Final Blog Post

Final Blog Post

            This year I was in Computer Science II, which was a very unique experience. I learned a lot about what it means to collaborate in a group, and the importance of personal discipline. I realized too late that I had squandered away an excellent learning opportunity. Computer Science II taught me a lot about writing and design, but not much about code. Because my group was so good at coding, it was my job to design stories and mechanics for the games. I had a lot of fun doing this. The classroom definitely had a creative and open feel to it, but I made the mistake of taking advantage of that openness and using it to slack off and not learn very much about coding.

            One of the reasons that this class was so great was because of Mr. Stephens (I could have put “you” here, because I know Mr. Stephens is the only one who reads these blog posts). Mr. Stephens knows what he is doing with coding, and in AP I saw him use a curriculum and guide a class to success on the AP test. This year, there was no guidance, and that worked out for the majority of students in our CS2 class. Personally, I discovered that when left to my own devices, I tend to not work as hard as I could. While the class design was great and laid back, for people like me (who are susceptible to bouts of laziness) the class did not teach me as much as it could have. The fault is entirely mine. I did have a blast writing plot and talking with my group about code though, and experienced what it is like to work in a group with people that have different specialties (G did art, D did game code, A made cool effects, I wrote the plot and game concepts).

            To improve on the class, I think that the students should at least have an option to have a curriculum taught to them. If Mr. Stephens sees students “pulling a Frank” (you can use that if you want to) then he has the right as a teacher to have those kids learn a language or complete labs. It is a class, after all. The class is a great start to what could be one of the most creative and individual classes at LASA, but at the moment there’s a lot of room for fooling around. I took advantage of that and regret it immensely. I’m not saying I left the class with no additional knowledge, because I did learn some material in personal study, but I could have learned a lot more.

            Thanks for a great year!

                        Frank F 

Blog Post 5/13

This week the crew finalized our ideas for the game. We are running out of time to make our magnum opus. If we don't pull together soon, nothing may get done after all of this planning work. D is working hard on some Source stuff, G is working on some art, and A is working diligently on his "Rainbow Balls" (name by F) and I am working on some tutorials for photoshop and waiting for the rest of the group to start using it. I tell my group that we need to pull together but no one really listens to me. I may be the chief idea, but I'm not the boss. I need to work on my persuasion skills lest this project never get done.

Blog Post 4/6

This week I worked hard on the Plot (which I posted last time) for Ferozhead: Dimensional Traversal. Hopefully D and G can get to work on it soon, because our time is running out. This week I hope to continue working on the plot. I have decided that I am going to make the DGAF crew follow the plot, and explore it as a way to broaden our knowledge of syntax and procedure. When we learn to follow the script we will be close to making a game that people will actually want to play. A is working on his dots. Hopefully we can pull our efforts together before the end of the year, because I know if we can then we will make something great.

That's all for now from the CHIEF IDEA
-F

Blog 4/22

This week everyone has been working hard. Instead of giving all (one) of my readers a long, drawn out explanation of how and why I thought of this plot, I'll just post the plot itself! Here's your preview into the minds of the CHIEF IDEA of DGAF Studios. 

FEROZHEAD: DIMENSIONAL TRAVERSAL

SCENE 1: 1D ESCAPE

Mechanics: Player controls a dot the color of toast. Uses arrow keys to control acceleration and absorb smaller dots (similar to Osmos). As the motivation bar fills up, the background begins flashing and the dots start grouping together. Feroz yells “I AM NOT CONTENT WITH JUST ONE DIMENSION ANYMORE WAUUUUUGHHHHHH” and suddenly turns into FEROZHEAD.

SCENE 2: 2D ESCAPE

Mechanics: Motivation bar that increases per enemy killed

FEROZHEAD in a 2D world, defeating flying enemies by shooting them. As the motivation bar goes up, the screen starts to flash colors. Feroz yells “I AM NOT CONTENT WITH JUST TWO DIMENSIONS ANYMORE, WAUUUUUGHHHHHHHH” and suddenly turns into F3DROZ.

SCENE 3: 3D GREETINGS

Mechanics: The Motivation Bar fills up for completing challenges, actions. Can spend the Motivation bar by hitting a certain key, and then F3DROZ goes “WAUUUUUUGHHHHHH” and spends it to activate the next part of the story.

