tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56594355144552540192024-03-05T02:46:04.306-08:00Mike Champlain Capstone BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-56331004993991086352013-04-07T12:48:00.001-07:002013-04-07T12:48:56.937-07:00Crunch TimeNext week I start filming the demo reel for real, and as a result a lot of the art we were missing has finally been implemented into the game.<br />
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And as a result of that, I've had to do a lot of polishing. But the final product we're going to have to show for Tuesday, I feel, is leagues better than the Goldblitz we showed last week. Let's take a look at some of the levels.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0L77wWuE6Xs146TqA_VImypJhPCKUdoBMfSVEj_pu8YoRfoT7nNB11ajO21rmlljtQIWDinMc9LL1hC9c-9ZtJVvAGPyJ_X8LkMe38j3oIkSaghhpa5WODt3m_h1cFE1Hn-QitmfNoY/s1600/NewFootstep.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis0L77wWuE6Xs146TqA_VImypJhPCKUdoBMfSVEj_pu8YoRfoT7nNB11ajO21rmlljtQIWDinMc9LL1hC9c-9ZtJVvAGPyJ_X8LkMe38j3oIkSaghhpa5WODt3m_h1cFE1Hn-QitmfNoY/s320/NewFootstep.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The new Footstep has the new fences and ramps added, making the colors really pop out. As an added bonus, the background has been changed from a plain wasteland to a canyon crevice. Erickson's artwork really shines on this level.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYnds2ZX-zi4iR57Y6vgM3YB7Ue09ZQa23kMZe6DUJ4qkmrk1RkJSpKGReHGbChIOIInM5FHuHY0VpE2v-iWVTIxpOay15SIcnDkf6YcK41YG40wdfX6hE9Qpxs30zSQs_zMHlx0URBk/s1600/NewDonut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYnds2ZX-zi4iR57Y6vgM3YB7Ue09ZQa23kMZe6DUJ4qkmrk1RkJSpKGReHGbChIOIInM5FHuHY0VpE2v-iWVTIxpOay15SIcnDkf6YcK41YG40wdfX6hE9Qpxs30zSQs_zMHlx0URBk/s320/NewDonut.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Donut now also has the same background treatment that Footstep had, only because of how flat the level is, you can actually admire it while playing the game. This screenshot doesn't do it justice, as the fences all light up due to a camera effect.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBUHBV8rsP82_UW49gyk4d8bItxPdmG2AH7ctRxMZGypbFpV1LxAhzj-pkVHdn7Rb4blRP5V1gBcGz7uNk8KRXC3PhCVXGjoaZ15w_qSMtB_BCRk4EezaxolZjxkgsKYD3nbTxKaldPE/s1600/NewMugen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBUHBV8rsP82_UW49gyk4d8bItxPdmG2AH7ctRxMZGypbFpV1LxAhzj-pkVHdn7Rb4blRP5V1gBcGz7uNk8KRXC3PhCVXGjoaZ15w_qSMtB_BCRk4EezaxolZjxkgsKYD3nbTxKaldPE/s320/NewMugen.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mugen is the level that still needs the most work. We're waiting on Margaret's assets of cliff rocks so that it makes the walls more interesting to look at. I'd like to update the blimp art as well.<br />
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The next step for me is to film everything this week! Looking forward to it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-74917845876236507282013-03-31T10:40:00.001-07:002013-03-31T10:40:36.811-07:00Rendering Billboards/ Cleaning Up MapsSince 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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRD_-XM4HHO9i3tUHcrOlHbo0fvxS8DnjS4vk_KKLqDKS-JgXuibn3iYYlduVne10Xz6gdtSsHQQ6oWapHhdWGy_K33_TwAA2zxNwoAYZmjcHoHytM0RvFBHhreP3x0mReAzVQkbpZIXo/s1600/RenderTexture1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRD_-XM4HHO9i3tUHcrOlHbo0fvxS8DnjS4vk_KKLqDKS-JgXuibn3iYYlduVne10Xz6gdtSsHQQ6oWapHhdWGy_K33_TwAA2zxNwoAYZmjcHoHytM0RvFBHhreP3x0mReAzVQkbpZIXo/s320/RenderTexture1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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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.<br />
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Ultimately, what I would like to do is have the screens zoom in on the players for a more visual effect.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6VB7USeVfqniqyWaZzHGDKr8tJRqP-8OglYkct6P6So8rCoSdBrqVdigXx2t9g8ChS_FcyOJxNklwwOAJMQa3XQh58Sx7r7_9xIgEtgS8KZyTwRXECoeOwmcFFU059JzcAYPIkhqLAII/s1600/RenderTexture2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6VB7USeVfqniqyWaZzHGDKr8tJRqP-8OglYkct6P6So8rCoSdBrqVdigXx2t9g8ChS_FcyOJxNklwwOAJMQa3XQh58Sx7r7_9xIgEtgS8KZyTwRXECoeOwmcFFU059JzcAYPIkhqLAII/s320/RenderTexture2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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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.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-61257515836451313942013-03-24T12:10:00.002-07:002013-03-24T12:10:39.836-07:00The Proto-Demo ReelTrying 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.<br />
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This is the result:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="375" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/62557462" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/62557462">Goldblitz Prototype Demoreel</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user17274835">Michael Bujtas</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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The idea was to combine humor and advertisement to quickly and simply explain the basic gameplay and goal of Goldblitz.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-1890582926108765072013-03-17T10:53:00.001-07:002013-03-17T10:53:27.761-07:00ScriptwritingThis 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.<br />
