Quiztmas

Today we started off with a Christmas quiz that involved completing the title of different Christmas films that had sections of the title blanked out. I found this quiz to be entertaining but difficult and I only managed to achieve a score of 5 out of 10 which did not win me the dual monitors.

We then moved on to completing any outstanding work, I continued with my game making. I changed the background of my game assets so that they stand out in the game from the background and other assets. I then reviewed my PDP from last week in order to meet assignment requirements.

More Game Creation

Today we began by continuing on with designing the games that we have to create for this assignment. I have added more assets into the game and I have made sure that the assets cannot phase through objects or each other. I did this by selecting the solid box at the right hand side of the objects dialogue box. I feel that the games design is going well so far but I am beginning to find it a very repetitive task and I struggle with certain aspects of games design.

We continued to create our games until the end of the day at 2:30pm. I feel that I should meet the deadline for this unit which is after the Christmas holidays which is in 2 days time (yay!). I am looking foward to the holidays because I have worked very hard throughout the last few units and I am feeling very drained and I am struggling for motivation in certain aspects of work but this should be sorted out after the holidays. I am also looking foward to bowling tomorrow because I have not been bowling in a while so I am hoping I am good enough to win some prizes or at least beat John.

I feel I need some help with the games design as some tutorials do not cover every aspect of game design and if they do then they do not do it in a clear enough manner. I will mainly need help with the coding because we have to include some code and I cannot code for the life of me so I will most likely struggle when I come round to putting code within the game. I plan to put in the minimum amount of code possible so I have less chance of messing the code or game up.

Overall today was an average day because I enjoyed the chocolates that were handed out and they were very tasty but I found the game making task the most annoying and repetitive thing I have done in ages. I could also sense that a few other people felt the same way because there were a lot of smashed footballs during lunch break however I can now look foward to bowling tomorrow and only having a half day on Thursday.

Creating the Game

Today we started off by updating our personal development plans. this is when we set targets throughout the unit and try to achieve them before the unit finishes. We had to comment on the targets we had set before and then set new ones that we think we can achieve before the end of the unit. We have been setting PDP targets for the last three weeks and trying to achieve them. I have achieved most of the targets so far but I still need to achieve some more. I feel that I am keeping my PDP up to date very well.

Most of the class then went to the UEA for a look around the university but some stayed behind and continued with their work like I did. I finally began creating my game after working hard last week on the design aspect of the game I moved on to actually developing it. I started off by adding the main character sprite and then making sure it was the correct size for the game. I then added the maze wall and began creating the layout of the maze. I feel that the game looks good so far and I hope to add more sprites and assets tomorrow.

I looked at lots of Game Maker tutorials on YouTube in order to help me with certain aspects of Game Maker like re-sizing images and making certain objects solid within the game so that assets do not float through walls or escape from the games arena. I got through 3 tutorial videos and I found them incredibly helpful considering how unreliable YouTube can be at times. I hope to have the game finished sometime after the Christmas holidays but before the hand in deadline.

Overall today was a very good day because I found that creating my game was very enjoyable because I was expecting it to be very complex and difficult meaning I would be tempted to throw the computer out of the window but fortunately it was actually quite easy. The negative of today was the lack of other students in the centre meaning we had less people to talk to and no one wanted to play football during lunch break.

Completion of Assignment Two

Today we started off by continuing with design work to do with the games we need to create as part of this unit. I finished the report as part of this assignment and made the table that contained variable names for the game and the data type it was. I also explained the function of each variable and how the data type makes the object do it's job in game. I feel that the design work I have done is to a good standard and I hope it meets the specified requirements.

I then added the storyboard images to the design specification and described what was on each storyboard. I then proofread the document to make sure it all made sense and that there were not any spelling errors or grammatical mistakes within the document. I also feel the storyboard section of the design specification is of a very good standard and I hope it meets the specified requirements on the scheme of learning.

I feel I will need help when it comes to the creation of the game because I need to watch some Game Maker tutorials and then take the knowledge on board so I have a good understanding of how to create a good working game. I will also need help with the coding side of the game because I struggle with coding a lot this is shown by the software design unit done previously in which I did not manage to make a working program.

Overall today was a good day because I completed assignment two and handed it in before the deadline was over. The positives of this week were that I handed in assignments and other work on time and the work was done to a good standard. I achieved a score of 8 out of 10 on the weekly quiz which means I am edging closer to the dual monitors. I also enjoyed playing football at lunch because it is nice to go outside after staring at a computer for a long time. The negatives of this week were that I still have software design work to hand in on top of creating the game which I still haven't started yet.

Design Spec

Today we started off with a quiz all about the day in the life of a games designer. I found the video to be a bit inaccurate because this was just one persons experience and not necessarily everyone's personal experience when working as a games designer. I felt the questions in the quiz were of a mixed difficulty because some questions were about information like what game she likes to play but then there were questions like what brand of air freshener was on her desk. I managed to achieve a score of 8 out of 10 but I still did not win nevertheless I did not come last so I do not have to do the quiz on the final day of term next week.

We then moved on to continuing with any work to do with assignment two task one. I continued on with my design specification and I managed to complete some pseudo code for my game which is part of the assignment criteria. I also completed a part of the report and I hope to get the rest of the evidence for assignment two completed tomorrow as this is when the deadline is for assignment two. I feel I should meet this deadline because I am nearly done now.

I feel I do not need any help at this stage because I am currently working on assignment two which is the design side of the game and not the actual creating of the game. I hope to have this work done tomorrow so that I can meet the assignment deadline and then be able to play around some more with Game Maker before I get straight to creating the game. I will probably need help at the creating stage of the game because I have a lack of experience with Game Maker and I am not very good at coding.

Overall today was a good day because I worked very hard to get the storyboard ready for scanning by drawing over it in black pen. I then moved on to the design specification and the pseudo code that has to be done with the design specification after that I wrote up some of the report but I still have some of it to write up before I am finished. There were negatives like the amount of work I still have to get done before tomorrows deadline and it was really cold again this morning so I nearly froze.

Finishing the Storyboard

Today we started off by discussing what information we needed to put in our design specification in order to meet the criteria for the task and assignment. The information that needed to be included was explaining the purpose of the game in detail, talk about the amount of levels and a brief story line about the game. I understood this and made sure the necessary information was included when I had finished the design specification.

I then moved on to writing and drawing up the storyboard for my game which I will begin to create soon. I drew all of the assets I wished to include in the game and then wrote some bullet points of information about each asset and what kind of job they would do in the final version of the game. I felt I did quite well at this task because I included lots of information about each of the assets but I did not draw them very well but then we are not marked down for drawing. I managed to finish the storyboard and all I have to do is scan it and then add it on to the design specification.

I feel I may need some help in the near future particularly when it comes to making my game. I do not have nay experience with Game Maker but hopefully tutorials can help although that has to depend on the quality of writing and instructions within the tutorial. I hope to begin creating my game on Thursday or maybe at the latest Friday depending on how quickly I can get the Pseudo code and scanning of my storyboard done.

Overall today was a good day as I worked very hard on my storyboard to make sure it was to the best of my ability and I received a Christmas card from a fellow student which was drawn to perfection and made my drawing look like a toddlers joking aside it was a very nice gesture from Danny. The negative of today was that I still have work form the Software Design unit to hand in but I need to concentrate on this unit so I will probably have to do the previous work at home.      

                                                                                            

Completed Assignment One

Today we started off by recapping about Pseudo code and how to make good and accurate Pseudo code. The first exercise was to create Pseudo code for having a shower and use IF statements to help make it understandable. We then had to add the ELSE statement to the Pseudo code to make it more in depth. I did this exercise surprisingly well because I do not like doing Pseudo code that much so it was a surprise when I did it quite well.

I then moved on to creating the design specification for the game because we had the rest of the time to continue with the design aspect of our games. I managed to write the introduction, talk about the game and make an action plan for the design of the game. I have not yet completely finished because I have to create the Pseudo code for the game and make sure it is correct. I can then move on to making the actual game.

