**insert Details I'd rather not post on teh interwebz here**
Dear Sir / Madam,
My name is Jason Prentice, I'm an aspiring Animator with aspirations of world domination via an Interactive Digital Medium.
Now I could bore you senseless with some mindless dribble about how you should pick me because I'm the best greatest Animator who ever walked the face of the cosmos like every other person applying for this job.
But you've probably already read enough of those letters to drive a lesser person insane and we both know I'd be lying through my teeth.
Truth be told I've got alot to learn and a fair ways to go, however I approach my work with Passion and Enthusiasm.
I love a Challenge, the more Challenging the better, while most might say "You want me to animate a Building that turns into an Alien and Fights Zombie's!?! That Can't be done!" I will ask "How many Zombies do you want, and what Building?" then I shall make it so.
I get along great with others and work especially well in a Team; For our final year Project at University I Animated 2D sprites for a Videogame we were making called "Strength in Arms" www.strengthinarms.com which was about the Misadventures of a dashing knight known as Sir Christov, who swung around on vines and fought Lumberjacks with Chainsaws for Arms riding Bulldozers.
We even got featured at the FreePlay exhibition in Melbourne, so we must have been doing something right.
Anyway I've probably wasted enough of your time with writing, personally I prefer to let my work speak for me which is why I sent a copy of my Animation Reel along with this letter.
*insert Hyperlink to Animation Reel if Cover letter is Submitted via Web here*
This stuff is what I do for Fun, and if I can make a living Animating for *insert company name here* well even better.
I look forward to working with you.
-Jason Prentice
Monday, August 23, 2010
Jason Prentice s3199024
Exercise Dump 1:
Week 2:
Men of War is a World War 2 based RTT which as opposed to all other World War 2 games focuses on the struggles of forces other than the Americans (which is refreshing unto itself), instead focusing on the Russian, German, and British Struggles.
The game itself is far from perfect, but as opposed to most other games these flaws actually make for a more enjoyable gaming experience.
It’s the Gameplay that’ll get you hooked but it’s the little quirks that’ll bring you back.
One of the first things a player will notice when they play this game (at least if they’re playing the English version) is the Hilariously bad Dialogue.
This Poor Dialogue is the result of Mistranslation from Russian to English and Terrible Voice acting, however much like a good Chop Socky flick it’s so Bad that it’s good.
Some Memorable lines include; “German Scum!” “Vee need to Destroy dee Ak-Ak!” & American Troops Yelling Patriotically “For the MOTHERLAND!”
Another common occurrence is sudden and random programming glitches.
This usually occurs in the for of the A.I. going Haywire to the point that your no longer sure if the enemy is fighting you or itself.
However the most common programming glitches occur in the form of Physics glitches; it is always amusing to see Tanks doing Barrel Rolls after running over a jeep, another thing that would be frustrating if it weren’t so hilarious is when you attempt to relocate a weapon emplacement over an obstacle, such as Debris or sandbags, to suddenly watch in awe as the weapon will fly several feet into the air, do a few acrobatic maneuvers before hitting the ground resulting in the death of the Gunnery crew.
Cue wildly atypical level; about midway through the British Campaign Men of War transforms from a Real Time Tactics game into a Rail Shooter, where the player will travel through a level on the back of a jeep destroying whatever gets in your path.
This level contrasts so suddenly against the rest of the game yet fits so well and is so fun to play that you don’t really care that the game has suddenly just changed genre for one level.
Overall Men of War is a Buggy, Glitchy, pile of Random Awesomeness, that everyone should play at least once.
Week 3:
Intro to Game:
Strength in Arms: Hex-1
www.strengthinarms.com
Synopsis:
A 2D side scrolling Hack and Slash Game, with emphasis on the ability to grab and swing off objects.
My role in the Dev team is Lead Animator.
Week 3: Flaw Assignment:
Quick Time Events:
I have fumed with idea of creating a game with Quicktime Events as the Core Game Mechanic.
…It Doesn’t Work.
…It just doesn’t work.
There is no way to implement QTE’s without frustrating the Player, they’re in no way, shape, or form that a QTE can be implemented in a way that’s beneficial to a Game.
Used as a Method to make cut scenes interactive they tend to distract the player from the cut scene so the player misses the awesome event that occurs. Also these QTE’s are usually Win or Die which should NEVER EVER EVER be forced upon a player.
The other Method was the in game Mercenaries 2 / Just Cause 2 style where the Player performs a QTE to perform a task, however these QTE’s serve more as a frustrating time stalling tactic than as an actual mechanic.
QTE’s are a poor excuse for a Gameplay Mechanic and only serve detrimentally to a game.
Mistranslation / poor Dialogue:
Now here’s something that can actually make a Game more enjoyable.
