Golem Conversation

This is the conversation with the Golem that me and Cory came up with. It has to be small to fit it in the post.  Try the link below for better viewing.

 CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE THE PDF VERSION.

Constrction Game Idea Assignment

Tap Star System

This is a game in which the player will be constructing a star/solar system in space in any part of any galaxy, in any part of the Known Universe.  This game is for the Apple iPhone & iPad.  The player will be given a set celestial objects like a sun/star, on terrestrial planet, one gas giant, and one comet.  All of which are fully customizable.  As the player builds his/her star system to their specifications, they will earn or lose money/credits based on the quality of their systems, the linked-balanced functionality, & if any of the plants can provoke and sustain life.  Of course there is a catch of sorts to this game other than losing credits, the player will only have an economy to constrain them so they can only build their star system in a varying high/low budget.  As a reward for their hard work, the player is awarded rankings (i.e. A good star system and some additions to it can earn you a single rank to a prestigious 5 ranks higher while a poor job can take away 2 ranks from you, knocking you down 2 ranks from where you were.  'Fantastic Job' = +5,  5+8=13 while 'No Effort' = -2,  23 - 2 = 21).  The higher a players ranking, the more items and parts there will be available for him/her to work with and construct different, and even more varied star systems.

Item List:

Stars

Medium: Yellow and Gold (1 Credit)

Large: Red to Orange (6 Credits)

Supergiants, Bright Giants and Giants (25 Credits)

Small: White and Black, even Brown (50 Credits)

Planets & Comets

Terrestrial Planets, Gaseous Planets and Various Kinds of Comets:

Water(1 Credit)

Rock(5 Credits)

 Various Gasses(8 Credits)

Various Metals(15 Credits)

Tirple Hero Creation Assignment

 

Name: Deimos

In the game in which the player controls Deimos, he was once a hitman but 'certain circumstances' have led him to be a vigilante of sorts.

Aesthetic Changes:  As the player advances through the game via 'jobs', or even simple/epic crime-fighting vigilante heroics, they will earn various outfits, pieces of clothing, accessories, & equipment for Deimos.  Some pieces of clothing can in fact affect the gameplay either indirectly, or directly (i.e. The player attains a jacket or cloak that while functional on a mission needed for such a clothing article will in fact be cumbersome around another character's house, frighten them, or they'll believe he's a comic book super hero for real).  Of course even the clothing or look as pictured above is optional, for the player can customize the protagonist to their liking and specifications.

Functional Changes: Certain clothing, accessories, & equipment will grant the player abilities, attributes, stat changes, items, & even moves.  These will allow the player to manipulate and even alter then environment to help them advance further, change up the combat system and even the overall gameplay (i.e. The player initially had to run through a trap-filled maze that would kill them sometimes.  But with a new item like a grapple, they can take the highroad, avoiding the trap though they would lose gaining additional experience/points).

Name: Whiteout

This time the player takes the roll of, Whiteout.  She's a silent assassin/Jack-Of-All Trades for-hire that almost NEVER, EVER talks or utters one word.  She'll take any job.  Yes, ANY job.

Aesthetic Changes: Even though her armor/accessories don't change much as does her always concealed head, her ensemble is meant to be practicality and functionality over style.  Even though her look is fully customizable, from head to toe (i.e. A helmet visor can look like 50's retro, to cloak and dagger, to pure sci-fi).

Functional Changes:  Being an assassin for-hire, Whiteout's whole ensemble and wardrobe are capable of anything.  These changes, improvements, & upgrades allow her outfit alone to carry out a job.  She still needs to find her target/mark but then the assignments become simpler, not easier (i.e. A laser beam of any power level will do more damage, but will it really be the right..."fit" for the job?).

Name: Aieda

As someone can guess, Aieda is a thief, though she can pose as a executioner.

Aesthetic Changes:  Her clothing/equipmet/accessories can help her blend into the crowd somewhat.  She needs to be able to blend is she is going to scout out a locale.  Of course her look is fully customizable from head to toe (i.e. She can wear anything from a royal servant/counselor's attire to the provocative wear of a prostitute).

Functional Changes:  Her looks aren't the only thing that change.  She can gain additional, sometimes permanent skills that allow her to adapt to her environment and any situation she finds herself in (i.e. A locket can be used as a distraction tool to fool a guard or mark, while a special dagger transforms her into a large, walking vase.  Since a vase is empty and doesn't move, the untrained eye can pass her by or miss her).

Game Mash-up Presentation

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B5jRjeihBgSQY2Q1OWRkYjQtODA0OS00ODMwLWE1NDMtNmQzMDEyMzU3NGNi&hl=en&authkey=CNS_1a0E

Game Proposal -- (Idea)

1)      Write a high concept statement: a few sentences that give a general flavor of the game. You can make references to other games, movies, book, or any other media if your game contains similar characters actions or ideas.

Young adventuring corporation/company heir travels to Egypt, accidentally activates an ancient curse of some kind, aids a return of ancient gods/deities, and saves the world (or maybe just Africa) at a good cost.

2)      What is the player’s role? Is the player pretending to be someone or something, and if so what? Is there more than one? How does the player’s role help to define the gameplay?

The player takes the role of multiple characters; a young heir to a fictional American corporation/company, an out-of-retirement German mercenary (formally in service to his country) now gun-for-hire, a theatrical recent world-infamous female Romanian thief/assassin of an unknown age, a “reincarnated young” version of the Egyptian god, Anpu/Anubis in his ‘many immortal life-cycles’, and finally a pair of traveling Japanese brothers (the older being a samurai practicing bushido, the younger being a shinobi/ninja practicing White Lotus Kung-Fu).

3)      Does the game have an avatar or other key character? Describe him/her/it.

As the game has multiple characters so there are multiple avatars that the player controls.  The young American corporate heir, the ‘retired’ German mercenary, the now world-infamous thief girl, a young Anpu/Anubis ‘reincarnated’ here on Earth, and the traveling samurai & shinobi in-training brothers.

4)      What is the nature of the gameplay, in general terms? What kinds of challenges will the player face? What kinds of actions will the player take to overcome them?

The gameplay will be a somewhat action influenced riddle & puzzle solving vast, immersive free-roaming adventure with a good fight spaced out every now and then, from decent brainteaser puzzles to crazy deathtraps in need of solving once triggered/activated (sometimes within a time-limit or it’s death/game over/mission fail), and from mind-blowing riddles to fun and simple ones too.  The player will have to focus not only on their physical skills, but they will need to improve and maybe master their navigation, reasoning, problem solving, moral decision making, deductive, and inquiring skills as well.  Also the characters mentioned before will all join each other in a party, being the entire main cast.

5)      What is the player’s interaction model? Omnipresent? Through an avatar? Something else? Some combination?

The interaction model of the game on the game world is via an interesting combination of somewhat omnipotential avatar characters with lots of connections, mountains of contacts, and nearly unlimited resources (the corporate heir, old-grizzled merc., theatrical thief), to simple human avatars (the traveling Japanese brothers), and finally to the simple avatar + omnipresent deity (Anpu/Anubis).  All of the characters can be controlled.  Sometimes a player will have to play only as one character for a specific sequence in the game, but mostly will be able to switch between them on the fly or via a selection menu to view stats beforehand switching.

6)      What is the game’s primary camera model? How will the player view the game’s world on the screen? Will there be more than one perspective?

The camera will be able to be controlled freely as well as follow the player through the world.  It will mostly be in third-person either above & behind the avatar but can be shifted to an over either shoulders perspective, to first person and so on.  When controlling Anpu the camera can be shifted freely to a top-down perspective of the current area or even the entire Earth from space to view, home in on, or even teleport the party to certain places.

7)      Does the game fall into an existing genre? If so, which one?

This game can be said to be either an Action-RPG (Role-Playing Game), Action-Adventure, or even a free-roaming world adventure.  I would imagine that it falls into the later of free-roaming world adventure since you can go anywhere and progress through the game in no particular order.

8)      Is the game competitive, cooperative, team-based or single player? If multiple players are allowed are they using the same machine with separate controls or different machines over a network?

This game will have all of the available modes listed above.  Multiple players can join others for competitively fun matches or challenges of any kind, and play co-op (cooperatively) in the main game too.  Several player modes will include online team-based play, co-op play, and local multiplayer play. Co-op will be interesting and intriguing in which is that any solo players can play as any one of the given characters join each other and play through the main game as that character for however long they want to.  Of course one person will have to host any co-op game that anyone else wants to join.

9)      Why would anyone want to play this game? Who is the game’s target audience? What characteristics distinguish them from the mass of players in general?

This game will give a great number of players to be able to work together, discover that teamwork and/or cooperation are just as key and essential as standing alone and facing something bigger than themselves is but also for fun too.  The audience that this game will appeal to most will be the ones that like adventure, RPG, or story filled/driven games but of course will be a ‘pick up and play’ kind of game, since there are many kinds of characters, many kinds of playing styles are available right off the bat. 

10)  What machine or machines is the game intended to run on? Can it make use of or will it require any particular hardware such as dance mats or a camera?

This game will be intended to run on PC, Mac, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii.  No particular hardware will be necessary as it will make use of the current existing consoles hardware.  So as stated before, it will be a pick up-and-play that anyone can play at their leisure.

11)  What is the game’s setting? Where does it take place?

Now the game will be set on Earth during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s.  The players will of course venture into realms of mythology from around the world.  This is the basic setting of the game, which allows for greater variety.

12)  Will the game be broken into levels? What might be the victory condition for a typical level?

It will be sometimes sectioned off into levels but only when either the player is controlling a single character with the rest of the party being computer controlled, or during a co-op game.  A level may passed or have the victory condition be that a world altering puzzle (be it drastic or minor in change) be solved, solving/surviving/destroying a deathtrap, solving a riddle, fighting a boss, gaining a treasure, or meeting a new character.

13)  Does the game have a narrative or story as it goes along? Summarize the plot in a sentence or two.

After getting a little too carried away with a routine adventure of his, Maximus the young heir to a corporate empire is swept up in something he cannot comprehend let alone explain vaguely.  After seeing the mess he caused and a war with everyone he nearly started he has to man up, rise to the occasion or get is butt kicked, and for good.  Either way, he’ll try and make the most of it.

Games, Films, TV Shows & Books for Reference:

Assassin’s Creed, Gears of War, Ninja Gaiden, Legend of Zelda, Prince of Persia, Star Wars, Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior/Quest, Resident Evil/Biohazard, God of War, Dante’s Inferno, Lord of the Rings, The Mummy, Seven Samurai, Ghostbusters, James Bond: 007, Metroid, Spartacus: Blood and Sand + Gods of the Arena, Tin Man, The Wizard of Oz, The Neverending Story, Pirates of the Caribbean, Code Geass, Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Lupin III, Die Hard, Mission Impossible, Ghost in the Shell, Castlevania, Steamboy, Silver Boy, & Akira.

Atari Game Demo

Student Name: Maximus R. Carlson


Today’s Date: March 3^rd, 2010


Game Title Examined: Battlezone


Year of Publication: 1980 (if known - check thedoteaters.com for details)


Game Publisher: Atari


Game Developer: Atari


1 - What is the game genre?   This is a sim or simulation game. It’s a vehicular combat sim.


2 -What is the type of game ‘world’ or environment? (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)   The game environment is a 3D world.


3 - What is the perspective taken by player?   The player is set in first person, looking out from inside a tank.

4 - What is the actual gameplay – what does the player have to do?   The player’s objective is to survive long enough and get a high score by shooting tanks and occasional UFOs.


5 - Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) Describe.   Yes actually.  It is easy to understand. You move your view by panning left to right and vice versa, move forward and shoot the enemy tanks/UFOs.


6 - Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)   The gameplay as described before is pattered or actually repetitive.  But in a good way to get the highest score possible before dying.

7 - What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?   The graphic approach for this game was the use of a vector monitor in a horizontal orientation with vector graphics generating early 3D geometrical polygonal shapes to become obstacles, tanks, UFOs, and eve trees.


8 - Describe your views about the game from the point of view of


1. Ease of play:  It’s actually really easy to pick up and play.  But it does get harder as you go along.

2. Enjoyability:  It’s really enjoyable and being a sim game this helps you experience tank combat in a basic but really almost realistic form.

c) Level of engagement/immersion:  It’s not that immersive since the whole world of Battlezone is using 3D vector graphics.  Although it is an engaging game still, instilling that instinct to survive in a virtual war.

9 - Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?   No, not until I did during the last class. 

10 - What does playing the game remind you of in terms of other games/media?   It reminds me of a driving a tank sequence in some war based video-games but more-so war-time movies/film/television shows.