Monday, March 22, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
SL Adventures: Goth Club
Some of the characters at Nocturnia Designs' Club Zero. I love the outfits of the couple chained together in the back.
The DJ shows off her "crazy hair". I'm still not sure what to think.
Loving this dude's demonic style. There's my noob avatar dancing in the background. I do love listening to The Birthday Massacre, though.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
SL Caledon Oxbridge Village Exploration
While exploring the Caledon Oxbridge Village in Second Life, Linden Lab’s 3D virtual world, I noticed a few patterns. Since Oxbridge Village is part of the Independent State of Caledon, a series of Estate Sims following a “steampunk” theme, the scenery and design for each of these in-world settlements adhere loosely to both steam-powered scientific and technological breakthroughs as well as a 19th century Victorian flavor. Going into the world, I was initially looking to see how well the Victorian theme was implemented as well as the sci-fi, fantastical technology theme. I noted that Oxbridge Village successfully created a convincing atmosphere of a living world, blending both these themes by including transportation and historically accurate architecture, clothes, and behavior. The village’s structure additionally supported an emphasis on commerce.
> Period and Steampowered Transportation:
A stone bridge linked this island to Caledon Caer Firnas, with a steam locomotive train running along the tracks. I also found a flying airplane and saw an airship in the distance over the adjacent SteamSkyCity.
> Architecture and Scenery:
Island is scenic, deserted and removed, only connected to the next town via the train. Colonial style houses lined the streets almost like a southern town, though most of the residences were empty or had shops on the inside. Houses were largely unfurnished but outfitted with well matched and subtly elegant floorboards, tiles, oriental rugs and floral/geometric wallpapers. Other features included clearly marked shops. Architecture is gorgeous and spot on- mix of elegant colonial and romantic Victorian style houses and more industrial looking equipment such as 2 factory looking buildings (that were clothing shops on the inside), and steam generators (large copper looking protrusions from the ground).
Other buildings included whimsical Dodo Redux, an elegantly furnished restaurant/bar with places to sit, and 1 observatory type place with clocks, moving solar system models, and an open roof to view the night sky.
I also saw what seemed to be a university, and interestingly enough on the inside consisted of a series of rooms interlinked by passageways and teleporters that displayed bulletin boards with information for visitors. For example, the “College of Comunication” room held 10 bulletin boards outlining proper etiquette, just like in the real Victorian era: no begging, friendship regulations, courtesy regulations, region ratings/avoiding sexual behavior, use of weapons, privately owned properties, community standards- “we hold ourselves to a higher standard of manners”, and says “period clothing and behavior are encouraged and welcomed". Bulletin boards in other rooms concern a tutorial on chatting in SL (10 bulletin boards in first room) and a Dodo bird museum exibit, though it didn’t really have too much information past noting the dodo bird is “known for his handsome tail and sparkling conversation”, which I witnessed firsthand when the stuffed bird talked to me, repeated what I said, and gave me a kiss when I asked nicely. The“colleges” or sections of the university, are separated by category relating to the bulletin boards in each to teach the user something about camera control or basic movement in Second Life. Example- there was a bulletin board that would instruct you to fly up to a whale skeleton, and type in the word engraved there to receive a prize.
Natural scenery is notable: Weeping willows drooping over roads, cobbled roads, night/day cycles show a gorgeous sunset, 1 park with a brook, 1 private garden with fountains, benches, flowers and trellises.
Although I didn't see any steampunk attired inhabitants while I was on the island (besides 1 woman that stayed for 2 minutes dressed in jeans and a t shirt), the scope of the Caledon world was suggested in the variety of products displayed at all the shops. A big, Victorian style house that looked like a residence but was a shop on the inside was selling couple’s poses and romantic and cosy furniture. The Steampunk Emporium sold furnishings, crudely technological accessories, clothing such as top hats, steampunk firearms, and even textures for building houses. Alice in Caledon advertised ladies' apparel and dresses, as well as 2 other shops devoted to womens' wear too (I didn't find any shops devoted entirely to menswear). Another more modern looking brick building held a Caledon Oxbridge Fencing game inside, though I saw no combatants. Inside 2 factories, I found clothes for sale as well as everything from top hats and pocket watches to books, furniture, an air krakken, kites, a carousel: smaller items cost 100-400 linden dollars usually, with larger animated items like the kraken priced at 1000 or over.
