https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dg3npbw4_0gn9szrg4
UPDATE: Now includes a map of keyboard controls, a mock-up of DS box art, and overhead and side views of a map of the house.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tetris Appraisal and High Score
Screengrab of High Score:
Student Name -- Evan Elden Eller
Game Title Examined -- Tetris
Game Developer -- Alexei Pajitnov
Type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?) -- a flat 2D rectangle, basically a "well"
Perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character. -- side-view of 2D well of falling blocks
Student Name -- Evan Elden Eller
Today’s Date -- 10/29/2010
Game Title Examined -- Tetris
Year of Publication -- originally developed for the PC in 1984, released on the Game Boy in 1989
Game Publisher -- Nintendo, Atari, EA, etc.
Game Developer -- Alexei Pajitnov
Game Genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero) -- puzzle
Type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?) -- a flat 2D rectangle, basically a "well"
Perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character. -- side-view of 2D well of falling blocks
Gameplay – what does the player have to do? -- The player has to organize falling blocks into lines. By maximizing the efficiency of the storage (not leaving "air bubbles"), you make the blocks disappear. You organize them to delete them, and they fall down forever, and this gets faster and faster.
Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe. -- Well all you can do is rotate and move the blocks around, so I think you'd discover the goal pretty quickly without instructions.
Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?) -- Random. The blocks appear in a random order every time.
What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published? -- Originally the graphics were basically ASCII characters, and then solid colors without outlines. The IMB Pajitnov used was definitely very limiting by today's standards. But I believe Tetris has withstood the test of time, especially with its music.
Describe your views about the game from the point of view of
- ease of play -- It's very easy to learn, definitely a "pick up and play" title for anybody.
- enjoyability -- It's very enjoyable, but in the later stages it requires so much focus that it becomes very hard work.
c. level of engagement/immersion -- All the way immersed. This game sucks me in and puts me in the zone, and it's hard to stop playing. But then, the only thing harder than stopping... is continuing.
Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when? -- I played this game in 1989 when it came out with the Game Boy. I've probably played it every year since, either on the Game Boy, NES, SNES, web browsers, phones, the DS, or the Wii.
Describe other games it reminds you of. How does it do this? -- Tetris doesn't remind me of anything else. But any other game that has falling blocks of any kind reminds me of Tetris. These include Dr. Mario, Puyo Puyo, Lumines, Meteos, or the official Tetris clones like Hatris and Wordtris.
Notes on the Tetris Effect -- I do believe "the Tetris Effect" is real, and by that I mean that I do believe that Tetris has beneficial effects. I'm not exactly sure what they are, but I think that playing Tetris makes me use certain parts of my brain that I don't use too often, and it makes me focus very hard on using them for a very long time, so I just assume that it's a healthy exercise.
After playing Tetris for a long period of time, I usually start feeling relaxed as I get "in the zone." But if I play Tetris for over an hour, or I play it right before I go to sleep, I WILL have Tetris dreams. It never fails.
Friday, October 22, 2010
My Highest Donkey Kong Score: 72,200
This is the greatest Donkey Kong score I've ever achieved. The NES version is much easier than the arcade version, since it removes the pie factory level with the conveyor belts.
If this was accomplished on a real NES instead of a browser-based emulator, and it was videotaped and verified, it would be the 12th highest NES score at Twin Galaxies. (As of now the 12th place is only 44,300.)
Friday, October 15, 2010
Halo 3: Map and Responses to Scott Rogers
The Sierra 117 map of Halo 3 is mostly confined in very narrow hallways, comprised of thin ravines and a few caves. The map opens up at a few points to allow for firefights, but it immediately returns to cramped, claustrophobic caverns. This limits freedom and mobility, but you always know exactly where to go, and there are always small clusters of enemies in front of you to guide you. Later in the level, a helicopter is shot down in front of you, crashing just beyond a mountain. This was the level's only weenie.
Enhanced Weenies and encountering player movement -- The only large visual element that motivates the player is the helicopter crash. This happens directly in front of you, motivating you to find the crash site and see if there are any survivors.
Using lighting to encourage player movement -- It is very dark in the caverns, but there are small cracks that let sunlight through. These cracks are strategically placed to allow the sunlight to act as a spotlight, guiding the player towards the way back out.
Presented Path vs. Exploration -- The only room for exploration was on the coast on the upper left corner of the map. There were some rocks you could jump around on by the ocean, and this is where we found a small golden skull. Other than this, the whole map was thin and linear.
Warning/Foreshadowing -- The large enemy located towards the bottom of the map rips apart a fellow human right in front of you. This is a warning that up ahead things aren't going so well for the humans, and your help is needed. This leads into the helicopter crash that happens in front of you.
Map and Discovered Information -- At one point you find some alien weapons, showing that they've been starting to set up a base here, and stocking up on weapons for a big fight.
The Clear Path Out -- The lighting in the caverns showed a clear path out.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Map and Responses to Scott Rogers
This first level takes place in a forested area complete with mountain ridges. The goal of the game is to secure an informant who is positioned at the upper left hand building. Starting from the bottom right, the player climbs a small hill and is able to see a radio tower of some sort. The player is inclined to wind around the mountain trail to approach this weenie. From this point, the player has a vantage point over the rest of the level. The player rappels down a wall and continues onto the building from this point. Several other weenies include the cobblestone bridge near the beginning, the 'Kodak moment' on the ridge, and a smaller radio tower at the end of the level where a chopper extracts the player from the level. For the most part, the player is able to find his/her way by following members of the squad of soldiers and gunning down enemies. Most of the beginning is shaded and shadowy, whereas the player moves onto a more open area with more lighting as he/she approaches the end of the level. There is almost no variation in mobility; most of the level is linear with the exception of the end, where the player may navigate around several blown up cars, buildings, haystacks, and crates.
What the heck are Weenies? -- Large visual elements used to draw you into or around a particular space. In Modern Warfare, the tutorial stage and the first level have no weenies, but the second stage includes a very large power station in the distance.
Using lighting to encourage player movement -- In the second stage, there are many small houses, and only a few have lights on. These lights let you know which houses have enemies in them, and you sneak up and take them out.
Presented Path vs. Exploration -- This level does allow some exploration, as it doesn't keep you trapped in a small cavern. But your freedom to explore is still limited by a rather small playing field.
The Power of the Path - the illusion of Freedom -- It makes you feel like you can run and explore anywhere you want, but you're supposed to be following your teammates and finding the enemies.
Moral Story Telling -- You can't shoot "the good guys."
King of Kong Quiz
1. Mitchell is unabashedly cocky and fond of self promotion, proclaiming himself the "Sauce King" of Florida for his successful line of homemade hot sauces. Next to his family, Mitchell considers his arcade scores his greatest achievements in life. How typical are these types of values and attitudes among 'core' gamers and how important is it to understand these values if you are a game designer? What *are* these values, exactly?
I don't think these values are the same for everybody, but the way I see them is an appreciation for competitive gaming, and a thirst for competitive gaming. The typical game player might see a game like Pac-Man, try it a few times, and then ask their friends "Hey how far did you get? Did you get the fruit? Did you eat a ghost?" But a "core" gamer would say "What was your score? How fast did you get there? How long can you go without dying? I bet I can beat you." I think that's the main difference anyway, and once core gamers feel like that they start paying attention to all sorts of details. They compare achievements and trophies, they do speedruns, they play games on harder difficulties to challenge themselves, etc. They're always seeking a greater challenge and better competition.
