Semester 2 Week 5 - Unity 5

Week 5 Unity

Alright. Same week, same story. The scripts gave me a bit of issues. I crashed because of constant fatigue for the past month and does not have the energy to fix every nook and cranny.

The good thing is I got everything except two working so that's good news.

First, the tutorial was okay enough. The Instantiate, box collider, etc. was easy to put in but for whatever reason refuses to work together. The food projectile does not collide with the animals, therefore can not destroy the GameObject.

This took too long to do for what's given.

The challenge was relatively simple but despite simplicity, it still refused to work. The ball spawner just needs to be moved up. The destroy object script for both objects can be confusing but I'll leave this late reminder/hint: click on the dog in the play mode and look at the dog's position in the inspector. If on your file, the dog is moving toward a negative direction, you have to change the script accordingly(This took almost an hour for me to figure out).

However, I tried everything I can to make sure the ball spawner spawned three balls instead of one. I even copy and pasted the script from this week's tutorial (of course with some adjustments). It still doesn't work...
At least I got the majority of them to work somehow.

The reading will have to be dropped this week, I've been trying to find more sources to make an adequate paragraph but to no avail. Finding journal and other peer-reviewed sources for game world purpose and game aesthetic choice is about as scarce as snow sticking to the ground in Ireland.

Game Vision Statement

Week 5 :Game Vision Statement

The game that I wanted to make as this year's Multimedia project is a simple, high-octane dodgeball video game. ‘Ultimate Dodgeball Deluxe’ is the name that I have given to the game.

‘Ultimate Dodgeball Deluxe’ is a first-person shooter where the player is put into a 3v3 dodgeball game with minor RPG-like customization options to spice up your gameplay.

Here I will explain to my best abilities how the game will progress.

At the beginning of the game:

l The player will pick a character out a roster of 6 different characters to choose as their team captain.

l You will then proceed to pick the two other members to make your team. The team’s composition will be entirely up to the player’s choice. You cannot pick duplicate characters on your team. However, the enemy can pick a character that you have already picked.

Eg. You have Character no.1 in your team and cannot pick another. The enemy can pick the same Character no.1 in their team.

Each character have different stats affecting their damage, defense and speed.

Certain traits can either help or hinder your gameplay, depending on how you play.

l You can then customize each character with gears and equipment that you acquire from completing levels and leveling up.

l Then both teams are put into an arena where the game will take place. The match will last 3 and a half minutes.

- The stage will comprised of two platforms on both sides of the map while a ditch in the middle separates the platforms.

- The two teams will be playing on their respective platforms.

- Anyone who tries to walk across the ditch in the middle will fall through it and be damaged. The individual will be sent back the their teams spawn point after falling through the ditch.

The game itself:

Player will able to perform the following actions:

l Attack: Players attack in various ways.

--A Normal Shot is fast to throw but weak, dealing little damage.

--A Charged Shot is more powerful and deals more damage but requires time to charge and easily predictable and avoidable.

l Defense: To counter the enemies’ attack, players have various ways to reduce the damage they take.

      --Dodge by simply moving out the way of the incoming balls. This is the most basic form of defending your health from dropping. 

      

      --Block reduces damage from incoming shots. However, since you move much slower in this stance, a charged shot can be very devastating.

Four mechanic (technically three) to use while fighting the other team.
Use them to your fullest.

l Movement: the movement is very standard in the game. WASD for movement and space for jumping. But here are some points to take into mind:

       --Jumping will help avoid shots coming towards your lower body, but beware of players trying to aim while you are vulnerable in the air. 

       

       --There is no sprinting in the game but everyone will be moving at a relatively fast speed at default (very much like DOOM).

Simple yet solid movement system. No sprint button, because constantly
hitting shift can hurt your hand in the long run.
I play Warframe. I know what that feels like.

Characters and Customization

All 6 characters play a role within the team. The roles can range from running around, sniping, tanking, etc. Their attack power, defense ability and movement speed all vary from one another and since you can pick any character to be in your team of 3, you can change your playstyle to great degrees.

The characters can be given equipment on the body and items to use in battle. Equipment can change your outer appearance and they can affect your stats positively and negatively. If you have a set of equipment of the same design/theme, you may even gain bonus stats or special benefits. Items can be used to give your character a temporary boost/power-up to assist you in the game.

Mix and Match your gear or gather sets to improve stats further.
*This is a reference that took too long to draw.
No points this time.

After the game:

After the winner is decided, the player will gain some EXP points. Every level increased will reward the player with equipment, items and even some new characters. This will give players further options to play around with in future playthrough. You can also earn credits based on the mission itself and your performance which you can spent on one-use items. This should encourage players to come back and play another round.

Resources required (may change in the future):

The game will be made entirely in Unity. Each character available could either be colour-coded or have unique textures, depending on the eventual scope of the project. However, their physique will be very apparent, ranging from large to petite so they may be easy to identify from a distance. The balls launched from the characters should also have a distinct colour depending on who fired them.

