Next class period, we're going to be talking about the structure and name of our studio. The studio will be an LLC with all of the team members as partners.
As per Roger's suggestions, we will have the team leads be voting partners and the artists/programmers be equity partners. We want to go for this solution for legal ease. It will be a lot easier in the future if we only need four signatures rather than 10.
Robert and I got onto the topic of what would happen if a team member left the group or did not perform adequately. I think this is a good topic to bring up, especially in the incident that a team member wants to leave the team but is still getting paid. Team members won't want that to happen so we need a way to remove equity from team members.
I thought about this awhile ago. I think there should be a system in place so that if a team member doesn't work on the game, they can be removed but I also don't want to set an atmosphere of distrust in the team. I want there to be an incentive system but also a sense of trust so the team trusts the team leaders to make decisions.
I think that all team members should be evaluated by the team leads. In the situation of a unanimous team lead vote, a team member can be removed from the group. Their percentage of the game would then be distributed to the other team members, not the team leads. This gives incentive to the team members to work but also makes it so that team leads can't make decisions that give them more money. The decision won't affect the shares of team leaders at all.
In a situation where a member choose to leave the company on their own, their share would be split equally among all team members.
I also propose that 5%-10% of our equity should go towards advertising, web fees, and administration fees. It might have to be more depending on how much money is made but I think it would be good to set aside.
Just my thoughts. I have to talk to my lawyer about it.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Midi music production and combos
A quick thought that I just had about combo attacks and the unlockable weapons.
When we were talking about content for the game, we talked about unlocking new weapons and being able to have different attacks for each weapon. We talked about having each combo represent a new attack and sound. We lightly discussed having each weapon have different sounds.
Each combo attack in the game is linked to notes and chords. So when the play does a combo, a riff or solo is played. When the player is using different weapons, a new instrument plays the combos. This makes the game sound different and play different as the players use different weapons. I think this will add replayability to the game.
To make things easy on ourselves, we were talking about using the same combo animations for each weapon but simply changing the colors to make them look different. If we produce the music in a midi production program such as a garage band and make our own midi files, we can simply change the instrument in the program and we have a new sounding combo. It will be the same notes, just with the bass or with the synthesizer.
This is an easy way to add variety and replayability to our game. I think it also adds a reward system by adding unlockable weapons and new abilities associated with those weapons. Players will want to see what it is like to play through with those other weapons.
When we were talking about content for the game, we talked about unlocking new weapons and being able to have different attacks for each weapon. We talked about having each combo represent a new attack and sound. We lightly discussed having each weapon have different sounds.
Each combo attack in the game is linked to notes and chords. So when the play does a combo, a riff or solo is played. When the player is using different weapons, a new instrument plays the combos. This makes the game sound different and play different as the players use different weapons. I think this will add replayability to the game.
To make things easy on ourselves, we were talking about using the same combo animations for each weapon but simply changing the colors to make them look different. If we produce the music in a midi production program such as a garage band and make our own midi files, we can simply change the instrument in the program and we have a new sounding combo. It will be the same notes, just with the bass or with the synthesizer.
This is an easy way to add variety and replayability to our game. I think it also adds a reward system by adding unlockable weapons and new abilities associated with those weapons. Players will want to see what it is like to play through with those other weapons.
Art References
To go along with the homework for the Art team, here are some art references:
Shank 2 Layers, Gore, Perspective, Design - This is a 2D side scrolling brawler game with personality and lots of gore. I love it. I love the layers in this game. Sky box, mountains, background buildings, level path, and foreground. It gives the game great depth and it makes the game look more full. I think this perspective and level design is a perfect inspiration for our game.
Rochard Modeling and Space- I wanted to show this game because it is a 3D side scrolling that maintains the 2D perspective. This game is also considered a quality looking game. I don't think it is overly complex in design. I like the scale of the environments and how the player navigates through them. I think it's a good size to look at for environments in the game. How wide the paths or doors are and other elements of the the 3D but 2D limitations.
Trine 2 Lighting - I chose to show Trine 2 for the lighting and effects. This game is truly beautiful. I think a lot of the effects are a bit out of the realm of our engine right now but the lighting effects give this game a sense of production value and polish that isn't matched. If we had our layered art style and then a lighting system like this, we would look like an expensive game. It would instantly give the game a visual value.
