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.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

chapter 4 book work Question 2

Character descriptions
Winston salinger: A tall relatively slender man that is very intelligent  but not very wise his quest for the truth he experiments with unknown devices haphazard and it  often ends badly for him he would not be accustomed to combat aside from his tussles on the playground in his youth so most melee would be clumsy. He is moderately fast but he is partially limited on account of his limp he got from a run in with a bear trap.
George : A college of Mr. Salinger not necessarily a field man but none the less a reliable man with any task you give him. You would not be able to control the allie, but you could assign him tasks more often than not he's off the field he's the one you contact to send in biological creatures created by you. He also has a major in advanced engineering so if there is a machine that needs fixing he's the man to contact. Has extreme motor skills and can handle himself in combat in many cases better than Winston.
Armed Assassin : Hired guns who's employer remains unknown trained by various military groups before turning rouge so skill level varies often remains out of sight and tries to take out their opponent with as little reaction from a crowd as possible. when attacked directly they will stand and fight but will prefer to run and gain a good vantage point to take you out. They are very robotic in there reactions and are covered in advanced stealth armor, it seems their employer didn't simply supply them with money. Showin how much they want you dead.

Chapter 3 book work question 2

If I were to design a movement system for my game being designed in my head the context sensitive actions would be based on a button press and less upon the distance from an object. Aside from the necessary actions of opening a door and picking up an object. My characters movements would be based on the state of motion he is in he would not be able to long jump or flip on account of his injured leg, but he will perform a tackle move to bust open doors wich he would use a lot in the beginning of the game  where he is helpless and has know weapon and must run. The use of his weapons would be accessed not from a menu but from the arrangements of weapons on his back to make it fluid and you'll always see the menu.

GameMechanics Examined

I felt that the article raised an interesting and what I believe to be all to true to an extent. How that too many gameplay mechanics would overcomplicate the game for the players. Once again game design returns to the acronym KISS: Keep, It, Simple, Stupid. This applies that the less gameplay elements there are the easier it is for the player to pick up and play and understand. It's also more likely that the mechanics will appear cohesive and more identifiable to the game. If those few game mechanics are done well and all apply to each other  to create the feel of the game for the player and enjoy it.

chalk game analysis

1.I found this game to be very enjoyable to play because of its unique spin gameplay elements of the implementation of of chalk in a "kirby and the canvas curse"or a "Max and the magic marker" style. However the learning curve can be considered rather steep especially if you only have a sub optimal mouse in your possession. As with my first attempt I tried to play with my mac's touchpad and got my butt kicked. Even then it requires fast reflexes and exceptional dexterity. Difficulty aside It was enjoyable to reach the end of the level and have a sense of accomplishment.
2.The games replay value is moderate because of its' main gameplay mechanic of drawing to battle enemies, clear obstacles, and solve puzzles often all at the same time. I feel that if this game was ported to the DS (like many other internet games) and would sell fairly well. As log as the game's controls were slightly improved as I fund it slightly difficult to master.
3.The game was entirely gameplay driven as there is no story to be found with no explanation of your main goal. Aside from the obvious goal of making it to the end of the level and since the stage is constantly in motion thats not hard to figure out there is no dialog in the game and no explanation of the character or the creature she follows, I can't even tell you what her name is. As it goes for most internet games you don't play them for an in depth story you play them for a distraction through entertaining and captivating gameplay.
4. The game devotes its' art style to the theme of a chalk board to the main game play. It does this through a limited and simplistic color sceme the colors it used where white,yellow,green,blue,purple,and red on a black backdrop. As if the game was taking place on a chalk board with a small assortment of colored chalk. I my opinion The game could of used a more prevalent chalk texture. The music didn't stick out for me in part that the music didn't sound very unique, and also how distracted you are while playing it. However one sound effect I enjoyed was when you clicked down it made a sound of a piece of chalk hitting a chalk board this one sound effect contribute drastically to the the whole style of the game.
5.The games controls was where it it got very good scores in my opinion the you control your character through the simple WASD key setup. However the game's main element was that at any time you could click your mouse on the screen and draw a line. The game felt smooth to play for the most part. drawing the line had trouble on some occasions. From the scrolling environment to the scores, health and bosses it  felt like an arcade game with a twist.
6. One feature I really enjoyed was how the use of a line of chalk to interact with the game level. Obstacles could only be eliminated by drawing a line over all points on that obstacle. Enemies in the game shoot at you and you defeat them through drawing a line from the bullet to the enemy to deal damage. There's more but implementing these at faced paced succession and sometimes at the same time is where the real challenge comes from and for the most part it's enjoyable.
7. The mechanic that I would change would have to be that the time to draw the chalk line would be extended because on several occasions the I couldn't complete the line to destroy an obstacle and the line ran short because I really couldn't  control the chalk as well as I should have. If this change was made it would not change much but it would make many attempts more successful. This would not be an issue if this was ported to the DS.
8. My Score of this game is 7 out of 10 because it was a unique game with a arcade scroller theme where you didn't simply use a lazer to kill your opponent. It lost points however  because it needed a small amount of refinement so that the line you draw responds almost all the time. Also the skill level is difficult to master if you havent learned to draw with your mouse. All in all a fun game that you'll probably revisit once or twice for the challenge.