F3DROZ wakes up in the middle of a blank white expanse. An arrow on the ground is the only indicator of what actions he should take. The player takes his first step forward as F3DROZ, giving the player 100% of the Motivation points needed. The button for the  Motivation Activation will flash on the screen and the player will activate it. Upon “WAUUUUUUUGHHHHHH” the world will become full of grasses, trees, houses, and F3DROZ will have a gun. Feroz shouts “This is more like it!” and fires his INT3RDIMENSIONAL TRANSGRESSOR (with BLAND bullets, upgradeable later on in the game to have different power-ups that can be switched out with ease) into the air.


SCENE 4: THE TEAS3D

F3DROZ has all unlocks enabled and obliterates bears that come at him from all sides. The player will experience the overwhelming power of fully upgraded F3DROZ. Suddenly, the screen begins to blur and a face comes up on the screen.

FARHAN: Beya! Beya! What are you doing in 3D! Get back here! 2D is where you belong!

F3DROZ: You can’t stop my freedom!

FARHAN holds up a remote control. He hits a button, and F3DROZ is downgraded to level 1 of everything.

F3DROZ: No, my 3D power! WHY?!?!

FARHAN: Hahaha, you will never be able to defeat my minions. I will defeat you and send you back to the world of 2D!

F3DROZ (To himself): If I can just make it to the end of this level, I can at least make sure I won’t be sent back to 2D. HERE I GO!

The player uses the arrow keys to control direction and angle of walking, all enemies will be on the same plane. F3DROZ must navigate through a small village, dodging barrels that bears throw at him by walking to the side of them or shooting them. His gun is very slow and not very powerful though, so he must shoot the barrels once to destroy them, and the bears twice. This can be upgraded later. Each bear shot will yield 5 points. There will be 6 bears total on the road.

After making it through the town by following the arrows on the ground, F3DROZ will need to step in to the GOLD STAR ZONE on the ground at the end of the road. This will conclude the level and direct the player to the INTERDIMENSIONAL SHOP ZONE.

SCENE 4.5: INTERDIMENSIONAL SHOP ZONE

F3DROZ: I can rest here for a while, and upgrade my equipment while I’m at it. I can make myself stronger and more ready to take this dimension on.

The player can direct F3DROZ to one of 4 doors: Weapons, Power, Defense, Style, and Done.

The first gun the player has has a speed of 1 and a power of 1. By mousing over other choices the player can see how they compare to the weapon he is currently using.

Weapons unlocked (available for purchase) by this level:
3D PEA SHOOTER - A gun. Your puny pistol can hardly compete with this bad boy. Starting stats: Speed: 3 Power: 2. Price: 25 Dimension Points (DP)

Power Upgrades unlocked (available for purchase) by this level:

3D PEA SHOOTER (REQ. WEAPON):
Pack a (Pea) Punch: +1 Power 20 DP
So S(Pea)dy: +1 Speed 20 DP

Defense unlocked (available for purchase) by this level:
+1 Life: 50 DP

Style unlocked (available for purchase) by this level:
Sunglasses: 15 DP

Upon walking through the “Done” door, players will have an “EQUIP” screen in front of them. By using the menus with the same four categories as the I.S. (minus Defense), players will switch between weapons/upgrades. The “Style” option also is here, and players will enable which pieces of Interdimensional Swag they will equip, which adds a 5% bonus DP earned per piece of swag they have on. This can be explained in the shop tutorial.

The player will select “Complete” and then, after being asked whether they are sure, proceed onto the next level.

SCENE 5: A WARM WELCOME

F3DROZ (equipped with whatever purchased items the player has chosen) walks into a huge lava filled cavern. The screen blurs and again FARHAN’s face appears on the screen.

FARHAN: This is part of the awful 3D world you are a part of, beya~ I will save you! Minions, apprehend that man!

F3DROZ must fight through a lava filled path. In some places, the lava rises and falls, causing the player to think about when to wait and when to go. After the lava seeps back down, the player can run through these dangerous areas.

The main enemy present here are the bats. Bats fly fast at the player and wait 1.0 seconds charging an attack and then dash forwards. The bats will take the player’s position at the beginning of this charge time, and then at the end dive forward at high speed towards that place. This will force players to constantly move and be on the lookout for these bats. Bears will still be there throwing barrels. Bats are worth 10 DP each and bears are still worth  5 DP. After a while the end of the path will appear, and the player will step onto the GOLD STAR ZONE and end the level.

--

That's it for the preview. Tune in next week and don't forget to check out the store and buy FEROZHEAD merchandise!

