Sound Design: Alpha Level

For the last spring before Alpha, I was assigned to produce and submit the sound design for our game. For Alpha, I created this list of foley and non diegetic sound effects that would be necessary for the initial build of our game:

• Collection
• Running footsteps
• Hitting the ground
• Ledge grab
• Loading Screen Music
• Victory Noise - Gong
• Victory Noise - Objective Complete
• Combat woosh
• Double jump
• Glide

My previous experience with sound design was with the course Machinima. As the director for both the short and final film in the class, I did a lot of sound design to have the correct natural and thematic music and sound effects.

Finding the clips took a large amount of research and comparison. It was interesting to me, because unlike the film projects I worked on previously, the sound I found for the game would likely be heard by the player multiple times. With that in mind, I had to find sounds that in some cases would sound natural and realistic when played together with other sound effects or when looped.

I used Audacity to manipulate and clean up the audio. With the effect controls, I changed the pitch, tempo, and length of the clips. Even the shortest audio file like the 'hitting the ground' sound effect required precision manipulation and work.

I enjoyed the process and look forward to seeing where I can improve in the coming weeks as we add more elements.

Ross

Alpha Prioritized To Do List

Here's the comprehensive prioritized list for our team for Alpha. There were some important design aspects that I'm glad I got to cover with the group - Getting the group to communicate on the most important features of our game is important and I'm glad I was able to help keep the team on task.

I'm looking forward to working on the sound design and user interface features in the upcoming sprint.

We have 9 days to get this sprint done. With Thanksgiving break, I think we should realistically have 10 / 14 of the tasks or features complete by next Thursday. It's gonna be close, but I know we can do it.

Ross

Alpha Prioritized To Do List

1.      Level structure : Max

a.       Objectives

b.      Layout

c.       AI storage

d.      Lighting

e.       Set Pieces

                                                               i.      Cemetery

                                                             ii.      Lighthouse

                                                            iii.      Buildings

2.      Collecting System – scrolls with counters, items : ART & CS, Mavin

3.      Animations – 10 different types of movement (done) : ART, Paulo

4.      Parkouring – climb cliffs, shimmy (done) : ART

5.      Ability/Skills – double jump (done), acquire : Blake

6.      Enemy – guard (done) : CS, Ron

7.      Way Points - “Purple lighting” to objectives; markers : Ron

8.      Combat – physical attack, magical attack (done) : Blake

9.      User Interface : James, Ross, Blake

a.       Flow chart

b.      Main Menu, In Game Menu

                                                               i.      Options, 1 Player - Multiplayer, etc.

c.       HUD

d.      Player Log-In

                                                               i.      Programming: Blake

                                                             ii.      Art – Functionality : James

10.  Sound : Ross, Adam

a.       Atmospheric

b.      Non-Diegetic

11.  Lighting (done) : Thaddeus

12.  Particle system – double jump : Thaddeus

13.  Clothing – hat for enemy guards : Kelly, Adam

14.  Loading Screen : Max

Scrum Meeting Results 11/15

These are the Scrum meeting results for our Thursday meeting. Everyone's progress is noted.

Scrum Meeting 11/15/12

Blake – better visual effects (not met)

Derek – Idle and update older animations

--Comprehensive list of animations--

·         Run

·         Idle

·         Vertical Wall run

·         Black flip off wall run

·         Horizontal wall run

·         Grab

·         Climb

·         Falling

·         Landing

To-Do

·         Shimmy

 

 

James – button mapping, dragging, HUD examples (not met)

Adam – Projectile system basic completed, AI searching (not met)

Paulo – rotating, front flip            

Ron – Tools and forms for later on, astar algorithm, AI pat

Ross – business plan (done), business done before end of the year, Game Design Doc, To-Do: Wiki, business law

Mavin – Code reviewing. Refining work

Thaddeus – lighting system (not met)

 

Not Present: Max & Kelly

Kelly –   To-Do: Modular objects – build cemetery and lighthouse  // Not accounted for

Max – Review art, research  // Excused

 

 

 

 

Design: Real Talk from Rahjur

Today was my 1:1 with Roger Altizer in class.

We discussed my role in the class as well as the state of the game we are working on. I'm really surprised by how much the idea has changed over the semester. When the game was pitched and accepted, multiplayer based Mario Kart parkouring was the big draw.

