EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE A NAIL
This week, I would like you to think further about tools: the platform you are using to develop your game, other tools you may have used to build games in the past -- and above all, the ideal game-development or prototyping tool, as yet unrevealed to the people of Earth.
Write a few sentences, or paragraphs, about this ideal tool. What would it allow you to do that you can't do now? How would it differ from platforms like XNA, Flash, and Torque? Can you suggest some fundamental or radical shift in approach to the design of tools like these?
Since this assignment is not based on your group work per se, you are not constrained by what your teammates have already posted. However, read previous posts before you contribute, and try to advance the discussion.
DUE MONDAY, APRIL 13 AT CLASS.
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The future ultimate game-developing tool would be a headset that would record creative thoughts to a computer. The user would be able to manipulate the content on the screen by his thoughts. Eliminating the middle man (the body) would cause the process of development to become quicker. In terms of coding, the programming language of the game would be able to read the user's desires for how the game acts, then, create code to satisfy the user's wants. The programming would evolve, creating and saving user-made functions to strengthen the efficiency of future use.
ReplyDeleteThe perfect game creation tool would be a holodeck. You would simply say what you want and it would appear. Say how you want it to be programmed and it would happen. You can not only create, but walk around in your world, inspecting every angle, making sure everything is exactly how you want it to be while any change is just a quick voice command away.
ReplyDeleteThe game ideal tool for the future would be programming intelligence microphone which can be used to write a language on the computer. You would say what code you want in a particular game and then, the microphone software would create parts of the game by imbedding the correct code for all users. This will relieve some stress off of the particular programmer. The programming intelligence microphone would also help create a character screen so that it can be easy for future use. Basically, the microphone would decipher words on the screen and make a character, create attributes, and make some special powers for that character. The P.I. microphone is an upgrade from Flash, XNA, and Torque because you don't have to worry about typing up a language with this program. You can simply just say some words in the microphone so that it can interpret your language into programming language for a certain game.
ReplyDeleteWith the P.I. microphone, I believe that this will benefit students and employees who need time to work on projects and develop their skills in programming. It will keep students motivated to create special games outside of college. So, the P.I. microphone will be great for future use in programming.
I think Amy's notion of a desire reading headset is quite brilliant, though extremely futuristic. Having a headset that could program intuitively would be of great help, though I think another good application would be for painting programs. I am only a mediocre artist, though I do have a very active imagination. I would love a program that could convert the images in my head into tiff files. It would certainly streamline a lot of artwork if all you had to do was sit down and focus on an image and out it would pop. That way you could also get what you want. I find my hand made artwork is never quite how I imagined it would look when I started.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought when reading this assignment was hokey, but reading the previous posts have kind of validated it. The perfect gaming tool already exists. Think about it--holodecks, desire-reading microphones, P.I. microphones that take the work out of making games. These are all tools to do two things: they increase the sensory aspect of gaming, and they make user-created content nearly effortless. They are designed to bring gaming closer and closer to the actual human experience.
ReplyDeleteIf that is the direction gaming is going, then eventually the technology will become moot. Game-makers of the future will be makers of experiences, not games as we know them today. Likely that will be a sort of interactive fiction, like the ractives in "The Diamond Age." Technology will be developed as it is needed for a certain experience. Should there be some universal technology like a do-it-yourself holodeck, even better. But as long as we're speaking in ideals, in this line of thought the ultimate game-making tool would be a utopia. A new Eden, where humanity can commune with the animals. Where there is no want, and people are free to choose whatever life they want. And lasers. There would be lots of lasers.
The whole idea of using a holodeck to create games and simulations would be the best idea especially when tied in with the headset and maybe some kind of sensor for your hands to create the 3D objects as well. This would make making games much easier and faster. If you consider that was used to create the game, imagine how realisitic the game would be. The headset and hand sensors in a holodeck would make it easier for anyone to create games.
ReplyDeleteI think the ideal development tool is complete subjective; not only to the developer but also to the project. My expertise in game development is the art assets., but the medium I enjoy working with the most is clay. Therefore in my ideal development tool I would sculpt all the game objects from clay and scan them into the computer with a 3D scanner. This would allow me to work in my most comfortable medium and be able to make drastic changes to a model without being concerned about it's geometry.
