about myself that I would soon learn (or at least begin to question following the end of the video). While it is definitely not the best platform in terms of how addictive it can be, I do think it is my favorite, for several reasons.

One, when you are on the app's "For You Page" (FYP) you are being given more than just videos of people that you follow; you are shown content based off of your interests as a whole. There is always the option of going to the "Following" tab to see those specific people you've decided to follow the accounts of. Secondly, TikTok is an incredibly intuitive platform, with simple tap and swipe gestures for people to be able to navigate. Third, anyone can post on TikTok, sharing the millions of different perspectives and content styles that they and others similar to them would enjoy. This means that you get to learn about news and other world events from every perspective, including those that are currently living in newsworthy events. TikTok is a hugely individual-centric platform, which is something a lot of the other major platforms have not been able to maintain with commercialization and corporate accounts.

Online Application:

A much simpler application, however I have turned to it many times whenever I need some simple and quick background removal. You simply upload the image (by opening your files or simply drag & drop) and it will process the image for a few seconds before showing you what the image looks like with the background removed. It works a lot better for simple graphics, such as logos, however if you're needing a person isolated from a background, it works great for semi-professional use. They also have some minor adjustment tools for selecting portions of the background that they may have missed. I've used this site countless times and only rarely have I had any issue with the output given.

That's all for this rant!

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Random Ramblings - Spotify

Listen... I’m not sure if I’m just dumb or if Spotify just needs to explain this to their users... but I found out today that you can make folders for playlists.

Why wasn’t I informed of this sooner???

I have had to just deal with scrolling through my massive list of playlists to get between my big, primary playlist and my radio show playlists. Now I was able to organize my playlists into generalized categories, however I should probably break down some of the larger ones further at another time. 

I’m able to navigate through my list so much easier now. As someone who has used Spotify since 2017, I’m frankly somewhat embarrassed to not have known that sooner.

Of course I learned about this during my Multimedia Design class as well. DMA is doing wonders for my overall intellectual development, in more than just the academic way.

Anyways, that’s the rant for today! :P

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Random Ramblings - An Update

Hello there!

It’s been a little bit, mostly because the previous posts were part of my blog grades for my Game Design class, which I took last semester.

I wanted to come on here and talk a little bit about some of the things within DMA that I’ve been passionate about lately, so expect more random ramblings to be appearing on here occasionally. 

Part of what I talk about here could easily serve as a basis or inspiration for me to talk about on my radio show, Castle’s Keep (only on 99.1 LCU Chap Radio).

Anyways...

This semester I am taking two DMA courses, Digital Imaging and Multimedia Design. I’ll be focusing on the latter today, because we have been getting to learn a bunch of truly interesting things as of late.

We actually are in the process of completing our midterms for the class now, which involves designing a brand style guide and logo for a company. 

We’ve been using the Adobe suite for our coursework, and today my professor took a few minutes to show us what new developments are happening with Adobe and the Suite. Of course Adobe MAX 2022, Adobe’s yearly news and development conference, just concluded. (To be honest I was not aware this was a thing until Prof. Richardson informed us about it.) After showing the conference overview/review trailer, he revealed that we had been organized into teams that would go and look over a specific Adobe program’s update log and quickly summarize to the rest of the class what new changes would be coming to the programs. Because of my group’s previous experience in Adobe AfterEffects (from Prof. Richardson’s Motion Graphics course in the Spring), we got to explore the multiple exciting new changes coming to this top-of-the-line animation software. Check out the changes for yourself here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/whats-new.html

It is exercises such as this, as well as in-depth analyses of multimedia/DMA at work that truly excite me. I absolutely cannot wait to experiment with 3D models in AfterEffects (once I have some experience with 3D modeling... I’m looking at you, Spring 2023 3D Modeling course!) and to enjoy the ease of directly encoding my finished product through AE rather than exporting to Media Encoder.

I’m losing a bit of steam, which is understandable at 5 in the morning, but I will conclude this post by saying that I am so incredibly glad to have chosen Digital Media Arts and Applications as my major of study. I don’t believe I could’ve chosen a better fit for my interests and what I am skilled at. I find comfort in knowing that even if I tire of one type of job within this field, I can find dozens of other job opportunities that are unique in their tasks but have the same common value of being within the digital realm.

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Week 7 Blog: Drawing Within The Lines

Rules seem to exist in nearly every aspect of life. Whether they're properly written out, or simply implied, rules serve to create structure, organization, and order in a seemingly chaos-based environment. This same principle applies to game design.