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So far, here's what we have:<br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.3775249971076846" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Champlain College Logo</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stephen and Dream Boats Logo</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doug: “What do you get when you combine a car with a gold mining gun?” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Together</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doug: “Goldblitz!” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bill: (bored) “Goldblitz...”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doug: “That’s right folks, it’s Goldblitz! Drive the cars </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (pause) and mine the gold from the nodes! </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4.)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> It’s so easy, a goldfish can do it!” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6.)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We’re going to have a real battle on our hands.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doug: “Right you are, Bill. Thanks to the Gold Standard power ups scattered around the map, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8.) </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">our racers can attack each other with all sorts of amazing weapons.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bill: “Players can use everything from spatulas to space cannons to slow down the other racers and get as much gold as possible.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doug: “After five minutes, whoever has the most gold wins!” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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?” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bill: “He’s just kidding folks. Goldblitz raceways are safe and friendly environments.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After long gameplay video 13.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Doug: “Goldblitz, go for the gold!”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bill: “That’s the wrong game, Doug...” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">14.)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Video Reference</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.) Black Screen</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.) Goldblitz Logo on Black Screen, bouncing in and out</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.) One car driving right (goldfish car) zoomed out so viewers can’t fully make it out</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4.) Same car is mining from a gold node</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5.) Zoom in on the car to reveal it as the goldfish (bubbling noise in the background), car still driving around.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6.) Character select screen of players going through the different racers.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7.) Character select screen says “Ready” with characters shouting in the background</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8.) Close up on a powerup on the map, camera floating around it</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9.) Margaret’s weapon thing</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11.) Level select screen going through all 4 of the different levels</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12.) A car drives through a field of mines and smoke and explodes violently into the air</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">13.) Video of testers actually playing Goldblitz for a few seconds</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">14.) Same Goldblitz Logo as 2.)</span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">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.</span></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-52971736454510369192013-02-24T10:35:00.001-08:002013-02-24T10:35:26.791-08:00The Three LevelsWe've finally decided as a group which three levels we want to appear in the game. The three are, as I predicted, Footstep, Mugen, Donut.<br />
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To celebrate, I've completely remade Footstep to fix many of the spots where players got stuck in the map. Many of the ramps actually go to reachable places now and the new art assets, such as the rock structures, make an appearance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Y2uyz9u7WjdhNop1rsONtVWPDp7gxX-TQnQdS9Wv274IZgQq9JXA-wqMt2LZ0xzLarXorFG0zcrGdIzIRzWtds-y4bShjFj2y5DNZihXNID2swWFtgOXHIM4Jt80t4ebrOmPkjHNZZc/s1600/Footstep3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Y2uyz9u7WjdhNop1rsONtVWPDp7gxX-TQnQdS9Wv274IZgQq9JXA-wqMt2LZ0xzLarXorFG0zcrGdIzIRzWtds-y4bShjFj2y5DNZihXNID2swWFtgOXHIM4Jt80t4ebrOmPkjHNZZc/s320/Footstep3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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My goal for the next few weeks is to start polishing these levels, adding the new assets and features to make sure they work. I need to make sure the levels are completely functional and playable so when the artists come in with the assets, they can make them look perfect.</div>
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I'll also be looking up level music, with the plan to have 4 different songs for each level.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-65948148244778225192013-02-17T08:58:00.002-08:002013-02-17T08:58:21.830-08:00Doughnuts and MugensThis week I attended QA several times to get a better feel of which levels testers enjoyed playing the most. Thanks to their reactions and feedback, I designed a new level based on an earlier level I had created this week, Donut.<div>
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Donut is a relatively simple map, it goes in a circle around a center point and doesn't offer much in the way of exceeding creativity. Yet, for some reason, all the players love it. Perhaps it's because it's so simple that they know where to go and what to do that makes it a favorite for them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQFElhfMVJ1EhibIGsxMhrsN5RiNja5x_Dv9QEfxMDUgy9hVgYKbRcSsMZer_ENmTLMRr95uPOxVr_-NaaUXPcZDX4wl0EZ0IBztHia3ARqIPQo1mw10g4FZZsuLVrwpjpL0hQFFngLQ/s1600/Donut1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQFElhfMVJ1EhibIGsxMhrsN5RiNja5x_Dv9QEfxMDUgy9hVgYKbRcSsMZer_ENmTLMRr95uPOxVr_-NaaUXPcZDX4wl0EZ0IBztHia3ARqIPQo1mw10g4FZZsuLVrwpjpL0hQFFngLQ/s320/Donut1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Donut is nice and flat, and offers a chance to really get creative with the backdrops. This is definately going to be one of the final levels in the game, based on all it's positive feedback. I just need to tweak it some more.</div>
