Sunday, March 31, 2013

Rendering Billboards/ Cleaning Up Maps

Since the demo reel cannot be filmed until all the final is in (or most of it) I devoted this week to polishing up the levels somewhat, adding new assets and cleaning areas where people get stuck.

One huge assets I looked into was the ability to have the map be filmed in real-time then displayed on the billboards around the map, as opposed to having a bunch of static logos that aren't interesting to look at for a large amount of time.


Right now, there are 2-3 camera placed in each level which offer specific views of each area of the map. Players can take a look at it and even use it to their advantage. Maybe they can see that there is a trap of mines on the other side of the map, or another player is there gathering up all the power ups.

Ultimately, what I would like to do is have the screens zoom in on the players for a more visual effect.


In addition to the rendered billboards, I'd like to polish up some of the menus, specifically the level select, so that they can show off the art of each level. Maybe they can even entertain the players, I was toying with the idea of having the space cannon chasing a car in the background.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

The Proto-Demo Reel

Trying saying that title five times fast. What I've been working on this week is, quite simply, is the prototype demo reel which combines the script we've been writing so far and the clips we would like to see in the final presentation.

This is the result:


Goldblitz Prototype Demoreel from Michael Bujtas on Vimeo.


The idea was to combine humor and advertisement to quickly and simply explain the basic gameplay and goal of Goldblitz.

It may seem corny, but it's supposed to. That kind of corniness is endearing and accurately fits with the two hosts of the game, Bill and Doug. I really tried to portray Doug's crazy personality and the fact that Bill needs to keep Doug in line with lines like the "animal preserve" one.

All in all, I feel this is a good example of the direction we wish to go in for the demo reel. With better voice acting and when the final art in, the reel should be perfect.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Scriptwriting

This week, I've taken a little break from level making (seeing as we've picked the three we wanted) and taken up scriptwriting for the Demo reel in addition to fixing up bugs discovered within the levels through QA.

So far, here's what we have:

Champlain College Logo

Stephen and Dream Boats Logo

Doug: “What do you get when you combine a car with a gold mining gun?” 1.)
Together
Doug: “Goldblitz!” 2.)
Bill: (bored) “Goldblitz...”

Doug: “That’s right folks, it’s Goldblitz! Drive the cars 3.) (pause) and mine the gold from the nodes! 4.)  It’s so easy, a goldfish can do it!” 5.)

Bill: “I’d watch what you say about goldfish, Doug, one of our contestants is one after all. Goldblitz has attracted all sorts of colorful characters to compete for the gold.  6.) We’re going to have a real battle on our hands.” 7.)

Doug: “Right you are, Bill. Thanks to the Gold Standard power ups scattered around the map, 8.) our racers can attack each other with all sorts of amazing weapons.”

Bill: “Players can use everything from spatulas to space cannons to slow down the other racers and get as much gold as possible.” 9.)

Doug: “After five minutes, whoever has the most gold wins!” 10.)

Doug: ”And just look at all those levels they get to play on, don’t they look so much better than the rustic badlands we started with?” 11.)

Bill: “He’s just kidding folks. Goldblitz raceways are safe and friendly environments.” 12.)

After long gameplay video 13.)

Doug: “Goldblitz, go for the gold!”

Bill: “That’s the wrong game, Doug...” 14.)


Video Reference
1.) Black Screen
2.) Goldblitz Logo on Black Screen, bouncing in and out
3.) One car driving right (goldfish car) zoomed out so viewers can’t fully make it out
4.) Same car is mining from a gold node
5.) Zoom in on the car to reveal it as the goldfish (bubbling noise in the background), car still driving around.
6.) Character select screen of players going through the different racers.
7.) Character select screen says “Ready” with characters shouting in the background
8.) Close up on a powerup on the map, camera floating around it
9.) Margaret’s weapon thing
10.) A car with the crown on top of it drives into a group of 3 cars around the gold node and knocks them away with Sonic Boom
11.) Level select screen going through all 4 of the different levels
12.) A car drives through a field of mines and smoke and explodes violently into the air
13.) Video of testers actually playing Goldblitz for a few seconds
14.) Same Goldblitz Logo as 2.)


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I'll be working close with our narrative designer, Rob, to make the demo reel perfect. The goal is to describe the game as best as possible so that anyone watching the clip will know exactly what Goldblitz is about.

I'll probably be showing it to people and getting as much feedback as possible. The plan is to start practice filming next week. I look forward to it.