Unit 9
My game and final project “The Plague of Mary King’s Close” comes to an end. At least as far as the final project is concerned. I have many things that didn’t make it into the game and a few things that did make it that I had not planned for. This is a list of things I would like to add to the game at a later time.
First I wanted hazards in the game. I wanted to have people dumping filth out of the windows onto the player, or they would dump it and if the player ran through the filthy their speed would be halved. I also wanted the ghost of Mary King to appear and attack the player. I would have liked to have added a jump ability to be able to jump over these hazards.
I started off taking inspiration from an old NES game called “Caveman Games” and particularly one event of the game called “Dino Vault”. Players would set the height that they wanted to clear, which made the dinosaur you had to jump over taller for more difficulty. I wanted there to be more stages and the harder the stage would be, the taller the wall.
In the original idea I had for this game the player was not only judged by if they cleared the wall, but how far they got the dead body from the wall. I would like to get this in the game at some point. I originally wanted there to be multiple stages. Each stage would have it’s own objections. For instance a player might have to get 5 bodies over the wall in 30 seconds in one stage. The stages could have some platforming elements in them as well. I would have liked it if the player would have had one stage where the player had to ascend to a certain height with a body and throw them off at the top.
There are some things I wish I could have done differently. The major thing for me is that I wish I would have done this project from start to finish without trying to get help. Although, while I was waiting for my friend to program some of the game for me I got a lot of the art assets finished so I didn’t really lose out too much. I wish he could have actually helped me. I knew he was a good programmer. I guess he was either not really wanting to help and just being nice, or he might be bad at time management. I have no way of knowing.
All in all I am very happy with the game I have created. I have never tackled a game of this size on my own. Is it the best game ever, no, but I think it does what I wanted, it looks great, it is fun even though the actual game is rather simple. I think people will enjoy playing the game wrong more than playing it right. They could try for a high score, or they could see how many bodies they could pile up. I have had many people report doing just that. The game is left open for the player to decide what they want to do with it.
I think the best part of it is the look and feel. It is cute, funny and creepy all at the same time. I think it is a great starting point for a really fun to play game.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
What's New?
Unit 9
So there are a lot of new things in the Beta version of the game.
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/MKC_Beta/WebPlayer/MKC_Beta.html
The HUD
There is a properly working HUD. Before I had only had the power meter and the angle meter. There has been an update to the angle meter as well. There is now a red area, a hot spot so to speak. This is to let the player know that if they want to know when the best time to throw is, it's when the green marker is over the hot spot. It's also best to throw when the meter is on the way up, rather than on the way down. That's just a tip. In addition to the two meters there is now time, discarded, bodies, and total score. The bodies number let's you know how many you threw. The discarded number let's you know how many of the the bodies you threw actually made it over the wall. The score works in a funny way. It takes into account your accuracy, so it may show a high number, but if you miss, you lose a lot of points.
You may also notice a glowing green ring.
Pickup Point
There is now a pickup point, a spot to let you know that you are in a location for picking up bodies. This was not in the original plans, but as I was finishing up the game my wonderful wife pointed out she had no idea how to get any bodies. I decided to make a glowing green ring and start you off in the center of it. When you are in the ring, it's green. When you step out it turns red. It's a good thing this was brought up. My wife said "Well there are bodies laying all over the place, how was I to know?". That brings up another addition, the bodies. I decided to put them everywhere. The are really just there for aesthetic purposes.
The Instructions
Hey, would you look at that. The instructions finally come with the game. This is fairly simple. I had another idea on how to handle the instructions by showing a tutorial, but that will have to come some other day, when there is as much time as I want to do what I want. My biggest issue was I have two control setups. At the end I just thought it would be best to write it out. It's not fancy, but I feel lit gets the job done.
What Else?
