Level up: Ideas

Inspired by my reading I have decided to start the research stage of this project and get it underway. My goal is to research and idea generate as much as i possibly can as I think I will need the information when it comes the time to start building the GDD. I want to start forming some ideas for either an app or game that needs to fit the brand and values of Build Play learn. To meet these I need to remember some core things:

  1. It must be child friendly. (ESRB E)
  2. It must be educational or at least support the national curriculum
  3. It MUST be fun.

Some initial seed words for researching:

I find it easier to mash up ideas like this as I find it abstracts them a little further than normal.
  • Numbers
  • Words
  • Communication
  • Playground
  • Creating

I then went forward and watched various Tedx talks (links below) and started coming up with random sentence ideas that I could possibly take forward. I not only concentrated on the words that they used in the talks but also the stage setting, body language and visual displays that were used. I wanted to pull ideas from the experience and not just the information, for instance the idea “build and manage a forest” came about from a picture a lady showed of a natural playground she had designed and built.

List Below

Ideas harvested from Seeds

  • Growing plants using maths
  • Shape arranging through clicking numbers
  • Organising items in a certain way
  • Gathering items for a purpose
  • Colour by numbers to achieve a larger goal
  • Using prime numbers to create random pictures
  • A world without numbers
  • Pick the right word for the situation
  • Build and customise a space with words
  • Change a shape by using words
  • Communication through notes
  • Stimulating an object through words
  • Language Nutrition
  • Interview people for the right jobs
  • Change the pitch of a voice to match the speaker
  • *Build and manage a forest*

I absolutely love these ideas so far and I am really enjoying this process. My next step is to abstract once more. I am going to do this by picking 6 of my favourite sentence ideas and researching a little into each, my goal is to make a word cloud for each idea. I am then going to start building a game idea and writing up a GDD step by step. Thank you so much for reading my blog today and I hope your’e having an amazing week!

” Everybody is an expert in something “

Celeste Headlee – Tedx March 2016

Videos that Ideas were gathered from.

Numbers Vids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjSHVDfXHQ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OihQPf4mJH4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlPFv_EDnvY

 

Words Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joj7_brYWt8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgS7bFWlqsw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8qc8Aa3weE

 

Communication Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4

“Everybody is an expert in something- Celeste Headlee)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_ylzGfHKOs

 

Playground Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZCbNstq2Uk

 

Creativity Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEusrD8g-dM

Level Up! Following a book

I have had some time off recently as I have been working my summer job and having family over for a couple of weeks. Enough is enough however! I must get back on track with the project!!!

I have decided that I wasn’t too keen on the idea for the last game and it suddenly struck me as why. I had FORGOTTEN to brainstorm! Eurgh, I threw this noob mistake aside and decided to focus on a book called Level Up-The guide to great video game design. This book is taking me step by step throughout the games design process and I am looking forward to going through the steps and getting a game completed. I have finished the first four chapters and have been impressed with some of the information in the book.

Chapter 1

Entitled Welcome Noobs, this chapter talks about the essentials of games design. The history and origin, the games design industry and its various job roles and last but not least tackling the question : What is a game?

What did I take away from this chapter? I found out that a game needs a minimum of three things. These are 1) A Player, 2)has rules, 3)has a victory condition. These make pretty good sense because without a player there can be no game.

The other thing I liked was the realisation that adding rules and an objective to a time wasting activity turns that time wasting activity into a game. This was a great piece of information because it relieves the stress of forcing fun and makes games feel like something that people have always and will always play.

Lastly the greatest thing I picked up from this chapter was making sure your game objective can be summarised in a simple way. Think of designing a 1950’s board game box. How would you right the goal of the game on the box in a quick and interesting way that explains all of information necessary.

Chapter 2

Entitled Ideas, this chapter talks about idea generation and different sources of ideas. First of the bat I was hit with this concept of abstract inspiration. Basically this means that getting inspiration from anywhere is a good way to get ideas and one of the worst ways to get ideas is to get them from other games. Scott Rogers describes how this idea generation stagnates the games design industry and causes games to become samey. He suggests that we as designers get our inspiration from varied sources and watching as many non game related lectures as you can in order to vary your ideas. He also suggest working with people outside of the games industry to provide more variety.

