Game Idea Research

Image of 3D sandbox environment

First of all, during my research I have had the epiphany that we aren't so much making a fully fledged indie game as we are creating demos or Game Jam-esque builds. With this in mind I have decided to choose the Car game idea I presented in the last project blog post.

If I were to stick with the original concept from the original post I'd have to learn more about Unity especially about things like collisions, acceleration, momentum, etc. While these do seem like exciting challenges I also have to keep in mind my own ability in regards to the time constraint of the module. The original idea also insinuates the involvement of AI players/bots which could prove to be far more difficult than I originally considered. If by some way I am able to learn all of these things and am able to incorporate them all into my game it would have to be on a very basic level thus I would have to focus also on the level design of the game to bolster the basic mechanics. This would be to create a more fun and dynamic experience for players despite the rudimentary mechanics of the game itself. This currently seems like a scope that's a little out of my wheelhouse.

Screenshot from Turbo Dismount Steam page

My evolution of this idea to make it more viable as a project for this module was to remove the active components of the world and lean more toward a sort of sandbox style game, thus kind of melding Idea 2 and Idea 4 from my last blog post into one game. Initially I had the idea to mould it into something more reminiscent of a game like Turbo Dismount or for a more nostalgic memory from my own heart Burnout 3: Takedown Crash Mode. I had the idea of developing it into a more Angry Birds style game with simple mechanics and a simple goal but with a lot of replay value. This idea also retains a lot of the game mechanics from the original idea just on a simpler, singleplayer scale. This sort of idea would also possibly let me incorporate things like power ups/effect pads which I researched here. The simpler mechanics of this game might also let me experiment with more level design or even other cosmetic elements such as Mesh Deformation.

Screenshot from Youtube video by Drae

My alternate idea for a demo sized game would be to fully amalgamate Idea 2 and Idea 4 and create a sandbox driving game similar to BeamNG.Drive or like the Sandbox mode in Besieged. This would allow me to explore a very wide range of game mechanics, even if they aren't exactly cohesive due to the open world nature of the game. I would also have the choice to experiment with the level design with different areas of the world exploring different game mechanics. This would motivate players to explore the game and would encourage replayability by having a range of options to interact with.

In terms of game mechanics I would have free reign to implement a plethora of things into the game such as having different areas explore different mechanics like fun power ups or even something like intricate manoeuvring. I would want to have a wide enough variety of options for different types of players to find something that they might like.

I could also implement a simple goal system by having a Main Challenge for each are which would reward the players for completing it. I would want these to be a mandatory yet enticing choice for player which would give the open world a sense of direction an challenge for players who aren't fond of 'aimless' sandboxes. This doesn't seem to hard to implement and would provide me with a direction for my level/world design also.

To encourage replayabilty and to add another sense of challenge to the game I could add Timer sections or have the choice for players to complete the challenges with a timer. This would add a pseudo challenge to the gameplay as players would only really be challenging themselves if they so choose but I feel like it would be effective in enticing exploration and replay. I would want this to be an optional feature in the world as I would still like for the game to be fun for a more casual player who wanted to focus on exploration without the looming challenge.

Unity Tutorial 02

Unity screenshot of lesson 1.4

In this week's Unity lesson we added acceleration and reverse controls and steering and rotation to the car. Although the coding seemed complex and difficult initially, it followed a similar format for all the controls which made it easier to grasp. It was interesting seeing the premade code available in unity which helps to streamline and simplify the coding process for games. I found it fun to edit and experiment with the variables of the vehicle to find the right balance between forward speed and turn speed to make it feel intuitive and fluid.

