Week 12 Group Work

I busted ass this week.

I finished off all the music for every level and the theme of the game.
I also wrote the story, then designed and storyboarded how we would present the story in the game.

We just concluded our first successful test build on 360 hardware, and it was incredibly encouraging.

This week is really concentrating on fit and finish for the game.
I also really have to concentrate on getting the gameplay balanced and making the pacing a tad easier.

I have to keep the group on course this week, as time is really running down.
I also have to make time to talk to magy about how group participation marks are going to be distributed. We have had a certain non-contributer this semester that should not have the same marks as the rest of us.

Week 11 Group Work

This week was very productive.
I kept the group on track, and decided on more artwork that we needed.
I also redesigned the combat sequences because our alpha testing showed that combat went by too quickly.
The music I have been composing for the game continued to keep developing, which is very exciting.
Our issue with a non-responsive group member has resurfaced. Ugh. We will have to deal with this more harshly this time.
We have a brand new build now with the new artwork in it. It is very exciting.

Week 11 Presentation Week 4

Aquila
I was very intrigued by this game. It really did seem too emulate their final proposed version.
However, I am not entirely sure that it will come together for the final version. It is quite ambitious, and the alpha will be very interesting to see.

Legend of Chopstick Chung
I still am not sold on the concept of minigames. It seems like it would be easier, because you are not making one massive game, but rather a group of smaller games. However, this also entails starting the design process multiple times. A game that looks fun is very difficult to make fun, I hope it delivers.

Deep Field
I am still not sure about this game. It seems to be overly simple to be fun. I'm certain that they will do some very interesting things with the concept. They refined their prototype as they went along, which is a very important thing for a group to do.

Dynasty
First things first, I am concerned about educational games. They are rarely fun, and often get so bogged down in the material it is trying to communicate that it leaves the player dissatisfied. On that note though, the gameplay here looks pretty good, but it really seems that they need to do more prototyping, especially if they are introducing more elements after this prototyping round.

Week 10 Group Work -> ALL ABOUT ME!

Well, now that I know that this space is not to say what we have been doing in our groups, but rather to say what I have been doing, here goes with the new focus on me, me, me.

I have found out that delegation is as hard a job as actually doing the things that are assigned. I was super stressed earlier this semester, then I realized that I have an entire group to do the work. At first I was loathe to break people into assigned roles, but soon realized that this is a necessity.

After realizing the sheer amount of artwork that we need to make the game look right, I decided that I could not personally manage it myself. So I appoint Leon the Art Director, and made 4 of the team members the art department. Now I can see what art needs to be done in our current build, assign it to the director, and he can distribute it to the team. I also redesigned the way our battle screens work this week.

I have been hard at work composing original music for the game as well. Having a cinematic soundscape is a definite goal for us, and as the sole sound guy and project lead, I have a lot of work.

On the sound front, I have finished the theme, and now I am working on level specific songs, and variants on the theme to signify events happening in the game world. This is all in addition to sound effects of course.

Our issue with the non-responsive team member has hopefully been resolved.

All in all though, the alpha will be ready to test this week, and it truly is all in thanks to the dedication of the entire team, and sheer luck that they haven't risen up against me yet!

Until next week,
Cody S out.

Week 10 Presentation Week 3 Feed back

Crack Quest
This game really seems to be coming along quite well. Their engine of choice is extremely suited to the game that they are makling. The art seems very good, and it certainly has a unique style all its own. The fact that they already have a running game is very positive for that team, and certainly gives them a leg up on the rest of the teams. I will be very interested to see this game in its final product, if for nothing else but the sheer ridiculousness and shock value that it brings to the table.

Zodiac War
I really hope this game turns out. Fighting games are very difficult to get right. There are many factors aside from just move set. There is speed, distance, movement, not to mention making the fighting interesting. A simple rock paper scissors mechanic sounds easy enough to implement, but to execute it in a manner that is still interesting, and fun to use without it degrading into just button mashing is something that full on professional teams struggle with. They seem to have a good direction, but I think far more testing is required.

Stick Ninja
This game looks awesome!! But really, this game is my baby, so I'll let other people critique it.

Week 9 Group Work!

This was a week of hard work!

We are really kicking into high gear for the alpha. All of our artwork is coming into focus, as well our levels and characters. Our mechanics are being finalized, and we are securing our chosen platform for testing. We should be able to splice everything together for our alpha test next week.

However, all is not well in the land of the Stick Ninja.
We have an absentee group member who is completely unresponsive and uncommunicative. We have tried numerous times to contact him, but to no avail. This week, we may have to take actions to rectify this with the proper officials.

Week 9 Presentation 2 Feedback

Circular Strife

This Game seems very fun, but also deceivingly complex. I really like their prototype, even though the controls were imprecise, and obviously with remote control cars you will not have the degree of control you would with other implementations.
It displayed how people would interpret the game, and allowed them to observe the concepts of their game design in action with users, which is the entire point of a non-technical prototype.


Drive-Thru Tycoon

It really seems that this group has spent a lot of their time trying to change the game Diner Dash into their own creation, as opposed to putting their energies into making their own creation. This really shows in their plans. They are talking about things at a very high level, and it seems, especially from their prototype and flash version that they showed, that they don't really know how to resolve the gameplay. This game could either come together by the final, or it could languish in alpha for a long time without a strong direction.


Third Cloud

I really appreciate the retro feel of this game. I feel that the group is extremely comfortable with their given medium. Even in their brief presentation of their prototype, there were many callbacks to the golden age of RPG's. The game really seems to be very traditional, without coming off as hackneyed. I also am very hopeful that they get it running on a SNES. That would be a beautiful touch, as the game they are making is perfect for the SNES, and it belongs on that platform.


Food Fight

I am very concerned about this game. The is group really needs to completely re-think their concepts and re-prototype them. I found this presentation very successful in that the prototype told them that their game was completely broken. This is the danger of prototyping, you really never know how people will receive your creation. However, without that possibility, prototyping is completely useless. But this also means more work. Its a double edged sword that is necessary for our medium. But all is not doom and gloom. Their art style is very interesting, and they are obviously very competent designers and creators, so I'm sure that they will have something excellent for the alpha testing.