Matthew Jordan - Everyone's game

    This week was focused on creating more of a team oriented level to show how our game could be the co-operative experience we had hoped for. In order to make this happen I needed to have more triggers to the level that would create pieces of environment that teammates could use as an advantage. I can say that actually figuring out where the triggers will go and what effect they will have on the level is was a very fun experience and I look forward to it. Another part of this week was creating a more interactive environment for the player to move around with along with the triggers. A valuable lesson I learned from last week is that when designing a level or putting together a prototype I should always design it from the players point of view. Last week when I was putting the level together I was in the mindset of a designer, I knew were all of the trigger spots where so I assumed the player would not mind there being any sort of material on the the triggers in order to see where they were. Yet when the prototype was presented materials on the triggers was the something everyone asked for. By ignoring what the players wanted I made the game less about how they would experience it and more about how I would experience it. Because I knew where the triggers were it created an environment that was almost too dependent on blind luck and most people didn't know where to go in order to set off any triggers. After last weeks critiques and rebuilding the prototype level I learned that to create the best player experience I need to be able to design as both a designer and a player.