MA Show

In this MA I have sought to demonstrate that nostalgia can add value to video games.

Through practice-led research I have experimented with a range of aesthetic & mechanical elements, backed-up by literature research and study into ludology and associated topics.

Nostalgia can arouse intense emotions; it is frequently invoked in film, television, retail & advertising.

However, its application in gaming is minimal — chiefly confined to ‘retro’ referencing of older video games.

The aim of ‘Rewind’ is to demonstrate the potential for broader application of nostalgia in game design by employing targeted ‘triggers’ to build a virtual world that can engage players both creatively and emotionally.

I believe that this has been demonstrated, and that the work I have done will contribute to a greater body of work among my peers.

In addition, through my employment as a college lecturer, I am already disseminating many of the philosophies, theories and skills gained during this process.  My game models are used as demonstration pieces to show particular techniques; my blogs are used to pull examples "out-of-a-hat" when provoking discussion on gender in gaming; my case studies are used to illustrate the overall development process.

The Rewind game is only part-built -- no small feat for a one-person studio with very limited spare time, but it embodies the philosophy I have evolved over the last 25 months:

This research explores the potential of nostalgic ‘triggers’ as a tool in the development of aesthetic & mechanical game elements.

Such triggers can be identified via collections of historical ephemera, which provide a rich source of ideas.

As part of this process, techniques have been established to adjust the emotional impact of these triggers by analytical classification and selective combination.

These techniques are augmented by the use of background semiotic cues — employing colour, light and styling to imply time period and social context.

The “Rewind” game design contains applied use of these triggers, techniques and semiotic cues in a single proof-of-concept product.

 

The conclusion of this study is that nostalgia may be applied successfully to aesthetic & mechanical video game design elements in order to add value in the form of emotional affect.

The end of my MA Journey

It's just over two years since I began this MA journey and I think it's fair to say that it's changed my life.

Not just in terms of extending myself academically, gaining a qualification, gaining new understanding or learning new skills.  It has set me down a new path.  Earlier this summer I set up Strontium Games, my own game development studio.

One of the most important things about having a games company is, of course, having a snazzy logo:

It may look like only a small thing but it's a major step for a mature student like myself.  I intend to continue designing and developing games; researching, learning, reflecting & reflecting as I gain greater mastery of the discipline.  And that, to me, is what a Master's Degree is all about.

Rewind: 1980s room

I've already written quite a bit about the 1980s room I created for my "Gizmo" project, including some of the accompanying nostalgia trigger items.  For Rewind, I rearranged & adapted this room, reusing many of the objects within.

Extra models and details were added, including:

• More LPs and cassettes
• An out-of-box cassette, with unspooled tape
• Portable cassette recorder
• WHSmith pencil (for winding back said tape!)
• ZX81 home computer
• Rubik's Barrel toy
• Rubik's Snake toy
• British Telecom phonecard

For the purpose of the final video simulation, shadows were added from the renderer.  They look pretty bad, but that's a limitation of the depth map shadowing I was using.  Shadows are important for this room so the finished game would use fake planar shadows (on alpha channels) mixed with baked shadows on fixed objects.

I'm fairly happy with this room as a good example of what the Rewind game is about.  When showing a video clip to a colleague his first reaction was a please exclamation of "I used to have one of those!" (referring to the Galaxy Invader 10000) -- that pretty much embodies the emotional reaction I wanted this to produce.

Rewind: 1970s room

For the 1970s level I decided to do a living room, allowing me to scatter toys and other ephemera freely and also using it as an excuse for some period furniture (such as a G-Plan sideboard).

In the scene above you can see a handful of game objects:

• GPO model 706 phone (in Avocado), with connection block
• Telephone seat
• 1975 phone directory and Yellow Pages
• A can of Top Deck Lemonade Shandy, with ring-pull
• G-plan sideboard
• (Armrest belonging to a) Dralon-upholstered settee
• Raleigh Chopper bicycle

There are also a number of background semiotics to reinforce the 1970s context:

• Predominantly brown-orange-white colour palette
• Luminance shift: black lifted to dark grey
• Period patterned wallpaper
• Dark brown plain carpet
• Net curtains
• Wood-framed windows (with French windows at rear) with opening arm and decorative latch

It's worth noting that most visual references I found balance the carpet and wallpaper: if one was patterned, the other was plain.  Therefore I kept to that principle.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints, I didn't get the chance to make side curtains, which would have been a patterned carmine red colour.  Other intended objects included:

• G-Plan dining table with chairs
• Upright radiogram with stacking spindle on the turntable
• Electric bar fire with plastic fake coal effect top
• Wall clock with star-shaped surround
• Spanish holiday ephemera

Still, what I have produced gives a fair indication of the setting:

The next post will deal with some of the toys in the room.

Rewind: 1970s toys

The 1970s room also contains other objects, such as a "Little Snoopy" wooden pull-toy.  I'm particularly pleased with this model considering how quickly it was produced.  It consists of 600 triangles (a relatively low poly-count for such a detailed model) but I'm sure that it could be optimised further with more time available.  All part of the learning process.

The toy is animated to mimic the motion caused by the lopsided wheels.

Another toy is the Simon electronic game, produced by MB Games.  In this case, to avoid trademark issues, I've renamed it "Malcolm".  In Rewind, players will be able to interact with this as a mini-game.

Finally, the View-Master shows stereoscopic images.  In this case I went with the original branding, not realising that they are still manufactured; as a result, the name will need to change.

The object is interactive in Rewind, with players able to look through the eyepieces to discover clues hidden among pictures.  These clues form the backbone of a treasure-hunt game.

Rewind: Intro

It's a very long time since I last posted to the blog, but I promise you I've been very busy!  The last month has seen me bring everything together for the final submission of my body-of-work, including the production of banners and a video for the Art & Design MA Show at UCLan.

The conclusion of my practice-based research takes the form of a game design, with part-built game objects & environment.  Unfortunately I simply don't have the time to build the entire working game,
so I've created a video simulation using existing game objects & environments.

After a splash screen, the game starts with a main menu allowing the player to choose a decade.

Throughout this project I've actively avoided iconic objects (or, being more precise in my semiotic terminology, indices) like the Space Hopper or Rubik's cube.  They are referenced far too commonly in popular culture and have little nostalgia value in themselves (except when digging deeper, such as re-creating that unique Space Hopper bounce sound or a disassembled cube).  In this case though, I needed something instantly recognisable; something that would unambiguously scream "1970s" or "1980s" without distracting the player.

In addition, as mentioned above, these objects were unlikely to appear within the game itself so their inclusion here avoids players wondering why I didn't reference such "obvious" images.

For the game trailer I've created levels for the 1970s and 1980s.  You'll see more of these on following blogs.

Finally, the bottom of the screen shows a control bar, which is overlaid during gameplay.  Dragging the shuttle left will rewind; right will fast-forward; the speed will vary (in a non-linear manner) according to the distance pulled.  The mark allows a point in time to be memorised, and the rewind button will return to that time -- the idea being that a player will work on a challenge numerous times by trial-and-error.

Finally the record button allows the player to video a sequence; play will play the recording back.  Users will be encouraged to upload impressive or funny clips, similar to those produced by Minecraft fans.

While on the menu screen, the shuttle will navigate through the decade icons and play will select; all other buttons will be greyed-out during the menu screen in the final game.