Week 7 Reflection

Using most of my time around prototypes, creating them and playtesting them, I'm beginning to realise how important they are. Not only do they let me begin to look at mechanics in action and study whether something is fun or not, they help show and explain an idea. I really liked the idea of putting together a game set around the beaver, but without creating a prototype it was difficult to sell the idea to the rest of the team. This isn't their fault for not getting the idea, it was my fault for not being able to explain the idea and show it to them.

I've also wanted to get a jump start on the sound design. In previous years, all the games that have been created have been either without or with barely any sound effects. When playing games that I enjoy, I've began to notice how effective sound and music is for exaggerating the experience. The game Total War: Warhammer 2 uses ambience and music beautifully to enhance a particular factions gameplay experience. Depending on the faction, all the interactions have unique sounds, the ambient track that plays while observing the campaign map is tailored to their theme. Little aspects like this are incredibly important to improving the players mood and experience in the game. It is also supported by The Lens of Unification from The Art of Game Design by Jesse Schell.