Own Choice Topic: Games I've created

Flash gaming websites are continuously growing and will be something of the future (emanueleferonato, 2013). With the help of HTML5 converters and new software's for HTML5 development, I am proud to be currently apart of this movement and will grow and learn as the commerce in the online gaming grows. Right now 96% of games on Facebook are built with Flash technology (emanueleferonato, 2013).

It started in 2005, where I uploaded my first Flash Game. It was scripted in AS2 and made on Macromedia  Flash MX. The rules of the game were simple, dress up your cartoon character. The main reason I chose to create a game like this was because the scripts were simple, everything consisted of gotoAndStop and Drag and Drops. In fact the only script which was somewhat complicated made text you typed in appear inside a speech bubble.

I had uploaded it to a website called Newgrounds.com, the reason for choosing this website was because at the time it was the only website I knew which allowed non-professional submissions. On their site only, the game now has over 230,000 views and still counting.

The same year, I uploaded 8 other Interactive Flash pieces, four how to draws, another dress up, one quiz, a shooting game and even found myself getting to a stage where I was confident enough to a Flash tutorial.

The following year, 2006, I uploaded a total 15 games. As my Flash skills developed, so did the games I was creating. I even created a complex party game where a marble would be placed under a bowl and it would get swapped around several times. You would start off with £100 and you'd have to bet your money that you could find which bowl the marble was under.

27th May 2006, when I was 14 years old, I was offered a job by a company in America to make games for them. They were offering $14,000 per year. Since they required specific games to be made and I did not fancy myself as a great coder, I decided it was best that I did not get distracted by this, particularly as I had school work to deal with. The offer was turned down and I proceeded to make games for myself.

A game which I created that seemed to attract a lot of peoples attention, was a fan made Simpsons game, called Homer the Flanders Killer. The Second of which was so popular that it now stands at over 700,000 views on Newgrounds alone. Since then I have been creating new versions of the game and there's a total of 7 Homer the Flanders Killers.

In 2011, I teamed up with Mochimedia (2013) on Homer the Flanders Killer 4. Their system gave me an easy way to add a scoreboard to my game and thus would make it much more fun for the users. In turn by doing so, it also meant that I could now keep track of all the sessions that my game received, no matter what site they were on.

Figure 11. Screen Capture of Sessions of Flanders Killer 4

Flanders Killer 4 managed to make over 3,000,000 sessions alone and has found it's place on the majority of gaming websites. Unfortunately, as it is a Simpsons based game, this also means that I'm unable to make money from it.

In total, the sessions of all the Flanders Killers combined, there are over 10,000,000 sessions played which by the looks of things, is the most well known fan made Simpsons game yet.

The game now has it's own Facebook fan page and website.

Class Post Discussion - Taskrabbit: The use of Gamification

I am very impressed with the capabilities of TaskRabbit and what it has to offer. It gives people the motivation to help others, all for the reward of levelling up, personal gratification and earning money. Task Rabbit shares many qualities with another website called Fiverr which, suggested in the name, works by offering $5 for tasks.

Something of which separates the two websites would be the motivation behind completing the tasks given. Of course Task Rabbit does offer money as well, but the key to the success of Task Rabbit would be the gamification behind it.

Gamification has been used in business for decades but since the digital age gamification has expanded and given new ways of which in can be incorporated (Accenture, 2013). Before the digital age gamification was used primarily at workplaces where by having these gamification incentives for the employees, (labmanager, 2009) means that they are more likely to do the work and get it done it good time, they would be striving for the achievement. For example, in the work place there may be incentives such as pay rises, parties and prizes.

Similarly, with TaskRabbit’s gamification, the incentive is to level up. The more tasks of which you complete the higher level you will become. Since the levels are easily viewable on each users profiles and the leaderboards, this creates further motivation as it helps to show others that they are trustworthy since the use the website a lot. This means more customers for them which is especially useful if they are using TaskRabbit and websites a like for business purposes.

Other websites such as Newgrounds.com have also incorporated this technique of gamification. Newgrounds is a website which hosts Flash content for games and animation. Instead of hiring others to manage the portal of submissions, they have instead implemented a system which motivates the users to vote on the content submitted. Their system works by gamification, using a levelling up system by getting users to vote on 5 Flash entries per day, in order to get 10 EXP. As the levels increases EXP is required to level up, more It takes 38,640 points in order to reach the maximum level, meaning that it takes a total of over 10 years in order to reach this.

Fig 10. Screen Captured: Newgrounds Voting System

As you progress through the levels, the more experience you have with voting on submissions and therefore they’ve made it so that your vote is worth more per level. Unlike TaskRabbits systems, the levels don’t so much show others how trust worthy you are but more so are used as bragging rights.

Event - The Science Museum: 3D printing and more!