I think it's important to understand these values to design games, not because core gamers are the biggest audience, but because when they love a game, they'll play it a million times and share it with all their friends so they can compete against each other.
2. Steve Wiebe has been laid off as a Boeing engineer, and now spends his time as a science teacher. His friends and his wife, Nicole, describe him as a tragic figure who always comes up short, despite being proficient at music, sports, art, and mathematics. Is Weibe's 'tragic' aspect typical of core gaming 'types'? What role does self esteem (high or low) play in the culture of hard core gaming and such subcultures as competitive vintage or 'classic' game playing? How would you best describe the relationship between low self-esteem and videogame mastery?
I don't think low self-esteem and video game mastery are related. I think those aspects of Steve Wiebe are just great character development for a tragic hero vs. an evil nemesis story. I think the "tragic" qualities of Wiebe and the "evil" of Mitchell were both horribly exaggerated for the sake of the film's narrative. If anything I think that being successful at video games or successfully finding friends in a video game community improve the self-esteem of gamers.
3. Despite Wiebe's protests that his own first score was disqualified for being submitted via unsupervised videotape, Twin Galaxies accepts Mitchell's score over Wiebe's and proclaims that Mitchell is still the record holder. How valid do you think videotaped gameplay should be in establishing videogame playing records? If valid, why? If not valid, why not?
I think videotaped gameplay should be accepted across the board or disqualified across the board. I think their reasoning for discounting Wiebe's score was just a petty conspiracy theory.
I do think gameplay videos should be counted because not everybody can make it to a live event at a Funspot or somewhere like that. Allowing videos to be mailed in allows Twin Galaxies to get scores from all around the world, raising the stakes and the competition.
4. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, wondering "Who would have guessed that a documentary about gamers obsessed with scoring a world record at Donkey Kong would not only be roaringly funny but serve as a metaphor for the decline of Western civilization?" What do you think of the film? Is it an accurate portrayal of what makes videogames so compelling for those who play them?
I enjoyed the film, but I think Travers is really giving gaming the short end of the stick with that comment. There are documentaries about several other niche hobbies, such as Civil War reenactment groups, expensive animal funerals, or stamp collecting, and I don't think any of those are metaphors for the decline of Western civilization. People have always liked weird things, but gaming isn't even weird anymore. It's the world's most profitable entertainment medium.
5. On November 10, 1981, Walter Day opened an arcade in Ottumwa, Iowa called Twin Galaxies. Though it was a modest arcade of merely 22 arcade games, it soon became known as the International Scorekeeper for the burgeoning video game industry. Under Day's direction, Twin Galaxies set rules for gameplay on hundreds of games, while maintaining a records database of competitive high scores. Twin Galaxies is considered by gaming historians as being the first organizer of professional gaming, putting competitive electronic gaming on the world map. How important do you think organizations like Twin Galaxies are in the vintage arcade gaming community? Could such communities exist without such organizations? What role does Twin Galaxies play ultimately, and why is this significant to the film and its story?
I think Twin Galaxies is very important. Walter Day told us it was important, and we were all suckers, so we believed him, and now it's important because almost everybody trusts it. I think successful gaming communities can and do exist without such organizations, but I think Twin Galaxies has done the industry a great service by becoming a trusted scorekeeping database. Now they're even in the Guinness Book of World Records, trusted by the world, and it's still just Walter and some friends.
6. The film depicts Wiebe's skill at Donkey Kong being linked to his ability to deeply understand the title's game mechanics, particularly the way that rhythm and timing work to ensure a successful outcome. The film in one scene compared his love of drumming and his abilities at basketball as well as his musical talent as part and parcel of his gift at playing Donkey Kong. How would you best describe this set of inter-related skills? Have you experienced anything like this yourself when playing games? Have you been able to associate the skill of playing games with similar related skills and talents and how would you best describe the nature of this set of inter-relationships between skills/passions/abilities?
I think a sense of rhythm is very important and beneficial to becoming a good gamer. Even when games don't seem to be based on rhythm, they always are. In any particular game, there is the amount of time it takes your finger to press the button, and the amount of time it takes for the action to occur, and a good player will master the timing and start to play the game as if it's an instrument. I definitely think learning how to play music has improved my gaming, and that my gaming has improved my musical abilities as well.
7. In the film, Wiebe, while playing the game says hello to Mitchell. Mitchell didn't respond. As he's walking away from Wiebe, Mitchell says, "There's certain people I don't want to spend too much time with." Mitchell offered no explanation for his behavior towards Wiebe but did later explain that at the time of filming, he had not played video games for "more than a year", and that the filmmakers had not given him enough advance warning to train for a public record-breaking attempt. Seth Gordon, the film's Director, in referring to Mitchell's character says that Mitchell "is a true puppet-master", "a master of information-control". What do you think Gordon means by this? What role does such behavior play in general terms in videogame culture?
I don't think such behavior really plays a role in the overall "videogame culture." I just think that in this instance, Mitchell was intentionally being rude and then intentionally downplaying it later. He's definitely a master of information control, as shown in the scene where he gives a video tape of his new high score to a woman to deliver to Walter Day at Funspot in front of Steve Wiebe.
8. What did you think of the film? Is it really only about the game "Donkey Kong" and those who seek to hold the highest score or is it really about something more?
I think the film is definitely about more than Donkey Kong. It's about people's drive to succeed against all odds, even at their family's expense. You've got the world's greatest classic gamer, whose wife has never even seen him play, competing against a guy whose wife and kids are begging to stop. And the way the story is told, you end up rooting for the guy who's tearing his family apart.
9. Have you ever played "Donkey Kong"? What was your memory of playing it? Where were you, when was it?
Donkey Kong was one of the first games I ever played on the NES growing up. I was probably 4 or 5 at the time. When I started playing games in the 80s there were already a few dozen good platformers out as it was quickly becoming the dominant genre. I was playing games like Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, Metroid, Kid Icarus, and Castlevania, but Donkey Kong was still one of my favorites. I didn't know at the time that it really started the whole genre and was still one of the best.
I don't think these values are the same for everybody, but the way I see them is an appreciation for competitive gaming, and a thirst for competitive gaming. The typical game player might see a game like Pac-Man, try it a few times, and then ask their friends "Hey how far did you get? Did you get the fruit? Did you eat a ghost?" But a "core" gamer would say "What was your score? How fast did you get there? How long can you go without dying? I bet I can beat you." I think that's the main difference anyway, and once core gamers feel like that they start paying attention to all sorts of details. They compare achievements and trophies, they do speedruns, they play games on harder difficulties to challenge themselves, etc. They're always seeking a greater challenge and better competition.
I think it's important to understand these values to design games, not because core gamers are the biggest audience, but because when they love a game, they'll play it a million times and share it with all their friends so they can compete against each other.
2. Steve Wiebe has been laid off as a Boeing engineer, and now spends his time as a science teacher. His friends and his wife, Nicole, describe him as a tragic figure who always comes up short, despite being proficient at music, sports, art, and mathematics. Is Weibe's 'tragic' aspect typical of core gaming 'types'? What role does self esteem (high or low) play in the culture of hard core gaming and such subcultures as competitive vintage or 'classic' game playing? How would you best describe the relationship between low self-esteem and videogame mastery?
