When I think of games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1&2 and Killzone 1&2 I think about how prepared and skillfull the player characters are. They are highly trained, good at what they do, and never meet a challenge they cannot overcome with the right gamer conducting them. In Killzone 1 there are several players who you play that meet this description, and what you find out is while they are as aforementioned-they specialize in certain weapons or stealth, etc.
The characters are not so much affected by their environments as they are prepared for it. In COD, the player always has what he needs to win the battle be it a sniper rifle, a strong troop collaboration, maps, a predator drone, whatever-he's got it. This makes it fun for the player who can then feel the ambience of modern day warfare.
If the environment was the opposite it might not be as much fun. This is to say that they are soldiers, and have a level of expertise that if not exercised would not make much sense for a gamer. They might be able to do well at a carnival where they could test their hand-eye coordiantion shooting or throwing things for prizes, but would a player really feel it necessary to take a black ops operative into a carnival to win there? Probably not.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Chapter Five Book Work
2) What I might do to create a "sandbox" for my original game is to make sections of space obtainable. With planetary travel quick and easy to understand by putting informational panels beside sections of planets to be traveled to. Also there would be space stations in between with their own side missions. The informational panels would communicate whether things were hostile or not, what enemies and/or allies to expect, motives/goals for inhabitants, food/water amounts and types, and anything else one would need to know to prepare for journeys. Ships could represent rewards for bigger mission accomplishments, while fuel and weapons could do the same for smaller side mission accomplishments. Plus players could (drawing on the idea from GTA) interact with the NPC's to test and manipulate their current environment to get new missions (perhaps to acquire more or stronger weapons).
Dice Game
Texas Hold'em Dice
Premise: To add another level of luck to Texas Hold'em Poker.
Rules: The cards are dealt like a normal game of Texas Hold'em. However, at each turn players can either put chips in the middle to pay for a roll of the die. The die is six sided and represents the number of cards players can pick up depending on their roll. Since the player starts out holding two cards, they can hold only a maximum of eight with the five dealt in the middle at the last hand.
Base Mechanics: At each turn (3 turns), the player can choose to fold, bet only, or bet and pay for a roll with the price being set at the ante (at the beginning of the dealing).
Revisions: None
Premise: To add another level of luck to Texas Hold'em Poker.
Rules: The cards are dealt like a normal game of Texas Hold'em. However, at each turn players can either put chips in the middle to pay for a roll of the die. The die is six sided and represents the number of cards players can pick up depending on their roll. Since the player starts out holding two cards, they can hold only a maximum of eight with the five dealt in the middle at the last hand.
Base Mechanics: At each turn (3 turns), the player can choose to fold, bet only, or bet and pay for a roll with the price being set at the ante (at the beginning of the dealing).
Revisions: None
Design Chemistry
When there is a project at hand, having the right people on hand can make or break its success. Surely there are somethings that we are good at working alone. However, when you want to make something big, you will most likely need more people; and surely there are certain things that someone else might be specifically better or quicker at completing on the level needed to ensure its success. In my own experience, the smaller the team, the easier the communication. Furthermore, the smaller the team, the better everyone can get to or already know each other. With this being said I currently believe that small teams can communicate to other small teams via a liaison. As we have learned from the assembly lines of the early Ford automotive production plants, specialization multiplies productivity. Granted you need to have the right people in the right places.
Prototyping
Prototyping is an extremely useful tool in design. In the field of architecture, people build prototypes or models to test for structural stability and aesthetic reasons. Afterall, the last thing you want to have happen is spend all your time on an idea and find out too late in the process that it cannot accomplish the big ideas you had for it. In video games the same is true. Plus prototypes can inspire new ideas or perfect the current one. The earlier you know how and what will work for your game, the better prepared you are to bring the whole thing together.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Character Development
The following is the description of my player:
His name is Spatula Francis Dogwalker. He is an american ninja. Grew up in the trailer park until 16 when he left, after his single-mother's death. He dropped out of school in the 9th grade and moved to Japan with money saved from pick-pocketing. Which is where he learned the ways of mixed martial arts from sinsea Master Jetlu. After winning many competitions and events of defending his honor, Spatula moved back to the states to avenge his mother's wrongful death.