Probably the Most Notorious example is Zero Wing’s “All Your Base are Belongs to Us.”
However my personal favorite is in Men of War.
Terrible Voice acting, however much like a good Chop Socky flick it’s so Bad that it’s good.
Some Memorable lines include; “German Scum!” “Vee need to Destroy dee Ak-Ak!” & American Troops Yelling Patriotically “For the MOTHERLAND!”
I believe that in a Kung Fu game, deliberately mistranslating and poorly delivering dialogue would serve to make the game more enjoyable.
Week 4:
Activity 1:
Tools and Documents used to make Game:
-XNA. (Engine)
-Photoshop. (Assets)
-Wacom Pen Tablet.
-PC and Macintosh Computers.
-Microsoft Word.
-InDesign
-DropBox
Tools and Documents used to manage game construction progress:
-Assembla; Wiki, Ticketing, and Messenger.
-MSN
-Email
-DropBox (Sync / Version control)
-Microsoft Excel
Activity 2:
What has to be done; Group:
-5 Levels Built. (40 Hours)
-Programming (Engine and Assets) (40 Hours)
-Decals for Levels (40 Hours)
-Sound and Music (40 Hours)
-Testing and Finalisation (5 Hours)
What has to be done; Me:
-Static Decals for Levels. (10+ Hours)
-List of Sound Files that need to be complete. (1 hour)
-Animated Decals for Levels. (10+ Hours)
-Fix Animations of Enemies. (3-6 Hour)
-Level Intro Images (5-10 Hours)
Before Mid-Semester Break; Group:
-Static Decals for majority of Levels. (10+ Hours)
-Majority of Sound Effects Complete, and Music Fixed. (10+ Hours)
-More than Half the Decals for the Levels done. (10+ Hours)
-Core Game play Mechanics Fully Resolved Programmatically (10+ Hours)
-The Animations of the Enemies Repaired and Animated Decals Complete. (10+ Hours)
Before Mid-Semester Break; Me:
-Animations of Enemies Repaired. (3-6 Hours)
-Static Decals for Levels Done. (Depends on amount and complexity 10+ Hours)
-Animated Decals for Levels Done. (Depends on amount and complexity 10+ Hours)
- Level Intro Images (5-10 Hours)
Before Week’s Out; Group:
-Working Build of Game Ready for Freeplay Exhibition. (All Week)
Before Week’s Out; Me:
-Animations for Enemies Repaired. (3-6 Hours)
-Sound List Completed and Passed on to Scott. ( < 1 Hour)
-A Few level specific Static Decals Complete. (2-10 Hours)
-A few Level Intro Images (5-10 Hours)
-This Activity (1 Hour)
What I’m doing after class:
-Fixing Animations of Enemies. (2-4 Hours)
-Static Decals. (2-6 Hours)
Activity 3:
Week 1:
-Animations for Enemies Repaired. (3-6 Hours)
-Sound List Completed and Passed on to Scott. ( < 1 Hour)
-A Few level specific Static Decals Complete. (2-10 Hours)
-A few Level Intro Images (5-10 Hours)
Week 2:
-Level Specific Static Decals (3-5 Hours)
-Level Intro Images Complete. (5-6 Hours)
-Level Specific Animated Decals (3-5 Hours)
Week 3:
-Level Specific Animated Decals (10-12 Hours)
-Level Specific Static Decals (10-12 Hours)
Week 2:
Men of War is a World War 2 based RTT which as opposed to all other World War 2 games focuses on the struggles of forces other than the Americans (which is refreshing unto itself), instead focusing on the Russian, German, and British Struggles.
The game itself is far from perfect, but as opposed to most other games these flaws actually make for a more enjoyable gaming experience.
It’s the Gameplay that’ll get you hooked but it’s the little quirks that’ll bring you back.
One of the first things a player will notice when they play this game (at least if they’re playing the English version) is the Hilariously bad Dialogue.
This Poor Dialogue is the result of Mistranslation from Russian to English and Terrible Voice acting, however much like a good Chop Socky flick it’s so Bad that it’s good.
Some Memorable lines include; “German Scum!” “Vee need to Destroy dee Ak-Ak!” & American Troops Yelling Patriotically “For the MOTHERLAND!”
Another common occurrence is sudden and random programming glitches.
This usually occurs in the for of the A.I. going Haywire to the point that your no longer sure if the enemy is fighting you or itself.
However the most common programming glitches occur in the form of Physics glitches; it is always amusing to see Tanks doing Barrel Rolls after running over a jeep, another thing that would be frustrating if it weren’t so hilarious is when you attempt to relocate a weapon emplacement over an obstacle, such as Debris or sandbags, to suddenly watch in awe as the weapon will fly several feet into the air, do a few acrobatic maneuvers before hitting the ground resulting in the death of the Gunnery crew.
