HW 07

1) Is the space in your game discrete or continuous?

Continuous, the player is navigating a collapsing city trying to escape. That said, while the player has path options they are unable to go off of the route so to speak. 

2) How many dimensions does your space have? 

2D, the player can go backwards, forwards, left, and right within the space.

3) What are the boundaries of your space? 

Buildings and props that act like invisible walls to limit the free roaming of the player.

4) How many verbs do your players (characters) have? What are they? 

8 verbs: Run, Jump, Walk, Sneak, Hide, Shoot, Turn On, Turn Off, Check Phone/Map

5) How many objects can each verb act on? What are these objects? 

The player walks, runs, sneaks and jumps throughout the game space. Hiding is for walls, alleys, dumpsters, crates, etc. Shoot is for the gun the player picks up in the game, and turn on/off is for objects or lights you run into. Lastly, the game map and tutorial messages are from the player's phone, so if they bring it up they can check the map, refresh their mind on the controls, and see the latest "news" from within game. 

6) How many ways can players achieve their goals

The goal of the game is to survive and escape, and so far the plan is to give the player three to four possible escape routes of varying difficulty. However, the more subtle goal of the game is to see what kind of person the player is when presented with a catastrophic situation that they cannot control. My team is currently in talks about a scoring system based on your skills and decisions within the game, so being the best at surviving or other trophies would also be a player goal. 

7) How many subjects do the players control? What are these subjects? 

The only player is themselves/the camera. As the sole player they can use a gun or manipulate other objects, but outside of that the player cannot control anything in the game.

8) How do side effects change constraints. 

We are developing a part of the game that measures how quickly you move through the level without getting killed. If certain benchmarks aren't reached by a certain time/you don't interact with any NPCs you have paths blocked and you must find another way, perhaps more difficult then the once you were on. Therefore the side effect of time is the altering of the available "board".

9) What are the operative actions in your game? 

One- Move through the level and  Two- talk to NPCs (or not).

10) What are the resultant actions in your game? 

One- Depending on speed you could or could not take certain paths, Two- receive an item or directions from NPC that opens/closes a path, Three- talking too long to NPCs can be risky due to the mechanics of the monster, Four- any items received could be double edged swords (eg fire the gun you received to break a lock but the noise draws the monster over)

11) What actions would you like your players to do that they cannot presently do? (based on your current knowledge of Blender)

I would like them to have dialogues and interactions with NPCs, and it's not so much that this seems impossible, but the time constraints are a concern. Mostly we need to figure out how to create noise, light, and NPC thresholds so that when those elements are of a certain magnitude around the player the giant comes to kill them. Also, when the player does hide, we need to figure out some kind of way to measure the severity of their noise.movement so to give the player a small chance of surviving when they trigger the giant their way.

12) What is the ultimate goal of your game? 

The goal is to provide a stressful but fun stealth focused game that makes you question hero myths. In reality we aren't all great gunsmen or superheroes, so most times the greatest achievement is survival. Also, if we can fully develop the NPC aspect, I want the player to question what they did to survive and whether or not those choices were morally right.

13) Are there short and long term goals? What are they? 

Short term goals:

Long term goals:

14) How do you plan to make the game goals known and understood by the player? 

Informational "text messages" will appear as the player gets through the game, informing them of where to go and what is happening within the city. As for the main goal, the player will be promptly told at the start of the game by a text that "all authorities strongly advise the residents to escape the city". With the minor side quests I want them to be more take them or leave them. While I may have a couple texts along the lines of "police request all able citizens to help survivors", since this is a game very much about the players immediate  and instinctual choices, I don''t want to cram those options down their throat. 

15) What are the foundational rules of your game? 

The player needs to escape the city by keeping noise, light, and NPC's in their area below a certain threshold. The player can hide in the dark silently to lower the respective meters so they will not get caught.

16) How are these rules enforced? 

If there is too much of any one of these elements the giant will come, and if the character doesn't hide in time they will be killed.

17) Does your game develop real skills? What are they? 

The game develops sensitivity and awareness. The player needs to be constantly aware of their surroundings and cognizant of the ever present danger, as well as items or people that may help the giant to find them if they are not careful. 

18) Does your game develop virtual skills? What are they? 

Reaction time, if the player hides quickly enough and stays silent they have a chance of surviving if the giant has nearly found them.

TEAM WORK FOR THE WEEK:

Organized and ran the team meeting. Assigned tasks and goals for the team to fulfill in the next few weeks. Began illustrating the poster for the game.