I don't think low self-esteem and video game mastery are related. I think those aspects of Steve Wiebe are just great character development for a tragic hero vs. an evil nemesis story. I think the "tragic" qualities of Wiebe and the "evil" of Mitchell were both horribly exaggerated for the sake of the film's narrative. If anything I think that being successful at video games or successfully finding friends in a video game community improve the self-esteem of gamers.
3. Despite Wiebe's protests that his own first score was disqualified for being submitted via unsupervised videotape, Twin Galaxies accepts Mitchell's score over Wiebe's and proclaims that Mitchell is still the record holder. How valid do you think videotaped gameplay should be in establishing videogame playing records? If valid, why? If not valid, why not?
I think videotaped gameplay should be accepted across the board or disqualified across the board. I think their reasoning for discounting Wiebe's score was just a petty conspiracy theory.
I do think gameplay videos should be counted because not everybody can make it to a live event at a Funspot or somewhere like that. Allowing videos to be mailed in allows Twin Galaxies to get scores from all around the world, raising the stakes and the competition.
4. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, wondering "Who would have guessed that a documentary about gamers obsessed with scoring a world record at Donkey Kong would not only be roaringly funny but serve as a metaphor for the decline of Western civilization?" What do you think of the film? Is it an accurate portrayal of what makes videogames so compelling for those who play them?
I enjoyed the film, but I think Travers is really giving gaming the short end of the stick with that comment. There are documentaries about several other niche hobbies, such as Civil War reenactment groups, expensive animal funerals, or stamp collecting, and I don't think any of those are metaphors for the decline of Western civilization. People have always liked weird things, but gaming isn't even weird anymore. It's the world's most profitable entertainment medium.
5. On November 10, 1981, Walter Day opened an arcade in Ottumwa, Iowa called Twin Galaxies. Though it was a modest arcade of merely 22 arcade games, it soon became known as the International Scorekeeper for the burgeoning video game industry. Under Day's direction, Twin Galaxies set rules for gameplay on hundreds of games, while maintaining a records database of competitive high scores. Twin Galaxies is considered by gaming historians as being the first organizer of professional gaming, putting competitive electronic gaming on the world map. How important do you think organizations like Twin Galaxies are in the vintage arcade gaming community? Could such communities exist without such organizations? What role does Twin Galaxies play ultimately, and why is this significant to the film and its story?
I think Twin Galaxies is very important. Walter Day told us it was important, and we were all suckers, so we believed him, and now it's important because almost everybody trusts it. I think successful gaming communities can and do exist without such organizations, but I think Twin Galaxies has done the industry a great service by becoming a trusted scorekeeping database. Now they're even in the Guinness Book of World Records, trusted by the world, and it's still just Walter and some friends.
6. The film depicts Wiebe's skill at Donkey Kong being linked to his ability to deeply understand the title's game mechanics, particularly the way that rhythm and timing work to ensure a successful outcome. The film in one scene compared his love of drumming and his abilities at basketball as well as his musical talent as part and parcel of his gift at playing Donkey Kong. How would you best describe this set of inter-related skills? Have you experienced anything like this yourself when playing games? Have you been able to associate the skill of playing games with similar related skills and talents and how would you best describe the nature of this set of inter-relationships between skills/passions/abilities?
I think a sense of rhythm is very important and beneficial to becoming a good gamer. Even when games don't seem to be based on rhythm, they always are. In any particular game, there is the amount of time it takes your finger to press the button, and the amount of time it takes for the action to occur, and a good player will master the timing and start to play the game as if it's an instrument. I definitely think learning how to play music has improved my gaming, and that my gaming has improved my musical abilities as well.
7. In the film, Wiebe, while playing the game says hello to Mitchell. Mitchell didn't respond. As he's walking away from Wiebe, Mitchell says, "There's certain people I don't want to spend too much time with." Mitchell offered no explanation for his behavior towards Wiebe but did later explain that at the time of filming, he had not played video games for "more than a year", and that the filmmakers had not given him enough advance warning to train for a public record-breaking attempt. Seth Gordon, the film's Director, in referring to Mitchell's character says that Mitchell "is a true puppet-master", "a master of information-control". What do you think Gordon means by this? What role does such behavior play in general terms in videogame culture?
I don't think such behavior really plays a role in the overall "videogame culture." I just think that in this instance, Mitchell was intentionally being rude and then intentionally downplaying it later. He's definitely a master of information control, as shown in the scene where he gives a video tape of his new high score to a woman to deliver to Walter Day at Funspot in front of Steve Wiebe.
8. What did you think of the film? Is it really only about the game "Donkey Kong" and those who seek to hold the highest score or is it really about something more?
I think the film is definitely about more than Donkey Kong. It's about people's drive to succeed against all odds, even at their family's expense. You've got the world's greatest classic gamer, whose wife has never even seen him play, competing against a guy whose wife and kids are begging to stop. And the way the story is told, you end up rooting for the guy who's tearing his family apart.
9. Have you ever played "Donkey Kong"? What was your memory of playing it? Where were you, when was it?
Donkey Kong was one of the first games I ever played on the NES growing up. I was probably 4 or 5 at the time. When I started playing games in the 80s there were already a few dozen good platformers out as it was quickly becoming the dominant genre. I was playing games like Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, Metroid, Kid Icarus, and Castlevania, but Donkey Kong was still one of my favorites. I didn't know at the time that it really started the whole genre and was still one of the best.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Grand Theft Auto 4 Appraisal
Student Name: Evan Elden Eller
Today's Date: 10/01/2010
Game Title Examined: Grand Theft Auto IV
Year of Publication: 2008
Game Publisher: Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive
Game Developer: Rockstar North
Game Genre: Third-person adventure/shooter, "sandbox"
Type of game "world" or environment: 3D world
Perspective taken by player: third person, but it can be changed to first person when operating a vehicle
Gameplay: Walking, running, stealing cars, driving, moving from location to location to talk to people and receive different missions, mostly involving chasing, escaping, finding and killing an enemy, or moving things from location to location.
Is the gameplay intuitive? Not at all. You just kind of walk around and do whatever you want, and there are too many buttons. The buttons also do different things if you're in a car or on foot, so you have to pause the game and read the controls a few times.
Is the gameplay patterned? The missions will be the same missions in the same places in the same order. However, the city is constantly changing, with random traffic and random pedestrians getting in your way. The police will also be in random areas, and they can try to stop you if they witness you doing something illegal.
Today's Date: 10/01/2010
Game Title Examined: Grand Theft Auto IV
Year of Publication: 2008
Game Publisher: Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive
Game Developer: Rockstar North
Game Genre: Third-person adventure/shooter, "sandbox"
Type of game "world" or environment: 3D world
Perspective taken by player: third person, but it can be changed to first person when operating a vehicle
Gameplay: Walking, running, stealing cars, driving, moving from location to location to talk to people and receive different missions, mostly involving chasing, escaping, finding and killing an enemy, or moving things from location to location.
Is the gameplay intuitive? Not at all. You just kind of walk around and do whatever you want, and there are too many buttons. The buttons also do different things if you're in a car or on foot, so you have to pause the game and read the controls a few times.
Is the gameplay patterned? The missions will be the same missions in the same places in the same order. However, the city is constantly changing, with random traffic and random pedestrians getting in your way. The police will also be in random areas, and they can try to stop you if they witness you doing something illegal.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Pinball
Here are three online pinball games. For each I will show a screenshot of the board, a picture of the board with the key elements of the playfield highlighted, and then a picture of just the elements over a black background. For each of these I will be using this color key:
First I played Rat'N'Roll.
