Research - App Game Platforms and Touch-Screen Technology

In order for an app game to be playable on a mobile device, it has to be compatible with the operating system that the device
runs on. My game is no different. If i was to make it into a commercial game, I'd need it first to be able to work on the smartphone, with its touch-screen orientated operating system.

In order for that to happen, research into the different kinds of smartphone Operating Systems (OS), and the way that touch-screen technology works is in order. This will help in deciding what platforms I might produce the game on, and give some useful facts if I ever need to answer how I'd release the game commercially.

I think you know by now the style that my research posts take. I find relevant sources, take any useful information and perhaps include some of my own notation as well. As usual the disclaimer as well. None of the information from the sources chosen is my own. Credit goes to the source's original posters. I'm only using it for research purposes.

Mobile Operating Systems (OS)

Sources:

Webopedia - What is a Mobile Operating System?

Wikipedia - Mobile Operating Systems

USwitch - Mobile Operating Systems

TechAdvisor - What’s the Best Mobile OS?

As usual let's first get into the picture of it with a definition. Definitions are always good, and a website called Webopedia had this description of what a Mobile OS is:

"An operating system that is specifically designed to run on mobile devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, PDAs, tablet computers and other handheld devices. The mobile operating system is the software platform on top of which other programs, called application programs, can run on mobile devices."

The website for USwitch also has an understandable article on what OS's are, as well as the main types of OS that exist out there. It also describes what exactly the Operating Systems do on and for your phone:

"We have operating systems to run our desktop computers and laptops, and smartphones use them too, to introduce advanced functions to a mobile phone that were only available on our computers before."

- I personally think a single desktop computer is more than enough, but I can understand how handy it is to have a perpetual computer in your pocket to look things up, when you can't get to your desktop computer.

"There were more than 400 million smartphones worldwide and it's their operating systems that define what functions they can carry out and how the phone manages its memory. It is also a platform so developers can create applications or 'apps'"

- Commonly companies will make different versions of the same application, that are compatible with each of the main different Operating Systems. That way they can maximise profit by not limiting it to any individual OS.

"Because operating systems are so integrated with the look, feel and function of a mobile phone, many people base their choice of device around which operating system it uses."

- If you look at different types of smartphone their interfaces are very different and have different styles depending on the smartphone.

So an OS is the interface that you get on mobile devices. All mobile devices have one on them that varies from phone to phone. So what different types of OS are out there, and what mobile devices do they correspond to? 

Both USwitch and Wikipedia list what are currently the main commercially successful OS systems, and there is also another site called techAdvisor that compares the different OSs to each other to determine the best one. The following notes are the key points about each system that I compiled from reading all three of them.

Android -

- Owned by Google inc., and the interface can link up to a google account that you may have.
- Samsung, Sony and HTC smartphones all use Android OS
- Open source, meaning it's both easy and cheap for developers to access and develop software for. Because of this however it does pose a danger to the user by allowing shady apps to be available, if the phone hasn't any security. If not its possible to receive viruses, and lose money on buying fake apps.
- As of currently, it's the most popular and fastest growing OS out there. 
- The interface is customisable, and user friendly.
- Its store, the Android market, has more than 600,000 different apps available to download, all of which are linked to the google account, which enables the apps to be automatically installed into any other Android smartphone you own
- Suffers considerably from app quality issues due to its leniency with allowing apps.

iOS -

- Owned by Apple inc. and distributed for all Apple's technology.
- This is the interface for the Ipod Touch, the IPhone and the IPad
- Takes pride in its vast amount of different apps available on its App Store; the largest variety of any OS.
- Utilizes touch screen technology to its fullest with its touch-screen based interface.
- Closed source, iron-fisted security wise, and curates every app it has available
- User friendly, and possesses excellent communication functions
- Is considered by some to be rather overstocked in terms of apps, making people feel overwhelmed.