There have been a lot of little tweaks done here and there. I had a lot I had to redo and a lot I still had to do. You used to only be able to throw one direction. The bodies would sometimes vanish. They still sort of do from time to time, but now they will pop back up. Before they just fell through the ground. The rigs for the bodies and the colliders would stay, they were invisible, but the mesh of the bodies wouldn't collide and would pass right through the ground. That had to be redone completely. Finally up until last night there were no sounds. I own 2 Digital Juice audio libraries and some other stuff I recorded myself. Many of the sound effects were recorded by me and edited in Adobe Audition.
What's Next?
Hopefully graduation. This has been a fun final project. It definitely gave me a few near panic attacks, but I am very proud of it. It's by far the best game I have done on my own. I have never programmed a game of this scale from start to finish. There is still more that I would like to do. I'd like to make the character jump. I'd like there to be obstacles and different hazards to slow you down. I'd like there to be multiple stages. I'd like some developer to see this and take some sort of interest. I could see redoing this for iPhone. The controls would really have to be update. We will see what happens.
So there are a lot of new things in the Beta version of the game.
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/MKC_Beta/WebPlayer/MKC_Beta.html
The HUD
There is a properly working HUD. Before I had only had the power meter and the angle meter. There has been an update to the angle meter as well. There is now a red area, a hot spot so to speak. This is to let the player know that if they want to know when the best time to throw is, it's when the green marker is over the hot spot. It's also best to throw when the meter is on the way up, rather than on the way down. That's just a tip. In addition to the two meters there is now time, discarded, bodies, and total score. The bodies number let's you know how many you threw. The discarded number let's you know how many of the the bodies you threw actually made it over the wall. The score works in a funny way. It takes into account your accuracy, so it may show a high number, but if you miss, you lose a lot of points.
You may also notice a glowing green ring.
Pickup Point
There is now a pickup point, a spot to let you know that you are in a location for picking up bodies. This was not in the original plans, but as I was finishing up the game my wonderful wife pointed out she had no idea how to get any bodies. I decided to make a glowing green ring and start you off in the center of it. When you are in the ring, it's green. When you step out it turns red. It's a good thing this was brought up. My wife said "Well there are bodies laying all over the place, how was I to know?". That brings up another addition, the bodies. I decided to put them everywhere. The are really just there for aesthetic purposes.
The Instructions
Hey, would you look at that. The instructions finally come with the game. This is fairly simple. I had another idea on how to handle the instructions by showing a tutorial, but that will have to come some other day, when there is as much time as I want to do what I want. My biggest issue was I have two control setups. At the end I just thought it would be best to write it out. It's not fancy, but I feel lit gets the job done.
What Else?
There have been a lot of little tweaks done here and there. I had a lot I had to redo and a lot I still had to do. You used to only be able to throw one direction. The bodies would sometimes vanish. They still sort of do from time to time, but now they will pop back up. Before they just fell through the ground. The rigs for the bodies and the colliders would stay, they were invisible, but the mesh of the bodies wouldn't collide and would pass right through the ground. That had to be redone completely. Finally up until last night there were no sounds. I own 2 Digital Juice audio libraries and some other stuff I recorded myself. Many of the sound effects were recorded by me and edited in Adobe Audition.
What's Next?
Hopefully graduation. This has been a fun final project. It definitely gave me a few near panic attacks, but I am very proud of it. It's by far the best game I have done on my own. I have never programmed a game of this scale from start to finish. There is still more that I would like to do. I'd like to make the character jump. I'd like there to be obstacles and different hazards to slow you down. I'd like there to be multiple stages. I'd like some developer to see this and take some sort of interest. I could see redoing this for iPhone. The controls would really have to be update. We will see what happens.
The Plague of Mary King's Close - Beta
Unit 9
This feels like it has been a long time coming, but here at last is the Beta version of "The Plague of Mary King's Close". All of the gameplay is working and I am very happy to say I made this. The menus all work, there is sound and music. I'd like to thank Digital Juice for the great sounds. I highly recommend checking them out for their great music and sound libraries. I am also very happy to say I made 100% of this game, from art to programming. It was tough for me, but I am thrilled with the results. Here is the Beta.