Cue wildly atypical level; about midway through the British Campaign Men of War transforms from a Real Time Tactics game into a Rail Shooter, where the player will travel through a level on the back of a jeep destroying whatever gets in your path.
This level contrasts so suddenly against the rest of the game yet fits so well and is so fun to play that you don’t really care that the game has suddenly just changed genre for one level.
Overall Men of War is a Buggy, Glitchy, pile of Random Awesomeness, that everyone should play at least once.
Week 3:
Intro to Game:
Strength in Arms: Hex-1
www.strengthinarms.com
Synopsis:
A 2D side scrolling Hack and Slash Game, with emphasis on the ability to grab and swing off objects.
My role in the Dev team is Lead Animator.
Week 3: Flaw Assignment:
Quick Time Events:
I have fumed with idea of creating a game with Quicktime Events as the Core Game Mechanic.
…It Doesn’t Work.
…It just doesn’t work.
There is no way to implement QTE’s without frustrating the Player, they’re in no way, shape, or form that a QTE can be implemented in a way that’s beneficial to a Game.
Used as a Method to make cut scenes interactive they tend to distract the player from the cut scene so the player misses the awesome event that occurs. Also these QTE’s are usually Win or Die which should NEVER EVER EVER be forced upon a player.
The other Method was the in game Mercenaries 2 / Just Cause 2 style where the Player performs a QTE to perform a task, however these QTE’s serve more as a frustrating time stalling tactic than as an actual mechanic.
QTE’s are a poor excuse for a Gameplay Mechanic and only serve detrimentally to a game.
Mistranslation / poor Dialogue:
Now here’s something that can actually make a Game more enjoyable.
Probably the Most Notorious example is Zero Wing’s “All Your Base are Belongs to Us.”
However my personal favorite is in Men of War.
Terrible Voice acting, however much like a good Chop Socky flick it’s so Bad that it’s good.
Some Memorable lines include; “German Scum!” “Vee need to Destroy dee Ak-Ak!” & American Troops Yelling Patriotically “For the MOTHERLAND!”
I believe that in a Kung Fu game, deliberately mistranslating and poorly delivering dialogue would serve to make the game more enjoyable.
Week 4:
Activity 1:
Tools and Documents used to make Game:
-XNA. (Engine)
-Photoshop. (Assets)
-Wacom Pen Tablet.
-PC and Macintosh Computers.
-Microsoft Word.
-InDesign
-DropBox
Tools and Documents used to manage game construction progress:
-Assembla; Wiki, Ticketing, and Messenger.
-MSN
-DropBox (Sync / Version control)
-Microsoft Excel
Activity 2:
What has to be done; Group:
-5 Levels Built. (40 Hours)
-Programming (Engine and Assets) (40 Hours)
-Decals for Levels (40 Hours)
-Sound and Music (40 Hours)
-Testing and Finalisation (5 Hours)
What has to be done; Me:
-Static Decals for Levels. (10+ Hours)
-List of Sound Files that need to be complete. (1 hour)
-Animated Decals for Levels. (10+ Hours)
-Fix Animations of Enemies. (3-6 Hour)
-Level Intro Images (5-10 Hours)
Before Mid-Semester Break; Group:
-Static Decals for majority of Levels. (10+ Hours)
-Majority of Sound Effects Complete, and Music Fixed. (10+ Hours)
-More than Half the Decals for the Levels done. (10+ Hours)
-Core Game play Mechanics Fully Resolved Programmatically (10+ Hours)
-The Animations of the Enemies Repaired and Animated Decals Complete. (10+ Hours)
Before Mid-Semester Break; Me:
-Animations of Enemies Repaired. (3-6 Hours)
-Static Decals for Levels Done. (Depends on amount and complexity 10+ Hours)
-Animated Decals for Levels Done. (Depends on amount and complexity 10+ Hours)
- Level Intro Images (5-10 Hours)
Before Week’s Out; Group:
-Working Build of Game Ready for Freeplay Exhibition. (All Week)
Before Week’s Out; Me:
-Animations for Enemies Repaired. (3-6 Hours)
-Sound List Completed and Passed on to Scott. ( < 1 Hour)
-A Few level specific Static Decals Complete. (2-10 Hours)
-A few Level Intro Images (5-10 Hours)
-This Activity (1 Hour)
What I’m doing after class:
-Fixing Animations of Enemies. (2-4 Hours)
-Static Decals. (2-6 Hours)
Activity 3:
Week 1:
-Animations for Enemies Repaired. (3-6 Hours)
-Sound List Completed and Passed on to Scott. ( < 1 Hour)
-A Few level specific Static Decals Complete. (2-10 Hours)
-A few Level Intro Images (5-10 Hours)
Week 2:
-Level Specific Static Decals (3-5 Hours)
-Level Intro Images Complete. (5-6 Hours)
-Level Specific Animated Decals (3-5 Hours)
Week 3:
-Level Specific Animated Decals (10-12 Hours)
-Level Specific Static Decals (10-12 Hours)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Brendan Coleiro s3200713
Exercise 3a
Random Encounters in RPG Games.
