jcreeno77

This week, Robin and I continued to refine our idea of how the game should come together and built out more details on the digital side of our game sequence. Robin has made more progress on the UI and systems side of the game, while I have clarified the techniques we will be using to display and manipulate the 3d elements of the game. By allowing two cameras to screen at the same time, different objects can be overlaid at different distances relative to each camera. This allows various moving objects on the screen to not interfere with each other or need to be parent/child with each other and to keep the physics of platforming isolated from other parts of the scene. The effect is that there is a cross-view of what's "inside" the mech, which is where the game is played and takes place. There are many affordances this technique allows, and though our time is limited I'm excited to see what we are able to do with it.

Throughout this week we have also discussed and revised project goals, set up our macro design, and continued to think about how all the sequences of our game come together. It's apparent that each sequence seeks to tell a specific story, but tethering them together in a meaningful way is the question that's been recurring. At the moment it's not obvious whether or not it's possible, but we continue to chunk out essential components, hoping some obvious pattern will emerge. So far, that I can tell, that pattern is exhaustion. We attack the player's stamina in many ways - organizational stamina, emotional stamina, problem-solving stamina; we are constantly trying to break the player down. We feel inclined not the belabor the theme so dramatically but to see where that takes us in playtests. This, also, I am excited to see the result of.

Those are the experiences and thoughts we've been having for the week - and I look forward to continuing the pre-production process.

itch.io Community » Game Development » Devlogs · Posted in GAM550 Depaul Winter 2022 Group A

jcreeno772 years ago

Hey all!

This week Robin and I took time to discuss what kind of mechanism would best integrate our vision for combining digital and physical game formats. We resolved on using QR codes to link together physical and digital elements to keep a more authentic track of points. We also flushed out more ideas about how we want the mech/mouse game to function. We are still undecided on the precise formatting, but we are certain we want a mix of balancing meters required to make the mech run, while also getting it to do what you want.

These are some screenshots showing visual prototypes of gameplay. The player must navigate the internals of the mech (shown externally) as a platformer, and execute minor tasks in different parts of the mech to make it move or relieve the mech from overheating.

Similarly, we expanded some of the cards for a social meta-game we made. We continue to juggle multiple elements of the project, but we enjoy the challenge!

itch.io Community » Game Development » Devlogs · Posted in GAM550 Depaul Winter 2022 Group A

jcreeno772 years ago (2 edits)

Week 4 for the quarter! This week was very busy for our team; We clarified our project goals, built around 4 prototypes all varying in style and focus. We took a special interest in a work called '24 game poems', which consisted of 24 guided role-playing scenarios all ranging in strangeness and discomfort. 3 of our 4 prototypes involved a focus on social interaction, and 1 of the 4 involved a rough implementation of how we might want the mouse and the mech concept to function.

I think we've generated a lot of good and interesting prototypes. We have set our sights on an integration between digital and physical design goals. This will play into the game thematically by having a day/night cycle where during the day, you play as a mouse controlling a mech; during the night, the mouse goes to a computer and this instantiates a real-life tabletop game which will include a variety of ‘game poems’. We think this mix of mediums and the use of game poems to incite social confrontation play with ideas of role play in a clever way (by inverting the traditional conception of role-playing into a character to role-playing from a mouse into a very much real social confrontation with other players) can front as an interesting provocation, and hopefully an interesting gameplay concept.

Overall we're very excited to have people try our prompts!

itch.io Community » Game Development » Devlogs · Posted in GAM550 Depaul Winter 2022 Group A

jcreeno772 years ago (1 edit)

Hey all!

Week 3 for the quarter, Robin and I set to work looking for materials to enact our in-class play prototypes. We tried to center around different ideas involving agency, alienation, and responsibility - specifically how we might be able to complement or amplify the experience of our end product. Our materials involve a DM with play ideas, paper poppers, hot glue guns, pipe cleaners, playdoh, battleships, and a ttrpg called emotional machine diagnostics.

The core questions behind our prototypes (without spoiling too much) are as follows: How will a player react if they are forced by the constraints of the game to inflict discomfort/pain on someone else indirectly? How does a player tend to deal with a system which demands a decisive decision, but without knowing the full implication of their action, or what the result will actually be? And lastly, what works when players try to indirectly affect something?

I think over the course of this week we were very interested in provocative concepts - whether our prototypes will live up to that momentum, we'll have to see. I believe a classroom environment and friendly atmosphere may lead some of our prototyping intentions askew - but also feel that adversity to the idea could make it more robust or evolve into something entirely new from what we were expecting. Overall, we're both excited and curious to see what happens and to try other prototypes as well!