Class Participation 3: Draw a Landscape for Class Game

In this Landscape that I drew, it was of an island, for the mindset of a plat-formming game. The starting point is on the bottom left, and I attempted to draw the island in 3 dimensions. The goal is to get to the flag on the top of the volcano. Along the way there are treasure boxes on certain difficult to reach platforms that challenge a different aspect of platforming. The straight path to the goal is fairly simple, but if you want the maximum amount of points, you must open all treasure boxes. The trees are used to prevent the player from leaving the landscape. There are platforms, ladders, bridges, and ropes(to either swing with or balance over) throughout the level. Also in the lava streams coming from the volcano, there is molten rock that is safe to stand upon for a little bit of time before it sinks into the volcano. This provides many different options for getting to all the different treasure chests, and for recovering from a possible mistake. 

Class Participation 2: Asset Generation

When thinking of an island setting for our class game, the first thing to come to my mind are trees; specifically palm trees. I believe that when it comes to 3D assets, starting with simple assets like this to create an environment familiar to the player is crucial for establishing a proper setting. I will be adding detail in the future. I found this asset on http://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/5554.

I have an account on this website, and the licensing behind this asset is License CC-BY. All rules for this assets license can be found under this URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ 

We are free to share and adapt this asset in any way after giving appropriate credit to the creator going by the username, blender_noob17(http://www.blendswap.com/page/crediting-authors). After taking the asset, I had to change its file format to a .fbx file. 

Further information about crediting the author can be found at: http://www.blendswap.com/page/crediting-authors

The Palm Tree 3D Objects 

Team 2 - Game Document - Homework 3: The Tetrad - 09/17/15

Team 2 - Game Document

Homework 3: The Tetrad 09/17/15

Story:

Our story, told in a linear fashion, will unfold beginning in an environment in a world familiar to that of ours. Our hero, Gaya, the child of Mother Nature, is awakened in a peaceful area of Eden that will provide a place for them to learn and practice these newly acquired elements(Game Mechanics) that they must use on their quest. Once leaving this eden, Gaya will enter a world of turmoil and imbalance, and the only progress will come through the mastery and practice of the elements to reestablish balance. The foreign race of creatures, Malterra, has destroyed Earth’s environment and is abusing these elements for their own desires. The Malterra will use these elements to fight our hero in combat. Gaya will use their four elements to battle the Malterra, to display balance of elements over the abuse of the single element being used by the individual Malterra. The final test will be a twist thrust upon our character as their final challenge. The twist being that their final foe was yet another child of Mother Nature, one that was sent upon the exact same quest to free the elements, and through their mastery became overcome with the power to control them, and thus the infinite cycle has continued to repeat.

Relation to the other elements of the Tetrad:

Aesthetics: Our Story will introduce the various aesthetics of our environment, as our hero must journey to the next area to reestablish balance. After doing so the aesthetics in the environment will become full of life.
Technology: All story telling will be through conversation with Mother Nature during Gameplay. This will be broadcasted through a speaker system, and the script of the conversation will be on the lower half of the screen during gameplay.
Mechanics: The story will consistently lead the player toward the understanding of a new mechanic. For instance the beginning of the game will be in a peaceful region for the player to test controls, movement and combat without stress. Later they will be tested more on their mastery of the mechanics by the story progressing toward a more challenging area. Twists in the story will then hopefully allow our player to test a mechanic in a different way.

Technology:

Computer
Monitor
Keyboard or gamepad Input
Speakers


Relation to the other elements of the Tetrad:
Aesthetics: All visuals in our game will be broadcasted on a computer monitor or other form of HDMI output. Sound effects of the environment, enemies, and movement will all come out from speakers.
Story: Story telling will all be done through narration and visual reading on the lower half of the screen.
Mechanics: Using a gamepad input controller, our players will use a d-pad to switch between elemental power mechanics. A left analog stick will be used for player movement, the right will be used to control the camera following the character to enable a free mode and not locked camera.

Aesthetics:

Our game will have a semi-realistic fantasy art style that will make heavy use of particle effects. The game’s UI will be simple: at the very least, it will include the player’s health gauge and a “special meter” for special attacks. Models and other assets for the environments will be mostly imported. Visual effects will come from the different elemental powers of our protagonists and their foes. Other effects will be seen in character movement based on the element being currently used. Landscapes will include environments that will come off as once beautiful, but now used to the point of lacking life. Most sound effects early on will be reaction sounds to our characters attack and movement actions.