Blog Post 4/15

This is a bit of a backblog, so I'll try to remember what we were up to around this time.

This week D was playing around with 3D while A worked more with C#. G is working hard at learning more about the software and make some really cool stuff in Blender. Soon we will start our ultimate product, our magnum opus, our GRAND FINALE. I will start working on the plot for this game shortly. I will be sure to post it on this blog. The idea is to have a game that is about FEROZHEAD's journey to the 3 dimensional universe, where he runs and guns through levels of enemies. Hopefully we'll be able to make the game more challenging, because our products in the past have been too easy to be considered enjoyable for the masses.

That's all for now!
-F

Blog Post 4/1/12

This week I worked nonstop, without sleeping. I worked until my fingers were bone and my mind was mush. I pumped out line after line of code until there was nothing left of the keyboard.

April Fools. I slacked off a little this week.

I wasn't here for one day of the week, and my group was gone on another day. There was no one to collaborate with, so my skills as Chief Idea fell short. I worked a little bit more in Wings3D but I had nothing to make so it was kind of pointless. I learned a little, but this week was not one of the greatest at DGAF studios.

Signing off for now,
-F

Blog Post 3/25

This week I worked in Wings3D some more, working with complex geometry. I need to start animating some of the stuff I've made, which hopefully can be done in the new software G obtained a license for. I like working in Wings3D though, so I may continue with that for a while.

D is working with Source SDK, G is working on some art stuff, and A is working on some really cool Processing stuff. It should be a good week here at DGAF studios. I think I'm going to work in Source with Doug, I've enjoyed that in the past. 

Blog Post 3/11

This week, I worked more in Wings3D and made some cool looking stuff. D is talking about going back to source SDK which I think would be fun, but we waited too long for the Kinects to not use them. I'm encouraging the group to use the Kinects and am continuing to design models for that purpose.

I'm going to learn more about modeling and talk to my group more about what is needed for our game. G is coding for tangents and the such, D is working in Source SDK, and F is working on his rainbow thing. It hasn't really changed much.

That's all for now from the Chief Idea.

Blog Post 3/04/12

This week I was sick for one day, and there was only one day of class. From what I've heard from D G and A,  we smoothed out the hand detection and are well on our way to using the Kinects. We use Wings3D to design the models for the game, and that software is both freeware and pretty quality. It's not too hard to figure out and I'm been experimenting with it. The graphics requirements sometimes break my computer, so I have to be careful not to use too many vertices and whatnot. That should not pose that much of an issue to our project at all, though. G is working on the design for the targeting mechanic and I am birthing mind-babies nonstop for our project. Brainstorming part of the job of the Chief Idea so I am hard at work. I also will work in Wings3D and make some sculptures to learn the software.

That's all for now from the Chief.

Blog Post for 2/26

This week I worked on the plot for Doug Hunt. It's a lot of fun to think of game ideas and see how D and A can handle them. The cinematography is going to be iffy, and worrying about that is something that our group should do last. We need to focus on figuring out the Kinect (WHICH IS HERE WOOHOO) and learning how to get it to read our movements.

This week G and A are working with Finch, which I think is a waste of time, but it keeps them busy until we can get the graphics cards into the computer for the Kinect and other uses. I'm really excited for our work with the Kinect and can't wait for my plot to be realized.

Blog Post 2/26

A new juicy leak from the Chief Idea. Try not to drool too much as you read it, although I know that E3 is begging for our appearance. This is just a plot preview though, no art or trailer yet. This is the sequal to On the Hunt (still in production). 

Doug Hunt

A DGAF Production Studios Game

Plot Draft by Frank Feder

Opening Cinematic

                Douglas frolics through a green field, flowers and butterflies flying left and right. Douglas is gleeful, happy music and singing in the background, sun shining bright. Douglas finds a Huge metal object in the middle of the field. Ominous music plays as Doug investigates what is inside the object. As he opens the door hands from behind him push him roughly inside, knocking his head on the ground, making him unconscious.  He awakes later to find himself in a room with huge green vats with humanlike figures in them. He looks down at his hands to see that they are made of metal, and each of his fingers has a hole like the barrel of a gun at the end of them. He inspects the green vats more carefully. He shouts in horror: “Oh my god… They’re clones of me!!” and at that moment a Dougzombie cracks through its vat and starts sauntering over to Douglas.