Next I played Pepsi Pinball.
Then I played Short Circuit Pinball.
First I played Rat'N'Roll.
Next I played Pepsi Pinball.
Then I played Short Circuit Pinball.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Us Versus It Rules
Robot info:
10 HP
7 action points, (6 under 7 HP, 5 under 4 HP)
Robot Action List:
Laser
Rotate
Rotate
Mine
Move
Move
Fist
Laser
Trigger: every turn
Damage: 0, 0, 0, 2, 1, 1, 1.
Rotate
Trigger: If attacked, turn towards attacker, if not attacked or under 4 hit points, turn towards goal.
Mine
Trigger: If under 7 HP, and there are no other mines on the board, drop a mine.
Damage: 1 on all squares, 3 on epicenter.
Move
Trigger: Every turn.
Fist
Trigger: Every turn.
Damage: 2 in front or diagonally in front, 0 if directly behind, 1 everywhere else.
Tank info:
4 HP
2 action points
Max speed 2 (1 under 3 HP)
10 HP
7 action points, (6 under 7 HP, 5 under 4 HP)
Robot Action List:
Laser
Rotate
Rotate
Mine
Move
Move
Fist
Laser
Trigger: every turn
Damage: 0, 0, 0, 2, 1, 1, 1.
Rotate
Trigger: If attacked, turn towards attacker, if not attacked or under 4 hit points, turn towards goal.
Mine
Trigger: If under 7 HP, and there are no other mines on the board, drop a mine.
Damage: 1 on all squares, 3 on epicenter.
Move
Trigger: Every turn.
Fist
Trigger: Every turn.
Damage: 2 in front or diagonally in front, 0 if directly behind, 1 everywhere else.
Tank info:
4 HP
2 action points
Max speed 2 (1 under 3 HP)
Friday, September 10, 2010
Game Proposal with Two Diagrams
Title: I Want to Smell Everything! (tentative)
Target Audience: 5-13 year old boys and girls, and pet enthusiasts of all ages.
Gameplay mode: Single player.
Platform: Web browser. If popular, it can be developed further into a downloadable title for DSiWare, iPhone, XBLA, PSN, WiiWare, Steam, etc.
Camera mode: 2D side-scroller.
Genre: Action platformer with some puzzle elements.
Characters: The player controls either a small kitten or puppy. Other characters include the pet’s owner, human neighbors, and other cats or dogs in the neighborhood.
High concept statement: It is a 2D sidescrolling platformer in which you play as a kitten or a puppy, and the goal of the game is to smell as many things as possible in your house, yard, and/or neighborhood, before your owner finds out that you snuck out of the house.
Gameplay: The game will consist of exploring a 2D environment by walking, running, and jumping around, and smelling everything you can. In addition to moving the player character around, the two main commands will be jumping and sniffing. The smells will be represented visually by “smell lines,” like those in a comic book.
There will be three types of smells, 1, 2, and 3. All 3 types are shown (and labeled 1, 2, and 3) in the attached picture Diagram A.
Diagram A:
Smell 1) The first type of smell is the stationary smell. These smells will stay in one place, and you will have to find them, walk right up to them, and press the smell button.
Examples are: a bowl of pet food, human dinner, a tree, catnip, or another animal. If you find any of these, you’ll need to walk up to them and smell them. The smell lines will be visibly emanating from the objects, but they will be short lines that don’t move too far from the source.
Smell 2) The second type of smell is the hidden stationary smell. These smells will also stay in one place, but they will need to be “switched on” in some way. This might be a sealed jar of cookies. The player can’t smell the contents of the jar, but knows there’s a good smell in there. If the player can break the jar open (by pushing things around to create a staircase, or by bumping into the shelf hard enough to make the jar fall off), a new stationary smell will come out.
Smell 3) The third type of smell is the moving smell. These will be represented by much longer smell lines that move by very fast. These smells quickly pass the character on the wind. They may come from an open window, an open door, a fan, or an air conditioner. The player will quickly want to press the smell button while catching these in his or her nose. For some of these the player will have to jump and press the smell button in the air at the right moment. (This mid-air smell technique is shown in the attached picture, Diagram B.)
Diagram B:
The different smells will have different point values, with the highest point values being reserved for the fastest moving smells and some of the hardest to find hidden smells.
A walkthrough of the game:
Intro: The game will begin with a small intro cartoon. The player will first decide to play as a kitten or a puppy. The game begins with the owner leaving the house to run some errands. Now alone, the pet gets excited, jumps into the air, and proclaims “I WANT TO SMELL EVERYTHING!” It will be very campy, with a flashy rainbow background appearing just for this line of dialogue. Then the game begins.
The game: A timer will countdown from three minutes in the corner of the screen. This is the amount of time the player has before the owner finds them and brings them back home. The player will wander around the house looking for smells.
Eventually the player will find a way out of the house and wander around the yard. Some more houses in the neighborhood will have entrances. Some areas will only be available to cats (who can climb trees), while others will only be available to dogs (who can dig under fences or swim across a pool).
If the player finds all the hidden smells in one area (such as the pet’s house or the pet’s yard), the player will receive a large amount of bonus points, plus a treat to show that they’ve completed an area.
Players will encounter some other characters in the game. Some humans and animals will be friendly, while others will be aggressive. Friendly humans may offer a snack or try to pet you, while friendly animals may let you sniff them if you let them sniff you in return. Some animals may let you follow them home, where they have some of their own smelly toys and food. Aggressive humans may try to chase you out of their house with a broom, while aggressive animals may refuse to let you pass a certain path, or chase you out of a certain area.
The player will have a few other commands that are mostly useless, such as rolling over, playing dead, barking, whimpering, growling, yelping, meowing, purring, hissing, digging, wagging one’s tail, and rolling over. The player might just play around with all the sound effects for fun, but they also might find uses for some of them at certain points in the game. For example, choosing to do the right “cute pet moves” in front of an aggressive human might calm them down. This will allow the player to pass, and find some more hidden smells. However, if you break a jar to get a smell out in front of a human, they’ll probably chase you outside after that. So the player should try to get the easy smells first, before breaking any valuables.
The end: After three minutes of exploring and smell-collecting, no matter where the player is, the owner will appear. The owner will say “Oh that’s where you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” and take the pet home. Once home, there will be another short cartoon. The player will fall asleep really fast after its adventure, and a little dream bubble will appear. With a smile on his/her face, the pet will dream about all the smells it smelled on its adventure. This “dream” will be the high score, and it will quickly tally all the smells, the % of smells collected in each area, and the total score. The player will then be able to submit their score to the leaderboards, and then choose to play again as the same animal, or choose to play again as the other animal. As they have access to different areas, there will be separate high score leaderboards for cat players and dog players.
Target Audience: 5-13 year old boys and girls, and pet enthusiasts of all ages.
Gameplay mode: Single player.
Platform: Web browser. If popular, it can be developed further into a downloadable title for DSiWare, iPhone, XBLA, PSN, WiiWare, Steam, etc.
Camera mode: 2D side-scroller.
Genre: Action platformer with some puzzle elements.
Characters: The player controls either a small kitten or puppy. Other characters include the pet’s owner, human neighbors, and other cats or dogs in the neighborhood.