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As I said, the testing inspired another simple level I decided to call Mugen. The track is a simple infinity symbol, but it works really well for the purposes of the game.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNh737TOWzxzYl9SjA65DkgSbStkd2IS_HVWt-TL6KAtmGYFT22yxkUFz5jjxpKUmOQtjStzYENNMaOXKNjOxDTyw79-k0TCT2JFbaSKVNYuO3bNYKtgIWZQn3Rq-q5yAQsbKavrex2JI/s1600/Mugen1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNh737TOWzxzYl9SjA65DkgSbStkd2IS_HVWt-TL6KAtmGYFT22yxkUFz5jjxpKUmOQtjStzYENNMaOXKNjOxDTyw79-k0TCT2JFbaSKVNYuO3bNYKtgIWZQn3Rq-q5yAQsbKavrex2JI/s320/Mugen1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The thing that makes Mugen really unique is the setting. Instead of placing the track in the middle of a wasteland, I decided on making it set in a cliffside with as beautiful sunset in the background and a blimp hovering just overhead. The level has already received some compliments for it's aesthetic.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzZQqDFwp3hIxBL6xzZMloeTpJSfRgGdDuMLfAkhSDXRkG5awCz38ExvEYO91FRxFXyQwIoKalaJVpDNF7NtZEfbLoda2CTdBaQo7PsgkEYwng7MHzRdMJOZAyc2-S9LznRaEUrgTQBs/s1600/Mugen2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzZQqDFwp3hIxBL6xzZMloeTpJSfRgGdDuMLfAkhSDXRkG5awCz38ExvEYO91FRxFXyQwIoKalaJVpDNF7NtZEfbLoda2CTdBaQo7PsgkEYwng7MHzRdMJOZAyc2-S9LznRaEUrgTQBs/s320/Mugen2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I believe with these two levels and Footstep, we'll have our 3 final levels to include in the Gold Version of Goldblitz. My next task is to polish these levels so they play better (players keep getting stuck in cracks).</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-58204017626484149892013-02-10T10:03:00.001-08:002013-02-10T10:03:33.247-08:00Two New LevelsThis week I worked on two new levels and more are on their way. This is really a push to see what people are really enjoying about the levels and which they prefer to play. I'm awaiting feedback today from the testing this week.<br />
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The first level I designed was one of my original concepts, playing the 4 cars in an enclosed arena environment to ensure maximum combat engagement.<br />
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The map included plenty of powerups scattered in close quarters that followed the pathways of the map. This encourages players to stick to the two main roads between the center ramps and the side turner, where the main 3 gold nodes are.<br />
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The problem with this map is that it doesn't give room for many art assets to show off the design of our artists. Though, that could be beneficial considering we may be having trouble getting all the environment art in time.<br />
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The other map I worked on is my personal favorite so far, Footstep. It is named as such for the shape of the general map, it looks like a footprint in the desert.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2H0dk5CD24Q7RcS9recgfpgzdK9BMSVMAQgd9NSDWHceUXPWbccN2sZxIWwBb0ysS4jElJKizM60n0Oq1jLMr0Iv3ZCEUpxyeR9g3CGnyQcY5APMcnDZ71x83xFMkTAP-jNRTaWiAeY/s1600/Footstep1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2H0dk5CD24Q7RcS9recgfpgzdK9BMSVMAQgd9NSDWHceUXPWbccN2sZxIWwBb0ysS4jElJKizM60n0Oq1jLMr0Iv3ZCEUpxyeR9g3CGnyQcY5APMcnDZ71x83xFMkTAP-jNRTaWiAeY/s320/Footstep1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The entire level is asymmetrical, making it completely different from my other maps thus far. I guess that's why I like it so much more, it makes the design feel more natural as opposed to the whiteboxed perfect symmetrical levels.</div>
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This was also a test for the environmental art, as I placed all the assets thus far into the map somewhere. Whether they noticed them or not remains to be seen. I also added a lot of little secrets to the level, like ramps that allow players to reach the top of the hills if they're lucky.</div>
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I think this week I will be going to QA so I can nail down which levels the players really like and what they like about them. By doing this I hope to start fleshing out our final level design ideas.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-37725126875347456182013-02-03T11:50:00.001-08:002013-02-03T11:50:38.924-08:00Track Level<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week, I was ordered to experiment with a track-like level similar to what would be in many standard racing games like Mario Kart. An idea came to me after I recalled a specific level from Mario Kart 64 that stuck with me, Wario Stadium.<br />
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The whole level is set in a dirt bike colosseum. It's complete with bumps and long tracks with a slew of items to pick up and allow players to pass each other. The main focus point is the giant ramp that takes place in the middle of the map.</div>
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Our new level borrows many of the lessons learnt from Wario Stadium. Unfortunately, I cannot post pictures of it as there is a problem with the terrain.</div>
