Games GDD

I'm not going to lie simply seeing the Doc layout, even the non-advanced one, filled me with a sense of dread like no other. And also using a site called Dundoc is making me wonder if Dundalk hasn't filed a copyright claim at some point.

https://www.dundoc.com/project/4782

This took a while to do, and I'm glad I wrote something down about it earlier before starting this because I lost all knowledge of my own game the moment I opened the document.

Luckily I gained it back after downing four cups of coffee in order to do both this blog and the document.

Unity Tutorial 5

Making the gem rotate was a very complex thing for such a small detail. I understand the importance of it of course, but still.

Games GDD

"Here are a bunch of elements, just throw them together and call it a game."

Sounds like my kinda game.

The 'core aesthetics' of a game can vary wildly. Each player can experience something completely different depending on their playthrough of a game. An example of this is Undertale. Working backwards is something I'm used to, having created characters in my head and then figuring out why they exist. It is something I do a lot with my stories.

Creating rules is a very difficult thing for me, as I have more fun breaking them. And working with a proven system isn't something I would like to do, I would prefer to create my own system. Though technically speaking everything has been done before. But not my way.

Frank Sinatra
Singer of 'My Way'

Creating ideas for games was a lot harder than I originally thought it would be, I figured that out during my game brainstorm. But I still managed to come up with four. Having games being played online is a big thing so I might just try and find out how to get that to work with my game.

Prototypes, no not the games, are important because if you don't make one you won't be able to test out how the mechanics work or how players will react to that style of game.

Game Vision Statement

Introduction: My game is about a free-runner who is on the run from heroes because he is a villain who enjoys playing pranks on them, and has various powers to help him get away.


Game Genre: My genre would be a 3rd Person Action-Platformer, as it involves running, jumping and dodging.

Game Play: The game play will start with a screen, showing the player character walking up an endless fire escape. On the screen will be different options to choose:

Start
Customise
Settings
Exit

The Start will obviously begin the game. The Customise option will bring you to a separate screen where you can see your character. The screen will show the back and front view of the character. This screen will allow you to change your characters appearance.

The base model will be a male with a green hoodie and airsoft goggles. You will be able to change the gender, the colour of the hoodie, the emblem on the back of the hoodie and what he wears on his face.

My Rendition of what the
customisation screen will look like

Settings will just change things like brightness and sound, though I did have the idea to allow the settings to change whether or not the view is First or Third person. Exit will bring you out of the game.

You are running away from the screen and towards something on the other side. You can jump, slide and move from side to side. If I learn how I might implement a QTE (Quick Time Event) if you get hit by one of the obstacles as a second chance.

The thing I will have to focus most on is animations, such as rolling when you hit the ground or when dodging a projectile, there are many different animations that can be used, and I could use a default character to practice them. The game will be 3rd person to make it easier to dodge obstacles.

Resources: I will have to use Unity for this and go over my previous writings for the character. One resource that I will use is the Unity Cookbook to help learn about the many different animations I need to use.

Unity Tutorial 03

I like clocks. Like the interesting mechanisms within them. I did not like this clock.

I don't know why but for some reason I found this particular tutorial painfully agonising to complete properly. Either my hands weren't going the right way or my indicators were slightly off, which granted was probably more a problem to my eyes than anything else.

The animation was annoyingly difficult to get right. It either went too fast, kept stuttering, or flew off into another dimension... I still don't know how I managed that last one.

I had no problem taking down the code, writing it into the game and making sure there weren't any errors, but for some reason that didn't stop the hands from gaining a mind of their own and trying to hi-five each other.

A Quarternion sounds like a sci-fi term for when they've only got 25 lightyears left to go or something similar.

Getting the hands to continuously move was more trouble than it was worth, but it was also quite mesmerising once I finally got them to keep spinning in order and not go flying off the handle.

A Clock

Games MDA

Mechanics are rules. Mechanics rule... We should treat our engineers better.

Rules -> System Behaviour -> Fun

An excellent flowchart we should see more of.

The other one I made a rather unfortunate acronym of. I'm not sure following the MDA flowchart is a good idea.

Wow this video is just full of bad acronyms.

I disagree with the idea of getting past words like 'fun'. Fun is what games are all about. Just look at Nintendo. Their games are fun and they're the biggest game company there is. Fun isn't something you can define easily or into eight simple catagories. But that won't stop people from trying.

Digital Versions:

I found this interesting because, well it's true. The amount of people I've seen playing Uno or Monopoly on a console or computer has only increased in time. And sometimes the games are upgraded versions of the board games themselves.

For example, take Sid Meier's Civilisation. A game I personally love to play, and I would personally describe as 'Risk but a hundred and six times better'. In my opinion the reason that Digital Versions of Board games are becoming more popular is because of accessibility but also because of friendships.

With games like Uno and Monopoly being able to be played online, you can play with people around the world, or with friends in different parts of the country. Similar to how arcade games such as Street Fighter can now be played in your home and against different people all over the world.

