Blog 4

In our readings I feel that McLuhan related somewhat to the game design readings. With McLuhan, the ideas become extremely visual and relate together in an odd way, much like a video game. In some cases, you have to really work for the information given to you. Such as on pages 54 and 55 with the backwards text. The author also relates with the game designers by saying "There is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening." which I think means there is no bad way to start creating a game, just as long as you are willing to think and analyze what you need to do to create it. A Brief Crash Course on Game Design speaks on this as well " However you are most comfortable and whatever is easiest for you, do make a point to start writing down or sketching out your idea. Make note of any ideas for the theme or mechanics you may want to use. It’s amazing how this one step of documenting your idea will start the process. Otherwise, all you are doing is daydreaming. Go beyond daydreaming and document your idea. Start the process."
In Is it Really about the Theme, " One of the great debates in the gaming community is how much theme is needed in a good game, and how much your can sacrifice of your game mechanic to achieve the necessary theme." which causes me to wonder about the McLuhan book as a whole. How much of the content is lost because of the odd theme with almost seemingly random images and weird fonts? If he made a book without these would we have more content? Is McLuhan book like a badly theme game itself? So not only does some of the content, or chronology relate to the readings but the way that it is written causes pause for thought as well.

In our Weatherford readings I feel as if the steps needed to create large empires are along the same lines as creating a popular game. To create an empire you need to begin with a bartering system, then a precious metals system, and then paper money system. Much like there are these steps in an empire there are steps in game design. A Brief Crash Course in Game Design also gives us steps in game creation:


1. Idea Generation and the Early Conceptual Stage
... 1-A. From Daydreaming to Design
... 1-B. Establish your design goals
... 1-C. Pacing and win conditions

2. Early Prototypes and crash testing
... 2-A. The quick and dirty prototype
... 2-B. Internal (solo) testing – The hunt for fatal flaws
... 2-C. Early Feedback and Reality Checks

3. Preliminary Rules, Functional Graphics, and the Mid-Stage Prototype
... 3-A. Document the design
... 3-B. Begin working out the Graphic Interface
... 3-C. Make a refined prototype to support live playtesting
... 3-D. More solo playtesting

4. Internal Playtesting Stage
... 4-A. First live playtests – what to ask testers?
... 4-B. Taking and interpreting criticism –Knowing your audience
... 4-C. Design Refinement – Endless iterations
... 4-D. Design Best Practices

5. External playtesting stage
... 5-A. Blind Playtesting
... 5-B. Rules Drafting and Late-Stage Prototypes

6. The Road to Publication
... 6-A. Publishing Approaches
... 6-B. When to pitch and how to do it
... 6-C. Pitching Points for your Design
... 6-D. Passing the Baby: From Designer to Publisher

Not only can Weatherford relate to the need for structure in the development of games but also the monetary system as well. Some games, such as WOW, Monopoly, or Sims a currency is needed. This currency is usually based off of our own history of money. For example in WOW gold counts almost like a dollar, silver is like a dime, and copper is like a penny. 

Some, college professors disagree exactly how though.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksimaJgL9DA

In all both Weatherford and McLuhan can relate to the Game Design readings. McLuhan does this by his medium, chronology, and theme. Weatherford can relate to the Game Design readings because of the concept of currency and steps needed in both a game and an empire.