One thing I found interesting was how the SL prices didn't seem to correspond to real world prices or values at all. For example, a gun with many bullet animations from the Steampunk Emporium is priced at 200-400 LD, the same price as an entire airship. Something strange I found was an advertisement for Na'vi avatars based on the characters from Jame Cameron's AVATAR movie- I didn't think this fit with the Victorian theme though it was loosely sci fi.
Leading off from the main circle around the central park of the town, I found The Markets on Thistle Hill, a circle of vending stands and buildings that were clearly shops: Circle of 10 shops; 3 were spaces for rent, 1 selling classic elegant jewelry, 1 selling toys and office items, all Victorian styled; 1 selling valentine’s day type things; 1 selling period dress; some selling Victorian furniture.
> Period and Steampowered Transportation:
The village was laid out in a loose grid surrounding the central park and gazebo. Cobbled streets branched off in all four directions, with shops and houses situated along them. Streets were marked with lampposts and street names. 2 or 3 stagecoaches were there to carry passengers in a fixed route along the streets! How quaint.
A stone bridge linked this island to Caledon Caer Firnas, with a steam locomotive train running along the tracks. I also found a flying airplane and saw an airship in the distance over the adjacent SteamSkyCity.
> Architecture and Scenery:
Island is scenic, deserted and removed, only connected to the next town via the train. Colonial style houses lined the streets almost like a southern town, though most of the residences were empty or had shops on the inside. Houses were largely unfurnished but outfitted with well matched and subtly elegant floorboards, tiles, oriental rugs and floral/geometric wallpapers. Other features included clearly marked shops. Architecture is gorgeous and spot on- mix of elegant colonial and romantic Victorian style houses and more industrial looking equipment such as 2 factory looking buildings (that were clothing shops on the inside), and steam generators (large copper looking protrusions from the ground).
Other buildings included whimsical Dodo Redux, an elegantly furnished restaurant/bar with places to sit, and 1 observatory type place with clocks, moving solar system models, and an open roof to view the night sky.
I also saw what seemed to be a university, and interestingly enough on the inside consisted of a series of rooms interlinked by passageways and teleporters that displayed bulletin boards with information for visitors. For example, the “College of Comunication” room held 10 bulletin boards outlining proper etiquette, just like in the real Victorian era: no begging, friendship regulations, courtesy regulations, region ratings/avoiding sexual behavior, use of weapons, privately owned properties, community standards- “we hold ourselves to a higher standard of manners”, and says “period clothing and behavior are encouraged and welcomed". Bulletin boards in other rooms concern a tutorial on chatting in SL (10 bulletin boards in first room) and a Dodo bird museum exibit, though it didn’t really have too much information past noting the dodo bird is “known for his handsome tail and sparkling conversation”, which I witnessed firsthand when the stuffed bird talked to me, repeated what I said, and gave me a kiss when I asked nicely. The“colleges” or sections of the university, are separated by category relating to the bulletin boards in each to teach the user something about camera control or basic movement in Second Life. Example- there was a bulletin board that would instruct you to fly up to a whale skeleton, and type in the word engraved there to receive a prize.
Natural scenery is notable: Weeping willows drooping over roads, cobbled roads, night/day cycles show a gorgeous sunset, 1 park with a brook, 1 private garden with fountains, benches, flowers and trellises.
> Commerce:
Although I didn't see any steampunk attired inhabitants while I was on the island (besides 1 woman that stayed for 2 minutes dressed in jeans and a t shirt), the scope of the Caledon world was suggested in the variety of products displayed at all the shops. A big, Victorian style house that looked like a residence but was a shop on the inside was selling couple’s poses and romantic and cosy furniture. The Steampunk Emporium sold furnishings, crudely technological accessories, clothing such as top hats, steampunk firearms, and even textures for building houses. Alice in Caledon advertised ladies' apparel and dresses, as well as 2 other shops devoted to womens' wear too (I didn't find any shops devoted entirely to menswear). Another more modern looking brick building held a Caledon Oxbridge Fencing game inside, though I saw no combatants. Inside 2 factories, I found clothes for sale as well as everything from top hats and pocket watches to books, furniture, an air krakken, kites, a carousel: smaller items cost 100-400 linden dollars usually, with larger animated items like the kraken priced at 1000 or over.