The challenge part of the lesson was significantly more difficult than the first. I was able to make a fair guess with some of the tasks but was slightly off or completely lost with some of them. Honestly I realised that I had forgotten some of the basics and had to go back and review the earlier lessons for some things. Tasks such as changing the direction of the plane and it's speed as well as positioning the camera were simple enough but the tasks for steering and camera tracking proved to be far more difficult. For these I attempted to make the best guess I could but ended up looking for assistance after nothing worked as expected. This gave me insight into the coding side of Unity which I had forgotten. For the bonus tasks I had a fair guess as to how to do it and checking a online resources confirmed it which was an interesting thing to learn. With each line of code written it all makes a little more sense and I am starting to notice simple patterns which help make a lot more sense of all of it in my head.

Unity Screenshot of Challenge 1

Game Elements

 

The Periodic Table of the Elements

In the first reading the author discuss how despite the vagueness of the definition of a 'game' there are a set of formal elements that can be found in most games that constitute them as a game, these included but were not limited to:

• Rules
• Conflict
• Goals
• Decision-making
• An uncertain outcome

and also states that they should be:

• Artificial
• Voluntary
• A simulation of some sort
• An inefficient task
• Considered an art
• Be a closed system

The author then goes on to present a more concise list of these terms which they dub the Atomic Elements of Games which are:

    ● Players (Persons that participate in the game)

    ● Objectives (goals) (Things to do within/throughout the process of the game)

    ● Rules (Restrictions of the game system)

    ● Resources and Resource Management (All assets of the game and those which the player interacts                                                                         with)

    ● Game State (The state of everything at any point in time of a game (players, assets, etc.)

    ● Information (What information and the amount available to players throughout the game)

    ● Sequencing (The timing of the game e.g. turn based gameplay)

    ● Player Interaction (How the players interact with both each other and the game itself)

    ● Theme (Narrative, Backstory, Setting) 

    ● Games as Systems (The game should function as a closed system)

The author finally discusses both the process and importance of critical analysis and how it should be thorough and unbiased and should be used to gain understanding of a game and it's systems.

In the second academic reading titled "Game Design Research" published by Kultima Annakaisa the author discuss how in the field of Game/Games studies there is a disconnect between itself and general Design Research. It is then state that the basic interests of academic research can be broken into the three categories of games, gamers, and gaming. It is also stated that some academic study focuses instead on the interaction between players and games themselves and the context surrounding both.

It is stated that academic Game Studies dates to about 2001 and that initially there was debate on it requiring new academic processes due to it differing greatly from studies of existing fields of research.

It is conveyed that the field of Game Studies consists of researchers originating from a multitude of other disciplines. This led to a bias in Game Studies based on the beliefs and focuses of the researcher's original field. There was a observation of Game Studies possibly breaking off into sub-communities as a result of this but it was opposed by the point that no singular biases were causing such breaking off in contemporary game research. A data driven examination of the field revealed that there were indeed different clusters of academic papers and venues in Game Research that split into technical and non-technical study but it was also revealed that even within those groups there was still a wide variety of research interests.

The author reveals how there is debate within the field on how game design research should be conducted; whether it is strictly through the lens of a problem-solving activity or if it should be studied more similarly to General Design standards and frameworks.

It was also found that 'Game Design' as an academic term was used extremely loosely in research and was used to define a vague multitude of aspects. It was also found that Game Developers themselves also considered the term in widely differing contexts.

In the third reading, the authors discuss prototyping in the process of creating a game. The state that it is a great way to explore different primary aspects of a game such as it's space, mechanics, length, etc. The state that prototypes can range from extremely rudimentary such as basic physical(in their case paper) prototypes to more in depth working digital prototypes. They reveal that prototyping is used to help develop ideas and how it aids in the discovery and evolution process of a game.

Game Brainstorm

 Game 1

Screenshot from Explore Fushimi Inari official Steam page

For my first game idea, I was thinking of making more of an 'interactive experience' rather than a conventional Game. I have played a lot of different games in my life and I've watched an even wider variety but despite all the gameplay and stories I've encountered the ones that always seem to have the most staying power and the most impact in my mind have always been the more Interactive Story/Experience type games. Games with minimal or simplistic gameplay but with a major emphasis on either the story or the game world/environment.

