How To Get Started Designing Games for Mobile

How To Get Started Designing Games for Mobile Its a Whole New Mindset Mobile gaming is a booming market right now, and it seems everyone wants to dive in and grab a chunk of the market. However, getting started in mobile gaming isnt just about porting your Windows or Xbox title over to iOS. Design for Your Current Platform, Not Your Previous One This seems like common sense, but a lot of games out there will attempt to shoehorn the design of a console onto a multi-touch gaming device. While, yes, this can work, frequently the player is reminded that theyd rather be playing the game on a console gamepad than on an iPhone. When it comes to artwork, remember that tiny fonts may be readable on a Retina display (and allow you to fit a lot of text on the screen), but they are not very enjoyable to read. The same goes for highly detailed textures. You dont need a massive, high-resolution texture for all your assets. The detail can actually make the game more visually noisy, detracting from the artistic feel and causing eyestrain. While sound can make or break a game on a desktop computer or console, on mobile, its an entirely more complex matter. Most gamers would love to have sound in every game they play, either for the aesthetic or gameplay value. However, there is a matter of practicality to mobile gaming, in that many people cannot play the game with sound due to being in public spaces. By all means, include sound if youre able; many mobile users have headphones, or arent limited by environment. Optimized code. Yes. The power of current desktop computers allows a lot of un-optimized code to slip by, hogging extra system resources without anyone taking notice. Mobile is far more unforgiving than even a game console. Mobile OSes have a variety of techniques for handling background processes, battery management, resource allocation, etc. If your game bludgeons the systems battery to death in an hour, your game is going to get bad reviews, and you wont make any money. Slow performance is one of the first reasons people will choose to shelf a game forever. Optimizing Tips Weve covered what not to do. Now, lets look at a few places to improve. Interface Are you using a single multi-touch screen? If so, is it a tablet or a phone-sized screen? Are you using something more exotic like the PS Vitas front and back touchscreens and physical controls? How about camera-based augmented reality? Touch is very intuitive. Do not fight that. As I mentioned above, many games simply superimpose gamepad controls on a touch screen. This works in some cases, but frequently is problematic. One of the most important things you can do in this area is play other games and see what works and what doesnt. Specifically, what works without you having to think about it. The more instant immersion for the player, the more chance you have of them staying with the game, and either recommending it to others, or purchasing in-game items through microtransactions. If you cant find an existing scheme that works for your game, think about how you would manipulate your avatar in the real world, and find some way to translate that to the screen. Art As stated above, massive textures on mobile arent a great idea from the design point of view. They are also horrible about growing the size of your game in the devices storage or sucking up available RAM. You need to do everything you can to shrink your textures to the smallest size that will look good on the device. (Always keep high-res originals though, for when next-generation devices are released with higher-resolution screens.) Learn how to create a texture atlas, or find a good tool for the engine youre using/creating to build them automatically. Sound Audio is brutal, and pains many a good sound designer at the requirements placed on them. High-quality audio can cause an apps size to balloon incredibly. Be sure to listen to your final audio on every compatible device. Mobile phone speakers demolish audio, so dont just judge on how it sounds through headphones. Code Use an engine or framework that lets you go as close to bare metal as your programming skills allow. High-level managed code is frequently all you can do, but depending on the engine/framework you use, it may go through several layers of interpretation which can really slow down well-written high-level code. Final Words First impressions on an app store are critical! While you may have the urge to just get it out there and be done, then update it later, dont. With the way app stores work, you may only get one shot at that front page where people pick you up out of the crowd. Marketing and PR only go so far; if the first hundred people who checked out your game give it a 1-3 star review, odds are you wont get another chance. Take your time, do it right, and ship it when its done.