Another idea he suggested was too play a game you don’t like and see if you can change anything in the games design to make it a game you would like to play. I think this is a great idea and I am compiling a small list of games that I will post in the future that I would like to work this technique on.

Finally he talks about removing the un-fun in the game at every development process. At the end of every design decision or improvement got through and remove all of the un-fun this way all that your game will be left with is….. you guessed it! Fun!!!!

My next step in this process is to go away and brainstorm some ideas. To get these I am going to go onto the Ted ex talks you tube page and click on some videos and write down some keywords from these videos. I will post a list of all the videos with links in a separate blog post. Once I have these keywords I will extrapolate them into abstract game concepts and try to take these ideas as far as i can into the ridiculous. Once there I can evaluate them and see if they would make fun games.

GDD 1.0.1

The GDD has been updated. I have added a list of the npc and player texture animations. I have also begun to list the assets required for the game. I am trying to make this game playable for everybody so my choices have been influenced by healthy eating and environmental choices. I have chosen to use fresh fruit and veg as the items to collect and promote environmentally friendly options like a paper bag. I think I am going to reformat the GDD over the week to make it easier to read. I may potentially create a PDF and upload it as images in the future, this way I can illustrate it nicely and make it look really cool.


<Your Game Name Here>

Build Play Learn

“Learning through Play”

Revision: 1.0.1

Edited: 24/06/2019 by James Cook

GDD Template Written by: Benjamin “HeadClot” Stanley

License

If you use this in any of your games. Give credit in the GDD (this document) to Alec Markarian and Benjamin Stanley. We did work so you don’t have to.

Feel free to Modify, redistribute but not sell this document.

TL;DR – Keep the credits section of this document intact and we are good and do not sell it.

Overview

Theme / Setting / Genre

– Childrens educational game, set in a futuristic cartoon world inhabited by cute zany characters. It must be ESRB E.

Core Gameplay Mechanics Brief

– Jumping – Almost always combined with gravity, the player must jump from one platform to another and not fall. (Example: Mario)

– Remember an Increasing Number of Things – Tests the short-term memory of a player. (Example: Simon)

– Gathering Resources to achieve a goal.

– Gravity- 2d platformer (no risk of character death but would mean re navigating the level.

Targeted platforms

– Mobile Phones and Tablets (Android and IOS)

– Xbox and PlayStation

– Pc and Macs.

– Cost? (How much will it cost?)

£332 on pay.

£40 pound app store licensing.

£20 advertising

Total : £392

– Time Scale (How long will it take to make this game?)

Two weeks has been scheduled.

– <Team Size>

– <Core Team>

– Team Member name?

James Cook Developer and producer.

£332

– <Marketing Team>

– Team Member name?

– What does he/she do?

– <Cost to employ them full time or part time>

– Etc.

(List as many marketing team members as you need to)

– <Licenses / Hardware / Other Costs>

– <Total Costs with breakdown>

Influences (Brief)

– <Influence #1>

Wall-E

The robot was aesthetically pleasing, and children loved it. I enjoyed how they used body language for communication.

– <Influence #2>

– <Medium> (Television, Games, Literature, Movies, etc.)

– /Explain Why in 1 Paragraph or less/

– /Explain why this is an influence in 1 Paragraph or less/

– <Influence #3>

– <Medium> (Television, Games, Literature, Movies, etc.)

– /Explain why this is an influence in 1 Paragraph or less/

– <Influence #4>

– <Medium> (Television, Games, Literature, Movies, etc.)

– /Explain Why in 1 Paragraph or less/

– /Explain why this is an influence in 1 Paragraph or less/

The elevator Pitch

<A one sentence pitch for your game.>

A game about a robot that takes orders from customers and must navigate a warehouse to collect the items. It is aimed at young children to promote memory and co-ordination.

