Gameplay Journal Entry #10

Throughout my time at the University of Central Florida, I have brainstormed a few ideas for indie games while attempting to secure a game development job. One idea was an Augmented Reality application relating to the education and simulated usage of historical weapons in the palm of the user’s hand, such as Japanese katanas from the 13th century, or Roman Gladius blades from the Roman Empire. The user would spawn a replicated model of these weapons on a flat surface, and with the use of hand tracking inputs, they would be able to use their hands to study the details of these weapons while seemingly holding them like real weapons. Another idea came from the other side of the reality coin, virtual reality. The player would simulate the enjoyment of riding roller coasters while shooting various targets, such as targets, birds, toy planes, and more, as the enjoyment of such attractions has become very difficult due to the recent pandemic. Earing the most point would earn the player more difficult rides with greater challenges on target shooting. One idea in particular, however, developed well on the beginning of my tutelary education.

In order to pursue a career as a game designer, one must come to the realization of the unspoken boundary of partnership between developer and player, which usually coms in form of themes. One two-dimensional game idea that sparked came from the desire to have the player setup into the shoes of a game developer in a somewhat more simplistic way. The player would assume the part of a indie game developer fresh in the industry, who would develop video games based on a current skillset, such as experience, time, money, and patience. The games, once released, are reviewed, and bought by the game market, which results in revenue experience points to the player. The player can exchange these currencies to buy additional parts for their home, computers, or new crew members from money, or increase the aforementioned skills with skill points, all in order to increase the quality of their released games. As the players continues to grow as a game developer, they can find ways to use these values to become part of a larger game company, or start their own, with the former requiring less money but not as many experience points from development of self-released games, while creating a new company would result in the opposite; more money to construct, but more experience leading a company with self-chosen teammates.