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)