Alien Hominid Enemies - I chose this game because of the enemies. There is a generic group of "Suit" enemies. The good thing about "suits" is that they can appear in any setting and still fit in. If they represent some evil organization, they can just appear in any level as the base enemy type.
Brutal Legend Menu - Brutal Legend has been a huge inspiration for this game for me in a lot of ways. I LOVE the interface design for brutal legend. It really injects the game with flavor by beign so different and so special. If we can pull something like this off, it just adds another layer of production value to the game. It makes the game seem really special.
Brutal Legend Weapon Design - The guitars in our game are the ranged attack and the melee weapons. We need our guitars to look like they could be both. I want all of the weapons to look like they are enraged.
Guitar Hero 3 Interface - If we are trying to link the game play to a guitar peripheral, we should give the players score feed back that they associate with a guitar. I think that we should tie our combo system, our points system, and our power up system towards the UI of Guitar Hero. The nostalgic connection will help link the guitar peripheral more and it will help the player feel a similar reward system.
Slash Character - Slash is an icon of guitar playing. If we are pursuing a faceless hero, I think Slash's look good be great. He has the hair to cover his face and his has the all black look to associate with metal. His guitars are great inspiration for weapons and how our player will interact with them. Watching Slash jam on a double guitar is inspiring.
Shank 2 Layers, Gore, Perspective, Design - This is a 2D side scrolling brawler game with personality and lots of gore. I love it. I love the layers in this game. Sky box, mountains, background buildings, level path, and foreground. It gives the game great depth and it makes the game look more full. I think this perspective and level design is a perfect inspiration for our game.
Rochard Modeling and Space- I wanted to show this game because it is a 3D side scrolling that maintains the 2D perspective. This game is also considered a quality looking game. I don't think it is overly complex in design. I like the scale of the environments and how the player navigates through them. I think it's a good size to look at for environments in the game. How wide the paths or doors are and other elements of the the 3D but 2D limitations.
Alien Hominid Enemies - I chose this game because of the enemies. There is a generic group of "Suit" enemies. The good thing about "suits" is that they can appear in any setting and still fit in. If they represent some evil organization, they can just appear in any level as the base enemy type.
Brutal Legend Menu - Brutal Legend has been a huge inspiration for this game for me in a lot of ways. I LOVE the interface design for brutal legend. It really injects the game with flavor by beign so different and so special. If we can pull something like this off, it just adds another layer of production value to the game. It makes the game seem really special.
Brutal Legend Weapon Design - The guitars in our game are the ranged attack and the melee weapons. We need our guitars to look like they could be both. I want all of the weapons to look like they are enraged.
Guitar Hero 3 Interface - If we are trying to link the game play to a guitar peripheral, we should give the players score feed back that they associate with a guitar. I think that we should tie our combo system, our points system, and our power up system towards the UI of Guitar Hero. The nostalgic connection will help link the guitar peripheral more and it will help the player feel a similar reward system.
Slash Character - Slash is an icon of guitar playing. If we are pursuing a faceless hero, I think Slash's look good be great. He has the hair to cover his face and his has the all black look to associate with metal. His guitars are great inspiration for weapons and how our player will interact with them. Watching Slash jam on a double guitar is inspiring.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Combo System
Last Thursday we had a design meeting with the entire team to hammer out the basic mechanics of the game. We've had lots of conversations and ideas but we've needed to have a serious talk about how the game is going to be played how it is going to feel.
The biggest points that came out of the meeting were that we wanted to highlight the guitar in the mechanic design and we wanted to have the game maintain the action game vibe. My first thoughts of this game were more along the lines of castle crashers - essentially a brawler game with a guitar. The game then shifted towards a musical platformer. Seeing the limitations of the controller and thinking about the big mechanics, we realized that platforming just won't be fun by itself and that basic action game mechanics will feel "forced" onto the guitar.
What we settled on was an action game with the basic action mechanics but with guitar cords as attacks. With a normal controller, you're usually limited to combos that happen in a specific order (ex.: x, x, a). With a guitar, it is easy for the player to press multiple buttons in the same way one would play a guitar. Given the lack of flexibility with the guitar and our commitment to the action game play, the game won't flow in the way traditional action games flow. Our limitations with movement will force breaks in action and movement in the game. The idea of a guitar combo system will help make these breaks in action fun.