Sid Meier's Civilisation 6 Box Art 

Feedback Strategies

There are a lot of reasons to say 'Good Job' but apparently only five reasons not to?

I read that title, as well as the article, and found it a bit... preachy. Manipulating Children  as a reason to not say Good Job? I think that's ridiculous. You should praise children for what they do because at that age everything they do is important for them.

And if you don't praise them that can lead to serious self-esteem issues later in life.

I'm sorry Stealing A Child's Pleasure????? Who the hell wrote this? Bloody Count Olaf? Part of the reason of completing a task or creating something is to receive praise. You gain 'pleasure' from the praise you are given congratulating you on your work.

That article made me want to hit someone. No, it made me want to allow a child to hit whoever wrote it and say 'Good Job!' to the child.

I was going to read the 'How to Give Feedback Without Sounding Like a Jerk' article with hopes that it would be better than the other but three paragraphs in and he mentions Family Guy has already ruined it.

The writer of this article is trying too hard to relate to 'us young adults' by referencing different characters in Pop culture such as Stewie Griffin and Ross from Friends.

Frankly I think these authors are putting too little faith in the populace to have learned how to correctly give feedback without mentioning Bart Simpson or ignoring praising their children.

And I have an idea as to what generation the authors were from..

Image via empowernetwork.com

Ironically, I got the above image from a Telegraph called 'Stop Blaming Baby Boomers For Everything'... Which would be a lot easier if it wasn't actually their fault.

Game Idea Research

The Game I chose is going to be the free-running one. I decided on this one because it's both the one I want to do most and the one I think people would have the most fun playing. The idea of being able to jump over buildings and treat the skyline as your plaything is something I think most people would enjoy.

One Game mechanic I was thinking of is collectibles. Some form of item that acts as a currency in game. Maybe a small coin or something you could pick up. The coins would be collected in order to change the characters appearance.

Oh, no micro-transactions. Cause they're an idiotic decision to put in a game.

Power-Ups is another mechanic I was thinking of, maybe ones that let you jump higher, go faster, or ignore all damage for a time. Should be... somewhat easy to implement.

Uhhhhh what other game mechanics are there...

Multiplayer?

Yeah sure that works. You can play multiplayer against a friend with the same game and they will show up within your game as a slightly ghosty looking character. The game ends when both players crash or fall or whatever ends it.

I might implement a Quick-Time Event where if the player get's hit by something they can hit it away with a weapon they have. You can change whatever weapon you use but the default would be a stop sign.

This is what the main character would look like.
(Drawn by my friend Ruth)

Unity Tutorial 03

Unity Logo

Following along with the blog I had a lot of fun implementing the crystal. I didn't find the second tutorial quite as interesting but I understand why it is necessary for some games. I think the reason I enjoyed putting the crystal in was because before I actually enabled it to be picked up I walked into it and it rolled away.

This led to a chase with my character trying to catch the the crystal as it bounced around and in between the trees that I had dotted around my terrain. It was surprisingly entertaining and it also made me realise that a football game would be quite easy to make in unity as long as you used an actual ball and not a huge pointy crystal that would probably take someones eye out.

There was an immense satisfaction when I heard the 'ping' of the chaos emerald- sorry I mean 'Non-Branded Crystal' being collected. The sound in general was an amazing thing, as I feel it somehow makes the game feel more like a game.

I actually made a small jumping puzzle using the cubes that were textured to reach the crystal. I had a lot of fun :D

Game Periodic Table

The idea of using a scientific word like 'atoms' when it comes to something like gaming is something that I find terribly strange. Unless there is a game to do with science, which to be fair there are a lot of them, I think a separate word should be used, such as 'building blocks' or something similar.

I think a game wearing a suit and tie would be a very interesting concept. Maybe it is a dating simulator where you have to pick the correct suit to win a date. Wow this got off topic fast.

A game where you wear a suit and tie.
Hitman Absolution: 2014

The idea of how many different possibilities there are for players alone is something I think is interesting. And also I read the words 'College Assassination Game' and now intend to try and make that a thing on campus. Or at the very least a game of 'Humans Vs Zombies'. 

Resource management is always something I like to do in games, mostly organising my containers so that they contain only one specific kind of resource or it is at least in order.

Theme is probably the thing I am best at, and as a writer I think it's the most important part of a game. Take God Of War 2018 for example. The narrative within that game is absolutely essential. Without the background, without the growth of the characters, there's nothing.

Wiki Trails

I started with Rejection.

Which led to Jealousy.

Which led to Envy.

Which led to The Seven Deadly Sins.

By Hieronymus Bosch - "The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things", painting by "Hieronymus Bosch", Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8829283

Feeback Thoughts

Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head:

I chose this article because by God there are a lot of those in my head. The article taught me not to focus on the small negatives, which was quite difficult for me, and instead focus on the many positive remarks I get on my work.

Why rejection hurts so much:

This article caught my eye because I relate to it. Mostly due to the fact I fear rejection and therefore find it easier not to try. It always hurts regardless of whether it is feedback or other aspects of life. Rejection can hurt but sometimes you must try regardless.

