The completed Tui Game! (SWF FILE) (College Work)

Additional add ons such as the change of dialogue on the main game page so that players can understand what is going on, background scenes that show the Tui's on a stage performing to the audience, and sound files added on the 'Win Game', and 'Lose Game' pages.
Doing this made me feel that it was adding flavour to the game its self and is more appealing. I also wanted to make the flash file quite big so that the images were see-able, big and bright. Viewing a game for the first time, if the document is tiny it's a big problem for the younger generation to tamper with. I feel they need a bigger hit and miss area because they adore to explore the things they're curious about.

Add on Illustrations and others to Flash Game -Subject to Tweeks- (College Work)

Additional changes have been made to the wire frame, and now looks more visually appealing. The wireframe really helped with changes, and is a great asset to any starting games designer and it's always a good idea to do.

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 Page 1 - Main Menu

After a while of contemplating a main page, it's still in thought whether I should change it as the main page seems to have nothing to do with the whole game itself. The illustration is completed and given a mysterious feel to it, which was not intended. The typeface for the games title is actually a Photoshop image, however it's subject to change as I would love to add a background to the main menu. The title is not hand drawn like the 'Win Game' and 'Game Over' screens are.
The background may show the Tui being on the stage, looking towards the audience, with Claves in hand, as that is this Tui's instrument.

Finished Main Menu with button to start
the game.

 Page 2 - Main Game Page 

With the main game, many things have changed in order for the game to look completed and explained. You're first greeted with a sort of 'welcome message' which will explain how the game works, however in the screen shot below it unfortunately doesn't show what will be said, however it was put there for an idea which will be completed soon. The 'OK' button on the side gets rid of the message for the player so they can press the 'Start' button and play the game. The 'Start' button and the 'OK' button could not have the popping sound incorporated into their animations and the idea was scrapped.
Illustrations on the games buttons have been changed to the characters, playing the interments the sounds have been set to. As you can see, there are different kinds of Tui's. The coding was going to be changed so that when the button was played or pressed that it would change to a different image all together, but was unfortunately disallowed because the coding would not go around the idea.
The Background may be changed to a stage to fit in with the 'Main Menu''s change.

 

 Page 3 - Game Over Page

The game over page has yet to have an animation to show the Tui is warn out, I believe this page really deserves an animation. The page will have a sound added to it which was not explained in the Wire Frame explanation, which is a 'Wrong' noise, normally used in game shows to show that some one has done a question wrong. The buttons to go back to the 'Main Menu' and the 'Restart?' button to continue the game also have the popping noise. For this page, the restart button actually works and was kept on this page.

Notice how the 'Game Over' text is hand drawn, I felt having it hand drawn will give it a rough effect and an unfortunate side to it. It was originally going to be the text which you see on the Main Page but was never included as it looked too greeting to the page, which was not the feel it needs. 

Game over page with illustration of Tui,
buttons to restart the game or return to main

 Page 4 - Game Won Page

When the game is completed and you have done all the sequences, this is the page you will see. However, this page still will not have any buttons added to it, as it will not work with the coding, it won't delete the other sequence which was played and breaks the game. Hopefully this problem will be sorted, but if not, then unfortunately will have to stay this way.
The Tui's animation is of her flying through the screen and then her falling through the sky, which I may animate the clouds going upwards with her to show that she is falling. The text is hand drawn, I thought it would be a nice touch but will possibly be changed into the 'Main Menu' typeface to give it a theme.

Game won page with animated Tui and
a greeting message saying 'Well Done!'

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I'm really proud of how all of this game has turned out, and I really believe that I could give the game more flavour by adding all the things I want to add to make the game look more better. 

Creating the Wire frame for the Flash Game (College Work)

Creating a wireframe for a game means the basics of how the game will look like in a simpler form. I quickly thrown together the pages and frames needed for each of the stages, and then added the coding needed for each stage.

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Page 1 - Main Menu

With the main menu, it is quite simple and straight forward. I did quick sketches and a button to see what the page layout will be like. The title will be done in a hand drawn style; "Tui Says". The button for starting the game, like the other buttons, will have a drop shadow on them, making them stand out much more. The image will be a vectored image of the Tui done in flash itself.

Main menu page with button and sketches.

Page 2 - Main Game Page

This page possibly has the most coding intwined into it. The start button and the 5 buttons in the stage are all in the same coding, and work together to make the game what it is. I picked out the coding from a tutorial from this website called Web Design Library which has a wide range of tutorials for flash and how to import them into websites themselves. The link shows the coding, however I tweaked a few things to enable the coding to focus on 5 pieces instead of 4.
With the 5 buttons on the stage will have illustrations of 5 different kinds of Tui's playing a certain instrument. These are a Triangle, Tambourine, Harmonica, Claves, and Cowbell and each will be given their own sound playing when clicked and played. 

Main game with 5 buttons and a start button.

