Origami Kami - Alpha and Open House Update

Today was our official Alpha deadline. I'm incredibly proud of the work our team was able to accomplish in the past couple months and the current state of our game. We're really in a great position for Spring and I think we can make some serious waves with this project (that pun was completely intentional)

Before the Open House this week, I created a survey form for people to fill out after they played our build at the event. Here is some direct feedback from the EAE attendants:

Gameplay - Describe what you enjoyed:

Art is great and the objective is simple very nice casual game, really enjoyable

The pressure sensitivity was excellent; I also enjoyed the peaceful ambience of the game.

I enjoyed the feel of the movement of the water. I also liked the different challenges, and diversity between levels.

Gameplay - Describe one area of improvement or idea to develop:

Something that encourages more movement. I had the most fun when the origami was moving the fastest.

I think the game should have the boat move, when you move the consol around

Build the narrative into the game. Provide a reason to collect origami cranes. Feedback on the controller could be more intuitive; whatever makes sense.

Art - Describe what you enjoyed:

The water looked nice. Once the reflections are added it will be really good.

The colors, I think vivid colors make this look great

I loved the origami theme and the stylistic water.

Art - Describe one area of improvement or idea to develop:

Initially hard to recognize the geysers for what they were.

Contrast between the obstacles and water might be increased to help indicate the goal. The outer edge of the lane is plain.

the boat could be more detailed

What are your overall thoughts on the game:

Relaxing. A good time killer. The right meditative soundtrack will really bring it to life.

Fun little game, should be on mobile!

Well done. I like the simplicity of the interaction between player and device. The user currently clicks a lot to solve puzzles. Balance the touch mechanic to ensure the game isn't too tedious.

I really like it!

It's really important to me as a producer/developer to get feedback from other gamers about my current projects. Gamers are great at figuring out exactly what they don't like and just telling you. I'm glad that many people have positive things to say about Origami Kami, but I'll be keeping a closer eye on the areas of improvement so I know what to prioritize and share with the team over this winter break.

I'm also working on trailer for the game which I will post soon.

Origami Kami - Project Update #2

We're one week away from Alpha! It seems like this semester has flew by, but I can't wait to show of our current game at the Open House. I worked this whole week to create a media packet for the event that we could use for our promotional materials at the event as well as our future game events.

This past summer, I interned at Ubisoft San Francisco in their Marketing/Promotions Department. I learned a lot about the process and groundwork that large triple-A publishers go through to show off their games before they release to the public. While some of the strategies don't translate to our game and group (as independent or student respectively), I have some great ideas and networks our team can use when we're closer to release.

I talked to the team about the idea of Promotions and what it can mean to our game. We can be disruptive and different while still using some mainstream channels to show our game off to the largest audience. I'm so excited to get started in the Spring when we can plan out our game plan for GDC and other local game events. I want to take my experiences from this summer and last year and make Origami Kami one of the most talked about games the undergrad capstone has ever seen.

Here's a picture of our game courtesy of Eric's Blog:

I also had the team practice an exercise where we pretend talked about our game to someone who had never seen it. It's something that I'm tried using this semester to refine our presentation skills while also getting everyone more connected on the spirit and core of the game.

Origami Kami - The Paper (Boat) God + Alpha Prioritized List

Kami is Japanese for Spirit or God which works with our new theme and rhymes with Origami so now we're collectively calling our game Origami Kami. I'm not sure of whoever came up with the name, but I like it a lot and so does the group so now it's our game's name!

It's Thanksgiving Break so we're working around the Holidays to get the game ready for Alpha which is December 12th. I've planned out the last sprint so we're feature complete for the EAE Open House which is the same day.

Here is my Alpha Prioritized List that I put together last week, but forgot to include:

Alpha Prioritized To Do List

1.     Multi Level System - eric

2.     Save Game - tyler

a.     Collecting System – counter for collected, dictionaries

b.     Levels Unlocked

3.     Mechanics - ellis

a.     Current

b.     Geysers

c.     Cherry Blossom/Touchables

d.     Driftwood

4.     Particle Effects System -eric

a.     Waterfalls, geysers

5.     Realistic Water - eric

6.     Animations - dore

a.     Flower Bloom

7.     UI - matt

8.     Sound Design - ellis

a.     Background Music

b.     Sound effects

9.     Purchasing System - tyler

10.  Social/Leaderboards - tyler

I worked with the Engineering Team to prioritize the core features we needed and coordinate work load. The art team worked separately to iterate on their current art and assets.