One of the most prominent examples of rules I see when gaming is when I play the TCG Magic: The Gathering. Trading card games and tabletop roleplay games have some of the most detailed and outlined rules, primarily because these rules cannot be exhibited merely through gameplay; new players more often than not would be unable to understand how to play by simply being handed a deck of Magic cards. Rather, the developers have taken every aspect of the game into consideration and written it out, with step-by-step guidelines for player turns, ability activations, combat phases, and card interactions within the Stack, among other topics. The comprehensively written procedures for MTG allow for any person at any skill level to refer back to them and learn. From there, the rules can be expressed to other players, but without those guidelines already set in place, especially with the complexity and number of different card abilities in existence, the attributes of the cards on their own could be interpreted dozens of different ways.

Even within games that are much more simplistic in manner, rules serve to ensure that the game is being played just as the designer intended for it to be enjoyed. Imagine if you and some other friends were playing Duck Duck Goose, and suddenly someone decides that they are allowed to run through the circle of seated people in order to make it back to their seat before you can run around the circle! Rules keep everyone on the same page and allow for a good play experience for everyone involved.

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Week 6 Blog: Time is Relative

I sat down and started learning to play Apex Legends last Tuesday, and I’ve already logged 13.6 hours in the game over the course of three play sessions.

What causes someone to want to sit down and spend nearly 4-5 hours playing a video game, staying up until 2:00am multiple nights in a row, while they are consciously aware that they have college classes that they need to be rested for? In the case of competitive games, such as team brawlers and battle royales, it comes down to the competitive drive and search for power through prowess exhibited on the battlefield. Games like Overwatch, Fortnite, Apex, and Valorant, among many others, make wanting to win addictive. Unlike many instances of winning via luck, should one become skilled at the game, they actually have a chance at that victory.

Now what about games that aren’t so driven by competition? How do I end up playing The Sims 4 for hours on end, or get sidetracked several times from my primary quest on Skyrim? Well for one thing, my Sims always seem to stay at consistent levels of low hunger, so I’m having to constantly prepare food for them. In reality though, much of gaming, whether action, story-driven, or puzzle based, is also tied with a sense of urgency. “I have to get ‘x’ task done before I can do ‘y’”, or, “This boss can’t be defeated at my level. Looks like I have to grind for a bit to get better gear.”

It’s because of this urgency that we toss all concerns of time to the wind, devouring gaming content, putting in hard work and hours of dedication for what, to some, may be pointless achievement.

We take these characters we play as and make them ours, either through the direct choices we make or how we tend to explore and direct our character’s actions. Being of the Explorer archetype myself, I often find myself saying, “Hey, I don’t think I’ll be able to progress in the game further without going and checking out what’s over that hill.” That constant seeking, and the urgency in feeling the need to do so, not only pushes me to keep playing games for longer, but also grounds myself into these digital universes.

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Week 5 Blog: Do you know what I mean?

When it comes to my enjoyment of gaming as a game player, I find it most prevalently through understanding and applying the mechanics and dynamics of the game itself. While the look of a game is important, the aesthetics are much more valuable to me. The entire MDA sphere of a game emphasizes those aspects that I find most valuable; being able to release a slowed time arrow combo, stunning a Lynel, and using that opportunity to jump on it's back and get five free swings with my highest-damage weapon brings pure, unbridled serotonin to my experiences playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

These individual mechanics--running, swinging a weapon, jumping, critical strike areas, stuns, dodging, and more--all work together to create the dynamic of fighting a terrible foe. Additionally, by heightening those senses of danger and peril, making these monsters actual threats to the player character's life, and building upon lighting, sound, music, and imagery, it feels as if I, or anyone else playing, is in for a vicious fight. Aesthetics is more than just the beauty and artistry of the game, it is how it would feel if you were actually there.

MDA is the absolute centerpiece of the gaming experience, and it is entirely dependent on if you are the designer or the player as to which aspects you'll be considering first.

Aside from this, I am also a firm believer in establishing a healthy flow state as one of the first considerations outside of mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics. There are plenty of other aspects of game design that are important in their own right, however without a good flow state, these will all practically be ignored. Settling into a game and being pulled into the world, creating that sense of immersion, more often than not means that players are actively experiencing the game and paying avid attention to all that there is to do, see, explore, and more. It is entirely up to the player if they will experience enjoyment within this, and that's where the remainder of the game design process comes into play.

