Chapter Seven Book Work

Which load system would you choose to implement in you original game?
I will use a combination of auto-save when entering a new area and unlimited manual saves at any time.  This would be like what is in Fallout 3, for example.

Why would this system be preferable to others?
Well I do not want to be limited with my saves thus I don't want to do the same to people playing my game.  Second the reason why I have the auto save in the background is if you are like me you will get into the game and forget to save sometimes.  This way you will not have to go all the way back to your previous manual save but to the beginning of the area you entered.

How will you balance immersion with player control?
Since the auto-save happens in the background players will not notice that part.  The manual save is up to the player so the only immersion issues will be up to the player.  I mean if you are a control freak and need to save every 5 minutes that is your choice.    I save when I remember and it might be a while so I don't interrupt the game.  The unlimited manual save allows the player to have more control as they see fit.  The player is ultimately in control of everything.  You have some players with a busy schedule that hop into a game for an hour at a time just to have a little play time.  Other players set aside entire days to play the game and basically live the game.  So why limit gamers?

Movie Madness

I am going to try to create a game concept based on a movie.  This is usually touch because as most gamers well know, movie based games are horrible.  So here is my attempt.  The movie I selected was Training Day.  The genre will be 3rd person, action (sometimes stealth), rpg esque by maintaining reputations with confidential informants (C.I.) and cops you trust.  Some basic mechanics will be multiple dialog interactions with characters, some shooting on missions, collection of evidence and maintaining your cover. 

The overall plot of the game boils down to you finding out the special task force you assigned to is not what it seems.  Now I would have to take some deviation from the movie to flesh out conversations and give it an overall fresh feeling.  Just sticking to the movie you already know the outcome.  This way the game and plot are a better fit. 

Here is a very basic summary.  You go through several missions as part of the task force team and realize something is not right.  It is up to you to find out who you can trust You must maintain your cover, develop and keep C.I.'s happy so your can get information or legit favors to help you out.  Working with your task force team you have to play along and act as one of the group but over the course of the game, each crime scene you collect needed evidence without being noticed or attracting attention to yourself.  Also once you start to figure out who you can trust you must formulate a plan to bring this corruption to an end.

Chapter Six Book Work

For this assignment I will list three games and three ways they keep my playing.

Fallout3 – Good loot system to see what I can collect from the game world.  I like the combat system and upgrading my character.  Also the detailed game world and sheer size and amount of stuff to do.

Mass Effect 2 – Great story that keeps you hooked, with the multiple dialog choices and outcomes.  Being able to bring my character forward from the prequel and my continued evolution.  Fun weapons and combat to satisfy the need for action.

Metal Gear Solid 4 – Finding out what happens in the end and filing in the blanks with flashbacks.  Amazing visuals and controls.  Don't forget the nail-biting stealth game play – oh yeah the inch worm!

Character Development Revisited

How does the environment in the games affect the character? Well it has a huge impact on the characters in the game.  It can determine their physical appearance, weapons, thoughts, dialog and interactions.  I picked God of War and moved the game from ancient Greece to the Vietnam war era.  If we look at Kratos he would physically appear out of place.  His clothing would not be of the correct period, his weapons would be useless in jungle combat.  His enemies would pick him off hidden in the bush.  Yes he has some magic powers but those too would not be “real” for Vietnam.  Flamethrowers yes – Medusa’s head – no way!  The character of Kratos would need to be totally revamped with maybe once exceptions, his drive and determination.  This key part of his being would not be limited to one era. Everything else from clothing, weapons, dialog would need to be changed to fit the time period.  If not you run the risk of having the protagonist feeling detached from the game world. 

Also characters in the game would be laughable as well.  Greek Gods on the Ho Chi Minh Trail?  I don't think so...  Skeletons, Titans and other monsters roaming around outside of a forward artillery fire-base?  That would seem something out of a cheesy science fiction movie.

The grit and rawness of the Vietnam war does no fit the mystical enemies or the overall mood of God of War.  Characters that are closely tied to their environment do not transition to a different on easily.