Page 3 - Game Over Page

The 'Game Over' page will be given an illustration, although the image below doesn't show it. It will show a Tui, one of the characters, warn out and troubled. The text will be hand drawn, and not a type face, however the buttons will have an Arial Black typeface, just like the one on the Main Menu button and every other button, keeping it a constant style. The text won't say 'Game Failure' though, as that is very harsh, instead it shall be 'Game Over' but given a warming message to try again.

Game over page with two buttons to restart
and to goback to the main menu.

Page 4 - Game Won Page

The winning page will be an animation, with no buttons to go back and play the game again, as unfortunately the coding will not allow it, it does not delete the sequence before for a new game to be started. This is why an animation will be placed there, to gift the player a reward at the end and for them to be happy with their progress.

Game won page with an replace image for
the up coming animation.

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Sounds for the Intruments

With each page done and completed, giving me ideas for each of them, I then created the sounds which will be added into the game itself. This all was done in Audacity, a free recording and editing program for sounds. These sounds consist of instruments and a popping sound for the buttons.

Popping Sound made by mouth.

Popping sound was created by my lips, it was originally meant to come from a bubble but the sound was too quiet to be recorded.

Harmonica Sound made by real Harmonica.

Harmonica sound was created by a Harmonica itself. Originally meant to be a comb on a piece of paper  but I was kindly given a Harmonica to record the sound properly.

Triangle Sound made by three butter knives.

Triangle sound was three butter knives, two held in a triangle position and the third was clashing between the held knives.

Cowbell Sound made by Bell.

Cowbell sound needed to be more of a 'TONK!' but I thought it would be more fun for it to be a bell, making a cuter and approachable noise. The original cowbell noise was taken out because of it being so high pitched.

Tambourine Sound made by pins in a glass jar.

Tambourine sound was pins inside a glass jar shaken around. Originally egg holders in a colander but the noise was too scrappy and loud, however the current sound really sounds like the cowbell and will possibly be changed.

Claves Sound made by two wooden objects.

And the Claves sound is a wooden spoon being smacked on the top end by a wooden fork, making a nice hollow wood clap.

Coding included in the coding for the game,
not individually.

Paper Prototype for the Game and Testing It (College Work)

Completing the Paper Prototype and Testing it.
When I had designed a template for my whole game, testing it would be a great idea. There's only three stages; Starting the game, finishing the game or failing the game. Because of this, there's only three pages of content to see.
Testing the game is to mark out all the mistakes in your idea. I have to test on a younger generation to see if it is something they would like to play in their spare time. What children need is an inspiration to communicate or use their kinetic skills to fiddle and play with things which I tried to portray during this video.

Questions and Failures.

After the video was finished, I questioned on performance and how well the game was set out. The person explained that there was no back button featured on the win page. Some how, I must edit and make note of this idea, or give some sort of reward at the end so that maybe the person may not have to play again. 

Another thing is the amount of turns. Simon Says, or Simon, normally goes on until you make a mistake with your choice. With Tui Says, you get to a certain number and then win the game. The person explained that the number should be more then the original. 

Flow Chart for Kids Game and Creating Game ideas (College Work)

Creation Ideas and Process
When creating a strong idea for a child's game, you have to consider the basics of any children friendly Flash game. It needs colour, simplicity and an idea which will make a child think naturally with no stress intended. I came up with an idea called 'Tui Says' which is just like 'Simon' but with musical instruments involved instead of beeping sounds. I want children to understand instruments which they have never seen before, for them to learn about.

These are the five instruments I will be including in my game; Claves, Cowbell, Triangle, Tambourine, and Harmonica. I may have a description saying what instrument is what on the panels you click. Next thing to make sure is to make the game very colourful, and have fun looking characters.
I was going to go through a cardboard cut out styled game, but I don't think it would have fit in with the characters. It would have been nice, but it was hard to understand what was what on the character, and possibly create less time for myself to focus on creating the game.

These characters are called Tui's, and there'll be different kinds for each instrument. It will give each instrument a unique feel to them, and possibly get more attention that way instead of having just one individual character.

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Flow Chart of how the Game Will Work

This flow chart shows the details of how my game will run in a series of yes and no's. I wanted to do this so I know exactly what to focus on and whether I should change things in the process. It will be such a simple game, starting firstly with the "Start Game". When the button is pressed to start the game, the game runs normally until you win or loose. 

Uses of Sound (College Work)

Functions of Sound;

We understand sounds around us unconsciously, and different sounds effect us differently depending on what kind it is. Sound gives an overall atmosphere to our surroundings, and is important to any game, film, etc. These sounds are called Foley sounds, which are sound effects made and then edited to fit a certain scene or area. This also works for Dialogue, as dialogue for a character or a scene may gift us a reason to care enough and show affections. This is all because when you use sounds or tones to reflect attention to others to make something interesting to use. For example, take Jaws, the classic shark theme which plays just before a person in the film gets taken, eaten and killed by the vicious shark. It gives you a sense of suspense and excitement.

