P 1.3: Object Combination Puzzle: Obtaining Skeleton Arm and Cutlass
There are no real hints for this besides a comment about needing to use the Ramrod with something else. Once the Ramrod and Plastic Hook is combined there are still no hints of what is the next task, besides the newly formed Gaff needs to be used on something else.
Using the Gaff the player must use it on the Debris in order to gain the Skeleton Arm and Cutlass. Examining the new items we don’t get much feedback, except for a line when uses the cutlass, “I don’t wanna use this cutlass for no reason.”

Inventory Hints: Location: Hull

P 1.4: Environment Interaction: Use the cannon
From exploring the environmental and listening to hints the player is led to the cutlass on the Cannon Restraint Rope. Looking at the Cannon Restraint Rope after the interaction will lead to another hint, “The Rope has been cut. There is nothing restraining the cannon now.” Implying to the player that they can now perform an action that they couldn’t before with the cannon. As the player explores their options, (Look, Pick Up/Use and Talk to) with the cannon they will most likely use the correct interaction (Use) that will lead them to the next section.
After a cutscene the player appear in a new location and is informed of losing an inventory item, Cutlass. Though this may not seem to be a direct hint to the player it implies what is required in the next solution is something that is sharp and can cut things, as that was the main descriptor of cutlass in the previous scene.

Location: LeChuck’s Treasure Hull

P 1.5: Environment Interaction: Diamond Ring on Porthole
After exploring the environment the player should of obtains two new inventory items, bag of wooden nickels and a diamond ring. WIth no great hints the player should se the new items around the scene, with several interactions implying that the diamond ring can be use to cut or scratch things.

• Diamond Ring with Champagne Bottle: “I don’t want to cut this wine bottle open with this ring”
• Diamond Ring with Home Appliances: “I’d hate to scratch the pristine white finish”
• Diamond Ring with Record Collection: “There’s no way I’d scratch up classic dance track like these!”
• Diamond Ring with Flotation Device: “If I scraped the ring on that I’ll pop it.”

All these hints indicate that the ring needs to cut something, in this case the porthole. Doing so will cause the game to continue.

The idea of making a document analysing the hints system within a specific game came to me during MIGW 2016, when I found myself talking about my past research in dialogue and puzzle design within Adventure Games. It had been a while since I spoke about the topic in great detail and the more I spoke on the subject, the more I recalled wanting to write a document like this, a document that listed all the clues within a game that are presented to the player for them to interpret.

This document is an analysis of the hints and clues featured in a game that is written alongside playing the game, in this case, LucasArts "The Curse of Monkey Island". It will list out all the possible clues or hints that may lead the player towards finding the solution to a puzzle. Some clues may be a blatant as a character telling the player to talk to a certain character to progress, some may be a visual clue that allows the player to subconsciously go where they need to, and in some circumstances the clues may be anti-clues, telling the player that they can't do an action yet. Along with listing the dialogue that is spoken upon each interaction, I also wrote a brief line explaining the significance of the hint. 

So why choose LucasArts "The Curse of Monkey Island" as my first game to study? There were a number of reasons but it mostly came down to the number of verbs are only three and the game has a number of self-contained scenes. The fact that there were only three verbs in this game meant that the number of possible dialogue outcomes that would be dramatically reduced however there is still enough interaction to prevent the verbs from becoming less like clue facilitators and more like immediate actions to be taken. The game is also split into a lot of self-contained scenes meaning that there are more hints that led directly to a solution rather than a puzzle that may occur much later in the game. It's helpful in this study as it will mean that the number of locations and interactions are reduced so shifting through unneeded information is also reduced. I was also interested in how much the visuals were used in the hint system. They often tried in the past to have visual clues but due to the limitation of graphics they weren't clearly shown. This game was made at a time where visual clues were becoming one of the main staples of Adventure game design. One final reason of why I chose this game is, "The Curse of Monkey Island" is one of my favourite Adventure games which I haven't played in awhile, however, I still remember all the solutions so I believed it would fit the parameters I required. 

Currently listening to: Various Instrumentals by Hans Zimmer. Some of note: The Holiday OST, Prince of Egypt OST, and Muppet Treasure Island OST.

It's mid-November so I think it's about time to announce my goals for this month as well as reflect on how I went last month. Why have I taken so long to write this? Well, due to taking the first week of the month for MIGW (Melbourne International Games Week), which you read about here, I then took another week to recover, reflect and write about my experience. It was nice to take the time off though I did find myself itching to get back to game development after spending two weeks away.