He can defend himself as a reflex, is bi-lingual, and in excellent physical shape. He has a dragon tatoo on his left forearm, is 21 and is 6'0" and 200 pounds. His parents separated before his birth. His mother was addicted to pain killers. She started taking them after a drunk driver hit her car when she was 17.
His overall goal is to avenge his mother's wrongful death. She was killed by gang members in a drug deal gone wrong. His tactic?--Kill 'em all!
His name is Spatula Francis Dogwalker. He is an american ninja. Grew up in the trailer park until 16 when he left, after his single-mother's death. He dropped out of school in the 9th grade and moved to Japan with money saved from pick-pocketing. Which is where he learned the ways of mixed martial arts from sinsea Master Jetlu. After winning many competitions and events of defending his honor, Spatula moved back to the states to avenge his mother's wrongful death.
He can defend himself as a reflex, is bi-lingual, and in excellent physical shape. He has a dragon tatoo on his left forearm, is 21 and is 6'0" and 200 pounds. His parents separated before his birth. His mother was addicted to pain killers. She started taking them after a drunk driver hit her car when she was 17.
His overall goal is to avenge his mother's wrongful death. She was killed by gang members in a drug deal gone wrong. His tactic?--Kill 'em all!
GameMechanics Examined
I agree with the article that too many mechanics can mean too much resting on the shoulders of the player. For example, in the game The Matrix: Path of Neo there are so many different combo moves that you end up just hitting buttons and seeing new moves by accident. I loved this game though because I loved The Matrix the movie. However, I basically stuck to a few combos I remembered as they came up in the game and discovered others by randomly pressing buttons. I have also felt this weight in other games where there is so much up to you, you get overwhelmed thinking of how to organize your gameplay in order to be successful in the game.
Accessibility
The controls for Quake IV are not difficult to get the player moving and targeting/shooting. However, to do more advanced movement and shooting takes time and practice to master. It is simple to go straight ahead, jump, and shoot. Strafe-jumping (which allows the player greater speed) on the other hand takes some practice to get down. Also aiming and hitting enemies with the different guns takes some practice as they all fire differently.
With no arms you cannot play the game at all in its current configuration of controls. You would pretty much have to have the ability to aim and turn and strafe by looking (perhaps with glasses that tracked eye movement), and perhaps some foot pedals to move the player.
If playing this game without sight, one would need to play by sound and vibrations. For instance, the player could move the mouse and when the crosshair was aimed at a player it could vibrate and he could fire. And when he was in the crosshair of an enemy he could hear a danger sound and could move away accordingly. Also one would need to know the map, perhaps by studying it and hearing a certain sound when a wall was collided with. The maps would need to be pretty straight forward for beginners.
With one arm a player would definitely need some of the aforementioned equipment. Perhaps the simplest would be some foot pedals to move and the mouse to aim and fire.
With no arms you cannot play the game at all in its current configuration of controls. You would pretty much have to have the ability to aim and turn and strafe by looking (perhaps with glasses that tracked eye movement), and perhaps some foot pedals to move the player.
If playing this game without sight, one would need to play by sound and vibrations. For instance, the player could move the mouse and when the crosshair was aimed at a player it could vibrate and he could fire. And when he was in the crosshair of an enemy he could hear a danger sound and could move away accordingly. Also one would need to know the map, perhaps by studying it and hearing a certain sound when a wall was collided with. The maps would need to be pretty straight forward for beginners.
With one arm a player would definitely need some of the aforementioned equipment. Perhaps the simplest would be some foot pedals to move and the mouse to aim and fire.
