Here’s the result of my 6 week mini project for the simulated client brief.
Rubbish Pile! A short game that was produced to be used to support a public information campaign about recycling. It’s an alright play I guess…
Please leave your player feedback in the comments link below…I was going to post up the final version of my recycle game this evening (minus the menu and game over screens) but the more I work on it, the more I progress and develop. So for now I’m still 'tinkering'… oh and in relation to my last post, I’m going with the double fall areas. Much better!
I’ve just finished my end of week stint at GS so I’ve been pre-occupied for the last three days earning coin, i'm shattered (wuss) seems to always be my excuse for not posting progress updates more often. tut.
On the research front my PRP is coming along... s… l… o… w… l…y… nothing new to report. That’s all for now, I’m going to bed... Zzzzzz…
I haven’t been posting here as regular as maybe I should have, but I feel that I have some excuses for my absence. My new part-time job for one, is taking up three full days a week, its games related… but I’m working in the retail sector of the industry (and no it’s not at GAME!)
I also have to hold up my hands at this point and say that I’ve been focusing too much of my study time on the six week mini client project (recycling game), which is going strong none-the-less with just over one week till the deadline. EEK!
I’m basically down to two test versions of the game, which I plan to present at this Thursday nights games session, then gather feedback and make a decision on which to go with from there. Then I can spend the last week tweaking the modifiers and mechanics, and also wrap up whatever art there is left to do. No audio by the way, there's no time...
One thing to note, the dumper truck ability that I was raving on about a couple of posts back has been dropped, mainly to save on time, which is 'kind of lame' but also because the rubbish pile is now moved back down when an item is recycled... the simple alternative. The versions posted here are not final...
Double Fall Version (below)
The result of not being able to think up a variable name quick enough... chuckle, chuckle. How sad and GEEK!
Here is a snap shot of my last Flash creation (Duck Pond) which is currently on display at NTU’s Game Art Exhibition. W00T!
Here is an updated screen shot of my currently un-named recycling game, ready for tomorrow evenings three minuet presentation...
Take note of the addition of the dumper trucks, when used one will drive along the bottom of the screen and remove a layer of built up waste, but first they need to be earnt by levelling up. I’m planning on just showing this screen and then talking about the game and the project plans and schedules, I’ve also written out a list of points that I need to hit, I’ll leave the rest down to holding my nerve.
To kick off the client project side of my final year I have been given a short six week ‘simulated’ client brief - “Produce a piece of Multimedia that can be used to support a public information campaign”. I have been given four subjects to choose between...
1. Climate change, 2. Sexual health, 3. Sustainability, 4. Healthy living
The following are three of my initial concepts. The idea is to keep the games simple and ‘do-able’ due to the short project duration, six weeks! The game also has to carry the intended message in a clear and universal way.
This video (sourced from YouTube) is a mini game from Bully SE Edition.
As you can see from the game-play video it’s a jumped-up version of Operation. With my design twist added I feel this concept could be excellent for conveying the message of healthy living… or even sexual health (Ewww!)
This idea is based around one small section of SimCity, the Monthly Budget screen. You play the City Mayor, making decisions on all the important aspects from tax rates to education and health funding… plus more.
The aim of the game is to balance your funding to sustain a happy population. The game system is basically a giant calculator. Simple.
A Tetris style, click and drag game, based around Nottingham City Council’s recent recycling campaign; see HERE for my original post.
My blog seems to have turned into a review / preview site over the summer, this is the last of it though due to Uni being just around the corner... back to business!
I think this game looks very FRESH. Think of it as PacMan meets Google Earth... with Zombies! Really makes me want a PS3.
* Apologies for the low-res quality, HD version HERE...
This writer got me rolling with AS2 last year, so I thought I’d read through his AS3 games update…
Desktop TD is my kind of game. I discovered it when reading a Gamasurta article: The Lone Coder. Which I found to be a motivating read.
Anyway’s… check out the Flash game Desktop Tower Defense, it’s such an addictive play! Below is a screen shot, the background photo is ace, I love the low rent visuals. It’s all in the coding and game design, that’s where the effort has clearly been focused.
Desktop TD designer Paul Preece - handdrawngames.com
Here’s an interesting episode of 'Start / Select' from GameSpot
I’m still mulling over the different routes that I could go down with my upcoming 3rd year client project, but I’m still on the fence, so to speak, when it’s comes to making a decision. (Maybe some tutor guidance / advice might be of help… hint, hint!)
No offence to basically ALL past game students on my course, but I don’t fancy going for the Unreal map / level option. This seems to be the only type of project I’ve seen produced in recent years from NTU games students. Some of them where top notch maps, don’t get me wrong, but still… YAWN!
There are also other reasons why I’m less tempted to pursue the UT route, except avoiding the norm, as just pointed out…
My 3D skills are basic; I can navigate my way around 3DSM (version 8+) comfortably, but when it comes to complex modelling and all the other cool animation jazz, I’m not cut out for it, or better put, I’m not that interested in the 3D / Art side of the industry. The standard of games art today is outstanding! You have to be the best of the best to even stand a chance of getting a 3D / Art job interview! It's not my forte, so I don’t feel I should waste time pursing that route.
