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.