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)