Devlog week 6

I am currently working on a paper prototype of the Madden franchise, experimenting with the kicker aspect. I am only focusing on the field goal kick. As of now, I have a field with sideline markers, a field goal, and the circle that the kicker stands in drawn out. For the kick meter, I am using a fidget spinner and for the football, I am using a dice. 

Chapter four in the textbook discusses the components of player experience when playing a game. It mentioned the different game types between 2D and 3D and what they offer. For example, Madden is A 3D game with lifelike players and audiences, allowing the players to feel as if they are actually at the football game. “Like all three-dimensional games, the primary actions through which you perceive the game world are looking at moving” (Games, Design and Play, ch. 4). In Madden, executive/voluntary attention takes place. This attention “...refers to those things that we decide to pay attention to, such as looking at the health meter…” (Games, Design and Play, ch. 4). Executive attention applies to Madden because the player has the voluntary option to select a new player if the existing player is injured. Also, the player has the ability to hire and fire the team’s coaches and players. The book also discussed the term weenie which is  “...a large architectural element placed to be visible from many locations, serving as a visual magnet to orient and guide people toward a location” (Games, Design and Play, ch. 4). I believe that goal post serves as the weenie in this video game because they are tall objects at each end of the field that is visible from anywhere, which provides the player orientation. The textbook discussed games that are played at a real-time pace such as basketball. Madden is also classified as one of those games because the player has to “...respond quickly to each other’s moves, the location of the ball, and the position of players…” (Games, Design and Play, ch. 4). Madden also offers a symmetrical information space because every player has the exact same access to knowledge on the playing field. For example, each player is aware of the position and status of the ball, the play clock, and the score. In games “false affordances are misinterpretations of what an object can do” (Games, Design and Play, ch. 4) The player in Madden is not actually able to access the stadium, they are only able to see it in 3D. Feedback is provided in this video game through stats. You are able to see how many yards a player gained or lost on a previous play. Sound effects are also incorporated into Madden when a good or bad play is completed. The crowd cheers, chants, and boos. In Madden, I would classify myself as an explorer because I “...like to understand the full breadth of a game’s space of possibility” (Games, Design and Play, ch. 4). I like to explore the entire game and see its capabilities before trying to win the game. I think if a player fully understands the concepts of a game, they have a higher chance of winning.  

Macklin, C., & Sharp, J. (2016). Games, Design and Play: A Detailed Approach to Iterative

  Game Design. Addison-Wesley Professional. Accessed 2 Oct. 2020.