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/MKC_Beta/WebPlayer/MKC_Beta.html
This feels like it has been a long time coming, but here at last is the Beta version of "The Plague of Mary King's Close". All of the gameplay is working and I am very happy to say I made this. The menus all work, there is sound and music. I'd like to thank Digital Juice for the great sounds. I highly recommend checking them out for their great music and sound libraries. I am also very happy to say I made 100% of this game, from art to programming. It was tough for me, but I am thrilled with the results. Here is the Beta.
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/MKC_Beta/WebPlayer/MKC_Beta.html
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Beta (Unofficial)
Unit 9
This is the unofficial beta version. I still have a few things to do before it is considered final. I have to make the instruction button do something. I need to add a marker to show people where to stand to pick up bodies. I need to have a pause after time runs out so people can see their score before moving on to "Game Over". Most of all I need some sound. The game is basically completely playable though. Please enjoy.
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/Beta/WebPlayer/MKC_Beta.html
This is the unofficial beta version. I still have a few things to do before it is considered final. I have to make the instruction button do something. I need to add a marker to show people where to stand to pick up bodies. I need to have a pause after time runs out so people can see their score before moving on to "Game Over". Most of all I need some sound. The game is basically completely playable though. Please enjoy.
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/Beta/WebPlayer/MKC_Beta.html
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Re-Animating
Unit 8
I had to go back and add two animations for the main character. I made run and walk animations while the main character was holding, but none for when the main character didn't have anything to hold onto. I also was able to program the main character so all of the animations play when they are supposed to. Then I added another dead body asset. There are 2 dead body assets now. One is the ragdoll version that gets tossed. The other is the carried one, which has no ragdoll physics applied to it. The second one had to be animated to follow the actions of the main character. The dead body is then killed off when the player reaches the end of the toss animation and then the ragdoll version takes it's place.
I had to go back and add two animations for the main character. I made run and walk animations while the main character was holding, but none for when the main character didn't have anything to hold onto. I also was able to program the main character so all of the animations play when they are supposed to. Then I added another dead body asset. There are 2 dead body assets now. One is the ragdoll version that gets tossed. The other is the carried one, which has no ragdoll physics applied to it. The second one had to be animated to follow the actions of the main character. The dead body is then killed off when the player reaches the end of the toss animation and then the ragdoll version takes it's place.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Camera Man
Unit 8
I am very happy with the updates I have made recently. My favorite has to be the camera. I have been posting almost hourly builds on facebook for my friends to try. They all reported pretty much the same problems. The biggest was that I set the game up so that the player runs left. I don't know what I originally made this choice since I know as a gamer I was conditioned to run right for all games. The only thing I can think of is that my original inspiration for my game was Caveman Games for NES, the Pole Vault Event and in that game the player runs to the left. THis was a bad thing for my game because almost everyone reported running to the right and falling off the "world". I could have easily just put a collision wall there to keep them from running right, but then I thought it might be better to place the player character in the center of the environment and put walls on both sides of them so they could either throw over the left or right wall. This worked, except now my camera didn't make sense. I have the camera linked to the player controller. This worked fine if you only went one direction, but it didn't let you see far to the right. I decided to make code that let you see bother directions based on the speed the player is moving. This at first worked, but I noticed that the camera jerked into position making it a bit jarring. After much research I was able to add damping to the camera so it would smoothly switch. I'm patting myself on the back, but please understand this is coming from a non-programmer. It has really made me appreciate programmers, even though I had already thought very highly of them from when I used to work with them.
I am very happy with the updates I have made recently. My favorite has to be the camera. I have been posting almost hourly builds on facebook for my friends to try. They all reported pretty much the same problems. The biggest was that I set the game up so that the player runs left. I don't know what I originally made this choice since I know as a gamer I was conditioned to run right for all games. The only thing I can think of is that my original inspiration for my game was Caveman Games for NES, the Pole Vault Event and in that game the player runs to the left. THis was a bad thing for my game because almost everyone reported running to the right and falling off the "world". I could have easily just put a collision wall there to keep them from running right, but then I thought it might be better to place the player character in the center of the environment and put walls on both sides of them so they could either throw over the left or right wall. This worked, except now my camera didn't make sense. I have the camera linked to the player controller. This worked fine if you only went one direction, but it didn't let you see far to the right. I decided to make code that let you see bother directions based on the speed the player is moving. This at first worked, but I noticed that the camera jerked into position making it a bit jarring. After much research I was able to add damping to the camera so it would smoothly switch. I'm patting myself on the back, but please understand this is coming from a non-programmer. It has really made me appreciate programmers, even though I had already thought very highly of them from when I used to work with them.
