var toDoList = new ToDoList();

this is a to do list generated as a result of discussion with Philip Ejike on 17th Feb 2009.

abilities effected by the path u take and the way u play the game.: and progress thru the campaign

- multiple enemies
. blob – goes thru walls
. speedy – moves fast
. kamikaze (sends u home) – self destruct enemy which sends you to starting position

- multiple weapons
. level/weapons relationship
. cage weapon – traps the enemy for some time
. portal
. transformation device – transforms the enemy into an ally

- UGC
. avatar creator – allows people to create custom avatars
. template brushes (level creator)

production plan …

this is going to be a tentative production plan.. of course this makes no sense and will change with time..

–

finalPresentation

finally presented for thesis on a nice Sunday night. Was good, I was to go last, at around 8 PM. things got delayed, and i went at 9 instead. got awesome people to critique – including Eric Zimmerman, Zach Lieberman, Bobby, Anezka Sebek, and my thesis instructor Colleen Macklin! According to me, this was the best panel I could have got.. ever ever!

ok.. the presentation went well.. Everybody was sleeping, so i had to throw in humor and wake up everybody! Eric came up to play the game. after 10/15 minutes of presentation, it was time for feedback -

FEEDBACK:

Eric Zimmerman:

• Do not need the Unreal game. The one in Flash is nice, and the Unreal one can be discarded.
• There is vague connection between the mechanic and narrative… and it does not need to be explained explicitly.
• The unreal version looks like a 2d game is trying to be 3d, which is not working.
• The current version is un-winnable… and needs a level system which starts from low level, and goes to higher.

Zach: agreed to what Eric said.

try to put more videos of people playing the game… to show the achievement. Also put videos of people making thins on the game.

Bobby: agreed to whatever everybody said, and added that there seems no connection between the narrative and the UGC aspect of the game.

Anezka: suggested that i need to grow up… and be honest to myself, focus in one direction and not try to do a lot of things at the same time.

Colleen said “i told u so” LOLOL!! haha ha.. i agree with her

Conclusion: for thesis purposes, I’ll be developing the game more on UGC side… all in flash. Will try to develop the mechanic better, improve the aesthetics.

chaserV3 && rabiasFeedback

sooooooo….

the V3 of Chaser-

Chaser V3 – updates: placing a block makes another enemy.

and the improved GridDrawer

this is mostly (or all) about Rabia’s feedback!

rabia’s feedback: make something happen when u place a block.. like for example:

• place a block, and that generates a new enemy  to balance the act.
• killer blocks
• obstacles that disappear in 5 seconds, and convert into a bad guy.
• obstacles that for your teammate, and help you in invading the RED cave.. (this one is mine  )

i think i will try to implement all these before the final presentation.

but for now

try  Chaser V3

and the improved GridDrawer

try making some levels and playing them. to play a created level, you might need to refresh the game..

chaserFeedback + more on mechanics

ok.. after the feedback from the last class.. i decided that ill think.. think think think.

taking some valuable suggestions into account, rejecting some, putting some of my own in there

i have something more to add to the mechanics at this stage. something more relevant.

• someone’s suggestion : have different kind of obstacles.. and their weight.
• rabia’s suggestion – whenever you place an obstacle that closes a path permanently, a new chaser gets generated.
• drew – have some obstacles that pushes the chaser back once , and then disappear.
• colleen – something to do with the level u created while playing..

ok.. adding different kinds of obstacles was ok.. still difficult to code. but ill do that.

so here is the deal..

BEFORE : you play a Level. you escape the chaser, and try to reach his Cave. you place obstacles on the way.. or not.. whatever is the case. but u make/edit the level while playing by adding those obstacles.

now.. what to do with that created mess?

so..

NOW: every level has 2 rounds.

round 1- you play the level, try to get to Chaser;s cave and place obstacles. the Chaser gets effected with all those obstacles, like being pushed back.. blocked, and all that.

round 2- the same level, with the obstacles from Round1. you defend your cave from the Chaser. but in this round, the Chaser will not be effected by the obstacles you created in round 1. instead, you will be effected by the obstacles you created in the previous round. the Chaser will simply walk through them.

once you make it through both the rounds, u advance to next level.

goodness of the new thought mechanism :

• has elements of narrative.
• more strategic and emergent behavior as you have to place the obstacles carefully, because you have to face them those obstacles in the successive round.

myDarwinism

My Darwinism- is the way i want to use the theory of evolution and origins proposed by Darwin.