Relation to the other elements of the Tetrad:
Story: Our game’s aesthetics will convey turmoil and unbalance. Helping further suspend the player’s disbelief in this troubled world that needs their help. When they succeed the area’s aesthetics will become happier and more jovial to convey success and progression in the story.
Technology: The controllers input will change the aesthetic look of our character, by changing their stance and elemental power.
Mechanics: Using a gamepad input controller, our players will use a d-pad to switch between elemental power mechanics. A left analog stick will be used for player movement, the right will be used to control the camera following the character to enable a free mode and not locked camera.

Mechanics:

The main character will have the ability to jump, and in each stance will have a basic attack, and a special, unique to the stance. To use the special attack, the main character will need to store up energy and activate the energy to perform the special. There will be about 3 different enemy types: basic Malterra, single element Malterra, and boss malterra. All Malterra will have a simple basic attack and jump, while the single element and boss Malterra will have a secondary special attack unique to their element(s). A majority of the game will be played outdoors except the boss fights will be fought in a “temple”.  The boss fights will be more puzzling than the other Malterra, to force the user to think about how to use stance switching mechanic to win.

There will be individual stages but the entire map of the stage is continuous within its provided area, functioning in three dimensions with possible platforming elements. The game will operate in continuous time but the game can be paused and when killed the player will be reset to a check point.

Relation to the other elements of the Tetrad:
Story: The action-oriented nature of our game will affect how often the story crops up and how quickly it moves along. The most important storytelling will be told between levels, but dialogue may also be used in the levels themselves.
Technology: Beat ‘em ups like this one lend themselves favorably to gamepads, so that is the input method that we will be focusing on.
Aesthetics: The different stances of our character will be the primary focus of our combat mechanics. Physically changing our protagonists appearance between fire, water, earth, and wind power mechanics.

Minimal Prototype:
visual indication for the four stances
basic player movement
basic attack/s, different effects for each stance
basic enemies that react to attacks

Team 2 - Game Document - Homework 2 - 09/08/15

Team 2 - Game Document

Homework 2: 09/08/15

What type of game will you be creating?

Our game will be a beat ‘em up that lets players change between different “stances” in order to gain new abilities. The camera will remain in a third-person view, as is typically seen in this genre. Each level will feature a boss with a specific set of vulnerabilities that the player must learn and exploit in order to win.

What is the quintessential experience you'd like the users to feel?

When people play our game, we want them to feel excited. The sometimes hectic nature of beat ‘em ups will serve us in this regard, since the player will be constantly reacting to new threats. We also want the players to feel powerful and capable. The presence of enemies that are weaker than the player will help with this to an extent, but the protagonist’s “stances” will really sell the idea--switching between “stances” will allow players to adjust to certain situations and capitalize on enemies’ weaknesses.

What is the theme of your game?

           

            The theme throughout our game will be that of maintaining balance, whether it is in nature or through usage of the elements for combat. Throughout our game, the protagonist will encounter various scenarios that will test the player’s ability to use all four elemental powers; progression will only be able to occur through the use of multiple elements. The enemies of our game are those that only use one element for their own selfish desire, and our protagonist will use all four together to bring back balance to nature and the elements themselves.

Provide an initial storyline

            It’s been 100 years since the Malterra gained sentience, overwhelming the earth,   poisoning the air, polluting the waters, spreading disease and decimating the population of life on the planet. Mother Nature, as a last hope for saving the earth, has given the world her last child, Gaya. As Gaya you must master the four elements, traverse the lands to fight the Malterra, defeat their rulers that abuse the individual elements, and restore balance to the world before there is nothing left to save.

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Breakdown of ideas:

1.     What type of game will you be creating?  [25 pts]

a.     3rd person BEAT-EM-UP

b.     fixed perspective camera

c.     many weak enemies, strong bosses that require thought to defeat

d.     The type of game we will be creating is a 3D, beat ‘em up with a single main character fighting many weak enemies and a large boss battle at the end of each stage. Looking for an aspect of the game to make unique and perfectible, the main character will have four modes continuously available which grant them access to different attacks and ways to traverse through their environment.

