#design challenges

[askagamedev]

What if any technical reasons are there that more PS5 and Series X games do not support offline co-op and multiplayer modes? It seems that while yes, current gen games are more demanding, current gen hardware is exponentially more capable than past generations. Why not just add a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th viewport into the world and let people game together? Any relevant answer would be appreciated. If none, I'll just assume my suspicions are correct and you are under some NDA about this. The breaking of which would result in being blacklisted and hunted down by John Wick himself. Thank you.

Let's assume that we have no technical limitations - infinite memory, infinite CPU and GPU cycles. We can run as many viewports as we could possibly want. What else could be holding us back? Here are a few game design considerations that make split screen a non-trivial task, even in a scenario where technical limitations don't exist.

Aspect Ratio

When we are designing a game, screen visibility and aspect ratio are important. Look at this screenshot from God of War Ragnarok:

The framing of the cinematic is absolutely focused on showing the characters and their difference in size on screen, with the point of focus being Mjolnir in the very center. You can see at a glance how much bigger Thor is than Kratos. That's completely intentional. Now let's see it in split screen. First, let's split the screen vertically:

I tried to retain the "gist" of the original shot. We're still centered on Kratos vs Thor with Mjolnir in the center of the frame. I tried to keep as of both characters in frame as I could. Clearly, this shot doesn't have anywhere near the visual impact of the original. You just can't see much of either character. We retain the struggle in the center of the screen for Mjolnir, but we lose the visual representation of the characters' sizes. Now let's try splitting the screen horizontally instead:

Once again, I tried to fit as much into the frame as I could. Now we can't see enough of either body, it's so squashed down. We can't see the relative size of Mjolnir either. We can't even see how tall Thor is because his head is getting cut out of the frame.

It's pretty obvious that this shot is meant to be viewed at a specific aspect ratio. Halving either dimension simply won't work, significant rework must be done in order to do this. But what if we retain the original aspect ratio by dividing into fourths?

It's better - we can at least see all of relative sizes of each other. But the characters themselves are much smaller, especially because we don't sit close enough to the television in order to get the same effect. But let's move on. There are other issues.

User Interface and Screen Size

Things get worse when we have to put UI on the screen too, because we can't shrink our UI or text to 1/4 of its original size in order to maintain the screen aspect ratio. Here's another screenshot from God of War Ragnarok, this time with combat UI:

Let's try splitting this screen vertically:

I've done a quick and dirty copy/paste job for the UI elements and maintained their relative size on screen. We're already losing out on a lot of peripheral vision in combat. Since we can't scale the UI, observe how it is taking up significantly more screen space too. We have to show two of every UI element, not one... and they can't really be scaled down or they'll be too small to see. Now let's see it in horizontal split screen:

Now we have the peripheral vision... kind of... but the UI is still eating a lot of that screen space and we're losing significant amounts of vertical screen space. This might be ok in a game where enemies show up to the left and right, but not if there are often enemies coming from above or below. The UI screen space problem gets significantly worse when we run it in four viewports while maintaining UI screen size:

Everything feels so much more squished and tiny, even when running at the same aspect ratio as the original. It's a fundamentally different experience, because you're seeing so much less of the world in the various split screen modes. God forbid we try to have any kind of subtitle display in four-way split screen.

These are two specific constraints with splitting the screen. There are more problems I haven't gotten into, like directional audio no longer working because we've got multiple simultaneous player locations or handling menu navigation gracefully in split screen. This is not to say that it is impossible to make split screen work - it is absolutely not impossible. What I am saying is that it is not trivial to make it work - we can't just turn on two/three/four viewports and call it a day, not without inadvertently causing a significantly worse player experience in many regards. These kind of challenges must be identified, designed for, and fit into the development budget.

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[loveletterworm]

It is done (enough)!

I would hype it up more but this is really really simple. It randomly generates a set of symbols, colors, and a word, and then the expected thing to do with those is you draw some sort of character based off the result you get. So it's just an art challenge toy thingy.

There are also some practical features like you can lock parts of the result in place to rerandomize the rest, or hide parts of the generation you don't care about (like if you want to pick your own colors or hate the words being there)

You can try it out over on itch.io!

It should run in browser, but there's also a downloadable version for Windows if you want to use it offline. (No mac/linux versions for now, because I don't have appropriate computers to test those on and I...don't want to deal with mac's developer accounts or whatever their problem is...)

Here's something I made from one of the results I got for the sake of example:

(It's a bit of a rushed drawing sorry I just wanted to get the actual generator out there)

I hope everyone has fun with it :]

[bitcoinversus]

Apple's iPhone 17 Air Faces Design Challenges Amid Battery Development Issues

Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 17 Air may not achieve the previously speculated slimness. Reports indicate that the company has encountered obstacles in developing a high-density battery essential for maintaining a sleek design. The production of the advanced battery has proven costly, with a notable scarcity of defect-free units. Consequently, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to exceed 7mm in…

[elizavetamironova1]

CTS B | Week 11. Compulsory Question 1.

In Week 11, the class and I delved deeper into the manifesto topic and were able to create our own manifesto in group work (Figure 1). At the beginning of our work, we thought for a long time about how to show the transformational path of a designer and the importance of landmarks at each stage, which allow us to build on them and grow at the same time. Based on this, we decided to create a board game as the embodiment of the idea that every path is a game, and in order to reach the end, we need not only motivation, but also reference points in the form of manifestos that help the designer feel confident in his movement, and at the same time become an incentive for growth and development.