Potential Combo Attacks:
Spin move: if player is being overwhelmed
Uppercut move: Knock off shield
Enemy Launch: Paralyze enemy by launching them in the air
Guitar smash: player jumps up and smashed guitar down to attack enemies with weak top
Dash: Player can shoot behind enemy
The biggest points that came out of the meeting were that we wanted to highlight the guitar in the mechanic design and we wanted to have the game maintain the action game vibe. My first thoughts of this game were more along the lines of castle crashers - essentially a brawler game with a guitar. The game then shifted towards a musical platformer. Seeing the limitations of the controller and thinking about the big mechanics, we realized that platforming just won't be fun by itself and that basic action game mechanics will feel "forced" onto the guitar.
What we settled on was an action game with the basic action mechanics but with guitar cords as attacks. With a normal controller, you're usually limited to combos that happen in a specific order (ex.: x, x, a). With a guitar, it is easy for the player to press multiple buttons in the same way one would play a guitar. Given the lack of flexibility with the guitar and our commitment to the action game play, the game won't flow in the way traditional action games flow. Our limitations with movement will force breaks in action and movement in the game. The idea of a guitar combo system will help make these breaks in action fun.
Potential Combo Attacks:
Spin move: if player is being overwhelmed
Uppercut move: Knock off shield
Enemy Launch: Paralyze enemy by launching them in the air
Guitar smash: player jumps up and smashed guitar down to attack enemies with weak top
Dash: Player can shoot behind enemy
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Main Character Mechanics
Before we get into the placement of enemies and the layout of levels, we have to settle on the abilities of the main character.
I think we could map blocking to a series of buttons rather than one, that way we have more buttons for attack and movement. I think jump could also be played with considering you attack more than you jump but I still think jump is a primary movement. The basic attacks are action game basics but the combos will make our game special. Here is my attempt:
Starting at the controls of the guitar:
Strum - movement left/right; attack left or right
1st button - jump (high enough to get onto platforms and over gaps)
2nd button - quick melee attack
Strum - movement left/right; attack left or right
1st button - jump (high enough to get onto platforms and over gaps)
2nd button - quick melee attack
3rd button - heavy melee attack
4th button - ranged attack (weaker damage, can be blocked by shields, slow rate of fire)
4th button - ranged attack (weaker damage, can be blocked by shields, slow rate of fire)
5th button - Use/activate
hold 2-4 down - block
Raise guitar - aim up
Lower guitar - aim down
Lower guitar - aim down
Whamy bar - Use the whammy bar like you do in guitar hero for lengthy attacks. For example: you ram your guitar into the heavy enemy, you then wag the whammy bar to increase damage.
The way I imagine weapons is that the melee won't change much outside of color and the guitar in the players hands. The ranged attacks are different depending on the guitar. The player unlocks a new guitar per world that they beat. They can then replay the game with the new guitar for different gameplay.
Weapons:
Metal guitar - basic attack
Shotgun Banjo - shotgun blast
Funky Bass - heavy attack
Keytar/synthesizer - Laser rifle
Unit Tactics:
Weak Unit - Any weapon attack works. Bigger threats should be tackled earlier
Ranged Unit high up - Ranged Unit can stun player and then player can get overrun by weaker units. Player has to get under the sniper and kill him quickly
Equal Unit - Combo attacks from the front. If player attacks quickly enough, block can be broken down and they can kill this unit. Weaker units should be killed first so player can focus on Equal.
Shielded Unit - Shield unit can't be killed from the front unless the player uses a special ability and it's earlier on. Player
Heavy Unit - Player must wait until cool down from heavy units attack for critical damage. Or use special weapon or ability to weaken.
Bomb/Suicide Unit - Ranged attack to blow up bomb before unit gets to player
Special Unit/Boss unit- require special strategy to kill
Enemy design and mechanics
Designing the enemies for Heroes of Rock is a bit of a challenge.
When I was thinking about the prototype, I really only imagined 2 different types of enemies: a generic weak unit and a boss type unit.