On the 20th of November 2013, Abby, Hendhy and I went to the Science Museum. The two things of which took our interest the most was "Do not touch" by Christian Moeller and the 3D printing area.

With Moellers interactive artwork, it was a big, 12cm thick pole reaching to the top of the room. Just underneath the artwork on the floor read "DO NOT TOUCH". Originally the artwork had caught my eye as every now and again the piece would make an electric shocking sound followed by users excitingly screaming.

Hendhy said that he did not want to try it as it looked very scary and could hurt him, after very little persuasion, Hendhy agreed.

Fig 8. Video at Science Museum

"It's worse when you don't know when it's..." had I finished the sentence, it would have ended with "...happen". The video had been chopped down and we had been waiting there for a minute prior to being shocked which made it that much worse.

Stated on the information notice beside the piece, the work was there to for us to experience energy and remind us that it can be powerful.

I thought the "Do not touch" feature was a nice addition to the floor, as not only was it the name of the artwork, but also a warning sign. I did touch the artwork, not because I wanted to disobey what was written, but I knew it was safe and there merely to grab it's users attention.

The three of us eventually went to visit the 3D printing area, whereby around we saw objects that had been made through 3D printing

Fig 9. Hendhy and I at the Science Museum

The 3D prints of which took my interest the most were the bicycle and the skull with teeth.

The reason for this was that the bicycle was the biggest and most useful print job there and looked to have been made through a single print job with the tires added on separately. Whilst the skull and teeth reminded be of my post on transhumanism and cybernetics. It also made me think how with the use of 3D printing these things could be made much more efficiently!

More specifically, there was also a part named the Skull Patch, which came with a video. If someone were to have a head injury, it would start with a Scan of the head. Then a plan is created of the patch which would then be 3D printed and fitted directly on the head leaving room for bone to grow and replace the patch. I think this is great technology and works especially well with a scanner, as you're able to get the precise dimensions.This type of near future technology would help benefit the world and save lives.

After the Science Museum, I went to their website following the event. A quote which I enjoyed was as follows: "Check out 3D printed replacement body parts – from those already used today, to the possible 3D printed organs of the future" (ScienceMuseum.org.uk, 2013).

YouTube: Google+ Strikes Back

Ever since Google Plus had been introduced in 2011, it's tried to become the next Facebook. Early February 2012 statistics state that whilst Facebook had the average user spending 7.5 hours on Facebook per month, Google Plus only had users spending 3.3 minutes per month (CNN, 2012).

Most like due to their unsuccessful attempt at becoming the next best social network, as of November the 6th 2013 YouTube, a video website owned by Google that has more than 1 billion hits per month (YouTube, 2013), has practically forced it's users to become apart of Google Plus.

How have they done this?

Since YouTube, as well as being a video website, also has a social community where users can leave comments on peoples videos, like and dislike videos, send private messages and even comment publically on other peoples profiles; they know that their community wants to do this and have now required their users to link their account to Google plus (zdnet, 2013).

This hasn't gone down well. Just look at the dislike to like ratio.

Fig 4. Screen captured "Meet the new YouTube comments" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVGp8Z8Yb28

This has caused not only an outrage in the YouTube community, but even Jawed Karim, YouTube's original co-founder writing "Why the f*ck do I need a Google+ account to comment on a video?" on his YouTube channel. Not only this, but has changed his video-preview-thumbnail profile picture to one of which stresses his point more so reading "Google+ Sucks".

Fig 5&6. Both: screen captured from his youtube channel jawed http://www.youtube.com/user/jawed

The change has also meant that when linking your YouTube account to your Google Plus, your first and surnames will replace your YouTube usernames, meaning less privacy for all. In fact the only thing a username would do, would be in the URL as an easy way to access ones YouTube channel.

Eventually, just before Google plus did force everyone to link their accounts to Google plus on the 6th of November, YouTube introduced Google pages, a way for users to finally display their original username on comments instead of their personal private names (support.Google, 2013).

This however, from experience, now means that if you originally had a Google Plus account, and are one who wants to keep your personal name private on such a site, you'll now have two YouTube accounts. One with your personal name, which you do not use and one with your Google pages name which you'd preferably use.

Fig 7. Switch to Google+ page identity https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2897336?hl=en

From the picture above we can see that either the user can use it as their Google+ account, Clark Kent. Choose a "better" name with Google Pages, or "Keep" their YouTube username, where they'll have to use Google Pages for that too!

So whichever choice you make, you're forced to connect your YouTube account with Google.

This also means due to way their database works, you cannot reply to YouTube comments prior to the Google+ integration as of 6th of November 2013.

Personally, I'm not too fussed with the way Google Plus' integration with YouTube has turned out. There are some privacy issues, but they can be avoided if you know how to take the right steps. The integration could have been smoother and less chaotic, but it's done now.