Saturday, November 13, 2010

Chapter 6 Book Work

Chapter 5 Book Work

2.
I chose the game Fable 2. A game that obviously contains several emergent properties as it is a large open ended world with dynamic NCPs populating the countryside that react to your actions. I found some of it a little too complex and nonlinear at times, I often found annoyed by the occasional sale notices and in order to take advantage of them I would have to back track instead of advancing the plot. For my original game I would enjoy a large nonlinear area. The immersive experience of a large area is an experience not to miss from some games. While always having a series of goals knowing you must complete all the while always getting a chance before and after to partake in immersive emersion with a sand box like city.

MOVIE MADNESS: Kung Pow


Watch this before reading


Just by watching this short fight scene you could see how this fast paced, action packed, physics defying, and outright goofy movie would be perfect for some form of game.
>As to be assumed this would be and action fighting game  with all the crazy fights there is a near unlimited cash of kung fu moves to use with in the game to capture the goofiness and fun of the movie.
>Odds are the main mechanic would be the exploitation of classic kung fu movie cliches. Along with some on the movies own crazy moves like it's gopher chucks the game would probably be very immersive and like most movie games needs to be fleshed out.
> The movies plot surrounds the adventure of "The Chosen One" as he seeks to avenge his familie's murder bearing the mark of a face on his tongue he is constantly under attack. The man he seeks is an evil man now referred to as ....Betty servant of the evil council. The conflict that will result will plunge the Chosen One into a an adventure of legendary proportions. For the game I don't think this would need to be changed however more minor enemies might need to be added. The design would probably benefit from a cell shaded art form

>If handled correctly I could she a fun and funny game as a result from this movie.

Paper Simulation: Okami

I chose for my paper simulation on of my favorite games Okami The base of what the paper version maintained the drawing aspect of the game and it turns out to be a bit like Pictionary, but with many differences.

The Okami Paper Game Rules:

  • Contents Game board ( Sheet of paper )
  • Deck of cards (index cards) (48 Cards)
  • Dice
How to play:

  • The goal of the game is to reach the end space on the game board. 
  • To start the game all players should place their game piece ( a die ) at the start position on the board
  • The group should then decide the "Drawer" for the first round 
  • The Drawer's role is to pick up a card from the deck and draw what is described on the box on the bottom of the card 
  • Who ever guesses correctly, earns the ability on the card 
  • who ever reaches the end space first wins
Cards:
Move: Most common of cards allows you to move 2 spaces forward
Speed Up: Allows you to move ahead 4 spaces
Gale storm: Allows you to move ahead 6 spaces
Power Slash: Let you move another player back 1 space
Green Sprout: Lets you move another player back 2 spaces
Cherry Bomb: A prized card moves all other players back 3 spaces
Divine intervention: Allows you to switch places with another player ( Must Switch Places)

Here's the improved version what do you think leave a comment:

Reverse engineering an already made game forces you to literally strip the game of its' flashy digital pizzaz and reveal the essential bare mechanics within that was what made it fun the the computerized flashy effects are just extra.

Basic AI

Playing the game with the changed rules drastically helped balance the abilities of the tanks and the robot. through testing I found that the first tries of the game the tanks won. However there was only one tank remaining afterwards. I found that the damage dealt by the robot was not the issue to be changed. What was to be changed was the order of its' actions making it more manageable. I found it a good form of balance unless you knew how to beat it. 

Card Game: Buried Alive!


Buried Alive


Goal 
To have the least amount of dirt (cards) in your grave (possession).

Contents
2 dice, 1 deck of regular cards (no jokers)

Players

Instructions for Playing
1. Divide your cards into suits.  Each suit becomes the player's hand.
2. Each round, a player will roll both dice.  Once the movement of the dice stops, all players throw down a card that matches that number as fast as possible.
3. The last player to throw down that card will put all the thrown cards into his/her "grave" - a stack of cards separate from his/her hand.
4. The Ace, Jack, Queen, and King are wild cards.  Throw them wisely.
5. If the player does not have the exact card or any remaining wild cards, they can throw down the card closest numerically to the dice roll.  Accuracy always trumps speed.

 This is the 5 rule version of the game Tyler, Rex, Mike, and I made from scratch in Saturday, October 23.  

We made throwing down the card down a top speed, but while paying attention to what needs to be thrown down. This adds challenge to the game by  adding the element of laying out your cards for easy access and then quickly figuring out  what card to lay, then quickly throwing it down. I am responsible for the name while we were developing the game that though of the loser having the most cards, made me think of that raving rabbids mini game where you try to bury your other players so that's where the name "Buried Alive" Originated.
Nathan Loring's revision:
After play testing the game we found that there was a potential for fun in the game. However I believe we found some issues of balance. but after that alot of us had a blast playing this game. The team I was with was civilized and cooperative. one of the only issues we had was writing out the rules the first two times we had some issues ( I thought I did alright with the 5 rule one but that's beside the point). This aside I thought we did great.

Character Design Revised

>A character can't stand by itself when it comes to video games. The effectiveness of a character in a certain environment depends greatly on if the environment matches. Say for example say in the game Assassins Creed 2 what if they had used the same model from the first. notice that most of the setting in the second game is much later in history. The character designers had to redesign the Assassin's outfit to better match the renaissance area along with more advanced skills. The Assassin has more abilities to interact with other characters than in the second game, as the culture's social structure in renaissance Italy. Your character can now hire a doctor, mercenaries, thieves, and courtesans for that little extra distraction. When the character matches the environment he is in the player is able to immerse themselves into the game.
>Now say that the character from Assassins Creed 2 was placed in the environment of Assassins creed 1. The character would not only stand out from the crowd with his intricately designed armor, a product of the renaissance the player would take notice and it would make the experience less believable. Lets not forget that one important aspect of Assassins Creed is its stealth. To make the character fit in with the environment they would have to make his out foot simpler to match the time the characters racial descent would probably also have to change.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Design Chemistry

I learn in a leadership class about a subject much like this. About working together I can't completely remember the lesson, but what it basically talked about is that people fall within several personality groups. Now people would not be in one group completely, they might fall within several like a "hybrid". When it comes to working as a team the lesson talks about how certain groups work together, how some may get along some may not. For example a watermelon ( Yes in the lesson the groups were represented with fruit.) won't work best with a banana. What the the article talked about shows an obvious similarity. These four game designers worked well creatively ans intuitively because they knew each other well in a productive friendship they had different professions yet most of them were hybrids when it came to their skills.When a team that has a close relationship they are able to converse about ideas more freely and have the ability to make them a reality.

Prototyping

As I have learned in almost any form of professional practice, you need to start simple quick and small to create something ambitious and functional. A game prototype is no different. It's a bit like a story board or an animation rough sketch they are quick and simple and by making them and testing them you learn what might eventually become a complex masterpiece. You take baby steps with a prototype trying out the difficult ideas first and then seeing if they will come to fruition. Prototypes should be one of the first steps after a game design document.