Charles Darwin laid out his theory of origin at a time when DNA was not discovered. Even at that time, he believed that there is something inside every cell that is responsible for genetic expression.

there is a little ‘being’ in every cell, each a mirror to it-all. a little ‘knowing’, ‘i am’.

i think that evolution is the process of stabilization. Everything and everyone evolves changes and adapts until it is in the most stable form. Even a rock in space wanders in its irregular shape until it turns into a spherical shape through erosion. So, what will humans evolve into? After the process of selection and rejection, can humans evolve into something else??

Darwin’s theory has been disproved time n over again by scientists. This is because Darwinism did not have any proof to support his theory. In the book “the origin of life”, Darwin has chapters stating that his theories will fail if certain kinds of proofs are not found.

And that is exactly what happened to Darwinism.

So, instead of using Darwinism to prove the evolution of life, I will use it as a basis of my game narrative.

Now let’s move beyond origin and evolution, and look into something that I am interested in.. Split personality. Let us assume that Darwinism is true and valid. But then, How will one apply the theories of Darwinism to the psychological disorder of split personality? Are the people suffering from this psychological disorder inferior or superior?

According to the narrative of my game, split personality is the next step in evolution. Why? Every person’s character is governed by DNA. DNA is a set of attributes that define behavior of a person. But some people’s DNA gives them dual, or multiple characteristics. I do not think of it as an ailment. Rather it is an evolution.

One such example is the Risen Ape and Fallen Angel which are 2 personalities of the same person. Human being has evolved and stabilized. He has left the life of luxury and started to live out in the open again. He now lives in caves, and survives on whatever he can claw on. Claw able creatures are abundant. The stabilization process has divided the personalities of a human being into the wild side and the intelligent side. Both live in harmony. But the wild side lives under the control of the intelligent side. One can say that the wild side is the controlled personality. The wild side has come to be known as Risen Ape, and the intelligent side as Fallen Angel.

The fallen angel is the predominant of the two personalities. In this time, the Splits are normal. Evolution gives rise to ailments too. One of these is a psychological disorder, in which the person loses control of Risen Ape temporarily. This results in imbalance which has to be brought down. A human being tackles this situation by trying to gain control of the Risen Ape. This is a very fatal disease, because if a person stays in this state of imbalance for long, then he might lose control permanently, becoming hazardous to the society.

More on this later…

more on mechanics

Q:] whyyyyyy do i need more?

A:] cuz my prototype looks like pacman! and i have walls which i can manipulate. so i can use it to make something more!

so.. following are for V2:

1-

player and enemy start in their caves. the enemy will start chasing the player, and the player has to make it to enemy’s cave without getting caught!

2- a Level Editor, that can edit levels… and give customized levels to user.

3- a place to store these custom levels.

so i give you all this in a very loose format

game prototype V2: http://a.parsons.edu/~sharr333/chaser/v2/

Objective: get into the red Cave without getting caught

Rules:

• move with ARROW keys
• press SPACE to plant obstacles

Grid Editor: http://a.parsons.edu/~sharr333/chaser/v2/gridDrawer.html

saved Level : http://a.parsons.edu/~sharr333/chaser/v2/asd.txt

a prototype in flash!

a simple- semi working prototype in flash!

a little about the prototype:

there will be 2 red blocks on the game..

one will be u

and other computer

and computer will chase u.. on its own…
u can move around using arrow keys.

u will see a yellow path from computer to u

mission is to run around for as long as possible..

u can create obstructions by pressing SPACE

and u get 10 obstructions

coded in actionscript 3.

i used A* algorithm for pathfinding.. rest is in the game.

click here to see the demo

the narrative

Every human being is comprised of a half wild and a half Intelligent part. This isn’t an original concept, but it’s been twisted for our own purposes.

The wild  part is a base, primitive creature; it is without need for higher thought, and acts purely on instinct. Every human encapsulates the primitive, the primal…but we stand apart from other animals b/c we are able to control our urges with higher faculties: The intelligent part.

These two elements can be found within each human; it is what MAKES us human. One cannot live without the other.

in the game, the wild part refuses to coexist with the intelligent part tries to distance himself from it. The intelligent part is in pursuit because he realizes that a human without either of these two parts would cease to be a human.

and hence, begins a chase.

the game will be played by human players taking either of the two sides. the game can also be played by 2 human player taking either of the sides.

my game is now a representation of a human being who has lost his control over his wild side, and now is trying to gain control.

the merger

I had a brief talk with good friend and co-worker Philip Ejike, and we decided to work together on our thesis. we will be working together loosely, contributing to eachother’s ideas.

why are we doing this?

well.. for some reason, our projects have cross overs, big time, just as they always have. Philip constructed a narrative for his thesis, and it has similarities to my game mechanic.

Philip was kind enough to lend me his narrative, and also gave me permission to post an abstract versoin of the narrative on my blog! so.. ill be posting it soon!

again, thanks Philip!