Presentation

well next tuesday is a day of rekoning as we will have to give our presentation on the game we have decided to create. The presentation is current in complete as there are a few items that need to be added however most of it is complete. But hopefully everyone turns up and the presentation is a success.

{Poster by Dan}

Abdul

AR Cards for 3DS

well i got my 3ds yesterday and checked out thre Alternate reality the device has and though that if it was released for ther 3ds then we could use this technology and product some AR cards for the console to be included within the games case.

The cards could include the games characters and possible more monkeys which we were told to include within as a new ar game involving having to find monkeys.

Operation Lockdown

Today we learnt that many images are copyrighted and permission is needed to use them before hand. While images that we have used previously have been purely for concept reasons to distinguish just what our game will look like, all actual art will be made by us. This is where it goes downhill...

We then had the choice of creating a poster for our game, or storyboarding a trailer. I got to work on drawing the characters while Abdul showed Joe his Pokémon and Michael did something else. After adding our name, the date, the platforms the game will be released on and a QR code, we then needed a name for the game itself. Abdul suggested Operation Lockdown and so that was the chosen name. The QR code will take you to a URL where you will receive a code to unlock a special mode in the game where you get to play as the Space Chimps after it was suggested that feature be added in last week. This QR code will also be available on several other products used for marketing purposes which are outlined in our GDD.

So, here is the storyboard for the first level of our game from last week:

A storyboard drawn by myself

And then this week's poster, once again draw by me:

Yes, the legs are too big.

Dan

Choose Your Character

Today we settled on a game idea and after the lecture it seemed that half the team disappeared into the abyss of nothingness. Myself and Abdul have spent a few hours in the library working on the GDD and have got another concept picture from the character selection screen. There are 5 playable characters throughout the story and each of them has to use their unique abilities and work together in order to solve the puzzles. We'll have more information on their abilities soon.



Doctor, Mechanic, Bioengineer, Trooper and Tactician

Dan

Refined the Game idea

Today as a team -1 we decided that the game would be a puzzle title that would be set on a space station which has been damaged and the player must get his team evacuated.
Each team member has specific skill which are usufull for different situations an enginneer to fix robots to help in the current room.
doctor to heal team mates and along with bio engineer seperate mutants.

we are aiming the game at the casual market as puzzle games are fun for everyone!

Idea for the game

well after reading Dan's last post about the the game and his idea of the puzzle along with time i though that if this idea went ahead it would be great that if we could incorporate it into a multi-player mode in which two team compete to escape alive and the faster it is completed  the more point could be assigned to the team.

Against the Clock

While we have yet to settle on a firm idea of where our game takes place, what genre it is and what platform it is on (although it is unlikely to be a mobile device), I have just come up with a few ideas. Since it has been decided that the game will involve team work and it must include Project Management to some extent, the game could be set on a space station orbiting a planet. This space station has been hit by either a missile fired by some hostiles, or by an asteroid and there is a limited amount of time to either escape or fix the problem, thus ending up in multiple paths. The player(s) must then plan accordingly how long they need to spend on each puzzle and in each room in order to fix the damage or escape in time. This incorporates time management and also delegation of tasks - one player can try and open a door while another can look for items which may aide in the mission.

The player can play alone but then they will be have to be very skilled in order to do everything on their own. They can call on their friends by inviting them and their friends can join at any time by selecting join game on the Xbox Dashboard (if on Xbox 360), picking up another controller and turning it on or if on the DS or 3DS simply by using a wireless connection similar to the Entralink on Pokémon Black and White.

Dan

Sorry, You Missed This Train

Today Abdul and myself briefly discussed deadlines. And when I say briefly I mean literally a minute before we said "see you tomorrow" we brought the topic up. I remarked that Adam and Fasil wouldn't show up and neither would Michael even though I had sent them an email during last week's Project Management: Episode 5 - WikiTools (episode 6 airs tomorrow from 10am with Legal Issues if my schedule doesn't deceive me). While Project Management is just as important as the rest of the other modules we will be focusing on History & Analysis and Programming first as they are in very soon indeed. During that time we will still be working on our GDD and the presentation however and hopefully we can put as much work in as Ryan and Aaron have so far on theirs.

While it will just be myself and Abdul working on everything since the rest of our group don't turn up or answer emails, texts or calls* we expect it may not be up to the standard as other groups where team members are turning up and putting effort in consistently. And if the 3 members of our group say "we will do the work" then unfortunately they have already missed the train to jump on and it won't be coming back for them.

Next stop: Deadline Date

Dan
*Texts cost the standard network charge. Calls from mobiles and other networks may be significantly higher than landline. Please ask the billpayer's permission first.

New Concept

You may remember that two weeks ago I posted an initial concept for the game with a futuristic robot guy. I've now expanded this further and you can see two characters which form part of the team within the game. They will be able to solve puzzles together in order to progress. The game will be playable in single player however it will take a lot longer since each individual task will have to be fulfilled which is done more quickly with more people.

Time to team up!

Dan

Great Example of team usage

well seeing as we would like to incorporate teamwork into the game and while playing Marvel vs Capcom 3 it is possible to see the benefits of team work such as being to perform great combos to overcome adversaries especially the final boss in arcade a without the team this would be an impossible feat.

Gantt Chart Complete

Well although we finished it earlier i though i may as well tell the world about it being complete so that means were another step closer in out project after allocating times of when things will actually be completed.