Card Game

The Premise:

This is simple, attack the other players “kingdom” and win. (based on two players only)  Think of it as a modified “I declare war” card game.

The Rules:

1. Take a deck of cards, remove all kings and queens.  One player takes all black cards, the other takes all red.
2. You place one black or red king and queen down face up.  The other black or red king and queen will not be used.
3. Each player takes their remaining cards and shuffle.
4. Remove 4 cards without looking and place them face down in front of you.  This is your “reserve” unit (this is done so the cards held in hand will have some degree of randomness)
5. The remaining cards are held in hand and played against each other.  Each player presents a card at the same time and high card wins that battle ).  In the event of a tie the battle is a draw and nobody wins the battle. 
6. The reserve unit cards can be played at any time by selecting one and placing it face up.  You do not get to see what card it is and this will take place of using one of the cards in hand.
7. Play continues until all cards are used (including reserve unit cards. Player that has won the most battles wins the war and has conquered the other kingdom and defeated the other players king and queen.

After playing the game a few times, the only change I made was upping the reserve unit cards from 4 to 6.  this makes the cards held in hand more random and you have to have a little more strategy.  Just make sure you pay attention to what is played.  Heh and with any card game look to see of the other player has a tell or not.

Basic AI

This assignment I will present a simple A.I. Program for a game “Us vs It” - Tanks, Robot.  I will list the robots functions and then the program I created using it and the end result.

Robot functions:

• Laser – shoots forward unless tracking a target using scan.  +1 damage to tank, -1 action point (ap).
• Fist – Robot spins to damage all enemies within 1 square, +3 damage, -1 ap.
• Move – move forward towards goal or towards enemy if tracked using scan. -1 ap
• Scan – see if there are enemies within 2 squares, if so target (turn towards) the closest enemy.  If more than 1 target move towards target that gets robot closest to goal (in the event of equal distance, randomly choose 1) 0 ap used.  Once enemy is hit after scan, tracking resets.
• Repair – +1 hp to robot, if under 8hit points (hp), -1 action point.
• Shield – puts up barrier that blocks 1 damage during tanks round.  - 1 ap

Here is the program I put in place for the Robot.  The robot has 10 hp and 6 ap and 8 commands in the program.  The program runs until robot is out of action points, has crossed the goal line or is destroyed.

1. scan
2. move -1 ap
3. spin (possible – 1 ap)
4. scan
5. laser -1 ap
6. scan
7. move -1 ap
8. spin (possible -1 ap)
9. repair (possible -1 ap, possible +1 hp)
10. shield (possible -1 ap blocks 1 hp damage next round)

Playing using this, my robot was pretty tough.  I wanted to get it going towards the goal as fast a possible, so usually the first couple moves I went forward.

Paper Simulation

Game inspired by the Uncharted series of video games.

The rules are simple. Make your way through the game board to collect the most treasure!  You take the board pieces to assemble the game board in any shape that you can create.  There are premade shapes in a “L” and “I” shapes, along with smaller sections and then there are individual pieces.  All of these pieces interlock at the edges.  In addition you have gem (red border), action (blue design border) and warning (black and yellow) square covers that snap on individual spots into special squares.  Have fun with the other people playing to layout a fun game board.  Shuffle the three decks of gem, action, and warning cards..Next, you roll the die to see who goes first and then go clockwise from there.  Select your player token and begin the game.  Roll the die and move forward the number of spaces.  If you land on one of the special squares select the appropriate card and follow what it says.  At the end, add up your treasure, Gems=3 points, gold = 2 points, silver=1point.  In the even of a tie, reshuffle the gem cards and pick 3 treasure cards, highest amount wins (if another tie draw again).  Remember, you have to have some luck in treasure hunting!

How would reverse engineering a game that has already been made help with creating your own game? It makes you think about what is fun in the game and boil it down into a few main mechanics.  You take the one that you think would translate best into a board game and go from there.  This really puts into perspective what makes a game tick.

I have posted sample pictures below of the game: