Tag Archives: CTIN 532

Back in the day, I used to go to this site called Newgrounds to see cool and silly flash animation movies and games. So I decided to revisit it after a few years away.

This is something I found on there that I found pretty cool. Reminds me a lot of an old movie I remember watching in highschool as well, Powers of Ten, by Charles and Ray Eames (made in 1977). It’s interesting to see the same area explored in a small interactive piece thee decades later. There are also some interesting comparisons as well, such as the theoretical size of the Minecraft world.

Something a little more “artsy” I found were these installation/projects that a former professor of mine worked on. A relatively simple, but I think resonant idea of taking verbal descriptions of dreams and artistically interpreting them with video and audio. Also a fireplace with sharks in it sounds cool. Wish I had been there to see that.

Project Update:

This past week has a been a bit cluttered for the project, trying to balance planning out the project details, with nailing down narrative beats we want to cover in the game.

On the plus side, I got to draw some more character art!

(more…)

Here is the latest build of Equator: http://nateburba.com/lemarchand/WebPlayer.html

Things are progressing a bit more slowly than expected, but that’s to be expected.

The next build will have a coherent narrative and gameplay goals.

Trying out the rig for our character, and what better way than a dance video?

Prepare thyself.

Stephen Seagull. Action Movie seagull.

wing redesign to look a bit less feathery, and more mechanical

sculpting some dents on the wings.

Designing the island layout where our game takes place. (top down view)

Seagull with Marlon Brando.

I’ve been gathering reference and stalking seagulls lately as inspiration for our game. We’re basing the theme of the experience on Richard Bach’s book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. A fantastic book about a Seagull who discovers the meaning of life.

The Seagull, So majestic.

Here’s another majestic picture of a seagull:

Seagulls are really beautiful birds:

And here’s the book that really inspired the team to want to make a game about flying:

Can’t wait to show the next round of work!

Project Design Macro

Opening scene both establishing control scheme and serving as prologue. Initially play as unknown daughter from an older time.

Intro scene to our daughter protagonist, Snow, where she attends an event where she is inspired to become a DIGITAL ARTIST

Snow must plan out time/ which events/scenes she will choose (seven options apparent from beginning, Snow must choose them and boil them down to five). Each event will involve different characters, with none repeating, save for possibly Snow’s parents.

(more…)

Current Title: Daughter of a Generation

Premise

The premise of Daughter of a Generation is that you play as multiple generations of daughters from a family. Each daughter must deal with the perceptions of women’s roles of her time, the opinions and judgments of her family, as well as her own specific desires and vision of herself. Starting from the first generation, the player will determine the path the daughter’s life will take, whether it be a traditional more conservative role, or a radically independent position, and the course of the previous generation will inform the family conditions and societal pressures of the following generation. Ultimately, by the end of the experience, the player will be able to see how the decisions and actions of the different daughters she played as forged the destiny of the entire family.

Purpose

The purpose of the game is to highlight the numerous factors that affect a young woman as she grows up, particularly those of her family and friends, and also to show how she can react to and manage these external influences to determine her path in life. Emphasis is placed on understanding the motivations and perspectives of others and how to reconcile those with personal goals and self-image.

Genre

The main gameplay/genre of Daughter of a Generation will be closely related to that of a single-player point and click adventure or interactive fiction. There will also be time management and ability unlocking mechanics reminiscent of simulation and rpg games.

Target Demographic

The target audience will be young adults, from 13-20, though the hope is the story is resonant and relatable to anyone older as well.

Role of Player/POV

The player will always play as a daughter in the family. The point of view will generally be third person, but may occasionally switch to first person for dramatic emphasis or special scenes.

Setting

The tentative setting for the game will be a small town in mainland China for the first generation, with a city in mainland China or a city in the United States for the second generation

Characters

-          Daughters

• Each daughter starts with a set appearance and self-image. The first generation is preset, while later generations’ details will be determined partially by the previous generation’s major decisions and outcome.

-          Family (first generation)

• Father
• Mother
• Grandmother
• Uncle

-          Classmates

-          Friends from work

-           Boyfriend or significant other

-          Father/Mother’s co-workers

-          Teachers

-          Bystanders on the street

Structure

Different generations comprise the overarching structure for the game. Each generation has several smaller social events, family and other NPCs to talk to and interact with, and a major social event that will ultimately determine future of the generation’s daughter.

Gameplay

In order to progress in the game, the player must prepare and guide each daughter through pivotal social events that occur during her generation. These events can range from final exams, an argument with the parents, deciding on a job offer or pursuing a love interest. Gameplay will be centered around exploring the environment to converse with NPCs, building relationships and/or spending time with the NPCs through conversations, which in turn give the player different modifiers or abilities that she can use in the level or during the important social events.

A major part of the game will be exploring the world day to day while also allotting time for daily activities. The player will have to manage a certain amount of time allotted to her each day, and engaging in conversations or activities will consume usable time each day.

Periodically in building up to each major pivotal social event/confrontation, there will be sub challenges such as surprise visits from relatives, school fairs, or practice arguments with friends and family that will allow the player to test the daughter’s actions and arguments she has unlocked so far.

Inventory/Powers

While there is no inventory in the conventional sense, there is a suite of interactions and abilities each daughter will have during each generation, and each daughter’s suite can be modified and expanded upon as she progresses through her level. For second and third generation daughters, some abilities can even be inherited from the previous generation, depending on choices made then. Examples of these abilities are: wearing traditional or non-traditional clothes, patiently listening/acting attentive, vigorous shouting, reciting proverbs, quoting people, giving gifts, and making disrespectful gestures.

Here’s a rough I did for the first episode, just mapping major locations and plot points with a simple brain map.

(more…)

This was fun… I need to re-read these books!