Windows Phone -

- Owned by Microsoft, and as such can be found as the interface for their consoles as well as for smartphones.
- Nokia, Samsung and HTC have smartphones that use this interface
- Incorporates a tile based interface, very synthesised and each is designed to do a certain task.
- Can think on its feet to an extent; it can find entertainment, restaurants or businesses within your area, and also direct you to them.
- It's app store holds over 100,000 apps, but pales in comparison to the variety of other OSs. It itself is still lacking in apps.
- Made to be helpful to its user, which it does well.
- Well suited for someone who has a windows PC or an Xbox

Blackberry 10

- The OS used for all Blackberry smartphones.
- Known originally as a keyboard based phone, although Blackberry Z10 has rectified this and given the smartphone brand a touch screen.
- Closed source like iOS and proprietary
- Made for messaging, which it does superbly, and emphasises the seamless connectivity between all of its functions.
- Very good media management
- High profile apps on its app store, although in comparison to other OSs the quantity of apps is minuscule.
- No particularly outstanding features to put it ahead of its rivals

Touch-Screen Technology

In this day and age, almost every portable mobile device uses a touch-screen as its primary way to use the device. I've used them before, although I haven't a clue how they work.

Wikipedia - Touchscreen
HowStuffWorks - How do touch screen monitors know where you're touching?
ComputerWorld - How it works: The technology of touch screens

To clarify quickly, I'm trying to understand how the technology works by doing this research. Knowing the limits of the technology that the product will be put on is, from my awareness, the first thing to consider and take note of before creating the product. No matter how good a digital product is, it can't be used if the platform/device can't run it. Therefore its wise to understand the way your target technology works.

Let's start off really quickly and standardly with an outline of what a touchscreen is, and what it's commonly used on.

"An electronic visual display that the user can control through simple or multi-touch gestures by touching the screen with one or more fingers."

- Not to be confused with a touchpad. That's the sensor pad that that you find on laptops that turns your finger into the mouse for the screen. It's also what I'm using to write this post, although in my case it's a drawing tablet that I'm using instead of a mouse. That uses a pen rather than your finger.

"The touchscreen enables the user to interact directly with what is displayed, rather than using a mouse, touchpad, or any other intermediate device. Some touchscreens can also detect objects such as a stylus or ordinary or specially coated gloves."

- So touch-screens can use a pen as the control too, although the interface for a lot of smartphones doesn't allow this. Stylus' are largely popular on Nintendo's Wii U console and 3DS handheld, both of which use touch-screens as part of the interface. It's possible for them to also be played with your fingers as well.

"Touch-screens are common in devices such as game consoles, all-in-one computers, tablet computers, and smartphones. They also play a prominent role in the design of digital appliances."

- Like I said, knowing your target technology is key, and it's especially true in this day and age. How many different types of digital media now implement a touchscreen into their device. It's understandable  that being able to operate a system with your dextrous fingers rather than a comparably clunky mouse would be desirable. Technology's purpose is to make everyday tasks easier for us after all.

"The popularity of smartphones, tablets, and many types of information appliances is driving the demand and acceptance of common touch-screens for portable and functional electronics. Display manufacturers and chip manufacturers worldwide have acknowledged the trend toward acceptance of touch-screens as a highly desirable user interface component and have begun to integrate touchscreens into the fundamental design of their products."

Now then, let's get to the knitty-gritty. Touch-screens are the common interface component of smartphones, but how do they work? How does it know where it's being touched, and how does it know how to respond? I've got three different sources that I used to find the information for these questions: good old wikipedia, along with HowStuffWorks and ComputerWorld, both of which had articles on the mechanics of the touch-screen.  The following are the condensed facts I got from the articles. Not my own information, although it is for the most part written in my own words.

"Touch-screen monitors have become more and more commonplace as their price has steadily dropped over the past decade."

• Resistive
• Capacitive

This was the common theme for all of the sources. For Resistive touch and Capacitive sensing in particular, all three sources went into detail about them. As it seems, they are the main varieties of touchscreen technology on the market currently.

Resistive Touchscreen:

How it works:

- The older of the two main touchscreen systems.

- Used to be the most popular touchscreen technology, but is being outcompeted by the newer capacitive touchscreen.  

- The screen works using two electrically conductive layers, (a bottom glass layer, and another  top layer of plastic film) separated by a thin space, on top of the LCD screen. Pressing down on the screen whilst it's activated causes the layers to connect and pass a current to the device's computer. It then determines the X and Y coordinates of where the screen has been touched and translates the touch into something the system understands, such as opening a file through tapping it.

Benefits:

- Low cost to make.

- Requires very little pressure to respond, and as such can be controlled using virtually anything with a smooth tip.

- Resistive to liquids and contaminants, and commonly used in restaurants, hospitals and factories.