But enough about MIGW, how did I go with Octobers goals? Overall, I say I went reasonable well. I achieve most of my base goals;
~ Complete base mechanics of the new project: I was able to meet the goal I set which was to get the base mechanics done. I would have been able to further develop the project if I didn't waste time trying to make the art look amazing, however, it did allow me to add some much needed good quality art to this website's gallery.
~ One page of sketching per day: I wasn't able to meet this goal as a lot of my time was spent working on the art for Talkative Tea Maker. So I was still drawing, however, it was individual pieces rather than focusing on practicing human poses like I originally intended.
~ 4 posts to the blog: I only posted 3 times last month which was a bit of a disappointment. I started writing a few articles but time seemed to slip away and I didn't have time to finish writing them.
~ Re-establish my work schedule: I was able to get back to my normal schedule of work, starting work at 9am and finishing at 4pm. One thing I do have to be caution of is that I do stop working after 4pm. I find myself sometimes working on something till 7pm at night and I know that is a quick way to burn myself out.

I felt like I got four-fifths of these goals done this month. Yes, I could have done better but I am pretty proud of this result considering how large all of these goals were. My whole point of last month was to see how much I could do and I plan to do the same for this month.

My new goals for this month are as follows;
- Finish Talkative Tea Maker: By the end of this month I want this project completely done including the Visual Novel elements and basic transitions. I will be amazed if it can be done but I'm going to try my very best to achieve this. This time NO WASTING TIME ON ART!!!
- Work on body construction and poses: I've changed this goal a little since last month. Although I intend to practice each day I think my focus should be on what I want to improve rather than the amount of time I put in. So this month I going to try and improve my human proportions, angles, and different poses.
- Finish Part 2 of Curse of Monkey Island Puzzle and Hint Analysis that I started writing. Draft version: I started on this new project last week and have already finished part one. Basically, this document I am writing is an analysis of all the hints indicated through the dialogue of how to proceed in the puzzle. This means using every possible combination of items, environment interactions, and dialogue options to see what clues may be revealed. The reason behind doing this is that I want to see and note all the time we a lead down a pathway without realising.
- 4 blog posts: My final goal is to write up four blog posts for this month, the same amount as last time, which I believe will be reasonably achievable as I have already written up three posts this month about MIGW and I have plans for at least two more posts for later this week. ​

I feel more comfortable with the goals I have set, though I believe that these goals are a lot more demanding than last months. This is mainly due to re-establishing my old schedule and I believe if I stick to it, I'll be able to achieve all of my goals plus more.

Currently listening to: Mario Party Party 8 by GiantBomb

PAX Day 1 and No Arcade Party:

I had a late start on the first day of PAX and decided to have an early lunch with Pritika before heading in to see the convention. We both realised the day prior, unlike other PAX shows, there were no panels of interest we wished to see so we spent most of the day exploring the show floor and staying around the Indie Pavilion. At some point during the day, we ended up just sitting in the bean bag area and relaxed until the point where we needed to head off to the No Arcade Party.

The No Arcade party was fun, there were a lot of games I hadn't seen or played before and the music was quite good, not too loud so you could still carry a conversation and just catchy enough. I spent most of the night talking to friends, reflecting on the past night but knowing I was heading into PAX again the next day I decided to head home early to rest up.

PAX Day 2:

On  the second day of PAX, I planned on seeing a number of panels that seemed interesting enough but, in the end, I decided I much rather spend the day with good company so I spent the rest of the day exploring the convention with a number of friends. I wanted to be able to make the final panel of the day, "PAXmance 2: Romantic Boogaloo", which was a sequel to a panel held the previous year. It was the highlight of last year and was, once again, a highlight of this year. It was entertaining, welcoming panel and they spoke briefly on the mechanics that are often featured in romance games and the faults that come along with that. That evening, though there was a Co-Op Party, I decided to take it easy and rest for the following day, so I didn't attend any events that night after the last panel.

PAX Day 3 and MegaDev:

On the final day PAX, I gave my pass to my brother so that he would be able to see PAX for himself and gave myself a break so I could recover a bit before going the final event of the week, MegaDev. Instead, for the most of the day, I spent updating my website and putting up what I had done thus far on the Tea Maker Project. 

Attending MegaDev was a pleasant experience as I spent the time talking mostly to Stephanie Moss and Jess Sinclair, again about what I was primarily working on and my aims for the future. Stephanie gave me a lot of words of encouragement and urged me to continue with my approach, slowly working on improving one skill at a time. She also informed me that she liked the idea of the Tea Maker project and was interested to see how it progresses which gave me a huge confidence boost. I've always admired Stephanie's work but after talking to her further I now really admire her work ethic.

