Moving forward from here, may be more difficult than first thought.
We had presentation with our industry panel, and I feel like our presentations went fairly well. After enough feedback and discussion between group members, we decided to continue moving forward with Hostile Territory and not continue with Regenesis. I wouldn't say it was an easy decision, but what's done is done.
Now, the reason we made this decision wasn't pushed from me. I have expressed in the past my concern with how that prototype was being developed, and I didn't hold any punches with it. It was brought up by our producers, artists, and engineers. Not everyone was in agreement, but we discussed the pros and cons of each. The general interest for the game had waned, and we discussed that for Regenesis to continue forward, we would need another five weeks of prototyping to move forward with it. As a group, we decided to not do this.
Now, don't believe that Hostile Territory is without issue. The game's theme was hammered to death, and it was thought to be "space-marine-shooter-forty-two". It would be lost in the crowd and completely ignored.
The theme can be retooled, and we will be rebuilding the entire game. We have discussed what to move forward with and we are going to attempt it in CryEngine. I am overjoyed by this! I have experience using CryEngine for short cinematic features. I can't wait to use it for actual games!!!
So, I will be working with Sam on setting up the current build in the best state of the current prototype, including character controller, movement, and base structure of the level in the game. Moving parts, camera, etc. We will only be currently using in game assets, so no imports as of yet.
I'm ecstatic!!! We may have some gameplay features to use from Regenesis as well...We'll see shortly!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Post 25 - Midway Stretch
The rough presentations were complete, and we received feedback.
This was good and bad.
It was good, in that we were informed we did very badly. Aside from two presentation hiccups, with video and pausing, I don't believe the presentations were as poor as the professors described.
As for engineering tasks, regarding the structure of the games, I have been moved towards the Hostile Territory game, as the demo structure was complete for the Regenisis game. We have more than enough game structure ideas to complete multiple levels for a final build. We played with altering gravity as well, and are looking at additional features to include. We are not sure how the gravity alteration fits the game overall, but we'll see (maybe) in the coming future.
Hostile Territory is a third-person competitive shooter, where the environment is hazardous, shifting, and changing. There is nowhere to camp here. Be on your toes, or you are dead.
Regenisis is a third-person exploration game, involving digging and moving through piles of garbage to recover lost memories of yourself and the world. What awaits in the depths of trash? Dig, and ye shall find.
I think these short descriptions do some things our presentations did not. They directly describe the games in one to two sentences, and get right to the point. You have a sense of what is initially fun and has impact, and they describe why you would want to come back for more.
My hopes are shooting for the Hostile Territory game. I feel that the Regenisis game has take a step backwards, by focusing less on exploring through the pile of trash, and tried to move more into the platforming element of what the game appears to be. I think if we pushed forward with it, we would need to be prototyping more on the digging mechanic, and what is fun about it.
As for Hostile Territory, it is a level designer's dream and nightmare. We have multiple structures to play with, gravity to alter, environments to destroy, and different features to test out. We don't have different weapons, character classes, perks, or complete networking done. But, the prototype is damn fun.
We'll see what the feedback is provided by our industry panel on 3-3-2014. It is going to be great!
This was good and bad.
It was good, in that we were informed we did very badly. Aside from two presentation hiccups, with video and pausing, I don't believe the presentations were as poor as the professors described.
As for engineering tasks, regarding the structure of the games, I have been moved towards the Hostile Territory game, as the demo structure was complete for the Regenisis game. We have more than enough game structure ideas to complete multiple levels for a final build. We played with altering gravity as well, and are looking at additional features to include. We are not sure how the gravity alteration fits the game overall, but we'll see (maybe) in the coming future.
Hostile Territory is a third-person competitive shooter, where the environment is hazardous, shifting, and changing. There is nowhere to camp here. Be on your toes, or you are dead.
Regenisis is a third-person exploration game, involving digging and moving through piles of garbage to recover lost memories of yourself and the world. What awaits in the depths of trash? Dig, and ye shall find.
I think these short descriptions do some things our presentations did not. They directly describe the games in one to two sentences, and get right to the point. You have a sense of what is initially fun and has impact, and they describe why you would want to come back for more.
My hopes are shooting for the Hostile Territory game. I feel that the Regenisis game has take a step backwards, by focusing less on exploring through the pile of trash, and tried to move more into the platforming element of what the game appears to be. I think if we pushed forward with it, we would need to be prototyping more on the digging mechanic, and what is fun about it.
As for Hostile Territory, it is a level designer's dream and nightmare. We have multiple structures to play with, gravity to alter, environments to destroy, and different features to test out. We don't have different weapons, character classes, perks, or complete networking done. But, the prototype is damn fun.
We'll see what the feedback is provided by our industry panel on 3-3-2014. It is going to be great!
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