Month: November 2020

“‘Be shapeless and formless.. like water’ (Bruce Lee)” by Akinini.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

“Have a mind like water.”

― David Allen,  GTD

SUMMARY

• Write your weekly summary here, last, at the end of the week…
  • Only one to two sentences of WHAT YOU DID
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE
• I expanded my knowledge of coding
• I learned about how different activities affect chemicals in the brain
• I made a very basic game in construct 3

Construct 3 / PlayCanvas – Javascript

• https://www.sololearn.com/Course/JavaScript/
• I completed the first lesson in Java Script as I might be switching to that for Construct 3

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

• Why Use Construct?
• The Showcase Page
• Contruct.net
• Construct 3 is an extremely popular and powerful game engine. It can be utilized without needing code, but code can be used with Java Script

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

• the guided tour

OUTSIDE (PRODUCTIVITY & THE BRAIN)

• (Click for larger PDF version)
• Read more at  bananatreelog.com/blog/daily-dose-of-happiness-chemicals

• Making checklists and having an overall structured day seems to be a generally good idea. Checklists themselves help with dopamine, as well as help manage things you would usually spend too much time worrying about. Exercise, and being healthy in general help tremendously in being able to be happy consistently.

STUDIO (CREATIVITY)

• I made a game mostly following the guide, where the player tries to shoot all of the monsters before they get him.

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

• I learned how to use construct 3 in a very basic way, adding sprites and a background, as well as making actions. A problem that I solved was making a way for the player to die, and adding a death effect, which wasn’t in the tutorial.

• “Code washing” by Ezu is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

When asked the most important thing I should teach my students, the MIT student I was interviewing simply stated , ‘ teach them logic.’ – Mr. Le Duc

SUMMARY

• I extended my knowledge of coding and game development. I also learned how to create simple flowcharts and deal with the challenges of creativity

PRACTICE ROOM (TUTORIALS)

Unity

• https://www.sololearn.com/Course/CSharp/

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

• Chicken Little Game Logic Flowchart

• Screenshot from Brandon Grasley YouTube Channel
• Creating a Simple Flowchart in Diagrams.net (Draw.io) Tutorial

• Screenshot from TodaysTuts’ YouTube Channel
• The flowchart library contains all of the symbols in a flowchart
• The oval represents the start of a chart
• The terminator represents the end of the chart
• The square with rounded corners represent a process or action
• Make sure the chart flows from top to bottom or left to right
• The diamond represents a choice or decision. Yes paths usually should go down, while no paths should go to the right
• The document symbol represents a document that is created or a report that’s generated
• Clicking on text or arrows brings up a menu on the right to edit their properties

Mr. Le Duc’s Flowchart Shape Guide

More Flowchart Creation Resources

• http://capitalcomtech.info/2017/02/28/design-elements-flowchart/
• Design Elements Flowcharts (PDF)

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

• https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JpNSPSqOu8ecw4yESR2tSBzUg9d3YaQx/view?usp=sharing
• I learned the basics of how to make a flowchart, like what the different symbols represent and what the general format should be

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

• Elizabeth Gilbert discuss creativity and genius
• I like her idea that creativity comes from outside the individual, and that you shouldn’t put pressure on yourself to be creative.

STUDIO (GAME DESIGN)

Unity

• https://learn.unity.com/course/beginner-design-unity-game-development-course

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

• I learned how to develop an abstract idea into an outline for a game, and how to do so in a way that best sets up the game to be fun and engaging. I also learned how to deal with the pressures of doing a task that requires creativity, and how to manage that creativity in a useful way. I didn’t run into any problems doing this, because it was all straightforward and clear

SUMMARY

• This week I learned the process to go through when making and testing the beginnings of a game, and came up with some ideas for what those games could be

PRACTICE ROOM (TUTORIALS)

• Unity Game engine
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j48LtUkZRjU&list=PLPV2KyIb3jR5QFsefuO2RlAgWEz6EvVi6
• The playlist provides an overview of how to use the core functions of the Unity game engine by making a simple game with Unity and showing what is going on every step of the way.

CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)

• I learned that minimum viable product for a game is a very good indicator of if the game will be fun, and that it’s very important to get this out as soon as possible. It tells you if the core mechanics for your game will be fun, or if they need to be rethought.

