Intellectual Innovative Entrepreneural Week

August 29th 2011 (Monday) - September 2nd 2011 (Friday)
This time will be spent attending the lectures and learning about what Intellectual Innovative Entrepreneural studies encompasses.

Conceptual Design Comments

After showing yesterday's conceptual designs after creating hem after simulated environments lecture today they decided on what features they wanted to officially keep and what not to as well. I noted down in pencil first for easy re-edit.
1)Hands needed to be more claw-like or glove-like similar to South Park.
2)Head is to be cylindrical like #1 in the picture while the possibility of rounding it off at the top with a semi-spherical shape is there.
3)Feet is to be like tank tracks or like a ball as shown in #2 and #5.
4)Body is to be kept spherical as a safe shape.
5)Aerial or siren? (To be decided eventually but can be easy to edit when needed.)

Robot Conceptual Designs #1

Being the character developer it was time to create more character conceptual designs. I attempted to maintain sketchiness and create quantity as earlier advices. I also now created varying versions with strongly different features to give the group choices of features with visual reference for ease.

Level Work / New Idea Depth

After much previous discussion of ideas and with a new proposed game the decision to keep this new game was unanimous. Despite the lateness of things we believe it possible if we apply a higher working standard.
By bringing together our research and ideas it was obvious that Nash Equilibrium would work perfectly in this game.
In a stage depending on difficulty and actual stage in terms of game progression conveyor belt quantities would differ as well as speed of the cages containing the workers travelling down the belt.
The ipad interaction would be sliding player 1/player 2 up and down the stage to the desired position via magnet. One hand/magnet would stick to a bar on the side of the stages with moveable sections which they attach to. The other hand/magnet doe the push and pull to save the workers. However in terms of Nash Equilibrium some cages will move at varying speeds forcing players to work together changing polarity accordingly and applying strategy for a pushing effect or pulling based on preference.
(This is not the actual layout r interface but general idea)
Although players have individual scores there is incentive for player 1 and player 2 to have moments of working together and moments of solo gain for solo play.
Boxes with (1) move slowest and give the least points for easy saving.
However boxes with (1)) move fastest for more points.
Boxes with (+) require two players to work together with one pushing and the other pulling for enough force.
Therefore Nash Equilibrium is present where it is possible to have large point gains together or, it is still possible to win though independent means as well.
Howeve extra incenttive comes from life where if any worker is lost one heart is lost as well and lives are therefore conjoint between players.

New Game

After a long weekend and a mini break to recollect ideas I presented to and discussed with the group another idea of a game to fulfill our Nash Equilibrium needs.
Storyline: A worker of a robot factory stumbles upon a secret meeting where he overhears a plan to fire all the workers by literally sending them down to furnaces on ac conveyor belt. However with everybody being robots in this factory things run slightly differently. These robots do their job via magnets on their hands attached to their body closely by static.
The idea was that the hands would at all times glow one of the two colors red or blue. The colors represented ted the positive and negative push and pull attraction on a magnet but these robots use these to get the job done suggesting they push and pull with friends for quick jobs.

The worker robot in question who has heard this secret conversation moves to save his worker friends. However it is too late as he has arrived on a horrid scene with his workers being shifted to furnaces on a conveyor belt.
However in this moment he finds a friend as they then start to work together.

The group agreed upon this idea as it was proclaimed that further research on the application of Nash Equilibrium into this particular new game was needed.

Physical Computing Day

More Characters Again.

