Design Idea Wk 2: Ball game

Your design task this week is to come up with an idea for a computer game that incorporates some of the dynamics of the ball game, but in a new setting. So your game cannot just be “multiplayer a first person shooter in which you throw coloured balls around the room”.

Justify why the dynamics you carry over make sense in your new setting.

The game I have come up with is played on a large field with a top-down view. Each player controls a paddle which can be moved along the XY planes aswell as rotated around its center. The paddle is restricted to the quadrant of the team that the player is on. It can be used to either deflect balls by simply moving it into the path of a ball or spun to hit a ball with force.

To prevent players from just lining up to make a wall along their boundary, balls hit with enough force become airbourne and can pass over paddles. The paddles will also slide as if on ice to add some difficulty to the game.

The quadrants are fairly easy to implement in a top-down setting and it gives the four teams their own space to defend. It also lays down a boundary to prevent them from moving into their opponents space.

Giving the balls the ability to become airborne is similar to throwing the ball over opponents in the original game. It also prevents players from lining up and making a wall to block all incoming balls.

The quadrants and the balls give the players an objective to achieve (have the least amount of balls in your quadrant at the end of the time limit).

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Journal Wk 2: digital vs non-digital games

What are the differences between table-top board/card/roleplaying games, computer games and sports/live action games? What abilities and constraints does each kind offer you as a player or as a designer? How might the same game change from one medium to another?

Table-top games tend to be turn-based as moderating a real-time format is difficult. Equipment-wise they don’t require much space and everything you need can be easily carried.

Computer games are typically only restricted by the user input as the world and the rules are usually only restricted by the programming capabilities of the designer. There are also hardware constraints with high-end games requiring high powered machines.

Sports/live action games generally require open space to play. The game itself is restricted by real world physics. These games are also in a real-time format, with any turn-based games being just a oversized board game.

A live action game being made into a computer game usually involves giving the player control of a whole team or giving the ability to change which person is being contolled. A board game can be transferred directly to computer format without any changes as all thats being done is a virtualisation of the play equipment.

Changing a computer game to a board game or live action game can be extremely difficult as a lot of computer games have custom worlds/physics which can’t really be replicated in the physical world.

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Design Idea Wk 1: Dogma Manifesto

What is your reaction to this document?

For the Dogme 95, to me it sounds like all that can be made that complies with that and is worthwhile to watch is documentaries, interviews and sketch comedy. In general, even though you can still get some pretty good material which complies with it, Dogme 95 sounds like fail.

Dogma 2001 on the other hand appears to have less fail in it. The first goal is simple – make a game, not something that you need to spend heaps on buying specialised components for. The second goal is no derivatives. Jumping up platforms while avoiding falling objects has been done before. The second goal is harder to achieve as there has been so many games in the past that many ideas you think of would have already been done to a certain extent previously. Though derivative games are usually easier to pick up than brand new games as the rules and controls are usually the same or similar.

Write a short description of a game inspired by this Manifesto.

Hmm, most of what I can come up with has already been done before. A small game for an average PC meets the first goal easily.

I propose a 2D puzzle-platformer game. You play as a spider and you can create web which you can attach to objects and other web which is within arms reach. It can’t be thrown or shot, but can be attached to objects which can then be thrown. It is very elastic and cannot break, but can be cut by the player and certain enemies. The player can walk on walls and ceilings, but cannot swim or walk on spikes. The player can also climb webbing. The player must use the web to navigate each level and solve puzzles to make it to the exit. For example the player will attach some web to a rock and then throw the rock over a ravine and then cross the ravine by climbing across on the web. Alternatively they can attach one end of the web to the ground near the ravine and walk back, stretching the web, in order to slingshot across the ravine. The web can also be used to ensare enemies and prey, which can be consumed to replenish health.

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Journal Wk 1: Why are you here?

Might aswell do the first journal entry while I’m here

• Why are you doing this subject? Well it seems like an interesting course. Its also part of the Computer Game Design Major.
• What interests you about games? I would call myself a casual gamer. I like games because they are entertaining and immersive. I find them interesting because they have the ability to stimulate my brain to achieve those two qualities
• What kinds of games would you like to play? I’m not picky on my genre. Arcade, RPG, FPS, Third Person Shooter, RTS, Turn-based Strategy, etc. Also I do enjoy card games and board games.
• To make? I would like to make a RTS, FPS, or a RPG one day.
• What do you hope to learn? What goes into making a game.

• Think about the question: Why do so many games involve guns? I suppose violence stimulates the primitive part of our brain and it allows us to express dominance over lesser players. Guns also add more dimension to the game. Instead of having to run within melee range of your target to hit them, you can hit them from a distance. A game where you can’t take out unreachable enemies would generally become frustrating.

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Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

Ok got me a blog… My usual username was taken so went with my student number instead