A Little Personal
Unit 8
After stuggling with my ADHD last month I finally decided it was time to talk to my doctor about getting some medical help. This is something I should have decided last quarter, but I thought I was near the end and that maybe I could do this without it. I was optimistic, but wrong.
I used to take Ritalin in school and I swore I would never take it again because of some personal side effects. My doctor suggested Strattera, a non-stimulant ADHD medication. It sounded good so I took it for three and a half weeks. The medicine did very little to keep me focused and cause me, a generally jolly guy, to be gloomy. There were side effects with this as well and it made sleeping a literal nightmare. I called my doctor and said I would stop the pill and made an appointment to talk to him about alternative choices. The discussion went well and another prescription was written. I started my first dose last Monday and the results were not only immediate, but amazing. I have seen great improvement in both focus as well as production. It's been a good week for my final project. I am happy to have the game solely back in my hands and proud of what I was able to accomplish as far as programming is concerned. I was reading so many Unity help pages and learning so much that I nearly finished all of the programming I needed for things I was having major issues with. Before I could barely understand what was needed to not only knowing, but learning and finishing as well. I wish I had made this choice sooner.
After stuggling with my ADHD last month I finally decided it was time to talk to my doctor about getting some medical help. This is something I should have decided last quarter, but I thought I was near the end and that maybe I could do this without it. I was optimistic, but wrong.
I used to take Ritalin in school and I swore I would never take it again because of some personal side effects. My doctor suggested Strattera, a non-stimulant ADHD medication. It sounded good so I took it for three and a half weeks. The medicine did very little to keep me focused and cause me, a generally jolly guy, to be gloomy. There were side effects with this as well and it made sleeping a literal nightmare. I called my doctor and said I would stop the pill and made an appointment to talk to him about alternative choices. The discussion went well and another prescription was written. I started my first dose last Monday and the results were not only immediate, but amazing. I have seen great improvement in both focus as well as production. It's been a good week for my final project. I am happy to have the game solely back in my hands and proud of what I was able to accomplish as far as programming is concerned. I was reading so many Unity help pages and learning so much that I nearly finished all of the programming I needed for things I was having major issues with. Before I could barely understand what was needed to not only knowing, but learning and finishing as well. I wish I had made this choice sooner.
Friday, May 18, 2012
A Tough Decision
Unit 8
This week I had to make a tough decision. I was having a tough time getting in contact and communicating with my friend who was taking on some of my programming responsibilities. He is a good guy, but it just wasn't working out. I wasn't sure what he was working on or if he had finished anything. I decided to text him and let him know that I would complete this assignment on my own. I'm not upset with him. It was nice of him to make the gesture, but I had no communication with him the last week and it's tough to try and communicate with people who also have a full time job and family responsibilities. I will just have to finish this solo, but I will learn a lot more this way.
This week I had to make a tough decision. I was having a tough time getting in contact and communicating with my friend who was taking on some of my programming responsibilities. He is a good guy, but it just wasn't working out. I wasn't sure what he was working on or if he had finished anything. I decided to text him and let him know that I would complete this assignment on my own. I'm not upset with him. It was nice of him to make the gesture, but I had no communication with him the last week and it's tough to try and communicate with people who also have a full time job and family responsibilities. I will just have to finish this solo, but I will learn a lot more this way.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Alpha & Venting
Unit 7
I've recently taken on some help with my final project. I do really like getting help, it's just hard for me to ask for it sometimes. Part of me wants to control ever aspect of a project. It's a bad way to work. The problem I have is that I have nothing to offer the person I am asking for help, except to offer my thanks. This week was also very difficult for me to get the work done that I needed to get done. My family came into town for mother's day. They are moving here in July and they now have a house, so a lot of my very little free time was spent with them helping them with moving in. My other issue is I had to dump a lot of my project on a good pal to have them to help me get this programming done that is needed. He had family to be with and he has his own full time job, so it's hard for him and I to sometimes be able to work on things at the same time. I don't blame him in the slightest. I will have a great final project, but due to just asking for help at the end of the project my Alpha is not as far along as I had hoped. My friend has some great ideas to help me make things work much better.