Project Description (Brief):

<Two Paragraphs at least>

<No more than three paragraphs>

The game is a 2d platform game comprised of 3d assets. The player takes on the role of a robot store assistant (Robbo). Customers will enter the shop one at a time and wait at the counter to be served. When the player moves Robbo to the counter a dialogue box will pop open with images of fruit and vegetables with a number next to them.

The player will then move into the ware house will navigate the floors and shelves to collect the items returning them to the customer.

What sets this project apart?

– <Reason #1>

The artwork is going to be unique and engaging.

– <Reason #2>#

The gameplay is engaging for young children

– <Reason #3>

It will be for young children and those with special educational needs.

Core Gameplay Mechanics (Detailed)

– <Core Gameplay Mechanic #1>

– <Details>

Jumping-

When the player taps the screen the robot will jump. The jump will be 3 times the height of the assets with a “puffing” animation on the robot.

– <Core Gameplay Mechanic #2>

– <Details>

Remember an Increasing Number of Things –

The player will need to remember the list of things to collect. They will be able to view the list by going back to the front shop. There is no limit. They may also complete the list piece by piece if they wish too.

– <Core Gameplay Mechanic #3>

– <Details>

Gathering Resources to achieve a goal.

The player will need to navigate a warehouse and collect the correct number of items from different areas. The items will always be in the same place, with new items and locations becoming unlocked to add variety and challenge.

– <Core Gameplay Mechanic #4>

Gravity-

2d platformer (no risk of character death but would mean re navigating the level. When the player falls they will have to navigate the level to reach the object again.

Story and Gameplay

Story (Brief)

The shop exists in a fantasy world populated by cartoon characters. Some are the primal shapes, and some are various fruit and vegetables. The shop is run by Robbo the robot and it is his job to make sure that everyone gets what they need.

Gameplay (Brief)

The player will navigate a warehouse by moving left, right and jumping. They will click on items to pick them up and move to the shop on the left-hand side to deliver the items. Once they have delivered the items another character will ask them for some different items. The player will be rewarded coins for gathering the correct items and can use these to decorate their shop. There is no punishment for giving the wrong items, these won’t be counted.

Assets Needed

– 2D

– Textures

Robbo

Mr Mellow

Miss Hart

Items in Warehouse-

Apple

Banana

Carrot

Broccoli

Lettuce

Tomato

– Environment Textures

Shop-

Till

Basket

Door

Bell

Magazine Stand

Shopping Bag (brown paper)

Background

Shop Window with view of high street.

Floor

Tiles

Assets

Till

Basket

Scales

Warehouse-

Background- Repeating

Shelves

Crates

Signs

Lights

– Heightmap data (If applicable)

– List required data required – Example: DEM data of the entire UK.

– Etc.

– 3D

– Characters List

– Robbo

– Miss Hart

– Mr. Mellow

– etc.

– Environmental Art Lists

– Example #1

– Example #2

– Example #3

– etc.

– Sound

– Sound List (Ambient)

– Outside

High Street noises

– Sound List (Player)

Robbo –

                Bleep

                Correct Beeps

                Incorrect Beeps

                Hello Beep

                Goodbye Beep

– Character Movement Sound List

Robbo Rocket whirring sound

– Character Hit / Collision Sound list

                Bump Noise

– Code

– Character Scripts (Player Pawn/Player Controller)

– Ambient Scripts (Runs in the background)

– Example

– NPC Scripts

– Example

– etc.

– Animation

– Environment Animations

– Example

– etc.

– Character Animations

– Player

Left

Right

Idle

Thumbs Up

Well Done Dance

Head Shake

– NPC

Walk Right

Walk Left

Idle (looking around)

Talking and Gesturing (Ordering)

Thankyou

Good Bye

Pick up shopping bag

Concept 3d Model of Robbo

Robbo is the robot that runs the store in game. This will be the character that the player controls so I need to have enough detail that the player can relate to him. I started with a cube and built down from the head. I am using blender for the 3d construction. Eventually the arms and head will be animated. I really enjoyed modelling this and will create a couple more iterations of the same model.