The game could be in the 'Walking Simulator' genre or a simple task completion/treasure hunt game. It would probably either have to be a very linear based gameplay or set in a small open world. I want to create an experience that sticks in players minds either through overt story beats or preferably through discrete gameplay mechanics. 

I'd have to greatly consider the actual gameplay mechanics themselves as they need to be simple and intuitive enough that they don't take someone out of the experience but also not too monotonous as to leave people bored by the gameplay; this would possibly be mitigated by the story or environment around them though. The whole goal of this game is impact, either emotionally or as a game itself. I'd really need a compelling story or message for the game to achieve that main goal while also building the actual game itself. It will be challenging to both write a compelling story or create an impactful message and also figure out the technicalities of the games design and mechanics to incorporate it all.

It would be something along the lines of games like Firewatch or Explore Fushimi Inari for example of a more 'walking simulator' game or like A Short Hike for a more exploratory game. In a similar vein but less of a relaxing and immersive experience and more of an active journey and experience is The Stanley Parable which is relatively similar gameplay wise but has a completely different energy about it. This may serve as a helpful resource for this project.

Game 2

Image from the Wreckfest official Steam page

The second game idea I had was for a Car Sumo style game. This idea was inspired by just the basic Unity Tutorial tasks we've done so far. It will be a far more physics and reality based game than the previous idea. In essence it's exactly as it sounds, I'm thinking a battle arena style game where you have a dozen or so cars on a platform and the gameplay is exactly as you'd expect. I feel like this idea has a lot of room to be as simplistic or complex as my growing skillset will allow. It seems like it can be easily adjusted depending on my own capabilities as a designer and also the constraints of the module. I also feel that the simplistic premise works as a good hook to catch the attention of potential players. The simplistic nature will b attractive to both amateur players and also experienced players that just want some short quick fun. Unlike the first idea which is almost only possible as a Singleplayer game, this game has possibilities to be Singleplayer, Local Multiplayer or even Online Multiplayer theoretically. Each of these however carries increasing difficulties. I intend it to be a simple party game which would require me to either 1) Code AI opponents for single player gameplay or 2) Learn how to incorporate Multiplayer into the game. Due to the simplistic nature of the game I'd have to find ways to make it more dynamic as a game. I had the idea or placing the challenge in the stages instead of the gameplay, so having simple consistent gameplay with the challenge arising from both other payers and the stages themselves. Depending on how vastly my skillset grows it would also be interesting to be able to incorporate things like Power-Ups or Weapons into the game.

I'm thinking of pick up and play style games, the game would be an amalgamation of sorts of games like Wreckfest, Burnout, BeamNG.drive and something like Mineraft Sumotori. As a bonus feature this game could involve some collision destruction like in THIS video.

Game 3

Screenshot from Beyond Perception Itch.io page

For my third game I was thinking of possibly doing some sort of puzzle platformer but not like a Portal or Unravel or Spelunky but more so like the indie classic Fez or Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker and most importantly, the game that is the main inspiration for this idea, an indie puzzle platformer from 2013 that was made in seven days, a game called Beyond Perception which has stood as one of my favourite games of all time. Funnily enough I am not actually a big fan of puzzle games in general and  I have never actually finished the game in it's entirety but just the premise, gameplay and mechanics alone have astounded me for years. The entire game is based on Perspective, Parallax and Parallax error with the game presenting it's 3D environments as 2D images initially. I don't think I have the ingenuity to think of something of that calibre or the skillset to implement mechanics like those but I do want to make an unorthodox puzzle game that leaves some sort of impression on players; one with a similar kind of hook to it. Instead of a movement based puzzle platformer I personally seem to favour more, slow paced exploratory style puzzle games. I am really intrigued by the though of experimenting with Perspective, Scale, and Light much like Beyond Perception does and I feel like that would be more so a matter of level design rather than an intense gameplay design challenge. I feel like simplistic gameplay is a common theme in the more exploratory puzzle games and that the real challenge for designers mainly comes in the form of level design and mechanics rather than the actual player controlled inputs themselves which is an interesting path to take when designing a game. It's a more abstract idea than Idea 2 but I'm interested in maybe exploring it. With lighting possibly playing a large role in this project THIS video may be of use later.