Following Gabe's advice I attempted to produce conceptual artworks following his set guidelines and personal preferences of professionalism. I focused predominantly upon the two main male and female protagonists today with minimal amounts of work on Pug Patty. Using the online JusPlay-Forum on Facebook as the primary outlet for the collection of ideas these features were applied to the characters.
1)Ready Ryan #1 is the first remaster of Tiny Tim. Designated to be ten years old the members of the group agreed that he was too big and tall to fit the criteria. However, this copy was preserved to show steps of development as Gabe recommended that all conceptual work should be kept.
2)Ready Ryan #2 is the official remaster of Tiny Tim. With sketchy lines and various angles of view Ready Ryan wears his favorite hoody at all times with his hair covering his eyes completely. However the nonchalant and aloof appearing character is ready at all times for action and adventure setting out to rescue Pug Patty without a single moments' hesitation.
3)Tantrum Tanya is the first remaster of Little Lily. With sketch lines and various angles of view Tantrum Tanya is always wearing her one-piece with thumb in mouth. While she never fails to keep blanky at her side this four year old tags along for the poor Pug Patty. As by her name however, meltdowns are her specialty so she is ready to burst letting her lungs loose on the unsuspecting world.
4)Just Pug Patty with sketchy lines and differnt angle.s However, as seen in this drawing it is still highly conceptual.

JusPlay-Forum Applications:
1)With the bowl cut fringe common to children although not quite baby-like it was to fit his age. In Pokemon the main character came with simple casual clothing worn everyday which I attempted to recreate.
The alfalfa sticking out was also another baby-like feature.
2)Follows the first version only shorter and smaller.
3)The complete basis of baby-like with thumb in her mouth, blanky at her side and the baby one-piece similar to Magi on the Simpsons. She too takes after the family hairstyle with the famous bowl-cut fringe covering the eyes. With a name associated to something baby-like.
4)Animal-like in every way, in different angles and still basically the same look.

More Characters.

Speaking with Gabe once again on our project once again it was clear a higher level of professional conceptual development was required even if our actual game idea was still simply floating around at this point.

1)Brave Brandon is a revised version of Tiny Tim equipped with a ready action backpack. He won't stop for nothing to save Pug Patty. He is the 10 years old older brother and male protagonist.
2)Kooky Karen is a revised version of Little Lily equipped with her favorite blanky, although a little too hyperactive and at times silly she is the 6 years old younger sister and female protagonist.
3)Just Pug Patty same as always, but slightly altered in physical appearance.
4)Happy Hannah is another possible dog breed strung up on balloons needing rescue. Even in danger this dog still manages to keep her tongue out and tail wagging.
5)Klutzy Ken is another possible dog breed strung up on balloons needing rescue. In danger or not this hairy fellow still manages to trip up into sticky situations.

The aforementioned concepts were crafted before meeting with Gabe where he clarified his personal perception and idea of a professional standard of conceptual framework.
-He asked that the characters be presented in various angles as opposed to the ismple single front on view of characters thus far.
-The drawings needed to be presented more sketchily with more overlapping lines as opposed to constant rubbing out. This would demonstrate immediately that it is conceptual work while the lines can show the particular pictures' personal development.
-Produce larger quantities of pictures instead of having constant discussions about ideas and to just do it whether it turns out wrong or right.

Surveys Continued.

JusPlay-Forum added questions:

7)How much time do you usually spend on Ipad, Iphone and PC?
More than 1 hour, Less than 30 minutes, 1 hour or 30 minutes.
8)What is the first thing you focus on when you play a game?
To finish it, Usually the graphics then gameplay, Get the highest score or To get all the achievements and trophies.
9)For the girls! What defines a cute character?
Animal-like, Baby-like, Big eyes, Big head and Small Body or Sound effects.
10)Why would you play a game?
Boredom, To enjoy and share with friends, Getting high score, Having Dragons, Defeating Enemies, Free to play, Gameplay is good, Epic music, Good graphics, Friend recommended it, Good story, To win.

