HW 06 - Gabby's unsuccessful quest to add and remove objects (because actuators are awful)

I have created a basic environment, made of buildings I downloaded from blendswap, to practice the near and add/delete properties in. While I was unsuccessful at adding or deleting any objects, I was able to one, cause collisions between two moving objects, and two, demonstrate the near sensor. The camera also follows the gun, and the player can use the left and right arrows to move forwards and backwards in the city. As for application in the game, this is primarily to practice how the player can influence their environment and navigate through the game structures. 

The model is, once again, in the Team One folder under models. Please let me know how to directly link, because I don't know how to currently.

Homework 05

I have created a basic shuffleboard game to practice physics in the blender game engine. The goal is to keep the objects on the board as long as possible while keeping it constantly moving. While this isn't going to be a gameplay feature that the player will use, the environment WILL shift/shake and throw obstacles at the player in the actual game.
The blender file can be found on Team 1's Google Drive (I couldn't find a way to directly link to it in the blog, any advice welcome on how to do that).

1) These objects will be mostly decor for our modern landscape, save the revolver which will be used by the player. When the monster is near the ground will shake, causing any loose objects to shudder and leap around.
2) It creates suspense for the player, while making controls more difficult to control and providing flying obstacles to avoid. 
3) The simple game I've made is a basic shuffleboard where  the goal is to keep the objects on it for as long as possible. An extended and more difficult version would have the player on the shuffle board that they are controlling. You would have to fight to survive the environment that you are creating, adding a fun twist to the game.

HW 03 - A tale of much frustration

So for my objects I downloaded a phone, a revolver, and a parking lot. The idea was to play with the controls of the items like the player would use them, flipping the phone over, lifting the revolver, etc. Figuring this was a simple task, I finished some more pressing deadlines before getting to this tonight. Needless to say things did not go as planned. The revolver was a complex object and when I parented the parts it would fly into the air for no reason. The parking lot plane did not stop objects from floating through it even when static, and so the phone and a random element from the parking lot blend file was all I could get to work. I made a new floor out of a cube and did some basic controls, but nothing near where I wanted them to be. Is there a way to make the reactions to keys far less finicky? I feel like if I could get some more control I would be able to make these objects work more realistically. In any case, the blend file is on it's way to the TA now. Hopefully next time I can put together something that isn't so disappointing.

HW 04 - Readings

Chapter 2

• Forgetting about the game, think about your player. What are the experience(s) you want your player to have?

• What are the essential element(s) of that experience. 

• Suggest a few ways your game might capture those experiences.

a) I want the player to experience themselves through a lens that they may not have considered in the past. It's easy to play disaster games when you feel like you can do something about the Great Evil (be it killing zombies or finding a cure, etc.) But in real life we are not great marksmen, guns aren't lying around, and when something cataclysmic happens we don't have super powers to stop it. I want the player to feel human, vulnerable, and terrified. They should want to survive no matter the cost, but I want them to analyse what that cost was after they finish the game.

b) Essential elements are the feeling of smallness and insignificance, a constantly chaotic environment, and a fast pace driven by immediate threats.

c) Immediate and constant danger can be made with elements such as collapsing buildings, antagonistic NPCs, and the threat of being discovered by the giant if you are not stealthy enough. Also, The level design will make the player feel small next to the city buildings and tiny next to the giant that towers over them. 

Chapter 3

• Discuss a few ways in which you might include surprise in your game

• How will your game be fun? 

• Discuss the goals of your game (as it stands now).

• State your thoughts on how you will make the player attached to your game, or motivated to play the game. 

• What problems do you expect the players to solve in your game? 

a) The NPC enemies, sidequests, and the final sight of the giant provide a lot of surprise for the player. Also when lights or radios randomly start blaring the player has to find them and break them quickly lest the giant come. This will shock and motivate the player to move quickly.

b) Like a roller coaster it will be scary and fun at the same time. The thrill of narrowly avoiding death and making difficult decisions will entertain the player.

c) The goal of the game is to answer (as well as a game can, allowing for people who behave entirely differently in game environments) how do you act when something terrible happens, or more essentially, what kind of person are you when it's do or die. Other goals are to inspire a feeling of "awesomeness" as with the original definition of the word. The giant should feel insurmountable, massive, and majestic, and the collapsing environment beautiful and terrible. The player ideally will feel terror and wonder at the same time. While The limits of the class will significantly draw back on our ability to make the game incredibly aesthetic, I hope with our demo we can still inspire some of that feeling.

d) The player will be motivated by the idea of surviving despite the odds. The core value of survival in human nature combined with the internalized perception that only the most "fit" survive will push the player further into the game to prove to themselves and their friends that they are cunning enough to beat the game. 

e) The player will face stealth challenges (navigating the map around the giant), avoiding ANY damage (your HP will be practically nonexistent), search and destroy challenges (finding and destroying things that bring the giant closer), and moral dilemmas (sidequests - As you go to escape you will run into people you can either help or leave, and your actions will determine the end of the game). 

HW 02 - Team Meeting 01

1) When and where did you meet? 

5:30pm // Shores Building : Goldstein Library

2) What did you discuss?

Game concept- Giant of Death and Destruction

Setting: Modern City

Paragon/Renegade game choice

Character Available items:

Phone - Map, end of game time limit, occasional news broadcasts

Gun

Flashlight

Knife

Levels:

Level 1 - North Side of the River

Level 2 - South Side of the River

Level 3 - Suburbs

Things the Giant are drawn to-

Noise

Light

Attacking

+3 NPC in area

3) Did you take notes? Why? Why not?

Yes, because this game is so complex there would be no way to remember everything.

4) Did you transfer the contents of the discussion to the computer?

I typed up the notes on my computer during the meeting.

5) Did you discuss the game document?

Yes, I will be managing it mostly with Gaurav and Harish sending me information.

6) Did you pick a team leader. Why? Who is it? 

No team leader, but an oligarchy-

Story and Art/game doc- Gabby 

Level design and Miniquests/programming 1- Harish 

Sound and music/programming 2 - Gaurav

7) Please describe briefly some initial ideas regarding the game you plan on developing.

Attack on Titan + Shadow of the Colossus + Survival Stealth Mechanics
You wake up in a pile of rubble, feeling a faint, rhythmic shaking. You look up and see a giant walking away in the distance, leaving total destruction behind. The goal of the game is to make it across the city to the town gate without being detected by the giant roaming around. You need health packets for when you get hit with debris, and the louder you are the more likely a giant is to come by. The more people/noises that are around also means higher odds of a giant coming. If you get within line of sight of a giant you have to immediately hide or be crushed.  As the giant roams more rubble forms, giving more cover, but also destroying any items which may have been in that house.
Visually this game should be as atmospheric as possible, making the viewer feel tiny compared to the scale of the giant. Clouds, dust, rubble, and destruction would need to be animated in great detail. Music would be mostly non-existent, using sound effects to evoke desolation.

8) State on your blog the contributions you, the individual, made towards the team game in the last week.

Thought of story concept/took notes

My Overall Game task list-

Make CGI Giant

Cinematics (4)

Game Document

Poster and Production Art