Chalk Free Play
This game is refreshingly simple yet challenging. I did have fun playing it; you definitely have to be quick to progress. I found it challenging because of how quick you need to move-running away and attacking and playing a good defense.
This game does have a replay value. If you want to prove that you have great control with the mouse, this is the game with which to do it. Comparing high scores with friends is what I think would make this game fun.
Story does not drive Chalk. This is a game play driven game. After all there is nothing but a blackboard, chalk, and enemies and obstacles. It does seem to remind one of his own experience with the blackboard, daydreaming in classes-seeing more than meets the eye of what a teacher writes on it. And saying this it makes the game just seem like a daydream being presented to you-which in some backwards way-makes it somewhat story driven.
The game stays fresh with simple but entertaining sounds and graphics. As soon as you think you know your enemy, a new kind of enemy pops out. Either that or a bunch more of them do. It gets tougher as you go along and all of the sounds fit their purpose, making it work in a very uncomplicated way.
The controls are also quite simple in that you only use the mouse. Running, moving, "chalking", all require the appropriate direction given by the mouse. Things seem to run smoothly at first, but as soon as more enemies show up, drawing a straight chalk line becomes more difficult (which keeps things challenging and fun).
If I could change one game mechanic here it would be to let the player use the space button to jump over enemies. This would make dodging a little more easy with multiple oponents, which would probably need rebalancing by making the bullets follow you on harder levels; but would make things a little more interesting.
On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this game a 5 on the computer (too simple), but a 7 on the cell phone (just makes more sense on a phone-good time killer when you're mobile. It's not a bad game, I would just rate it better on a phone.
This game does have a replay value. If you want to prove that you have great control with the mouse, this is the game with which to do it. Comparing high scores with friends is what I think would make this game fun.
Story does not drive Chalk. This is a game play driven game. After all there is nothing but a blackboard, chalk, and enemies and obstacles. It does seem to remind one of his own experience with the blackboard, daydreaming in classes-seeing more than meets the eye of what a teacher writes on it. And saying this it makes the game just seem like a daydream being presented to you-which in some backwards way-makes it somewhat story driven.
The game stays fresh with simple but entertaining sounds and graphics. As soon as you think you know your enemy, a new kind of enemy pops out. Either that or a bunch more of them do. It gets tougher as you go along and all of the sounds fit their purpose, making it work in a very uncomplicated way.
The controls are also quite simple in that you only use the mouse. Running, moving, "chalking", all require the appropriate direction given by the mouse. Things seem to run smoothly at first, but as soon as more enemies show up, drawing a straight chalk line becomes more difficult (which keeps things challenging and fun).
If I could change one game mechanic here it would be to let the player use the space button to jump over enemies. This would make dodging a little more easy with multiple oponents, which would probably need rebalancing by making the bullets follow you on harder levels; but would make things a little more interesting.
On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this game a 5 on the computer (too simple), but a 7 on the cell phone (just makes more sense on a phone-good time killer when you're mobile. It's not a bad game, I would just rate it better on a phone.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Chapter Four Book Work
(2)
(A.) Swat. A leader, heavy military training (15 years). Outstanding physical shape and physical ability. High IQ.
(B.) Dr. Fisher. CIA genious chemist. Taught Swat chemistry in college.
(C) Jane Smith, Black Ops perative trained by Swat. Also very high IQ and physical ability. Alleged double agent. Intel has her working for Iran in the Nuclear weaponry division, collecting secrets from the US to sell to them.
(A.) Swat. A leader, heavy military training (15 years). Outstanding physical shape and physical ability. High IQ.
(B.) Dr. Fisher. CIA genious chemist. Taught Swat chemistry in college.
(C) Jane Smith, Black Ops perative trained by Swat. Also very high IQ and physical ability. Alleged double agent. Intel has her working for Iran in the Nuclear weaponry division, collecting secrets from the US to sell to them.