First of all I would like to mention that it is one of the most frustrating and annoying game design flaws in my opinion.
The first game I would like to mention is not actually a game but a series, the Final Fantasy series. Now I know that in their most recent games they have a similar system but it’s a lot less random and just an encounter that you can see on your screen. But in the earlier games you would be travelling across a field to get from city to city and in that field you would get jumped by about 50 different random encounters of monsters that are trying to kill you. Sometimes your character would not even complete their run cycle before you were in a battle again... and that is where it starts getting annoying. In the first couple of hours of game play this may seem fun but then after a 10-15 hrs game play I get so fed up with these random battles. On top of that in the later game you will most likely need to go back to your starting area where you continuously get jumped by level 3 monsters when you are at level 78. And then ON TOP OF THAT its takes about 10 seconds to get into a battle and then another 10 to leave the batter and maybe 10 seconds to kill the encounter. So that is roughly 30 seconds an encounter TIMES BY about 30 encounters... that works out to 15 minutes of the players time wasted and at which point you can’t stand the game and never play it again.
NOT TO METION TURN BASED COMBAT J
The second game is also not a game but a series again and that is the Pokemon games on the Gameboy/DS. Pretty much the same thing as the Final Fantasy games but this time there is specific ‘grass’ areas that have pokemon in them, so they improved on the fact that FF had an entire map that you could walk through and anywhere on the map you could get a random encounter. So it was easier to navigate and avoid unwanted pokemon but then the game revolved around pokemon and you needed to capture your very own pokemon. AND OF COURSE YOU COULD NEVER FIND THE POKEMON YOU WANTED! It was always a damn crap pokemon that you didn’t want, like geodude. While the game had items that could repel encounters in the grass areas they never lasted long enough. And then of course there were the caves...
So yeah Random Encounters in games = BADDDDDDDD
That being said these games are great games but if I had a choice over Random event RPG or WoW (live combat) I’d go Wow. On the ground that WoW is a of the rpg element and has live combat.
If my third year game had to include random encounter enemies it would probably destroy the game as we know it. Firstly the game we have is not suited for random encounter enemies that will cut you to a combat screen that will totally ruin the game play and most importantly the flow of the game that we have established so well. I suppose that if we had to incorporate it into the game it would still work but it would not be fun AT ALL!
Brendan Coleiro s3200713
Exercise 5b
Brendan Coleiro
Adress
Mob 0422 002 220
E-mail some_cool_guy@hotmail.com
17th August 2010
Mr Smith
Lead Designer
Firemint Studios
Address
Dear Mr. Smith,
The description you posted for a level designer runs along side my interests and qualifications perfectly.
With my background in level design and games graphics, I am confident that I would make a very successful and creative studio assistant. Having exhibited for the independent games festival Freeplay, I have been exposed to a number of aspects of the game world. I understand the importance of play testing, team work and most importantly having fun. My experience as designer in my final year project for the RMIT Games Graphics design course high lights my abilities of working with others through the creative process of production while meeting the challenges presented to me.
I am aware of the great success you have had with the iPhone game Flight Control. Which I must say so myself, was very fun as I love action/puzzle genre.
I would appreciate the opportunity to make a substantial contribution to the business. I welcome the opportunity to meet with you to further discuss my abilities and show you a reel of my work. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Brendan Coleiro
Brendan Coleiro
Adress
Mob 0422 002 220
E-mail some_cool_guy@hotmail.com
17th August 2010
Mr Smith
Lead Designer
Chrome Studios
Address
Lead Level Designer
Dear Mr. Smith,
I am writing to apply for the position above.
I will be graduating my Bachelor of Arts (Games Graphics Design) from RMIT City Campus. I also have some of my own game demos which showcase my skills.
My level design experience includes a full year in producing my final year game for the Games Graphics Design course and my own personal side project. This includes Level Designer, Interactive Environmental Designer, Sprite Animation and Decal work for Strength In Arms and on my side project Puzzle Buster for iPhone.
During my course with RMIT I have developed and extended my skills in Photoshop, Maya, Flash and Illustrator. I have a deep understanding in the importance of ‘Play’, Team Work and make it my first priority to make any game fun.
I understand that you have a studio situated in St.Kilda and would particularly like to work with you team on ‘Ty The Tasmanian Tiger’ which has been a great success, and of course any other games you are working on.