I think that is the one thing that I am really taking away from this MIGW, my admiration of people's work ethic rather than the works they produce. It is easy in this world to see a person's final work and admire it for what it is, but what far more impresses me is knowing the effort that is being put in behind the scenes. To hear how people work through struggles and issues that arose helps me to see that all the hard times that I myself have gone through, is all a part of the process to make something meaningful.

​Currently listening to: Journey OST and Ori and the Blind Forest OST

GCAP Day 2 and Australian Game Developers Awards:
The day started off with the "GCAP Game Design Challenge", which had five game designers pitch a game idea based on a theme previously assigned to them. This year's theme was “CIVILISATION OVER”, so each designer pitched a game that could in time destroy civilisation. The panel was very entertaining, a lot of jokes and laughs were shared but it was a panel to ease people back into GCAP so no great lessons were learnt of discussed.

The second talk I attended for the day was the "The Art of Making Thing Not Look Terrible" by Simon Boxer and Jacob Janerka. I thoroughly enjoyed this talk and it was what I needed as a beginner/moderate artists. A lot of advice was given to help improve workflow rather than the basic introduction to art fundamentals which you can find anywhere. If given the chance I would love to see that talk again as I felt a lot of what I was told was very valuable.

The next talk I saw was "Advocating for the Story: Narrative Design and Communication Skills" by Brooke Maggs. I once had a long discussion with Brooke about the entwined nature of narrative and gameplay so I was very interested in how much of that topic would be spoken on. The talk did mainly focus on the ways narrative was depicted through the gameplay without the use of written dialogue and Brooke's journey as a narrative designer through this games development. 

At this point of time, I wasn't one hundred percent sure of which talk to attend next. I ended up deciding to go to the "Searching for Significance" by Kim McAuliffe, as I found out that she was to be the keynote speaker at the Women's in Games Lunch that was occurring later in the week and I wanted to know more about her. I was glad I attended this talk as the topic she spoke reflected on how I tend to approach game development, it isn't only a career but it's having a job that contains goals I want to achieve in my life. I have been lucky enough in my life to be in a position where I am able to reflect on what careers I believe would give me the most significance. It's an important topic to discuss and understand in order to make more meaningful careers in this industry.

The last talk I went to for the day was the fireside talk between Emma Siu and Kelsey Gamble. This talk was a good way to unwind the talk. They were both happy to have a fairly light-hearted discussion about their work and their backgrounds. Once again I was amazed to hear the passion behind people's work and amount of effort people go through, it always urges me to continue pursuing my own goals and with time I may be able to achieve them.

The closing keynote was given by Innes McKendrick, and in a way contrasted against the opening keynote. Speaking of how our "Giants" are humans too and are working through the same issues that we so we all need to support each other in this industry and treat everyone as equals. I feel this talk was much more impactful to me than the opening because I do firmly believe that though it is important to have role models and influences, it's dangerous to put too much admiration into these people as they are human too and can make mistakes. So rather than idolise those around us, instead, help support each other to make a stronger industry.

Later that night I attended the Australian Game Developer Awards, which was wonderful. Saw many friends who were out celebrating the end of GCAP and was happy to see the ones who were nominated for an award or two. It was great to see people taking the time to congratulate each other on their work and to get acknowledged by the industry as well. 
​
Women in Game's Lunch:
After the late night of the Australian Game Developer Awards, I decided to take the next day's morning to rest and then I was off to attend the Women's in Games Lunch. When I arrived I was happy to see and catch up with Katryna Starks, a games academic who I met the previous MIGW. We discussed both of what we were working on and then moved the conversion of the importance of developing games for younger girls that explores deeper themes. Whilst having lunch we sat with Stephanie Kyrin, Esther Moncrieff, Pritika Sachdev, Emma Sui, Anna Brandberg and Lexa Francis, and had lovely casual conversations of how everyone's week was going. 

We then listened to Giselle Rosman interview the keynote, Kim McAuliffe, as they spoke of her career and the importance of women in the workplace. The entire talk was quite inspirational and reminded me of the importance of having a supportive group of women to encourage us to do more. Afterwards, we bid each other goodbye and I made my way home to rest up for the another full day, the first day of PAX!

Currently listening to: Grim Fandango OST

So three days after Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW) has officially ended, I've had enough time to recover and start writing about my experience. Firstly I thought I'd explain how I experienced it in comparison to the previous year, then go into a more detailed recount of each day.