I've been doing a lot of research on design recently and it's been a great way to get my mind going about game design.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/175950/the_fundamental_pillars_of_a_.php?page=2
From an art stand point and a design perspective, I need to start thinking about the type of enemies I need to have in my game.
Right now we have 4 worlds/4 art themes planned for the game:Heavy Metal, Country, Hip Hop, Dubstep, (Hell). It's possible that in the final level, the main character will die and go to hell. I love that idea so we'll see how that pans out.
The plan right now is that there are 3 to 4 basic units that we can impliment in all of the worlds. Different skins might be used per world but mostly, they are employees of the Music Labels and evil corperate characters. Then per world, there are special art themed units or special ability units such as bomber/suicide enemies. As the character progresses to the other worlds, the basic units can be upgraded to enhance difficulty and to force new mechanics out of the player. Some of the units could get cosmetic changes such as silver to gold or get better shields (etc) to increase in difficulty and to change a little asthetically.
1 boss battle - To finish worlds and to mix up game play, I'd like a set piece sequence or a boss battle to conclude worlds. I want to break up the usual game play and I want to make some memorable moments.
Enemy Progression through worlds:
It is important for the enemies to change over time in variety and difficulty throughout the game. We want to introduce mechanics and tactics to the player over time and then we want to evolve those mechanics to make the game more interesting in later chapters. We introduce different elements world by world or level by level.
World 1: (Basic Attacks, combination of attacks)
Weak unit, equal unit, equal unit with shield
demon teleporting unit (ranged attack to stun, cannot kill with only melee)
World 2: (verticality, cleverness with speed)
Weak unit, equal unit, equal unit with shield, suicide unit
Ranged Sniper unit (kill from below), Lumberjack heavy unit (high damage)
World 3: (verticality both directions, heavy ranged unit)
Weak unit, equal unit, equal unit with shield, heavy suit unit, suicide unit
Ranged Sniper unit, missile launching unit (high damage range), bass unit (kill from above)
World 4: (speed, accuracy, increased difficulty)
Weak unit, metal equal unit, equal unit with shield, faster heavy suit unit, suicide unit
flying Ranged Sniper unit, flying missile launching unit (high damage range), moving bass unit (kill from above)
Hell: (quicktimey- guitar hero-esque, epic demon battle)
Final Boss battle - potentially shadow of colossus style quick time battle. Guitar hero battle?
When I was thinking about the prototype, I really only imagined 2 different types of enemies: a generic weak unit and a boss type unit.
I've been doing a lot of research on design recently and it's been a great way to get my mind going about game design.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/175950/the_fundamental_pillars_of_a_.php?page=2
From an art stand point and a design perspective, I need to start thinking about the type of enemies I need to have in my game.
Right now we have 4 worlds/4 art themes planned for the game:Heavy Metal, Country, Hip Hop, Dubstep, (Hell). It's possible that in the final level, the main character will die and go to hell. I love that idea so we'll see how that pans out.
The plan right now is that there are 3 to 4 basic units that we can impliment in all of the worlds. Different skins might be used per world but mostly, they are employees of the Music Labels and evil corperate characters. Then per world, there are special art themed units or special ability units such as bomber/suicide enemies. As the character progresses to the other worlds, the basic units can be upgraded to enhance difficulty and to force new mechanics out of the player. Some of the units could get cosmetic changes such as silver to gold or get better shields (etc) to increase in difficulty and to change a little asthetically.
- 4 base enemies + sub units
- weak - very low health, all attacks have effectiveness. Numbers are their strength
- ranged - ranged attack, sniper perch. Difficult to catch with melee attacks. low health. Could attack from below. Player should take this unit out first, getting shot by sniper could stun main character and make him open for attack.
- equal - Unit requires multiple hits or combos, block mechanic used by this enemy
- heavy - slow unit, can block most attacks from the front; weak from behind, below. Stunned when attacked with ranged attack multiple times from the front (blocking animation). Or heavy/special attack is required. Block doesn't work against attacks
- 1 - 2 special enemy per art theme (special units to make world special)
- Demon blood vomiting units or teleporting
- Lumberjacks - heavy melee attack
- jet pack flying sniper units - must get under to shoot and their moving
- missile launching unit - must dodge missile
- hummer unit - heavy vehicle to dodge and shoot, carries units
- Bass unit that shoots player into air - must get above unit to kill
- Robots heavy unit - super heavy unit, use special attacks
1 boss battle - To finish worlds and to mix up game play, I'd like a set piece sequence or a boss battle to conclude worlds. I want to break up the usual game play and I want to make some memorable moments.