Creative Inspiration from David Bowie

Creative Inspiration from David Bowie The news of David Bowies death reverberated through the world and caused an outpouring of words of affection, admiration and grief at the loss of such an incredible artist. Bowie was known for his creativity which included not only his music and lyrics but his physical appearance and the personas he created. Any individual seeking creative inspiration can find a gold mine of it in Bowies life and work. Here are some ways David Bowie manifested as a creative genius. Keep Ch-ch-ch-ch-changin Bowie was famous for his ability to constantly reinvent himself. Even in the early days of his fame in the late 60s early 70s, he experimented with different styles from hippie-folk to heavy metal. Perhaps his greatest transformation was the invention of the rock persona Ziggy Stardust. At the time, many felt that Bowie could have ridden the fame and popularity of his Ziggy persona to the end of his career, but at the height of his popularity, he decided to kill Ziggy and move on to other experiments. In America, he explored funk and soul music and then released his most popular album â€Å"Lets Dance† which was the ultimate ode to rock and the most popular of his career. But even the popularity of this album didnt tempt him to ground his artistic vision and his next phase was a Berlin-inspired industrial and house/electronica experiment. Bowies ability to keep moving forward and constantly explore new artistic styles are what made him the icon he became. Indulge in Artistic Angst but Dont Self-Destruct Bowie had some dark moments in his career. One of his most successful and yet darkest phases was during the time he spent in LA. The glamour and glitz of LA stardom, the parties and cocaine-fueled recording sessions sent him on a tailspin into darkness. Unlike other stars riding their fame into self-destruction, like Iggy Pop, Bowie was able to put an end to that phase when he left LA and moved to Berlin. Change of Scene Can Be Inspiring Just as his move from the UK to LA proved to be an enormous boon to his career, his decision to leave LA and station himself in Cold-War Berlin was another artistically driven choice. The grit and realism of Berlin was the complete opposite of the surreal opulence of LA. The experience grounded him as he moved into yet another creatively experimental phase. Collaborate with Other Artists Bowie enjoyed working with other artists and some of his greatest creative endeavors were the result of these collaborations. Mick Jagger, Freddie Mercury, Brian Eno and Iggy Pop were included in some of his most successful team projects. He once famously called the then virtually unknown guitarist Phil Palmer at his mothers house to ask him to collaborate on an album since he felt his own guitar skills were subpar. He was known for being generous and respectful of other peoples work and didnt let fame or ego get in the way of his artistic vision. Set Your Standards and Stick to Them No matter how famous he became, Bowie didnt abuse his fame. He held himself to a strict work ethic. Though he had a phase where he lost himself in drugs, particularly cocaine, he always managed to pull himself together to perform, record and give interviews. His foil during his LA years was Iggy Pop, who became known for his unpredictability and where Iggy allowed himself to be dragged under by his drug addiction, Bowie set limits for himself and maintained his professional ethics. Dont Be Afraid of the Unknown Bowie was always pushing the boundaries of his art. He was never repetitive or boring. Each album was borne of a daring new journey into unknown waters as he constantly sought to find a new voice and a new inspiration. He explored with musical technology and was known for being fearless and pioneering. His natural curiosity allowed him to follow many different artistic paths to the delight of his fans and music lovers. Bowies artistic vision was fueled by his constant striving for newness. He never allowed himself to settle into one style or voice and as a result, his lifes work is rich and diverse.

Family law Scenario analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Family law Scenario analysis - Essay Example Family law Task 1 - Using relevant statutory provisions and case law, analyse scenario 1: Assess the legal validity of any possible claim against Gail’s estate and applying legal provisions, illustrate how her estate would be disposed of. Task 2 - Using relevant statutory provisions and case law, analyse scenario 2: Identify any possible claimants on Peggy’s estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 and assess the likelihood of success each claimant would have in receiving a payment from the estate. Task 3 - In relation to the two scenarios, critically comment upon the ability of the law to interfere with a testator/testatrix’s last wishes. Task 1 In order to check the legal validity of any claim against the estate of Gail, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the will that Gail prepared. In terms of the will’s validity, no doubts can exist. In accordance with the s9 of the Wills Act 1837 ‘no will shall be valid unless it is in writing and signed by the testator or by some other person in his presence and by his direction’. The will of Gail is signed by her; the text of the will contains the phrase ‘Signed by the said Testator,†¦, in the presence of us’, a phrase that verifies the fact that the will was signed before the witnesses, so no doubt in regard to the will’s validity exists. In other words, the will of Gail is valid being aligned with the relevant provisions of the law, as described above. At the next level, the text of the will should be reviewed for judging whether Gail assets would be distributed in accordance with the will, or whether her estate will fall under intestacy. In other words, it should be made clear whether the will has been revoked or not. Gail prepared the will in December 2010. At that time, Gail had already taken a divorce from Brian, as assumed by the fact that when Martin proposed to her, the processes of the divorce were over. It should be mentioned that after the divorce, Gail bought a house the value of which has been estimated to ?225,000. Also, in July 2010, Gail had inherited a sum of ?150,000 from her father. In other words, the value of Gail’s estate, i.e. the inherited assets, can be estimated to ?375,000. In terms of the will’s validity, the following issues should be mentioned: in accordance with the UK law, a will is automatically revoked if a marriage takes place (s 18(1) of Wills Act 1837). This means that the will of Gail could be possibly considered as revoked. The section 18(3) of the 1837 Act notes that the will may not be revoked after the marriage in case that the testator has made clear within the will that he is going to marry to a particular person and that he wishes that the will remains effective after the marriage. Gail added such term within her will, without, however, specifying the person that she was going to be married. In this context, her will should be considered as revoked. As a result, those who were entitled under the will would receive nothing, with reference particularly to Gail’s best friend, Claire Peacock, but also Blanche Tilsley. The gifts which were, in accordance with the will, would be given to the above persons, will be incorporated in Gail’s estate and will be distributed using the intestacy rules and the right of the surviving spouse. As for David and Sharah, who were also mentioned in the will, they will not inherit the rest of Gail’s esta te, but they will share, along with Nicholas, the remaining part of the estate of ?62,500, after deducting the right of the surviving spouse, as described below. At this point it should be mentioned that Sharah would not inherit since she dies in the car accident, along with Gail; however, Sharah has a daughter, Bethany, who would inherit as the grand daughter of Gail. Under these terms, the estate of Gail would be distributed among the beneficiaries, using the Administration of Estates Act 1925, as containing the rules related to the surviving spouse rights, and the Law Reform (Succession Act) 1995, which includes the