This was my second MIGW while I've been in the industry and let me tell you, it was much easier the second time around. I recall, the first year I went, I felt like an imposter. I had just finished my Honours degree and hadn't really produced or developed anything that I felt the industry would appreciate. But since then, I have been slowly refining my craft, I've gotten better as a designer, I've learnt how to program, I have been showing off my work to more and more people, and I have been stepping out of my boundaries to see what I can actually achieve. This year, when posed the question of "Are you a developer?", I didn't hesitate to say "Yes, I am!". This was a huge turning point for me, as I never believed that I would be confident to say that from where I was a year ago and it is due to the lovely support of the local community that I am able to continue working in this industry.

Unite:
The first officially event that I took part in was Unite 2016, a conference dedicated to the use of the Unity Engine. I was a volunteer, helping with ushering, registration and general supervision. I had volunteered the previous year as well and the improvements in organisation, having nearly all the events occurring on the same floor and the registration desk was more efficient, led to a smoother operation, less people needed directing and the volunteers were able to locate each other quite quickly.

I didn't get to see as many talks as the year prior, however, I did manage to have a number of nice chats about where I fit in the industry. They ensured me that the best approach for this industry is to continual work on improving my skills and to put myself out there, to show the work I can do. It takes time and dedication to get good at something so I have to work hard for it. 

The day was good, however, I felt that I should have taken more care not to tire myself out as much as I did. For the second half of the day, I forgot to refill my water bottle so by the time we ended I was exhausted and a tad dehydrated. Besides that, I was ready to head home after making a brief appearance at the Unite Networking Night, ready to go to sleep and wake up bright and early for the first day of GCAP.

GCAP Day 1 and Networking Night:
With a coffee in hand, I headed off early to attend Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) Day 1. Of all the events during MIGW, GCAP has always been my highlight. I love the environment, the people, the talks. Everyone who attends has something that they are passionate about within the industry and are often happy to talk about it. 

The opening keynote was Corey May, Lead Writer on the Assassin's Creed series and Narrative Director at Certain Affinity, who gave a lovely speech on what the GCAP theme, "The Shoulders of Giants", meant to him and described how he visually saw it. There are people in this industry who are leaders in their fields and this year, it seems, they were urged to become mentor figures and help support those who are still finding their way. To those who are still finding our footing we were encouraged to find our mentors and be courageous enough to step out of our boundaries.

After the keynote, there was a quick break and then to the rest of the conference. I managed to see four talks, "Building Trust as a Game Designer" by James Everett, "Playing to Your Strengths: The Story Behind 'Game Dev Tycoon'" by Patrick Klug, "Ron Gilbert talks to Katie Gall", and "Your Mental Health is Not an Optional Side Quest" by Jennifer Hazel. 

The "Building Trust as a Game Designer" talk spoke on the idea of what trust is made of and how it is necessary in order to build a healthy workspace. He spoke of the three components that are needed to build trust; Clarity, Empathy, and Reliability. I won't go into the details of the talk here as this blog is already too long but perhaps in the future, I may write on this topic. This probably my favourite talk of the day as it spoke on a topic that I was aware of but haven't been formally told.

"Playing to Your Strengths: The Story Behind 'Game Dev Tycoon'" by Patrick Klug was another good talk which was a post-mortem of the game 'Game Dev Tycoon'. This was particularly interesting as Klug spoke on how a lot of the mechanics within the game are traditionally no-nos when designing a game however their team was able to take those and change them into something that worked for their game. 

The fireside talk between Ron Gilbert and Katie Gall provided something I didn't expect. I got an interesting perspective into the importance of marketing a game well and how marketing is telling a story of the product not necessarily the product itself. From this talk, I was once again amazed at the passion people have for their own work within this industry and hearing it from Katie, someone I already admire in this industry, made it all the more impactful.

The final session I attended was the "Your Mental Health is Not an Optional Side Quest" by Jennifer Hazel. The talk spoke of mental health in a broad sense within the industry, what to be aware of and what to do if you are facing some issues. I found this talk was a little hard to listen to, as I related to a lot of the signs that were being mentioned. 

I decided to skip the last session of the day, I was still tired from the previous day and none of the talks seemed to really entice me. Instead, I had a couple of lovely chats, sketched for a while and generally let myself relaxed before going to the Networking Night that GCAP was hosting. At the Networking Night, I caught up with some old friends, made some new and generally had a good time talking to people. Decided to have a somewhat early night, I headed home, went to sleep, ready to start all over again the next day.