Digital Tree Games – Business Plan

Digital Tree Games Logo

For a the fourth and final project for our Multimedia Industry Prospectives module we were assigned the task of writing a draft business plan. Myself and Graham decided to work on the project together because we are both games students and felt we could think of a business that highlighted our strengths. We came together and discussed ideas we thought would be successful and also something that would interest us, we thought of a couple of ideas but finally came back around to our original idea of a games company.

Another reason for our choice was that we are both designing games for our FYP project and thought it would fit well with the purpose of the business plan because we actually have something tangible to work with. We found it easy to communicate during the project because we live together, so communication wasn’t hindered by distance or technology. Before we started writing out the business plan we had to decide on a name for our games company. A lot of game company names are quirky and interesting so we threw around a few ideas before we agreed on Digital Tree Games – Time to branch out!

We followed a business plan layout and covered all the essential points that are required to get across your business i.e. executive summary, business/product, the market, competition, and risk and opportunity. We also covered all necessary expenditures and potential income by researching thoroughly the office space and technology devices that we would need to get the business started. In the business plan below you will also find a Financial Projection outlining the calculations of our potential income/expenditures.

Digital Tree Games Business Plan

Nexus Innovation Centre – IDF Marketing

For our third assignment in the module, Multimedia Industry Perspectives, we were paired with a company from the Nexus Innovation Centre located in the Tierney building. The Nexus Innovation Centre is a place where international entrepreneurs can make their business ideas come to life. It helps that it’s situated in the heart of the University of Limerick, one of the largest university’s in the country. The the Nexus Innovation Centre works with the businesses on an intense business incubation system by helping businesses get on their feet in a short period of time whilst offering office space. Office space isn’t the only benefit of starting up a business in the centre, the programmes on offer also provide one-on-one consultations with industry experts, business workshops, and being around a number of businesses allows for collaborations and information transfers. ‘Studio to Street’ is one of the programmes the Nexus Innovation Centre has to offer to aspiring entrepreneurs.

During my 20 hours, spread over four weeks, in the Nexus Innovation Centre I was assigned to work with IDF Marketing in a group with two DMD students, Joanne and Catherine. It was apparent straight away what Kevin Meaney (Director of Digital Strategy) was looking for when were first introduced, he wanted us to implement a short (2 mins) showreel video getting across everything IDF Marketing does in a fun and interactive way. Even though, I’m a games student, I had the most experience using Adobe After Effects because during my cooperative experience I created a graphical information video similar to what Kevin was looking for.

Kevin provided us with a storyboard which cut down a lot of the work. We went through the storyboard with Kevin as a group, scene by scene, voicing our ideas on how we thought we could improve on the scenes and changing other ones depending on our limitations. Once the nitty gritty stuff was over and done with we got started on creating the video with the graphics provided by Zara Moynan (Senior Designer). We organised our office hours by splitting our time over two days (Wednesday and Thursday). Unfortunately, due to sporting commitments by myself, some weeks we had to do the full five hours on one day and I want to thank the girls and IDF Marketing for their flexibility.

The process for making the video was tedious at times when adding transitions and getting the timing right, but all and all we were pleased with the outcome of the video, even though we unfortunately didn’t get to completely finish the video due to time constraints. This assignment was beneficial to my teamwork and design skills and I feel I gained a lot of experience working with Joanne and Catherine.

Scene 1 Sketch

Scene 2 Sketch

Scene 3 Sketch

Blender – Making something out of nothing!

During my second semester of 2nd year I had a Computer Graphics module that introduced us to a new software programme called Blender. Blender is a free open-source 3D computer graphics software that can be used to create animated films, visual effects, 3D objects, interactive 3D applications or video games. Blender includes some amazing features for a free software package, some of which include 3D modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging and skinning, and much much more.

Our first project for Computer Graphics included an individual project designing and skinning a 3D object of our own choice. I found Blender very easy and fun to use, and found designing 3D objects and graphics to be a lot of fun. When I first started playing around with all the effects in Blender my project kind of just came together in an hour, I designed a demon head without really meaning too. It’s something I’m very proud of since it was the first ever 3D object I created in Blender. Note that the image below is not the skinned version, it’s the basic version that I first designed before I tidied it up.

The first 3D object I created in Blender

After using Blender in Computer Graphics I found myself using is more and more in my spare time because I enjoyed challenging myself to create even more complex objects. Another example of my work would be the chess pieces and chess board I created. It took a while to do but the end result was worth it.

