Develop:Brighton Digital 2020
Event: Nailing the Pitch: Practical Skills for Securing Multi-Million Pound Projects
Objective-based document design (Wicks 2020). Nailing the Pitch, was a practical talk on how to present your game. As part of our assessment for this module, we are being asked to produce a capstone video, pitching our idea for a game – hopefully, I will “nail the pitch'”
The lecture went through not only how to produce high-quality documents (I love documentation) but how to present yourself and what companies want to see. Natalie suggests: Create headlines, Structure and signpost and QA everything!
Natalie’s Highlighter method
- “Every want or specification – highlight it
- Make a list
- Group and condense
- Prioritise the order” (Wicks 2020)
Event: Beyond a Steel Sky – Reinventing a Classic: Adventure Evolution for a Modern Audience (Cecil 2020)
Charles Cecil, inspired us with his approach to re-inventing Beyond the Steel Sky, his narrative arc’s and devices. I didn’t take enough notes because I was having too much fun listening. He was inspired by modern events and attitudes ‘Fear of surveillance’, ‘An AI controlled society’ – as all good creative’s should be
Event: Stronger Together: How Your Players Can Make You a Better Developer (Payce 2020)
John Payce is a Senior Gameplay Programmer at Jagex working on RuneScape. He talks us through how to make better games through your players and why this is important.
“At Jagex, developers are encouraged to have a regular open dialogue with our players. Players are a core part of the design and decision-making process” (Payce 2020)
Notes on gaining feedback on social media
- Make an alias – disconnect yourself, avoid doxxing, keep your personal life private
- Social Media Platforms – Twitter/Twitch/Instagram/Discord
- Friendly but professional
- Starting a dialogue: Teaser’s, ask a lot of questions, images, type once and read 3 times, don’t spam and get involved
(Payce 2020)
Handling feedback
- Understanding someone’s worldview is a talent – opinions are a summation of a person’s experience
- Learn who you are talking to
- The three categories of feedback:
- Constructive – Listen and use
- Misscommunicated feedback – Listen but don’t use
- Toxic – Ignore
(Payce 2020)
Event: What the Concept Art Doesn’t Tell You: Adding Depth and Believability to Your Characters (Hulbert 2020)
Characters need to be “cohesive within their own world, but also relatable to the player so that they can build a meaningful connection with them” (Hulbert 2020). Hulbert discusses “taking your model beyond their concept art by developing your fundamental knowledge of garment creation, pattern, visual depth and power, branding and more” (2020). It is important in character design to have a knowledge of fashion, makeup, cultures and places. I’d never considered before how much my sewing skills and interest in fashion formed a basis for my practice in drawing. Now I will draw more consciously with garment construction and details in mind.
List of Figures
Figure 1. Develop:Brighton Digital. 2020. [timetable] Available at: https://www.developconference.com/ [accessed 5th November 2020].
References
CECIL, Charles. 2020. [online lecture]. Develop:Brighton. Available at: https://www.developconference.com/ [accessed 5th November].
Develop:Brighton. Available at: https://www.developconference.com/ [accessed 5th November].
HULBERT, Shayleen. 2020. [online lecture]. Develop:Brighton. Available at: https://www.developconference.com/ [accessed 5th November].
PAYCE, John. 2020. [online lecture]. Develop:Brighton. Available at: https://www.developconference.com/ [accessed 5th November].
WICKS, Natalie. 2020. [online lecture]. Develop:Brighton. Available at: https://www.developconference.com/ [accessed 5th November].