Please refer to my resume (attached) for full details on my training and experience. I look forward to hearing from you. I can be contacted at anytime on the contact details listed above.
Yours sincerely
Brendan Coleiro
Brendan Coleiro
Address
Mob 0422 002 220
E-mail some_cool_guy@hotmail.com
17th August 2010
Mr Smith
Lead Designer
Blizzard
Address
I AM THE BEST! PLEASE HIRE ME! :D
Ok the next part is serious, please ignore that shout out above.
Dear Mr Smith,
I wish to apply for work, a job or voluntary work.
I will be graduating my Bachelor of Arts (Games Graphics Design) from RMIT City Campus. I also have some of my own game demos which showcase my skills.
My level design experience includes a full year in producing my final year game for the Games Graphics Design course and my own personal side project. This includes Level Designer, Interactive Environmental Designer, Sprite Animation and Decal work for Strength In Arms and on my side project Puzzle Buster for iPhone.
During my course with RMIT I have developed and extended my skills in Photoshop, Maya, Flash and Illustrator. I have a deep understanding in the importance of ‘Play’, Team Work and make it my first priority to make any game fun.
I understand that your studio is situated in Irvine and am willing to relocate and would particularly like to work with your team on ‘Starcraft Trilogy’ which has been a great success already, and of course any of the other games the team are working on.
Please refer to my resume (attached) for full details on my training and experience. I look forward to hearing from you. I can be contacted at anytime on the contact details listed above.
Yours sincerely
Brendan Coleiro
Monday, August 16, 2010
Gamasutra Budgeting and Scheduling Your Game
10 Lines on why it is a good plan
I think scheduling before budgeting is important because you can use that schedule as a guide for your budgeting. This brings in time and how long it will take your team to make, giving producers and your team an idea of how much will need to be spent on employees, software and other equipment.
Interviewing and researching each team member really fleshes out how much work your team can actually get done and how long it takes.
Aiming high and having an ideal schedule brings out a better result in your team and their work.
Putting it on paper works because then there is always somewhere team members, project managers and publishers can go to see where the team is at, what they have to achieve and how much more time and money it is going to take.
Work Breakdown Structures, (WBS), really breakdown tasks into smaller tasks which helps team members see exactly everything that need to be completed to have the task finished. It also helps to figure out exactly how long and how much money is needed to complete the set task.
Budget research does supposed to help a producer find the cheapest solution but helps to require the best solution for performance, time, scope and cost.
It is important to know if your team members are full-time, part-time or free lance and what their benefits and salary will be as this will generally take up the largest portion of your budget.
A spread sheet of numbers helps you to put the project into budgeting perspective and gives an idea of the costs of equipment and hiring employees.
Georgina Benedetti 2010
I think scheduling before budgeting is important because you can use that schedule as a guide for your budgeting. This brings in time and how long it will take your team to make, giving producers and your team an idea of how much will need to be spent on employees, software and other equipment.
Interviewing and researching each team member really fleshes out how much work your team can actually get done and how long it takes.
Aiming high and having an ideal schedule brings out a better result in your team and their work.
Putting it on paper works because then there is always somewhere team members, project managers and publishers can go to see where the team is at, what they have to achieve and how much more time and money it is going to take.
Work Breakdown Structures, (WBS), really breakdown tasks into smaller tasks which helps team members see exactly everything that need to be completed to have the task finished. It also helps to figure out exactly how long and how much money is needed to complete the set task.
Budget research does supposed to help a producer find the cheapest solution but helps to require the best solution for performance, time, scope and cost.
It is important to know if your team members are full-time, part-time or free lance and what their benefits and salary will be as this will generally take up the largest portion of your budget.
A spread sheet of numbers helps you to put the project into budgeting perspective and gives an idea of the costs of equipment and hiring employees.
Georgina Benedetti 2010
A Schedule of Development (Georgina)
Week 5 Polish the village
– Polishing any assets: bug animations, flag animations, create burnt tree stumps x3, create banner (Georgina)
- Create and plan a presentation document for next week (Georgina)
- Plan out demo of Strength In Arms (Team)
Week 6 Polish the Fair
- Polishing any assets: animations for flags, animations for game stands (Georgina)
Bugs
- Keep searching for bugs and report them using tickets (Team)
Week 7 Create Jungle level
- Make new assets: tall, thin trees with interesting shapes, retracing spikes, leaves pile x3, single leaf to float down screen (Georgina)
Bugs
- Keep searching for any bugs within the game and report them through ticketing on Assembla (Team)
Week 8 Polish Jungle level
- Polish and finish any art assets: leaves animation? (Georgina)
Bugs
- Keep searching for bugs and reporting them through ticketing via Assembla (Team)
Week 9 Create new level, Fields/Gorge/Burnt forest
- Make new art assets according to the list and level on the Assembla Wiki (Georgina)
Bugs
- Keep searching for bugs and report them via Assembla ticketing (Team)
Week 10 Polish art assets (Georgina)
Week 11 Finish up and last polishing issues (Team)
Plan and create the last presentation document (Georgina)
Plan out a demo (Team)
– What we want to show?