Origami Boat - New Name, New Game

As you can see by the new title, things have changed. Many things. Let's discuss!

1. We decided to change the theme of the game from most peaceful, zen game ever to a more engaging puzzle boat game. We decided that the concept of making a relaxing game conflicted too much with solving puzzles and working with the environment. A game that we used as reference/inspiration is called Pocket God and even that contrasts with the theme we were working on. 
2. With a new theme comes a new name. We're now Origami Boat. I thought it was important that we change the name in class with the whole team since the old name made everyone think of peacefulness which is what we want to avoid.
3. The future of B2B is currently up in the air. I did a lot of research and work to get us registered and prepared for the competition, but if we drop it because our game no longer meets the criteria/overall objective of the medical world, it'll be an understandable loss.

Here is the latest build courtesy of Dore's Blog!

Zen Boat - Project Update #4

We've had several sprint reviews this semester, but I decided to take notes and keep track of this week's progress. We're all working to develop mechanics, levels, and new art for the game. I should spend more time blogging, but I'm glad I have this to include.

Sprint Review 11/14/13

Completed:

·      Crane

·      Rocks

·      Boat

-       Camera/POV angle: How much angle do we need?

-       Rock drop location:

o   Not grabbing and dropping

o   Where to drop – How much boats move

-       Scaling objects into level editor

-       Improved Workflow

o   Mechanic -> Testing -> Iteration -> Updates

To-Do List

-       Current

-       Terrain

-       Lily pad 

-       Whirlpool

Thursday’s Build

·      Rock you can drop

·      Current that moves

·      Collectible to pick up

·      Whirlpool that is a risk

·      End objective (tori gate)

·      Drift Wood
- Stretch Goal – Lily Pad with risk/reward

Angled POV

Cherry Blossom

Lantern

Windmill

Bank

Terrain

Here's another image courtesy of Eric Hurst's Blog

As you can see, we've implemented a basic water environment as well as a whirlpool which represents the end goal.

Zen Boat - Project Update #3

We're going all out in the pursuit of Zen. The question remains what exactly is Zen and how do you create an experience that enforces that to the player and gives a Zen experience.

One of the biggest challenges I think we have right now is the somewhat loose interpretation of what Zen means. It really breaks down to two trains of thought/definitions:

ZEN (Z-eh-n); noun

1. Japanese school of thought emphasizing meditation and peacefulness
2. Total state of focus and togetherness of mind and body.

It's not these definitions are two sides of a coin, but rather they seem to occupy different zones of gameplay experiences.

For example: I would consider Proteus to be a game of meditation and peacefulness. The experience of exploration without objectives creates an environment of serenity and calmness.

The problem I have with Proteus is it really isn't a game. 

Not that there is anything wrong with that, it just becomes a challenge to develop a product that is still engaging, interactive, and most importantly fun while passively/discreetly including goals and purpose.

Looks like we have our work cut out for us :)

Also, here's a picture of our first build: (credit to Eric Hurst's Blog)

Zen Boat - Project Update #2

So many changes to document and discuss! We've settled on a theme or rather a Unique Selling Point:

Zen Boat will focus on reducing stress. We want to make a game that is peaceful and relaxes the player with both gameplay and aesthetic choices.

I think we have a big task ahead of us because the realities of creating an experience that is intentionally peaceful seems outside the experience or background of anyone on our team, but I'm optimistic we can accomplish it. One benefit of making a game that is beneficial is we can submit our project into the Bench 2 Bedside competition. I know that there will be stiff competition in the EAE category, but I think we have a strong product that can help many different groups (audience) such as recovering patients or PTSD veterans.

I spent a lot of time last week communicating and working individually with members of our team to understand everyone's work load. Some prefer many tasks and responsibilities while other have expressed a need to reduce their assignments or tasks. I'm grateful that everyone feels comfortable enough with me to have them share their current work load so I can better plan and scope.

Another that I worked on this past weekend was creating a Capstone Timeline. One of the biggest things I learned last year was scope and the important of planning ahead. Even though the main focus right now is Alpha at the end of the semester, it's still necessary to plan out the week to week milestones and sprints to determine what's possible from an engineering and art production viewpoint.

My plan over the weekend is to research B2B and plan the logistics of what being in the competition will be in regards to our team process.