I finished assignment one of the game design unit at home because we were set this assignment to do as homework so we could concentrate on designing our games. I had finished task one on Friday and I completed task two on Sunday and I can now hand in my assignment before the deadline. I will hand the assignment in tomorrow when I have a bit more time because I have lots of design work to do so I can meet the deadline of assignment two.

I feel I do not need any help with assignment two because I have read the scheme of learning and listened to the class discussions and I now know what is required to meet the requirements for this assignment. I hope to have assignment two done by Friday or maybe at the earliest Thursday but I may struggle when it comes to creating the game for the next assignment although I have extra time because I am not going to the UEA trip on Monday next week.

Overall today was a good day because I got lots of work done as I managed to understand Pseudo code slightly more and create the design specification for the game. I did not enjoy how cold it was today as I was freezing both this morning while I was walking up here and during lunch when I was playing football.      

Completing Task One of Assignment One

Today we started off by looking at the different design actions we have to take before creating our games. We were put into small groups and told to come up with a list of things we must do before we create the game. The list contained things like creating a storyboard, making the games assets, coming up with a brief story line description and an action plan. I felt this task helped to point out what we needed to do before we create the game and it helps with organisational skills as well.

We then had to get to work on anything to do with games design. I continued on with assignment one tasks one and two and I managed to complete task one. I hope to have task two completed by Tuesday next week as that is the assignment hand in deadline. I found task one to be quite simple to complete because the group knows a lot about games and the kind of impacts they can have on society.

I feel I do not need any help with task two because I also understand this task and already have some of the knowledge required for this task. I also felt a lot of information was covered during the class discussions that usually take place. I hope to have task two done by Tuesday although it will have to be done as homework because we have lots of other work to do like making storyboards and assets for the game.

Overall today was a very good day because I got lots of work done and there were positives like getting my assignment one back from the previous unit and the fact it's only two weeks until we break up for Christmas. There were also negatives like the fact that I still have some work to hand in from the software design unit. I also went to play football on the hard court but it was locked so we asked for the key from a member of staff and they told us they do not have the key because they lost it.    

Assignment One Task Two

Today we began with a quiz about Google's efforts to make a driver-less car. I found this to be interesting because the statistics about how many hours people in America spend in traffic to how many gallons of gasoline can be saved with driver-less cars. I managed to achieve a score of 6 out of 12 which was enough to mean I don't have to do the quiz next week although I was disappointed I could not achieve a higher score on the quiz.

We then moved on to a discussion about the psychological effects video games can have on people. We had to discuss what we think made people want to play video games.This can be things from sound effects to the competitive nature of the game and people wanting to better or higher their score. I found this to be interesting because I was keen to see what people felt attracted them to carry on playing a video game rather than just stopping.

We then moved on to discussing task two of assignment one which is to discuss the different types of games and gaming platforms. We all listed different genres of games like first person shooter and sports games and then we were put into pairs and chose a genre of game to find a definition and examples of games from this genre and then present to the class. I was assigned first person shooter and it was interesting to see what other people had put for their definitions about different genres.

I feel I do not need any help with assignment one because I understand the task and know about what kind of information to put in the task in order to meet the criteria stated on the scheme of learning. I have nearly finished task one and will be finished in a couple of slides. I hope to meet the deadline for this assignment which is on Tuesday.

Overall today was a good day because I found the quiz to be interesting and informative while also laughing at the difficulty of the questions after the video. I also got lots of work done today meaning I have less to do towards the assignment deadline. I did not enjoy the initial English and Maths assessments I had to do today.      

Assignment One

Today we began by looking at the positives and negatives that video games have on society. we were divided into groups of three and we had to draw up either a list of positives or negatives depending on which one we were assigned. We then had to collaborate our list with other groups and come up with a final list. We then presented this list to the other group who came up with a list of positives and we eventually came up with a final list full of both positives and negatives. I felt this task was good because it was interesting to see other peoples ideas and experiences and be able to create a list that will be used for assignment one.

I then moved on to creating a PowerPoint about the negative and positive aspects of gaming on society. We have to explain things like the health issues gaming can lead to and the benefits like improving hand-eye coordination. I chose PowerPoint because I felt that the layout would be easier to create and it makes it look more organised. I hope to have the first task done on Thursday so I can get on with improving my game making skills.

I enjoyed the group task this morning because we don't get to work as a group very often and I enjoyed hearing about other peoples experiences about gaming. I did not enjoy working on the assignment because I just find assignments boring.

I feel I do not need any help with my assignment because I understand what I have to do and what must be done in order to meet the criteria when the deadline comes around.

Overall today was an average day because I enjoyed the teamwork aspect and I enjoyed the discussion but I did not enjoy working on the assignment. I found the football session to be dangerous because the football was pumped up to maximum air meaning it was harder and a lot more bouncier.
 

Game Design

Today we started a new unit called developing computer games. First we discussed the impact of games on society such as physiological impacts and the positives and negatives of video games. I found this discussion to be interesting because I was keen to see how people felt video games impacted society and what kind of psychological effect they can have.

We then moved on to looking at example games made from a previous year. I found this to be fun because it was good to see people ideas and concepts they had then put into an end product that can be quite enjoyable. The games were also quite buggy because you could walk up walls or be unable to finish the game because a ledge could not be reached. I found this to be rather annoying because I was getting into the games and I really wanted to complete them.

We then had to follow a tutorial step by step to create a simple game that involved clicking on a moving object that would randomly position itself and bounce off walls. It would also increase in speed and add a score of 10 every time the clown was clicked on. I successfully recreated this by following the tutorial but I found the tutorial to be too detailed and there was far too much text for a tutorial and it had 19 pages.

I enjoyed playing the games because I found it to be fun and also give me inspiration for the type of game I would like to create when I get the opportunity. I did not enjoy the tutorial because although it was rewarding to create a small game the tutorial made it seem less significant because of the time it took me to finish the tutorial.

Overall today was a good day because it felt like a new day because we were starting a new unit. I completed everything expected of me and enjoyed some of the activities that were set today. I also found the video at the start of the day to be very interesting because it puts into perspective how far technology has come. I also found the lunchtime football session to be enjoyable as well despite how crowded the pitch was.        

Assignment Two Complete

Today I started off by making some notes and finalising my PowerPoint before I had to present it in front of the group. I felt I made some good notes beforehand and they were detailed enough to make sure I knew what I was talking about. The moment came and I had to present my PowerPoint in front of the group. I felt the PowerPoint was good but my presenting skills let it down a bit because I was quite nervous.

I then had to fill in a sheet of paper that rated someone else's PowerPoint in certain categories like how much visual aid they had on the slide to their tone of voice. When I filled the sheet in I then had to create a report that analysed another persons presentation and make sure it was detailed and include images of their slide and the sheet of paper I had filled in earlier.

I had finished creating my report and so I had no more work to do until assignment three next week which is an on-going task that requires us to make a personal development plan. The personal development plan involves setting targets that we feel we can achieve over the next unit. I feel that I can make good targets that are achievable but also test myself at the same time.

Overall this week was good because I got lots of work done and met the deadlines that were set throughout this unit. I also enjoyed learning about the unit. I did not enjoy the stress of having to meet these deadlines but in the end I met them so I am pleased.

Assignment Two Completion

Today we started off with a quiz about the different types of houses. The types of houses were the bee-eer house that consisted of love and relationships, The dreamer house that consisted of spirituality and dreams, and the do-er house that mainly has rules and order. The questions however were easy because it was things like what the talker in the videos name was and the colour of his shirt. I achieved a score of 10.5 out of 13 which is good but unfortunately people beat me to first second and third.

I then moved on to working on my PowerPoint for my talk. I added a conclusion slide and lots of transitions to keep it interesting. I also added notes to the bottom of the slide so I can remember what to say when it comes to the talk. I have to wait till tomorrow to do the talk and then write the report about another persons PowerPoint presentations.

