Beta

This week we presented our game in front of the class to show our work and how are game is coming a long so far.

I think the presentation went really well, we were quite happy with the game so far we had almost everything in it that we set out to have. Everyone seemed to like our game we got a few good comments about the game.

I think over the last few weeks our group worked really well together, we set out targets for what we wanted to get done each week and if someone was struggling with their job one of us would step in and lend a helping hand.

Our game really game together I would say in the last two weeks, everyone knuckled down and worked extra hard to get our game to the standard it is at today.

The game at the moment has all the levels done they just need to be added into the game and the audio has also been recorded just need to be added in more towards the final week.

Im glad that we were able to work well as a group and ultimately produce a fun and effective e-learning game of kids.

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Alpha

This week I worked on getting my game ready to be tested and played. My game is far from perfect at the moment but I am happy with the progress I have made with it at the moment. 

Some of my scripting I am having issues with I had to delete my main menu from the start as it kept glitching my game for some reason my laptop just didn't agree with it for some reason. My gem is kind of working at the moment unity has been crashing a bit lately on me again but some elements of it still works. The gem is how I want it to look at it rotates and everything its just my character won't take it, I have to keep going back to my script and see why but the problem is hard to figure out.

I am happy with how my character jumps onto the vinyls, I spaced them out evenly so that when the character jumps it is less likely to fall off or miss it. My vinyls are more dome shaped then I would've liked but I think they give the game more depth instead of having them really flat, I just think at this stage if my vinyls where how I originally wanted them the game would appear really dull and boring not as good as it appears now.

I am very happy with how my game looks on screen and when being played, Its how I kind of imagined it obviously its not my exact vision from the start but thats ok because I was way too ambitious, I got a little bit carried away with all the features I wanted to add in.

At the moment I am liking how my game is and hopefully others will too, It matches my vision that I had from the start when I came up with this idea. I would like to keep working on it and constantly progress my work and the mechanics because mechanics are where I struggle.

                                                                   

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First Playable

This week I worked on the first playable version of my game. Luckily my unity went a lot better then last week and didn't freeze or crash as much as it did last week. I had a bit of trouble with my scripting this week though for some reason it just wouldn't work as id of liked it to but I am still happy with my progress and how it is going so far.

It was great because last week was such a stress creating my game with everything not working as it should, it was nice this week to be able to further my game and not have as many annoying problems with unity.

This week I worked on making my game look more exciting and overall match the aesthetic I set out to achieve for the pop level. I used a skybox I downloaded from the asset store and changed the colour of it to pink because the first level is pop music so as I stated in the game design document pop music is associated with bright and fun colours. I am really happy with the skybox and how it came out it really made the game pop.

I also made a special vinyl (prize). This vinyl was made by creating a sphere and changing its dimensions and using a material with a multi coloured glass effect, I had downloaded a different material from the asset store but it wouldn't import so I improvised and luckily the coloured glass was perfect for the vinyl look I wanted to achieve.

Last week I had no luck getting the first person controller in my unity just wouldn't let me it was so annoying and frustrating , luckily this week I was able to get one in and start working and scripting with it. The scripting as I was saying is causing a little bit of hassle but it is hopefully just a small mistake that I am yet to spot. The first person controller is at the moment working but just a few glitches that need to be sorted out.

I am really happy with how my game is looking at the moment, It is so bright and colourful which is what I wanted to achieve. I want my game to be calming and not stressful just simple and fun to play for all ages.

My Screenshots from unity

Prototype

This week I have been trying to work on my Prototype I have had a really difficult time with unity as it keeps crashing and things aren't woking. I tried my best to create a prototype but it proved extremely hard. I started to create my world again as unity crashed on me and my work didn't save. I made my terrain how I would like it to be even though its a world based around music I still want it to look and feel like its outside in nature. 

I tried to add in my first person controller but when I wanted to import one it wouldn't work this was very frustrating as I tried everything but there was no option to get it in. I made a brick wall and changed the colour into a pink so that when the player is playing the game they will see the pink wall and understand they are in the pop music world. I made a bubblegum pink gem as well to indicate pop music and fun. I added in spheres and changed their sizing and proportions to make them look like vinyls peeking out of the ground that the player will be able to step on. I also downloaded skyboxes to add into my game to give the game a calm and enjoyable atmosphere. I added in sound effects that will hopefully help to bring the game to life. It was hard to see my game for what it was because I couldn't import the first person controller I was really disappointed as I love my game ideas and where my games going but unity just isn't my friend. I hope this week to  attend the labs and lectures to get a better understanding of how to make my game and hopefully sort out all the issues I am having. 

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Final GDD

Working on finalising my Game Design Document was a learning experience it was great to start to understand the different elements of my game and what people will be looking for and want to know about my game. I found some aspects of the document a bit difficult to fill out so more research and to be done so I was confident that what I was writing made and sense and would be understood. Writing my Game Design Document has been a huge step to understanding and getting ready to produce my game, it has built my confidence up and I am looking forward to continuing my work.