Surveys

With various clashing ideas it was proven too difficult to determine which path to truly follow. However eventually the idea to create an online forum asking the questions we needed to act as a survey was conceived. The main questions that required answering were uploaded onto our Facebook forum by the name of JusPlay-Forum where each of us in the group invited our friends to ask what needed answering.
1)What is a good game?
Interactive play, Challenging, Versus play, Co-operative play, Engaging, Playful, Simple/Short or Rugby Challenge Official Game.
2)What is your favorite Ipad Game?
Fruit Ninja, Plants vs. Zombies, Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Infinity Blade, Flight Control, Mega Jump, Doodle Jump, Max and the Magic Marker, Zombieville or Monster Dash.
3)What type of feelings would you like to feel when playing a game?
Excitement, Anticipation, Happy, Confusion, Empathy, Angry, Cute, Scary or Sad.
4)What would yo like to see on an Ipad Game?
Vibrant Colors, Modern Scenery, Weaponry, Originality, Cute Characters, High FPS rate or Animal Characters.
5) What is your favorite Character?
Pokemon, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja or Yu-Gi-Oh.
6)2d, 2.5d or 3d Graphics?
2.5-Dimensional, 3-Dimesional, 2-Dimensional or ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Understanding that before we could decide on genuine game creation actions we would need to give the forum at least 2-3 days to collect a suitable number of people answering as our source.

Physical Computing Day

Shooter + Theory = ?

After having received the visually written feedback from our first formative presentation and discussion it was clear that there was strong confusion circulating our primary Nash Equilibrium concept. Predominantly the purposes of it in a shooting game where both players could simply target the most pointworthy target throughout the whole game without hesitation and, ignore the lesser pointworthy targets. To ensure completion of each level without any challenge at all.
Currently as a result to revise the main idea it was required that we take the weekend to refine our idea and concept where if the decision to recreate the game entirely come to, there would need to be a basic idea at the least to change to.

Faces

After a quick chat about our project with lecturer Gabriel Teo it was clear we had an incorrect order of priorities. It was key that character development which was my job to be quickly developed before the cutscenes. As the story is flexible towards the characters contained within. As he requested we deliver a more professional approach and work ethics with the mindset of not a project but instead a genuine job worth monetary gain. Understanding this, I switched to focus largely on character development. Gabe made it clear that as everything is still in developmental phases it wasn't necessary to decide indefinitely that the characters would be dogs, location or that there were humans. Therefore I played with character concepts demonstrated on the following page. I played with the idea of varying animals first before modifying the characters in any way.

Cutscene Allocation

1)Overview of the 'peaceful' neighborhood. It is early in the morning with the sun up.
2)A small portion of an airballoon/airship stats coming into view leaving a large shadow covering some houses below.
3)A black screen with a single red balloon will come in to view showing that it is strung up to something but, as it is close up it doesn't show what yet. This will be the only moving image where as you scroll with touch interaction it will gradually lift he balloon. Once the entire balloon is in view a dog whelping or whimper sound will be made before moving on. It is Pug Patty.
4)Two children wake up to see Dog Catcher Joe just sending off Pug Patty into the air.
5)Grabbing the closest weapon on the table next to them the two children Tiny Tim and Little Lily chases after the now fleeing Dog Catcher Joe.
6)A chases image of the two children chasing Dog Catcher Joe Down the Street ensues.

AT THIS POINT LEVEL ONE STARTS.
This is a quick game where there will be one image of a scrolling street as the three characters run up it.
The mini game will be similar to the above picture continuously scrolling down.
A certain time limit will be allocated for a possible game over while a required amount of points is needed to move onto the next cutscenes and into the next level.
Points are awarded by hitting Dog Catcher Joe as you run down the street.

Cutscenes

Accommodating for the verbal feedback received at the presentation/discussion it was clear we needed to define the story in stronger detail. Therefore as a group the idea to fashion key cutscenes was outlined.
The idea was to use the common comic strip style presentation of cutscenes similar to cartoons to emphasize ideas of safety.
Understanding that this idea will be implicated into an Ipad/Iphone system interaction will be implemented to scroll through cutscenes or skip them.
Following this further story development to determine what would be in each scene, chronological order and reasoning of integration took place. As well as ideas for sounds in gameplay, pause menu and during cutscenes.

Physical Computing Day

Presentation Day

Unfortunately because of traffic related reasons I arrived to the meeting late but in time to present our project and clarify our idea to people. At the moment the use of our theory appears unnecessary to Daniel for the particular game however, the peer groups are fond of the actual game idea. But, now to wait for feedback.

