IAT-410 PROGRESS FROM NOVEMBER 19 to NOVEMBER 26

The art is 100% complete, well my part is complete. After a little testing and some game playing we decided to add a couple or more pieces of art to the game play. We will be buildings, mountains, and bridges. Well some bridges will be up and some will be destroyed in order for the engineer characters to come in use. The engineers in the game will actually fix the broken bridges. I will be making the remaining art pieces later tonight and then I will be meeting to our project manager Mohammed to finalize the art. Hopefully we can work together and make something really beautiful.

There isn’t actually anything due this week in the lab, it’s a work week. A well needed work week where we can get the bugs out and finalize what we need. I think some of the art will need to be fixed because when we integrate all the levels and the art, there may be some transparency issues with the art and it is placed over the backgrounds and while it goes over mountains and other buildings. Fixing the transparency is a minor detail, as last week I fixed approximately 30 pieces of art in 45 minutes.

For next week, we need will be needing a working demo of the game, not a final version but just something that runs and shows the mechanics and dynamics of the game.

Critiques on Game Prototypes Part 4

Dynasty
This is a type of educational role playing game that seems interesting. There is not a lot of programming as the mechanics for this game is the ability for users to move around the space and interact with objects. They use puzzles so the difficulty will vary throughout the entire game. They had a concept with Chinese history which would relate to the narrative, which is pretty good. The artwork needed improvement but the team looks talented and I can see a great final game.

Deep Field
I had a problem with the mechanics of this game. Users just use the mouse in a 3D environment. I can see users get bored of this quite fast, so they should implement other methods of clicking, or having obstacles that effect the speed of you clicking. I really didn’t see any art on screen. The game is in a 3D environment, and I think they should use it to the fullest with the time given.

Legend of Chopstick Chung
This team had a very creative and fun presentation with great art. Well they showed the art that will be implemented in the final game and it looks good. I did not see much of a narrative or how or where the character came from. They had a lot of mini games in their one game, I do not know if they tested all the mini games or just one. I did not hear anything from then regarding that. The Nintendo 64 had a similar concept and the Gameboy had a similar concept with having many mini-games into one game. Hopefully the game delivers.

Aquila
Our Game

Critiques on Game Prototypes Part III

Stick Ninja
This team had a very clear and concise presentation. They are using cards to enhance the randomization and they had a very simple prototype. The art was very simple, hence the name: stick ninja. The ninja were ultimately stick figures. The mechanics make the game very interactive, which compels you to think about how to bet the boss they had. There was a random damage attack and also they had different attributes for each character which was good.

Zodiac Wars
I really did see any real art from this team. I think they presented a screenshot from the old Capcom video game, Street Fighter. It seemed like a sort of action game where users controls characters which fight others. Users would press different buttons to hit their enemies and opponents. The presentation was actually done good, speaking wise, but I didn’t really understand the story line. It was a 2D based game with a fast paced atmosphere. I think the game will work with the basic movement techniques and with fast street fighter like controls.

Crack Junkie
This was a 2D based game with characters and enemies. One thing I clearly remember is that users that tested the game, didn’t want to see the text as it got in the way of game play so they completely took it out. Well now there is no apparent storyline... I was thinking that they good integrate the text/speech near the bottom of the screen and have to run while users are in game play. This was a side scrolling game with basic movement. The game is quite unique, never seen anything else like this. Game storyline could be “toned” down a little..

IAT-410 PROGRESS FROM NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 20

Hello everyone, I just got back Toronto a couple of hours ago. I was there for a video game tournament, being the winner from last year, I was attending to crown the new champion. I completed the game design art on the flight there and on the way back. The art is looking amazing. Its is finally all 100% complete and will be implemented on Tuesday in the lab section of the class.

IAT-410 PROGRESS FROM NOVEMBER 6 to NOVEMBER 13

Great week work wise, finished approximately 90% of all the art we will be using in the game. Tanks, soldiers, planes were all completed. Know I just need to label them correctly and hand them over to the rest of the team to apply in the game. There may be a sizing issue with some of the art but that can be fixed. The minor problem just might be that the tanks and soldiers are not right size for the interface and the other art. Other than that, I don’t see a problem with anything. After I complete the art, I will most likely be heading over and helping with the interface and the development of level.

Critiques on Game Prototypes Part II

3rd Cloud
This was like a adventure RPG game. Their prototype was a digital prototype and the design is quite similar to the final product. The character in the game would walk around, pick up weapons and use them. The art seemed really nicely done, the clouds. The dynamics dealt with exploring the environment and fighting enemies and gain power to proceed to next levels. Weapons were included as well, and the character would pick them up and use them.

Food Fight
This team is using the XNA instead of game maker. Their artwork will be completely original and it is like a 2D base atmosphere. The game seemed quite interesting and original as I have never seen anything like this before. They want to do the multiplayer but never know with the time near the end of the term. Character in this game will TAKE TURNS to throw food at others, and the more food one throws wins. That is the simple mechanics and dynamics.

Drive Thru Tycoon
I really didn’t understand this game. From what I got from it was that there is a car and you drive thru a drive thru to get food. The user would click on burger or fries (need more food like drinks, ice cream, deserts) and the more he clicks on them, the harder it gets. I don’t see this as a very interesting TYCOON type of game. When I think of Tycoon, I’m thinking about buildings and money and property, I don’t see these aspects in the drive thru with the use of food.

Circular Strife
This team seems to be committed on this game. Using a 3D engine, I can see the art is going to be really nice. Their prototype was done in a great way, with the actual map on the floor. Users would ride around and collect bombs and blow things up. The time trials gives the users a challenge and keeps them playing the game.

Critiques on Game Prototypes Part I

Part I

Ant Lion Prototype:
I really didn’t understand the mechanics of the game, and I didn’t see much of the art or the style of it. Me being more towards arts and stylishness, I am usually looking for how they artist detail. Didn’t seem to find much here.

Fins of Fury:
For the aesthetics side of it, they did a great job modelling the underwater species. The fish look great. They showed a 4 level map that was done very nicely and health meter and time meter which are great aspects to any game. For the Dynamics, the testing players found it a little too hard to understand at first but I am sure people will get used to it with time. Mechanics were great, collect points, destroy enemies, just a classic easy to understand game however, I am not too sure about the rolling the dice technique for the AI. This can be looked at again.

Mizu:
This is a 2d game so I was quite excited because my team is also working on a 2d game. The art is nicely done, but they may be focusing too much on the art itself. The team shows a great understanding of art but I really did not completely understand the mechanics. I saw the multiple levels, the splash attack and the time limits but was not completely satisfied with the story. They could work on this some more.

The No Name Project-Group:
First off, they making their own engine, which is very impressive. The group has a solid, sound idea. All aspects of game aesthetics and dynamics were covered. They had a lot of detail for the dynamics which included different character types and levels. They used a lot of different colors and figures which is a good component to have for a prototype.