2.     What is the quintessential experience you'd like the users to feel? [25 pts]

a.     Exhilarating, exciting…

b.     A sense of Power

3.     What is the theme of your game? [25 pts]

a.     Harmony between Elements?

b.     Respect for Nature

c.     Balance

4.     Provide an initial storyline [25 pts]

-       Main Character name ideas (beat em up): Orion, Slash, Brawn, Gaya...

-       Antagonist abusing nature/the elements

Core things:
-Sight for Fight
-Sound for Story

-Something a person can perfect

-Some thought in order to proceed to next area (Boss Puzzles)

-Use four elements for different “modes” or “styles”

*subject to change* (think Udyr, the League of Legends character)

            -fire (speed, melee light hit)

            -air (flying, gliding, projectile)

            -earth (underground, melee heavy hit)

            -water (move through water)

Audio:

-       change music depending on character “stance”

-       voice act the character against boss

-       sound effects for movement

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Homework 1: Games I like

1. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time

Official Website URL's of the Game: http://www.zelda.com/ocarina3d/
                                                            http://www.zelda.com/universe/game/ocarinatime/
Original Release Date: November 21st, 1998 on Nintendo 64
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Platform(s): Nintendo 64, GameCube, Wii(Virutal Console), Nintendo 3DS, Wii U(Virtual Console)

One of my earliest memories was seeing this intro before starting my first quest

     My introduction to video games actually initially began due to my Uncle Nick. The games that intrigued him were what he shared with me when I was just 3 years old in 1998. Of all the games he shared with me, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time was the most memorable. The game not only introduced me to a world I had never been too but it challenged me and intrigued me to continue. I wanted to explore everything I could see, and this game did just that in how it guided me through it's beautiful world. 

Artwork of the Hero beginning his quest entering the very first Dungeon

     I myself absolutely loved the classical music played throughout my house by my father, and the musical arrangements of this game contained such a deep richness to them that the music itself guided me and engrossed me throughout the adventure. The combat introduced me to a game mechanic called Z-Targetting that allowed me to focus on the battle with one opponent at a time, this provided me with suspense, focus, and a more personal battle with my foe.

Z-Targetting, during a battle with a Wolf(White Wolfos being the official name)

     This game also introduced me to a challenge that didn't just challenge my finesse, but rather my intellect. The puzzles within the dungeons prevented me from continuing. Something I had never experienced within a game at that time. I could only proceed by reasoning and understanding objectively. This gave me a more personal connection with the hero that I became overtime; in exploring the dungeon to solve the problem, discovering and understanding the solution didn't provide me with the reward of leveling up, but rather the leveling up of my own problem solving skills to better proceed through my quest.

    For all the reasons above that I hold dear to my heart, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is the game that inspires me, challenges me and stands the test of time when I think of a game that I particularly like.

2. Banjo-Kazooie

Game Information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjo-Kazooie
Website of the Developer: http://www.rare.co.uk
Developer: Rare
Original Release Date: June 29th, 1998 on Nintendo 64
Platform(s): Nintendo 64, Xbox 360

Box art of the game with our protagonists, the bear and bird heroes

     Another game that I hold dear was yet another that I played on the Nintendo 64. In this game I didn't control just one hero, but two working together. The game was a platforming experience full of humor, color, and variety.

The first foe Banjo encounters, a carrot

      While going off on this adventure, I never really felt myself become the character, but rather I felt like I was joining them through it. I felt a real sense of freedom in the open space that I journeyed through. This game introduced me to a sense of freedom in flight with the bird, Kazooie, while at the same time having a tremendous amount of control while on the ground with the bear, Banjo. 

Flight with Kazooie carrying Banjo

     Grant Kirkhope, the composer of this game, created an absolutely beautiful soundtrack full of a tremendous variety of instruments. Ranging from string instruments like the Banjo and the violin, to woodwind instruments like the saxophone. 

     The entire soundtrack combined with the level design, was so jovial that it helped create a fun environment that I never wanted to stop messing around with.

Homework 1: Images

The image above was captured by myself with friends of mine attending the Game Expo, PAX East, in Boston this past Winter

The image above was a promotional image I helped create using the assistance of Photoshop tools and vector graphics for a Gaming Event on Campus hosted by the Game Committee at FSU