– What are the best features of the game?
Week 12 Strength In Arms polished and finished (Team)
Last presentation document ready as well as a demo (Team)
All work on disc and ready to hand up (Team)
– Polishing any assets: bug animations, flag animations, create burnt tree stumps x3, create banner (Georgina)
- Create and plan a presentation document for next week (Georgina)
- Plan out demo of Strength In Arms (Team)
Week 6 Polish the Fair
- Polishing any assets: animations for flags, animations for game stands (Georgina)
Bugs
- Keep searching for bugs and report them using tickets (Team)
Week 7 Create Jungle level
- Make new assets: tall, thin trees with interesting shapes, retracing spikes, leaves pile x3, single leaf to float down screen (Georgina)
Bugs
- Keep searching for any bugs within the game and report them through ticketing on Assembla (Team)
Week 8 Polish Jungle level
- Polish and finish any art assets: leaves animation? (Georgina)
Bugs
- Keep searching for bugs and reporting them through ticketing via Assembla (Team)
Week 9 Create new level, Fields/Gorge/Burnt forest
- Make new art assets according to the list and level on the Assembla Wiki (Georgina)
Bugs
- Keep searching for bugs and report them via Assembla ticketing (Team)
Week 10 Polish art assets (Georgina)
Week 11 Finish up and last polishing issues (Team)
Plan and create the last presentation document (Georgina)
Plan out a demo (Team)
– What we want to show?
– What are the best features of the game?
Week 12 Strength In Arms polished and finished (Team)
Last presentation document ready as well as a demo (Team)
All work on disc and ready to hand up (Team)
Design Document
Introduction
Strength in arms is a platformer game on PC using the XNA engine to swing players into a whole new world of exploration by taking on the role of an acrobatic knight in a series of wacky, fun filled adventures. The medieval knight travels through the forest world battling evil monster machines and climbing menacing, fire breathing bosses!
Description
You find yourself in the middle of a crisis with no one to help you but your partner! The village around you is burning! You run and jump to grab onto the beam that hangs from the roof of a burning barn to swing onto the high ledge in front of you! You run forward and find a long vine. Beneath you are more burning huts. You swing across the vine above the houses wrapped in flame. Upon reaching the other side a swarm of mechanical bees charge at you and your partner, one after the other! They wont stop. They just keep coming and coming. It seems never ending! But then, out of the corner of your eye, you notice their home! A bee hive hangs from a tree. While you jump you must fire magic from your sword to try and destroy the bee hive while avoiding the attacks of miniature bees! You continue on, swinging on vines, climbing and jumping rocks, banners ropes and anything you can find to escape the fiery village of hell! At one point your hanging from a vine with your partner and you notice coins floating in the air below you. You can’t reach and you can let go, otherwise you’ll fall into a pit of spikes and thorns. Suddenly your partner has a great idea! He lets go of the vine and grabs onto you, reaching for the gold. The team effort helps you to succeed in achieving your goal. The gold is yours! You swing forward, your partner dangling from your waist. One hand in front of the other, that’s all it takes for you to reach the other side. As you continue on you collect all the shinny coins in your path and then see a flying fox up ahead. You grab hold of the flying fox and your partner grabs hold of you. The two of you glide to the other side and land with a lot more gold in your pockets. Up ahead, a sphere is glowing. You look deep into the sphere and see an image, a place that look like home. You jump, grab it and feel a sudden sensation of warmth flood your body. You close your eyes for a moment and when you open them. You are safe at home in your castle.
Key Features
Acrobatic Movements: Strength in Arms redefines the possibility of movement in the air that keeps the player moving forward.
Ranged Combat: Strength in Arms creates a fast pace game by allowing players to shoot at enemies while in motion and without requiring them to stop.
Multiple Weapons: Strength in Arms provides various ranged weaponry for Sir Christov that helps to separate players and make them feel more unique about their character.
Genre
Strength In Arms is a 2D side-scroller game set in a medieval world, filled with comical and cartoon characters.
Platform
The platform used to make the game is XNA and therefore runs on XNA on PC. It is a multiplayer game and can support up to five players using X-Box controllers and can also be player with the keyboard and mouse. We would love to distribute it via X-Box Live, but at this stage we would like to distribute it through source as a free game.