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But one feedback about the new Track Level requested that the map not have any walls to contain the player. So here is the new Track Level, without walls. Giving the player total freedom to explore.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDutjIXrybOFsTdv6PiQ1oc4vjl2ffZR9w-7h0p-Y3BYGM3Ia08oB7iT3ZxXBaISr8w27d43SjkNWEjMtwHEhGmHv6peyoC3hJedPXcGiijXD_GpL0E1W-eTwPCAa-o3sdvyGphFs2ec/s1600/TrackLevel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDutjIXrybOFsTdv6PiQ1oc4vjl2ffZR9w-7h0p-Y3BYGM3Ia08oB7iT3ZxXBaISr8w27d43SjkNWEjMtwHEhGmHv6peyoC3hJedPXcGiijXD_GpL0E1W-eTwPCAa-o3sdvyGphFs2ec/s320/TrackLevel.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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More testing on these levels will be required. We need to decide soon which levels we like the most.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-92040036262926350442013-01-27T10:03:00.000-08:002013-01-27T10:03:42.932-08:00The Triangle LevelFor this week, I've been hard at work on the next level for Goldblitz, which hopefully will be our first real level in the game. The idea came to mind with a triangle that's fairly symmetrical, with a lot of power ups that players will get to pick up along the way.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0win8mB1r9U95sW0uynBb8NqScsmHnkkGy05MnaheCMq1iSgPiw9GRR5GYaJO0yMtvVs0RAygYgDh5qsHLp9cp4-UPDFOSup1-RLP9bnJ04gCl7pcV_n6FleS9cCYP-0MXdHbwE488g/s1600/TriLevel1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0win8mB1r9U95sW0uynBb8NqScsmHnkkGy05MnaheCMq1iSgPiw9GRR5GYaJO0yMtvVs0RAygYgDh5qsHLp9cp4-UPDFOSup1-RLP9bnJ04gCl7pcV_n6FleS9cCYP-0MXdHbwE488g/s320/TriLevel1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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There are three gold nodes (marked with the black circles) in the corners of the triangle. Players start in the middle of the map, giving them an equal chance to get to each gold node in the map. Between each node are the power ups in a fairly straight path. They give players the chance to stock up between the nodes.</div>
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The level is also divided into tiers, two nodes are at the highest tier while the last node is at the lowest tier. The middle tier is where the players start and is the largest, offering the most power ups as well as some obstacles for players to smash into.<br />
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The level is very large and gives players a lot of room to explore. I took what I learned from the last few levels made about size and power up placement and put them into effect with this level. It's my hope that players in the QA lab this week enjoy this map.</div>
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Next week I'll be working on an updated King of the Hill style map with adds another tower and a bridge to connect them.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-87950234515814890052013-01-20T17:36:00.001-08:002013-01-20T17:36:34.768-08:00Week Two: TowerAfter the first few rounds of QA last week, I think I've discovered the perfect balance for level designing in terms of the level size.<br />
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Many of the players claimed that they didn't know where to go or didn't enjoy the much larger levels. This probably didn't help with the fact that there weren't many structures overhead that could direct players for guidelines. That's when I was given the idea by our lead designer to create a king of the hill level.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBFhkkt9BLCEAhcy0Zb7FMJGjElPBvbCSRNKfZ3tjiPhuzoOuvVQ_HkPVqR8RkajrrpzX1ixYMjrMech_f7CGFXgNJJGBKgLr9wPzDEh4pj8nTM1Z-9pcaNnrkFYn4vpcTJK_9y8VCA8/s1600/Tower1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBFhkkt9BLCEAhcy0Zb7FMJGjElPBvbCSRNKfZ3tjiPhuzoOuvVQ_HkPVqR8RkajrrpzX1ixYMjrMech_f7CGFXgNJJGBKgLr9wPzDEh4pj8nTM1Z-9pcaNnrkFYn4vpcTJK_9y8VCA8/s320/Tower1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The idea is to have a map where players know where to go instantly, and will fight each other once at their destination.</div>
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This level still needs to be tested, as there were some doubts from other team members about the placement of certain objects. I believe that this will be the most fun level yet.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-79573807153486528662013-01-10T11:20:00.000-08:002013-01-10T11:20:15.988-08:00New Semester<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here we are at the start of another semester and on a new team! For the Spring semester, I've been assigned to work on the game Goldblitz, a racing game based around combat and mining.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Specifically, I'm going to be the one working on the levels in the game. The leaders, Rob and Jesston, have said that the level particularly need a lot of work and they wish to have 3-4 by the end of the semester in 12 weeks.</div>
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This shouldn't be too hard to do, I'll have to work a lot with the environmental artist, but I'm confident in my abilities to complete this task.</div>
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Right now, they don't have much to go on for levels, including what size they should be. My first task this week is to set the standard for level sizes to ensure future levels won't seem too big or small. I'll be white-boxing out levels this weekend and testing them next week.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-76609323395036411642012-12-05T19:30:00.002-08:002012-12-05T19:30:47.122-08:00Final SeminarI have to say that the final seminar we went to was pretty interesting, if a little long winded with the questions or comments from my other classmates. Not that I found the topic boring at all, in fact I find it very interesting, it's just I feel we got way too sidetracked halfway through and lingered on subjects (like Mass Effect 3) for longer than we had to.<br />
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Going back to the main topic of transmedia, I feel it's something I'm deeply interested in because of a side project I've been hard at work on all semester. Check out my blog for it here (http://masqueradestory.blogspot.com/)<br />
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Masquerade is both a card game and book set in the same world that I wanted to publish and sell together.<br />