 Analogue and Digital;

Analogue sound comes from radio, enabling you to tune your own wave link and make a clearer sound. Digital is new, and very concentrated, having small sparks of clear sounds coming from either a speaker or a television set. However, some people will prefer Analogue to Digital as Digital doesn't have the traditional crackling noise. Digital has its faults, having an ability to be corrupted easily because of its way of transferring data to a place.  Analogue may have a horrible reception, and dodgy sound waves, it's reliable to keep intact because of its file's simplicity and size. Digital is expensive and the possibilities are nearly endless, but big file sizes are quite easy to corrupt if the slightest thing happens to break a perfect chain.

Interactive Media Products;

Interactive media products are the types which enable you to use music files for personal purposes. Websites have file types for certain Computers (PC or MAC) to play or be used. Computer games use types of sounds to boost personal experience on a game, and create atmosphere. Television and Movies slightly do the same thing as Games, and use sounds for certain parts of a film which builds character.  Flash games rarely use sounds to attract a user, but uses them to create ambience like normal video games, so muting Flash games really does not effect game play.  Mobiles use noises on buttons or apps to attract attention to a certain area, and create attention.

Basics of Sound;

Sound acts like a wave notion to effect the ear drums inside a ear to create a noise our minds understand. Noise is created by vibrations and vibrations travel through sound waves into our ears and translated as sound. The amplitude and tone of a sound wave, however, determines on the pressure of a sound wave. (Amplitude is measured in Decibels (Db).)  Meaning if it takes a while for something to travel, it would be much quieter then it would be if it was close by.  Frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz) and determines the pitch of a noise passing through a sound barrier. If a pitch is too loud, is discomforts and makes things less tolerant, which is why sounds are tested before used, so it's comforting for the person.  

Playing Children's Games Research (College Work)

To ensure my game for children will be interesting and fun to play, I examined and played multiple flash games available on certain websites to check how they work and function. To make things interesting to children, it has to be colourful, and simplistic; Not complicated diagrams or characters. Don't make the child think, make things attractive or glowing so that kids will interact with it to continue, that is the main key.
So, I picked out a few games which will help me with this, and caught my eye the most, taking in visual aspects and playable content.

Alphablocks

Alphablocks is a watch and learn game, with exciting videos and clickable content at the end of each scene which tells you what you have just seen and what they are again (Just in case you had forgotten). The nicest thing about this game is that the video's teach you in song how letters work in words and sentences. There's just over 20 pieces of footage and clickable content areas to choose from, so a child could sit there for hours listening to each musical tune and learning in a much more simple and fun way. The bad side to this game is it is just all watchable and clickable content, which means when you have watched it once, it will be really hard to watch it again, because a child has already seen it.

Boogie Beats

Boogie Beats is a flash file full of musical content which you can use the drum stick cursor to select and mash the coloured numbered beats below. Unfortunately this game is quite confusing, with all the buttons and selections they can make, making this game some what unplayable unless they select the "Help" button. I believe this game could have done better if the game shown pictures instead of numbers and text (e.g. The numbers being pictures of musical instruments.) What I liked about this game though is the amount of options of musical instruments that you can choose to play.

Bottle Tunes

With this game, Bottle Tunes (Shortened down from "Invent a tune on bottles"), you can use your cursor to tap on each bottle which records it, and then you can select the option below; Click to play your song back, from there, a Kwala character will play your tune back to you exactly how you played it. I adore how it shows each name of the pitches made by each bottle, at the bottom of the bottle it self. However it seems quite unappealing and has quite dull colours and text, which could have been avoided by choosing a better colour scheme which worked but was catching to the eye. As for the text, more bubbly and eye catching writing could have been used.

Bug on a Wire

Bug on a Wire is controlled by the arrow keys on your keyboard, and all you have to do is run across the electricity lines and dodge the birds standing on them, or else you will get eaten which causes a game over. I feel it's not really a children's game, as it has some sort of violence in it, but it's really fun to play when you get into it. The simplicity however, is outstanding, and all you really have to think about is dodging crows and getting as far as you can (This is calculated by the numbers at the top of the screen). There's subtle hints in the game of danger when the crows chirp as you jump over, and the music sounds like you're outside in the great outdoors.

Rasskraska

Rasskraska is a colour in game based on Japanese anime styles. Dress up games, or colour in games, are quite popular around the internet; most based on characters from other games, manga's or anime's. This is a really fun game to play, it is like personalising your own picture into how you want it to be and how your personal thoughts react to what you see. It's simple, and just a point and click, although this game really could have done with more pages of content or more wide range of colours to choose from. This game would not appeal to boys, of course, so I guess this is a possible downside to all colour in and dress up games strung across the internet.