Robot Dog Progress Showcase

Robot Dog (not really robotic yet)
3hrs

672 Polys

1310 Tris

/* Notes: This fella will be the playable character of the solo game I'm currently working on. I want him to exude strength and stability, but he should also be lovable. He is a caretaker. He'll need to be expressive, but within his limits of robotic movement and gesture. Finding the right balance of organic and robotic design elements will be crucial... and slightly difficult for me. 

Structure changes for upcoming progress updates should include:

-Major revisions to the general shape of the head and neck (he kind of looks like a mule from the front... something from Viva Pinata maybe... Not ok)

-A closer look at how the back legs of a dog are actually shaped. His are pretty chunky, and oddly angled.

-Addition of purposeful design to points such as the eyes, nose, jaw, ears, tail, joints.

My thanks to Micah Moore, my new Maya teacher for this semester, for his already helpful advice. I'll be designing Robot Dog throughout his class, so his input will likely have a pretty big influence on the game's feel. */

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The Newest Model: Lil Fuzzy Dude

 

 Concept for the newest character. His requirements were that he were little and fuzzy and a male creature. Hence his name in all files to date: LilFuzzyDude

  

LilFuzzyDude in snazzy 3D
3hrs
1018 Polys

  

 Ellie, no longer horribly sunburned. Textured in a style after JM's design of Main Character, seen below

 

JM's impressive work on the playable character and some environment modeling

So I think it's time to explain why I'm modeling a naked chick. In case any of you were nervously wondering. JM and I are planning on entering the Indie Games Challenge sponsored by GameStop, the GuildHall at SMU, and the Academy of Interactive Arthttp://www.deciel.net/s and Sciences. (And no. I do not attend either of those schools. Maybe I should? Last time I entered something awesome to a contest sponsored by MY school, we spent several weeks waiting and pestering the organizers of said contest as to what was going on, with no response. Absolutely. None. But anyway.) The game is set on an island in the Bermuda Triangle, there is a dude, a chick, and a smallish saber-toothed tiger... thing. That's all you get for now. If you're as excited as we are about this, stay tuned to both of our blogs!

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Look! Up in the blog! It's something academic

Game Reviews.
And man do they look awesome.

This is something I've been wanting to do for a reeeally long time. But it's a lot of work. Which is why it took a reeeally long time. A new link has gone up on the nav menu, and with it another facet of my pursuit of becoming a game designer appears on the site. With each review I'd like to look at the things that I can take from the game, whether it's a blockbuster or a flop, and synthesize those qualities into my ability to design. They will also be an opportunity to brag about how many games I've played.

I will be writing the reviews within the blog for personal convenience, but they will be linked to the reviews page with spiffy presentation. Hopefully I can post a review with some regularity. Over the next week or so I'll be filling in the reviews I have completed up to this point. Fingers crossed, because there are a lot...

Disclaimer: My reviews are candidly biased according to what I like to see in a game, and I don't have the obligation to protect the developer's feelings, so I'll call a game horse poop if that's what I think it is. If you disagree, please state your educated opinion within the comments section :)

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Naked Chick Progress

6 hrs
2342 tris 1196 polys
Notes: She's not naked anymore! Don't worry, her nakedness may be recurring. I'm starting to actually like how she looks. I'm happy with overall shape, in my opinion she's pretty true to the female figure. Changes I'd like to make will probably be to the hair, face, hands and lower torso, but not as drastic as the changes were since last post. Also, she'll probably evolve as we (JM and I) work on style. Think more cartoony (I'll try too).

P.S. She doesn't have a nasty sunburn, in case you were wondering. Color coded models.

This chick was referency:

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Ellie

Short post with small hint - new game? ;) Stay tuned, and keep an eye on deciel.net

2.5 Hours
932 tris
Notes: Her torso is not quite as feminine as I'd like it to be in the final version, but hey. Two and a half hours, she's not looking too bad. Expect revisions, especially to the face, hair, and boobs. In the final version I'll be working toward more character.

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Submitted

*Phew* Wow. Done. And, here is the playable version:

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Mods

: Third Set :
2pm April 16th
With the third set of mods I finally tossed in some original models. It's starting to look like a jungle! So far no legitimate textures.

Play

Features Added-
-Instruction Menu
-Log obstacle model
-Vine obstacle model
-Snake obstacle model
-Mesh collision
-Decrease in functional level design - I don't quite have the feel for the new obstacles. This makes the difficulty of certain layouts harder to predict. Important to remember for final level design.


: Second Set :
3am April 16th
Second set of mods is done!