I then completed the visual learner task which was to create a handout or leaflet that talks about the different learning styles like visual, audio and verbal. I also had to create a mini questionnaire that displays results for a learning type. I also had to discuss which learning type I preferred and discuss my results.

I feel I do not need any help with my work at this stage because I have almost finished the unit because all I have left to do is giving my presentation and writing a report on someone else.

Overall today was a good day because I got lots of work done like finishing my PowerPoint and the different learner styles handout. I enjoyed the simplicity of the Thursday quiz and the football session at lunch time. I did not enjoy finding out that I had to wait till tomorrow to do two tasks because the rest of my power point group had not finished.   

Close To Completing Assignment One

Today we started off with a quiz about the things we have learned over the past week of this unit. The questions seemed difficult until everyone found out how much they scored. I scored 10 out 14 which was not enough to win the prize because someone achieved a score of 12 out of 14. The lowest score was 3 meaning I was just above average in terms of my score in this quiz.

We then moved on to working on either the PowerPoint for assignment two or working on assignment three. I worked on assignment one and I have now finished my PowerPoint and I am now working on the Word document that shows what kind of proofreading methods were used like spellchecker, thesaurus and the track changes tool. I feel I will finish assignment two on Thursday or Friday depending on when I present my presentation.

After Lunch we continued on with the work we were doing after break. I got lots more work done but I have not yet finished the Word document. I hope to have it finished on Thursday leaving me time on Friday to get on with assignment three.

I feel I do not need any help with assignment two because I have done two of the three tasks and I understand the final task meaning I will hopefully have the work done.

Overall today was a very good day because I did a lot of assignment work and I have handed in work from he previous software design unit. I enjoyed the quiz we did in the morning and I found it funny seeing the hat designs Chris and Brandon were coming up with. I did not enjoy the weather this morning because it was very cold in fact it was -2 degrees meaning even wearing a coat did not do a lot to keep me warm.
 

The Beginning of Assignment Two

Today we started off by working on assignment two task one. We had to create a power point on the readability of code and then create a draft with mistakes in and then show evidence that we have rectified these mistakes using print screens and explaining the changes we made. I felt I am doing well at this assignment because I have followed the task exactly but I need to begin with the evidence document and then I will be finished. I will have this done by the deadline and I am not looking foward to presenting in front of people.

We then moved on to completing a survey created by VAK that eventually tells you what kind of learner you are. There are four different types visual, auditory, kinesthetic and read/write learner. My results are that I am a read/write learner by majority and a couple of points behind was auditory learner. I think the results correctly show what kind of learner I am.

I then moved on to handing in re submission work from the programming unit. I have handed in all of it except the actual program because it does not work and I need to fix it and then send it off. I hope to have this done today so I can then focus my efforts on the current unit of communication and employ-ability skills in I.T

I am currently enjoying the current unit because it has been easy to understand and I feel I have fully understood the assignments and what content we have to add to them. I also find what we are talking about interesting because I hope to get an apprenticeship in I.T meaning I will need good employ-ability skills.

Overall today was a good day because I got lots of work done and I hope to be able to focus on this unit in order to get more work done. I also enjoyed seeing some amazing origami and everyone's great footballing ability at lunchtime. I did not enjoy having to wear the late hat because I was about 10 seconds late into the classroom.        
 

Assignment one Complete

Today we started off by working on any unfinished or outstanding work. I continued on with assignment one task two and managed to get it completed by the end of the day. I felt task two has not gone too badly but I feel it is not as good as task one in terms of quality. I feel the whole assignment has gone very well because I understood the information and put all of it in the assignment.

I then moved on to handing some work from the previous software design unit that we completed last week. I successfully handed it in and I now await the results from this re submission.

I did not need any help with the first assignment of this unit because I understood the information well and took it all in. I now have to start on assignment two task one because we have to do three or four assignments per unit. I hope to complete the assignment two before the deadline which I have not yet been told.

Today I enjoyed some aspects of the work and I enjoyed seeing Danny's memes that he created yesterday. I enjoyed the meme until I realised he had used a picture of me from 5 years ago. I least enjoyed the stress of having to meet today's deadline and getting some of the previous work from other units done.

Overall today was a good day because I got a lot of work done and I now have two days off to relax and then begin again on Monday. The positives form this week were that I started a new unit, The entertaining quiz that we did on Thursday and the footballing sessions at lunch break. The negatives from this week were that I had a lot of work to do and deadlines to meet making me stresses, completing previous work and finding out I featured in the meme of the day for yesterday.

Assignment One Task Two

Today we started off with a quiz about a kick-starter product that planned to ad WiFi to any given product. I felt the questions were quite easy because the questions were not about the content but more about certain small things like what colour handle the man was holding onto. I managed to achieve a score of 7 out of 10 which means I do not have to do the quiz next week.

Next we moved on to talking about assignment two and how effective proof reading can be. We had to look at an example piece of work and make any changes to mistakes that are made. I felt I did well at this task because I found most of the mistakes other than one or two that needed to be searched up on Google. We then discussed the methods we used on the whiteboard and how effective they can be.

We then carried on with any piece of work we needed to do. I carried on with task one and managed to complete task one and I have now moved on to task two which requires me to make a power-point that talks about effective communication and the different methods that can make communication effective. I feel I will finish this task tomorrow and then be able to hand in assignment one before the deadline.

I enjoyed the quiz because I found the video interesting because I liked the looks of the product and it showed just how far technology has come in the last few years. I least enjoyed talking about assignment two because I have not yet finished assignment one meaning I found it stressful because i now have lots of work stacked on top of each other.

Overall today was a good day because there were some fun aspects like the quiz but there were negatives like assignment two and everyone's footballing ability was a bit of a let down including mine! I am looking forward to tomorrow because it is Friday and the end of the week and I should be able to get a lot of work done tomorrow.        

Assignment one

Today we began with a talk given by a man from the Royal Navy recruitment office in Norwich. The talk was about apprenticeships and jobs within the Royal Navy. He discussed things like what section of the Navy we could join to what kind of skills are required to be successful. I felt the talk in some aspects was interesting like talking about the different skills but I found the Royal Navy section boring because I have no interest in joining the navy.

We then moved on to assignment one which is discussing why each attribute skill and attitude is valued by employers. I am currently writing up the attitude section of the task having already completed the general attributes and job based attributes. I feel I will meet the deadline set for this Friday because I have been working very hard so far.

After lunch we continued with assignment one until break time. I feel I do not need any help with my assignment at this time because I largely understand what we have to make and write before Fridays deadline.

I most enjoyed the hangman games we did when trying to guess words that had to do with skills and attributes. I least enjoyed the talk because I felt we could have done more work within that time frame.

Overall today was a very good and productive day because I got a lot done but I felt more could have been done during the talk.

New Unit

Today we started a new unit called communications and employ-ability skills in I.T. The starter activity involved the team leader of each group to go up to a table and create the object they were told to. They then had to go back to the groups and give them some Lego to create exactly the same object without showing the group. I felt our group did really well at this task because we successfully made the object we were told to despite how simple it looked to make.

We were then told to find a job on the internet and list it's skills and attributes section. Each job had different skills and attributes because each job was different. We then listed each of the attributes on the board to make a more complete list.This helped me to understand more about the different skills and attributes that employers regularly look for. We also listed down attitude and skills using the same method.

We then made mini presentations on an assigned attribute. Our group was given interpersonal skills that we had to come up with a definition and examples for. We then presented these in front of the class and it was interesting to see what people had come up with. I felt our presentation could of had a bit more detail but we didn't have enough time to add more bullet points.

We then played a game of Chinese whispers to show how ineffective communication can be. It started off with a small group of four that successfully completed the chain. We then tried this with the whole class and things just got massively complicated and somehow Billy's mum was thrown into the equation.