Game 4

Screenshot from official Besiege Steam page

The final idea I had for my Unity Games is one that would be more self-indulgent than any of the other ones stated above. I would love to try to undertake the very vague and open ended task of creating an Open World, Sandbox or and Open World Sandbox type game. I have to admit, Sandbox/Open World games are one of my absolute favourite genres of videogames and creating my own would just feel like the natural progression of that admiration really. Although I am enthusiastic about these types of games I recognize the many challenge of making a game of this style. It would not be within my ability to create something as cohesive as Minecraft and I don't posses the resources to create something like Garry's Mod but I possibly I could create a simple sandbox style game with one main premise that could entertain infinitely or at least for a single play session. I'd have to really tone down my expectations of the scale of the sandbox and the players abilities in it while also providing an adequately entertaining space and experience for players. Conceptually I envision something like the default sandbox areas in games like the previously mentioned BeamNG.drive or a game like Besiege. My aim would be to provide the player with a simple playground style area with a certain amount of fixed 'hazards' and interactable assets. This would place the game design emphasis almost solely on the mechanics of the game, world/environment and also the player control. Games like these carry the risk of exposing your flaws and weaknesses as a designer but also inversely grants the chance to purposefully explore unfamiliar design while being granted the proverbial 'pass' of it merely being a sandbox and not a fully fledged game. It would require a good balance of focused design and work and open freedom and creativity. This video on Unity Physics may prove essential not only in this game but most of the others too.

Unity Tutorial 01

 

Unity screenshot

Although it seemed like a very daunting task initially, once I was actually doing this task it actually felt very intuitive to me. This may be because I have a general understanding of game design just from picking it up passively over years of videogames and learning about videogames and also because I have dabbled very minimally in 3D programmes before in my own time. Through these first three tutorials you learned the very basics on the Unity Software and were introduced to the concepts of the 3D space. You were taught how to navigate through the 3D space itself and also how to place objects in and around it. You were also taught helpful keyboard shortcuts for both navigation and actual workflow. Once the initial basic steps were done and all the assets were placed you then began learning basic essential commands in C# which was very new to me but was easily followed with the tutorial. It was a very comprehensive introduction for the amount of time it took and I'm excited to see what the remaining sections of this tutorial have to offer. I'm very excited to actually learn how to code inputs and controls for the game and to hopefully eventually work with more dynamic environments and assets. The only difficulties I really encountered were the constraints of my laptop but I can easily mitigate those before the next task.

Split screen view of my workflow

Game Design Academic Reading

Monopoly Board

In the first reading, the excerpt form "Original by Game Design Concepts" by Ian Schreiber, the author discusses the definition of the term "game" and how the definition of the term is complicated and widely debated thus there being no concretely accepted definition for the term outside of a certain group. He also discusses that the vocabulary and terminology surrounding games in general is very subjective and colloquial depending on your peers, making it difficult to communicate with others about games. He also states alternate definitions for "Games" from other authors and presents the commonalities between the definitions such as the requirement of Rules, Conflict and Goals. He also ponders several examples of subjects that do not fit the conventional definition of games such as Tabletop RPGs or Puzzles. At the end of the excerpt he provides an exercise to showcase the process of creating a simple game.