Enemy Progression through worlds:
It is important for the enemies to change over time in variety and difficulty throughout the game. We want to introduce mechanics and tactics to the player over time and then we want to evolve those mechanics to make the game more interesting in later chapters. We introduce different elements world by world or level by level.
World 1: (Basic Attacks, combination of attacks)
Weak unit, equal unit, equal unit with shield
demon teleporting unit (ranged attack to stun, cannot kill with only melee)
World 2: (verticality, cleverness with speed)
Weak unit, equal unit, equal unit with shield, suicide unit
Ranged Sniper unit (kill from below), Lumberjack heavy unit (high damage)
World 3: (verticality both directions, heavy ranged unit)
Weak unit, equal unit, equal unit with shield, heavy suit unit, suicide unit
Ranged Sniper unit, missile launching unit (high damage range), bass unit (kill from above)
World 4: (speed, accuracy, increased difficulty)
Weak unit, metal equal unit, equal unit with shield, faster heavy suit unit, suicide unit
flying Ranged Sniper unit, flying missile launching unit (high damage range), moving bass unit (kill from above)
Hell: (quicktimey- guitar hero-esque, epic demon battle)
Final Boss battle - potentially shadow of colossus style quick time battle. Guitar hero battle?
Interesting UI and Menu Screens
In advertising, a "touch point" is any point in which a consumer interacts with your brand. The concept is that regardless of the intential use of a product, people may have different feelings about it due to experiences.
I've been thinking about this a lot in terms of game menus and UIs. The menu of a game is the first interaction you have with the game. It can set the tone and quality of the game before the player hits start. In my personal experience, when I buy a bundle of games, a menu may help me determine if I want to seriously play the game or skip on to the next game.
A prime example of a stylish menu is the Brutal Legend menu. Brutal Legend is an incredible inspiration for me, not just because of the themes that are similar to our game, but because every detail of the game is geared towards the themes and content. The tutorial pages, the help screens, and the UI are all great and very "metal." The menu of the game is just spectacular.
The opening sequence of my game starts in the main character's bed room. I was thinking of using that bedroom as the menu for the game. Due to the fact that we're using a guitar to control the menu, I imagined the menu to be more horizontal than vertical. As the player strums or scrolls, the camera will change to different sections and objects in the room to display different menu content.
These are just some ideas I had about making a special menu screen. I know it's stretch and not something that I should focus on now but I'd like every interaction in the game to be interesting, down to the menu screen. Production quality can be seen and having something special would immediatly stand out in the indie space.
I've been thinking about this a lot in terms of game menus and UIs. The menu of a game is the first interaction you have with the game. It can set the tone and quality of the game before the player hits start. In my personal experience, when I buy a bundle of games, a menu may help me determine if I want to seriously play the game or skip on to the next game.
A prime example of a stylish menu is the Brutal Legend menu. Brutal Legend is an incredible inspiration for me, not just because of the themes that are similar to our game, but because every detail of the game is geared towards the themes and content. The tutorial pages, the help screens, and the UI are all great and very "metal." The menu of the game is just spectacular.
The opening sequence of my game starts in the main character's bed room. I was thinking of using that bedroom as the menu for the game. Due to the fact that we're using a guitar to control the menu, I imagined the menu to be more horizontal than vertical. As the player strums or scrolls, the camera will change to different sections and objects in the room to display different menu content.
- For the controls, the camera flys to a guitar.
- For the credits, the camera flys to a signed Heros of Rock t shirt with our names
- For the level select, the camera looks at the wall with posters on the wall
- the different posters are respective to different game worlds
- different "tour locations" on the poster correlate to different levels
- A sound system represents continue game and start new game.
These are just some ideas I had about making a special menu screen. I know it's stretch and not something that I should focus on now but I'd like every interaction in the game to be interesting, down to the menu screen. Production quality can be seen and having something special would immediatly stand out in the indie space.
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