Overall I felt today was both an informative and enjoyable day because I learnt about many new skills and attributes employers are looking for and I enjoyed the games of Chinese whispers. I least enjoyed playing football in the rain at lunch and my bus breaking down in the morning and having to stand in the rain and wait for a new one.  

Comets and Batman

Today we started off with yet more countdown. I managed to successfully not answer the maths question for the 3rd consecutive time. The word round I only manged five letter's on. We then moved on to the quiz and it was hard. The questions were about things like what was the colour of Notch's watch to what was the colour of his curtains. When the annoying questions were done I managed to achieve a score of six out of ten meaning I didn't have to do the quiz again.

We then moved on to finishing off any work we had left or any re submission work that needed to be done. I managed to finished assignment one tasks one and two off but I am still not quite finished on task three. We also talked about chairs and which out of a set of three images would have been the best to sit in. I would have liked the Game of Thrones chair but unfortunately that was the incorrect choice.

I feel I do not need any help because I have just finished and handed in assignment three after having to go back to add titles and make some more mind maps. I will then move on to working on re submission work and I should have assignment one resubmitted by tomorrow.  

We then looked at NASA's Rosetta mission and just how much of an impact it has on the world of science. We then got into a discussion about the film Armageddon and how bad of an actor Ben Affleck is and how he will ruin the Batman franchise. I personally could not have cared about Batman because I just cannot stand the films.

I enjoyed the quiz the most because the questions were just laughable like how many squids were behind him on the wall. I least enjoyed the work because it was embarrassing looking over past work and having to correct simple mistakes.

Overall today was a good day in terms of some of the activities and discussions the class had but the work was boring but it is nearly the weekend so I get a bit of time off work for two whole days.

Hand In Date

Today we started off with a good countdown session that included a conundrum, regular word round and the numbers round again. I felt I did okay at the word rounds but then I was awful at the numbers round because I can get nowhere near the target number. I also did poorly at the conundrum because I had no clue about the word until the time was up and the word looked really simple.

We then moved on to coding again and I had to test it to make sure it would work without any errors.  I had a large error at the end because the program would not add up the total cost to paint the room and it kept displaying zero as the final answer. In the end I had to get John to fix it and from what I saw it looked massively complicated but it was fixed and it now adds up the total to two decimal places as well.

I managed to finish the Pseudo Code because after looking at the example PDF it helped me to create my Pseudo Code and it made me realise how they work too. I still need to create a testing document but I hope to have this done by the 11:59 pm deadline tonight. I feel that I should meet this deadline but I am feeling the pressure.

I enjoyed the countdown game because it helped to wake me up in the morning and it was different from our regular boring activities we usually do in the morning. I least enjoyed the coding because I had a massive problem with adding the total and it took ages to get it sorted and it turned out something was wrong with one of the variables.

Overall today was an average run of the mill day because there was lots of work to be done but there was a fun activity at the start and it was amusing to see what people in the class had typed into Google over the past month.
  

Close To Finishing!

Today we started off with a countdown session. We had to select four numbers and we had a choice of large or small numbers. Large numbers is anything more than ten and small is less than ten. We then were given a randomly generated number we had to try and equal or get close to using the numbers given. I did poorly at this task because I hate maths and I have always struggled with that side of countdown I prefer the word round because I understand English more than I do numbers.

We then continued on with coding for the rest of the day. I managed to achieve a lot and I have now nearly finished the code. All I have to do now is to make some tweaks to it and make sure that it works properly. I will then have to make some Pseudo code for the program and then it is time to hand it in.

We were shown a video about a game called No Mans Sky which apparently has more than 18 quintilion planets for users to explore. It will be released next year on Xbox One and Ps4 meaning next year I will be able to play because I have a Ps4.

I enjoyed the countdown session at the start of the day the most because it was different from what we usually do although I didn't get a single answer correct I got to enjoy watching the countdown clock. I least enjoyed the coding aspect because I started to get coding eyes and I had to keep requesting assistance and the whole thing just got really tedious.

I feel I need more help with the coding of my program like how to make sure the calculation at the end of the program is correct and I need help understanding Pseudo Code because I have to make some Pseudo Code tomorrow and I do not think I am currently capable of doing that.

Overall today was a good day as I got to enjoy some activities that we don't normally do like the countdown activity and watching a game play trailer for a game I had never heard of until today but I found certain aspects boring like the coding.  
 

Mind Blowing Paper Tricks

Today we started off with an exercise in which we had to mimic an example piece of paper in the middle of table. At first I found it completely mind blowing. I then used multiple cuts to try to come up with an exact copy. Unfortunately I didn't get it correct but I was very close. We then found out that it only takes three cuts to make and then twist some paper around in order to achieve the exact shape. I found this to be annoying as it seems such a simple thing now we know how to do it.

We then moved on to some more programming. At first I found this to be stressful but after an incredible amount of guidance from John I have so far managed to achieved a staggering 80 lines of code. I now feel more confident with programming and I now know that the deadline on Tuesday can be met and hopefully a high quality product if not something that works will be fine.

I feel I need some help grasping the Pseudo code section of the assignment but hopefully with guidance (again) I can make some Pseudo code that represents my currently in progress program. I now feel like I need less help with coding but I can never be sure as I still have a bit left to finish like working out the total cost of painting a room.

The positives from this week were that; I am beginning to grasp coding, I completed a Flo chart without help and I am no longer suffering from my chest injury I suffered during a Sunday football match. The negatives of the week were that; I didn't achieve blog star status, I still have to resubmit my previous assignment and that I can't write Pseudo code.

Overall Today was a good day as I got a lot of work done and I now feel more confident with programming then yesterday when I felt like I couldn't code anything. I also got to watch an amusing video about Amazon's new product the echo. It was hilarious particularly the way they shouted at it and asked it literally everything. The echoes jokes were worse than John's jokes which is hard to achieve.        

The Half Day

Today I started off with some more programming because I arrived at lunch time I only had half a day. I was at the hospital getting some treatment on my chest scars because I was studded in the chest during a football match a couple of weeks ago. I felt the appointment took too long because I had to wait about 15 minutes just to get some cream.

When I arrived at Develop it was time for lunch so I went off to play some football. When I got back I was one minute late meaning I had to wear the late hat for a minute while working on some of my program and creating a mind map for a section of the program. I feel that this is going okay but I still need more help with my program and my mind map because I can't draw lines.

Overall today was a very short but productive day for me. The positive was that I got a half day and the negative is the amount of work I still have left to do before next weeks incoming deadline.

Tomorrow I plan to finish the mind map and continue programming as much as I can and hopefully get a lot of work done. I will also be at Develop for a full day meaning my blog post won't be as short as this.    

Assignment 3

Today we started off by talking about testing programmes. We mainly focused on how often we should do it and but also how much of the code we should test at the same time. In the end we came up with a small phrase that says "little & often" meaning the amount of code we should test and how frequently we should do it. I feel that I now know that testing a program is key to making sure the program works. We also tested an example program and looked at it's assumptions and things that it had wrong with it.

We then moved on to creating our flowcharts for assignment three. I separated my flowcharts into five different sections each taking on a different aspect of the program that has to be created at a later date. I felt I did really well at this task considering I thought that I did not know much about flowcharts.

Break was over and we continued with our flowcharts but every thirty minutes or so we had to look at a peers flowchart and comment on it. I found this to be useful as it allowed me to rectify certain small mistakes that I had made with my flowchart like not having an arrow connect to another arrow.

We then started coding our paint cost calculator. I am struggling with most aspects of this but it is starting to click as I now know more about variables and what they do. I still need to do a lot more and I am particularity struggling with conditions at this current time but hopefully I can soon realise how to use them and when.

The positive of the day was my flowchart because it felt great to do something when at the beginning I was doubting myself that I even create a flowchart. Another positive was that my injury isn't so bad although I still feel some pain I was able to still play football and not make the injury worse. The negative of the day is my struggle to code a successful program although there is some progress I still feel as if I will struggle to meet the requirements of the task.