ReplyDeleteHowever even this ideal tool would be almost completely useless in a 2D game. I don't believe there is any one perfect instance of an object. In the end the perfect game development tool is dependent entirely on what game you are developing, and what aspect of the game you are most concerned with.
As I embrace some wildly futuristic ideas of an ideal development tool, my ideas tend to fall in line with those of the rest of the class. I will refrain from limiting the scope of the ideal development tool to games, as its creations would fall in another category completely. Indeed, this tool would break down every barrier between fantasy and reality.
ReplyDeleteI have no concept for how it would appear or function, but the device would have little in the way of physical input and would be largely thought-driven, directly interfacing with the user's mind. Creations would visually adapt and conform to the creator's vision precisely as desired. However, this would not simply function as an art tool but as an engine, as well. With it, the user could define behaviors, rules, and systems for their creations to follow, all without typing a single line of code. Creation would be defined by intent. With a minimal effort and a grand imagination, people, creatures, and even entire worlds could be given life.
Given the human mind's forgetful tendencies, some type of storage device would likely accompany this ideal development tool to perfectly preserve the user's creations as they were originally intended. By the time such a tool is made a reality, humans will have the capability to wirelessly connect themselves to systems or networks like modern bluetooth devices. Thus, nothing would stop creators from saving their imagined creations to a public server, remotely accessible by anyone on Earth.
Since all human experiences are defined by electrical signals traveling through the brain, that is all the creations would need to reproduce. In short, I suppose I have outlined the Matrix, although creations would be many and would not be forced on anyone. As is the case with modern websites, people would be able to browse through a massive catalog of constructions, albeit with a full preview incorporating all of the viewer's five senses.
I'll halt my comments here, as I'm certain an entire paper could be devoted to describing the utopia created by such a remarkable device. I sincerely doubt it can ever be realized, but what do we have to strive for if not ideals?
I would have to say any device that you can use your own mind to program intuitively is what the dream is what now. It doesn't have to be a headset necessarily but I would imagine that it does help. If electric signals from your brain can make it operate, that's all that matters.
ReplyDeleteI think the most convenient common sense tool that could come out as far as game design would be a texture system based around an actual 3D object, as opposed to a 2d image that we're trying to wrap around it. Right now the nature of textures adds minute errors within every in-game object, whether those errors are seen or not. However, a texture created precisely on the 3D object itself, with no seems, breaks, or warping... that would be ideal.
ReplyDeleteI think Flash is perfect for creating most 2d games. Flash does have some limitations and doing large scale 2d games on Flash may not be the best choice. I know a few people that still prefer to just use Visual Studio to do their coding even for 2d games. However, they have had extensive training in programming as well as utilizing Visual Studio.
ReplyDeleteFor amateur programmer, Flash is great because there are a lot of built in functions that you can use. Learning on Flash is a great way to get introduced to game programming, but once you start improving your skills, I'm sure that you can do much more if you just programmed in Visual Studio (or something similar).
I've had a few programming classes, and I love programming. It is a great challenge to try and solve the puzzles that are given to you.
My ideal tool would be Flash that was fully 3d capable. I haven't tried CS4 so I don't know what differences there are, but having Flash with 3d would be quite an impressive next step for Flash. This would make 3d programming a little more simple and allow for beginners to dable in 3d programming in Flash first, where it is more simplified. I think this would help when they try to convert over to other more complex programming environments.
Well I'm a bit frustrated, because I just spent a half hour typing up my response and it seems that it hasn't shown up. So I'll sum up what I said, or at least what I can remember:
ReplyDeleteMy ideal game development tool in a 3D engine that would not really be for game development, but for artists to showcase and present their work in an interactive environment. The basic idea would be to simplify programming down to a point-and-click interface, so that an artist with limited coding skillz could make a basic, yet polished 3D environment for his or her work. My main influence for this is the Unity Game Engine, which has a basic first-person layout already defined, and an artist can simply apply his/her own work to the configuration with limited code knowledge. The difference is that the Unity Engine still requires programming to actually make things work in an interactive way, whereas my tool creates working code as the artist selects the appropriate options.