Genre Vs Type

I agree with the statement of this topic almost all games have a story either in game or on the manual and it can be simple and complex and is usually separate from the game play. Game type deals with how the game works,plays and what skills are required to play the game and play it well. while game type deals solely with how the story is told, what setting it takes, and what happens within it.  Both elements seem to influence each other in retrospect in any games. for example a game was made without a story but already has a game type, a story could be made to better fit that gameplay type. It can work in the opposite way as mostly seen in movie games where game type is added to best fit the story and how it is told.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Potzee Rules

# of Players: 4-6
Requirements: 5 dice per player, 1 cup per player, and paper and pencil
Goal:  to obtain 20 points before the other players
Setup: Each player starts with 10 points when a round begins Each player puts 2 dice in their cup and shake them and place the cup with dice inside down on the table. then each player rolls 2 more dice this time for all to see from these they must decide from the dice they rolled either to Stay in or back out, those who stay in roll the final die and from those you decide the winner, the winner gets one point per player that lost, if all but one back out the one that stays in automatically gets 3 points

Dice combinations:
Doubles - two matching dice, higher face values beat lower
Triples- three matching dice, beats doubles
Straight- 5 dice faces count up in sequential pattern Ex: (1,2,3,4,5)  beats Triples and lower
Full house- one double and one triple(Ex: 2,2,3,3,3) beats Straight and lower
Four of a kind- 4 matching dice beats Full house and lower
Five of a kind- all dice match, beats all other combinations

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Free Play: Frets On Fire

The game I chose was the game Frets on fire which could basically be considered a cheap version of Guitar Hero only on the computer  and in reflection it's not a bad alternative to the $50 counterparts

Challenge:
The game maintains the same form of challenge as Guitar Hero as where you can select the difficulty except there are only three options easily,medium, or hard one thing to consider when first playing the game is to go to the game options and alter what buttons on your keyboard equal frets in the game.  The main reason I say this is because not only did I not know what the fret and pick keys were but the keys that were the frets were the same as the keys that decrease your brightness leaving me to think that  my mac glitched out.

Replay value:
When it comes to replay value I'm not sure how well this game could stand up cause although this game can be as captivating as GH or  RB the small song library that come with the game just make you wish that you were up at your tv playing the deeper more vibrant song selection on the consoles,rather than playing the poor man's version on the internet. Most of your game play may go into the writing of frets trying them out, and showing them of to your friend who won't care.