Overall today was a very average day because there were positives and negatives but I worked very hard and got a good amount of work done. I still hate coding but that will be hard to change even after I do learn how to do it.

Hand in Deadline

Today we started off by making some code that would ask the user how many days in the week there are and then make the user list them in order. I felt I did okay with this task but I don't really know much about how arrays work. We then moved on to trying to make a Flo-chart about making a cup of tea. I did not do very well on this task mainly because the website I was using to make the shapes was really annoying because every time I made an arrow it would copy the previous shape next to it.

Break was over and we moved on to listing some problems we were having with different assignments and tasks. Unfortunately usually when we have to write something down with the class watching it turned into a frenzy and shapes and notes were just appearing left right and centre.

We then moved on to working on our assignments. I worked on assignment two and some of assignment one but I have not started on assignment three because I have no clue how to code something as complex as what we have to. We have to code a program that asks users how many walls they have and what length they are and then determine how much it would cost to paint the walls.

I feel that I do not need any help because I put down my concerns on the note written down on the interactive white board  that nearly the whole class vandalised although it might be a little extreme to call it vandalism.

I enjoyed listing down our concerns or problems with different assignments the most because I liked seeing peoples hilarious responses and drawings. I least enjoyed my injury the most because it was painful and it still is painful and it will continue to be painful for a few days.

Overall today was a fairly average day because I got a lot of work done and I felt I worked very hard but during lunch break a group of us went to play football and during this footballing session I think I pulled a hamstring and now my day is sort of ruined because I have to walk a long way and the back of my thigh now hurts.

Half Term!!!!!!!

Today we started off with a starter activity that required us to create a program that asked for five names and the scores those five names achieved. The extension was to add arrays to the code of the program meaning more names could be added without having to count them in manually. I felt the task went well because I successfully created a program that matched the activity's requirements however I did not have enough time to move on to the extension.

We then moved on to working on more of assignment two in which we have to develop a Power Point that covers the software development cycle and some of the weaknesses and strengths of certain aspects of it. I feel this task is going very well now and I should hopefully have the assignment completed by the deadline after half term.

We then moved on to a quiz and the subject of this quiz was about flow charts and pseudo code. I found this quiz to be relatively easy because I achieved a score of ten out of fourteen this was because I know a fair bit about flow charts and some basic information about pseudo code.

Finally we looked at pseudo code in more depth and talked about how much of it we have to do when we start assignment three in just over a weeks time. I felt that I now know some more information on pseudo code but not enough information to say that I fully grasp the whole thing about pseudo code.

Overall today was a good day because I am starting to get to grips with coding even though we started it like two or three weeks ago. The positives from this week were that I was able to hand in assignment one on time after working on it from home to make sure I finished it. The other positive was that I was able to learn more things about coding in Small Basic. The negatives are that I still have to do assignment three which looks daunting and the sheer enjoyment of looking over assignment three multiple times just to make it seem even more scary.        

Specifications and Broken Programs

Today we started off with probably the hardest quiz on the planet. The questions required someone with eagle eye vision at the very least. I achieved a score of three and one third which fortunately means I don't have to do the quiz next week because I'm just that good.

We then moved on to working in groups to try and come up with flow charts, pseudo code and specification for a greenhouse that must be kept at twenty eight degrees throughout the day. I felt this task went very well because our team successfully came up with a good specification a flow chart that was wrong but none the less a flow chart and some pseudo code that was wrong as well. Personally I felt we should have won because of the amazing team name called "One wheel short of a unicycle" I came up with this name so credit goes to me.

We then moved on to looking at the scenario for assignment three which is to come up with a program that adds up the cost of painting a room. I felt that the scenario made sense but the coding part will make my head explode when we begin to code it after half term.

Finally we came up with our own specifications from this scenario and we categorised them into output, input, assumptions and process. I felt this task was easy because it was essentially matching up information with the categories mentioned above.

Overall today was a good day because the work wasn't overly complicated and I got to work in a group which does not happen very often. I enjoyed the team work aspect of the day the most because it means I can get help from fellow team mates when stuck with a task. I least enjoyed looking at the scenario because it just made me panic about the assignment and how much coding has to be done.      

Software Development Cycle

Today we started off with a starter activity in which we had to make a program that asked the user for a name and then after that ask them for their address. In the extension we had to make the file name change to the name of the user and the current time and date. I felt I did decently at this task because I manged the main section of the activity which was to ask for a name and address but I found the extension to be incredibly difficult.

We then moved on to looking at assignment two and mainly the software development cycle which is the cycle that software goes through like maintenance, requirement gathering and maintenance, design, implementation, testing and deployment. I found this to be relatively easy to understand but I am struggling to find a way of getting this down in the assignment two.

We then moved on to working on assignment two which was to develop a power point that talks about the software development cycle and it's different stages. I am finding this to be incredibly complicated because although I know how the software development cycle works I am struggling to talk about each section of it.

I most enjoyed the starter activity because it meant that I didn't have to carry on with my assignment which at the moment is boring me to death. I least enjoyed the assignment because I am struggling with the information and I am finding it difficult to do.

Overall today was a moderate day because there were some positives like the starter activity and the lunchtime football game but there were negatives like the assignment because I am having to do two assignments that are difficult    

Mind Blowing Maths!

Today we started off by trying to get a Small Basic programme to multiply whatever number the user enters it will multiply. I found this exercise to be very difficult because I had not looked at multiplying numbers in Small Basic before.

We then continued on with assignment one task one which is to make a slide show about diff rent aspects of programming. I manged to complete task one and I am currently working on task two of assignment one. I found task one to be easy but relatively long because of the amount of information we had to put on the slide show.

We were then shown some mind blowing maths skills. we had to draw a grid and count the number of crossovers or something. The whole method didn't really stick in my brain because of how complex and ridiculous it was. We were then shown a video that had two Japanese school children that were capable of long multiplication in their heads.

I enjoyed the unexpected fire alarm at the end of the day the most because I had to stand out in the freezing cold while it was raining just to practise fire drill. I least enjoyed the maths activity because I just hate maths and the method still won't help me with long multiplication

I feel I do not need any help with my work because I just finished task one and I am now working on task two which means I am more than likely to need help tomorrow.

Overall today has been a very busy day because of the amount of assignment work I have had to do combined with some annoying maths thing that I will never grasp the concept of because it's so over the top and complicated.

Alphabet Turtle

Today we started off by writing a programming that that adds then prints adjacent odd and even numbers starting at zero and going up to twenty. I felt this exercise helped me improve my mathematical skills on Small Basic but I did not fully complete the exercise so I felt rather disappointed because of that.

We then moved on to doing our assignment ones. I am doing task one which is to create a Power Point that talks about the different aspects of coding like paradigms and what a computer programme is. I have managed to do about five slides so far but hopefully over the weekend I can add more to it and make sure I meet the deadline of the 21st of October.

Finally we moved on to making a programme in Small Basic that makes a turtle draw a certain letter in the alphabet. I was assigned the letter F and it took me a while to work out the angle of movements and turns but after about twenty minutes of coding I manged to make the turtle draw the letter successfully. Five minutes later I was told my letter did not fit the screen and I had to change certain aspects. This made me sad because I thought I had done good work.

Overall today was a very typical boring but busy day that involved a lot of work in assignment one and a lot of Small Basic work that will improve my skills but not my knowledge because I am not very good at remembering things. The positive of this week was that I have just about gripped the basics of programming and coding. The negative of this week was the millions of annoying pieces of work that frustrated me and almost made me punch myself.    

Validation And Verification

Today we started off with a quiz with questions based off of a video about the use of algorithms in society. I achieved a score of eight out of seventeen which is not too bad and it means I still don't have to write the quiz yet. We then moved on to talking about how to do flow charts and pseudo code. I found pseudo code to be easier because I struggled with the different shapes and arrows of flow charts.

