Refocusing

At the end of this week the whole team was forced to accept a uneasy reality.  We still do not have a playable game.  So we set clear goals to have a minimal playable version ready by next week.  To do this we need to make levels like crazy.  So the goal is 10 levels per person, and after we all have made levels we will choose the 10 best or rework the favorite parts of multiple levels until we get a working set of 10 for the game.   This has been really stressful for me because I feel like I have failed in some way, but if we have something to iterate on soon the chances of our game becoming something that is really fun to play skyrocket.  Sadly the story we had planned did not survive, it might be included in a minimal form at the beginning and end of the game.  But we have time for a re-write and then it is either go with a really short story or replace the story with sets of feminism facts after each level.

Designing for Feminism

From the first moment when Nick Day thought of our game it has had a feminist-driven perspective.  The game started out as a "save the knights from the dragon" game.  A direct reversal of the usual dragon fighting scenario.  It later drew inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords.  Cooperation and teamwork we decided would be core to our message.

We have been working with the Women's Center on campus to double-check if our message is clear and in line with feminism.  Their input has really helped us stay focused on what our game should say.

Another decision that was made early on was that we should avoid combat, and instead focus on problem-solving.  To further connect with our theme of feminism by showing that violence is not the solution to problems.  So we have set up a system that focuses on the puzzle-solving of Zelda and not the swashbuckling.  This has led to the game being further immersed in cooperation because all the princesses will be needed to get through the levels.

We also decided to publish our level editor as a way to say to our players: "You are welcome to not only play our game, but you can make games too."  They will be able to try out their own level ideas and set up challenges for them and their friends.  The last element we decided on had to do with our final enemy.

The concept is still up in the air, but whether we have a dark lord or a dragon as our "big bad" we will not defeat them through violence.  After finding ways to avoid their attacks or turn them against the "big bad" the princesses will be able to talk things out with the enemy and come to a aggrement where everyone is happy, they will also be able to see why the "big bad" did the things they did and understand their viewpoint.

All in all the game will show a team of empowered individuals deciding to save the kingdom themselves, through wits and compassion.  

New Semester

So this blog has been under posted for the last semester, I will start with this post and go for the usual once-a-week format that was encouraged in the first semester.

This week has been a slight shift, as the team gets back into the workflow after the holiday break.  We have decided to release our game multiple times to allow for more polishing and attempts for improvement.

I have been testing the level editor and talking with all three teams so that our design goals are clear and that we have enough tools to make interesting levels.  For the Tech team I listed alternate versions of the elements already present in the game, some suggested metrics for tracking when playtesters get a hold of our game, and discussing differing traits for the princesses after princess powers were cut from the development schedule.  For Art I have been discussing with the lead what our story should be, and went over in a meeting what environment we are using (A regal castle) and other general guidelines for the game.  For Design I set a goal of 5-6 levels by Tuesday from all three of the members.

More soon, I'll be talking about why the mechanics were chosen to reflect feminism.

So here is a HUGE post showing that I have been developing for the class.   My blog's name was all too apt...  I was assigned to team Roly Poly Princess, which made it through both evaluations!

Initial brainstorming and paradigm shift to a triple stick shooter.

Roly Poly Princess:  Pros: Gender Reversal,   Cons: Name change for gender norm flip.  Playable core mechanics, tilting etc..

Do this!! 2 games to compare to Princess.  Rock of Ages, Portal,    Super Monkey Ball/Four Swords  with upwards tower level system.  2d vs. 3d.  Example Puzzles.  Elements for puzzles.    

Puzzle main areas of mechanics Stage, conditional, player, and ???
A vs. mode where color trails follow the player, the player with the most color at the end wins? 

Mario Galaxy inspired fall into the stage, to reduce failure frustration/open puzzle possibilities.  This with dual-sided stages.

Staking inspired characters are puzzle hints???  (Mechanics?)

Procedural gen: fall off rooms, two attacks at once, levels in a tower/dungeon,

·      Roly Poly Princess is now top-down shooter with procedural elements!

·      Controls are: dual shooting using the two sticks (one for each princess and a button to switch the two active princesses) and movement using the tilt sensor. 
Castles generated procedurally, enemies and room types change per castle to keep the game balanced/interesting.  (Possible puzzle, NPC rooms, and non-castle levels can be added, if we have time!)

·      Four princesses gathered per game, unlock from those for your player character for future games (one or multiple princesses per game. Around 10-15 total?) after all are gathered, then fight the dragon!

·      Gathering princesses is done with cutscenes showing their actions against the dragon. (All will be very active marshaling troops, attacking enemies, stealth kills, etc.)

·      Between each castle a player chooses between two random castles (villages, forests, etc. If we have time.) for the next level.  

·      Each princess has unique attack style. (and a special ability, if we have time.)