High concept statement: It is a 2D sidescrolling platformer in which you play as a kitten or a puppy, and the goal of the game is to smell as many things as possible in your house, yard, and/or neighborhood, before your owner finds out that you snuck out of the house.
Gameplay: The game will consist of exploring a 2D environment by walking, running, and jumping around, and smelling everything you can. In addition to moving the player character around, the two main commands will be jumping and sniffing. The smells will be represented visually by “smell lines,” like those in a comic book.
There will be three types of smells, 1, 2, and 3. All 3 types are shown (and labeled 1, 2, and 3) in the attached picture Diagram A.
Diagram A:
Smell 1) The first type of smell is the stationary smell. These smells will stay in one place, and you will have to find them, walk right up to them, and press the smell button.
Examples are: a bowl of pet food, human dinner, a tree, catnip, or another animal. If you find any of these, you’ll need to walk up to them and smell them. The smell lines will be visibly emanating from the objects, but they will be short lines that don’t move too far from the source.
Smell 2) The second type of smell is the hidden stationary smell. These smells will also stay in one place, but they will need to be “switched on” in some way. This might be a sealed jar of cookies. The player can’t smell the contents of the jar, but knows there’s a good smell in there. If the player can break the jar open (by pushing things around to create a staircase, or by bumping into the shelf hard enough to make the jar fall off), a new stationary smell will come out.
Smell 3) The third type of smell is the moving smell. These will be represented by much longer smell lines that move by very fast. These smells quickly pass the character on the wind. They may come from an open window, an open door, a fan, or an air conditioner. The player will quickly want to press the smell button while catching these in his or her nose. For some of these the player will have to jump and press the smell button in the air at the right moment. (This mid-air smell technique is shown in the attached picture, Diagram B.)
Diagram B:
The different smells will have different point values, with the highest point values being reserved for the fastest moving smells and some of the hardest to find hidden smells.
A walkthrough of the game:
Intro: The game will begin with a small intro cartoon. The player will first decide to play as a kitten or a puppy. The game begins with the owner leaving the house to run some errands. Now alone, the pet gets excited, jumps into the air, and proclaims “I WANT TO SMELL EVERYTHING!” It will be very campy, with a flashy rainbow background appearing just for this line of dialogue. Then the game begins.
The game: A timer will countdown from three minutes in the corner of the screen. This is the amount of time the player has before the owner finds them and brings them back home. The player will wander around the house looking for smells.
Eventually the player will find a way out of the house and wander around the yard. Some more houses in the neighborhood will have entrances. Some areas will only be available to cats (who can climb trees), while others will only be available to dogs (who can dig under fences or swim across a pool).
If the player finds all the hidden smells in one area (such as the pet’s house or the pet’s yard), the player will receive a large amount of bonus points, plus a treat to show that they’ve completed an area.
Players will encounter some other characters in the game. Some humans and animals will be friendly, while others will be aggressive. Friendly humans may offer a snack or try to pet you, while friendly animals may let you sniff them if you let them sniff you in return. Some animals may let you follow them home, where they have some of their own smelly toys and food. Aggressive humans may try to chase you out of their house with a broom, while aggressive animals may refuse to let you pass a certain path, or chase you out of a certain area.
The player will have a few other commands that are mostly useless, such as rolling over, playing dead, barking, whimpering, growling, yelping, meowing, purring, hissing, digging, wagging one’s tail, and rolling over. The player might just play around with all the sound effects for fun, but they also might find uses for some of them at certain points in the game. For example, choosing to do the right “cute pet moves” in front of an aggressive human might calm them down. This will allow the player to pass, and find some more hidden smells. However, if you break a jar to get a smell out in front of a human, they’ll probably chase you outside after that. So the player should try to get the easy smells first, before breaking any valuables.
The end: After three minutes of exploring and smell-collecting, no matter where the player is, the owner will appear. The owner will say “Oh that’s where you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” and take the pet home. Once home, there will be another short cartoon. The player will fall asleep really fast after its adventure, and a little dream bubble will appear. With a smile on his/her face, the pet will dream about all the smells it smelled on its adventure. This “dream” will be the high score, and it will quickly tally all the smells, the % of smells collected in each area, and the total score. The player will then be able to submit their score to the leaderboards, and then choose to play again as the same animal, or choose to play again as the other animal. As they have access to different areas, there will be separate high score leaderboards for cat players and dog players.
Friday, September 3, 2010
09/03 Game Concept: "OMG I'm in Hell!"
Title: OMG I'm in Hell!
Genre: Survival Horror.
Gameplay: Running and hiding.
Visuals: Taken from medieval portrayals of hell, by Michelangelo and Bosch, as well as a monster from Doom.
Music: Audio from the "Sounds of Hell" hoax from the late 1980s, and "Sense of Doubt" by David Bowie, 1977.
Characters: You play as your soul, trying to hide from its inevitable judgment and torture.
How to win: The only way to avoid your torture is to take Satan's place as the king of the underworld. But you have to hide for long enough, and sneak into Hell deep enough to find out how.
How to lose: Get caught by any demon.
Cue music:
Your soul is being transported to hell. In the confusion, you escape...
You sneak throughout the hellscape...
A giant demon approaches!
You have to hide in a pile of dead bodies:
Then you sneak further, and hide inside a giant demon as it travels around (cue new music):
You're safe inside for a while, but he only takes you deeper into Hell, where things are even more dangerous, and there are more demons around. You find a demon eating souls and excreting them deeper into the next level of Hell. You have to sneak behind him and climb deeper into the hole yourself.
The game continues in this fashion until you are either caught and tortured forever, or you find your way to the heart of Hell and can take Satan's place.
Genre: Survival Horror.
Gameplay: Running and hiding.
Visuals: Taken from medieval portrayals of hell, by Michelangelo and Bosch, as well as a monster from Doom.
Music: Audio from the "Sounds of Hell" hoax from the late 1980s, and "Sense of Doubt" by David Bowie, 1977.
Characters: You play as your soul, trying to hide from its inevitable judgment and torture.
How to win: The only way to avoid your torture is to take Satan's place as the king of the underworld. But you have to hide for long enough, and sneak into Hell deep enough to find out how.
How to lose: Get caught by any demon.
Cue music:
Your soul is being transported to hell. In the confusion, you escape...
You sneak throughout the hellscape...
A giant demon approaches!
You have to hide in a pile of dead bodies:
Then you sneak further, and hide inside a giant demon as it travels around (cue new music):
You're safe inside for a while, but he only takes you deeper into Hell, where things are even more dangerous, and there are more demons around. You find a demon eating souls and excreting them deeper into the next level of Hell. You have to sneak behind him and climb deeper into the hole yourself.
The game continues in this fashion until you are either caught and tortured forever, or you find your way to the heart of Hell and can take Satan's place.
09/03 Game Concept: "I Want to Smell Everything"
1) Write a high concept statement: a few sentences that give a general flavor of the game. You can make references to other games, movies, book, or any other media if your game contains simlar characters actions or ideas.
It is a 2D sidescrolling platformer in which you play as a cat or a dog, and the goal of the game is to smell as many things as possible in your town before your owner finds out that you snuck out of the house.
2) What is the player’s role? Is the player pretending to be someone or something, and if so what? Is there more than one? How does the player’s role help to define the gameplay?
The player controls a cat or a dog. There is only one player, and they are represented by a cartoon cat or dog. Just like a real pet, the pet's primary action will be sniffing, which is what the gameplay's all about.
