PandMa

[pandma]

Blog #5 - Help me program, pt. 1

To start off, the first part of this tutorial for programing was very easy for me to understand. I really thought that the creator made the basics of variables and how to check if they work easy to grasp. I like that he makes it seems like anyone can do this! I am the one coding for my group and I have been a little nervous about doing it. This information I think will really help me get a better grasp on coding.

Part 2 of the programming tutorial made so much sense to me. I didn't really think about how huge variables could be. I think this will really help me with the coding in our game, especially when I need to change something. All you need to change is the content of the variable! I did not think it would be that simple, though I am sure that it will get much more complicated later on.

Part 3 was also very interesting. It talks about Arrays and If statements. I thought that this was very helpful as well. The If statements really brought back how to program in Inform 7. There is a lot of potential with If statements, though as he stated they can get very long and complex.

[pandma]

PTT #6 - BLURST!

So, Raptor Safari was super fun to play. I felt like I really needed to kill the raptors while I was playing. I also felt very excited after I figured out the controls for the jeep. I had a little trouble with the steering controls, but I got better the more I played. I had a lot of fun chasing after the raptors and flipping through the air. I turned over the jeep a couple times. Overall it was a super fun game, though I sort of wish the time limit was longer so I could get more points.

Game number two I chose was Time Donkey. I loved it! I felt a little bit rushed, but after I realized that the tacos and things you pick up you get again, I felt much better about the game. I think that I would be able to do a whole lot more with it the next time I play now that I know how everything works. I liked being about to kick down the fence. Kicking and Jumping were both very fun and they made me feel like I was playing a real donkey!

The last game I chose to play was Paper Moon. It was a little frustrating for me, but I enjoyed it anyway. It took me a little while to figure out what was meant by "popping" things in and out. I had fun killing the crabs and bat things after I realized how to do it. Collecting the apples was really fun too. I enjoyed the game a lot. The feeling I got from it was pretty relaxed. It was a little stressful in a few parts, but overall it was very calm game. I didn't even notice the count down timer until close to the end of the game.

All of the games I played by Blurst were fun. The feeling for all of the games was very light hearted fun. The content of each game was different. They were all about collecting things and overcoming obstacles. They all had a lot movement involved in the game play. There was no sitting still. They all felt pretty fast paced, though I think maybe the time limits placed on the games may have had something to do with that.

[pandma]

PTT #5 - One Button Bob

So... One Button Bob. Well, I could not figure out the one button at first. I feel a little bit achy in the head from that one. Anyway, Bob's button does so many different things. It lets him jump, throw a boomerang, stop walking, move squares, levitate, move forward, climb up and down ladders... His button is very powerful. I like Bob's multi-talented button a lot. I thought that it was very clever to have the button do something different in each level depending on what Bob needed to do. I had a bit of trouble with the moving forward and not being able to do anything about it levels. I got use to it a few levels like that, but I instantly died every time before I realized what Bob's button did. Overall, I really enjoyed the game. It has given me more insight into how much you can do with only one button for the player to interact with. It makes it easy for them, because well they only need one button to play. Plus I think that from the programmers side, it makes it a little bit easier to code.

[pandma]

Post Mortem - BagMan

I originally intended BagMan to be a much darker game. Even though it is softer, I think that the overall effect that I wanted is still present. BagMan is basically about a homeless man who needs your help. There is no way to win the game without helping him, which originally I was thinking about the player dying at the end of the game, but I threw that idea out. My thoughts were that the player would probably become aggravated with that ending and that was not what my intention for the game was.

Well, on to things that went well during creation.

- Creating the character of BagMan was surprisingly easy. I had idea for him and everything just flowed out of my mind with him. He turned out exactly how I pictured him in my mind. Cranky, cranky.

- Deciding the setting for BagMan was also something that went very smoothly during creation.

- The means to the end of game went very well. Again, the ideas for how to "win" just poured right out.

- The dialogue for the character of BagMan took a little tweaking, but overall it went amazing.

- Deciding what the interactive objects were going to be went great as well.

Things that were not so good.

- Trying to say things so that the player would understand what they were going for in the game without just out right saying "This is what you do."

- Deciding on how to end the game was very rough. For the longest time I really wanted the player to die, but ended up letting that go.

- Coding!! It took a lot of practice to figure out how Inform understands what you are telling it to do.

- Debugging the coding! Ugh! This part was the worst. You knew there was something wrong and Inform even told you where it was wrong, but figuring out how to FIX it was a painful process.

- Trying to make the world of BagMan seem real. I added touch, smell, and look to pretty much all of the important interactive objects in the game. Well... smelling the basket would be a little bit odd to me.

