Homework 16
Chapter 19 (should be 18)
Characters
• Is your avatar and ideal form likely to appeal to the players? Why?
Yes our avatar is likely to appeal to players even though you cannot physically see the entire character because it is a first person shooter. Many people are akin to FPS games so the feel of imagining “yourself” as the character, is an immediate connector.
• Does your avatar have iconic qualities that lets the player project himself into the character?
Our players number one iconic quality is the wielding of a gravity gun. You feel as if you are manipulating the world around you that gives the player a sense of power. To feel you can do anything you want is a pretty good feeling. This advances the projection of the player into the character. Another way in which the player can feel projected into the character is through the interaction with the bulls and dogs. The bulls especially charge at you, leaving it up to you to dodge them or be killed. His experience is key in stepping into the character and the drive to survive.
• What roles do you need the characters to fill? What characters have you already imagined? Which characters map well to which roles?
In our game we only have one character. This space trucker is crash landed on a strange planet. His role is to find hi missing ship pieces, for example, rocket boosters, fuel, etc. and escape the planet. During the search, his secondary role is to figure out that had happened to the planet. It is vacant of human beings and in a post apocalyptic state, what happened? So over all, this is the only character we imagined, and the only character that fits his role. Our story does not need more than one character.
• What traits defined your character? How do these traits manifest themselves in your character?
Once again our character is sort of a space trucker and like we described in the past, he has a “Tough Cowboy” personality. He is rugged and up for anything, after all he spends his time cruising through space. These traits are manifested in our character through his journey. He has to confront Space Bulls and Space dogs. In addition to his badass personality, our ambiance includes rock music such as AC/DC, Guns and Roses etc.
Another way his personality is made manifest is through his glove/ armlet. It is a thick textured asset to help our Space Trucker combat the hostilities of the planet he gets stuck on.
What are the relative status levels of the characters in your game? How can your characters show appropriate status behavior? How does each of your characters change throughout the game?
The status level of our character is very high. He is in control of his situation and does not act wildly. He has the ability to take in his surrounding and constantly be aware of the 360 view going on around him. Currently in our game there are no other character for him to interact with but if there were, our main character would be very weary of initially interacting with them because the planet is hostile.
Our character can show appropriate status behavior by carefully approaching another creature/ humanoid on the planet. There would not be a cordial welcome because he does not know the “status” of the planets inhabitants, but our main character would non the less be cautious in approaching.
Our character changes though the game when he realizes that he is near leaving the planet.
Chapter 20 (should be 19)
Spaces
• What is the purpose of your game
The purpose of our game, as designers, is to create a scenario where the player feels the humane and instinctive need for survival.
• What is the purpose of each subsystem of your game?
1) Subpurpose - includes the curiosity to solve a mystery of why such a catastrophe has happened on the planet.
2) Subpurpose – Main character is to reclaim ship parts to escape.
3) Subpurpose – Escape to get back to job as space trucker.
• Is there anything in the game that contradicts these purposes?
Yes we have puzzles to add an element of difficulty in progressing through the games story to slove the mystery of what happened. It gets tough at times but we want the player to want to break through. The puzzles also stand in the way of reclaiming ship parts. Another element that contradicts there purposes are the enemies which overall try to prevent you from “surviving.”
• Does your design have a special feeling of life or do parts of the design feel dead? What would help make the design feel more alive?
Our game most certainly feels alive over all. The player has long term goals such as finding missing ship parts. The game is visually impressive taking place inside a giant textured dome. The planet is of a red earthy substance adding to the life of its environment. We have boundaries such as the game play takes place within the dome. There is a repetition of puzzles and enemies that lead to a reward. Our space is composed of postappocalyptic structures in the foreground with a massive dome in the background.
One thing I think our game is lacking right now is a more dynamic environment overall. With the given time constraints it is hard to go all our. Therefore right now, the inside of the dome is untextured.
• Which of Alexander’s 15 qualities does your design have? Which ones?
Could your game have more of these qualities? Which? How? Where does your design feel like your self?
Levels of Scale – Escape the planet as a long-term goal
Strong Centers – Strong story about survival as well as a rugged avatar
Boundaries – Everything takes place within a Dome/ strong real physics.
Good Shape – intricate environment and passageways/ puzzle layout
Local Symmetries – Items/ enemies and objects have symmetry.
Deep interlock and ambiguity – this is perfectly demonstrated with our dogs that heard the bulls. Without the dog, the bull would have no direction and without the bull the dog would have no purpose.
Contrast – gravity/ defying gravity
Gradients – the game gets more challenging with puzzles as it progresses.
Roughness – The game is certainly far from perfect, our inner dome environment still has a lot of texturing to be done. In that sense it is pretty rough. In addition our bull is still being modeled so we have cubes representing them.
Simplicity and inner calm – The simplicity lies in the beauty of a colossal dome
Not separateness – The dreariness of the environment adds to the overall tone of the game play.