I spent what time I did have getting some final assets together, which included 2 new animations. They can be seen in the new build. The run and the walk are new. Before the run and walk, as seen in video form in a previous post, had the main character in a running while holding, or walking while holding. Making these two animations should have been done at the beginning, but I missed it. Luckily the programmer I got brought it to my attention. He is currently working on making it so you can see all of the other animations, and have them work when you hit the correct buttons. That will have to be in the next build, or final build. I have a feeling the final will be a huge leap from the alpha. I am also working on the held version of the dead body. It is not a ragdoll, so it is being animated to work with the animations of the main character. This is not in the Alpha build. Finally I was able to get my environment in. There are many buildings. The stage will be shortened so it is only about two screen lengths wide. I am confident that I will have a nice final piece, but until then, enjoy the Alpha:
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/Alpha/WebPlayer/WebPlayer.html
I've recently taken on some help with my final project. I do really like getting help, it's just hard for me to ask for it sometimes. Part of me wants to control ever aspect of a project. It's a bad way to work. The problem I have is that I have nothing to offer the person I am asking for help, except to offer my thanks. This week was also very difficult for me to get the work done that I needed to get done. My family came into town for mother's day. They are moving here in July and they now have a house, so a lot of my very little free time was spent with them helping them with moving in. My other issue is I had to dump a lot of my project on a good pal to have them to help me get this programming done that is needed. He had family to be with and he has his own full time job, so it's hard for him and I to sometimes be able to work on things at the same time. I don't blame him in the slightest. I will have a great final project, but due to just asking for help at the end of the project my Alpha is not as far along as I had hoped. My friend has some great ideas to help me make things work much better.
I spent what time I did have getting some final assets together, which included 2 new animations. They can be seen in the new build. The run and the walk are new. Before the run and walk, as seen in video form in a previous post, had the main character in a running while holding, or walking while holding. Making these two animations should have been done at the beginning, but I missed it. Luckily the programmer I got brought it to my attention. He is currently working on making it so you can see all of the other animations, and have them work when you hit the correct buttons. That will have to be in the next build, or final build. I have a feeling the final will be a huge leap from the alpha. I am also working on the held version of the dead body. It is not a ragdoll, so it is being animated to work with the animations of the main character. This is not in the Alpha build. Finally I was able to get my environment in. There are many buildings. The stage will be shortened so it is only about two screen lengths wide. I am confident that I will have a nice final piece, but until then, enjoy the Alpha:
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/Alpha/WebPlayer/WebPlayer.html
Friday, April 27, 2012
Midpoint Prototype
Unit 6
Here is a new build of the game. There are new models with animation and the dead bodies have ragdoll physics. I have also found a programmer who will help me make the game a lot more functional. I have the main character's assets complete, and the dead body. The buildings are still placeholder, but I have the modelling done on the final art assets. They will go in this week. I will continue to work on the look of the game while my programmer friend cleans up my scripts and writes some things that I was struggling with. Enjoy the build. It is coming along, and currently is just silly.
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/Unit5Midpoint/WebPlayer/MKC_Prototype.html
Here is a new build of the game. There are new models with animation and the dead bodies have ragdoll physics. I have also found a programmer who will help me make the game a lot more functional. I have the main character's assets complete, and the dead body. The buildings are still placeholder, but I have the modelling done on the final art assets. They will go in this week. I will continue to work on the look of the game while my programmer friend cleans up my scripts and writes some things that I was struggling with. Enjoy the build. It is coming along, and currently is just silly.
