1 - 26.01.09 - Introduction

The first two weeks have been based around research and planning initial ideas. In response to the brief, I have decided to opt for the ‘non-commercial stance’ as mentioned as a design consideration. I agree that there is repetition within the games industry, sprouting from publisher’s pressures and unimaginative developers. As such I intend to make the project quite conceptual and innovative, while creating a playable game that has been influenced by my research.
The research comprised board, web and console games with criteria taken from sheets handed out by my tutor. Two game theorists mentioned on the sheet were entirely new to me and so I have researched them further. This has paid off hugely – not only gaining a better understanding of their principles and approaches but discovering ‘flow’ theory. This 9-step process of engagement in play is perfect for analysing my game concept and I will implement it when I am at that stage.