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.