Problems:

- The system tends to drift, causing the screen to register coordinates that are askew from where you touch, leading to regular recalibration of the system.

- The material is rather brittle and is prone to crack, leading to inability to operate the device.

- With the increasing demand for thinner and sleeker devices, the extra layer and space required in-between serves as additional and unwanted width for the device.
- Thanks to the space in between the two conducting layers, which is basically air, this causes unwanted refractions of light in-between the layer, making the contrast of the screen very poor.
- The biggest problem however is with it's inability to sense more than one point of pressure on its screen, meaning that the system is single-touch only and not multi-touch.Whilst it's not impossible to do, it's expensive and complicated.

Capacitive Sensing:

How it works:
- The new, more modern and more efficient alternative of Resistive, and is quickly overtaking it as the dominant touchscreen technology.
- Relies on the science that the human body is a conductor of electricity.
- The mechanism involved is to have a layer underneath a glass film, that has electrical charge stored in a transparent conductor. When you touch the screen with your finger, some of the charge is transferred over to you, causing a decrease in the change in the conductor's electrical field. The device's computer then picks up on this change and determines where on the screen was touched, afterwards sending back an appropriate signal to generate a response from the device.

Benefits:
- It can detect multiple points of decrease in charge on the screen, enabling multi-touch usage.
- Transmits more light from the monitor than a resistive system does, enabling brighter and clearer images
- Ergonomically better, due there being more need for a second layer or space in between. As technology develops it also enables thinner insulators to be used, thinning the distance between the conductor and your finger, and allowing for better accuracy.

Problems:
- The dependence on electrical conduction means that the point being used must be a conductor. As such it can't be used with a stylus or pen, your fingernail, or whilst wearing insulating gloves.
- The processing power to do all of this is significantly high, which makes it expensive and also power consuming, hence the short battery life of smartphones, and the continuous need to charge them. 
- Exterior electrical interference can cause the system to become confused, and makes it have trouble determining the signals sent to it.

I'm glad this post is finally finished. It was fast becoming a real hassle for me to complete, but it's done finally. The other reason for this post being delayed is that I've also been working on creating some future posts on the practical side. They should both be coming up shortly, along with one more research post, and then we'll be into the knitty-gritty of the project. As usual thanks for reading, I hope it's been factual and relevant for you and stay updated.

Android Phone Image
iOS Interface Image
Windows Phone Image
Blackberry 10 OS Image
Resistive Touch Diagram

Research - The Different Varieties of Advertising

Obviously the big priority of this project is to create the game to be used in the commercial, but once the game is set up and ready I need still to create the commercial for the game, using what I have made. Now it's no lie that I myself have never actually seen an app game commercial, therefore that means there is research to be done.

As with my research page on addiction, my style will be to find three or four sources and make use of the information to answer the topic of the post. As usual none of the information from the sources is my own information. Credit goes to the people who created the sources. I'm only using the information for research purposes.

So without further ado, shall we get started?

Source 1 - Traditional Media Advertising -

Chron - 10 Ways to Advertise a Product

Let's start at the top before getting into any specifics and look at some ways of advertising general products. I found this article on a site called Chron, written by a woman called Melanie J. Martin. It looks at traditional ways to advertise that don't use newer styles of media that have been introduced more recently. Whether or not they work for advertising app games is another matter. Some could work some couldn't. The bold writing is information from the source, whilst the normal writing underneath is notation that I've put with it.

"Successful advertising techniques often use new media forms to promote a product. However, traditional advertising forms still work, too." - Melanie J. Martin

Press Release

If your product features a notable innovation, or has an unusual feature, write a press release. Alternatively, stage an event to release your new product and write a news release about the event. 

- Considering the nature of my work this one probably isn't plausible. Console games companies have the E3 Conference and PAX to showcase upcoming titles, whilst app developers have the ADC and GDC to showcase their apps. Maybe at a later point I could use press release, if I decided to make it commercial and with sufficient finance that I currently don't have, but not for this coursework.

TV Ad

Develop a creative TV ad and run it at a time when your target audience will most likely be watching. Film your own ad, purchase a pre-made ad and record a voiceover or enlist the help of a commercial production company. Just make sure it’s entertaining and looks professional. 

- This is an option. However from personal experience it wouldn't be the best option for maximising awareness of it. Teenagers and upwards are my target market, and commonly the only TV that demographic watches is evening TV, where video game adverts show up next to never on the main channels. There are better ways to advertise games where more of my target demographic are likely to look.