Game Genres from the Simplest and Most Difficult to Create

1. Racing Game
2. Top-Down Shooter
3. 2d Platformer
4. Color Matching Puzzle Game
5. 2D Puzzle Platformer
6. 3D Platformer
7. FPS
8. JRPG
9. Fighting Game
10. Action Adventure
11. Western RPG
12. RTS

LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)

• When play testing you need to look back while you’re playing and realize why what you’re doing is fun or not. It’s also important to do this with other games that you play, not just your own.

OUTSIDE (CREATIVITY & THE BRAIN)

• Go for a walk. Think about your life as a narrative for today.  A story of today. You as the protagonist. What/who is your nemesis? Are you trying to win/accomplish something? What? Write notes here about what you thought… and experiment with your blog.  Maybe change the theme? Have fun!
• If this day is a story, my nemesis would be my cat. I’m trying to get my homework done, and he’s meowing at me to open seemingly every door in the house. He secretly knows when I begin to actually get focused, and he’s using every tool in his limited kit to sabotage my life.

STUDIO (GAME DESIGN)

• Idea one: A game where you are a circle that can travel instantly in a straight line to wherever on the screen you click. If you run into a smaller circle, you absorb its mass. If you run into a larger circle, you lose (kind of like agar.io). The goal of the game is to scramble to get as large as you can, eventually becoming the only circle on the screen. Once you do that, the screen zooms out and another level starts. This would not be multiplayer, and only a small number of the other circles would be able to move (5-15) controlled by ai. It would gradually get harder with the ai moving faster at each level.
• Idea two: A 2D Platformer that focuses on climbing up, with every different color of surface has a different function.
• Idea three: A boat racing game where you can design custom boats and race them, trying to balance speed, acceleration, maneuverability, durability and how deep the boat sinks into the water, with different routes and shortcuts available to boats that can drive in shallower water. Boats would also be able to ram one another, with bigger boats being able to sink smaller boats due to increased durability.
• Idea four: A top down shooter where you have to exterminate mutated Bears from overrun cities in the apocalypse, with different types of bears having different abilities.
• Idea five: A 3D Platformer where you can only move by jumping, and have a certain number of jumps at the start of each level. However, you can also throw objects as well as push objects to cause different environmental reactions.

“Day 092/366 – To Do List” by Great Beyond is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Your toughest work is defining what your work is! –  Peter Drucker

SUMMARY

• Write your weekly summary here, last, at the end of the week…
  • Only one to two sentences of WHAT YOU DID
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

PRACTICE ROOM (TUTORIALS)

In this ‘room’ you are going to try Getting Things Done (GTD).

STEP 1: MAKE A LIST

• Band Rhythm assignment
• History Italy assignment
• This blog post
• English paper part 3
• Spanish infant obesity assignment

STEP 2: NOTICE WHAT YOU NOTICED

• This blog post
• English paper part 3
• History Italy assignment
• Band Rhythm assignment
• Spanish infant obesity assignment

STEP 3: SET A TIMER

1. Set a timer for your first task
   1. Decide how long you think it will take before you start
2. Start working
3. Repeat this process for 45 minutes for as many tasks as you can complete, then take a 15-minute break
   • Get up and get a drink of water
   • Get up and go for a walk
   • Every 20 minute blink your eyes 20 times while looking at least 20 feet away
     • This is good for your eyes

Start steps 1 through 3 again, repeat for your school day

OUTSIDE (PRODUCTIVITY & THE BRAIN)

• Set a timer
• Spend up to 20 minutes in this ‘room’
• Watch the first 30 seconds of this Oct. 2020 interview with David Allen

• This system allows for easy control of what needs to be done. It helps prevent helplessness and falling behind. It can also help keep a positive attitude in the face of a lot of work.

OPTIONAL EXERCISE – Literally, read the article and go for another walk 🙂

“I coach C-suite executives and rising stars from the earliest startups to Fortune 100 companies. My passion is to help ambitious leaders achieve their full human potential.”  – Read more about Katia…

• Set a timer
• Spend up to 15 minutes reading…
  • FastCompany Magazine article about Katia Verresen’s techniques and GTD, https://www.fastcompany.com/3026827/the-brain-hacks-top-founders-use-to-get-the-job-done
• Then, go for another 15-minute walk, if it is safe to do so
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

• Write only a few sentences of WHAT YOU LEARNED
• In one or two sentences, describe a PROBLEM YOU SOLVED
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

WEEKLY ACTIVITY EVALUATION

• Give feedback on this week’s class Content and Process
  • Fill in the Weekly Activity Evaluation
• DELETE THIS WHOLE SECTION, AFTER YOU ARE DONE