3) Does the game have an avatar or other key character? Describe him/her/it
Other key characters will be other animals or people that you run into. Some will be friends and some will be enemies. A friendly human may give you a small bowl of milk or a treat, and an enemy human may chase you away with a broom. Friendly animals may lead you to a new smell (or stand still so you can smell them while they smell you), and enemy animals may bark to defend an area, or try to fight you, scare you, or chase you away.
4) What is the nature of the gameplay, in general terms? What kinds of challenges will the player face? What kinds of actions will the player take to overcome them?
The core gameplay is running and jumping around in a 2D platforming environment. The challenges will be locating smells, and smelling them. Smells will be represented by colorful lines "wafting" across the screen. Depending on the smell, they might quickly fly by like the wind, or slowly emanate from something with comic book-styled "stink lines."
If there is a jar of doggy biscuits high up in a pantry, the player may try to push some boxes around to form a makeshift staircase, or try to bump the pantry really hard several times to knock the jar over. Once broken, many smell lines will come out of the jar, and the player will press their "sniff button" to sniff them in for points.
Other smells might quickly blow in through the window and be harder to catch. These lines will move much faster and be harder to reach. A player may have to jump and press their "sniff button" in mid-air, just as they reach the height of the smell lines.
The harder the smell is to reach, the more points it will be worth. To represent the frantic existence of a pet, some areas will have 5 or 10 smells at a time, and the player will feel the animal's sense of panic and frustration as they rush to decide which smells are "more important," or in this game, "worth more points."
5) What is the player’s interaction model? Omnipresent? Through an avatar? Something else? Some combination?
The player's interaction model is through the avatar, but slightly omnipresent due to the camera angle. While a small animal might not be able to see what is on top of the refrigerator, the player will. Then the player may try to find a way to climb up there so the animal-avatar can smell whatever is up there.
6) What is the game’s primary camera model? How will the player view the game’s world on the screen? Will there be more than one perspective?
The game's primary camera model is a 2-dimensional side view. This will be the only perspective.
7) Does the game fall into an existing genre? If so, which one?
The genre is 2-D platforming, and is mainly based on collecting things (the smells), and solving some basic physics puzzles to reach some of them.
8) Is the game competitive, cooperative, team-based or single player? If multiple players are allowed are they using the same machine with separate controls or different machines over a network?
The game is single player.
9) Why would anyone want to play this game? Who is the game’s target audience? What characteristics distinguish them from the mass of players in general?
Hopefully this game will be popular with children and pet enthusiasts. While the game's primary goal will be collecting smells, it can also have some other pet jokes. A cat player will be able to meow, purr, yelp, whine, stretch, wag its tail, or roll around, and a dog player will be able to bark, growl, whimper, play dead, or wag its tail. While seemingly thrown in just as jokes, many of these commands will end up having hidden uses. For example, wagging your tail at an angry human might melt their heart, at which point they'd go "awww that's so cute," and maybe give you a snack or let you pass without trying to hit you with a broom. Or barking/growling might help scare off a scary enemy animal (but not all of them, many will need to be avoided and passed in other ways).
10) What machine or machines is the game intended to run on? Can it make use of or will it require any particular hardware such as dance mats or a camera?
The game is intended as a browser game that can be played with a keyboard. Arrow keys will move left and right, up will jump, and all the other actions can be set to various keys.
11) What is the game’s setting? Where does it take place?
The game starts in the owner's house. The owner leaves, and the pet is left alone. The pet can then find one of several ways to escape the house, and then explore the garden, and sneak into many other neighbors' houses and various stores around the town.
12) Will the game be broken into levels? What might be the victory condition for a typical level?
It won't be broken into levels in the traditional sense, but each area may have its own goal. If the player is able to find all the smells in an area, they may get a decent amount of bonus points, and a treat. If they are able to find some secret smells in a hidden area, they can get even more points.
13) Does the game have a narrative or story as it goes along? Summarize the plot in a sentence or two.
The story will be that the animal is trying to smell as many smells as it can. When the owner leaves, the game will start with a small cartoon of the animal jumping in the air and saying "I want to smell EVERYTHING!" with a flashy rainbow behind it. Then the game starts. After 3 minutes, no matter where the player is, the owner will appear and say "There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" and you will be taken home. Then another short cartoon will play, showing the animal really tired and going back to sleep, dreaming about all the amazing new smells it smelled that day. (At this point, all the smells will come by and this will be the high score screen.)
It is a 2D sidescrolling platformer in which you play as a cat or a dog, and the goal of the game is to smell as many things as possible in your town before your owner finds out that you snuck out of the house.
2) What is the player’s role? Is the player pretending to be someone or something, and if so what? Is there more than one? How does the player’s role help to define the gameplay?
The player controls a cat or a dog. There is only one player, and they are represented by a cartoon cat or dog. Just like a real pet, the pet's primary action will be sniffing, which is what the gameplay's all about.
3) Does the game have an avatar or other key character? Describe him/her/it
Other key characters will be other animals or people that you run into. Some will be friends and some will be enemies. A friendly human may give you a small bowl of milk or a treat, and an enemy human may chase you away with a broom. Friendly animals may lead you to a new smell (or stand still so you can smell them while they smell you), and enemy animals may bark to defend an area, or try to fight you, scare you, or chase you away.
4) What is the nature of the gameplay, in general terms? What kinds of challenges will the player face? What kinds of actions will the player take to overcome them?
The core gameplay is running and jumping around in a 2D platforming environment. The challenges will be locating smells, and smelling them. Smells will be represented by colorful lines "wafting" across the screen. Depending on the smell, they might quickly fly by like the wind, or slowly emanate from something with comic book-styled "stink lines."
If there is a jar of doggy biscuits high up in a pantry, the player may try to push some boxes around to form a makeshift staircase, or try to bump the pantry really hard several times to knock the jar over. Once broken, many smell lines will come out of the jar, and the player will press their "sniff button" to sniff them in for points.
Other smells might quickly blow in through the window and be harder to catch. These lines will move much faster and be harder to reach. A player may have to jump and press their "sniff button" in mid-air, just as they reach the height of the smell lines.
The harder the smell is to reach, the more points it will be worth. To represent the frantic existence of a pet, some areas will have 5 or 10 smells at a time, and the player will feel the animal's sense of panic and frustration as they rush to decide which smells are "more important," or in this game, "worth more points."
5) What is the player’s interaction model? Omnipresent? Through an avatar? Something else? Some combination?
The player's interaction model is through the avatar, but slightly omnipresent due to the camera angle. While a small animal might not be able to see what is on top of the refrigerator, the player will. Then the player may try to find a way to climb up there so the animal-avatar can smell whatever is up there.
6) What is the game’s primary camera model? How will the player view the game’s world on the screen? Will there be more than one perspective?
The game's primary camera model is a 2-dimensional side view. This will be the only perspective.
7) Does the game fall into an existing genre? If so, which one?
The genre is 2-D platforming, and is mainly based on collecting things (the smells), and solving some basic physics puzzles to reach some of them.
8) Is the game competitive, cooperative, team-based or single player? If multiple players are allowed are they using the same machine with separate controls or different machines over a network?
The game is single player.
9) Why would anyone want to play this game? Who is the game’s target audience? What characteristics distinguish them from the mass of players in general?