Overall I really enjoyed creating Interactive Fiction! I will hopefully have the time to make more later on. It was truly a wondrous experience to see your game file open up all alone for the first time. Also hearing the feedback after the second play test was great motivation to make the game all that it should be!

[pandma]

Blog #4 - Action and Interaction

World Model: My IF takes place primarily in an alleyway. There are also two shops and a sidewalk area. Most of the actions the player can take are just the basic things that one would do in IF. The main non-player character is a homeless man who needs your help. There are some more descriptions of things that needed to be added to the story. Parser: I have a few shorthands added in to make the player a bit more at ease, instead of having to type out the name of something. Other than that though, everthing is pretty basic stuff for IF. Output: There is a decent amount of description for the world, but I do not think that it is overwhelming. I want the player to enjoy the experience and not have to read about things unless they choose to examine something closer.

[pandma]

PTT #4 - The Baron

The Baron was an amazing story. I am having a hard time thinking of what to say about it. I thought that the dialogue was very well done. The story was phenomenal. I am still shock from the ending of the story. I really liked how conflicted the main character throughout the whole story. I also thought that the way the author handled making the story linear was very well done. I thought that the gargoyle was an awesome character. I really felt sorry for his struggle. The Baron was a very well done character. I thought the way the author makes all of your choices come together in the end of the story. It really pulls you into the story and makes you want to do the right thing. I would really like to play The Baron a few more times to try and figure out some of the other choices you can make to shape the story.

[pandma]

Blog #3 - Conversation Model

Information Model: My conversation model is fairly simple. You can ask BagMan about a few different things to get the conversation going. He is pretty grumpy, so if you are blunt and to the point with him, he does not really respond well to it. If you are caring and ask him about himself, then he will in turn be relatively kind, atleast in his mind, to you. The conversation will really help you figure out what you are trying to achieve in the game. Otherwise you will be wandering around clueless. I think it is really important to talk to NPCs in games, so I really made an emphasis on that in BagMan.

Interface: You have to talk to BagMan to get any sort of response from him. Just Saying hello will get you no where. You can ask him about a couple of things. He will "help" you out by giving you ideas of what to ask him about. Being hostile to BagMan will not end well for you. Being thoughtful of how he is doing will get you where you need to go.

Narrative Structure: The conversation in the game is extremely important to the story. This will give you what you need to know in order to accomplish your goals. The is nothing keeping you from exploring first, but talking to BagMan is essential.

Player Experience: I think this will make some people look at the way the interact with other people in a some what different light, at least I hope so. Most people who play games act like they are playing a game and just take everything that they can, or they at least try to. I hope to make a point that this is not always the nicest thing to do, though even if you are as kind as can be to some one, it may still come back to bite you

Story: I chose to make a bit of a darker game. It was really just what felt right at the time. I really like where it has come since the idea started. I think that at first the player may get a little bit flustered by the fact that you are playing a kind person and you should not just take everything you see. There is always the possibility that no matter how kind you are to some one, they can turn on you in an instant, for doing even the smallest thing "wrong".

[pandma]

Blog #2 - Things

Object Descriptions:

Apple - A deep red in color, that looks like it would taste delicous and crunchy.

Cookie - Covered in many tasty-looking raisins. You think it even has oatmeal mixed into it.

PB&J - It looks oddly fresh and tasty, considering where you find it.

Basket - A deep brown in color. It looks expensive and possibly like it may have been stolen...

Juice - The labels states that it is cranberry. It even includes a nice picture of some juicy cranberries on the label.

I have not decided what all can be done with these in my game, but I know that I will make all of the "food" items edible. I know for sure that I want the basket to be a container. I think that burning the basket may be a possibility.

[pandma]

PTT #3 - Glass

I enjoyed playing Glass a lot. The first time I played it I was got so confused. But, after playing it a few more times, I got the hang of it. I really like that you are essentially just a background character in the story, but what you do has a huge impact on how it will end. You have to actually make yourself in the game think about things before you know what you should say. I like how subtle the dialogue is. Though, if you have no clue what you are doing, then you can just sit back and "watch" the whole story take place. Glass really gives you a lot of options for getting to certain endings. This first time I just let the story unfold and the "poor old prince" ended up with Theodora... Yuck. Then, the next time I helped him out and told him about what the old lady was doing to decieve him. It was quite fun to be a "side" character, but still be the one who got to determine how the story went.

[pandma]

PTT #2

The first IF I played was Common Ground. It was an alright story line. The story moved between three different characters' points of view. It was interesting to see how the conversation changed depending on who the main character was. Some of it didn't line up perfectly, but over all it was very nice effect. Having multiple main characters can be confusing, but the creator did a marvelous job of making everything flow together. The second IF I chose to play was Max Blaster and Doris de Lightening Against the Parrot Creatures of Venus. For some reason I was having a lot of trouble getting past the vine/quicksand part, but that is beside the point. I really liked that you had the ability to switch between characters while they were in the same "room". I also liked how the story introduced you to the character that you were not actively playing. Another thing that I really thought was interesting was being able to see what the other character had in their inventory without having to switch to that character. I thought the story was well done, though for some reason I could not "use" anything in the game. I thought that was very strange. The third IF I chose was Masquerade. I thought it was interesting that you could have so many endings. Giving up on figuring out something and leaving the main area will end the game straight out. It was really great to be able to have so many choices of ways that the story could go. I think that having many endings depends on how you want your game to be. I really do like the idea of having so many different ways to complete your story. Depending on the player, they could easily go through your story multiple times just to try to find out all of the possible outcomes. The fourth IF I chose was Aisle. I think that for a short story with different options it is good plot style, though I didn't really enjoy playing something that ended so quickly. I prefer to explore the world and story that I am in. I can definitely see how this could be a good tool to keep for later on.

[pandma]

Photopia

Well, it took me a while to get to the crystal maze. I was wandering around for a long time before I remembered the help command. That made me feel a little slow, but it helped me to figure out what I needed to do.

So far I really like Photopia. At first I was really confused as to what to do. I was getting a little bit frustrated with it, but when I figured out what I needed to do it was very rewarding. I want to keep on playing until I find out what is going on. I am still a little bit confused.

[pandma]

INFORMed

I read chapter one of INFORM 7 and read the "blog" about creating a game design document. I enjoyed both and found them both very helpful in relation to my ideas for our IF project.

[pandma]

INSANITY - Post Mortem

For this game we all brought in different games. The boards, cards, and pieces were split up, cut up, and passed out to each group. We had to come up with a good, working game from all the bits. Overall it was an amazing experience and I would do it again if given the option.

Originally our game was quite odd. We had this thought of doing something where you had to take your animal to the this town in the center of the board. The whole way to the town you had to overcome obstacles, so that your animal would arrive safely.

This idea turned out to be a total dud. We didn't like it and ended up changing it to something much better. The main problem was coming up with an idea that was better than the first one. We had a really hard time finding something good, but I believe we achieved something great with INSANITY. Things that went right: - We all worked together very well on this game. We had some rough times, but in the end we all stuck together and worked things out. - Once we got the idea for Insanity, we had a great time coming up with the rules and dynamics of the game. - Everyone pulled their weight, Jonathan did the most work though, getting ALL of those cards painted a solid color. Thank you! - I don't think that we had any big arguments or disagreements about something that we did not figure out together. - We got everything done on time and had it ready to go for the final 2 tests of our game. Things that could have gone better: - We really struggled to come up with a good concept for our game. - We had a tough time getting the board to look right. Figuring out a way to display direction of travel was pretty big issue. - We also had trouble figuring out how we should cover the backs of the cards we used. - We tried to make our game 3-5 players, but finding a fifth animal piece that matched the ones we were given was a complete failure. Getting the rules to work for it would have been no problem, though. - We did have a bit of a problem getting the number of Insanity points to work no matter how many players were in the game. Getting matches with three players is a lot harder than with four.

[pandma]

I thought that making a puzzle was going to be extremely difficult to do. I spent a couple days just thinking about ideas, but I was not really coming up with anything good. I finally sat down and started drawing everything out and found that I was much better at it than I previously thought. The first and I thought most obvious idea for a puzzle I had was an Item Use puzzle. My idea was that the player would have to find a pair of wire cutters before they would be able to difuse the bomb. I didn't get very deep into that idea unfortunately, but I was thinking you might have to solve a smaller version of my third puzzle idea before you would be able to difuse the bomb. My second idea was to possibly have some switches that you would have to maneuver in order to diffuse the bomb, but I didn't really like that idea a whole lot. My final idea and the one I chose to make more detailed involves following a pattern of flashing lights to discover the order you need to cut the wires. There are three flashing lights(blue, red, and white). There is a display area that houses the countdown timer, that flashes green. Then, there are five colored wires (blue, red, white, green, and black)that the player must cut to difuse the bomb. The lights flash in order from white to blue to red. That is the fairly simple part, though you have to be paying close attention to the lights when they begin to flash. The green LED display flashes in time with the other lights. Failure Conditions: Time runs out. Cut a wire out of order. Win Condition: Cut the wires in the correct order(white, blue, red, green). Then kill the power to the bomb by cutting the black wire.