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/Unit5Midpoint/WebPlayer/MKC_Prototype.html
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Plague Doc Model Finished & Textured
I finished unwrapping of the plague doctor. I then textured the final model. Below you can see some images of the character and the textures.
Front Three Quarter View - Textured
Back Three Quarter View - Textured
Side View - Textured
Mask Close Up - Textured
Plague Doc UVW Map
I started by unwrapping the character and separating the UV section.
I started by unwrapping the character and separating the UV section.
Base Colors
Then I picked the base colors I wanted the character to have. I colored sections in a way that let things like the mask and the character's hands stand out against the rest of the body.
Occlusion Map
I rendered an occlusion map to help with the shading to be applied with filters in Photoshop.
Shadow Map
I rendered a shadow map to push the shading further and also be applied with filters in Photoshop.
Plague Doc - Final Texture
This is the final result. I could take the texturing further, adding subtle details, but the character will never really be all that close to the camera, so it may make little difference. If needed, I may go back and add more detail if by chance I want to use the model for an up close image to be used on the title screen.
Next to come is rigging and skinning the character. Then I will be animating his cycles.
Next to come is rigging and skinning the character. Then I will be animating his cycles.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Prototype
Here is a proof of concept for my SCAD Final Project.
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/Prototype/WebPlayer/MKC_Prototype.html
The game is obviously not perfect but so far it is sort of enjoyable. I have set up the following button mapping for this prototype and USB Controllers do vary, so you may need to test different buttons than what follows:
Run- (Pressed Rapidly)
[SPACEBAR]
USB Controller Button 3
Launch Dead Body-
[Z]
USB Controller Button 2
Let me know what you think of this current setup. It may need to be switched to buttons 1 & 2, as not all USB controllers have multiple buttons. Some that choose to emulate that of old NES controller setup may only have 2 buttons.
Some flaws in the prototype and areas that I am working on fixing and things I have noticed are as follows. Currently you can throw as many bodies as you want. This is fun and funny to do, but is not how the final game will be played. The character will have to start the game and either already have 1 body in their grasp, or there will be a pile of bodies next to the player and the player will have to press a button to grab a body. They will then either be able to throw that body as they wish, or I may make it so they have a limited area that is a toss only zone so they have to toss the bodies then.
The player is only able to run left. In the final build the player will toss the body and then one of two things will happen. The camera will follow the flight of the body and the player will magically be transported back to the pile of bodies during this time, or the camera will always remain on the player and the player will have to run back to the bodies to grab another one.
There is no score. On the scoring I am torn. Part of me wants the score to be based on how far the bodies fly away from the wall you are tossing them over. Another part would like me to focus on just making the game about seeing how many bodies you can get rid of over a certain amount of time. Maybe to pass the lever you have to get rid of 10 bodies in 2 minutes, or you have 2 minutes and you have to get rid of at least 10 bodies, but there is a chance at being allowed to do as many as you are able to do as long as it is more than 10.
The character is sliding at the beginning. I am having trouble fixing this. I had it working until I added in the body tossing mechanics and the character began to slide down the hill again. The easiest thing for me to do is when I make the final art not to make the ground sloped. This is the easiest fix and I don't think there really needs to be a slope. The reason this might be the best solution is that if I make the street sloped and the player has to run back up the slope it might slow them down.
Let me know if you have any problems with the prototype, or let me know what you like and what you don't
http://3doodle.com/Unity/MCK/Prototype/WebPlayer/MKC_Prototype.html
The game is obviously not perfect but so far it is sort of enjoyable. I have set up the following button mapping for this prototype and USB Controllers do vary, so you may need to test different buttons than what follows:
Run- (Pressed Rapidly)
[SPACEBAR]
USB Controller Button 3
Launch Dead Body-
[Z]
USB Controller Button 2
Let me know what you think of this current setup. It may need to be switched to buttons 1 & 2, as not all USB controllers have multiple buttons. Some that choose to emulate that of old NES controller setup may only have 2 buttons.
