Level 3 Team Project - Week 7

This week the team spent time going over the feedback given to us during the two weekly meetings and discussing what steps we now need to take to help refine our project test. We hope to have a concrete testing process by the time we return after Easter, something we feel we can achieve by performing research into tests of a similar nature and by each coming up with several ideas each for use within the testing environment.

During the week I contributed to group discussion, while also working on updating the teams Gantt Chart and plan ready for presenting during our first Milestone Presentation on the 30th of April.

As it's now the Easter break, no blog posts will be uploaded onto my individual blog until the week commencing the 19th of April.

To view the Team Fable project blog, click here.

To view all of the Team Project diary entries, click here.

Level 3 Team Project - Week 6

This week the team spent all our time working on our Pitch Presentation, which was presented to both Brian and Phil on Friday the 19th. All members contributed to the Presentation, both in terms of content and speaking. We were, however, advised by Phil to consider having only one or two speakers for future Presentations. The PowerPoint ended up eight slides long and included all the necessary information we'd written in our Design, Pitch and Plan document.

I feel the Presentation ran relatively smoothly, with all members of the team having the chance to speak and talk about all they wished to mention. We received plenty of feedback from Brian and Phil, with mainly positive words said overall regarding the project.

We were told the main issue we currently have is test measurement- how we are going to measure our test candidates and what exactly are we testing them for. Phil also mentioned the repetition found in our current test- if having players run through the same level twice, will it negatively affect our results?

With the Easter break fast approaching, I hope for the team to have our test details further developed keeping this recent feedback in mind, hopefully leading for them to be to be set in stone before the Milestone 1 presentation on the 30th of April. Work to do over the three week Easter break will be discussed, with us deciding what needs to be done and who should do it before we hit Milestone 1.

To view the Team Fable project blog, click here.

To view all of the Team Project diary entries, click here.

Level 3 Team Project - Week 5

This week we spent our time finalising the Design Document, Pitch and Plan. All members contributed to the document and we ended up with a ten page piece, printed and presented during our meeting with Claire on Tuesday. My contribution to the document remained at the Pitch and Plan sections, which saw me working with fellow team members to complete both Phase I and III.

Also this week I have started work on our Pitch Presentation, which is something to be presented to Brian and Phil next Friday. Already we have a 'dry run' version of the presentation completed for the meeting with Claire next Tuesday. By performing the 'dry run' presentation, we'll have some practise and advice about our slide show and discussion before the real thing.

Overall, I'm very happy with the teams design document and feel confident for our presentation next week. I plan to have a final presentation completed during the next few days and by next weekend we should have some useful feedback from Brian and Phil, something that will be both posted and discussed on the team blog.

To view the Team Fable project blog, click here.

To view all of the Team Project diary entries, click here.

Level 3 Team Project - Week 4

This week work got well under way on our Design Document, Pitch and Plan. I spent my time writing half of the Pitch, half of the Plan, planning out our five major milestones complete with dates and writing a five page case study on the non-playable characters found within the Xbox 360 game, Fable II.

My Fable II report discussed NPC archetypes and stereotypes, compared the characteristics of certain NPCs to others and provides an analytical insight into their roles. To read the full report, click here.

I felt that most of the team has kept working hard this week with the majority of the Design Document completed before the busy weekend ahead, a time that must also be allocated to other units.

The upcoming week is going to be an interesting juggle of work with a hand-in for another unit fast approaching. Regardless, our Design Document hand-in is Tuesday and following that date I hope to write up some more scientific research along with spending time working with our Presentation, so that it's ready for the feedback session on the 19th or March.

To view the Team Fable project blog, click here.

To view all of the Team Project diary entries, click here.

Level 3 Team Project - Analysis of NPCs within Fable II

As part of the teams ongoing research, I have performed an analysis of non-playable characters found within the Xbox 360 title, Fable II. The five page document discusses NPC archetypes and stereotypes, compares the characteristics of certain NPCs to others and provides an analytical insight into their roles.

Fable II [Lionhead Studios, 2007]
 

"The NPCs found throughout Fable II are interesting, as despite having large roles in determining the final outcome of the story, they’re all shallow, uncharismatic bots whose entire list of traits and characteristics can be viewed at any time via a small dynamic menu screen. Merely shells for the mechanic they so influence, NPCs not directly linked to the main storyline in Fable II are a very common affair, with hundreds scattered throughout the land of Albion, though each one fits the same purpose as the next. It isn’t each individual NPC that directly matters in Fable II, but the views of large groups of them affecting several of the player’s stats. As an example, the more quests the player does for NPCs found around town, the higher renown score they gain. Similarly, the more gifts a player gives to different NPCs, the more they’re appreciated."

"One thing to mention- the mentor character of Fable II, Theresa, interestingly breaks the typical mentor archetype by both being female and having a large disability. The Hero of Strength, Sister Hannah, is another interesting character to consider, her character being reversed with Garth, the Hero of Will. Typically, the female would take the role of the wispy magic user while the male would assume the role of the powerful warrior. This switch aids in helping both characters appear more surprising and compelling to the player. Despite obviously having no dialogue or characterisation, the dogs actions throughout, and especially towards the end, of Fable II help shape it into a compelling character, especially since it is linked with one of the biggest decisions the player is presented with."

"By creating stereotypical minor NPCs, Lionhead has managed to create multiple characters out of one personality, perfectly fitting for the roles those characters play. However, due to this, these minor characters are thoroughly uninteresting and do nothing but contribute to the games mechanics."

To download the full five page .pdf version of the analysis, click here.