Scene 1: Tutorial

                Player uses their hands (right is red, left is blue) to hit markers on the screen. When the player’s hand is in the correct place, the hand will have to be held there for 1.50 seconds (upgradeable between levels later on). The screen and background will move on its own [to envision what I’m thinking of, think of the credits in Super Smash Bros Melee where you have to shoot the names, or in arcade games where you have a gun. The screen will move on its own, but the player will have to shoot the Dougzombies when they have a chance.] This is a run and gun level. The player will learn the basics of shooting D/Z’s. Douglas will make it out of the factory and out to the field where he spots FEROZ. “Who are you? Are you the one that kidnapped me?” Doug asks, and FEROZ answers “No, I work against them. But that’s not important right now. What’s important right now is that we go on a DOUG HUNT.”

[DOUG HUNT LOGO FLASHES ACROSS THE SCREEN, THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

Upgrade Period after level 1:

                Help boxes will show the player how to use their hands to spend the points on upgrades in Feroz’s Wares Shop. The player will be given 500*(level number) for completing each level. The help boxes will instruct the player to buy “FAST FINGERS I” for 500 points, lowering the channel time of the gun by .5 seconds to make the gun only take 1.00 seconds to fire. There will be an “ARE YOU SURE?” window to make sure no accidental upgrades are bought. There will be no refunds from Feroz’s Ware Shop. Also bombs will be available, triggered during a level by putting your hands straight up above your head.  Each bomb will cost 250 points, with a maximum carrying capacity of 2 bombs at a time.

Scene 2: D/Z Duck hunt

                FEROZ tells Doug that he has modified the bullets to home in on far away targets. The field looks similar to the DUCK HUNT series field, and FEROZ says “Oh my god, they’ve mutated! They have wings!” the next sequence will be the player shooting homing shots at the flying D/Z’s. Also rabid D/Z’s will run at Douglas, and the player has to shoot them before they get too close. The player can let 3 D/Z’s through before losing and having to start the level over. 20 points are awarded per D/Z shot.

BOSS SCENE 2: PIANOZOMBIE

                A giant D/Z with a grand piano starts blasting musical notes at Douglas. There are two pretty easy phases to this: The first where regular bullets are shot at the approaching quarter-notes and eighth-notes, the second being a phase where the player must swipe across the screen to clear the grass on the screen to see the notes coming at them. After about 10 notes have been blocked the boss will be vulnerable to a red and blue shot (both hands) to its head. Two rounds of this and the boss will be defeated and it’s back to Feroz’s Ware Shop.

Here's a plot preview for our latest "Run N' Gun" 2D game from DGAF, On The Hunt.

Ferozhead: On The Hunt

Plot planning

Chief Idea (Frank)

Scene 1: Not gameplay, introductory sequence.

Feroz and Farhan camping out, talking about what they want to be when they get older. Feroz
says he could be a security guard as he has experience with firearms and doesn’t afraid of anything.
Farhan states that he would join the Peace Corps because he thinks that what the world needs is more
people to be nice. He then goes on to say that he believes all people are good and that world peace isn’t
so far away. Suddenly Nigerian Robobandits ride in on Cyberhorses and nab Farhan. Farhan is
screaming “Feroz!!! Help!!” but Feroz is not fast enough to catch up, as Cyberhorses run at 150 mph.
Feroz, panting, notices a Monkey Gun (the beginning gun, low damage, low firerate) and picks it up. His
eyes fill with rage as he runs out to take back his beloved brother.

Scene 2: Gameplay begins, mechanics are introduced (swapping weapons for ones on the ground,
shooting, jumping)

Feroz runs through a jungle, shooting any in his path. This includes various robotic jungle-life,
such as Lazer Birds and a giant Mechanical Metacentipede (boss of this level). Indestructible mines are
places systematically throughout the entire level, and the player will have to learn to jump over mines or
else lose one of their 4 hearts.

Scene 3: The Mechanical Metacentipede Fight

MMC throws out mines that disappear after 3 seconds, so the player will have to move from
platform to platform to adapt to the situation. The MMC will also choose one level of the three levels of
platform and charge for a few seconds before blasting it with a laser, a one-hit KO on anyone slow
enough to stay on the platform. After firing the laser for a few seconds, the MMC will be vulnerable at
its mouth, which will be flashing red. When the player is able to get its health to 0 by shooting this red
spot, the boss will die, but not before puking up a Rusty Missile Launcher. This works as a secondary
weapon which has much more power than any guns available at the level, but has a 5-second interval
between being able to fire shots and you have limited ammo, which caps at a very low number (7 until
later unlocks are found). After this level the game will save and scroll to the right, revealing a desert past
the end of the trees.