Concept Art
Inspiration on art came from many different games, television shows and films, some of these include, Mario Super Bros. (DS), Yoshi’s Island (DS), Bombaman, Metal Slug, Mega Man and Warner Bro’s Looney Toons.
Our art style is cartoony and funny to make the game fun and comical and make the player experience a less serious gameplay where players can have a good time by just stuffing around. A game of fun!
Strength in arms is a platformer game on PC using the XNA engine to swing players into a whole new world of exploration by taking on the role of an acrobatic knight in a series of wacky, fun filled adventures. The medieval knight travels through the forest world battling evil monster machines and climbing menacing, fire breathing bosses!
Description
You find yourself in the middle of a crisis with no one to help you but your partner! The village around you is burning! You run and jump to grab onto the beam that hangs from the roof of a burning barn to swing onto the high ledge in front of you! You run forward and find a long vine. Beneath you are more burning huts. You swing across the vine above the houses wrapped in flame. Upon reaching the other side a swarm of mechanical bees charge at you and your partner, one after the other! They wont stop. They just keep coming and coming. It seems never ending! But then, out of the corner of your eye, you notice their home! A bee hive hangs from a tree. While you jump you must fire magic from your sword to try and destroy the bee hive while avoiding the attacks of miniature bees! You continue on, swinging on vines, climbing and jumping rocks, banners ropes and anything you can find to escape the fiery village of hell! At one point your hanging from a vine with your partner and you notice coins floating in the air below you. You can’t reach and you can let go, otherwise you’ll fall into a pit of spikes and thorns. Suddenly your partner has a great idea! He lets go of the vine and grabs onto you, reaching for the gold. The team effort helps you to succeed in achieving your goal. The gold is yours! You swing forward, your partner dangling from your waist. One hand in front of the other, that’s all it takes for you to reach the other side. As you continue on you collect all the shinny coins in your path and then see a flying fox up ahead. You grab hold of the flying fox and your partner grabs hold of you. The two of you glide to the other side and land with a lot more gold in your pockets. Up ahead, a sphere is glowing. You look deep into the sphere and see an image, a place that look like home. You jump, grab it and feel a sudden sensation of warmth flood your body. You close your eyes for a moment and when you open them. You are safe at home in your castle.
Key Features
Acrobatic Movements: Strength in Arms redefines the possibility of movement in the air that keeps the player moving forward.
Ranged Combat: Strength in Arms creates a fast pace game by allowing players to shoot at enemies while in motion and without requiring them to stop.
Multiple Weapons: Strength in Arms provides various ranged weaponry for Sir Christov that helps to separate players and make them feel more unique about their character.
Genre
Strength In Arms is a 2D side-scroller game set in a medieval world, filled with comical and cartoon characters.
Platform
The platform used to make the game is XNA and therefore runs on XNA on PC. It is a multiplayer game and can support up to five players using X-Box controllers and can also be player with the keyboard and mouse. We would love to distribute it via X-Box Live, but at this stage we would like to distribute it through source as a free game.
Concept Art
Inspiration on art came from many different games, television shows and films, some of these include, Mario Super Bros. (DS), Yoshi’s Island (DS), Bombaman, Metal Slug, Mega Man and Warner Bro’s Looney Toons.
Our art style is cartoony and funny to make the game fun and comical and make the player experience a less serious gameplay where players can have a good time by just stuffing around. A game of fun!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
A Schedule of Development
| Weeks | Tasks |
| Week 5 | Polish the village – Polishing any assets: bug animations, flag animations, create burnt tree stumps x3, create banner (Georgina) – Add new assets to the level (Brendan & Andrew) – Look at soundtrack and make adjustments (Scott) – Create scroll art for village (Jason) Polish HUD - Create five different layouts of the information, making the gold count and lives more readable and bold (Scott) - Implement new layout to the game (Andrew) Polish the flaming forest - Polishing any assets: flames, finish up any decals needed, burning leaves x3, burning trees x3, smoke x3, stand alone fires x9 (Jason) - Tint the backdrop red (Andrew) Bugs - Keeps searching for bugs and reporting them through tickets (Whole team) - Fix any new reported bugs (Andrew) Presentation 6 - Create and plan a presentation document for next week (Georgina) - Plan out demo of Strength In Arms |
