Welcome to the #GamesNightViz Season 2 challenge !
I hope you are excited, because we are! As promised, for the first time we are showing you the entire roadmap for the year. We want you to viz what you love, so jump in anytime that topic interests you. After all, the best way to learn is to have fun 🎮
The quest for the final narrative
The original Final Fantasy VII came out back in 1997 during the golden age of Japanese Role-Playing Games (JRPG) and is widely regarded globally as one of the best game in the entire franchise. So much that they decided to remake the entire game in modern technology, visuals and storytelling to give us a three-part game. The first of the trilogy, aptly named FFVII Remake; came out in 2020 and if you have been keeping up the video game industry news, the second part of the story FFVII Rebirth just went live on 29 Feb 2024. Square Enix made us wait 4 years for the second part of the game so it was not a coincidence they launched it on the leap day (which happens every 4 years).
Team #GamesNightViz is a big fan of this franchise as there's a lot we can learn from the storytelling techniques and narrative structure RPGs uses to capture the audience's attention and interest. Video games are also a great source of UI (user interface) design that is optimized to allow the player to get necessary information in the heat of battle. So what we hope everyone will try out with this challenge is to either:
- Tell a compelling story (journalistic/infographic) with a proper narrative structure
- Create a dashboard with good UXUI practices
The Datasets
We have curated some really cool data to get you started on vizzing on Final Fantasy. But of course, feel free to viz on ANY video game with a good storyline!
- Final Fantasy Tactics Data Pack (Source: Kaggle / ffmages.com)
- Final Fantasy XIV late game job distribution (Source: LuckyBancho)
- Dragon Age (Source: Various / Compiled by Louis for #IronViz)
- Final Fantasy Dialogue Script (Source: Kaggle)
- Final Fantasy 8 Triple Triad (Source: Kaggle)
- Complete Dataset of RPGs in Steam 1987 - 2023 (Source: Kaggle)
- Video Game Lengths - RPG / Adventure / FPS (Source: Kaggle)
- Steam Games User Statistics and Features (Source: Kaggle)
- IGN games from best to worst (Source: Kaggle)
- Witcher Network (Source: Kaggle)
Or choose one of the data sets from the #GamesNightViz Data Archive 💾 ... or even leverage on the current Data+Movies IMDB dataset from Tableau too!
Get started here > https://www.tableau.com/community/movies
And of course, feel free to bring your own data! If you find anything interesting, we'll love to know about it too!
So what should you viz on?
Here's some quick ideas on starting your viz journey 😉
- What are the best role-playing games (RPG) of all time?
- How long does one need to complete a RPG?
- Who has the most dialogue in Final Fantasy?
- How does decisions in Dragon Age affect the narrative?
Inspirations from the community
Here are some great vizzes from the Tableau community to give you an idea what can be done.
Bonus Free #GamesNightViz T-Shirt for the best work
Some of you might have gotten one from our free giveaway at #data23 Tableau Conference, but many were still bummed for not getting it. We hear you and we'll be picking our favorite viz and sending a free T-shirt of your choice! And if you wanna collect 'em all, you know what you have to do 😜
And of course, there has to be some judging criterion right? We took a page out of #IronViz and ran it thru ChatGPT. It looks great don't you think? There's 4 categories and this gives us 20 points (5 each) to score the vizzes.
Design
- Game-Themed Aesthetic: In addition to the general aesthetic appeal, the visualization should incorporate elements of gaming culture, such as game-like graphics, avatars, gaming terminology, or visual references to well-known games.
- Interactivity: Since games are interactive, the visualization should ideally incorporate some form of interactivity, allowing the viewer to explore the data or the narrative in a more hands-on way, like they would in a game.
- Usability in Game Context: The visualization should be intuitive and user-friendly, much like a well-designed game interface. The user should be able to understand the visualization without needing complex instructions, similar to how a game should be playable with minimal guidance.
Storytelling
- Game-Themed Narrative: The story or narrative behind the visualization should incorporate elements of gaming, whether that's using game mechanics as metaphors, drawing parallels to game storylines, or creating a gamified journey for the viewer.
- Engagement and Immersion: Just as games engage and immerse players, the visualization should draw in viewers and make them feel a part of the data story.
Analysis
- Game Data Insight: If the data is specifically about games (player stats, game sales, gaming trends, etc.), the analysis should offer clear and insightful interpretations about the gaming world.
- Game Mechanics: The analysis could consider incorporating game mechanics into the visualization. For example, if it's about player performance, it could incorporate mechanics like leaderboards or achievement systems.
Game Feel
- Fun Factor: Regardless of the seriousness of the data or the analysis, a game-themed visualization should have a fun factor. It should be enjoyable to view and interact with, just like playing a game. This could be achieved through humor, surprises, rewards, or other elements of fun.
- Gameful Experience: The visualization should evoke a sense of gameful experience. This might be through the use of game mechanics, playful design, or a sense of challenge and achievement.
How to Submit
- This challenge will run for two months, because teling a great story takes time (we know!). So, we will be extending the deadline to midnight PST 🔔 30th Aor 2024 🔔
- Post your submissions on Twitter with the hashtag #GamesNightViz, and tag the team @WJSutton12, @covellicreative, @datavizlouis so we don't miss your great work!
- Submit your work the project tracker here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMRc4dJ089gPvHMtFVPZ7DVgcwrqqxkonffLF5apAZOzFX3A/viewform