As of now there should be 4 maps to play around with with one tutorial map. The tutorial map should be as plain as possible. But it should be a playing ground where the player can test out characters, playstyles, items and general movement.

The other four maps should have a central theme around the design; elevation, maneuverability, cover, etc. Which should affect the player’s approach to winning the match.

This is all I can offer for now. If you have any opinions of what to improve or change please put a comment below.

Thank you for reading.

Have a nice day.

(if you notice something weird with the format, it's because I typed this in Word and pasted to the blog. Word can be used as a cheap proof-reading tool, if you want to now. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

Unity Tutorial 3

Unity Tutorial 3 - Week 5

Ok, we were using a tutorial from a different site this week and I have to say, 'it's not the best'. This dynamic clock that we're making is alot harder to follow compared to the tutorials we had before.
The clock itself is mainly comprised of the normal shapes we can simply add in like cubes and cylinders. the indicators and the hour indicators are the same as well. Although the clock hands had some positioning issues at first for me, it was immediately resolved.

The making of the clock face, the hour indicators and all the arms was fine up until the part where I have to put in the script where the many issues came up.

First of all, the codes were too long and repetitive to a degree. Perhaps it's just that I'm not too fond of coding, I couldn't follow the tutorial very well.

There's also the case where because perhaps due to the older 2017 version of Unity not containing the codes necessary for certain parts of the tutorial. Check out this image below:

11 errors. Doesn't it just look wonderful...

There are certain codes that visual studio doesn't recognize and they appear as red-lines on the studio. I just don't know why this is going wrong. I downloaded a new version of visual studio and that didn't work so I assumed that Unity may not have the codes in its files and therefore cannot recognize it. 

If you're having the same issue, give me a comment talking about this problem or give solutions in case anyone in the comment have the same issue.

Thank you for reading.
Have a nice day.

Games MDA

Games Mechanics Dynamics and Aesthetics

Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics are what makes up the entirety of a game.

Mechanics serves are the gears and bolts of the game. They have a defined role in setting up the premise of the game, giving players the idea of how the game works and how their actions work and affect the game.

Dynamics comes from the things that happen during gameplay when the mechanics are set in motion. The strategies players use, what actions they choose to take in certain scenarios, etc. How players interact with one another under certain events and circumstances.

Aesthetics is what makes the game stand out among its own genres with similar or identical designs. Visual elements, responsiveness, narrative, etc. This affects the player experience of the game, whether if the play is fun, difficult, boring or interesting.


I had very little idea of how to actually define fun in games. I had the idea that the game create different stimulus for different people depending on what they love. Eg. If you are stimulated by Role-Paying Games but aren't stimulated by First-Person Shooters, You won't find FPS games fun as much as you do with RPG. It's a simple way of understanding.
From the readings, it's nice that the " Eight Kinds of 'Fun' " points out in a simple manner what people look for in a game and what people find fun.

Do you recall the game 'Dark Souls' and its famously known difficulty? Surely a game that's difficult is not fun right? It's like saying you have a hard job but doesn't earn any income with it. This is simply not the case. The MDA of 'Dark Souls' is reinforced in its difficulty. The game's MDA all compliment its bleak, distraught, fantasy world and people really enjoyed it.
Here's a video by Extra Credits talking about difficult games and how they can be fun:
Link.

I have a personal ideal that I stand by. Unlike most product models, where people ask for something, the designer researches a product  and delivers them accordingly. 
Games are different. The designers have to come up with an idea for a game, design it well in their vision, and deliver it to the public while people play it. They will either universally agree that it's good or bad, some split between the two opinions. 

This is how when game companies make sequels they either make a masterpieces or flunks completely. Their quality in design either just replicates what they did before with little to no originality of any scale. The Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics of these games either never changed or changed in the wrong direction to the point where the game fails to deliver the feeling that they once had delivered. These game are then no longer "fun".
One of the worst examples of games which went down this path is Fallout 76 and it's various shenanigans: Here's a video by the Internet Historian on the subject.


A game with a solid Mechanic will function like a knife through butter: It's satisfying to play because it works and it works well.
A game with interesting Dynamics will make player feel like they're figuring things out and using that knowledge to play better or differently.
A game with wonderful Aesthetics will be stuck in your head long after play by striking an incredible impression on you.

Despite Blizzard's controversies over the few days, I can not deny the fact that some of their games are just very good and worth talking about. One awesome example is Starcraft 2, a great sequel to the previous one. This game has a solid Real-Time Strategy mechanic that has improved on the past. The dynamics will show itself as you become more an more familiar and proficient withe game. The sci-fi aesthetic of the game is almost grandeur because of the detail they put into the games's design, artwork, lore and backgrounds. 

The Starcraft 2 Field Manual showing you some detailed and informative images along with interesting background info. It's a really fun and amusing read because you can see the details and thought that was put into the game. Check it out here: Link.

Page 11 of the Starcraft 2 Field Manual.
There so many pages with this level attention and care.
What's not to love about this?

I hope you enjoyed my nonsensical rambling at 1:46 AM in the morning.
Hope you liked my blog.
Have a nice day.