Hopefully this game will be popular with children and pet enthusiasts. While the game's primary goal will be collecting smells, it can also have some other pet jokes. A cat player will be able to meow, purr, yelp, whine, stretch, wag its tail, or roll around, and a dog player will be able to bark, growl, whimper, play dead, or wag its tail. While seemingly thrown in just as jokes, many of these commands will end up having hidden uses. For example, wagging your tail at an angry human might melt their heart, at which point they'd go "awww that's so cute," and maybe give you a snack or let you pass without trying to hit you with a broom. Or barking/growling might help scare off a scary enemy animal (but not all of them, many will need to be avoided and passed in other ways).
10) What machine or machines is the game intended to run on? Can it make use of or will it require any particular hardware such as dance mats or a camera?
The game is intended as a browser game that can be played with a keyboard. Arrow keys will move left and right, up will jump, and all the other actions can be set to various keys.
11) What is the game’s setting? Where does it take place?
The game starts in the owner's house. The owner leaves, and the pet is left alone. The pet can then find one of several ways to escape the house, and then explore the garden, and sneak into many other neighbors' houses and various stores around the town.
12) Will the game be broken into levels? What might be the victory condition for a typical level?
It won't be broken into levels in the traditional sense, but each area may have its own goal. If the player is able to find all the smells in an area, they may get a decent amount of bonus points, and a treat. If they are able to find some secret smells in a hidden area, they can get even more points.
13) Does the game have a narrative or story as it goes along? Summarize the plot in a sentence or two.
The story will be that the animal is trying to smell as many smells as it can. When the owner leaves, the game will start with a small cartoon of the animal jumping in the air and saying "I want to smell EVERYTHING!" with a flashy rainbow behind it. Then the game starts. After 3 minutes, no matter where the player is, the owner will appear and say "There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" and you will be taken home. Then another short cartoon will play, showing the animal really tired and going back to sleep, dreaming about all the amazing new smells it smelled that day. (At this point, all the smells will come by and this will be the high score screen.)
Co-op Chess Game: Serf Escape!
For our co-op version of chess, Lily and I designed a 3 player game called Serf Escape! Two players team up against one. One player controls all the pawns, representing the serfs that are trying to escape their servitude. One player controls all the knights, and his or her partner controls all the bishops, representing the king's army and the pope's army, respectively.
The starting position of the three players is thus:
The bishops and knights will move as they regularly do in chess. The front row of pawns is able to move 2 spaces forward or 2 spaces diagonally (either forward-left or forward-right, but not backwards. The back row of pawns is able to move 3 spaces forward or 3 spaces diagonally (also either forward-left or forward-right, but not backwards).
The serf player moves a pawn, then the royal army moves a knight.
Then the serf player moves a pawn, and the pope's army moves a bishop.
Play continues in this fashion.
The team of 2 tries to kill all the pawns to win. The serf team tries to escape to the edge of the board. However, pawns can not kill knights or bishops. They are too weak. But when they reach the edge of the board, they can be promoted to a rook. If it was the 2-space-moving pawn, it will become a rook that can move any number of spaces vertically or horizontally, and up to 2 spaces in any diagonal direction. If it was the 3-space-moving pawn, it will become a rook that can move any number of spaces vertically or horizontally, and up to 3 spaces in any diagonal direction.
At this point, the rook can kill off knights and bishops to try to make room for more of the pawns to escape and get promoted. The early game will start heavily favoring the knight-and-bishop team, but as the pawn team gets 1 or more rooks the game will heavily favor them, although they may not have too many pieces left at this point.
The winner will be the team that kills off all the other players pieces.
The starting position of the three players is thus:
The bishops and knights will move as they regularly do in chess. The front row of pawns is able to move 2 spaces forward or 2 spaces diagonally (either forward-left or forward-right, but not backwards. The back row of pawns is able to move 3 spaces forward or 3 spaces diagonally (also either forward-left or forward-right, but not backwards).
The serf player moves a pawn, then the royal army moves a knight.
Then the serf player moves a pawn, and the pope's army moves a bishop.
Play continues in this fashion.
The team of 2 tries to kill all the pawns to win. The serf team tries to escape to the edge of the board. However, pawns can not kill knights or bishops. They are too weak. But when they reach the edge of the board, they can be promoted to a rook. If it was the 2-space-moving pawn, it will become a rook that can move any number of spaces vertically or horizontally, and up to 2 spaces in any diagonal direction. If it was the 3-space-moving pawn, it will become a rook that can move any number of spaces vertically or horizontally, and up to 3 spaces in any diagonal direction.
At this point, the rook can kill off knights and bishops to try to make room for more of the pawns to escape and get promoted. The early game will start heavily favoring the knight-and-bishop team, but as the pawn team gets 1 or more rooks the game will heavily favor them, although they may not have too many pieces left at this point.
The winner will be the team that kills off all the other players pieces.
The Experimental Gameplay Project
http://experimentalgameplay.com/
The Experimental Gameplay Project is a website that gives game design challenges once a month. Each person has a week to make a game that meets the criteria. For September the theme is "neverending games," August's was "zero buttons," and other months have included themes like "10 second games" or "ART GAMES." Each month they get about 20-40 finished games, and many are playable in a browser. Others are usually PC only, but some are available on PC and Mac.
It's a great resource for tons of new indie games if you just want to browse and play them, but it's also a great inspiration for brainstorming about crazy game ideas that meet awkward challenges.
The Experimental Gameplay Project is a website that gives game design challenges once a month. Each person has a week to make a game that meets the criteria. For September the theme is "neverending games," August's was "zero buttons," and other months have included themes like "10 second games" or "ART GAMES." Each month they get about 20-40 finished games, and many are playable in a browser. Others are usually PC only, but some are available on PC and Mac.
It's a great resource for tons of new indie games if you just want to browse and play them, but it's also a great inspiration for brainstorming about crazy game ideas that meet awkward challenges.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Cartoon Network Game Creator Notes
Answer the following questions on a separate text file:
A) What options are available to you as a 'game designer'?
I can choose a background, select one of four characters, select one of four goals, and design the area with walls, platforms, enemies, traps, and power-ups.
B) How are these options provided?
They are provided as a six-step process, but you can go back to earlier steps to change them.
C) What types of elements are provided for you to use to 'build' the game?
You have a 2-D grid, 20 squares wide by 13 tall, in which you can place any of the level’s elements. They are split into 4 categories: walls and floors, objects, hazards, and environment.
D) What limits are set on the level of the game play able to be customized?
You can’t switch the actual gameplay itself from running, jumping, and attacking, you can’t switch the camera angle from a 2-D sideview, you can’t make a bigger or smaller level, and you can’t create new goals or objects.
E) What does the process of using these game creators teach about the notion of the 'difficulty and achievement' balance? Explain using an example from your research.
Well at first I didn’t realize that only one injury would destroy my hero, so all my levels were too hard. Then I tried to place all the enemies in one area, and put an invincibility power-up nearby. So while at first they appeared really scary and difficult, and could shoot you from very far away, you could become invincible, defeat them all at once, grab all the orbs, and escape. Hopefully another player would feel a sense of achievement when pulling that off.
A) What options are available to you as a 'game designer'?
I can choose a background, select one of four characters, select one of four goals, and design the area with walls, platforms, enemies, traps, and power-ups.
B) How are these options provided?
They are provided as a six-step process, but you can go back to earlier steps to change them.
C) What types of elements are provided for you to use to 'build' the game?
