Before this class, I didn’t think about all the thought and intentional design that goes into games. I really only thought about the outcomes – if people thought it was fun or not fun, and that, for the most part, games only provided entertainment value and did not have the capability to teach and guide growth. Now, after playing a lot of games that had various topics and media, I appreciate all the intentional design that focused on the emotional breadth of games, how they make you feel, and the ‘lessons’ taught by games.
The class concepts of playing like a feminist, game aesthetics, and appreciating games as forms of art stuck with me. I incorporated feminist theories into my game by having the main female character complex, as well as not focusing the plot on typical story endpoints. I incorporated a lot of game aesthetics by adding in my own art into the game. I wanted the vibe of the cottage to be homey, representative of the witch spending a lot of her time in there.
I experienced challenge in using Godot, as I’d never seen the software before. As someone who has only ever, and only will ever, take CS 106a, coding a game seemed challenging. However, after an introduction by Manas and a few youtube videos, I was able to contribute to the coding! I added many interactable items, designed levels, added characters, animated movement, and even integrated a scene transition.
I grew in my appreciation of different genres of games. I also grew in my ability to storywrite, integrate interaction into stories, and create art. I also grew in my experience with working with strangers. Although I’ve grown up doing group projects with other students, it’s a unique experience not knowing the people in your group at all. I think that I’ll learn how to assert myself a bit better with more practice and experience.
If I keep working on my games/if I build a new game, I think that I would prioritize solidifying the storyline and sticking to it very closely. I think that one of the biggest challenges with our game was that the game we created did not entirely align with the storyline we created. Somewhere in the design/development process we lost sight of our end goal, and I think it hurt us in the long run. I would also add in more playtesting of different components so that when all of them were added together they would be strong as individuals as well as a whole.
Emily Macias