Brainstorming Graphic

In the second reading, an academic publication titled "The organic nature of game ideation: Game ideas arise from solitude and mature by bouncing" by Kultima Annakaisa, the author discusses idea generation in the new and rapidly developing game industry through the evaluation of several interviews with game designers on the topics surrounding idea generation. They discuss how many game studios practice fostering creative spaces for creative and like-minded individuals but how they should also foster more versatile viewpoints to allow for fresher new idea and support innovation. They then go on to examine how better and more efficient idea generation techniques are the key to innovation. They explain how purposefully affecting the creative process of idea generation can lead to new ideas and thus better innovations in games. The author then presents brainstorming as a common practice in the idea generation process but acknowledges that it boasts many benefits and virtues for the idea generation process. They explain how having more idea generation techniques can improve the outputs of developers and how they can aid in averting small incremental growth in favour of greater leaps in design by widening developers' perspectives. As they begin presenting the results of their interview they state their findings that game design was a very organic and subjective process that was found to be difficult to formally explain/discuss. The author begins to present the findings from the interviewees and finds that:

1. Inspiration for game ideas can be found within anything and by observing everything around you either passively or systematically.
2. Actively doing other things, even just as a distraction, other than focusing on idea generation can aid in maturing thoughts and ideas.
3. Solitude is a helpful and commonly used practice in idea generation.
4. Group processes such as brainstorming and other such activities are often/better used for developing ideas rather than generating them. They serve as good methods for finding alternate thinking on ideas.
5. Many attempts at group process are done informally and can be counterproductive to original idea presentation or generation.
6. Formal idea generation techniques or group processes can funnel thinking and ideas toward a singular topic.
7. Although formal techniques worked occasionally solitary techniques were still favoured and thus more solitary techniques should be delivered and formal techniques should be developed and tailored to work better in a game design environment.
8. During the idea generation process many designers favoured prioritising the mechanics of the game idea over the theme as the theme can be easily modified but mechanics were essential for a functioning game.
9. Initial ideas could serve as either an initial stepping stone for a project or serve as the whole foundation throughout the process.
10. Although mechanics tended to be favoured aspects such as emotional goals for the game or a singular gameplay 'hook' for players were also acceptable starting points.

Time Strategies

Colmar sun dial

Time management has always been one of my biggest downfalls and I have never really been good at it or able to keep on top of it despite the things I've tried and what others have said. Procrastination has always been my go to for work and that has only changed ever so slightly in College, sometimes...

I often find myself trying to overcome my bad time management issues and I'm not adverse to trying so I should definitely try again this Year and especially in this module.

In this module in particular, because of how the module works and the availability of the weekly tasks I plan to make the most of that opportunity this semester. This is one of the first classes I've ever had that granted us the ability to get ahead of work in a substantial way and a way that matters. I intend to progress in this class by using all my allocated times for this class fully and not just completing the required weekly tasks. This will help me greatly in getting into a rhythm while I do the work and should increase my productivity overall.

For this task I decided to read the articles:

"How Checklists Train Your Brain To Be More Productive And Goal-Oriented" by Lauren Marchese

and 

"THE MYTH OF "TOO BUSY"" by Tim Grahl

I found the former article to be very useful as it reminded me of a time management skill that had actually worked for me relatively successfully in the past and one that I will definitely incorporate again this year. Although I did not fully agree with all the points made in the latter article I did find his tips on prioritising time to be insightful.

Hopefully by taking advantage of the opportunities granted to us in this module I can better manage my time in other modules too.

Technology Tools and Websites for Academics

 

Backlit keyboard

I'm looking forward to using Technological Tools for this module, both those I am already slightly familiar with and those I've never used before because I'll need all the practice I can get.

I am a big fan of the Class Website despite it being unlike anything else I've used academically. Having all the information needed for the module in a centralised place and having the information organised mitigates a lot of the annoying fidgeting we have to do for other modules, between Moodle, MS Teams, 3rd party resources, etc. I'm also very glad that we'll be incorporating Google Docs with this module as I've been using it for years and absolutely adore it, especially in an academic setting, so hopefully it'll make any collaborative or group work much simpler.

As for the tools we'll be using throughout the module,

Blogs

As of Year 1 I have become a lot more familiar with blogs but there's still a lot to learn about them. I've genuinely come to enjoy using blogs more but especially when used less as a academic writing tool and more so as a progress diary.