Rejection, Turn Left For Denial

Game Brainstorm

So I need four ideas for games.

One of them is a 2d (Now probably going to be 3d because of Unity) game with two worlds that interact with one another based around Fire and Ice. You play as a Fire Person in an Ice World and an Ice Person in a Fire World. Actions you take in one world affect the other. I had this idea long ago and it would have a similar art style to the game Fire And Water. There is a similar system in that game where one player must press a button in order to let another player through, and they can press a separate button to let the first player through. However in my game you would be on your own, and have to press a button to switch the worlds and alter the objects in both worlds.

Engine: Unity

Another one... is... come on brain... think of things...

MEDIEVAL ADVENTURE

Yeah sure that works.

You play as a character who's only weapon is a sword going out into the world for the first time. You are immediately defeated by a slime. Game over. Just kidding. Two other people come to your rescue and you form a party, which is really what the game was about in the beginning- hah I tricked you. You will pick up more companions as you continue on your quest, and you will be able to switch them out at your leisure. Each of the companions would be different and have a specific skill set. You might need one companion to help traverse a volcano and another to help swim across open water. There would be a final scene where every companion you've gathered helps you defeat the Big Bad of the game, and I'm sure I would somehow make it heartfelt. There would be around... maybe twenty characters?
Each of them would have their own abilities, design, plot, personalities and dialogue. So, that would be a lot of work. Although I guess only nineteen dialogues as the main character, that is you by the way, would only have Yes, No or other options, and not really have to speak at all.

Engine: Unity

Uhhhhhhhhhh... Music... Explore... Digger...

Ok now to make a game using those three words.

You are a player with a pickaxe and you need to dig to the center of the world for... reasons... There is music playing and you have to swing to the beat. Well you don't have to but you get more points and will go much faster if you do. This sounds more like a mobile game, something like flappy bird. Maybe I'll make it so that if they aren't on beat they lose. I'm sure that would destroy a lot of screens. There would be a lot of customisation too, able to change what your pickaxe looks like and what music you listen to, maybe change what you're breaking too.

A RuneScape Pickaxe

Engine: Unity

FINAL GAME

AND THIS IS ONE I MAY ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO DO

A freerunning game where you, the player character, has to run across  rooftops in order to escape Something chasing you. There will be obstacles in the characters way, such as roof access stairs and clothing lines. 

The character will be wearing something simple, a green hoodie for example. But you can customise it by changing the colour and putting a logo on the back. It would probably be similar to several other chasing games but I'm sure I can find some way to make it unique, maybe with the various power ups I could implement and have a story to it. Maybe little hints as to why you're running, with the thing that is chasing you exclaiming or shouting things that will give away information on what the runner's background is.
The character is based on an idea I had for another character for a story who is basically Spiderman if he was a villain but still had the same joking personality. This character has many powers, which is useful as there will be an excuse for many powerups that the Runner can use.

Engine: Unity

An Example Of Free Running

Unity Tutorial 1

I actually knew quite a bit about how to use Unity before hand, so this was a nice refresher to get used to everything once again. I watched the first video and followed along and took a screenshot of how mine differed from the tutorial.

Screenshot of my work in Unity

I gave the ball a 'RigidBody' component which allowed it to fall and roll down the slope I had created using the rest of the tutorial. It continued to roll on the Terrain with no apparent change in speed. So I would have to give some gravity or friction to keep it from rolling all the way.

I have previously created an FPS in Unity. That's not saying it was a particularly good one. It just worked as one with enemies and power ups. I don't think I'll be creating that in Unity this time, though the tutorials may actually show me how to do so.

Watching the Tutorials, both the videos and the ones on Unity itself have given me ideas for what to make as an actual project. I look forward to it.

Game Design

I found the reading to be very interesting, also gave me some interesting ideas. And by interesting, I mean horrible and rage inducing.
Not quite a video game, but the idea of mixing Three To Fifteen and a Rubix Cube. I feel as though I would have done quite well in Medieval Times as a torturer.

The idea of inventing terminology as it is needed is something that I find very intriguing but at the same time very humerus. I actually have an example of a term that was created because of a game that has not yet been proven.

A Marioplex is an extremely large number, the number itself being equal to 10^12,431. This is a number that is so large, it surpasses the amount of atoms in the observable universe.

I have to disagree with something written on 'Level 1.3'. Dungeons And Dragons absolutely have final outcomes, as well as resolutions and there is definite winning and losing. It is also one of the most creative games alive, even moreso than Minecraft or Terraria.

Dungeons and Dragons allows you to create your own story, your own character. It is the pinnacle of using your imagination in games.

An Aesthetic Collage of my DnD character

I enjoyed reading Pulling The Plug  as it helped with the point I am trying to make. The idea of creating a board game or tabletop game in order to help you create a Video game is a thought I definitely agree with. A prototype could be made in an hour, and any 'bugs' can be fixed almost right away.