CONTEXTUAL REVIEW

Week 1

Possible Context in my design area

Game level – The game level contains different buildings, roads, entries and strategies. Different players will have their own plans and thinking to play through the level.

This is also the fun part of the gameplay experience.  

Response for From A-to-Z: Lesley-Ann Noel and Decolonizing Design

In the article “From A-to-Z: Lesley-Ann Noel and Decolonizing Design” Noel introduced a new way of thinking and designing based on her experience. This design method is an excellent way to create relationships between different cultures and communicate with people from the cultural circle. By simply jumping out from your perspective view and looking, thinking in the way that the possible beneficiaries view, as Noel motioned in the ‘Cards Born Out of Anger’ chapter, think in the way of disabilities of what they need.

After reading this article, I come up with some questions: Why do some countries have a powerful cultural symbol or publicity that makes people relate an item, cloth or building to that particular country? What have they done to make their countries’ cultures famous? Can I apply similar methods to my design to help represent my culture? 

For example, Japan is a country that is extremely good at cultural promotion. It makes a prominent amount people on the earth interested in their country and can come up with some items like buildings, plants, and weapons that represent Japan. What are the elements that make this country so good at this? Why have other countries yet to do similar publicity like Japan? What did they do to make the flower-like Cherry blossoms become a symbol of their country? China has lots more covered areas with Cherry blossoms compared with Japan. Why didn’t China become famous for it?

Of course, all the points I came up with are from my perspective. I don’t know if these kinds of cultural promotions are opposite to Noel’s decolonizing design.

Week2

Bibliography

Totten, Christopher W.. 2019.Chapter 6: Enticing player with reward Spaces, Architectural Approach to Level Design : Second Edition. Milton: CRC Press LLC. Accessed March 14, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Salmond, Michael. 2021. Video Game Level Design : How to Create Video Games with Emotion, Interaction, and Engagement. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Accessed March 14, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.

 Schell, Jesse. 2019. The Art of Game Design : A Book of Lenses, Third Edition. Milton: CRC Press LLC. Accessed March 14, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.

 Bauer, Benjamin. A Practical Guide to Level Design : From Theory to Practice, Diplomacy and Production. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group, 2023. Accessed March 14, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Week6

Week7

1. Formal/ Serious

Writing trail:

The primary objective of this research project is to undertake an in-depth exploration of the fundamental theories of level design, as well as the methodologies for their successful implementation. This will be achieved through the analysis of level designs in highly acclaimed games and a comprehensive review of relevant literature sources.

Reflect:

In my opinion, I classify formal and serious tones as one category, as paragraphs written in this tone tend to be more formal and rigorous and highly logical. This tone is typically applied to sentences related to contextual references, explanations of viewpoints, and their underlying basis. In thesis writing, this tone is the most common part and writing style in the contextual review section.

I will be using formal writing is used to cite literature or derive new ideas based on existing literature, as it requires a rigorous approach to presenting and analyzing information.

2.Informal

Writing trail:

After I finished replicating the Penrose triangle, I began to connect the ends by rotating my perspective and looking for the correct angle to connect the beginning and end points. This process of transforming an open model into a closed one with infinite loops, made me relate this process to battlefield design from other area of level design.

Reflect:

Informal tone, as the opposite of a formal tone, is typically less formal than the tone used in formal writing. It is closer to the feeling of normal communication between people. I believe that this type of tone can be applied to documentation for testing processes, narratives, designs, and related descriptions for project design because they often involve a lot of “I” and personal thoughts.

3.Worried

Writing trail:

The scarcity of information available for this entire category of design, combined with the fact that a significant portion of level design techniques is monopolized by large game studios, has caused level design as a dying art now.

Reflect:

I believe that the “worried” tone is appropriate for explaining events that require people’s attention. By using this tone to narrate a problem, the audience can naturally imagine and understand the possible consequences, leading them to comprehend the significance of the project and its target audience.

I believe this writing style can be used to present problems that require solutions and pick readers’ interest in my research direction.

Introduction:

Level‘ refers to the space where the game starts, progresses, and continues. These game spaces are defined by boundaries that restrict player movement and interaction. Thus, all aspects of the game, including the gameplay itself, are fixed within the levels. Each level presents variations in its spatial characteristics and attributes.1

Although level design has been a part of game design for a long time and plays a crucial role in gameplay, player experience, and the narrative, it can be a challenging field to master due to the many elements involved and the critical importance of levels in the game design process.

Therefore, in order to explore the methods of level design for different games, environments, times, and themes, this research will analyze the levels and textual materials of action-adventure games such as “Uncharted 4,” “The Last of Us Part 1,” and “Tomb Raider.” It will examine how levels are shaped and which design elements play a role in creating them. Furthermore, it will analyze the process of designing and implementing levels, as well as how players become immersed in them. By revealing these design elements, this research aims to optimize the level design process for third-person adventure games.

Week8

Abstract:

The Art of Level Design: Exploring the Process of Creating High-Quality Levels aims to explore how level design can effectively impact players’ gaming experience, enabling them to receive positive feedback during gameplay and transform it into immersive and interesting gaming experiences.

This research aims to analyze the design elements of existing level designs and create different levels for various gameplay methods, with the prototypes serving as reference cases for peers in their own level design process.

Case study of “The Last of Us,” “Uncharted,” and “Tomb Raider”, is the core of the research process, combining relevant video and document materials, the study aims to uncover hidden elements within their levels. The creative process of this research adheres to the iterative design methodology and involves a cycle composed of pre-visualization, prototyping, and evaluation methods to verify and utilize the design elements to create levels.

Essay Plan: