19sixteen - week 10 storyboarding

Story boarding

After meeting with the 19sixteen team this week I have been developing initial research and drawing up a storyboard we will be working towards in our shooting. During the meeting i had been brainstorming on possible animations and graphics we can blend into our visuals in the video and pitched the idea of working together with Conor and Chloe to incorporate the characters directly into our video. after the meeting I created a broad mind map of the possible shots and topics we can include in our doc. After connecting through slack with David on our plans for the next few weeks i also got in touch with the rest of the group to request that we can be notified in future of any practical work or meetings taking place on campus that either myself or David can join in on and capture some footage to possibly link as many of these progressions into the doc as possible.

Alpha

Alpha

As i have been working on my game levels it has become clear to me about how little i still know about the power unity gives you. for a free program, there is an incredible amount of features available to play around with and include in your game design. Even with watching at least 3 tutorials each week i still dont feel that i could have completed any full level of my game without having to refer back to tutorials or the internet for help. it amazes me that such huge games in both design complexity and user popularity could be designed completely using the Unity software. I have found it extremely challenging to use the program and although i have progressed with designing in unity i still do not feel comfortable using the program and wouldn't have the confidence to attempt to create another game in my spare time. one huge difficulty i have found whit designing my game is getting things perfected in my design. i do think that unity is well thought out and easy to use but it is definitely a professional program and i would have enjoyed the program more if there was more of a simple drag and drop setup for assets. Im also impressed with the amount of free assets available on the asset store and i have found this to be a really great help in terms of exploring new looks for my game and to see what is possible in terms of design within unity. if i look back on my expectations of time management and goal setting in my first few weeks there has definitely been some changes made. i have found it very difficult to plan out my blog posts for the weeks and try to incorporate each of my tutorials and also creating my beta and alpha games on top of all this. I do prefer the 100% CA style of module and i would not want a final exam on game design but i have really struggled to keep up with the huge workload in this module. for the time i have spent with making my game i am somewhat happy with my game but of course it could have been much better if the game was the main focus for the rest of the semester as opposed to the blogs. having said this, i feel that working through up to date tutorials, like the Jimmy Vegas ones,each week is a really good way to learn the basics of Unity and what can be done to improve the overall look of your game.

A screengrab of my Level 1 start point

Final GDD

Final GDD

My Final GDD can be found HERE.

As i did not get a chance to start my GDD last week I tried my best to fill out my dundoc GDD with as much information as i could based on the topics. I did not completely understand some of the topics but I have tried my best to create an in-depth GDD for my final design. I look forward to adding all the design elements i have mentioned into my game design and hope to get a good start on creating the foundations for my game. I think using this Dundoc is a great way to really structure what one plans to include in their game and it then allows me to begin thinking about how i will go about the process of creating the game. Outlining things in this way is especially good as design changes or additions can be made freely without having to go back on work you've already done, i plan to use this Dundoc as the wire frame for all my additions to design and development as i construct this game.

game brainstorm of 4 ideas

Brainstorming Game Ideas

Using the unity engine i would like to create a game that can have multiple different variables to a similar outcome. In my opinion, a game that can be played multiple different ways will result in much more returning players rather than a 'story mode type game that can be completed by moving through the steps and will be no more enjoyable or intriguing to a returning player. I really like the idea of using the first person perspective in unity to give a different take on game ideas that would be played in a completely different way like arcade games for example.

My four initial game ideas are:

1. Adventure Quest

In this game idea I would like to have the player trekking through a world with different variations in realism, terrain and conditions, the player would complete the game by traveling through this world collecting riddles which in turn would give insight to the player on where to travel and which paths are best taken for the player to most efficiently arrive in their final destination. The complexity of the game would come from the different stages the player would go through which could include real world scenarios such as deserts, mines, forests, mountains etc and also could include taking 'out of this world' paths like space travel, alternate dimensions etc.

2. Maze

In this game idea I would like to have the player travel through a maze with different obstacles on each path, the maze could be 2D, ie. on same x plane with the terrain in 3D, or 3D, with the maze path on different levels. this game could be made in levels, which difficulty increasing on each maze or as a continuous path that gradually expands into multiple extensive paths, increasing difficulty.

3. Obstacle course

For this game I would like to have a first person obstacle course. Taking inspiration from sonic / crash bandicoot / Mario type games, I would like to create a game in which the player has to advance through an obstacle course. Similar to the maze and adventure quest ideas, there are a few ways the course could be designed, on either 2D or 3D levels, advancing levels or multiple courses with varying difficulty etc. unlike the adventure quest, this would not be designed or styled as a real world course and more like a traditional obstacle course like what would be seen in ninja warrior.

4. first person arcade

My final brainstorm idea is for a first person arcade game(s) in which I would create one or more arcade game that could use 3D design in unity so that instead of using, for example, a coin in coin drop or a ball in skee-ball, the player would be a part of the game and would aim to hit targets/ score points etc. this could be expanded into a simulation life size arcade in which the player can travel around to different games. one way to improve player experience could be to incorporate easter eggs for each game and include mini games in unexpected areas.

skee-ball game - image taken from this website