Game play
It relies entirely upon it's Guitar hero-esqe gameplay since the story in this game is non-existant Aside from the tutorial stage were you get the basics told to you buy a supposed Norwegian professional guitar player  who's name and ego is longer than this review.He also likes to point out how much you must suck since your having to listen to the tutorial,thanks a lot jerk!

Graphic sound
This is really where it becomes obvious this is a guitar hero rip off from the choice of flame details  Littered through ou the games various menus and the fret board itself. The three songs that come with the library mostly sound catchy but sound like something you'd find in a generic anime. as i was playing the game I found that you were playing the backup guitar tis is fine except that the lead guitar can some times be louder than the back up making it more difficult to play and trowing off your sense of rhythm.

Controls
The game does well to capture sort of controls that GH and Rock Band had. However the keys to press can become confusing but they respond quickly and the game feels relatively smooth and fun. Along with this the game gives you the ability  make any song you have into a frets on fire song this mechanic work ok  But it is up to you to create the notes to hit while the song to play. So depending who you are this game may be a blessing or a curse.
 
Special feature
 The game's main shinning point is that you can play guitar hero or rock band on your computer. Also to go along with it  you can have complete control over the creation of your favorite songs into FOF form which could be with practice a nice little time waster .Other than that the game really doesn't have many more features than that to my knowledge which i find a bit of a let down.

My Own Input
If I were to change certain gameplay elements it would have to be how you import your song choices. Because when I attempted to create my own song   found that it showed me a list, a list I had no knowledge of before and what I got was mr Norwegian man breathing and I had no idea how. what it should have done was cause a separate window to  appear like in itunes to import Songs to your library.This would make creating your own songs much easier.

My conclusion
This game relies strongly on the fact that ou tried this out because of Guitar Hero or Rock Band. But even so this game was enjoyable and maintained the the challenge,gameplay and feel of RB and GH which is a feat of it's own. All and all this game isn't bad but it's not awesome mainly because of it's small library of songs but you still get more than you payed for... which is nothing.

Game Play and Control

Mario galaxy and Mario galaxy 2 are 2 of my favorite games one of the factors that make me enjoy it is it's very responsive and immersive feel of the game. And what i mean by that is when you aim to have your character do and it does it almost exactly as you saw in your head and it does it smoothly quickly and responsively. Especially in a super mario game it's difficult enough in accomplishing the regular task at times yo don't want to be fleeing a disappearing platform and Mario jumps in the opposite direction to his doom but to execute your input to the letter.also the amount of polish that make the game fully immersive for one example say you pull off a ground pound in a sandy area or on a soft squishy cake planet Mario finds himself up to his elbows into the ground.On a final note I would like to add that the levels in which you pull off these great moves are also made to perfectly mix with the highly responsive controls while still remaining challenging.Tjis game like other Mario games has a great feel and is a joy to play.

Chapter Two Book Work

Question 3

Development restrictions can be a game developers nightmare, you have to decide what forms of decisions you should make in order to keep the game development flowing and on time. I will have two examples my first lack of time. It is crucial for a developer to be ambitious but not all ideas can be used in the final cut features might take to long to test or design and must be scraped I have read about several times in several games that had an entire extra section of a game and had to completely a bandon it because of time. For my second example would be issues with intellectual property when you are designing a licensed game  the owner of the intellectual property will have a say in the development this could cause months of development to be quickly flushed down the drain. Or something might need to be added quickly and you'll have to figure out a way to implement it in the game without it sticking out amongst the more polished features.

Introduction to the Game Design Document

From what I learned from the PDF a game design document can be an essential design and creational tool but a financial one as well. A design document can be a great reference tool for what your main goals are for a game.This written or typed document Can also help you stay on track and accomplish what needs to be done with without focusing to hard on something non- essential. What I meant by financial is that it can easily become a tool to maintain your funding  and keep them informed about the progress of the project. The if you're self funded and do not have a specific dead line it may not be as useful still good practice. All and all this  is one of the many practices for a professional game designer.

Game video

 Heres our videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR-Rfb8m9_A