Sub-group of UC-NM1-2007Created for final game project
Week 1 – Start of Production
During week one we will set out to gather resources for the production of our game, and integrate the concepts we have decided on. The priority of this week is to develop the basis of the game, such as a template for level development, designs and preliminary sketches for the units and objects to be used in game.
We will also develop a concept for the music to be used in the game. This first week of production will also be a good chance for group members to get to know each other and to work on clearly defining the creative vision for the project.
This includes the development of a narrative for the game.
Week 2 – Music/Sound
Week two will involve creating demo music and choosing a suitable sound and ambient tracks that suits the concept of the game. We aim to have a basic template design complete with basic coding and animation. During this week we want to have a defined interface layout for the game including a very rough working visual representation of the desired product.
Week 3 – Unit Design and Sound
This week will be focused on unit designs and incorporating those units into the game. Creating the animation for these units will also commence.
Images will be created and incorporated into the game. Music and sound effects will be created.
Week 4 – Bringing it Together
During week four we aim to have brought together all the elements of the game. During this week we hope to start beta-test the game to find any bugs, which may disrupt game-play.
Week 5 – Testing
In this week we shall continue incorporating the various elements of the game and beta-testing the resulting product.
Week 6 testing / completion / critiquing
Final week for beta-testing, and start of pre-release test. Everything shall be finished and ready for distribution by the due date of this project.
Pre-Production Report
DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS PROJECT, THE INFORMATION OUTLINED WITHIN THIS DOCUMENT MAY BE OBSOLETE BY THE DUE DATE.
Project Introduction
This project is to be developed for the New Media 1 subject at the University of Canberra. The project is designed to convey an idea relevant to real-life situations. The project will be completed in 6 weeks and the final release version to be uploaded to the mytoons.com website for assessment.
Attached at the end of this document is the work breakdown structure and the timeline for this project.
Primary Materials
Sound effects for the various weapons will be gained through various sources available online. Some sites we may use are:
• http://www.a1freesoundeffects.com/weapons.html
• http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/fight.shtml
• http://www.stonewashed.net/explosions.html
Two members of our group will develop music in-house for this project.
One is a musician talented with many different instruments (guitar, piano, ukulele to name a few) and the other is a respected local DJ.
Game Concept
The concept of the game was developed during a team meeting. Several possibilities were discussed, including but not limited to variants of chess, space shooters and RPGs.
Finally we settled on an idea that is innovative enough to be different, although the actual game concept has existed for quite some time.
The game will be Real Time Strategy styled, but with no control over the player’s units other than the placement of obstacles.
Borrowing from the types of games we discussed, we have agreed to create a game in which:
• A grid based playing field is in use
• Player has to protect a key unit.
• Player is rewarded with protective units incrementally after a number of enemies are vanquished.
• Player has no control over his own units other than the position of defensive structures
• Defensive structures are in use, such as barb wire fences, trenches, walls etc.
• Enemy units wear down defensive structures on contact
• At this point in time we are undecided whether to include units with ranged attack ability.
The player has a limited amount of workers and can alternate them from building obstacles to defending the King.
The player can allocate all the workers to construct obstacles, which can then be dragged and dropped into position. However, as the opposition always outnumbers the number of workers, destruction of those obstacles is inevitable, in which case there will be no defenders protecting the King.
Each level will have differing terrain conditions.
Units and Obstacles
Currently we have decided on having two units acting as obstacles, and one unit type for the player.
The Worker
The worker is the base unit for the player. It can be allocated to either build obstacles or help defend the king. As stated above, we are currently undecided as to whether this unit will have ranged attack ability.
Obstacles
The obstacles we have decided upon at this point in time are the basic wall, and the barbwire fence.
The wall does no damage to the opposing units, but does stop them for a certain length of time.
The barbwire fence is basically the same as the wall, but it does do some slight damage to the opposing units.
Enemy Units
At this point in time we have only designed a single type of enemy unit, a dumb, walk-in-a-straight-line-towards-objective type unit. However this will probably change during the course of the game production.
Project Focus and Concept
The idea we are trying to convey is how a well organised few can overcome a disorganised enemy. The game focuses on logistical decisions to overcome an enemy rather than brute strength. The concept presented here is to parallel with managerial positions in the work force (work delegation to achieve a goal).
Several real-world comparisons can be made here, some combat orientated, and others not. For example, in the Vietnam War, Australian troops (the workers), numbering approximately 100, defended their base (the King) of Long Tan from a numerically superior force (opposition). Estimates of the number of Viet Cong vary from 700 to 2500.
Other parallels include Hiroshima, the target for the first nuclear bomb to be used in combat, which was rebuilt just 10 years after its destruction.
Narrative
Currently we have not implemented a narrative at this point in time, however story boarding is in process.
Intended Audience
The intended audience of this game are 8 to 15 year olds who are interested in improving their understanding of logistics and command.
As this is a flash game, the most effective way of reaching our intended audience will be through the internet. The game will be uploaded to several free hosting sites for content similar to ours, such as mytoons.com.
Background Information
Relationship of Project to Other games
The game concept is influenced by several existing games. The objective of the game is to protect the king, and is played on a grid-based playing field, concepts borrowed from Chess. Interaction is through the use of the mouse. We did want to create an interface-free layout (ala Grim Fandango, a game in which there was no interface, the player interacted with the game environment purely with the mouse), but the inability to right-click in flash games squashed that layout design. Having the left button open up a menu was deemed to be too complex and due to the time constraints of this project we decided to focus our efforts to other parts of the game.
A game that heavily influenced our idea is known as Shock Defence (available on the internet as a flash game). As in Shock Defence, the obstacles are dragged and dropped on to the playing field from the interface. Opposing units enter from the top and make their way towards the bottom. However that is where the similarities end.
Perhaps the game closest to ours both in format and concept is a promotional game developed by those who had developed Stronghold 2, known as Castle Attack 2. This game was designed to be spread over the internet (thus it was small in size), and to promote the PC game Stronghold 2. It featured having the player make logistical decisions in real time.
Despite all the similarities with the games mentioned above, we hope to develop our idea into a unique experience.
Conclusion
The concepts outlined above are the basis on which we intend to develop our project. However, because of certain project and time constraints, some aspects of this project will change. Features will be added or removed, and as such the timeline for this project will have changed significantly from the submission of this report to the date this assessment is due.