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wow so I've been here three years huh Exactly one year ago I told you all how I ended up here in the first place, but this year... I haven't really got much to say actually. We've had some good times and some bad times in the last year, but the one thing that definitely hasn't changed is my relationship with this forum and how much I love it so. Everyone here is nice and for once on the internet it feels like I belong somewhere, and that sense of belonging is hella neat. Even through the spambots and the forum downtimes and the jhucycle incidents, we've always managed to stay together and that's super-neato. Td;lr, you people are great and I like you. But for this particular post, I'm not exactly sure what to say that hasn't been said before. It's really difficult to say unique things innit? As for how my life's been going since the last time I did one of these yearly blogposts, I'm... doing pretty well, actually. The minifigure photography I've been posting on Flickr is getting a ton o' views, that worst of lego ideas blog is starting to get some traction (posted an undertale project, got over 20 notes overnight), I got a PS4 (look ma, I'm up-to-date with technology now!), I've finished with Sixth Form and I've been offered a conditional offer for a media course at a nearby college. Life's not too bad at the mo. Sure I'm not the richest bloke in the world, but I'm happy and that's what counts. I'm a teensy bit miffed at the death of Bonkles, but I'm not letting that bother me too much ( I did buy myself a Protector of Ice though, and I love 'im to bits awwwww he's so cute). And the future? Well, I'll get to that when I get to that. Here's to that future though, and to many more years on this highly-obscure vintage lego games forum which I love so much. Here's to it I guess. -Ayliffe

One thing I forgot to cover in detail in my previous blog entry was regarding how my game fits into the 6m core values of the LEGO company. Once again, this is all just generalisation at this stage, but since it's part of the reason I'm making this game (to make a LEGO game which actually matches all the values), I need to address them in some capacity. The 6 Core Values: Imagination: It's important that kids can have enough freedom to express their ideas and develop their understanding of the world through the power of clever thinking and imagination. In my game, since there's no "action" mechanics that force kids into a fast-paced, deconstructive mindset, I can have the players invest a lot of the game time in their own minds, thinking about the way the world works and possible solutions to the problems they will encounter. The game very much is about asking the player to imagine what happened, and the simulation mode lets players play with their imagination based on what they find. Creativity: While Imagination focuses on the player bringing their unique view of the world to the game, Creativity is more about how the player can express their ideas and make impactful choices. In this game, every choice (such as collection items or playing a chain-of-events in simulator mode) has clear feedback on if it will help, hinder or distract towards your end goal. While there will always be one right/best solution, it's going to be key to still reward the player for any successful progress they did make and inspire them, rather than scold them, into trying out new ideas. The end ranking system will need to take this into account. Fun: LEGO nailed it when they stated that Fun comes through Mastery; that is, we enjoy when we learn and feel the rush of progression and succession. I feel as though the mechanics lend themselves to a very clear teaching experience about consequences and understanding the butterfly effect. With a strong feedback loop in place, players should always feel as though their actions inside the game are getting them somewhere, whether that be closer or further away from discovering what exactly happened at each scene. Learning: While this could practically be the same thing as Fun, I instead wish to treat this more towards the actual tutorial/skill-building process. Not everybody will understand how cars falls apart when hit at certain angles when they first start out, which is why my game will need to incorporate some native, subtle hints within the mechanics and design of each scene. As a simple example, the simple use of lighting and colour can make more important items stand-out, guiding newer players towards the key evidence they may not be aware they need. Caring: This value isn't going to be present so much inside the mechanics of the game itself as just the overall design goals of the game. By listening very carefully to Jon Blow's message about the human condition and the ethics of game design, I will be ensuring that players of this game aren't wasting their time on crap, but will actually have a deep and meaningful game experience with substance to enjoy. Quality: Ultimately, this will be the biggest challenge. By setting minimum technical and design standards and keeping myself hostage to this blog, I can overcome some of the typical problems in keeping consistent, high quality throughout a project, but it's going to take a lot of organisation and effort to really make it sink in, especially if others come on-board for this project. It's all very vague and mysterious at this point, but as I carve a clearer picture of this game in the coming weeks, these values will start to be nailed down to very specific elements of the game design.