Games, Glitches, and Design | Final Paper
Natalie Gonzalez, Spring 2022
Overall, I deserve a B+ or A- for the final project. I wish I could have experimented more with pixelated backgrounds in Bitsy, but I did not expect the process to be so time-consuming. While I enjoyed the process, such as writing the plot and dialogue for my game Fallen stars, I spent most of my time coming up with the backgrounds and re-learning the ins and outs of Bitsy, more so how to use the sprites and items to my full advantage. Now that I have completed the project and can look at it with a fresh pair of eyes, I should have made a grid in another program to execute the layout more efficiently. Adding music was the final touch and surprisingly easy as I found a website that would generate a bundle for me, but overall, I enjoyed creating the creative process and will continue to make more Bitsy games. I had to think outside the box for this project. Building walls in Bitsy and scrolling through an endless amount of tiles was often daunting. I have a new appreciation for Bitsy game creators and the number of organizational skills needed. I wish I had taken advantage of some other aspects of Bitsy, like the many hacks I have read about online or have seen through youtube videos after I finished the project. Still, I am happy with how the game turned out and the attempt at an overarching narrative. Now that the semester has wrapped up. I believe I deserve at least an A- in this class due to completing the assignments and executing them to my best ability. Games, Glitches, and Design was my first class to learn how to code and program games. Last semester, I was impressed by friends who could easily make a website. I felt like my skills were lacking as an illustrator and graphic designer who could not help in group-related situations related to coding. This curiosity and overall determination to learn a subject I was excited about were significant reasons I wanted to take this class. I have already used my skills to present projects in website form for imaginary products or places to showcase mock-ups for more graphic design-based projects. It has been exciting getting to know the different types of games out there and getting feedback from friends and family, whether good or bad. It is incredible to hear that something I created in class and showed to a friend took them on a journey or had them feel like they were watching a movie. Overall I believe I deserve at least an A- for the work submitted this semester, and I am excited to see where these newly acquired skills fit in my illustration practice.