Characters

In preparation for the upcoming formative presentation following the discussion of ideas shared from previous days, the aforementioned character features were applied. Allocated with the primary task of being the character designer and modeller I was now able to practically engage with the job using the collective decisions of the team as a basis. In terms of characters there will be three breeds of normal dog that will be seen constantly throughout the game for varying point rewards. Consequently there will also be one main dog for the two main boy and girl protagonists which will be a pug. Acting as enemies there will be one boss, the dog catcher with his henchman where the boss will only be truly battled on the final stage.
Character List:
1)Tiny Tim is the main male protagonist that can be selected for play with a slingshot as his designated weapon for balloon popping. Tim is the 9 years old older brother.2)Little Lily is the main female protagonist that can be selected for play wit h a slingshot as her designated weapon fro balloon popping. Lily is the 7 years old younger sister.3)Dog Catcher Joe is the main villain that takes to the skies as refuge while executing his plans through tying the dogs onto strings attached to balloons.
4)Henchman Harry is the sidekick/Right hand man for Dog Catcher Joe fulfilling his commands without hesitation. Timid by character but aggressive in work.
5)Pug Patty is the main dog in question that Tim and Lily are looking to retrieve from Dog Catcher Joe's grasps. A pug dog breed and puppy as well.
6)Jumpy Jeffrey is one of three dog breeds captured and prepped for airborne slingshot rescue. A golden retriever breed and active by nature.
7)Messy Max is one of three dog breeds captures and prepped for airborne slingshot rescue. A new breed of dog made for the game and enjoys creating a mess and dirt.
8)Silly Sally is one of three dog breeds captured and prepped for airborne slingshot rescue. A husky breed and is goofy at heart around people.

The aforementioned storyline implicated features of a child-like cuteness playing on minimalistic violence originating from a single character as the source. Adopting the typical good vs evil as a basis of the storyline. An evil dog-cathcer has it out for dogs and two kids looking to save their dog. Along with the neighborhood dogs on the way there. However in an attempt to appeal to the female demographic graphically both background and characters alike will continue to adopt a cute child-like style.
The idea will be to recreate characters such as Super Slobber Dog. The dog features rounded characteristics, big eyes and symmetry to safely appeal to the aesthetic standards and preferences of the general audience.

The features are things we will be looking out for in creating our character:
- Overlapping skin or wrinkles for cuteness.
-Cute eyes looking up to the screen or owner for general cuteness factors.
-Freckles for cuteness.
-Nose rounded off.
-Tongue sticking out to show playfulness.
-Long drooping and rounded ears for ideas of safety.
-Cheeks coming out for cuteness.
-Rounded tips for hair instead of spikes.

The following background will be an idea of what we are after in our game from the iphone game 'GOIN NUTTY'.

Storyline Development

Today through discussion we determined a possible storyline that accommodates for Nash Equilibrium while appealing to society's current market appeal. So we believed the best path to follow was indeed a game incorporating a 2.5-Dimensional graphics with a cartoon like animation style. This could e something like Max and the Magic Marker.
As shown in the example, this game is done in varying layers which is also a format we want to follow where, the character will walk on one layer and then here will be a background layer following.

However, as a possible storyline we visited what would be the most attractive as a game for people to want to play. What we discovered as an unknown market was a game being designed for girls which is an area with limited exploration thus far. This would of course prove to be a unique and interesting perspective to explore a game from in our case. So at this point we asked ourselves how do we appeal to the female market and of course out initial idea became 'cuteness'. So we needed to create something simple and cute along the lines of cut the rope.
Therefore we now needed a storyline that could incorporate the idea of cuteness in a game. So along these lines we determined that a possible storyline could be one that focuses on dogs.

Storyline synopsis:
One day an evil dogcatcher schemes to kidnap the dogs within the neighborhood for his personal benefit. However, during his visit to one particular house with a particular kidnap attempt he was caught in the cat by two children. He swiftly takes their dog and make a run for it where a chase ensues with the two children having a slingshot in hand. Stringing dogs onto balloons the dogcatcher sends the dogs to his airship where slingshots are their only weapons to save the dogs of their neighborhood and their own dog.

Physical Computing Day