Depending on what type of interactive world the artist has chosen to use, he or she would have a large list of options to use when specifying what a 3D object can or can't do. If the artist is making a user-controlled character, for example, he or she could specify how the character will move, what animations will play at what time, where the character can go in relation to other 3D objects etc. These options would be fairly limited and therefore, this program would not be appropriate to create a complex, customized GAME, but it would be enough for an artist to showcase his or her work, 2D or 3D, in an interactive way. Even though the program fills in most of the required code for the user, it would not put programmers out of the job because of it's limited and specific use.
I have no idea how this would work in technical terms, but it needs to be made.
I think that my ideal tool would be to be able to simply type what i want to happen in normal English language and then have a program convert it to a programming language. This would obviously save a lot of time when it comes to fixing bugs and stuff of that nature. I believe that our languages now a days are getting closer and closer to being able to type exactly what we want to happen and it happening. However things can get a little confusing when you get into Object Oriented Programming and using multiple classes. I know for me this was the hardest part of learning to program.
ReplyDeleteI think a great game development tool would be one took most of the programming away and allow more people to get involved. This tool would already have a 3D plane much like a level editor for any game but this would have thousands of options for models and textures. For any interactions the user would have a GUI interface for simple tasks and then an option for programming for more complex tasks. The main idea is to work from a pre-built engine with an interface for interactions and events to get non programmers the ability to create games.
ReplyDeleteFrom what Amy said in her post I can add that the U.S. military is working on something similar to a tool that works from your brain waves. From what I saw they actually have prosthetic mechanical arms that actually work using a person's brain waves. How it works they have not disclosed for reasons that they do not want people copying the technology. However, this would be ideal in video games. We wouldn't have to have controllers and all the other mess.
ReplyDeleteIf one were to take a realistic approach as to what the end-all be-all game development tool would be, I would say it would be an open source engine that would have pre-existing programming, as well as pre-existing models to work with. Instead of having to build everything from the ground up, give users the ability to simply drag and drop, change color, create voiceovers (through headset recording or already existing audio work) and allow them to be animated via in engine commands. Think of a 3d version of RPG Maker with users having the ability to develop models, textures, audio files and whatnot; then have the ability to share that within the community for free.
ReplyDeleteAlex's idea sounds like Fighter Maker as well for the old PS2. I think the downside to that type of environment is the developer or end user is still forced to use the boundaries set by the initial developer. Open source will be the best direction. True open source allows the limits to be explored or even set by an unlimited amount of users.
ReplyDeleteMy Ideal game development tool would be like a combination of a lot of different programs, mostly programs like 3dsmax, photoshop, and zbrush.You could be able to go in with your hands (maybe through the use of some sort of holographic interface) and create or sculpt whatever it is you choose to make. If you're not the best artist, you could further alter whatever it is you are trying to make with your mind.
ReplyDeleteFor Arguing Euthanasia, we were thinking of using roughly 140 cards. Each card will have an image and a description of how the card affects the game. Since we’re not trying to sell the game, we thought it would be alright to use images on the internet for some of the cards. If any changes are needed for the image to be more appropriate, for the lack of a better word, Adobe Photoshop will come in handy. For original images, I could just hand draw them and use a scanner or I could use Illustrator.
ReplyDeleteSay I wanted to find an image of Michael Jackson and a child but couldn’t find them together. A little bit of lasso tool, cut, and paste in Photoshop will dig the poor guy a deeper hole.
I like the subjective approach to a new game-development tool. There are always going to be people that can understand a programming language better than most, and are able to create some fantastic things with their knowledge. However, there's always some things they have not done yet due to complexity, time, and storage space. I think a great way to combat this is by crating a tool that can bypass the actual programming (and subsequently the learning of a programming language) and link direct thoughts of the mind into graphics on the screen. A kind of SciFi approach, but it would be very easy to manipulate and create objects on a screen just by thinking them up in your brain. So, there would be some connector from the computer to your brain that would read what you are thinking within a gamespace that the user could then create the scenes and objects and give them properties of how they'll interact. This would also greatly improve A.I.
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