Radio Ad

Advertise on your local radio station, or a larger station if your budget allows. Make sure your voice captures attention and presents the type of character you want people to associate with your business. Otherwise, enlist the help of a friend or professional.

- I can't imagine doing this one. Whenever I listen to the radio, it's passively; I don't actively go and listen to it. I myself have never heard any adds over the radio. I just don't think it's the place for it. Besides when has a game ever been vocally advertised and done well as a result. I can't think of any times.

Print Ad

Magazines let you easily target a particular audience – just pick the trade or consumer publication they read most. You’ll tend to reach a more affluent audience with magazines, too. Newspapers and regional magazines let you reach the audience in your area. Consider a full-page ad for maximum impact, choosing a design that entertains or makes people pause to think.

- Now this one is feasible. I've read game and technology magazines in the past and know what sort of content they contain. You could easily create and put in an app game advertisement and get it seen by the right kind of people. The only issue there is that people need to pay to get a magazine, and even then there's no guarantee they'll see the advert. In short people are paying money, that won't come to you, to potentially see an advert that is easily missable. Not a very effective strategy.  

Interpersonal Networking

Always carry business cards and brochures for your product and be prepared to pitch your product to any receptive audience. Attend social events and talk about what you offer, giving a card and brochure to each person you talk with.

- Definitely not. Not only is it time consuming but it's also not very efficient and comes off as unprofessional. Handing out business cards or brochures is only effective if a customer is showing interest in something you're selling. It often comes off as desperate which people don't like, because it makes them feel like they're doing you a favour. It's the same reason why door to door sales people generally don't do well. People just don't like it when people try to waste their time with dropping products on them that they don't need or want. 

Online Networking

Connect with other professionals who serve a similar customer base but aren’t competing with you. Agree to post their link on your website if they post yours on their site. Connect with friends and acquaintances on social networks after developing a page for your business or a professional profile. Send notices about sales, your new product and responses to it.

- I think this is a healthy idea. I means helping out each other and developing connections that can be helpful in the future. Media integration, when done correctly is often the start of large businesses growing. It's not however something I could do in this coursework. Unless you count getting assistance from other people in my class, which is likely something I'll end up doing.

Online Ads

Use online ad placement services such as Google AdSense, which target customers searching for a similar topic. Place ads on informational websites, such as online magazines, that feature topics related to your business.

- This one I think is probably the most common way of advertising app games outside of the app store itself. Whenever I trawl through game or anime wikis, all I ever see along the sides are adverts for games, be them app games, online computer games, or upcoming console games. Even if I don't buy them, I'm certainly aware of them. The other nice thing about it is that you don't need to pay to view a webpage, and you're not actively looking for it. I find that you often remember something that you passively pick up on better than something you pick up on directly, which is why I think it works so effectively. 

Online Content

Develop easy-to-read content for your website, incorporating commonly searched for terms in your writing. Join site submission networks like Digg, where you submit links to your content. Submit quality links to other sites so you’ll get higher ratings, too. Consider writing a blog or e-newsletter, doing a podcast or producing instructive YouTube videos.

- Well... That's certainly helpful. It didn't twig in my mind that this blog is a form of advertising for my game. So I have already used a method of advertising to showcase the game. Seems I'm further ahead than I thought. Also I can understand youtube. It's become a staple way of advertising, though only a couple of adverts are actually effective enough to make people watch them before their video. I actually ended up getting into World of Warcraft through watching the trailer for Mists of Pandaria before a Youtube video, so they do work, sometimes... 

Direct Mail

Start a direct-mailing campaign by sending letters to clients or potential customers. Consider sending coupons or highlighting the product feature that your target audience will find most important. 

- Again not a good idea for my product, for the same reasons as Interpersonal Networking; it's inefficient and also not very reliable. Commonly people don't pay any notice to flyers through the letterbox, and most email of that sort, people class as junk or spam.

Events

Attending local, regional and even national events will help you connect with many potential customers. Conduct demonstrations on how to use the product or perform a related task and talk with as many attendees as possible.

- Good idea for the product, but again, not very feasible within my own current situation. If it was commercial then yes perhaps, but not for school coursework.

Source 2 - New Media Advertising -

wiseGeek - What is New Media Advertising?

