A more in depth analysis of "Joust"

On a deeper analysis of "Joust," I found that the game doesn't prove much of a challenge for players.

•       The goal of the game is simple: to get score cards that equal to 6 before the other player. This can be accomplished through a combination of mainly luck, and some strategic thinking. 
•      The space in this game is constricting. The player is only allowed to move forward in action, and the players move in opposing directions.
•      The core mechanic of this game isn't too well developed. The game simply revolves around a chance of drawing cards, seeing who has the higher number and then that person gets a score card. Not very interesting at all.
•      As for operative actions, there really are few to none. When the players cross paths, they then see who gets a hit. This is the only interaction in the game. Nothing gives the players more options to move differently across the board other than what their card says.
•      Resultant actions- Since there is only one operative action, there is no variety of resultant actions. Since the player is restricted to only being able to be strategic with how they place their cards in their stacks, they don't have the opportunity to choose how to move or play in any other way. So when it comes to having the game being affected in accordance to how the player uses operational action to achieve a goal, this game is fairly flawed.
•       There really is no skill when it comes to "Joust." About halfway through the game, you realize that you can put your higher number cards in the bottom of your stack so that your chances of getting a higher number will be greater when the two players meet, but that's about it.
•       Chance is the main element of the game, leaving very little opportunity for the players to use any skill of mind to help them win against their opponent. 

Overall, this game could have been invented by a person with the brain of a 5 year old.,(This specific version at least) and is targeted to be played by that age group.

Print and Play game: Joust

My friend and I decided to play a print and play version of the game, Joust. The rules seemed to be simple enough:

- each player has their own set of cards with numbers up to 6

-Each player orders their own cards in whichever way that they please, without the other playing seeing

-Each player has a knight on opposite sides of the boards

-The players then draw their cards, and move their knight forward accordingly.

-On the move that the players cross paths, the player with the higher number has scored a "hit" and gets 2 points. If both players draw the same number, they each get one 1 point.

-The first person to get 6 points wins.

Though the game had simple rules and seemed fun before we played, we both were disappointed in the game once we got into it. It turned out to be fairly boring and much too quick to play.  

Rain

My newly finished watercolor piece. I love practicing watercolor when I have some spare time. It allows me to be more conceptual and abstract with my painting.

Assassin's Creed Trailer Project

My trailer project :) In this project, we were given close to an hour's worth of Assassin's Creed's clips and our job was to create a story out of pieces of those clips. We then would have to accompany music to the trailer to compliment the mood and story. Initially, I wanted the trailer to be serious, but I eventually decided to twist it into something somewhat comical. Quality is normally 720p, but it's not displaying that way. Sorry :/

Video Game Music

Along with having a love for games, I've always had a deep passion about music. Having been a pianist for the majority of my life, I hope to compose and create my own music for my final thesis at Ringling. Aside that, I always find myself drawn to the music in video games, movies, exc. I love to collect soundtracks and I tend to pay more attention to the music in games more than I do the gameplay at times. A soundtrack can impact a game so much, whether it be creating the mood or simply complimenting the gameplay. Here are some of my favorite songs from my favorite game soundtracks.

Heavy Rain as a whole has a beautiful soundtrack. Definitely take a look at the other songs in the score as well. I've played this piece on piano before and I absolutely love it.

Nier. Though I have never played this game, the soundtrack is beautiful.

Catherine. I have not played this game mainly because I am awful at puzzle games, but I love the music in the game. This piece is also fun to play as well.

Summer Art/Process sketches

These are just some quick sketches that were done over the summer to help me practice with the planes/anatomy of faces, along with some other art stuff.

A self portrait sketch

A cartoon interpretation of myself

A gestural sketch drawing of a tiger 

A sculpture of a critter that was made during the summer. Definitely not a favorite of mine.