We then moved on to making the coding for the guess the number game to tell users when they have either gone over one hundred or when they have gone below one. We did this by making the text window say something like "Do you not understand Instructions?" so the user would hopefully realise their mistake and avoid doing it again. I felt this task helped because it improved my skills and understanding of Small Basic.

Finally we moved on to talking about assignment one and the contents we should have on each slide. We then had the choice of learning even more about Small Basic or moving on to planning our assignment ones. I moved on to the plan and I have now finished it but I am not looking forward to when I actually start my assignment.

Overall today was a relatively boring day because although we began with a fun quiz we then moved on to work that I kind of understand but feel like I am learning a brand new language. Tomorrow we move on to working on assignment one, talking about data types and  making a turtle draw letters because we did not get to do it yesterday.    

Paradigms

Today we started off with some more Small Basic and how to make a text window say "Billy Bob smells" this was then extended to getting it to say whatever name that you type in would smell. I found this useful because it is helping improve my programming skills even if it is on Small Basic which is considered to be a basic but well understood programming tool.

We then moved on to looking at paradigms which are event driven, procedural and object orientated. Event driven is when you make the user interact by typing or clicking the mouse. Procedural is when you make the code into a sort of list and pretty much do it step by step. Object orientated coding is when you for example have a book but you then list it's key features such as the author or the number of pages it has.

I most enjoyed the starter activity because I found it to be entertaining and it helped me improve my Small Basic skills. I least enjoyed going through each of the Power Points because I found them to be incredibly boring and tedious and I felt it could of done with some animations or something to make it less boring.

I feel that I need more help with some of the coding aspect of small basic since I still do not how to code the computer to read the time and make it so it asks you if you have had breakfast or lunch depending on what time it is.

Overall I felt that I progressed more today because I am starting to understand a bit more about this unit and hopefully on Thursday I can pretty much understand all of it. I am also looking forward to making the turtle draw some letters of the alphabet on Thursday.

New Unit

Today as you can tell by the title we started a new unit which is programming. Programming is when you write code for an object or event. We learnt about the different types of language from high range which is pretty much standard English to low range which is machine code. I felt that I understood this information quite well.

We then installed a programme called Small Basic which is a computer programme developed by Microsoft that allows people to write any sort of computer code they want. We had to look at some examples of code people had come up with. There was one example where everyone had to guess a number between 1 and 100 and see if the text window would say if the number was correct or incorrect. I found this task to be fun because I had never seen anything like this until today.

We then moved on to an activity which required us to input the correct code in order for the angry bird to reach the pig. We did this by dragging simple directions in order and ran the test to see if the angry bird got to the pig. I felt this activity further improved my understanding of graphic coding which is used on programmes such as Scratch.

Finally we looked at the different paradigm you can get in coding. Paradigm is a simple example or pattern of something. There are different types of paradigm like the procedural paradigm, the object orientated paradigm and the event driven paradigm. I find this to be quite hard to understand but hopefully I can go away and study it more in order to understand these different paradigm.

Overall today felt like a fresh day as we started a unit that I know barely anything about meaning that I was more eager to learn about this unit so I can achieve a good grade. I enjoyed the making the angry bird get to the pig because it was both informative and fun. I least enjoyed the paradigm section of the day because I am yet to understand the different types of paradigm.  

Digital Graphics Final Day!!!

Today we started off with a very well designed quiz. The subject was about hardware and software in digital graphics. I found some of the questions to be very difficult but I managed to achieve a score of six out of ten. We then moved on to a work sheet exercise about where capital letter's should go in a sentence. I found this to be incredibly dull but at least it should refrain people from making that mistake again. We then had to do another worksheet and this time it was about where commas should go in a sentence. By this point I had enough with worksheets and did not want to be set another one to complete. Thankfully no more worksheets were set and this time we could concentrate on handing in all of our work from the digital graphics unit. I found this to be a little bit confusing at first but I eventually grasped how to hand my work in. The personal highlight was watching people rename folders into funny names. We then moved on to completing any outstanding work which for me was handing in my assignment four and working on my re submission for assignment two. I manged to complete assignment four and I still have until October the 15th to complete assignment two.

I enjoyed the quiz today because it was different from what we usually do in the classroom and it actually challenged my brain quite a bit. I least enjoyed going over two different worksheets about things probably an eight year old learns about at primary school.

I feel that I need a bit more help with assignment two because I do not understand some of the comments that were written. I also do not understand what is wrong with my heading for assignment two because I feel that it is suitable for the assignment.

Overall today was a positive day as I got some work done, completed a quiz and I didn't come last in and finally reached the end of what has a been a decent unit. Some of the work was good for me but then some of the work was bad but that is what re submissions are for. Tomorrow I have a uni open day to look forward to and I don't have to write another blog entry until Monday when we start a new unit.        

Feedback and more

Today we started off by doing our pitches of our game assets and why we feel we should be invested in. I felt this task for me was a bit nervy because I have never done anything like it before but it will also be helpful for the future when it comes to more pitches and presentations. We then moved on to publishing our surveys about a chosen asset of our game. We did this mainly to find out what we needed to improve to the chosen asset or what people liked about it. I felt this was helpful because it allowed me to find out what I needed to improve on my character. We then had a talk about student finance and how much money we would need to pay for each aspect of university and what kind of loans and grants we may get. I felt this was helpful because it helped me to understand more about the kind of costs and fees we might expect from university. Finally we moved on to analyzing our survey results. I found this helpful because it shed some light on what kind things I may need to change or what people liked about my assets.

I enjoyed completing other peoples surveys because it was interesting to see both their designs and what kind of questions each person asked about their assets. I did not enjoy my presentation purely because I was nervous but I did enjoy listening to other peoples pitches and what game concepts they had actually come up with.

I feel I do not need any help at his time although we have just started to a new section of assignment four I feel that I pretty much understand it so far.

I felt that I could have presented my pitch a little bit better but I would have to blame it on my nervousness because I have not stood up in front of a class since I left school which is a very long time to go without pubic speaking.

Overall today was quite an indifferent day. I enjoyed some aspects of it like answering surveys and listening to other peoples pitches but then I did not enjoy other aspects like my own pitch or beginning the new section of assignment four.    

Asset Pitching

Today we started off by proofreading over some more blog extracts and picking out the positives and negatives of them. I felt this was helpful because it carries on improving my blog posts from day to day. We then moved on to talking about surveys and the different kinds of questions people can ask like an open question which has more than one answer or a closed answer which is just the simple yes or no. I felt this was helpful because it gave me inspiration for when it came to creating my own survey about the game assets I had previously made. We then had to make an assignment folder on the student write area. I felt this was needed but then students started spamming folders in the student write area. We then moved on to creating a PowerPoint for our pitches that we have to do tomorrow. I felt this task went well because I have all the images ready and I just need to add bullet points and notes for when it comes to the pitch. We also spoke about feedback and what it meant and the different ways you can communicate your feedback. This was helpful because it helped understand feedback and how helpful it can actually be.

I enjoyed watching the video about how to make a good power point because it was both funny and helpful as it gave many tips on what not to do. I least enjoyed creating the surveys because I had to keep rearranging questions and ended up having to remove some as well just because I did not have a premium account.

I do not need any help at this stage as we are nearing the end of the graphics unit meaning we only have one more assignment to do and that means less stress for me.

Overall today was a good day because I successfully saved a survey and I have nearly completed my pitch power point as well as having talked about feedback and the different types of questions that surveys can ask and use.              

Copyright Law

Today we started off by proofreading some blog extracts from the previous day. I found this activity to be useful because it helped show the techniques required for proofreading. We then moved on to watching probably one of the cheesiest videos I have seen in a long time and it did not exactly sell the place well. The video was cheesy but it was still fun to watch as it was different to what we usually do. We then had to put a list of words on the board into a positive and a negative section. I felt this exercise was to me very pointless because I already knew about which words were positive and negative. We then went outside and threw a scrunched up piece of paper at each other while stating what our biggest achievement was so far. I felt this task was fun and enjoyable and it was different from just staying indoors and talking about it. We then moved on to talking about assignment four which was to talk about copyright law, who it might affect and how to protect against copyright. I felt the assignment has gone well so far but I still need to add pictures and more detail. Finally we looked at the common mistakes made in assignment two. The main mistake was that people kept putting capital letters in the wrong places. I thought this exercise was helpful because I now know what kind of mistakes to look out for when proofreading my work.

