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Developer's Diary

Yo! This is the blog for my COGR 280 final project a.k.a. "the planets game". I'll be updating it with my latest progress. If you have comments, suggestions, or are interested in contributing, just send me an email. Thanks! -Kristen

Update

Now that the class is over, I'm just working on the game during my spare time so progress will be a little slower now.

I made one small change over spring break: You can now pick up the catepillars in the farm game. Just walk up to one and press DOWN. You cannot pick up anything else or plant seeds while you're holding a catepillar but you can still move around. Press DOWN again to drop it. I'll eventually add some player animation for this, but for now you'll have to make do with a catepillar jumping onto your head ;)

31 mar 2008

Final Turnin for COGR 280

  • Animated Player's basic walk cycle and if you stand still, he breathes. Also gave him a fake shadow.
  • Added some story elements, like letters and a cutscene... I'm still working on Chapter 1, but if you press '3' you can skip the farm game to watch what I have so far. Use ENTER or DOWN to step through the dialogue.

18 mar 2008

Version 0.01

Lots of changes for the final in-class play session...

The most noticeable change is thanks to Bryce; we have some gorgeous in-game artwork. He created the images for the Home Planet, sky, the Player, and another character that I will add before the final turnin next Tuesday.

There's also been some significant updates to the Farming Game. This past weekend, my main focus was to fine-tune the Farming Game rather than add the story, since it would be more fun to play in class.

  • Fruits will ripen over time and different points will be given based on when you pick them up:
    • Seeds(<2s): 0 points
    • Yellow/Orange(<5s): 3 points
    • Red/Ripe(<10s): 10 points
    • Brown/Spoiled(>=10s): 5 points
  • I added a "stamina bar" to the top left corner. It will deplete as you run and when it becomes empty you can't run anymore.
  • Worms now have a simple AI, as opposed to the random movement they had before. This should allow more strategy in the gameplay.
  • Also, the scoreboard is viewable from the website. Here's the link.

Last week, several people recorded voices for my characters. Thanks go out to Chuk, Jeremy, and Terra. However, I only used the voices for the worms. I will add more once I implement the Chapter 1 story events.

Added some background music. Thanks to Leo for composing the Home Planet theme! The rest are free loops I found, plus "Lonely Rolling Star"...which I don't have the rights for but will take out if I have to :P

11 mar 2008

Ferry Halim's 'What Comes Around'

A friend said that my game reminded them of this one. Cute, no? I never realized killing gophers could be so much fun.

02 mar 2008

Prototype III

I figured out how to use MySQL with Flash thanks to this tutorial. Your best score is saved in the database and the scoreboard is displayed using a DataGrid object.

Other changes:

  • The controls are the same, but the Camera key has been changed to 'C'.
  • You now have to enter your name before you can play. This is what's used for the scoreboard. You can enter a new name or one that's already on the scoreboard (I just made up most of them anyway). No passwords yet.
  • To initiate the game you have to walk up to the mailbox and hit DOWN (it doesn't start automatically anymore).

Just noticed that all my posts up to now have started with P...

28 feb 2008

Project Pitch

In class today, everyone gave a "pitch" for their final projects. The point was to try and recruit each other. Not sure if I was very convincing... But here are the areas I could use some help with:

  • Concept art: my brother and I will be doing the in-game artwork, but we can always use help with brainstorming ideas.
  • Music composition: I could find some free loops or something, but it'd be awesome if the game had an original score.
  • Character voices: This one's easy -- I want it to be like the new Zelda games, where you just hear the characters laughing, grunting, etc.
  • Story writing: I have the first 2 chapters and the last one planned out. More can be inserted in between.

This is sort of a "would-be-nice" list; I'm not even sure I'll be able to incorporate all these things before the end of the quarter. Still, send me an email if you're interested and we can work something out.

19 feb 2008

Playtesting

Today I set up this wiki to record my progress and facilitate work on the project. I think it will be interesting to look back in a few months to see how it's evolved.

We played my prototype II in class yesterday and I received a lot of positive feedback and valuable suggestions. I don't know if my classmates will come back and read this page, but if they do, I'd like to thank them again for their help (thanks, guys!).

13 feb 2008

Prototype II (more playable)

  • new/updated controls
    • TAB to switch camera mode
    • LEFT/RIGHT arrow keys to move, hold SHIFT to run
    • SPACE to drop a seed
    • DOWN to pick up a fruit or seed
  • rules
    • Objective is to pick up as many fruit as you can within the time limit.
    • Seeds will only grow during the day and they need 2 seconds of daylight before they produce fruit (for now). They will not grow if too close to another seed. Only 50 seeds can be planted at a time.
    • Every 25 seconds a space catepillar will appear. They may look a little scary, but they're only herbivores.

12 feb 2008

Prototype I

  • left/right arrow keys to move
  • down arrow key to plant a tree

Ideas

  1. 2d "side scroller" with sprites
  2. start off on your own planet (home base) and progress to other bigger planets with different themes and multiple levels/layers/elevations/floors
  3. other planets may have a different number of suns and moons (affects daylength), different atmospheres (cloudy, pollution, always raining, etc), lifeforms
  4. daytime/nighttime affects play
  5. farming/cooking, trade
  6. defend garden against crows, pests, weeds
  7. fight off invaders/monsters
  8. puzzles
  9. pets - fox, cat, dog, bird; different abilities
  10. customizable avatar – male/female, clothes
  11. story-driven play
  12. interplanetary mail, gifts
  13. mail-order catalogue - purchase items for your house
  14. interplanetary travel, vehicles, rocket packs, birds
  15. visitors, possible multiuser interaction

Implementation

  • flash (website) or metaplace (if multiuser)

Influences

05 feb 2008

Page last modified on July 01, 2008, at 11:34 PM

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