Sprint 12: TLC

Click here to play the current demo of When Nature Strikes Back

Task List for 10/24/2013:

Task	Completion (Yes/ No)	Name
AI Attack Towers that attack back	No	Tejas (Producer)
Sounds: Ambient sound (windy), snowball sound, and bubbling sound	No	James
Asset placement on maps (AI / character placement and spawn locations) ; Title screen menu paper prototype	No	Kevin
Use mudbox to improve polar bear model and add fur	No	Matt

Updated: (TYPE DATE THAT COMPLETION COLUMN WAS EDITED)

Milestones

Date	Task Desired	On Track?
10/8 - T	·          Work on improving the FPS in Unity ·          Work on environment sound (water sound) and bear sounds such as (roaring, stomping, walking, slashing) ·          Work on level design (maps and sketches of the desired level) This will be converted to the Unity File after finalization ·         Improve bear model and make it into an FBX file	Yes
10/10 - TH	·         Continue Game Mechanics ·          Have a prototype built ready for play testing for bugs ·          Have at least one character active ·         Make sounds and actions co-exist ·         Have a very clear game mechanics and instruction list	Character still needs tweeks, began working on sounds and actions co-existing
10/15 - T	·         Begin working on character two and or minions ·          Start thinking about animations of characters and idle movements ·          Have art environment really start coming through	Behind on character develop due to lack of skill. New model produced today.  Art Environment is excelling
10/17 - TH	·         Begin implementation of 2nd character and have minions for polar bear function ·          Start working on technical aspects such as attacking and defending ·          Have the environment of game look more realistic and allow the character art to co-exist in it ·         Have all sound effects for every movement complete by this date
10/22 - T	·         Have rough draft of 2nd character complete ·          Place prototype of character two in the game with the mechanics of the bear ·          Begin crafting environment for human interaction ·         Start considering art and navigation for menu, title scree, and every action movement of characters
10/24 - TH	·         Have modified and final version of human and save to a FBX format for unity ·          Have a prototype ready for playtest that incorporates both characters ·          Assign sound affects properly to every movement and character ·         First draft of interface is up
10/29 - T	·         After tweaking interface, have final version of interface, menu, and icon development ·          Completion of all sounds correlating to movement ·          Finalize environment for each character ·         Develop a universal base that each can share. (this will be divided into two bases if time allows us to do so)
10/31 - TH	·         Characters are complete as well as sounds, interface and controls ·          Have a rough/ final base for either one character or both ·          Have a scoring system implemented and allow for one side to win ·         Have version 1 of game complete.

 Lens of Accessibility

- How will players know how to begin solving my puzzle, or playing my game? Do I need to explain it, or is it self-evident?

Players will know how to play the game by either reading the help screen that will be accessible from the main menu or through basic trial and error gameplay.  We are not aiming for a game that requires extensive knowledge or skill to play so learning to play will be more a self-evident process.

 - Does my puzzle or game act like something they have seen before? If it does, how can I draw attention to that similarity? If it does not, how can I make them understand how it does behave?

Our game does have similarities to other games but we would actually prefer to stray away from letting the players know that. We hope that our game draws inspiration from similar titles but we don’t want that idea to take over the initial appeal of the game.

- Does my puzzle or game draw people in, and make them want to touch it and manipulate it? If not, how can I change it so that it does?

Initially, our game was going to be played in 3^rd person. Now we have made a decision to convert that into first person. By doing that, the level of immersion is intensified greatly. On top of that, we have a large environment that players can explore for themselves.

Lens Of Visible Progress

- What does it mean to make progress in my game or puzzle?

To make progress in our game is to advance closer to and ultimately destroy your opponents base. Players can track their individual progress by checking how many kills they have or checking their score if we implement a scoring system of some sort.

- Is there enough progress in my game? Is there a way I can add more interim steps of progressive success?

Our game only has one clear objective at this point. The addition of smaller, optional objectives would open up gameplay and variety for players. Also, attaching some form of a reward after doing said objectives would give more incentive for players to progress in the game.

 - What progress is visible, and what progress is hidden? Can I find a way to reveal what is hidden?

Visible progress will be how close the player is to destroying the base. A health bar will represent this. Other visible progress will be how long the game has been going on. This can be seen with a timer that will be displayed at the start of the game. Progress that won’t be visible to the player is the minion’s progress. Players cannot control the minions or choose target for them.

Lens of The Pyramid

- Is there a way all the pieces of my puzzle can feed into a singular challenge at the end?

All of the actions the player can do, whether big or small, mandatory or optional, they will all help the player proceed towards their main goal of winning the game.

Big pyramids are often made of little pyramids – can I have a hierarchy of ever more challenging puzzle elements, gradually leading to a final challenge?

Our game only has one main objective, however we could break that down into smaller objectives. Perhaps a system that divides the main goal into 3 tiers. Each tier getting gradually harder to complete. With each completion, the players get closer to winning the game.

- Is the challenge at the top of my pyramid interesting, compelling, and clear? Does it make people want to work in order to get to it?

The top of the pyramid represents the pinnacle of all the players actions. We hope that when they get to that point that they feel accomplished and satisfied about the process of getting to that point.