I enjoyed the activity outside the most because it was fun and we got to know what the class liked and did not like. We also got to throw paper at each other which is always fun. I did not enjoy listing the positive and negative words as I felt that most of the class already knew which are which.

I feel I do not need any help at this stage although this may change in the near future now that I have two assignments to be working on one of which is the assignment two re submission and the other being assignment four talking about copyright law.

Overall today was a good day as we did some fun activities like watching some weird videos and going outside although there were some negatives like my assignment two and some of the other activities.        

Hand In Date

Today we started off with an activity all about creating an image about consistency, design and formatting. I found this activity to be useful in some aspects particularity seeing what other people had come up with for different words. I also found this activity to be slightly repetitive as we had already done word association in previous activities. We then moved on to a rather simple quiz that seemed as if it was created within about ten minutes. I achieved a score of  nine out of ten which is not bad but the quiz was just too easy. We then continued with our assignment three and we had to create a power point showcasing our game assets. At first I found this to be frustrating because my Jpeg images were too blurry so in the end I had to take print screens of my work. We then had to proofread each others design logs. I found this to be a very useful task as I got to see how fellow students had set out their design logs. Finally we had to hand in our assignment threes into a folder on the student write area. I had a huge problem with this task as it turns out my account did not have permission to create a folder on the student write area and therefore I had to seek help. Once I had sent out my SOS email the problem was quickly fixed and I was able to hand work in.

I enjoyed the quiz because although it was ridiculously easy it was enjoyable and something different from what we usually have to do on a regular day. I did not enjoy the beginning activity as I found it difficult to come up with an image to describe the word consistency. In the end I had to replicate an image five or six times just so I had something to show the class at the end.

I think I do not need any help with anything at this current time although I do have a re submission deadline for tomorrow and another re submission deadline within the next week so I will be very busy for the next few weeks.

Overall today was an average day because the starter activity was boring I had to resubmit work about six different times and my account did not even have the proper access. There were positives such as the quiz which was too funny and finally handing in assignment three

       

The Front Cover

Today we started off with a talk about our options after this course. The options include university, gap year and apprenticeship. I felt this talk was both informative and helpful as it helped to broaden my mind further when it comes to my future. We then moved on to talking about the key features of a front cover for a game. This included a title, an image of the main character, an age rating and much more. I felt this exercise was helpful because it aided me in my design of my front cover which we had to design later on. When it came to designing our front covers I felt mine was very good up until the issues I had with my canvas size. The canvas size had to be 120 millimeters I did not know how to change the size of the canvas originally but I do now. Finally we presented the front covers to the rest of the group. I was dreading this because when I had seen a few peoples just before hand they looked about ten times better than mine but I realised that some people hadn't even finished so I felt  that at least I managed my time well.

I enjoyed picking out our favorite game and talking about it's front cover. I liked this because I was interested in seeing everyone's favorite game and how they felt about it's front cover.

However I did not enjoy they initial problems I had with the canvas size of my games front cover. This was sorted eventually but only five minutes before we had to present our front covers to the rest of the class.

I feel that I do not need any assistance because I am not struggling or having any issues with anything that is still outstanding.

Overall today was a very good day because I manged to complete my games front cover and learn a bit more about my options after this course is finished. The only negative I did have was the canvas size issue that I have mentioned earlier in this blog.  

Designing The Games Key Features

Today we started off by playing two example games and stating what we thought about the characters, enemies, power ups and the background of the game. I thought this exercise helped me to understand what is required from the game I need to design and what features I need to add the game to make it fun and enjoyable. We then moved on to designing the key features needed in the game such as the enemies, power ups and what the main character will look like with this power up in effect. I felt I did quite good at this task because I looked at the tutorial for creating eight bit characters and followed it exactly in order to create the assets shown below.

 I feel that this unit has some benefit towards my future career because I want to be a web designer and a web designer has to understand about colour resolution and primary colours.

I enjoyed the first exercise of the day the most as it got us thinking about what we could put in our games when it comes to designing them and it was different from just having it shown to us on the board.

I feel I do not need any help at this current time because I fully understand the unit and what we have to do for this time being at least.

Overall today was a good day as I managed to have many of the assets for my game designed and ready to have in the final design when the unit comes around. I also made more corrections to my assignment one which I should now have completed very shortly.

Character Design

Today we started off with a PowerPoint about hygiene and what to do should we suffer any hygiene problems. I felt this talk was a bit pointless as we have already been taught at school about hygiene and how it effects our bodies. We then moved on to marking an example design log that had deliberate mistakes riddled through out it. I felt this exercise was a bit easy as most of the mistakes were quite obvious and were corrected with ease. We were then given the rest of the time before lunch to continue on with any work we were behind on. I used this time to polish up on my assignment one and address any mistakes that were highlighted to me in the marked version of my assignment one. I felt the concerns raised in the final marking were all addressed and I hope my assignment meets criteria. After lunch we had to come up with a design for our video game characters and it had to be eight bit. I came up with a robber and painted the eight bit character black and white to represent typical robber clothing. I felt this went very well because my character meets criteria and it matches the story line of my game as well as looking good.

I feel that I do not need any help at this present time as I do not have any outstanding work that needs dealing with other than my assignment one re submission which I am hoping to have up to standard and completed by the deadline.

Overall I felt today went very well as I achieved all of the tasks that were set today to the best of my ability and I particularly felt my eight bit character went well and I am hoping my assignment one that needs re submission meets the criteria.

The one positive from this week for me would be that I completed my design log to a great standard but then my video game character was also good so for me this week there was more than one positive outcome. On a side note I managed to get my phone I lost on the bus back so this week was very good for me.

Design Logs and a Quiz

Today we started off by learning about how we could broaden our descriptive vocabulary and not constantly repeat ourselves by using the same words over and over again. I felt this was very to understand and it will now help when it comes to writing this blog post and future blog posts. We then moved on to our design logs which was separated into 7 tasks which were to put an introduction at the beginning, put a header and footer in, put two mind maps in, the second being more detailed, pick three images to use as our game backgrounds that were royalty free and to pick a colour for each of the main characters in the three game ideas. I thought this went very well because I came up with five game ideas and managed to narrow them down to three and come up with background images and colour choices for all three. Finally we moved on to a quiz subjected around one six minute video about artificial intelligence. Unfortunately I could only manage to achieve a 4 out of fifteen but I did manage not to come last as we all found the quiz to be very difficult.

I feel that I need a bit of help with narrowing down my three ideas to just one because I think all three of my ideas are great but hopefully I can think about it this evening and come up with just one idea that I can use as my final design and I can then feel prepared for the games design unit that is coming up in the near future.

Overall today was both fun and interesting as I learned new things and had fun during the quiz and I currently am not struggling on anything too major and I am not behind on any work.

Game Concepts And More

Today we started off by learning about their they're and there and mainly when to use each of them in a sentence. We also talked about homophones which are words that sound the same but are spelled differently for example the word bear or bare which sound the same but are spelled differently and mean a completely different thing. We then went on to watch two videos about colour both had different information in them. The first video was about the basics of colour which is things like the three primary colours and when mixed the outcome becomes what is called a secondary colour. The second video was more about the different types of colours you get when you mix white with red or black with blue this is called tint and shade. I felt the second video was better than the first because I thought the information was given to me clearer and the voice was less annoying. After lunch we were given a drawing exercise where we were given eight different words we had to draw and then we had to go around the room with green pieces of paper and put them on who's drawing we felt was the best. I realised that I still cannot draw anything well and this was especially shown when we had to draw a cat which I am not good at. Finally we had to come up with five different broad game concepts and finally narrow them down to three.