Chess Board and Pieces

After working with Blender in my own time and in class I found that my interests lay with designing and creating graphical objects. It showed me that games design is the path I want to take in the gaming industry and where I want to be in the future, designing characters and lanscapes for high end games. Some other projects I did in Blender can be found here, on my online portfolio.

FYP – O.T. Connect

I have decided to base my FYP project on designing a game for the X-Box 360 that would help assist Occupational Therapists with clients that have physical and learning disabilities.

The background research I have done to date includes discussing the benefits of a game for clients such as children with physical and learning disabilities by briefly interviewing an occupational therapist. I found out that occupational therapists work with children within two age groups, 0 – 5 and 5 – 18. There are already a number of educational games out there for a number of platforms, but they concentrate on people that have very little learning and physical difficulties. I have found from my research there doesn’t seem to be any specific game that targets people with learning and physical disabilities, but the Wii Sports games are used as an alternative. I have also read, for research, such articles as ‘The Health Policy Newsletter – Wii-HAB: Using the Wii Video Game System as an Occupational Therapy Intervention with Patients in the Hospital Setting’, ‘Wii game vs. standard Occupational therapy for children by tech4therapists.blogspot.ie’, and ‘Virtual rehabilitation with video games: A new frontier for occupational therapy by Jonathan Halton’.

The game I plan on designing will specifically be designed to help improve children with learning (input, output, storage, and integration learning) and physical (mobility, visual, and hearing) difficulties. With physical disabilities, children might find such things as visual recognition, body position, and coordination difficult, with the help of the game I intend on designing, occupational therapists can use this game to help improve and rehabilitate children with such difficulties.

“Furthermore, video games are fun to play, which facilitates motivation for therapy and in turn will influence performance (Jonathan Halton, 2008)”.

My main aims are to successfully design a game for the X-Box 360 that assists an occupational therapist when working with children that have physical and learning disabilities in a controlled and fun environment. That includes, research of different learning and physical disabilities and designing levels within the game that are beneficiary to their disabilities. The levels will include progression, graphics, characters, and achievements, which will help to motivate the patients to spend more time on learning and physical rehabilitation. My design process, excluding the research, will follow the process of game design document including other documents wherever needed.

Introducing Technically Write IT – Video Project

During my cooperative education I worked with a technical writing company called Technically Write IT. I worked on a number of jobs of which varied from easy to challenging. Some of my main roles/responsibilities included administering and updating the company’s client database, communicating with potential customers indirectly (using social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook), working on content for their website and blog, managing blog feedback, managing files in their content repository and Dropbox account, helping proofread and edit content, exploring ways to integrate video, animation, and graphics into text-based deliverables. Working in a start-up company such as Technically Write IT showed a unique insight into many aspects of business.

Whilst working with Technically Write IT, the biggest project I took part in was creating and designing a short (under 3 minutes) graphical information video with Adobe After Effects (AE). It explains what the company does in a fun and animated way. Graphical information videos are a great way of visually portraying information without using too much text. The process for making the video was long and tedious, but the result was worth it. The beginning of the video started with Patrice writing the script for the video after which I designed a simple storyboard illustrating possible scenes for the video. It gave me a starting point and from there I started creating the video using AE. I quickly learned how to use the new software but the video still took quite a while to create. With a lot of changes and experimenting with different ideas and concepts from brain storming regularly with Patrice, by the end the video flowed seamlessly and depicted perfectly everything that Technically Write IT is about. It is the project I am most proud of that I completed during my time with Technically Write IT.

Throughout my time with Technically Write IT I had many opportunities to learn and develop new skills as well as improving old skills. Before working with Technically Write IT I hadn’t had much experience in any kind of working environment, but I found that working in an office environment offered new and unique experiences. Working for Technically Write IT has given me the opportunity to work with interesting programs like After Effects, Photoshop, and InDesign, all of which I was eager to learn as much as I could.

My Dream Job!

If I was to be perfectly honest, my dream job would be being a super hero, saving the world with super human powers and cool costumes, but sadly we don’t live in world where that’s possible. So I guess my realistic dream job would be a game designer for Naughty Dog or Ubisoft, two of my favourite game developers in world today.