[pandma]

Postmortem - Tiger Blood

Our game, Tiger Blood, was originally intended for people who like fighting games. In my mind the game turned out about how I thought it would. There was a good amount of things one would expect to find in a fighting game. The game was intended to be fun and we tried out something new by making it a three way fight, instead of the normal two way that just about every fighting game I have ever played has. Tiger Blood, I believe, was the first real game that any of us have made. We made a pretty good team, in my opinion. Though, there were a couple set backs that we had little trouble getting past in the beginning. It was quite difficult for us to wrap our minds around the idea that we could ONLY use what was given to us by the UNO cards. I had a bit of trouble myself with the idea that you could change nothing about the cards, except what they could do in the game. For me figuring out the health system was probably the hardest part. We struggled to come up with a simple way to display the health "bar" and make it so that any person watching the game knew exactly who was doing well and who was not. Figuring out how to make special attacks in the game came easily enough, though determining the strength of said attacks was a more challenging for us. I like the way our system turned out in the end. There was a bit of tension when deciding on a new for our fighting game, but I caved and let it be called Tiger Blood. I truly don't feel very strongly toward Charlie Sheen, but I digress on that topic. I really had to force myself at first to think outside the box to work on this game. There were a lot of things that were in the game in the beginning that we later took out after a few play tests from our class mates. Elemental attacks were let go. As were the weaknesses and strengths that went with them. We opted for a more simple way of dealing with attack and defense, by using warm colors(red and yellow) for attack and cool colors(blue and green) for defense. Overall I really enjoyed the experience of helping to create Tiger Blood with my team.

[pandma]

Fiddly Bits - Blog # 3

The game state of our UNOMod was seeing how much health each fighter had at any given moment, knowing the cards that had already been played, and knowing what cards you had in your hand. The game view of our UNOMod was being able to see each fighter and how much health they had left. Another part of the game view was each persons cards in their hands and also the draw deck and discard pile. Our pieces/bits reflect the game state by showing you how much damage you would be able to attack the other fighters with and also knowing whether you would be able to defend your fighter from any attacks from the others. You also are able to tell just at a glance how much more damage one of the fighters would be able to take before they are K.O. Knowing all this information helps the players strategize how they should play their attacks or defends and if they should team up against each other, or just fight 1 v 1 v 1. I don't really think that this concept could be made much more clear. Having a visible lose of health really makes it easy to understand and simple to analyze. Setup: Removing 0s, 1s, 2s, and 3s for your characters from the deck and building your character, then drawing a card to decide who will be players 1, 2, and 3. Then shuffling the rest of the deck, dealing out the cards, and then having at each other. Victory: Defeating your opponents makes you the victor of the game. Progression: Game progression is based on who has the most attack cards in their fighter, then it moves on from there. Player Actions: The actions that they player takes would be sorting the cards, shuffling the deck, dealing out cards, playing cards to attack or defend, drawing cards to refill your hand, and removing or returning cards from or to your character. Individual Game View: Each players' game view would be the amount of health of each fighter, the cards that have already been played, and the cards that the player has in their hand at that moment. The dynamic of our UNOMod is killing the other fighters. The goal of our UNOMod is to have your fighter survive and to beat the other fighters. The theme of our UNOMod is a fighting tournament that your fighter is a part, where you must kill the other fighters in a 3 way battle to determine who is the best.

[pandma]

MDA

So, I just finished reading the MDA PDF file. I really like the way that the author describes everything. I really enjoyed reading the "chapter" and I think that I have learned quite a bit from doing so. Two more words that I would use to describe the aesthetics of a game would be Dedication and Emotion.Dedication is game as a way of life. Emotion is game as an outlet for feeling or a way of expressing ones self with out the real world consequences. My group's fighting game UNOMod I think would be Challenge, Emotion, Fantasy, and Submission. The Dynamics of our UNOMod is that as your character becomes weaker, you actually see it expressed on your character by losing your limbs. You also see that as your character becomes weaker, you do lose some of your ability to attack and defend against your opponents. I think that being able to beat up on other fighters with your fighter really makes it emotional. It helps you to vent out some aggression, hopefully, and it makes it so that you can become some one else for a time and do things that you would not be able to do in real life, without some sort of punishment. The mechanics of our UNOMod would have to be losing your fighters limbs when you take damage and also losing your ability to better attack and defend with your fighter. I think that they go hand in hand with actually seeing it in front of you, instead of just having it in your mind that this is what is happening.