Homework 14: Indirect Control

Homework 14: Indirect Control
Assigned: October 31, 2014
Due: November 7, 2014

For this project, please describe the various ways that your game addresses the issue of indirect control. What elements of your game (characters, interface, scenery, art) contribute to the indirect (or direct) control of the player. The book discusses five categories of indirect control. Please address them, and add any other forms of indirect control that may apply to your game.

Please add in a separate blog what you have contributed to your team game during the past 7-10 days. This could be related to poster design, game document writing, object creation, script writing, music inclusion, or anything else. How have you communicated with your team? Email, face to face meetings, skype, telephone, etc.

Homework 13: Game Document

Homework 13: Game Document
Assigned: Monday Oct. 27, 2014
Due: Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014

In this homework each team will create their game document that describes the current state of their game. The material will be distilled from previous homeworks and from their notes document. The game document can create links, images, videos. Images are very strongly desired. Images and videos must be described. Any material not created by the team must be sourcde (provide a link of the source of that material.)  The game document should contain the following elements:

Desired Game Experience

Game Objective

Story (level by level) (probably 1 to 2 levels only)

Characters and their attributes

emotions, weapons, powers, etc.

How are points generated

List of puzzles and their solutions

Puzzle discovery (where, how, when, in what order)

Describe winning strategies (one or more)

Level maps

levels, buildings, rooms, corridors, building content, etc.

Anything else of relevance

Take snapshots of your various objects, of scenes of your game, etc.

Homework 12: team tasks

Homework 12: team tasks
Assigned: Oct. 15, 2014
Due: Oct. 23, 2014

In this "team" homework, the team will present in the "notes" document, a list of tasks that must be accomplished by the different members of the team in order to take the game to a state that is "playable". Tasks can relate to esthetics, mechanics, story, interface, playtesting, python, etc.

For each task, assign one or more people, and a time frame in which the task is expected to be completed. Each person in the team is to state that they have seen the list and approve of it.

You will be assigned a score between 0 and 100% on this assignment. A member of the team gets less than perfect score if he/she does not acknowledge acceptance of the list (or offers alternatives). The list must take into account the remaining time to complete the game (6 weeks) and the difficulty of the various tasks.

Example:

Construct a security perimeter using near or collision objects.
Time to completion: 2 weeks
Responsible: Gordon Erlebacher

Homework 11. Chapter 13: Interfaces

Homework 11
Chapter 13: Players Play Games through an Interface
Assigned: Monday October 13, 2014
Due: Thursday October 23, 2014

Please read Chapter 13 and answer the following questions:

Not all items apply to all your games. If does not apply, please explain why it does not apply.

1) Describe the user interface in your game
2) What role will the interface play in your game
3) Intuitive interfaces give a feeling of control. How easy (or hard) is your interface to master?
4) Will your players have a strong influence over the outcome of the game? Please describe? If not, how can you change this?
5) Players like to feel powerful. Do the players of your game feel powerful? How could this be improved?
6) What does the player pick up and touch?
7) Does the interface map to actions in the world? How?
8) How does your interface let the player see, hear and touch the world of the game? Could this be improved in order to make the game world more real to the player's imagination?
9) The idea interface is invisible to the player. Does your interface cater to the players desires? What are these desires?
10) Can your interface be used without the players thinking? Is it natural?
11) Assuming you can do what you want, how would you make your interface more natural?
12) What kind of feedback does your interface present to the player? What do the players want to know? How does the interface relate to the player's goal? Will it help achieve that goal?
13) Is the interface feedback continuous? Why or why not?
14) Please describe the concept of interface modes? Does your game have multiple modes? Please explain (Lens #60).

As usual, please state in your blog (separate entry if possible), your contributions to your team's game.

Homework 10

Homework 10
Assigned: Fri. Oct. 3, 2014
Due: Thur. Oct. 9, 2014

In this homework, you will use Blender to create one or more menus or score tracking relevant to your game. Combine this menu/score with animations for enhanced visual effect. Each team should provide at least one menu or score (the same person need not do both.)

Explain what you have done in your blog, provide images and a video illustrating your system in action [No longer optional.]

Blender file: (35 pts: menu/score + 15 pts for animation.)
Video: 20 pts
Images: 10 pts
Explanation: 20 pts

Please state what you have done for your team in this past week.

Homework 9

Homework 9: Chapter 11: Balance
Assigned: Mon. Sept. 29, 2014
Due: Thur. Oct. 9, 2014

For this homework, you will lead the chapter on Balance, pp. 171-205. In this chapter, the author discusses 12 different types of balance.

Assignment:
In your blog,  discusses balance and how it relates to your game. Consider all 12 types of balance. Some will apply, some will not. Provide examples within your game.

This homework is individual.

I will  grade your homework taking into account the degree to which you analyzed this chapter and transposed the concepts to the team game.

Please make sure to include in a separate Blog your contributions to the team game for the week. 

Homework 8

Homework 8
Assigned: Fri. Sept. 26, 2014
Due: Thur. Oct. 2, 2014

In this homework, you will use objects that your team has already accumulated (you may exchange objects) and create one or more animations that will be useful in your game. You should animate at least two of the following: location, scale and rotation.

Place your blend file in one of the document files that Danial made available and provide a link to it in your blog.  Also send it to us by email.

Your blog should also contain a description of the animation(s) you have constructed including pictures and/or videos. Also describe how your team plans to use it in your game.

File: 60 pts.
Blog description: 30 points.
What have you done this week for the team (blog entry): 10 points.

Homework 7

Homework 7
Assigned: Monday Sept. 22, 2014
Due: Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014

After reading Chapter 10 (Game Mechanics), please answer the following questions as they relate to your team game. Answers are individual and posted to your blog. The answers should apply to your  team game, as discussed at your meetings. 

The answers can be brief, but must be to the point, and expressed as full sentences and paragraphs. Make sure that each question is answered individually. Some of the questions cannot be answered without reading the book chapter. 

You can skip subsections 2 and 6: State and Chance. 

1. Is the space in your game discrete or continuous?
2. How many dimensions does your space have? 
3. What are the boundaries of your space? 
4. How many verbs do your players (characters) have? What are they? 
5. How many objects can each verb act on? What are these objects? 
6. How many ways can players achieve their goals
7. How many subjects do the players control? What are these subjects? 
8. How do side effects change constraints. 
9. What are the operative actions in your game? 
10. What are the resultant actions in your game? 
11. What actions would you like your players to do that they cannot presently do? (based on your current knowledge of Blender)
12. What is the ultimate goal of your game? 
13. Are there short and long term goals? What are they? 
14. How do you plan to make the game goals known and understood by the player? 
15. What are the foundational rules of your game? 
16. How are these rules enforced? 
17. Does your game develop real skills? What are they? 
18. Does your game develop virtual skills? What are they? 

The homework must appear in your blog, together with a statement of what you have done for the team this week. Optional: add video/images to illustrate your points. Each question has equal weighing.