Robbo Screen Shot 1

Robbo Screen Shot 2

Robbo Screenshot 3

GDD (Games Design Document)1.0

I have been working my day job this week so haven’t had the time too work on the project as planned. This really motivated me to get the GDD done. For those who don’t know a GDD is a document that breaks down the game so that design can be done in an orderly way. I haven’t thought of a title yet but when i do i will be putting a poll on Twitter to see what everyone thinks. I am really happy that my day job have allowed me to take reduced hours to achieve this and I am so grateful to everyone for the support.

<Your Game Name Here>

Build Play Learn

“Learning through Play”

Revision: 0.0.0

GDD Template Written by: Benjamin “HeadClot” Stanley

License

If you use this in any of your games. Give credit in the GDD (this document) to Alec Markarian and Benjamin Stanley. We did work so you don’t have to.  

Feel free to Modify, redistribute but not sell this document.

TL;DR – Keep the credits section of this document intact and we are good and do not sell it.

Overview

Theme / Setting / Genre

Core Gameplay Mechanics Brief

Targeted platforms

Monetization model (Brief/Document)

Project Scope

Influences (Brief)

– <Influence #1>

– <Influence #2>

– <Influence #3>

– <Influence #4>

The elevator Pitch

Project Description (Brief):

What sets this project apart?

Core Gameplay Mechanics (Detailed)

– <Core Gameplay Mechanic #1>

– <Core Gameplay Mechanic #2>

– <Core Gameplay Mechanic #3>

– <Core Gameplay Mechanic #4>

Story and Gameplay

Story (Brief)

Gameplay (Brief)

Assets Needed

– 2D

– 3D

– Sound

– Code

– Animation

Schedule

– <Object #1>

– <Object #2>

– <Object #3>

– <Object #4>

Overview

Theme / Setting / Genre

          – Childrens educational game, set in a futuristic cartoon world inhabited by cute zany characters. It must be ESRB E.

Core Gameplay Mechanics Brief

          – Jumping – Almost always combined with gravity, the player must jump from one platform to another and not fall. (Example: Mario)

          – Remember an Increasing Number of Things – Tests the short-term memory of a player. (Example: Simon)

          – Gathering Resources to achieve a goal.

          – Gravity- 2d platformer (no risk of character death but would mean re navigating the level.

Targeted platforms

          – Mobile Phones and Tablets (Android and IOS)

          – Xbox and PlayStation

          – Pc and Macs.

Monetization model (Brief/Document)

– Ad Driven and a paid premium

          – <Link to Monetization Document>

(How do you plan to monetize the game?)

Project Scope

          – <Game Time Scale>

                   – Cost? (How much will it cost?)

£332 on pay.

£40 pound app store licensing.

£20 advertising

Total : £392

– Time Scale (How long will it take to make this game?)

Two weeks has been scheduled.

– <Team Size>

          – <Core Team>

                   – Team Member name?

James Cook Developer and producer.

£332

– <Marketing Team>

                   – Team Member name?

                             – What does he/she do?

                             – <Cost to employ them full time or part time>

                   – Etc.

(List as many marketing team members as you need to)

          – <Licenses / Hardware / Other Costs>

          – <Total Costs with breakdown>

Influences (Brief)

          – <Influence #1>

                   Wall-E

The robot was aesthetically pleasing, and children loved it. I enjoyed how they used body language for communication.

          – <Influence #2>

                   – <Medium> (Television, Games, Literature, Movies, etc.)

                   – /Explain Why in 1 Paragraph or less/

– /Explain why this is an influence in 1 Paragraph or less/

          – <Influence #3>

                   – <Medium> (Television, Games, Literature, Movies, etc.)

– /Explain why this is an influence in 1 Paragraph or less/

          – <Influence #4>

                   – <Medium> (Television, Games, Literature, Movies, etc.)

                   – /Explain Why in 1 Paragraph or less/

– /Explain why this is an influence in 1 Paragraph or less/

The elevator Pitch

<A one sentence pitch for your game.>

A game about a robot that takes orders from customers and must navigate a warehouse to collect the items. It is aimed at young children to promote memory and co-ordination.