The Task List Scenario

Today the team, well the team that turned up, got to work on a task list. This list determined the tasks to do to develop our game along with the length each task would take. We then began work on a Gantt chart which took quite a while. Other groups also got to work on the Gantt charts but one group in particular, the members were split. One sat in his hoodie and watched some wrestling, another tried to work on the chart and the other argued that he was the best and insisted that his bar chart was in fact a Gantt chart.

This is the latest of his arguments and he's worse than Jeremy Paxman is when he wants an answer. Hopefully someday he will shut up.

Paxman is determined to get an answer no matter how loud he has to get.

Dan

ideas for our game

Well as in our project outline in Tuesdays lesson we decided our game would focus on objectives that require co-operation between a team of individuals. For an idea I though that if the game would be an fps that it may be a co-operative only game in which the leader of the group would hand out resources to each team member so they can purchase weapons and equiptment in a way in which the team could benefit.


If anyone has ideas to share feel free to comment :-)

Concept Art: Robot Dude

Hey guys, it's Fasil here.... pahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! What a joke that was, Fasil will probably never post on here. He was there when we created this blog but he was too busy texting someone and not paying attention as per usual. Anyway, some concept art for if we go for a futuristic setting with a guy I named Robot Dude.

Robot Dude - a dude that's a robot

Dan

The PERT Song

I was walking down the street today after History & Analysis and just so happened to bump into an old friend of mine. "Hello there," he said, "fancy a cuppa?" I accepted his offer and went round to his house, before congratulating him on his Brit Award last night. "Well, I think Robbie is to thank for that. It's not as if Mark or Jason or the other one do anything." We began chatting and then he mentioned PERT. I thought that it rang a bell and then I remembered what it was. He told me that he couldn't remember the formula and even when he checked it, he still got different answers everytime he tried so we wrote a song together:

Fours times as likely, adding the optimist, to get this right you, just add a pessimist. Then divide by 6.


Anyway, we will begin working on our GDD soon. I actually wrote a template but as always forgot where I saved it. Since our game is going to be team-based, we need to think of some proper gameplay and then we can get cracking on it.

Me and my good friend. His mum is checking up on us.

Dan

First Step To The First Project

Today the team, well 2 of them anyway, defined the project scope and objectives. Along with this we also defined what the deliverables throught the project are and the strengths and weaknesses of the project.

Remember everyone if Eamonn Holmes is around your project is over!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Abdul , Dan

Test Drive Unlimited 2

So I've been playing TDU2 this weekend and with the many server issues that occured upon the release the Eden games have done a good job getting the game up and running however there is still a few issues that they are working such as the clutch control as when playing with automatic gear change gamers would have notice how at the beginning of every race you are guaranteed to have a bad start

Abdul 

Death to Guitar Hero

So Activision has killed off a major franchise. While there were too many Guitar Hero games, one wonders whether the music genre would be stronger and Guitar Hero still alive had Activision not ordered so many instalments of the game and from a consumer perspective - there is only so much plastic you can have in your house. Unless you are Katie Price. Not only have they axed Guitar Hero but also the other "Hero" games including Band Hero and DJ Hero. They've also got rid of other franchises and game studios in favour of Call of Duty and their partnership with Blizzard. While some may feel glad that Guitar Hero is no more, it is a shame that over 500 people no longer have their jobs and suggests that the industry is in a more fragile state than ever. My hope is that Activision publishes the next Call of Duty only for it to be a dud and not sell, leaving them nothing else to lean back on. Of course this won't happen.

The problem Activision has is they can't control their human resources properly. Whenever a fresh pair of eyes enters the fray, the evil overlords at the top quickly swoop down and remove the eagerness of change. Just look at their little battle with the guys at Infinity Ward, when they attempted something new they were instantly booted out. The industry needs innovation and Activision refuses to cooperate. My hope is that by the time I graduate from this course that executives have seen the light, they will be keen to look at new talent and embrace them with open arms to lead the industry forward rather than living in this horrible dark time of sequel after sequel. Unfortunately I don't think this is going to happen.

Guitar Hero is no more

Dan

Leaving the Past Behind

Some of you may know me from a certain popular blog here on the internet. I won't say which one since I'm still a bit upset over having to leave it behind and it really is still sinking in that I will no longer be able to attend book signings, record songs in the studio with my good friends Gary and Selena, or even star in films alongside the Chuckle Brothers.

On the bright side I did learn many things last semester. I learned how to run a successful blog (but seriously though, why are Indians obsessed with the Art Attack Guy?), manage my time wisely in order to create a presentation and write an essay, and just how important all the small factors in Project Management can affect a project in so many different ways. I am sure that my learning will continue this semester, as will my workload. Just looking at the syllabus I am quite intrigued by paper prototyping and learning about some legal issues. I am also looking forward to coming up with a new game idea and having to incorporate aspects of Project Management into it should be a great challenge. And of course the thing I am looking forward to most is getting all the work out of the way for the deadline... on my birthday. Of course we will have to wait and see what the future holds but I'm sure that good things will be on the horizon.

What does the future have in store?

Dan.

First Day On the Job

Hello, we are Team 1 for CVG 1, Project Management 2. Over the next few weeks we will be blogging about what we are learning on the course and how our progress on our Game Design Document is going.

Abdul, Dan, Fasil