Why Game Design?

I’ve chosen the task of game design for this project for several reasons. Although video games have always been an interest of mine, it wasn't until I took Computer Science this year that I began to realize what actually goes into making a game, and I began to research how everything comes together. As a creative endeavor, a video game represents the culmination of several aspects of computer science in a cohesive, singular product. To make a game, you have to account for the concept, the programming, the artwork, the music, etc. Although I’m not necessarily amazing at all these aspects, I’ve spent time exploring each, and I’m intrigued with the creative problem solving needed to learn and execute a video game in its entirety.

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As was stated, I’ve been taking computer science this year, which introduced the basics of coding and how computers work, but beyond the class curriculum I’ve invested countless hours in several useless, but fun projects for their own sake. Each of these consisted of identifying a goal I wanted to achieve, and learning and experimenting until I overcame the problem. This senior project is an opportunity to spend time working on a full project, rather than self contained homework assignments and experiments. Ultimately, I aim to make a finished game by the end of this.

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To get into specifics, I’m interested in the coding solutions that actually power 2D games on a basic level. Most every game implements, in addition to the basic features, physics simulations, procedural generation, collision detection, and basic AI. Although these subjects can be very complex, I will at least gain a working understanding of each of them, and document the process by which I implement them. Because much of this project is about learning and experimenting with coding, I intend to record and understand the various algorithms, solutions and methods I use throughout the project.