Thesis Blossom

Throughout the Fall and Spring semesters I have spent a considerable amount of time and mental energy on figuring out my own goals and a plan of action for my tenure-track goals. Until the turn of the year most of my progress with Axis Descending ground to a halt thanks to a few major fps-draining bugs and game-breaking glitches. In typical fashion, I went through an ebb and flow of development fixation. Once issues were being resolved I couldn't help myself. It was imperative that I fixed more issues, updated and added more art and expanded upon the world through the new Kar'Kaden Crest area in version 1.8. Now that it has been released I can take the Summer to work out more levels in preparation for the Early Access build and simple write more.

Axis Descending has been submitted to SAAM Arcade, Terminus, IndieCade, BostonFig and Lumen. To reward myself, development for the Polearm primary weapon will be completed before the Summer term hits. I'll be working with my colleague, Bryce Evans, to create levels in excess after that.

A whirlwind of skype, google hangout and phone conversations have lead to some amazing discussions on the tenure-track role and my own goals. I have met some amazing mentors in the last year and cannot express how helpful they have been. They have provided me with much-needed clarity. My original Graduate Thesis for my MA in Experiential Design was all about creating a set of steps (Narrative Devices was the term I coined) to follow if you're trying to design something for a game. Need to tell the player where to go? Stay awhile and listen:

1. Ask if it is better to outright tell the player where to go (Explicit) or to employ an invisible hand (Implicit).
2. Determine exactly what you're trying to do based on the three categories. Direction, Instruction or Exposition.
3. Decide on a Feedback Space, or a space in which to deliver this Device. See Fagerholtz and Lorentzon.
4. Employ a Feedback Method based on this information and research of precedents.

A brief explanation to some of these mentors, who have published practical works themselves, created interest and curiosity. How can this be improved, then? I saw it as something that could be taken further or left alone so I can move on to something new. Thinking about it more and how it could impact students and provide a framework for their learning experience has been invested.

Initially, I already have a few notes.

First, Narrative Device doesn't accurately represent what I am trying to define here. Feedback Device seems more appropriate upon first glance but more research will be needed to really define this term properly. It would be defined as a combination of the Feedback Intent (what you're trying to do), the Feedback Space (where it will exist in/out of the gamespace) and the Feedback Method (how it is manifested, like a health bar, a bit of dialogue or a visual clue). Put simply, it entails how you communicate with the player as a designer/developer.

Second, the order in which I have presented the information is off. Before anything else, the intent (currently 2) should be determined first. It makes no sense to question the nature of what it is without knowing what "it" even is intended for.

Time to get to work!