Dundoc Project

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Game design document

This week I made a game design document on Dundoc. I have never used or even heard of Dundoc before so I did find it a bit confusing to use. I tried my best to fill in as much into the site map as I could and I am happy with what I have produced. It was really difficult at first trying to wrap my head around everything and understand what I needed to do but once I start writing and thinking clearly I

I found some of the headings and areas of the sitemap to difficult to do and to understand so I would have to just leave them for a while and try and come back to them with a more clear mindset and information on what the sitemap was asking me to write and document

Once I was settled and understood Dundoc I found it really easy to use and quite useful. It helped me to flesh out my game idea and think about what I could possibly ad to my game to make it more exciting to play, it made making a game design document easier and interesting.
Dundoc Document

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Game Vision Statement

Record Scratch is a platform game created for PC, the game will see the main character played by you jumping from vinyl to vinyl across a musical landscape to collect prizes and reach new and different musical worlds.


The game record scratch is a exciting and innovative game that sees the main character who will be an average Joe of sorts jumping onto vinyls which act as stepping stones for the main character to explore the musical landscape and also collect prizes which will be in the shape of musical objects like a microphone, guitar and many more.

 The aim of this game is to not fall off the vinyls. The vinyls act as stepping stones for you (the main character). This game is about an average person wanting to escape the reality of daily life, the main character wants to escape their nine-five job and be someone else and be somewhere else. 

The character then decides to create his own world while listening to music, a world where music is the one and only important thing, where vinyls act as a path and music is constantly changing to correspond with daily tasks

Music is a gateway for many people it can be a way for someone to escape relax and think about nothing but the music thats playing. The game was created for exactly that reason want people to play this game and be transported to a new world where music is the absolute main objective.

 Record scratch will consist of different music genres because everyone is different and I want everyone to enjoy this game.

The game will be fast paced one slip up will cause you to fall from a vinyl and you will have to start the game all over again. 

There will be special vinyls available to jump on and if you jump onto them successfully you will win extra lives or a more points to add to your total.

This game is going to be new and exciting because there is no games like this on the market at the moment. 

It is fresh, enjoyable, fast paced and I think it will be exhilarating when its played because no one will have experienced a game like this before.

Key Features of the game include

• It is a 3D game 
• It will be enjoyed by all age groups
• its a Platform game with some adventure
• Lots of music
• A great story
• Goal driven 
• Simple but not easy

Links that were of interest to me

Linkedin

Pluralsight

Gamasutra

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Game idea research

After consideration and the game I have chosen is "Record Scratch". I think this one is my strongest game idea and the one I would be most interested in making and having fun with while experimenting and learning along the way.

Record Scratch in a summary is a game where a character is jumping/running from vinyl to vinyl through different music worlds for example rock and pop. There will possibly rewards to be given during the game when the character passes a milestone in the game.

I didn't really know what game mechanics where before I did some research on them and saw how many there are to choose from and explore. I want my game to be simple but fun, because thats what I like in a game I hate when a game has too much going on in my opinion a game can become boring very fast when there isn't proper structure to it or the mechanics are just thrown in there for no reason just so they can say they are there.

Mechanics I would be interested in adding into my game would be points/progression dynamic, level themes and lives.
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I think adding in the points/progression dynamic would really work for my game idea from my research I can see that it would fit into my game. I would like the points to be earned by maybe jumping onto a vinyl that is gold to represent its a milestone accomplishment for the player so they will get extra points and lives.
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Level themes is a game mechanic I am interested in the most but I'm not sure if it will be in my game at this moment. I would like to do level themes based on music genres, I think it would make my game stand out and be enjoyable to play.
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Lives would be a good mechanic in my game because I also want to have the points system in place. I would like the player to collect extra points from which they could get extra lives from. I would have the player start out with 3 lives and if the player loses them all they would  have to start the level from a certain point/milestone they have passed
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                                         Example of a vinyl that would be a milestone/prize

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Game Brainstorm/Ideas

Summer Forever
This is going to be a fun and simple game about changing seasons. The objective of the game is to catch the leaves that are falling from this huge tree before they hit the ground. If the leaves hit the ground the tree will start to change the leaves will start to change from green to orange which means that Summer is changing into Autumn and the player is losing the game. If the player hasn't collected enough leaves the tree will then loose all of its leaves meaning the player has lost the game. I think this would be a fun game to make because it could be seen as an educational game where it teaches kids about the different seasons.
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Record Scratch
For this game I came up with the idea that there will be a main character that is jumping from vinyl to vinyl and as the character is jumping and progressing the background will start to change around him, for example it would change from a rock music background with electric guitars and dark red colours to a pop music background with light and bright pink colours and so on. If the character falls off a vinyl it means the player has then lost the game and will have to start all over again. The aim of the game is to keep jumping from vinyl to vinyl and win a prize every-time the player passes a different background/genre. This game is a game that I would've loved to play growing up its fun and exciting which is why I would like to explore this type of game.
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Jump the Vine
This is going to be a game where the player chooses a character who will jump and climb up different vines to to get to the top of a mountain to win a prize and win the game. As the game goes on the game will become more difficult for example some vines will fall and other will be snakes that will send the character back to the start. Think this would make a good choose your own adventure game where the player can choose what they want to do.
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Quick Bake
This is a simple straight forward game. How the player plays the game is by picking the food they want to bake e.g. a cake of sorts and then all the ingredients for the cake are on the back of cards. The player will then have to find the ingredients by picking two cards with the same ingredient on it so they match and then the ingredient will go into bowl and the cake will start to come together. Puzzle games are the games that I played most growing up I think they can be an easy and fun way to pass the time which I like.

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                                                              My ideas coming together

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