Most UT projects (even stand alone MODS) seem to always be FPS orientated, maybe because that’s what the Unreal engine is best at, that was it’s initial purpose after all. Around 90% of the Western games market is FPS based. I feel like that’s a genre that already has enough people pushing the boundaries. Also, most of my design ideas and thoughts don’t seem to be FPS related. Don’t get me wrong... again, I love FPS but I’m enthralled with a lot of different game genres and I’m always playing around with diverse concepts for puzzle and strategy systems, these ventures intrigue me a lot more.
Why am I spouting all this self reflective crap I ask myslef?! Because I’m trying to argue reasons for my client project to possibly
I want to develop my coding skills further, which is going to be vital no doubt for my prospective role as a designer (here’s hoping). I had great successes with my Flash game project (Duck Pond) during the 2nd year and I feel it’s the project where I gained the most technical knowledge, programming / coding. Flash also acts as a good blank canvas for me to test out a huge range of design ideas and concepts.
I also have several solid game systems that I’d like to work into the project, only if plausible of course. One of the designs would be a re-worked digital version of my card game Connect Wars. As developed for a brief set last year... further explanation and reasoning HERE.
I guess at the end of the day it’s all down to the client (if I can ever secure one) to set the brief… or is it? Would it be best to locate a client that is already in the industry? Or would it be better to find a client from a different sector, who requires a multimedia / games based product but tailored towards their needs and outputs?
I’m making slow progress over the summer with regards to my ‘pixel monkey skillz’, I really need to start getting some practical work down. Working this s***ty job to keep myself afloat in the absence of student financial support is taking up all of my time, but I’m trying to keep ideas going when I can...
A friend showed me this trailer just after the games announcement at GDC 2008. I’ve been repeatedly watching it ever since and every single time I find myself in a hypnotic
Below is a break down of the same trailer, it explains the games mechanics and tells us a little more about the beautiful world that DICE have created for this game. So looking forward to this title, compelling stuff!
Am I going a little mad here, or is Disney Pixar's new animation cash cow WALL.E a complete character design RIP OFF of John Badham’s 1986 classic, Short Circuit (aka - Johnny 5) ?! Oh wait, there is a change... they’ve added a box for the body... tut!
First things first, the results are in for the 2nd year and I got a god dam 1st…
Obviously I’m extremely happy with that result and I think a 1st honestly reflects the effort and passion I put into my submitted work... GO ME!
As you can see from the game screen design below, the player has to click and drag the correct waste (which will constantly be falling, ala Tetris) into the correct coloured bins. There are the standard game mechanics of the player versus the clock, and also the speed increases as the player progresses through the levels. If the player is too slow the fallen waste builds up till the screen is full, then it’s game over.
This design is very basic I know, it clearly needs a lot more development… but I just wanted to get the idea out of my system and publish it up here.
If this was my official client project for the 3rd year I’d defiantly produce a game that didn’t follow such standard games concepts... I’d certainly want to make a game that operated ‘out side of the box’.
I’m slogging it out at the moment, big time, working a run of the mill summer job, grabbing as many hours as I can get my hands on… money, money, money, the bills have got to be paid, sucks.
I’m still finding time to read the array of game design books that I checked out of the library before the holidays, they don’t have to be back till October, score!
In other news I’m drastically re-thinking my Client and Research projects for next semester after having a very insightful conversation with one of my tutors about how best to ’get the most out of them’… re-planning is currently in progress.
In my last scraps of spare time I’ve been playing a lot of Chess over Xbox Live. I'm very much enjoying the game, win or lose, as always. Here’s a related / un-related Pixar short film that I love (Geri's Game, 1997) because I don’t have anything of my own work worthy of showing yet... all filler no killer huh? Enjoy.
This morning I handed in my finished SPP2 paper, thus marking the conclusion of my second year at NTU on the BA Multimedia course.
My SPP2 development and progression essay can be downloaded and viewed using any PDF reader by clicking the image link below...
As promised here is a short (silent) video of my Unreal map (Outpost) being played. The map can be downloaded HERE. If you do play please DO leave any comments, thoughts and feedback in the comments link below (no account needed to post comments) ENJOY!
* Apologies
You can download and play my Unreal 2004 map (Outpost) HERE. I spent all weekend playing about with the bot pathing to get it exactly how I wanted it, was fun, although it took me ages to get the AI characters to navigate my entire map.
I used a lot Unreal Scripted Sequences to get bots to defend certain areas, such as sniping points and so that AI players attacked from behind cover and well fortified areas. The AI is actually a challenge at some points in the game, but it’s still not that hard to win the round (especially if you’re a lethal FPS player like me, joke).
I managed to have a good time with the texturing also... I went out with my digital camera and basically looked like a mad man taking photos of the ground and walls everywhere I went. I’m pretty happy with the results; it’s basically my translation of the Unreals stock textures that I originally used.
I’ve tested this map on various machines; each had its own take on the lighting. On my PC (the one which I made the level on. CRT monitor) the lighting seems average, the shadows are fairly dark there’s no glare.
I also tested it on a few TFT machines and the map is a much brighter, each system had its own variation. It’s still looks OK, still very playable but there is some loss in the dark shadows. Not a lot I can do about that… try playing about with your monitor brightness and contrast settings.
Here’s a few screen shots, I’m going to record and upload a video of my map (Outpost) being played later this week for the people out there who don’t have Unreal 2004…