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In fact, pretty soon I'll be launching the Kickstarter for it. The world of Masquerade is set in a land of kings and assassins. The story revolves around a sinister plot to kill the king of the kingdom. In the game, players fight with the many different characters who appear in the book to either kill the king or protect him. In the novel, readers follows the darkest distances of the plot as they see that there is more to this masquerade than meets the eye.</div>
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The idea was to see how will two different medias could support each other. Based on our seminar though, I feel like it's certainly possible for Masquerade to be a success. I may be able to even expand on the medias and create a community as was suggested in the presentation.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-78071551298160716222012-12-01T16:24:00.002-08:002012-12-01T16:24:37.873-08:00Final Presentations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As of last night, the final presentations are done and I must say they were a blast to watch. Compared to last year's projects, the ones this year are really well designed and refined.<br />
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My hope is that at least 8-9 teams go forward, since there were so many good groups. During the presentations I took the time to look at which teams needed a level designer since I had been working on our team's levels in the game most of the semester.<br />
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I don't want to say here which teams I really want to join up with and go forward, but they definitely had the stronger presentations during the night I'd say.<br />
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My favorite one so far was Crisis of the Superverse which left the audience on a cliffhanger and made them want to see more. That kind of tactic is something to consider when challenging again.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-18174891643542647412012-11-24T09:42:00.000-08:002012-11-24T09:42:19.675-08:00End GameSo we didn't end up passing to the final presentation. To be honest though, I'm totally fine with that. You can probably call this post a pre-post mortem.<br />
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I learned a lot on this project about dealing with different team members with different ideas of what is fun. For example, in the beginning of the year all of us had a unique way of thinking that we had to combine together to create a single idea we could all agree on. In fact, we didn't come together until about three weeks into the semester. So lesson learned, these things take time.<br />
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Another big challenge we faced was communication. Now, I faced communication issues in groups before, specifically my Production 1 group, but this proved to me that communication issues can exist even if the team is speaking with each other. Our group simply didn't talk about what we were working on even though we met constantly and had the means to talk to each other instantly.<br />
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I'm sure you'll be hearing all about the post mortem stuff later, so I won't go into detail here. This experience, however, certainly taught me a lot about groups.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-28858349018554693212012-11-11T13:42:00.004-08:002012-11-11T13:42:57.310-08:00Passing Stage 2Perhaps the biggest threat to our project is finally behind us, this week we learned that we had passed stage 2 and are no officially prepared to move onto the final presentation. You can bet that the final presentation itself is going to be the major focus for us this next week.<br />
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Sadly that means that Thanksgiving break isn't really going to be much of a break for us, I'll be hard at work focusing on the documentation for the Design Bible. There isn't much that can be said for that, unfortunately. I'll be trying to keep the writing simple and consistent so that anyone who would be to join our team can understand the game instantly.<br />
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As such, I've organized the table of contents into less than a dozen categories that I feel will cover all the important topics. AJ will be handling the marketing information while I'll write the systems and everything else.<br />
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The other thing I plan on doing before the final presentation is working on the presentation level. Since it went over so well in our Stage 2 Presentation, we figured we'd present our entire game to the class through a carefully designed level.<br />
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This will work out for us as well, since we can easily alter the levels we make to suit the final version of the game.<br />
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There are still some bugs in the game that need to get fixed, so I'll probably have to get on Steve for that.<br />
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We're all eager to go forward and are grateful for the short breather we're having before the final presentation.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-6946441252613521492012-10-27T11:41:00.000-07:002012-10-27T11:41:40.943-07:00Challenge Three!After this week's presentation for our midterm, we decided to go a very different route with our stage 3 presentation which will be our challenge for next week. Learning from the other groups in the midterm, we saw that switching between a prototype and a powerpoint simply wasn't effective and was distracting for the viewers. Therefore, for next week we plan on doing something totally unique from all the other groups.<br />