After MP was shot down (for logical reasons), we transitioned to a single player more stealth based ninja title. Over the course of the next few weeks, we realized that parkour and free running were our real bread and butter.

Talking with Roger today, a couple of key things were brought up that I feel are important for our game.

1. "Good Design solves a problem" -- Roger Altizer
http://twitter.com/Romar55/status/266678313790095360

I tweeted about it because I felt like it really framed how I need to approach my role as designer. One of the reasons we chose to embrace parkour was because we really wanted to focus on the non violent aspects of our game. With Avatars, we're limited to what's permitted with the characters and choosing to focus on movement gives us more freedom.

It solves a problem, but not completely. In order for our game to have a purpose, I need to really consider why the player will want to move around on the rooftops and natural terrain. Roger had a good word for that - payoff. What is the payoff for the player to be doing these actions?

2. Don't be afraid to express yourself on your blog.

I'll admit it. I've been neglecting this blog. A part of me is anxious about writing in general (for the most part, I consider myself an above average writer, but it's a love-hate relationship), but a much larger part is nervous about writing something that will make me look inadequate.

Is it weird that I want to maintain a professional presence online? But that's where Roger corrected me. To paraphrase, it's more important to give off a sense of development or growth from the blog. Recruiters aren't looking for student devs who are all powerful, well rounded game makers.

They're looking for students who show marked improvement in a specific discipline coupled with a strong work ethic.

I mean, yes, obviously every recruiter is looking at potential employees in a similar way, but as a student, I'm here to learn and develop the skills I have. Failure is merely an opportunity for improvement. No one got to work in a studio without some decent amount of hardship.

That's all for now. (And writing that really wasn't that difficult)

Ross

Sprint Objectives (ending 11/1/12)

I've almost completed my sprint objectives for the week:

• Complete basic game design document
• Print 4 copies for Thursday's class
• Complete company business plan
• Meet with Entrepreneurship Center on campus
• Meet with Brock Jensen (Business student and company consultant)
• Print 4 copies for Thursday's class
• Document & Log
• Team Razor, X Statement, Slogan
• Official Company Name
• Poll: Video Game Title (subject to change)

Our games gone through a lot of iterations and developments in the past week. Even just solidifying the concepts of where our game takes place and what we want to do with the avatar experience has gradually changed from the original ideas we talked about. Our game is a living, growing project, capable of moving in new directions and flavors. I love it.

Ross

Google Hangout Summary 10/16/12

Our team just got done with a 2 hour google hangout meeting. It was definitely a lot longer than I thought it would be, but it was necessary and we made a lot of progress. I'm grateful that the other leads and team members look to me for my opinion and creative ideas. I'm not very familiar with the designer role, but I'm very committed to making this project successful and most importantly fun. My old production background keeps showing its head when we tend to get off task and I try to give the team focus and direction. Whether we're in class or online, I can tell when we need to move on. I feel like I'm learning more about myself - I have a good ability at seeing the big picture and making sure that we stay dedicated to that vision. When I was in the pre-production phases of my initial pitch "Heroes of Rock" I had a good grasp of what we needed to focus on with AJ so we could get the prototype off the ground as well as what needed to be emphasized in the pitch. Focusing on the most important aspects of the game is now the task at hand with Ninja Royale and I'm happy to say we made significant progress tonight.

I've unofficially taken on the role as recorder for our team so here is the summary of what we discussed during the meeting in an email format I sent out to our group:

New Beginnings

It's official now: I am the lead designer on the future XBLIG title Ninja Royale (tentative name). While a part of me was saddened that I would not get to continue working on Heroes of Rock, the change makes a lot of sense. Having two designers/producers on the same project could be too confusing, complicated, or cluttered and more importantly unrealistic to the actual conditions project managers have to face in industry. Another reason the transition is sensible is the reality of the business world we live in. Very few people in management have the freedom to stay where they are if they want to move up in an organization. In my case, being on an entirely new project and finding what I can do to make the project successful will be a more productive and helpful experience in the long run. I know I'm not the only one who's a little disheartened at not being able to work on their pitched projects, but I'm moving on.

My New Game Developer Vows:

I am committed to making this new game great and putting in the time to learn what it takes to be a designer.
I appreciate the opportunity to be a leader in some capacity on this team and am excited to work with a new group of game developers.
I will put the time in to make this game fun and memorable.

Ross