Journal One
Ten thousand moons ago, there lived a dog in a house with many rooms. His master was a very wealthy collector of sorts. He was in good standing with the community, and had many philanthropic deeds to be spoken of. The dog spent a lot of time, when his master was away, wandering through the many rooms. He would gaze at many of the items wondering what they were. On some objects he would discern that they were interesting, but he had no idea what to make of them. On others he would spend hours dreaming up stories behind them and what they allowed one to do.
His favorite things in the house were the photos. Though he did not comprehend how it was possible to look at something that he was inside of, often alongside his master, he loved the memories and imagination provoking nature of them.
The dog always slept in the bathroom because he loved the privacy and especially the coziness during storms. His master had moved the dog's bed in there when he realized how much he loved it in there. Also, the dog liked that there were photos in there as well. These pictures were not pictures of places he had ever been. They were foreign places and things to him like the many photos he had seen throughout the house (that were of his master on his many world traveling outings he was always talking about when there was company in the large house).
There were four photos placed on the cabinet in front of the dog’s bed at his eye level. Seemingly, his master had placed them there for him. He had apparently witnessed the dog staring at pictures in the house many times.
One picture the dog imagined was of a condo for animals. A mid-sized building of four stories where of course all the dog’s friends lived; the squirrel he always chased around the yard, the female poodle he always smelled and licked in the park, and that puppy that couldn’t play enough with him a few years back (whom he had not seen since, but never forgot). The second picture was a photo of the glorified doggie door, the back (animal) entrance to the condos. The third was a close up of one of the shields the animals stored there if ever there should be an animal war. And the fourth was of a large building, an animal castle of sorts, much like the one of his master, except it was for animals,
His favorite things in the house were the photos. Though he did not comprehend how it was possible to look at something that he was inside of, often alongside his master, he loved the memories and imagination provoking nature of them.
The dog always slept in the bathroom because he loved the privacy and especially the coziness during storms. His master had moved the dog's bed in there when he realized how much he loved it in there. Also, the dog liked that there were photos in there as well. These pictures were not pictures of places he had ever been. They were foreign places and things to him like the many photos he had seen throughout the house (that were of his master on his many world traveling outings he was always talking about when there was company in the large house).
There were four photos placed on the cabinet in front of the dog’s bed at his eye level. Seemingly, his master had placed them there for him. He had apparently witnessed the dog staring at pictures in the house many times.
One picture the dog imagined was of a condo for animals. A mid-sized building of four stories where of course all the dog’s friends lived; the squirrel he always chased around the yard, the female poodle he always smelled and licked in the park, and that puppy that couldn’t play enough with him a few years back (whom he had not seen since, but never forgot). The second picture was a photo of the glorified doggie door, the back (animal) entrance to the condos. The third was a close up of one of the shields the animals stored there if ever there should be an animal war. And the fourth was of a large building, an animal castle of sorts, much like the one of his master, except it was for animals,
Friday, September 3, 2010
Chapter Three Book Work
If I were to redesign the multiplayer version of Quake IV, a fast action, first person shooter, the game would be drastically different. If one used a third person camera, he or she would lose much of the intensity and control of the game. In the game there is actually some code you can enter to change the camera to third person. Players claim it helps them understand the player's movement better and practice with it for a while. However, there is no crosshair in this view which is basically a death sentence in this game. What I gather about it being an aid to the movement learning curve is that the player can better his or her strafe-jumping, and can tell the difference when they switch back to first person. It helps them play and the new speed adds intensity to the game. In this game players will do just about anything to aquire an edge on their competitors.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Genre Vs Type
The "Game Type vs Genre" article demonstrates the current best classification system for games today. However, after reading the descriptions for GTAIII it seems like there should be another level of classification for games that pull from different genres and types. For example, Fanta-Crime for genre (that is if there are others who could fit this too, which there are), and Action-RPG or A-RPG for the type.
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