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The goal is to create an entire level that is actually designed to show off each of the major points of the presentation (marketing, design, art, tech). There was be a separate room for each topic.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZneKfLvbxjaQ2ukyMzW0af8QgdswlxTHU3ReDbfXxA1Qir7ykW-XTu4WTFKljNewwRW9xMpA9s64flhDuW_ylpk8bYbjZ6w3A5EbOMK0WPHwDGym_X8ijdc9dX9JBNwQHDqKOg1Hc598/s1600/Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZneKfLvbxjaQ2ukyMzW0af8QgdswlxTHU3ReDbfXxA1Qir7ykW-XTu4WTFKljNewwRW9xMpA9s64flhDuW_ylpk8bYbjZ6w3A5EbOMK0WPHwDGym_X8ijdc9dX9JBNwQHDqKOg1Hc598/s640/Map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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With how the system for importing assets now works, making an entire level from scratch is a relatively short process which will be made easier the more artwork is added. The plan is to create 5 levels by the time we have our final presentation, which is completely possible.</div>
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So far there are only 3 environmental assets, I can't wait to do more when more art comes in.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-76537837222271320692012-10-21T20:14:00.000-07:002012-10-21T20:14:08.550-07:00Busy Week!This has been an eventful week for me, so I don't have much time to really write out something well thought out.<br />
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Because we have the presentation this week in front of the other class, we've all been working hard on making a really nice level to play on and demonstrate our game. The team is treating this as our final presentation and everyone has been giving their best for the demo.<br />
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I've been polishing the level, making it look more cave-like with some of the assets our artist has given us. I must say that it's starting to look more like the concept art now that even a few basic rock formations are in it.<br />
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I really can't wait to see what else Margaret can put out for us to work with. I've also been adding some sounds to the game as well as the game systems document.</div>
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It's our goal to challenge for stage 3 next week, so we're giving everything our top efforts.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-10699015101046713842012-10-14T10:08:00.000-07:002012-10-14T10:08:03.660-07:00Level Designing!Now that we've passed Stage One, I can really start focusing on one of my favorite things in game designing, level designing.<br />
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There are a few directions I've been trying with level design to make the world we're creating not only feel huge and exploratory but offer unique challenges to the players. Like any good level, they should teach players as they play and give a clear sense of direction to follow.<br />
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Here's one example I first made:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxJkQid3bc0BAyiyLOdiv_vcjLYOuK8xenSigXj7XKKiCpUjsqpVIFL4EasX1wbTW6xnNntumovNEkuGGSXfVXH8P1lZp1cwjza-yMp-yfBbaIBBBasr-zyjugBCTE1VCIOQATp2h2vk/s1600/level_01_Linear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxJkQid3bc0BAyiyLOdiv_vcjLYOuK8xenSigXj7XKKiCpUjsqpVIFL4EasX1wbTW6xnNntumovNEkuGGSXfVXH8P1lZp1cwjza-yMp-yfBbaIBBBasr-zyjugBCTE1VCIOQATp2h2vk/s400/level_01_Linear.jpg" width="335" /></a></div>
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The linear map keeps things simple for the player and breaks off into a choice at the end so that they can choose which path they want to take when progressing through the game. The problem is that while it has a clear path, it doesn't feel like the player was able to explore much. Therefore, I took the feedback from this design and applied it to the next idea.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7S9tSjhXxJERGMZOjrQT59JZDE6UIazOYi0hbsBdqZ86jGI9wLMybSCM7VXMEKwuDLDbfz_qMZbfnZDkGIz7nj8R9rObwHsiCddp8BVsz7Gz6blcVcobD6bADHSgtqCXmL3WzB5FUSo/s1600/level_01_TheHub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7S9tSjhXxJERGMZOjrQT59JZDE6UIazOYi0hbsBdqZ86jGI9wLMybSCM7VXMEKwuDLDbfz_qMZbfnZDkGIz7nj8R9rObwHsiCddp8BVsz7Gz6blcVcobD6bADHSgtqCXmL3WzB5FUSo/s400/level_01_TheHub.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
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The "Hub", as I called it, is a straight forward idea that combines the rooms with each other creating a real sense of exploration that the player can make use of. Each room is connected with some sort of path, meaning that sometimes the player can get lost, which was a slight problem with the design. I decided to come up with another style of levels which is what I feel like I'll be using in the future.</div>
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The style which I call "the Crucible" is similar to the Hub idea but differs in a key detail. Instead of confusingly connecting the rooms together, I offer the player a clear choice in the hallway on which direction they want to go in. Each separate room will be an example of what choice the player has in the next level, which might sound confusing but works very well with our map design.</div>
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Overall, I believe I will be using the crucible idea more when designing future levels as well as looking into offering players more choice in the middle of the maps.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-64914057057615545502012-10-02T18:34:00.004-07:002012-10-02T18:34:52.971-07:00The First Seminar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've never been the hugest fan of speeches for the same reason I didn't want to go to a school with huge lecture halls. In a university with a lecture hall, the teacher basically talks at you rather than recognizes and addressing you on a first name basis (which is probably why I like the classes at Champlain so much, because they don't do that). It's hard for the speaker to get in touch with you on a personal level.<br />