Project Description (Brief):

<Two Paragraphs at least>

<No more than three paragraphs>

The game is a 2d platform game comprised of 3d assets. The player takes on the role of a robot store assistant (Robbo). Customers will enter the shop one at a time and wait at the counter to be served. When the player moves Robbo to the counter a dialogue box will pop open with images of fruit and vegetables with a number next to them.

The player will then move into the ware house will navigate the floors and shelves to collect the items returning them to the customer.

What sets this project apart?

          – <Reason #1>

The artwork is going to be unique and engaging.

          – <Reason #2>#

The gameplay is engaging for young children

          – <Reason #3>

It will be for young children and those with special educational needs.

Core Gameplay Mechanics (Detailed)

          – <Core Gameplay Mechanic #1>

                   – <Details>

                             Jumping-

When the player taps the screen the robot will jump. The jump will be 3 times the height of the assets with a “puffing” animation on the robot.

          – <Core Gameplay Mechanic #2>

                   – <Details>

                             Remember an Increasing Number of Things –

The player will need to remember the list of things to collect. They will be able to view the list by going back to the front shop. There is no limit. They may also complete the list piece by piece if they wish too.

         

 

 

– <Core Gameplay Mechanic #3>

                    – <Details>

                             Gathering Resources to achieve a goal.               

The player will need to navigate a warehouse and collect the correct number of items from different areas. The items will always be in the same place, with new items and locations becoming unlocked to add variety and challenge.

          – <Core Gameplay Mechanic #4>

                   Gravity-

2d platformer (no risk of character death but would mean re navigating the level. When the player falls they will have to navigate the level to reach the object again.

 

Story and Gameplay

Story (Brief)

The shop exists in a fantasy world populated by cartoon characters. Some are the primal shapes, and some are various fruit and vegetables. The shop is run by Robbo the robot and it is his job to make sure that everyone gets what they need.

Gameplay (Brief)

The player will navigate a warehouse by moving left, right and jumping. They will click on items to pick them up and move to the shop on the left-hand side to deliver the items. Once they have delivered the items another character will ask them for some different items. The player will be rewarded coins for gathering the correct items and can use these to decorate their shop. There is no punishment for giving the wrong items, these won’t be counted.

Assets Needed

– 2D

          – Textures

Robbo

Mr Mellow

Miss Hart

Items in Warehouse

                   – Environment Textures

Shop-

Background

Floor

Assets

Till

Basket

Scales

Warehouse-

Background- Repeating

Shelves

Crates

Items

Signs

Lights

          – Heightmap data (If applicable)

                   – List required data required – Example: DEM data of the entire UK.

          – Etc.

 

 

 

– 3D

          – Characters List

                   – Robbo

                   – Miss Hart

                   – Mr. Mellow

                   – etc.

          – Environmental Art Lists

                   – Example #1

                   – Example #2

                   – Example #3

                   – etc.

– Sound

          – Sound List (Ambient)

                   – Outside

                             – Level 1

                             – Level 2

                             – Level 3

                             – etc.

                   – Inside

                             – Level 1

                             – Level 2

                             – Level 3

                             – etc.

– Sound List (Player)

                   – Character Movement Sound List

                             – Example 1

                             – Example 2

– etc.

                   – Character Hit / Collision Sound list

– Example 1

                             – Example 2

– etc.

                   – Character on Injured / Death sound list

                             – Example 1

                             – Example 2

                             – etc.

– Code

          – Character Scripts (Player Pawn/Player Controller)

          – Ambient Scripts (Runs in the background)

          – Example

– NPC Scripts

          – Example

          – etc.

– Animation

          – Environment Animations

                   – Example

                   – etc.

          – Character Animations

                   – Player

– Example

– etc.

                   – NPC

                             – Example

                             – etc.

Schedule

          – <Object #1>

                        – Time Scale

                             – Milestone 1

                             – Milestone 2

                             – Etc.

          – <Object #2>

                        – Time Scale

                             – Milestone 1

                             – Milestone 2

                             – Etc.

          – <Object #3>

                        – Time Scale

                             – Milestone 1

                             – Milestone 2

                             – Etc.

          – <Object #4>

                        – Time Scale

                             – Milestone 1

                             – Milestone 2

                             – Etc.