We talked about new media advertising briefly in the first source and now we're getting into detail as to what it actually is.

"New media advertising is rich with prospects. There have never been more ways to tell people about a good product or company."

First of all a definition is in order. I site called wiseGeek had a short information page detailing what new media advertising is:

"New media advertising employs new technology to reach customers, specifically on the Internet. New media is interactive and Internet driven. It consists of websites, blogs, vlogs, visual and audio newscasts, RSS news feeds, and social networking. These choices are available to anyone with an Internet connection, and are a way to gain a global audience." 

The article also reinforces the point that was made in the previous source, about traditional media advertising being overtaken my new media advertising:

"While print, radio and television ads still exist, traditional advertising's influence has decreased, forcing the marketing industry to consider new media avenues. Consumers are increasingly on the Internet to communicate, receive news, and purchase products."

- So new media advertising refers to advertising that relies on computers and the internet to reach it's audience. It's also fairly clearly that it's becoming the new best way to advertise products, though it does overlap somewhat with traditional media. All of the online traditional media; Ads, Content, and Networking seemingly tie in with new media. 

The article also talked about the impact it's having on businesses. Social media is talked about as playing a key part. What is social media? The article also explains that as well:

"Social media, a huge component of new media, consists of channels set up to form online communities. Users can communicate and spread information widely and instantly, known as viral marketing. Strategically placed ads on these sites get people talking and messaging. Potential customers visit other buyers' blogs or forum discussions. They read buyer comments and write their own user ratings. This people-driven movement is giving consumers power of voice and choice."

- So social media is allowing advertising to fall into the hands of the public. It makes sense. The internet is a free resource, available for anyone to use and put things up on. Beforehand word of mouth advertising was limited the people that you met in the real world, which isn't a large amount when looking at a broader picture. Social media it seems has taken a traditional form of advertising and improved it exponentially by connecting a customer up with the entire world. Communication it seems is one of the most effective and efficient ways to advertise, and if you get it right you can sit back and watch as the public advertises your product for you.

I doubt I'm the first to come to this conclusion, and through further reading It seems that businesses have indeed picked up on this and used it to improve their marketing strategies:

"Online newscasts, podcasts, and video logs give advertisers a chance to show customers exactly what they are getting. Many businesses are hiring staff to blog about positive product features and run forums to receive valuable feedback."

- Which I also tried to do with the questionnaire during my research into audiences, to no avail.  That's nothing uncommon. Many professional businesses have trouble receiving feedback, although they have the problem for other reasons too it seems.

"The business challenge for advertisers is getting people to a site in the first place. One new media advertising obstacle is the vast amount of available information, leading to overwhelming competition. Another problem is keeping abreast of ever-changing technology and trends. After realizing new media advertising is standard, companies must understand trends to keep their strategies fresh."

- And I have enough trouble getting views on this blog, let alone trying to compete with others. It's no easy feat it seems, in this day and age, to utilize new media and social media effectively enough to become majorly successful, although as it says at the start - it's rich with prospects, and if you utilize new media and social media in the right way you can soon reap the rewards of it.


Source 3 - Ways to Promote an App

Entrepreneur - 25 Creative Ways to Promote your App For Free

My observations may not currently be very informed, but commonly the main way a company chooses to advertise a console game online is through preview trailers. I see them all of the time whilst I'm browsing online, waiting for videos and whatnot. The bugging thing however is that despite all of this advertising, which clearly seems to work, I don't ever see similar adverts that showcase app games. I've only ever seen one, and that was for the massively successful Angry Birds. 

I factor this mainly to the low pricing of the games. Maybe the general profit for app games isn't high enough for the developers to spend their advertising budget on a preview commercial. Therefore some research is needed to decide how exactly to advertise it effectively. 

"It does not make sense to pay advertising dollars to get customers because the cost of a customer acquisition is never lower than the price of the app." - Rahul Varshneya - Business Building Advisor and Co-founder of Arkenea LLC


Cue the third and final source, which I found on a site called Entrepreneur, written by a contributor called Rahul Varshneya, which had a substantial 25 different ways to promote an app without spending any money; perfect for someone like me, who currently has no money to contribute to it.

All of the points are very brief and range between methods that use both Traditional Media and New Media

1. Build a microsite. This one or two-pager showcases your app to the web audience. Take cues from Snapchat and Path.

2. Build a teaser website. Do this a month or two before your launch to collect email addresses of people who would like to know when the app launches.