A game designer is another aspect of game development. A game designer designs the content of a game and the rules along with the characters, storyline, level design, environment, and gameplay during, and many other aspects of the game during pre-production. Game designers are required to be artistic and technically competent as well as having good writing skills, a good people person is also a plus. Because I find my programming skills aren’t very strong I believe this area of game development would suit me best because I believe I am artistic and I like to write fiction and non-fiction, which are the requirements of a game designer. I also believe the design process of a game is the most fun and interesting part of the development process. To show my love for art and design I have created an online portfolio that showcases my creative skills.

The reason for my choice to work for Naughty Dog and Ubisoft specifically is simple, they have designed and developed my all time favourite games which include the Uncharted series (Naughty Dog), the Assassins Creed series (Ubisoft), and the Prince of Persia series (Ubisoft), and an all time classic game that reminds me of my childhood (and I’m sure many others), Crash Bandicoot (Naughty Dog). Ubisoft and Naughty Dog have developed some of the highest grossing and most popular games in todays gaming industry, and are continually pushing the boundaries of next generation gaming. Their next titles include The Last of Us (Naughty Dog) and Assassins Creed 3 (Ubisoft) which are two of the most anticipated games of 2012/2013.

Naughty Dog

An influence of mine would have to be the co-founder of Naughty Dog, Andy Gavin. Along with Jason Rubin, Andy established Naughty Dog in 1989, and in 1996 Andy and Jason designed and developed one of the most popular games of the 90’s for the Play Station platform, the game, of course, being Crash Bandicoot. After stepping down from his role at Naughty Dog, Andy has become a fictional novelist which is something I also aspire to. As well as my love for video games I also love to write, which makes Andy a perfect role model for me. Something I am also very proud of is the fact that Andy Gavin is following me on Twitter. 🙂

My dream of being a game designer falls on my love to design and write. In my free time I write FanFiction, and I also practice graphic design and video designing, all of which can be found on my online portfolio.

An example of my portfolio work!

So there you have it, my dream job after college would be to be a game designer in such game developers as Naughty Dog or Ubisoft. I know it’s bit of a long shot and highly unlikely I’ll get a job with them after I graduate, but getting a job with either of those companies is an achievement I hope to accomplish in hopefully the next 5-10 years. Heres hoping! 🙂

Everyday I’m waffling!

What to talk about today, hmm? Waffling, one of humans best friends, it gets you out of a few tight spots now and then! 😉 I’m going to waffle about what I’m most looking forward too this year! The league final against UCC! :O We’ve been in this very position for the past two years now and have come out on top every time, and every year there seems to be even more of a build up and hype to it! But every year it’s become more difficult to hold our title, it’s always a challenge and that makes it even more rewarding when you win!

Next on my list of things to be excited about… THE LAST OF US, I mean this game CANNOT come any sooner! It just looks beautiful, amazing, exciting, invigorating! Naughty Dog are setting a VERY high standard for up and coming game developers and there not making it easy for them! There setting the bar, and it’s Mount Everest! But now that Naughty Dog have split their team into two, there’s room for Drake to come up fighting (with a few bruises and one liners, as usual).

Another game I’m really looking forward to is the new Tomb Raider origin game, Crystal Dynamics have really gone back to the origins of the character that is Lara Croft. Could she possibly be the female version of Nathan Drake? It’s very likely she is. From the short gameplay preview CD published, it looks very promising, between graphics and gameplay it’s sure to shoot up the charts.

Blogging…?

I have to say, this whole “Blogging” thing doesn’t really come naturally to me, which might come as a surprise! I find I’m a very talkative person but sometimes (regularly) I never know what to say…

What do I find important? What do I think you’ll think I find important? What do you find important? Why does anything have to be important? Then I realised, it’s not what’s important that matters, but what you love! What you enjoy. What you think about first thing in the morning when you wake up. What you think about during the day when you find your mind wandering from the task at hand. Whether it’s daydreaming or simply DREAMING, it’s ALL IMPORTANT because you love it! Because you think about it regularly makes it vital within your life. Even if it’s something silly like cartoons or videos games or something profound like the “meaning of life” or whether it’s truly believing someday you’ll meet your idol, no matter who they are. It keeps us going. It feeds our minds, our souls, it’s the surface between our feet that keeps us from falling.

Put simply, it’s our IMAGINATION, our DREAMS, our GOALS that make us who we were, who we are and, someday, who we will be!

Hello world!

Hello there, trying to get the hang of this whole WordPress thingy-me-bob! 🙂 For the most part, my names Leah!