Image Editing and Graphics Creation

I am relatively familiar with Image Editing especially after some modules in Year 1 and I have been getting practice through personal projects I've taken up over the past year, learning new skills and techniques, but there's still a lot I don't know. In terms of Graphics Creation much like Image Editing I have some experience from Year 1 and have completed some personal projects over the past year mainly in Illustrator. I also have minimal experience using Blender.

Unity 3D

I am most excited for learning Unity 3D, I don't have much to any experience with it but I'm eager to gain some throughout this module and I want to accomplish something with the programme.

Academic Tools

I am not particularly excited or anything for the academic tools such as WordPress or Padlet but I'm open minded to there usefulness throughout the module.

The upcoming Assignments

 

Official Unity Logo

Reading about the all the assignment types we'll be undertaking in this module was really insightful and helpful especially with actually knowing what's required. Sometimes modules surprise you with some of the tasks they assign so this is a great change of pace.

Readings

The readings are something I'm not particularly looking forward to despite them being one of the only things I'm relatively familiar with in this module. I am personally just not the biggest fan of Academic Reading or Writing and never really have been. At least the reading is relevant to the module so hopefully I'll be able to engage with it more than I usually do.

Unity 3D and Project Work

I'm actually quite excited to be learning to use Unity and to start the Project. Although the workload is a little daunting at least it's an area I'm genuinely interested in so that should help me in getting through the work.

Blogs

The use of our blogs for commenting and feedback is an unorthodox part of the module but I'm interested to see how it functions within our year and how helpful it will be to hear from our peers throughout the module compared to the singular input from a lecturer.

Extra Credit

I am honestly extremely happy to see that there are extra credit assignments throughout this module as they take an enormous weight off that almost seems unfair in other modules. Having these assignments to make up for missed credits gives us the piece of mind that this module is still doable even if something happens or if we find something too difficult. It also grants us the freedom to structure our learning and to tailor it slightly to our own needs and interests. It's just such a great asset to be able to avail of and doesn't make the class feel as cut-throat and scary as many others do. I'm also looking forward to some of the extra assignment tasks because the genuinely sound new and interesting like the extra tech learning.

My experience with Growth Mindset

I was very inspired by the concept of a growth mindset and wholeheartedly believe in it too. Personally I have begun to recognise that whether I work with a fixed or growth mindset relies directly on my current mental states. As such I have begun the practice of throwing myself into something new and out of my comfort zone every time I feel myself slipping into monotony or just losing myself in the motions of life. While watching the videos ___ I began to realise my own practices of a growth mindset and how though not overt do help in cultivating that continued learning mindset, I recognised that my constant repetition of  phrases like "I'll figure it out" when faced with adversity is an example of the very thing she was presenting.

Expectedly I had never heard of a growth vs. fixed mindset before College which did not surprise me due to the nature of Secondary Schools. In my experience and from the experiences of others I know it seems very rare to find a teacher, parent, etc. nurturing a growth mindset especially for those in their teens. Possibly it'd be more likely seen in children but from personal experience and observation, after a certain age most educators begin to see lack of ability as a flaw rather than a deficit that should be nurtured. 

In my own experience College has been great for me in employing a growth mindset due to my inclination and appreciation of the creative modules in the course. My actual desire to learn in the course material and skills in College has served as a great motivator for continuing with a growth mindset.

I will probably continue on functioning the way I already am, which is working with a growth mindset but not giving it too much thought. I although I am aware of it now I tend to usually work better when I figure things out for myself be it personally or academically such as cultivating the growth style mindset but I do appreciate having an actual name for it now and a source to validate it.

As nerdy as it may sound, I can probably attribute my first encounter with a growth mindset style of thinking to an Anime I watched when I was, I'd say about, 13 and has cemented itself as my favourite anime ever since. I became enamoured with the main philosophy of the show which was offered through it's protagonists that was based on the concept of drills and moving forward despite hardship. The quote that stuck with me the most and still sticks with me to this day is

“We evolve, beyond the person that we were a minute before. Little by little, we advance with each turn. That's how a drill works!”

which I only now realised instilled that growth mindset style of thinking in me.

