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August 30, 2005
Production Painting 3
Posted by Jenova at 10:42 PM | Comments (3)
August 28, 2005
Fall 2005 Production Schedule
Today, we hammered out our schedule. Take a look of all the tasks every week, oh my god~~~ Glenn and Rick will update their detailed plan later. Gasp, don't be panic, we got lots of things to do. But it will be quick, 7 weeks, after that we will be able to enjoy our victory.
2005fallschedule.htm
2005fallschedule.xls
Posted by Jenova at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)
Cloud Cut Scenes
Here is the list for the visual, audio and transitoin assets we will need for cloud cut scenes (aka storyboards):
cloudcutscene.htm
cloudcutscene.xls
Posted by Jenova at 08:22 PM | Comments (0)
Cloud Design Beta Aug 28, 2005
After all the effort, we finally have a pretty solid design to work on.
In case when I'm not available, you can still find it at this link.
http://interactive.usc.edu/projects/cloud/Cloud%20Design.htm
Posted by Jenova at 08:12 PM | Comments (0)
August 17, 2005
Some new ideas, need feedback!
When color meets Cloud
Today Rick shew me the slider GUI he had been working on these days, in his example he useed three sliders to control the RGB colors. I was pretty excited to see it runing in Bushido and joked about why not add this and let the player custmize the cloud boy's hair and underware's color. However, as I think about the colors more. I become more and more excited about them.
Remember how cool it was to paint cloud on the sky and write letters with them? Now with colors not only shapes but more meaningful colors you will be able to create.
Why do I think color based game play fits our project?
1) We have very cool normal -> purified cloud transition, it's one of the most satisfying thing in the game. Drop a tinny purified cloud can convert a large cluster of cloud. It's not exactly what we wanted before. But it fits perfect for the color mixing. Imagine you drop one pure red cloud into a big cloud cluster, and you will see the color start blend into the rest and create a nature monochroic color sphere. If we assume the cloud boy is the tube tool in photoshop, then we can use him to do color mixing and paint the whole sky.
2) Color based play, no need for dark clouds AI and simulation. If we put everything under the idea of mixing color, then to remove the bad color on the sky (red, brown and greenish), you will need to use the opposite color to counter ballance it. If the red meets cyan, it will goes to neturel tone. We can also consider the nature paint pallete, like yellow + blue -> green. All of these are based on dot to dot converting, by passing an extra color info based on what we have, I believe it will be relatively costless and much easier to implement than the cloud bag size specific behavior. Maybe you are still confusing how are we gonna make a game of colors. It's inspired by a mini game did by Ken Perlin that teaches kids how to mix colors, try it first.
3) Once we use color mixing instead of dark clouds we will save a lot of time and use them to emphasize the quality of flying and simplify the control more. The main interactions will be releasing and sucking the clouds. We will still keep the drag feature, but its just a more effecient way to collect color. Instead of using push and drag to create shape, releasing AKA drawing will be the main tool you use to create. Weather will be the presentation of color interaction. As you put a purified cloud (bleaching cloud) to the other colored clouds, the color will drop off through rain. Storm maybe the result of the two contrast color including white & black.
Why color may be a stupid idea?
1) Although cloud is a surreal game, colored clouds may not be acceptable by normal people. I can, but others may not. Maybe we can start from simple white and black clouds, as the story develops, more and more color become possible.
2) RGB or RYB?? RYB is a psychological color pallete, I don't know any mathmetical model for it.
3) It is different from the original, big eats small idea. There maybe hidden technique issues.
Here are some test for having colored clouds on the sky:
Switch Hue
Color Dodge
Posted by Jenova at 12:40 AM | Comments (5)
August 14, 2005
Meeting Notes 08/14/2005
Today's meeting has been a very constructive one.
Here's the notes:
1) For Cloud spring 2005 wrap up
We want give a presentation to the department including faculty and students. It may take the form of a wednesday night speaker series.
The presentation is about the postmortem of the Cloud project and the plans for the coming two months. In order to create our postmoterm, all of us will require to write a brief postmoterm about our works, for example, engineering, art or game design. And we will spend a couple hours during the second week of the school and have a meeting with all the members including Tracy, Erin and Aaron too.
This meeting is mainly dedicated for the feedback and suggestion for Grant project's production and process.
2) Plans for Aug - Nov 2005
Time is never enough for us, neither Dyadin nor Cloud. I guess that's the way human nature is. Looking at all the opportunities we are facing. We have a pretty good luck to have both IGF student showcase 11/15/2005 and SlamDance student group 10/24/2005 available for us. Yes we are going to fight for both.
Since SlamDance has a 10/24 deadline, we will want to have all the features and assets being done before that. And spend the rest time before IGF to do bug fixing and game tunning. Kellee will join and help us on the production side. We will produce the equally or more fancy instruction menu and CD cases before 10/20 and submit them to both festivals.
We looked at the current cloud today and look at our schedule. Since Rick is going to work at EA for the first week after the school starts, we literally only have 7 weeks to realize all the features. I am concerned that to start a new system for cloud simulation may be beyond the risk line. I'll discuss this issue with John again.
In terms of quests and game-play, the little girl idea seems working with the four of us today. For challenge and conflict Kellee brought up the dark clouds again. Vince mentioned about flying through the dark clouds and dodge them. For story and opening animtaion, I shew Vince my story board sketch, and he is going to rewrite them, and add in music and potentially narrater's voice. Look at what left from the spring production there are still a lot things that nearlly everybody want to see:
a.Better Cloud Rendering (sprite size and movement)
b.Cloud on different layer
c.fog and view frustum culling
d.Weather effects
e.Better and maybe extra ways to control clouds
f.Dark Clouds
3) Schedule
I started a schedule template and filled in blocks and important days, for all the features and arts left to be done. I will need your opinions and suggestions to fill the finish the rest part of the schedule. I'm pretty confident of being able to get in the festivals, but it's our honor to make it a better game now. Cheer!
Schedule for IGF template
2005fallschedule.htm
Microsoft Excel Version
Posted by Jenova at 07:15 PM | Comments (1)