You have a 2-D grid, 20 squares wide by 13 tall, in which you can place any of the level’s elements. They are split into 4 categories: walls and floors, objects, hazards, and environment.
D) What limits are set on the level of the game play able to be customized?
You can’t switch the actual gameplay itself from running, jumping, and attacking, you can’t switch the camera angle from a 2-D sideview, you can’t make a bigger or smaller level, and you can’t create new goals or objects.
E) What does the process of using these game creators teach about the notion of the 'difficulty and achievement' balance? Explain using an example from your research.
Well at first I didn’t realize that only one injury would destroy my hero, so all my levels were too hard. Then I tried to place all the enemies in one area, and put an invincibility power-up nearby. So while at first they appeared really scary and difficult, and could shoot you from very far away, you could become invincible, defeat them all at once, grab all the orbs, and escape. Hopefully another player would feel a sense of achievement when pulling that off.
Interesting News from Gamasutra
Gamaustra recently reported that Nintendo now owns the developer Nd Cube, the developers of the new Wii game, Wii Party. I thought this was interesting because Nintendo never owned Hudson (they're owned by Konami), and Hudson made all the Mario Party games. The Mario Party games came out almost every year, and there were three on the Nintendo 64 and four on the GameCube. However, there was only one on the Wii, Mario Party 8, in 2007. Even though it was the most successful game of the entire franchise, there hasn't been a Mario Party on a console since.
Then Nd Cube recently released Wii Party in Japan, basically picking up the torch but using Miis instead of characters from the Mario series. Now Nintendo has bought the whole developer, and then a few members of the Mario Party team at Hudson quit Hudson to join Nd Cube. So now Nintendo completely owns a company that has devs from both Mario Party and Wii Party, basically making the ultimate casual party board game team. I don't usually expect such a niche genre to have an all-star development team like that.
Then Nd Cube recently released Wii Party in Japan, basically picking up the torch but using Miis instead of characters from the Mario series. Now Nintendo has bought the whole developer, and then a few members of the Mario Party team at Hudson quit Hudson to join Nd Cube. So now Nintendo completely owns a company that has devs from both Mario Party and Wii Party, basically making the ultimate casual party board game team. I don't usually expect such a niche genre to have an all-star development team like that.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Video Game Cultural Studies Evaluation
VIDEOGAME CULTURAL STUDIES EVALUATION
TITLE -- Tempest
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
rail shooter or tube shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Level 6
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
The stages are in a patterned order with a fixed pattern of enemies per stage, but within each stage the enemies appear in random places each time.
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Tempest uses vector graphics, a style created on the fly out of lines, rather than compiling bitmapped images that already exist. Vector graphics were first used in 1977 in the game Space Wars. Tempest has a cult following and has been seen in TV shows such as Silver Spoons and American Dad, and films such as Night of the Comet.
TITLE -- Centipede
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
Fixed shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
19000 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Centipede was created by Ed Logg (the creator of Asteroids and Gauntlet) and Donna Bailey, one of the only female game designers at the time. It was also the first coin-operated arcade game to have a significant female fanbase.
TITLE – Asteroids Deluxe
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
Multi-directional shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball, fire button, and shield button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
19,660 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Asteroids Deluxe was created only a year after Asteroids, to satisfy the demand of the fans. Asteroids was huge, and everybody wanted a more difficult version.
TITLE -- Adventure
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1979
GENRE
Action-adventure
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Atari VCS controller, with one joystick and one button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
I beat the easiest mode!
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
Patterned. It will have the same maze with the same dragons every time. However, one of the dragons may roam around randomly.
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Atari wouldn’t credit its games creators at the time, so Adventure’s designer, Warren Robinett, hid a secret message in the game: “Created by Warren Robinett.” This is arguably the first Easter Egg hidden in a video game. It was also the first game that let you collect multiple items and swap which one you’re using at any time.
TITLE – BattleZone
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
First-person shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Two joysticks, one for moving forward and backward, one for turning left and right, and a fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Only 9000 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
A version was created to help the military in training. Some developers refused to work on the game due to its association with the army, including the game’s original designer, Ed Robert, who only came on board after the management promised him he’d never have to work with the military again.
TITLE – Missile Command
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
Strategy/shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Level 4 or so
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Missile Command was so popular the arcade machine was still making more money than its competition in the mid-1990s. It’s also a great example of the nuclear apocalypse paranoia that had engrossed popular culture at the time.
TITLE – Pong
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1972
GENRE
Sports (top-down view of table tennis)
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
One rotating knob
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
I can win a match by reaching 10 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random, either against a computer or a human opponent
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Pong was Atari's first game, and years later it got them sued by Ralph Baer.
TITLE -- Tempest
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
rail shooter or tube shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Level 6
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
The stages are in a patterned order with a fixed pattern of enemies per stage, but within each stage the enemies appear in random places each time.
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Tempest uses vector graphics, a style created on the fly out of lines, rather than compiling bitmapped images that already exist. Vector graphics were first used in 1977 in the game Space Wars. Tempest has a cult following and has been seen in TV shows such as Silver Spoons and American Dad, and films such as Night of the Comet.
TITLE -- Centipede
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
Fixed shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
19000 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Centipede was created by Ed Logg (the creator of Asteroids and Gauntlet) and Donna Bailey, one of the only female game designers at the time. It was also the first coin-operated arcade game to have a significant female fanbase.
TITLE – Asteroids Deluxe
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
Multi-directional shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball, fire button, and shield button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
19,660 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Asteroids Deluxe was created only a year after Asteroids, to satisfy the demand of the fans. Asteroids was huge, and everybody wanted a more difficult version.
TITLE -- Adventure
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1979
GENRE
Action-adventure
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Atari VCS controller, with one joystick and one button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
I beat the easiest mode!
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
Patterned. It will have the same maze with the same dragons every time. However, one of the dragons may roam around randomly.
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Atari wouldn’t credit its games creators at the time, so Adventure’s designer, Warren Robinett, hid a secret message in the game: “Created by Warren Robinett.” This is arguably the first Easter Egg hidden in a video game. It was also the first game that let you collect multiple items and swap which one you’re using at any time.
TITLE – BattleZone
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
First-person shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Two joysticks, one for moving forward and backward, one for turning left and right, and a fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Only 9000 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
A version was created to help the military in training. Some developers refused to work on the game due to its association with the army, including the game’s original designer, Ed Robert, who only came on board after the management promised him he’d never have to work with the military again.
TITLE – Missile Command
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1980
GENRE
Strategy/shooter
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
Trackball and fire button
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
Level 4 or so
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Missile Command was so popular the arcade machine was still making more money than its competition in the mid-1990s. It’s also a great example of the nuclear apocalypse paranoia that had engrossed popular culture at the time.
TITLE – Pong
YEAR OF PUBLICATION/RELEASE
1972
GENRE
Sports (top-down view of table tennis)
USER INTERFACE OF ORIGINAL GAME - JOYSTICK & BUTTON COMBO
One rotating knob
HOW LONG CAN YOU PLAY BEFORE BEING DEFEATED?
I can win a match by reaching 10 points
IS GAMEPLAY PATTERNED OR RANDOM?
random, either against a computer or a human opponent
PUBLISHER/MANUFACTURER?
Atari Inc.
ONE PIECE OF HISTORY FROM DOT EATERS ABOUT THIS GAME:
Pong was Atari's first game, and years later it got them sued by Ralph Baer.
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