Self-Reflection of a Year in Globaloria

This year has been great, just like previous years! This year, we created educational games in Flash, which were about Healthy Living or Safe Driving. Of course, I really enjoyed making my game about Healthy Living. I did mine about choosing healthy foods and reading fun facts about them. I also included unhealthy choices because the player might not know why this choice isn't the best choice. Throughout the game, I was thinking of how I was really focused. I finished one scene and jumped to another scene. That was the good thing about this year: I wasn't like last year. I didn't wait for my work to be due in a specific date. This year, as soon as I finished something, I would immediately proceed to my next step. I also learned new things. We created a Mobile Game in Flash and we had to program it with Action Script 3. To me, it was really hard! This was my first year, so I haven't got used to it...Anyways, using Action Script 3, was also a new experience to me because even though it was difficult, I really like challenges! Now I see myself learning new things in Globaloria. I have also acquired new skills. First of all, I didn't know how to work with the key frames. It was something that I wanted to learn, so as I began to play with Flash, it seemed that I just wanted to keep on going. I also like that I got way better in drawing in Flash. Drawing in Flash is one of the things that I enjoy the most because throughout drawings, I can express myself. Previous years, I did draw good, but I got more creative and gained more imagination...I think. Not also did I did good in Flash, but writing a blog too. I was already good at it, but now I can be myself by expressing my thoughts and I love it!
In this year, I even won a Globey Award for best Hidden Object Game. This was a great accomplishment in my life!
Well, this year is about to be over, but I will miss Globaloria because it's actually my favorite class! This was my favorite game that I created in Flash this year:

5-year-old girl killed by suicide jumper in South Korea

In Seoul, South Korea, a 5- year-old South Korean girl was killed when one man was trying to suicide himself by falling from his 11th floor from his apartments and landed on top of her. This was Wednesday night in Busan, a port city in the southern part of the country. The man was 38 years old and crushed the little girl's body. The man died right away. He was being treated for depression, but he couldn't take it anymore. The little girl was then taken to the hospital. She died from a skull fracture. Well, for South Korea, suicide is not something new...South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates among economically advanced countries. This is because of socio-economic pressures, an aging population, and the growing of one-person households.
I really am sorry for the man that committed suicide because maybe he just couldn't find any way to get it over with. I am much more sorry for the girl that didn't have to do with anything, yet, she had to pay the price...This is another way of showing us that even if we don't pay a little attention to one thing, that can affect us.
Here is a link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/23/girl-killed-by-suicide-jumper-south-korea_n_3326018.html
By: The Sydney Morning Herald
May 23, 2013

Bombing Manhunt locks down Boston

One suspect from the Boston Marathon Bombings, is dead. The other one, who appeared to be is brother, ran away. An army of law enforcement officials are in a "hunt," for him. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, with the age of 26, died when the police shot him. He was suspect # 1 in the attacks Monday that killed 3. His brother, Dzhokar Tsarnaev, escaped. It was a real tragedy! It's incredible how these 2 suspects/brothers, were in the marathon, just looking like normal people! According to the police, these 2 men were walking together near the marathon finish line. These two had a normal life, that they both went to college and yet, they decided to mess up their lives just like that. Tamerlan said," I don't have a single American friend. I don't understand them..." I really don't what to say about what he had said, but still, if he had no friends, it's still not a reason to kill and bomb a place with innocent people... This has been a very sad event and yet to be discovered...
**Go to this link to learn more about the event: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/19/us/boston-area-violence/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Mobile-Draw your Background

Write a post about drawing your background in Flash.
What were the differences between drawing on paper vs. drawing in Flash?
Which did you like more?
How did creating a paper prototype first help you with Flash?

Paper Prototype

What problems did it help you to solve with your game idea?
Well, one thing is the Scrolling Background. It helped me to think of the kind of places that I was going to add in my mobile game. For instance, I am doing diabetes, how to prevent yourself from having it. What I mean is that, you are the author of your own life and you are going to have to go to different places. The main cause for diabetes is for having high blood sugar. Many people in different places go to restaurants, but maybe they are not conscious to what they are putting into their stomach. For the Scrolling Background, you are going to see lots of restaurants, but you are also going to see many food. These are healthy and unhealthy foods. I am more interested in putting food into the game, because like I said, diabetes comes from the food that you eat. This will hopefully teach other players to take care of themselves and realize that diabetes is an option in your life. You decide whether you want to have a long lasting life or live a shorter life worrying about your health. These are some of the things that helped me solve my game idea.

Imagine Team Game

Who/Player Age Group:
This game is going to be designed for all people that want to have a healthy life. Everyone has to take their own decisions and there is no pressure taken place.

What: What will the player learn about your game topic?
The player will learn lots of ways to prevent themselves from having diabetes. We all know that diabetes is a problem in the body where their glucose sugar is high. Others might include obesity or hereditary from family. Diabetes is a very serious problem and we want the percentage to go lower. Healthy foods and healthy activities, is a healthy life.

Where: Where does your game take place?
My game takes place in many places. Humans go and come back from many different places. They don't do anything, they do many things. Two of them are eating and spend time with activities. They are not conscious about what they put into their body. They are not conscious about the importance of having regular physical activities. The setting determines what their life will be in the future.

How: How does your game teach the player of your topic?
My game will teach players my game topic by knowing how to prevent themselves from having diabetes. You will have to collect healthy foods and healthy activities. As you all know, the player will have to avoid the unhealthy foods and physical inactivity. There are many ways where you can prevent yourself from having diabetes, but there are also many ways where you can get yourself have diabetes.

Game Learning Topic

• Explain the game topic you chose for your action mobile game.
• Tell me why you chose this topic.
• How will you use the game mechanics such as, moving, scrolling, avoiding and collecting objects - to educate players about your learning topic?

The game topic that I chose for my action mobile game was Healthy Living: Diabetes. I chose this topic because it's really important that you prevent yourself from having diabetes. It's been tested that diabetes can cause strokes, heart attacks, heart disease, and can cause even death. More African Americans and Hispanics have the higher risk from having Type 2 Diabetes. People most commonly have Type 2 Diabetes because of their age, family history of diabetes, or physical inactivity. This game will surely teach other players to take care of themselves because the body is one of the most wonderful creations that exist in the entire world, but there are times when people don't remember that. Hopefully, this will teach them to take care of themselves.

I will use the game mechanics by collecting all the possible things that can help you prevent having diabetes. This is by collecting healthy foods and physical activity. The player will have to avoid unhealthy foods and physical inactivity, these can lead you to have an unhealthy life. The moving is basically yourself. You can travel many places and eat, but you ignore the fact of HEALTH. This will help players know what many people are facing in their daily lives.