As mentioned in the first development log of my digital game of Erebus, there was a harsh learning curve when it came to using the game engine and assets. There are many things that I believe could be improved on when it comes to the first irritation of the game. Along with changes that need to be made to the original irritation, there are also design considerations and ideas that worked and can new ideas that can also be implemented to further improve on the base that has been laid. First and foremost, a change that needs to happen is a better structure and foundation. By this I mean that core mechanics should have been the first thing I worked on and made sure worked flawlessly. To start off with just the basic shooting mechanics and then melee mechanics both work and are able to damage enemies. Then would come the special abilities of each character class, such as the sage. Further development into the Ninja and Berserker classes also needed to be developed as the first irritation did not have any special abilities for these two classes. The images shown are concept ideas for how a few of the attacks of the Beserk and Ninja class would look like for Earthquake, Shield Wall, Dark Mist, and Shadow Knives. 

What I found worked for the game though were the theme and style choices that were made. By using assets found in the Unity asset store, building blocks were found to help build this universe that I was trying to create. These were the cyberpunk futuristic world, as well as alien worlds. The original tabletop game had it more focused on gameplay within the city that it was based. The digital game however was to expand on this and take it further from the city to other places in other worlds. With the assets that were found this was possible to create. Along with those assets, the core mechanics of shooting and melee combat were found. More time was needed in order to learn and properly develop and implement those assets into the game, however. The creator of those assets had a YouTube channel that had many tutorial videos on how to use and implement them, but due to time restraints, more time was needed to shift through all the videos and to properly learn it all. Then there was the unity 3D game kit, which was also attempted to be implemented into the game. However once put in, the different assets from that game with the other assets did not mesh well. There were many problems trying to get them to work as intended such as the moving platform, which when you stood on it, would slip right out from under your feet when using the character creator that came with the shooting mechanic asset. Finally, the concept of a multiplayer game would be too complex even if I had more time to produce. So instead of the final irritation of this game would be a story focus game where at the beginning you choose which starting class you would like to use and progress through missions throughout the multiple levels in order to achieve a final goal, which could be the redemption of your soul by finding the person who made you into this killer assassin, to begin with.

Now in the reading of Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, there were a few game theories about what a game should be and include. One that stood out to me was the Meaning of Play. It states that “experiences that have meaning and are meaningful is one of the goals of successful game design, perhaps the most important one.” The chapter says that the goal to design meaningful play is the core concept of any good game design, “the goal of successful game design is the creation of meaningful play.” So, to adhere to this core concept for my game, I have to look into what makes a meaningful game. Is it the combat or the story? The level and world design? Or is it all of the above? Does the gameplay have to be intellectually stimulating for the player in order for it to be meaningful? Thinking about these questions and trying to answer them would be the basis for creating my game. That is why the idea of creating a game based in a cyberpunk, magical world with otherworldly entities came into play. The idea was to create the kind of game that I would want to play, and by using the themes of some of my favorite games and stories combine them all into something such as my concept, Erebus. Using the Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, there are many foundational concepts to be explored and helped with developing a truly interesting and immersive game experience, which is what the goal of this game would be. To create a fun action-adventure game that takes you across all sorts of worlds, where everything you do has a purpose, makes you stronger all in order to achieve the goal of becoming the ultimate, in this case, assassin, the Galaxy has ever known.

Salen, K., et al. Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals.
Books24x7.com, 2004,
https://books.google.ca/books?id=UM-xyczrZuQC.