I enjoyed the drawing exercise the most as I liked going around the room and comparing everyone's drawings and seeing what they associated with different words.

I did not enjoy watching the first video we were told to watch as I found the presenter to be a bit boring and her voice was particularly annoying.

I felt I did well at coming up with five different game concepts because I found it to be a very easy task because I am a very imaginative person.

I did not to well at drawing because I have never really had the talent for drawing this was evident form today's work.

I feel that I do not need any help with anything at his current time although I would like to improve my drawing skills at some stage.

Overall today was a good day as I found the activities to be fun and interesting and I did not struggle with anything.  

Colours And More

Today we started off by learning about the primary colours which are red, blue and yellow. We then talked about what kind of emotions and objects these primary colours remind us of. We also learned about secondary colours which are green, purple and orange and what emotions or objects these secondary colours remind us of. We then talked about the colour of video game characters and how the colour of them reflect how the character behaves. We then looked at our own chosen video game characters and how the colour or clothing on them represent the behavior of the character. We finally learned how to edit the colour of video game characters on Photoshop and learned about the monotone, duotone, complementary, analogous and contrasting tools on Photoshop.

I enjoyed changing the colours and tones of our chosen video game characters because it helped us out with our Photoshop skills and it gives us good experience for future units.

I did not enjoy picking out words and objects that we felt were associated with a certain colour because I particularly struggled with picking out 5 important objects or things that are yellow. Not many objects in the world that are yellow are important to me.

I feel I need a bit of help with understanding some of the colouring tools on Photoshop as I do not know what some of the tools do individually.

Overall today was a good day as I learned new things about colours and the psychology behind them and I learnt new skills in Photoshop and I hope I can improve on my Photoshop skills in the near future.

 

I lost my phone

Today did not start so brightly as I left my phone on the bus. When I got to Develop we continued on with our assignments and then had to feedback on our peers' assignments as well. We were then given a lecture on how to put things in a bin, wash things up and learn how to switch things off after use.

I felt I did well in evaluating a fellow peers' work. I also got some feedback and hope to iron out the negative points that were given to me by my peer

I did badly at keeping the common tidy, at least we all did and since we have learnt on how to tidy things up we hope not to make this mistake again.

Overall today was a bad day for me although there were a few highlights such as the lecture about bins and a fellow peer having to clean the common room badly. The bad points were my missing phone and the results of my assignment 1 which I hope to have rectified.

The Wonders Of The Internet

Today we started off with the different spellings of  there, their and they're. Unfortunately we could not access the sheets  properly as the internet was down and not working and Adam had sent them via email. So we printed it off and completed them by hand. I managed to achieve a score of 9 out of 10 but wished I had got one more correct answer so I could feel happier about the task. We then split up into groups to discuss the definitions of discussion, evaluation and conclusion. I contributed a reasonable amount to task which was to find the definition of discussion. We then moved on to a true or false quiz which contained 12 questions each with a true or false answer. I managed to achieve a very respectable 10 out of 12 despite the fact I was guessing for at least 4 or 5 questions. We then carried on with our assignments because the deadline is tomorrow I am hoping to have it finished relatively soon.

I enjoyed the definition task the most as we got to work in groups which we don't very often get to do however I did not enjoy the assignment that I had to carry on with as the internet was not working making research completely impossible.

I feel that I am doing well with the assignment considering the internet issues and hope to have the assignment in by the deadline tomorrow.

I feel I need a bit of help with the assignment as there are moments where I am not quite sure what I have to do and the internet could not have helped me.

Overall today the work was very frustrating without the internet but I managed to pull through in the end so I am relatively happy now.    
 

The Sixth Day

Today we started off with a little starter activity in which we had to match up the file format images with the names of the file format. I found this to be easy although I got 7 out of 8. We then had to continue on with our assignment 2 which is to explain how different types of graphic images relate to file formats. I found this to be hard at first until the task was explained to me and then I managed to complete the pass section of the task. We then moved on to the merit section of the assignment this is where we have to justify software, tools, file format, image resolution and colour used for creating graphic images. I am finding this to be a little difficult although I will seek some help to make sure the work I have done is correct. I also learnt more about the different types of compression which are Lossy and Lossness and which file formats require which type of compression.

I felt I have done well in the pass section of assignment 2 as I completed it without seeking help and hope the work I have done meets the criteria for this section.

I feel that I need a bit of help with the merit section of assignment 2 as I am currently unsure if the work I have done is correct and up to the required standard.

Overall today I broadened my knowledge of file formats and I now know when to use different file formats for different situations. I also managed to complete a section of assignment 2 and I hope to complete more over Wednesday and Thursday.

The Fifth Day

Today we learnt about the different types of file formats (doc, x PDF, JPEG) and when they are most suitable to use like JPEG for web or PDF for a person that might not have Microsoft Office. We also learnt about the different types of compression (Lossless, Lossy) and the advantages and disadvantages of them both. We then had to hand in our first assignment as it was the hand in date. We also completed two surveys that were designed to show us all how well we knew each other with different questions like how long we travel each day and who was the eldest on the course.

I enjoyed learning about the different file formats particularly when we were each assigned a file format we had to look up the definition of without using Wikipedia.

I did not enjoy comparing the advantages and disadvantages of Lossy and Lossless as I found making another table to be repetitive and boring but I still found it to be useful.

I felt I did well in picking out my definition as I now feel more informed when it comes to file formats and it was good to see what everyone else had put down as their definition of the file format they were assigned.

I feel I need a bit more help with the second assignment that we just recently started. I do not understand what we need to put in our tables but this should be rectified tomorrow when we continue with the assignment.

In conclusion today was very informative as I learnt new things like file formats and I learnt more about the people that I am on this course with  

The Fourth Day

Today I started the day by going to an appointment all the way in Bury st Edmund's. I would have arrived quicker at develop if it wasn't for a bus breaking down.

When I arrived I learnt that we were recapping over Harvard referencing and citing images. Citing images is when you type down the number of the image, the title of the image, the year it was published and the URL we got the image from. I finally got to use this skill when I got to the final part of my assignment.

I enjoyed being able to play around with Illustrator and learn it's many features. I hope to gain even more experience of Illustrator in the near future as I enjoyed it very much.

I did not enjoy the referencing at first but once I was shown through it I eventually learnt that it was not that difficult.

I felt that I did well in using Illustrator because I learnt about it's different features and what kind of  things you can create on Illustrator.

I felt that the things I needed help with that I listed in the previous blog have now been rectified and I hope I don't find things as difficult next assignment.

In conclusion today was a good day as the problems I had highlighted previously have now been sorted and I feel confident when it comes to both illustrator and citing images.  

The Third day

Today we learnt about illustrator and continued on with our assignments which was to compare different PC items and choose hardware, software, input and output items.

I enjoyed working on Illustrator and using the pen tool around the images we had chosen.
I did not enjoy working on my assignment as I started to find it a bit repetitive.

I felt I did well in Illustrator because I managed to complete the task and use the pen tool all the way around the character I had chosen.

I feel that I need more help with my assignment as I am not sure about certain things like referencing and the distinction task that was set to us.

Overall today was a very average day and I struggled with a few things that I hope will be rectified on my fourth day.

Second day

Today was my second day at Develop and we started a new unit on graphic design. I am currently finding this topic very interesting and I am constantly learning new things.

We learnt about what makes a good logo and then we learnt about hardware,software,input and output of a computer and how to compare different things against each other. We then learnt about Photoshop and it's different features  and eventually watched some tutorials.

I enjoyed picking out different logos and explaining and justifying why we felt they were good logos.
I did not enjoy watching the Photoshop tutorial video as I found it to be very dull.

I felt I did well at learning the difference between the inputs and outputs of a computer.

I feel that I would need a bit more help with Photoshop as there are so many different options and ways of doing things on Photoshop.

Overall I thought today was a good day although I needed help with a few things it is a natural part of learning.