November Calendar

Calendar

Week 1 (Nov. 19 - 24):

Monday: Create Calendar of events
Tuesday: Begin learning C++. Update blog.
Wednesday: Contact mentor, update on situation. Consider ideas for developmental work.
Thursday: Continue research on programming languages.
Friday: Continue developmental work. Update blog.

Week 2 (Nov. 25 - 30):

Mon: Create models/sound files for Trailer used for developmental work with Photoshop
Tues: Find out about the “bid process”. Use research to complete assignment. Update blog.
Wed: Continue work from Tuesday, Mentor update. Continue developmental work.
Thurs: Continue developmental work.
Fri: Continue developmental work by beginning animation. Write up Plan of Procedure
Update blog.

Week 3 (December 3 - 8):

Mon: Developmental Work
Tues: Update blog.
Wed: Mentor update, use contact info to begin programming.
Thurs: Use Level designs, animations to begin preliminary game design
Fri: Continue work form Thursday. Update blog.

Week 4 (December 11 - 15)

Mon: Finish developmental work.
Tues: Continue game design, Math/Science Analysis. Update blog.
Wed: Mentor Update to ensure my coding is adequate.
Thurs: More work on Game Design.
Fri: See Thurs. Update blog.

Week 5 (December 18 - 23):

Mon: Post Trailer.
Tues: Update blog by submitting Developmental Work.
Wed: Final Mentor Update for marking period. Print contacts and submit to instructors.
Thurs: Work on game design.
Fri: Update Webblog.

Week 6 (January 2 - 7):

Mon – Fri: Submit “Bid Process”. With all assignments now submitted, prepare for Presentation by writing outline.

Week 7 (January 11 - 14)

Mon. – Fri: Presentations. Marking period ends this week.

Model

Under construction....





The following scenes give an idea as to the nature of the final product. They show the general relationships between the different objects within each landscape.

Final Selection

So in making a final selection, all of the above choices have their pros and cons. For this reason, it is difficult to reject the positive points of some and retain the negative aspects of another. Therefore, the final solution will not be one of the above choices listed, but instead an amalgamation of the positive aspects of each selection, in an attempt to create the most positive gaming experience.
This final game design will be called Willowbrook. Like High School, it will be a role-playing game, however, it will not contain any real-world elements and thus won’t be bound by the same creative limitations. Like Street Racer it will include the ability to utilize vehicles as an important element of game play, however, these will not be the central focus, so that their implementation will not be held to the same standard as other games of that genre. Just as Invasion uses 2D elements and an alien-driven storyline, this final solution will also place the main character in a similar situation, without relying on the simplistic and overdone arcade style of gaming.
Willowbrook will be a third-person, side-scrolling RPG that will incorporate 2D animated cutscenes, and first-person views of interior scenarios. In this game, the player takes on the role of Hal, an ex-garbage man who uncovers the ancient secrets of the town of Willowbrook. These secrets tell of an alien invasion that is coming, and through a series of puzzles, dungeons, and boss battles he must gather seven mystical stones to power a planet-wide force field that will protect the Earth from this incursion.
Ultimately, Willowbrook is a sound idea, since it incorporates the best aspects of each of the alternate solutions, and with its quirky graphics and unique storyline has the capacity to impress the modern video gamer.

Selection 3

The final idea would be titled Invasion. This game would be similar to the classic arcade game, Space Invaders, in which the player must stop an alien incursion by destroying the incoming vessels before they are able to land. You gain points for each unit destroyed, and lose points for every one that lands. If too many enemies make it through your defenses, you lose.
Because of the simplicity of the design, and the reward-based system of advancement, the game has an extremely high replay value. Since each level gets progressively as your point score increases, the only limitation is the skill level of the player. However, despite this, such a game concept has been played out over countless generations of the medium, and players would be less receptive of a new entry into the field. Also, like most “classic” games, the repetitive actions become a drain on enjoyment after continuous playing.

Selection 2

For the next idea, known colloquially as Street Racer, the player finds himself in the shoes of “Ricer X”, a mysterious driver, who rules the midnight streets. To win, the player must buy and tune an assortment of classic and modern cars in an effort to go faster than all opponents. In this way, you will win an assortment of prizes and trophies, unlocking additional maps and customizations to enhance the experience farther.
Again this title has its positive aspects. It would be fairly easy to design the vehicles and road courses, and the gameplay would be intense and exciting. However, such a concept already saturates the market, and there would be little enthusiasm for a new challenger to the field. Also, with most comparable titles sporting high-resolution three-dimensional graphics and realistic physics, a 2D side-scroller would just seem anachronistic.

Selection 1

High School

The first idea, titled High School, as the name suggests was an RPG simulator of the high school experience. In this game, the main character had the freedom to make a wide variety of choices to influence his or her future. Depending on the choices the player makes, the character can either end up as wealthy and successful or a hopeless, spatula-jockey. Their ultimate fate is determined by how their total deeds add up. If they study hard, help others, and take care of your body, you will be granted positive respect from your peers. If you essentially do the opposite, you will receive negative respect. Therefore, the key strategy to this game is balancing positive and negative acts to ensure your success.
This title, although an interesting concept, would prove tedious to implement. A high school simulation does not allow for the freedom of creativity that the other ideas present, for when placed within the constraints of “school-appropriateness”, many of the ideas that high school students flirt with are way outside those boundaries, and thus the game would be limited to a sanitized version of the complicated relationships between students, their peers, and the obstacles they face on a day-to-day basis. For this reason, it is best to simply avoid the headache all together.