Our theme is flow. So of course I thought I'd scrawl a few initial ideas, however there will be an idea generating session later on to move beyond trite concepts. 

So I'll be learning UE4, creating assets and or artwork, iterating, playtesting, researching and creating the prototype and Pitch Document.

Within this project, there is also an opportunity to chose my specialism, that which I want to eventually do when I leave university, they're Concept Art, Asset Creation or Interactivity. I'll then be focusing that one area, improving and focusing on that particular area. There will also be art tests at this time. 

Contextual Studies, or simply Research as its now going to be known as, is a 3000 word essay on Creating Coherent Worlds. It'll pose questions about how fictional worlds are conceived and constructed, exploring virtual and interactive environments such as board games, funfairs and theme parks. This should also be feeding into my studio work.

There are 800 study hours here, and this is to be submitted on the 5th of February, so there is much to be getting on with in the mean time. 

During briefing, we were also introduced to a collection of design roles present in the industry. A Game Designer for example devises "what a game consists of and how it plays, defining all the core elements. Communicating this to the rest of the development team who create the art assets and the computer code". Similarly, a Level Designer decides on how a level will play out, scripting events, the geography of the playscape and AI, among other things. Whereas in the past level designers would create a 2D map, nowadays apparently 3D model block outs are used, where iteration occurs and final meshes are made and finalised into actual levels; this method superior as it allows designers to actually explore and get to know what they're designing, opposed to a disconnected birds eye view of the game world. Of course 2D can still be used to depict maps and plan the flow of a level,

A System Designer crafts specific features such as fighting systems, AI, scoring rules, matchmaking, lobbies and different game modes. They implement and balance game features from the initial design to the final stage, they also facilitate and organise game testing sessions and devise plans of action from the results these bring. Coding and mathematic skill is essential, 2D visualisation can of course be used to solve certain problems during the creation of these systems.

A Technical Designer is similar, usually more program heavy and responsible for implementing gameplay as well as managing and processing balance and metrics.

A Content Designer, among other things, can be a mission designer creating quests for players, deciding on in game item statistics (though this might defer to a system designer), character dialogue, item descriptions, develop testing plans for your designs to ensure feedback, iteration and polish and collaborating with world designers, writers and world designers. Good communication skills, a firm grasp on the English language, great understanding of the building blocks of gameplay and how to fix problems with clear solutions. This role I personally find quite compelling.

On the topic of design tests to get acquire a job, often there can be a many paged written exam and often an art test, to see if you are indeed what they're looking for.

There's already so much to process on this project, I look forward to how this develops!