Gurren Lagann quote uploaded to Ifunny by user IAmLawless on 31/October/2016

https://bit.ly/30qpM6w

Introduction to someone just kinda figuring it out

To start, to be completely and wholeheartedly honest, I don't really have a goal for this course. I wasn't so sure what I wanted to do in College but just knew that I wanted to do something creative because the monotony of academics was starting to get to me so I filled my CAO with any creative courses I could find that interested me. Essentially I'm just here to be in College and to actually have fun doing something academic for the first time. My only other 'Non-creative' courses were either Psychology or Teaching(more specifically Spanish and Irish)

I've been liking the course so far though and have been genuinely happy about the skills I've learned so far like Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, etc. and have even found myself using them in my own time for personal projects and such. My biggest accomplishment last semester was probably finishing the year with a 3.75 GPA I think it was, especially getting all As in the second semester and my lowest grade overall being a B-. I've never been too bad academically but getting those grades in Year 1 in a sense 'validated' my choices for doing a creative course and my ability to do so.

I also didn't have a plan for this blog post, obviously, but I just got the idea to share some of my own personal work from over the past year.

Here are a couple photos I took and edited that I found on my laptop from the past year.

Burning Rose

Baggot Street 

(I'm pretty sure I did this one before we had even started Lightroom classes)

I used Photoshop to mess around and colour old drawings I scanned in. I also used these drawings to figure out how to turn sketches into lineart on Illustrator. I did a couple of them but these are the only ones I really finished.

The next are a couple fun little photoshop projects I decided to mess around with, neither of these are serious and I spent no longer than an hour on either but they were fun and good practice nonetheless.

Little Tom Holland

Edited "The Great Wave off Kanagawa"

The next and last few pictures are short illustrator projects I took up every now and then throughout the year. They all served as good practice and the new skills I figured out really carried on between them, despite the practice most of them are still pretty 'DIY' and are very much not the most efficient way to do them but as long as they looked fine I didn't mind. I also did a few more projects for friends and family but those were more personal projects. (Most of these were made and exported for Mobile viewing so please excuse the image quality)

Zenitsu Agatsumu poster from the anime Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer)

Japanese Shinto Shrine inspired poster

The next three are from a series I started over quarantine based on the anime Haikyu!!

Tadashi Yamaguchi

Yū Nishinoya

Asahi Azumane

As for other hobbies I like, a lot of them are creative or I will randomly start creative projects when I feel like it. These range from general drawing and painting to embroidery, and often prop or model making. My most recent prop project was a Bokken(wooden sword) that I hand carved, got a pretty little scar on my thumb from the chisel too. I had never really considered Music one of my hobbies for the longest time but I've recently started accepting it as one. I've been playing the Ukulele casually since about 14 and I've recently picked up a Midi Keyboard that I 'borrowed' from my sister. I've dabbled in song writing every now and then, not to much success.

I've also recently gotten back into watching Anime after taking a couple year hiatus from it for no particular reason.

As for games I've been playing a lot in the past couple years, I played a lot of Fortnite with friends in 6th Year instead of studying for the Leaving Cert. I also picked up Tetris 99 in that time which is one of the hardest games I've ever played especially considering that I didn't know how to play Tetris before I started and had to figure it out. My sister also bought a PS4 a couple months ago which let me start The Witcher III which I've been working through gradually. As for more recently during quarantine I have sort of become addicted to Smite: Battleground of the Gods because all my other friends had been playing it for years and after getting a laptop for College I could finally play it with them to pass time and stay connected during quarantine.

I'd love to talk about things like favourite Shows or Movies but I can never remember any, let alone pick one for things like this. The same goes for music because my taste is so broad and quite frankly bizarre.