Some flaws in the prototype and areas that I am working on fixing and things I have noticed are as follows. Currently you can throw as many bodies as you want. This is fun and funny to do, but is not how the final game will be played. The character will have to start the game and either already have 1 body in their grasp, or there will be a pile of bodies next to the player and the player will have to press a button to grab a body. They will then either be able to throw that body as they wish, or I may make it so they have a limited area that is a toss only zone so they have to toss the bodies then.
The player is only able to run left. In the final build the player will toss the body and then one of two things will happen. The camera will follow the flight of the body and the player will magically be transported back to the pile of bodies during this time, or the camera will always remain on the player and the player will have to run back to the bodies to grab another one.
There is no score. On the scoring I am torn. Part of me wants the score to be based on how far the bodies fly away from the wall you are tossing them over. Another part would like me to focus on just making the game about seeing how many bodies you can get rid of over a certain amount of time. Maybe to pass the lever you have to get rid of 10 bodies in 2 minutes, or you have 2 minutes and you have to get rid of at least 10 bodies, but there is a chance at being allowed to do as many as you are able to do as long as it is more than 10.
The character is sliding at the beginning. I am having trouble fixing this. I had it working until I added in the body tossing mechanics and the character began to slide down the hill again. The easiest thing for me to do is when I make the final art not to make the ground sloped. This is the easiest fix and I don't think there really needs to be a slope. The reason this might be the best solution is that if I make the street sloped and the player has to run back up the slope it might slow them down.
Let me know if you have any problems with the prototype, or let me know what you like and what you don't
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Progress Report.
This week I lost internet at my house because my modem final stopped working. It took too long for them to get me one so I drove to a ISP's location and just picked one up. This set my research back a little. Luckily I had a lot of research already done as far as the subject was concerned, but I needed to look up programming info for Unity. I posted one part that I will be using and that bit focuses on Rag Doll Physics. This will be applied to the dead bodies.
I've been continuing to work on the main character and unwrapping the UV's. This is about done. I finished my outline and asset lists so I could create a timeline to follow.
Research for the Ragdoll Physics
Ragdoll Wizard
Unity has a simple wizard that lets you create your own ragdoll in no time. You simply have to drag the different limbs on the respective properties in the wizard. Then select create and Unity will automatically generate all Colliders, Rigidbodies and Joints that make up the Ragdoll for you.
Creating the Character
Ragdolls make use of Skinned Meshes, that is a character mesh rigged up with bones in the 3D modeling application. For this reason, you must build ragdoll characters in a 3D package like Maya or Cinema4D.
When you've created you character and rigged it, save the asset normally in your Project Folder. When you switch to Unity, you'll see the character asset file. Select that file and choose from the menu bar. In the Import Settings dialog, make sure that Generate Meshes is not enabled.
Using the Wizard
It's not possible to make the actual source asset into a ragdoll. This would require modifying the source asset file, and is therefore impossible. You will make an instance of the character asset into a ragdoll, which can then be saved as a Prefab for re-use.
Create an instance of the character by dragging it from the Project View to the Hierarchy View. Expand its Transform Hierarchy by clicking the small arrow to the left of the instance's name in the Hierarchy. Now you are ready to start assigning your ragdoll parts.
Open the Ragdoll Wizard by choosing from the menu bar. You will now see the Wizard itself.
The Ragdoll Wizard
Assigning parts to the wizard should be self-explanatory. Drag the different Transforms of your character instance to the appropriate property on the wizard. This should be especially easy if you created the character asset yourself.
When you are done, click the . Now when you enter Play Mode, you will see your character go limp as a ragdoll.
The final step is to save the setup ragdoll as a Prefab. Choose from the menu bar. You will see a New Prefab appear in the Project View. Rename it to "Ragdoll Prefab". Drag the ragdoll character instance from the Hierarchy on top of the "Ragdoll Prefab". You now have a completely set-up, re-usable ragdoll character to use as much as you like in your game.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Introduction
This is a Development Blog for a game I am creating for my Masters Degree at SCAD. The game is tentatively titled "The Plague of Mary Kings Close".