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Week 4 Blog: Your Place in Game Design

Designing a game takes much consideration and effort of thought. You might start out with a general idea of what you'd like to accomplish, or what direction you want your game to take, but from there you have to deliberate on rules, interactions, player actions, mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics. You have to craft a flow state that works with the game, rather than against it. If any of these items aren't thought of before you create your game, you'll have to go back and forth constantly in order to achieve any actual progress. Lots of trial and error will occur, and your prototypes may fail. Some things you may not even notice are issues until others playtest your game. All of these things go towards the act of designing a game, and depending on the extent of the game you're building, it can be a long and arduous process. It is all worth it in the end, however, as you create an enjoyable experience for yourself as the designer and your audience, the players. The role of a player versus a designer when it comes to understanding and experiencing a game can be quite different, and will entirely shape how one views the process. In the creation of Capture the Keep, I considered the many different actions players would take, but almost overlooked one of the more direct paths they could take as well. I didn't realize that then play-testers wouldn't attempt to activate the special blocks in favor of reaching the goal point quicker. As an inverse, when playing the games my peers designed, I focused more overall on achieving victory as swiftly as possible, even when that meant ignoring some of the nonessential aspects within their design. This just goes to show that one has to consider both sides of the developmental process, and think as both a player and designer, providing plenty of options for success that include getting the edge up on others.

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Week 3 Blog: Drawing Inspiration

It didn't take long to figure out the direction I wanted to take with my board game. I started off with the idea of movement towards a central location from the corner of a map, and quickly came up with the idea of being able to revert the progress of others heading to their goals, reminiscent of Wahoo and a game called Labyrinth (pictured below).

Wahoo brings in an interesting element, of having multiple tokens that you have to escort to the end goal, which I really liked the concept of. As for Labyrinth, the premise includes a constantly-shifting playing field that has to be adapted to quickly. While I didn't want to pursue anything as complicated on that scale, I wanted to include a changing element to my game. From that I initially thought of using a deck of cards that players would pull from to determine the progress they could make on exploring their portion of the board on their turn, similar to that of the game Candyland.

The issue I found with that however is that players could easily become pinned in their home base from a poor draw of the cards, such as only drawing Murk cards and blocking any further progression forward. Instead of that, I turned towards the usage of dice and multi-action turns, such as the options available to a player within a round of combat in D&D. From there, I determined that I should lessen the complexity of rolling specific numbers, and instead base rolls on whether the number is even or odd, which cuts out the need for dice other than the standard D6.

Now that those player actions have been established, I now needed to build upon player interactions. The game as a whole is based on racing to the end target, and while players could realistically have the tension from such a race be the defining factor of the game's competitive spirit, I felt like it needed more. Hence the arrival of the Special spaces: when a player's soldier token moves to a Special space, indicated by a '?', they can roll the die to determine if they will receive a free clear space without the utilization of an "action", or if they will be able to make another player's board state more difficult to traverse (or possibly even reset the progress of one of their tokens).

What I especially love about the game I've designed is that it doesn't matter how much progress someone makes, they could lose a good chunk of it to the luck of another player. At the same time, if someone strategizes properly, they can quickly work their way to the goal before any player can interfere. It is also really easy to make adjustments from a designer's end; if the game is being completed too quickly, the map can be extended out. If progress isn't being made as fast as expected, the number of actions players can make can be increased. Further thought could also go into the competitive aspects as well, if it is found that the Special spaces don't provide enough of an obstacle.

Overall I really enjoyed designing this game, and I can't wait for it to be tested!

[lit-wick-productions]

Spring 2022 Game Design Vlog #2

[lit-wick-productions]

Week 2 Blog: You as a Game Player

I took the Gamer Archetype, Gaming Motivation, and Board Game Motivation surveys, and ended up with these results:

Now, I definitely expected to be labeled as an explorer, especially after our in-class discussion on the primary four archetypes. I’m always looking for alternate routes between locations, and love deep-diving into the different areas available in open-world games.

My gamer motivation profile is also very accurate, as I more seek out experiences that allow me to express my creativity and deep dive into the world I’m set in, with a bit of social and achievement elements. I’m good either way of whether or not there’s action in a game, and I could really care less if I’m completing the game fully.

The board game motivation profile is where a bit of interest peaks in, at least for myself. Some of the same immersion/aesthetics from my gamer profile comes through, but when playing board games I much prefer to be present with the group I’m playing with, and I especially love putting on an act so as to manipulate the group I’m with into achieving my goals (which can vary in it’s effectiveness). High-conflict games are fantastic, as I tend to get bored very easily when games aren’t interesting or the game takes too long in getting to actually do anything or accomplish goals.

I see a bit of discontinuity from the board game Quantic survey and the archetype survey, specifically in the strategy/discovery area. You’d think especially with my overall archetype being explorer that I would see the same result there. However, it makes sense, as board games are much more focused on multiplayer opportunities for gaming. A similar phenomena occurs between the action motivation from the gamer profile and the conflict motivation from the board game profile. They are nearly opposite, but it also stems from the translation from single player to multiplayer experiences.

Overall, I find this analysis of my gaming preferences to highly fit what I know of myself, and solidifies those assumptions I had made prior to these surveys.