3. Start a blog. Attach it to your microsite. Write interesting content that will draw people to your website.

- This part we're good on, I hope. Though actual creation may require a more professional blog, if I should choose to make it commercial.

4. Share your content.  Use your Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn profiles to promote the app several times in a week.

5. Create a product video. Make it creative, funny, thought-provoking or personal. Tell the story, but in a way people can identify with.

- Now this one seems to be what we're getting at. A trailer is after all what is required from me in the brief for this project, and this could be the ideal way to fulfil that criteria whilst keeping to convention.

6. Get press, tons of it. "Press is the best way to kick start your startup, and the best way to get it is to manually reach out to journalists."- Neil Patel - Entrepreneur

7. Pitch to app review websites. Sites like 148apps, AppStoreApps and AppAdvice can generate a lot of buzz for your app if they mention it.

8. Contact bloggers who would care. Identify bloggers who write on niches that relate to your app. For instance, a children's app can be pitched to bloggers who write for mothers.

- There is my entire class, all of whom are doing a blog themselves, although only a few are doing the same brief as me. Even so, it's still something that could help out.

9. Apply for awards. Look into awards such as the Kiip Build Fund or The Mobileys. If you win, you also get a ton of press, not to mention winner's booty.

10. Start a podcast. Publish it on iTunes or your own website. Draw content from the niche your app caters to most.

11. Always be collecting emails. Gather potential customer emails through Facebook, Twitter or your website. An email list of people who have opted in is a powerful marketing tool.

12. Create a six-second how-to series. Make the most of Vine with videos potential customers will find useful.

- This is also an option for a video, although it might be rather short.

13. Use Dubbler. Promote your blog posts or content having to do with your app's niche on Dubbler -- a 60-second audio social network.

14. Post on Pinterest. Use blog images, infographics and visual content from your app to create content on your Pinterest board.  You can even use happy customer photos or hold contests.

15. Manually recruit customers. The creator behind Canvsly reaches out to local art schools, libraries and pediatricians to get more customers. Know your audience and find them.

16. Run a contest. For example, you can encourage people to tweet and share content on their social networks promoting your app. A random person every week can win a promo code to download your app for free if it is a paid one.

- This one's interesting. Given my current standing; a high school student, it might might be possible to take advantage of this method in the future.

17. Create a Facebook group.  Form a group for people with common interests related to your app's niche so they can meet and socialize regularly. If your app caters to hikers, for example, create a hiking group.

18. Get speaking opportunities. Research events that touch on the topic your app addresses and make an appearance. Start small and get recognized as an authority in the space.

19. Take advantage of voicemail. Include a creative mention of your app in your phone's voicemail recording.

20. Be obsessive about resolving negative reviews. Remember: A happy customer is a brand ambassador for your app.

- Always a healthy approach. Taking on board why your project had bad reviews and trying to rectify it  is great for ironing out any kinks in the work before it becomes too late.

21. Make good use of App Store Optimization. You can find it at the app store.

- I will make note of this one. It may come in useful in the future.

22. Contact admins of related Facebook pages. Look for pages with 100k+ likes and reach out to their admins. Make sure these pages have something to do with the focus of your app. Then give them a compelling reason to mention it.

23. Optimize your email signature. Provide a catchy one-liner about your app along with the link to download it in your email signature.

- You know a good one just popped into my head whilst I was reading. I think I'm onto something to add onto the promotion already. 

24. Consider offering a promotional price. If your app is a pay-to-download one, consider a promotional pricing of $0.99 during the launch time. This price point encourages impulse purchases.

25. Integrate social media within the app. This will make it obvious to users to share with others. Path app allows users to share photographs on social networks and Draw Something makes sure you rope in a friend or more.

And with that we have our question answered. The source information has provided more than 30 possible ways of advertising the game. We also learnt, through researching this topic, about Traditional Media Advertising and New Media Advertising, as well as it's biggest component Social Media. 

I'm pretty pleased with this. There's plenty now to go on as I continue with this. I can refer back to the info here when I produce my work and also tie it in with doing the ancillary tasks, when I get to them as well. 

We're getting close now. A few more bits of research and I'll be ready to create a pitch detailing what my game idea will be. Until then

thanks for reading and stay updated.