During the winter of 1644 the black plague was reeking havoc in Edinburgh, Scotland. One place famous for deaths was a poverty area off of the Royal Mile, on a small narrow street, or close, called Mary Kings Close. During this time in Scotland the closer you lived to the street, the poorer, or lower the class you were. The streets were covered in filth. Those who lived higher up would simply throw their waste and filth off their eves, down to the streets below. This meant that the people who lived on the lowest levels would have to traverse through filth and garbage in order to go about their daily lives. This lead to the filth washing down the narrow street to water that surrounded Edinburgh, which also caused illness and death.
The Plague was caused by fleas, and flea bites. At the time they had not known this. The Plague Doctors wore masks that had a protruding beak that was filled with herbs, as they thought the illness could be spread by being inhaled. They would also cover themselves in a thick leather cloak to protect them. This is what actually caused them from getting sick because the fleas could not bite their skin. The dead would have to be hauled away, and the people were then relocated away from the dead and filth which lead to the end of the black plague.
In this game the player’s job is to take the dead, run down to the end of the close and throw the bodies over a wall and away from the water supply. The idea is to get a body, run as fast as possible by repeatedly pressing a button, during a specific point hit a button to start the angle of flight and hitting the same button to stop and select a specific angle and get close enough to the wall that the character will have a good speed, angle of flight and distance from the wall that the body will be tossed high and far enough to clear the wall and water. There may be different levels where a player is given an allotted amount of time and so many bodies to discard of, and as you progress to higher levels the amount of time stays the same, or more time is added to the current time the player has left and more bodies. This will allow for a sense of urgency to try and get done before time runs out, but the player’s score will be based on how far the bodies are, on an average, away from the water source. If the average falls beneath a certain amount or the time runs out, the player will lose.
Setting and Plot-
During the winter of 1644 the black plague was reeking havoc in Edinburgh, Scotland. One place famous for deaths was a poverty area off of the Royal Mile, on a small narrow street, or close, called Mary Kings Close. During this time in Scotland the closer you lived to the street, the poorer, or lower the class you were. The streets were covered in filth. Those who lived higher up would simply throw their waste and filth off their eves, down to the streets below. This meant that the people who lived on the lowest levels would have to traverse through filth and garbage in order to go about their daily lives. This lead to the filth washing down the narrow street to water that surrounded Edinburgh, which also caused illness and death.
The Plague was caused by fleas, and flea bites. At the time they had not known this. The Plague Doctors wore masks that had a protruding beak that was filled with herbs, as they thought the illness could be spread by being inhaled. They would also cover themselves in a thick leather cloak to protect them. This is what actually caused them from getting sick because the fleas could not bite their skin. The dead would have to be hauled away, and the people were then relocated away from the dead and filth which lead to the end of the black plague.
In this game the player’s job is to take the dead, run down to the end of the close and throw the bodies over a wall and away from the water supply. The idea is to get a body, run as fast as possible by repeatedly pressing a button, during a specific point hit a button to start the angle of flight and hitting the same button to stop and select a specific angle and get close enough to the wall that the character will have a good speed, angle of flight and distance from the wall that the body will be tossed high and far enough to clear the wall and water. There may be different levels where a player is given an allotted amount of time and so many bodies to discard of, and as you progress to higher levels the amount of time stays the same, or more time is added to the current time the player has left and more bodies. This will allow for a sense of urgency to try and get done before time runs out, but the player’s score will be based on how far the bodies are, on an average, away from the water source. If the average falls beneath a certain amount or the time runs out, the player will lose.
The Main Character-
The main character is either going to be named Dr. Rae after the famous plague doctor, or will be something made up, like Dr. Bird, Dr. Black or Dr. Crow. Below you can see some references, concept designs and a 3D character renders.Reference Photos-
Sketches-
WIP 3D Character-
The Environment Reference Photos-
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