Play

Features added -
-Start Menu
-Pause Feature (p)
-Checkpoint System
-Press enter on buttons


: First Set :
Did some more work on the Llama game - hoping to have it done by April 19th for the Spring show :-O Dunno yet if it's possible, but I'm going to try my hardest.

Play

Features added -
-Long jump by holding jump button (up or space)
-Duck button (left ctrl or down key)
-Inclusion of how those mechanics can be implemented (gameplay)

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Llama Cubes and Death Triggers

Another day spent floundering in Unity, and I think we actually have the basis for our Llama Race Game! This time, I coded everything myself from scratch. So far it's just made out of simple geometry - but if you use your imagination you can totally see Bala and Hanapu on little llamas jumping over logs. That or, once again, I've been staring at the screen too long.

Play!

Things I'd still like to work on -
-A way to make the jump height respond to how long the jump button is pressed
-A duck function
-A start menu

Things I'm worried about -
-It's laggy! Every once in a while I miss a jump because of lag. Frustrates the heck out of me, can only imagine how our target age range would feel.

Other than that... Coding is done? Bwuh?

Related Links:

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My 6 Hour Flash Experience

So I have officially made my first animated game ever. I touched Flash for the first time this weekend, and just 6 hours later, here's what I have to show: Granted its functionality is limited. I'm still working on making the "Play Again" screen work. Hopefully the future holds a scoring system, a preloader, and a nice splash screen. But I'm ecstatic that it works, and I'm pretty dedicated to keep my coding skills up to snuff, art school or no. Hehe have fun. I know I've already played it a few dozen times... :)

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Progression and Appeal of Real-Time Strategy Games

A game in the real-time strategy genre challenges the player to overcome an opponent with superior tactics and management skills in a continuous time flow. With that simple definition, real-time strategy elements have been found in games as early as 1982 with games like Cytron Masters, Stonkers, Ancient Art of War, and Herzog Zwei. But the first game to really define the genre and put it on the map was Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty.
Developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive, this militaristic science fiction adventure is based on conquest. The objective is to harvest spice, trade it, and in turn build military units to attack enemy bases. A simple concept, but for the first time, completely focused on the development and strategic management of a force. From Dune II came Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Blizzard's first venture into the RTS field. Warcraft's appeal came from it's fantasy setting rather than futuristic science fiction. It had a more worldly feel and engaged the player with hand-to-hand combat of units. The addition of a complete society with civilian units and buildings to support the military also created a more immersive experience. In 1995 Westwood released Command & Conquer to compete with Blizzard's new hit.This new Westwood game was Dune II all grown up, and expanded the standard military attack strategy to include special units that could, for example, convert and steal enemy buildings. Although it was a possibility in Warcraft, Command & Conquer became the first to popularize competitive multiplayer in RTS games. Following the two reigning RTS developers, other RTS games started popping up. Age of Empires by Ensemble brought a more realistic touch to the genre. Total Annihilation was the first to emphasize macromanagement and standardize 3D environments. In 1998, Blizzard released the hit that would become the fourth best selling pc game of all time.StarCraft was and still is an international favorite of the genre, and even now, ten years later, it's still going strong with millions of active members on the StarCraft Battle.net server. Since these original staples of the genre, an abundance of sequels and new competitors have established real-time strategy games as one of the seven main genres.

The opportunity to build a society from the ground up appeals to the two basic hunter, gatherer human instincts. So it's no surprise that the RTS genre has captured the hearts and minds of so many gamers. The initial gathering of resources feeds the desire to hoard and gain materialistic worth, and the production of a dominating force to defeat all opposition enforces that the player is indeed superior to any that might stand up to them. Every action completed in an RTS gives the player a feeling of satisfaction that they have done something to further their growth and ultimate domination. An important aspect in any game is the feeling of accomplishment. There aren't too many digital experiences more fulfilling than reaching the epitome of a civilization and conquering the world. Another interesting and unique quality of the real-time format is that the player is required to be constantly involved in one action or another. Every second is valuable. In addition to making the game incredibly immersive, this encourages a mindset of constant multi-tasking and time management, which if carried to real-world settings, could lead to increased productivity. Those who prefer turn-based games may argue that this demonstrates a skill in manual dexterity rather than strategic affluence, but the rapid mouse-clicks are accompanied by rapid thought patterns, not empty button mashing instincts. The biggest drawback of RTS games is, perhaps, also the biggest drawback of video games in general. There is always a singular goal and mentality of “kill everything everywhere!!1!”. Some progress is being made on this front by options such as those in Age of Empires, where a player can win by building an ultimate structure rather than by slaughtering an enemy.

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