·      Unlockable attack items will appear in game and will be usable that game Mastering an achievement (Burn 10 goblins with the firestaff, etc.) for that item will let you use it to start with. (15 or so needed.)

·      (Endless battle arena suggested, along with extradimensional princess, and a possible tribute princess for Kyle’s game.) 

·      BRING UP!!! Realm of the Mad God.

Princess Ideas:

·      Princess Princess: The “vanilla” character, has a moderate range moderate damage attack.

·      Stealth Princess: Has a short range medium-high damage attack, moves quickly.

·      Warrior Princess: Bonus HP, moderate range, slower attack rate, high damage.

·      Mage Princess:

·      Cleric Princes:

·      Druid Princess:

·      Knight Princess:  Heavy armor

·      Paladin Princess:

·      Archer Princess:

·      Strategist Princess: Special: State a weakness of an enemy onscreen and double damage against that enemy for (time).

·      Kung Fu Princess:

·      Necromancer Princess:?Evil types?

·      (How many fantasy tropes???  New spins or stay to the storybook?)

Enemy Ideas:

·      Goblins should throw other goblins at the player.  Because that would be fun, for the goblins.

·      Ogre (mini-boss) should leave dents in the ground that slow player movement. 

·      Dragon needs variety of attacks and time off-stage, but not have a weakpoint cycle.  (weaker to various attacks, maybe some group element leads to a weakness??)

Hp and stats should be simple, maybe 10 for a average player character.  Enemies should damage 1 at a time, except special attacks/large enemies.

About here the game shifted directly back to a puzzle game, because of input from the women's center.  Also there was a emphasis on non-combat solutions to problems because of their advice, so combat is not present in the elements list.  

Design notes.

·      4 Swords:  Destructible environment with minor rewards/recovery items.

·      Seen areas that are unreachable without puzzle solving.

·      Items create mini-puzzles by granting temp. abilities.

·      Formations allow for co-op by having specific abilities per formation.

·      Collectables lead to eventual power-up.

·      Fading on collectables. Makes player concentrate on the collectables.

·      Enemies provide variety and act as obstacles.

·      Some abilities have time limits and show those when active (diving, etc…)

·      Extra health is temporary, granted by pick-ups.

·      Darkened background to offer hints for pushing objects.

·      Hidden paths behind movable objects.

·      Switches used for creating objects to progress/opening doors/creating treasure chests.

·      Throwing others of your group is part of the group mechanics, attacking with them is also possible.

·      Formation shortcuts after pressing the formation button, tied to the directional controls.

·      Appearing maze, if we use a maze.

·       

Game Element list for Roly Poly Princess: (Bolded seem more fun at this point and emphasize the tilt mechanic.)

·      World:

o   When the player falls off the level flip to a maze on the back of the level, with hidden elements. 

o   Need some optional collectable with rewards…  (Hints?)

o   Non-combat combat system?  Conversational combat?

·      Floor-based elements:

o   Ramp/Slope

§  Needs 2-5 grades.

§  Also stairs for single level to next higher/lower level.

§  Elevator/spring platform thingy. (Bouncing level to same height level/Travel to higher level.)

§   

o   Speed changers:

§  Colored floor (Portal 2’s gels)

§  Dimensions (Heavy, Light, etc.)

§  Ice/mud/grassy tiles

§  Rough/sandy floor to slow down.

§  Wind

§  Water

§  Carry-able objects.

o   Movement changers:

§  Teleport

§  Ropes

§  Rubber bands

§  Catapult

§  Cannon

§  Pushers that push in the direction the player is tilting (Maybe a globe of influence?)

§  Throw characters?  (Princesses or NPC?)

§  Floor panels that tilt opposite to the player’s input

§  Transport for “Dropped off” characters?  Moving sidewalk-like, train-like, etc…

§   

o   Obstacles:

§  Walls

§  Doors

§  Appearing Maze

§  Enemies?

§  Chased by enemy levels?

§  Projectors that launch boulders/fireballs/stuffed animals (depending on the player’s input?)

§  Race levels?

§   

o   Chain of events elements:

§  Switch?

§  Movable with tilt elements

§  Buttons that need to be hit at a high velocity/With a certain number of characters.

§  See-saw

§  Light beams/projectors/mirrors

§  Weighted Platform

§  Slide puzzle

§  Movement of colored objects to match? (Create next element in puzzle, remove them from the puzzle, etc?)

§  Bowling/billiards inspired puzzles?

§  Swaying elements (Plants, etc.) that move when hit/with input?

o   Special Abilities:  (Base each around a mini or micro game?)

§  Elemental??

ú  Fire

ú  Light

ú  Poison?

ú  Etc…

§  Profession: (Non-combat more so…)

ú  Blacksmith

ú  Fletcher

ú  Crier

ú  Merchant

ú  Clerk (Librarian/knowledgeable character)

ú   

§  Utility item?

ú  Lantern

ú  Hammer

ú  Spyglass

ú