In my version of the manifesto, I interpreted it as a roller coaster, since this image is more similar to my path in design. (Figure 2) I visited both the top of the slide and its bottom, from where I slowly climbed with great effort to my goals. Each stage was difficult and interesting in its own way. Career as a designer is not a linear path, but a dynamic adventure full of unexpected twists and exciting moments that sometimes look scary, but when you overcome them, they no longer look so extreme. She reminds me of the importance of staying resilient and enthusiastic even in the most difficult times, because every descent is invariably followed by a new ascent, opening up new opportunities for creative and professional growth.

For example, in the first semester of study in the subject “Studio”, working in pairs became a real challenge for me. I have always worked only on a freelance basis. However, the new experience of working together on branding for the festival turned out to be not only difficult, but also incredibly valuable for me. I had to learn not only to balance my ideas with my partner's opinion, but also to adapt to the dynamics of group work. This required the rapid development of communication skills (Figure 3), the ability to listen and find compromises, which undoubtedly became a significant test and also a point of growth (Figure 4).

To summarize, I would like to turn to the thought: "So, as we embark on this journey through the power of "yes" in design, let us remember that it's not just about saying "yes" to ideas; it's about saying "yes" to transformation." This phrase perfectly captures the essence of our manifesto and my personal experience in design and training. By saying yes to new ideas, challenges and opportunities, we open the door to transform not only our work, but also ourselves as professionals with the help of new learned skills. (Figure 5)

(462 words)

References:

1. The Collective Web-Page, "The Yes Manifesto for Designers: Unleashing Creative Revolution". October 3, 2023. https://www.madebythecollective.com/conversations/the-yes-manifesto-for-designers-unleashing-creative-revolution. (Accessed November 1, 2024)

2. The Harvard Gazzete Web-Page, "If it wasn’t created by a human artist, is it still art?", Liz Mineo (Harvard Staff Writer), August 15, 2023. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/08/is-art-generated-by-artificial-intelligence-real-art/. (Accessed October 26, 2024)

3. Medium Web-Page, "Design Manifesto: A Mindset", Tye Obrien, May 1. https://medium.com/@tyeobrien/my-design-manifesto-943bf73be74. (Accessed November 1, 2024)

[daily-dragon-drawing]

#111 - 跨性別 (kuà xìngbié / transgender) - A dragon that transes your gender?! 🏳️‍⚧️💙💗🤍⚧️

[framacdesign]

What is Creativity?

[metaficco]

Key Strategies for Graphic Designers to Conquer Creative Blocks

Learn innovative solutions to design challenges and reignite your creative spark in the dynamic world of UI/UX. Visit the link for more details. 

[bernard-the-rabbit]

Oh alice..you would have loved Tim pls don't end up like him <3

[scurvyboy]

relativity falls but fidd is a member of the losers club or something

[sopuu]

the stones are in order

[meggiscat]

get these guys some brown contacts

[leelajun]

Finally finished this after ages ಥ‿ಥ

☆Twitter Version☆

Original Template by @popipurin

[my-darling-boy]

But where have we come? And where shall we end?

[dgiterart]

Persian Miku!?

In traditional Mazani clothing from persia!  

More info⬇️⬇️

Mazandaran province  is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari . Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range.Mazandaran is a major producer of farmed fish, and aquaculture provides an important economic addition to traditional dominance of agriculture. Another important contributor to the economy is the tourism industry, as people from all of Iran enjoy visiting the area.

Language: The population is overwhelmingly Mazandarani, with a minority of Gilaks, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Georgians, Armenians, Circassians, Turkmen  and others, Mazandarani people have a background in Tabari ethnicity and speak Mazandarni.

Culture( literature) : In the Persian epic, Shahnameh, Mazandaran is mentioned in two different sections. The first mention is implicit, when Fereydun sets its capital in a city called Tamishe near Amol:

بیاراست گیتی بسان بهشت.................... به جای گیا سرو گلبن بکشت

از آمل گذر سوی تمیشه کرد .............. نشست اندر آن نامور بیشه کرد

And when Manuchehr is returning to Fereydun's capital, Tamisheh in Mazandaran (known as Tabarestan), after his victory over Salm and Tur.

Arash the Archer  is a heroic archer-figure of Iranian mythology. According to Iranian folklore, the boundary between Iran and Turan was set by an arrow launched by Arash, after he put his own life in the arrow's launch. The arrow was traveling for days before finally landing on the other side of the Oxus on the bark of a walnut tree hundreds of miles away from the original launch site atop a mountain

Music and dance:

Music in this region relates to the lifestyle of the inhabitants, and the melodies revolve around issues such as the forests, cultivation or farming activities and herding. The most famous dance of this area is the Shomali dance, not forgetting the stick dance that the men perform. Popular music in the province, known as the Taleb and Zohre, Amiri Khani and Katuli.

Cuisine :

The cuisine of the province is very rich in seafood due to its location by the Caspian Sea, and rice is present in virtually every meal. Mazandarani cuisine is diverse between regions; the cuisine of coastal regions is different from mountainous regions, as people in the Alborz usually use the indigenous herbs and coastal people use the dishes of fish and Caspian Mazandaran rice with vegetables.

[daily-dragon-drawing]

a dragon but disguised as fruit would be the best shock to stumble upon

#11 - 火龍果 (dragon fruit)- I don't see a dragon here, do you? 🐲🍓🌟

Bonus:

His ass does NOT cost 39元

[framacdesign]

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!

I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date! Sherlock: (anxiously checking the watch): It’s late! And we must solve the case within 1 hour and send it to print. Hurry is my muse, it drives me toward the truth. Don Juan: In my tradition, we learn to perceive the natural flow of time. Calmness is like a gentle breeze guiding us in the dance of life. Social acceleration has led to a “time famine,”…