Using a template that Leo provided us and following Ariana vision I started to fill out the Game Design Document. Although I felt confident about the vision and goal of the game it was still hard to put them in words. Mostly because we are trying to achieve an experience that is still uncommon among video games. I knew that Animal Crossing was our first reference so I did a little research about it to have a better understanding. Supported by Ariana and Leo's feedback I think I made a decent Game Design Document with what we have right now. There is still space to fill out regarding mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics and art style but we are definitely getting there.
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One of the first things that Seth asked us about in the Game Design Document was the game flowchart. As I don't have problems to understand or work with flowcharts (without mention that I actually like them), I started to work on it right away. I knew that Hector will be helping us with programming so I didn't go into too many details. Because he is an excellent programmer and we will probably be making changes over the semester, I treated the flowchart just as a visual representation of the game functionality. Even so, I tried to make it as logical as I could.
The first step we should complete before doing anything else is to consolidate the idea in the Game Design Document. As Ariana wants to do a "relaxing experience" where you can freely take care of different plats with just hands gestures, It was tricky to establish winning/losing conditions. I liked to see it as a Tamagotchi-style game. So the mechanics should be easy enough to anybody enjoy them but not too complex to avoid technical problems with the Leap Motion. Because we only have half of the semester we should only be focusing on a few to make sure we will be able to finish them.
I collaborated with Larry today in a little brainstorming regarding mechanics. We though in mechanics as plating, watering, defending the plants against bugs, whether condition influence, digging to bury seeds, life bars and time limits (which I didn't really love them). After Ariana validation, we kept just plating, watering, bug catch and day/night cycles. I think is enough to start. I have never heard of Leap Motion before. I must say it is an interesting gadget. The demonstrations that come along with the hardware picked my curiosity. Although the response is not always 100% accurate I think this technology still has a hidden potential.
As we will be working with it this semester we had to pitch some ideas. I wanted to make a virtual Lego for the user to grab and assemble but I didn't win. Ariana's virtual garden was the most popular idea so we will work on that. I don't mind at all, I think is also interesting and the fact that we are only 5 people also motivate me. It is always easier to collaborate with fewer people. |
AuthorI want to study Video Games in a theoretical way. Archivos
May 2018
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