| Week 6 | Polish the Fair - Polishing any assets: animations for flags, animations for game stands (Georgina) - Update new assets for fair level (Andrew & Brendan) - Make the soundtrack for fair (Scott) - Create scroll art for Fair level (Jason) Polish the Overworld - Create any decals needed: weapon stand, work bench (Georgina) - Add new assets to the build menu (Andrew) - Add new objects to the Overworld (Brendan) Create Dark Forest Level - New assets: Fireflies x3, Dark tree stump x3, dark trees (with evil faces) x4, evil pumpkin, green apples, retracing spikes, snow white glass chamber (Jason) - Dark tinted backdrops (Andrew) - Make assets available to level building (Andrew) - Build dark forest level (Brendan) - Make soundtrack for dark forest (Scott) - Create scroll art for Dark forest level (Jason) Polish Menus - Create new fonts and heading (Scott) - Implement them in the game (Andrew) Mechacroc – Start creating the AI for Mechacroc (Andrew) Bugs - Keep searching for bugs and report them using tickets (Team) - Fix any bugs reported (Andrew) |
| Week 7 | Create Jungle level - Make new assets: tall, thin trees with interesting shapes, retracing spikes, leaves pile x3, single leaf to float down screen (Georgina) - Add new assets to the build menu (Andrew) - Build the Jungle level (Brendan) - Create scroll art for Jungle (Jason) - Create soundtrack for Jungle (Scott) - Program floating leaf (Andrew) Polish Dark forest level - Finish up any unmade art assets on the list: animation for fireflies, animation for glowing pumpkin (Jason) - Update art assets in build menu (Andrew) - Update art assets in Dark forest level (Brendan) - Create soundtrack for dark forest (Scott) Polish Menus - Any changes need to be made and complete (Scott) - Update menus (Andrew) Mechacroc - Continue working on Mechacrocs AI (Andrew) Bugs - Keep searching for any bugs within the game and report them through ticketing on Assembla (Team) - Fix any bugs reported this week (Andrew) |
| Week 8 | Polish Jungle level - Polish and finish any art assets: leaves animation? (Georgina & Andrew) - Update assets in build menu (Andrew) - Update level with any changed art assets (Brendan) - Finish and polish Jungle soundtrack (Scott) Create Mechacroc’s Lair - Make art assets: bones x3, burnt armour x3 (Jason) - Create scroll art for this level (Jason) - Add assets to build menu (Andrew) - Create Mechacroc’s Lair (Brendan) - Create Mechacroc’s soundtrack (Scott) Music and Sound - Polish soundtracks: Village, Fair, Jungle, Dark Forest, Flaming Forest, Mechacroc (Scott) - Update any music in the game (Andrew) Mechacroc - Polish the physics and AI (Andrew) Bugs - Keep searching for bugs and reporting them through ticketing via Assembla (Team) - Fix any bugs reported (Andrew) |
| Week 9 | Create new level, Fields/Gorge/Burnt forest - Make new art assets according to the list and level on the Assembla Wiki (Georgina & Jason) - Update build menu (Andrew) - Build the level George and Jason worked on (Brendan) - Create soundtrack for new level (Scott) - Create scroll art for the level George and Jason worked on (Jason) Music and Sound - Polish any music for the worlds (Scott) - Finish any music (Scott) Mechacroc - Polish and finish programming Mechacroc Bugs - Keep searching for bugs and report them via Assembla ticketing (Team) - Fix any bugs reported (Andrew) |
| Week 10 | Polish art assets (Georgina & Jason) Polish and finish scroll art (Jason) Fix any bugs (Andrew) Polish Mechacroc (Andrew) Polish levels (Brendan) Polish music and sound (Scott & Jason) |
| Week 11 | Finish up and last polishing issues (Team) Plan and create the last presentation document (Georgina) Plan out a demo (Team) – What we want to show? – What are the best features of the game? |
| Week 12 | Strength In Arms polished and finished (Team) Last presentation document ready as well as a demo (Team) All work on disc and ready to hand up (Team) |
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Strength In Arms Game Concept
Strength in Arms is a side-scrolling environmental interaction platforming game, the player(s) navigate the world by swinging and jumping their way through the world.
You are Sir Christov, a knight of The Land, you are tasked with traversing The Land and eliminating threats against it. Fight your way through the environment swinging and jumping across the countryside.
As Sir Christov you get the ability to move around the world freely able to jump and swing through the level to collect gold and avoid some nasty critters and enemies on your way to defeating the evil boss.
Strength in Arms is a side scrolling platformer inspired by a combination of Sonic and Castle Crashers. It will be made for the PC but the option for Xbox 360 is also an option (though it's not a priority at this stage).
You are Sir Christov, a knight of The Land, you are tasked with traversing The Land and eliminating threats against it. Fight your way through the environment swinging and jumping across the countryside.
As Sir Christov you get the ability to move around the world freely able to jump and swing through the level to collect gold and avoid some nasty critters and enemies on your way to defeating the evil boss.
Strength in Arms is a side scrolling platformer inspired by a combination of Sonic and Castle Crashers. It will be made for the PC but the option for Xbox 360 is also an option (though it's not a priority at this stage).
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