As Promised: The First 3!

Here is the plot summary for the first 3 scenes of Dance Wars: The Feroz Shuffle. I know this is highly anticipated, a behind the scenes look at DGAF. Here you are:

Scene 1:

Characters needed: Feroz, Dr. Dance disguised as Feroz’s mom, Dr. Dance’s henchmen.

FEROZ wakes up in a dark room, the light switch in front of him. As soon as he turns on the light his mom bursts into the room (now revealed to be a stage in a theater). She says “Hey Feroz” and then her head falls off and reveals that it is actually Dr. Dance. “I’ve waited a long time for this! Get him, boys!”. Player then proceeds to fight off henchmen by performing a series of dance moves. Dr. Dance retreats with a howl and a cry that this is not over.

Scene 2:

Characters needed: Feroz

                FEROZ dances through the streets to get home, introducing more of the game’s mechanics.

Scene 3:

Characters needed: Feroz , Prof. Funk

                FEROZ arrives home, is greeted by Professor Funk. Funk explains that he got in a fight with Dr. Dance and used Feroz to take the blame because he knew he had the POWER OF DANCE and would be a helpful ally in the war on Dr. Dance. Prof. Funk then states that he needs Feroz’s help, promising him money, power, women, and the secret of BREAKDANCE.  Feroz agrees and a celebration via dance  takes place. 

That's all for now, maybe I'll release more if the big boss lets me. You know how it is, corporations don't let much information out. At the very least, I'll have a plot update on the upcoming Ferozhead: On The Hunt soon. 

Til then, 

F

Blog Post 1/29/12

This week was my birthday! On January 26, 1996, a legend was born. Also Frank. I'm 16 now, and I will be driving in April. <obligatory joke about roads getting considerably more dangerous here>. Being 16 feels pretty much the same as being 15.

Anyhow, DGAF work is going smoothly. I've had an idea for a good game, it's going to be a sidescrolling bullet-hell with different gun pickups and it's going to leave room for different playstyles. Recently I picked up a gamecube (to reminisce on childhood memories) and one of the games I bought was Custom Robo (a favorite from my early years). This game lets players pick what kind of equipment to use before pitting robots against eachother in an arena. This kind of choice-heavy gameplay is exactly what I was excited to have in a Ferozhead game. The game will be called "Ferozhead: On The Hunt" and it will be 100% excellent. It will be set in a forest and have superior boss fights and killer music.

That's all for this week at DGAF,

F.

Blog Post 1/22/12

This week I have worked pretty extensively in photoshop, and have been discussing new game ideas with the DGAF crew. G is also doing photoshop tutorials and is outskilling me. As chief idea for the group I have taken it upon myself to brainstorm new plot/game mechanics. We are still waiting for the Kinects! We're plagued with anguish, blahs, bleakness, blue devils, blue funk,broken heart, bummer, cheerlessness, dejection, despondency, disconnectedness, dismal dispiritedness, distress, dolefulness, dolor,downcastness, downer, dysphoria, forlornness, funk, gloominess, grief, grieving, heartache, heartbreak, heavy heart, hopelessness, letdown,listlessness, melancholy, misery, moodiness,mopes, mournfulness, mourning, poignancy,sorrow, sorrowfulness, the blues, the dumps,tribulation, and woe. Hopefully we will get the Kinects soon.

Blog Post January 15

Over winter break, I spent a couple days in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I went skiing and sightseeing and it was really awesome, it's definitely one of my favorite places to go. Apart from that, I started watching Justified with Timothy Olyphant. I'm all caught up with the show, ready for the third season to premier on tuesday. Another third season I'm looking forward to is Archer, the funniest show on television in my opinion. 

In class I've been working on the plot for our next big game:  DANCE WARS: The Feroz Shuffle . This is sure to be awesome, as it is on Kinect. I will blog out the plot I have so far, but only the first three scenes of it. Don't want to spoil too much! It's going to be an emotionally heavy dance fighting robot swimming secret headquarters scrolling quicktime event multiplayer-enabled funhouse. Can't wait to get the Kinects so we can start coding!

This next week I will work more on concept art and try to find out more about Kinects.

That's all for now from the Chief Idea.

-FF