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I didn't think that the emergent speech was bad at all because it avoided those usual pitfalls by allowing people in the audience to actually ask questions in the middle of it that related to their own interests. That said, we were also forced to answer several questions related to the presentation. To make things difficult, I will do them in no particular order.</div>
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1.) When I hear about AAA companies in the industry, I think these big corporations without any real soul or creative idea in their system. It was refreshing to hear that according to the top employees, they were given relatively loose freedom over the project, especially considering how much of a hard core fan base Deus Ex has.</div>
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2.) I suppose if there was anything I was paying really close attention to during the presentation it was the way the speakers presented. We were challenging the next day, so it was interesting to see how both Mary and JF handled their powerpoint, giving themselves their own personalities and paying off on each other's flaws. It's something to consider for our final presentation in November.</div>
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3.) Besides the unique spin on how much creative freedom the two had in the Deus Ex project, my expectations for the people working under them were largely the same. These seemed like the head project manager and the people who would give the orders as opposed to someone like me who would probably work for them and carry out their requests with no real say in the matter, despite what they might have told the audience otherwise. It's impossible on a team so large to please every single person, as they said.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-82904704549437487512012-09-25T13:25:00.001-07:002012-09-25T13:25:49.550-07:00Improvements!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After speaking with the group all last week and meeting together several times over the course of the week I can safely say that I feel we're back on track with the project.<br />
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We got together and really planned out an idea I feel has a lot of merit and room for expansion.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12aBuWG4HWYvJ28lcF0m2atG2NTL8FCFERJ4EPIclQmPQRqbouBzpFCfQ-ZMoTvpIvsj5Zzi_wn9zo3IJgxSmO-1VJZfpQSpPNVEnLU9lPOMtj5GOEKJ2mOpv4J4qmSDM1bVjm-L1Si8/s1600/untitled.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12aBuWG4HWYvJ28lcF0m2atG2NTL8FCFERJ4EPIclQmPQRqbouBzpFCfQ-ZMoTvpIvsj5Zzi_wn9zo3IJgxSmO-1VJZfpQSpPNVEnLU9lPOMtj5GOEKJ2mOpv4J4qmSDM1bVjm-L1Si8/s320/untitled.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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What's next for now is to really focus on the core mechanic of our game idea and what makes it fun, the combat. For our system we have a unique setup where the player chooses which ability they enjoy the most, be it an ability that charges you forward or one that creates a bubble shield around you. However, they only get one ability per playthrough.</div>
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The catch is that the players can alter what that ability does through power ups found scattered around the map. This process is similar to games like Galaxia when pick ups from enemy ships would drop and change the way the player shot from their ship.</div>
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For example, if the player where to pick up a power up that changed their special ability to fire and they had the charge special ability, their charge would no longer knock any enemies back but would instead set enemies the player passed through on fire.</div>
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Obviously, this system is slightly vague and needs a bit more working out and testing, which is what this week is for. We plan on taking the game to the QA lab on Wednesday to get feedback from players.</div>
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The hope is to challenge Stage 1 next week. With a little effort I feel we can do it.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-63063867642184187002012-09-18T13:18:00.001-07:002012-09-18T13:18:21.418-07:00Week Four: Cracking Down<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If the presentation in class today has taught me anything, it's time to start focusing working as a group and more together a solid project. I feel like our group display was lacking and we really didn't have much to show this week, even though we were all working hard separately.<br />
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That might be the biggest problem with this group so far, we do things separately.<br />
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It's not that there's anything wrong with a group working on separate problems individually, but when communication becomes a lacking element things can lead to trouble. For example, I feel like the entire 11 page document I typed up last week feels somewhat like a waste of time because no one had mentioned to me it wasn't what we were looking for.</div>
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To combat this problem, I've decided this week to include myself as much as I can with other goings on in the group. When Steve starts programming stuff, I'll make it aware that I'm there to answer any questions he might have about what we're looking for in a prototype. If there's a designer issue, I'll work with AJ to tackle the problem together, much like we've already done with the System's Management paper we wrote after class.</div>
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Besides working on my communication, this week I'd like to prototype a new idea I had about an interesting FPS mechanic. Maybe it will prove interesting enough to crack down on.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-23143986265858082962012-09-11T21:04:00.003-07:002012-09-11T21:04:29.423-07:00Preparing for the Challenge<br />
This week we need to knuckle down and start getting ready to challenge so we can move forward. I don't know how I can say it anymore clearly.<br />
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Prototypes are going to be the primary focus this week and polishing them so that we have something we can show for the next class. Specifically, I'm shooting to work on the Cowboy game idea. According to my producer and artist, I need to focus more on the context. That means playing around with the story, goal, and setting somewhat into a coherent idea that makes sense to player and gives them purpose.<br />
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I was thinking about toying around with two ideas for a context. One was from an animation called Blackwater Gospel (see left picture), which focuses on a type of dark western with just a sense of black magic to it. The dark feeling and sharp animation was something that heavily appealed to the members of our team. With the sense of magic in the feeling, we can get away with confusing potholes in our twinstick shooter such as the question as why guns have unlimited ammo.<br />
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Another setting I was thinking about exploring was a futuristic cowboy feeling, similar to that in Cowboy Bebop (see right picture). A world set in the future grounded with western morals and way of life would be an interesting take and could offer unique classes for the twinstick shooter Cowboy game idea.<br />
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As stated above, my goals this week are working out the context and tweaking the prototype of the Cowboy game idea.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-8246028025836237842012-09-04T13:24:00.003-07:002012-09-04T13:24:55.792-07:00Week Two BeginningsThe second week is beginning with a bit of cowboys and Indians, literally.<br />
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<img height="320" src="http://www.moviesonline.ca/movie-gallery/albums/userpics//WretchedTeaserPoster.jpg" width="219" />
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After the relative success of the rogue-like prototype, I'm planning to dedicate the week to working on a new idea our team had over Skype. The concept revolves around combining elements from the twin stick shooter idea and our rogue-like idea using the gothic cowboy setting our artist thought up (see picture above).</div>
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What I came up with was a multiplayer game where the players play as a group of outlaws who have just robbed a bank and are trying to outrun the local posse. You get cornered in a town and have to fight them off to claim the money. The game uses traditional twin stick controls with classes and a third person view similar to Gauntlet or Diablo.</div>
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<img height="240" src="http://www.clowns4kids.com/images/arcadegauntlet1.jpg" width="320" /><img height="182" src="http://us.blizzard.com/_images/games/legacy/d15.jpg" width="320" />
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The catch is that at the end of the game, only one person can claim the money. Meaning players can have a choice to work with the other players for a time but risk being backstabbed halfway through the game. Alternatively, players can simply kill the competition before they can fight the posse, but risk being overwhelmed by the angry townsfolk.</div>
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This new idea seems like a lot of fun, I'll be posting more as I come up with the design documents for it.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5659435514455254019.post-66581901327709698262012-08-29T07:29:00.001-07:002012-08-29T07:29:30.608-07:00Starting Out<div style="text-align: left;">
So far our team has three big ideas for our capstone, I've currently been working on one of them as a prototype.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWK1OXiAvP412_RuZ7v0YylRQpB_NyXBBRckIHUAlo4pcWrnj0Im41-CjB73RW0d4FsbKMy1D5w6xq4-BfxiQvLAaRKqKC-fjFySSw6xZiWY69JGLWKdFrWWbXEwuVb1_DWn7THONS80/s1600/0828121202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWK1OXiAvP412_RuZ7v0YylRQpB_NyXBBRckIHUAlo4pcWrnj0Im41-CjB73RW0d4FsbKMy1D5w6xq4-BfxiQvLAaRKqKC-fjFySSw6xZiWY69JGLWKdFrWWbXEwuVb1_DWn7THONS80/s320/0828121202.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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After our first meeting in class face to face, we have a general idea of where we want to take each game and determined that we had three ideas we really wanted to work with. AJ wishes to create a Twin-Stick Shooter, much like the game Gauntlet. Margaret suggested an interesting game involving two players controlling a boat while hunting on a river for crocodiles.</div>
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As for me, I'm working on a rogue-like multiplayer game. A rogue game is by definition a game where the player explores dungeons usually filled with monsters or treasures. The best example of a real rogue game similar to the rogue game that I'm working is Binding of Isaac, an indie game created by Edmund McMillen.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeuQKgTmf1_SE4uPrAFmNYUml24J0Kq5LXconjKzEFHs6FmKopF7TfJjTIxAtXGsZlKnxqRENPJBlkbjFYE8QnukNQjegionKLkN_OBCuEWzF5JAwU0GO_eIqze1bv92LrAG8-vTTanc/s1600/1847565-the_binding_of_isaac_pc_1311672393_008_super.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeuQKgTmf1_SE4uPrAFmNYUml24J0Kq5LXconjKzEFHs6FmKopF7TfJjTIxAtXGsZlKnxqRENPJBlkbjFYE8QnukNQjegionKLkN_OBCuEWzF5JAwU0GO_eIqze1bv92LrAG8-vTTanc/s320/1847565-the_binding_of_isaac_pc_1311672393_008_super.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I hope to take some inspiration from this and create a game that isn't just intense but really focuses on trust mechanics between players.</div>
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It's just the first week though, more updates will surely follow.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03477578600017606313noreply@blogger.com0