One thing I found interesting was how the SL prices didn't seem to correspond to real world prices or values at all. For example, a gun with many bullet animations from the Steampunk Emporium is priced at 200-400 LD, the same price as an entire airship. Something strange I found was an advertisement for Na'vi avatars based on the characters from Jame Cameron's AVATAR movie- I didn't think this fit with the Victorian theme though it was loosely sci fi.
Leading off from the main circle around the central park of the town, I found The Markets on Thistle Hill, a circle of vending stands and buildings that were clearly shops: Circle of 10 shops; 3 were spaces for rent, 1 selling classic elegant jewelry, 1 selling toys and office items, all Victorian styled; 1 selling valentine’s day type things; 1 selling period dress; some selling Victorian furniture.
Later, I attended a krakken event on the Caledon Caer Firnas island, but when I arrived, I watched the 5 people there engaging in a shooting range competition instead and I didn't see the krakken. At least I got a free rifle out of it! As one might expect, the people I saw and talked to spoke formally, like one might expect someone in the Victorian era to speak; 1 was dressed in a more technological, grungy steampunk outfit while the rest were sporting more Victorian outfits. This also gave me a chance to witness more themed vehicles- a steam powered large "walker" and a mini airship someone's avatar was riding in.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Qualitative Research: A first look at Second Life
Although I'm no stranger to the popular online virtual world Second Life, delving deeper into the imaginative and complex subcultures that thrive in the digital realm will be a new experience for me. In order to feel comfortable enough studying communities I find there, I'll need to feel comfortable in my own digital skin.
In Second Life, the avatar you control reflects your individuality and presents an image of you to everyone you meet and interact with. When I first joined SL, I was dissatisfied with my avatar- even after tweaking and playing with the settings to alter your avatar's default body shape and facial features, a new user is still left with a basic looking character. After becoming comfortable using the interface for movement and growing accustomed to navigating my inventory, I found a few other items for my avatar. I outfitted her with some less blocky looking flowing hair more suited to my style, and a few accessories including a bass guitar. I also used SL's building/object creation feature to create a rudimentary lightsaber just for experimentation's sake that didn't end up looking too shabby, although now my avatar looks like a rogue Jedi that just escaped from some rock concert on Coruscant or a grungy cantina bar.
As I explore more communities and regions in SL, I plan to pick up more realistic and attractive looking skins and faces and outfits to further customize my avatar.
Why yes, I am on a pirate ship.
In Second Life, the avatar you control reflects your individuality and presents an image of you to everyone you meet and interact with. When I first joined SL, I was dissatisfied with my avatar- even after tweaking and playing with the settings to alter your avatar's default body shape and facial features, a new user is still left with a basic looking character. After becoming comfortable using the interface for movement and growing accustomed to navigating my inventory, I found a few other items for my avatar. I outfitted her with some less blocky looking flowing hair more suited to my style, and a few accessories including a bass guitar. I also used SL's building/object creation feature to create a rudimentary lightsaber just for experimentation's sake that didn't end up looking too shabby, although now my avatar looks like a rogue Jedi that just escaped from some rock concert on Coruscant or a grungy cantina bar.
As I explore more communities and regions in SL, I plan to pick up more realistic and attractive looking skins and faces and outfits to further customize my avatar.
Why yes, I am on a pirate ship.
Friday, December 18, 2009
My Final Game Analysis Walkthrough: Sushi Samurai
I put my own knowledge of game design to work to create Sushi Samurai, the small, action/adventure platforming game I created in GameMaker 7 for my final project. After hours of painstaking work and planning, frustrating programming, and often disappointing setbacks, I now have an idea of what it's actually like to produce the games we play. Lackluster content and buggy mechanics aside, I think the most successful aspect of my game is the overall story and concept.
My game aesthetic takes the traditionally cutesy, quirky concept of animate sushi with a darker, grittier feel of more mature action and fighting games; while the environments look about as semi realistic as 2D platforms on a gridded-out object placement system could look, the idea of the game is to navigate through the mossy stones and mountain precipices to collect sushi ingredients. The otherwise muscular, mean-looking samurai hero is dressed in ironically hot pink and neon green armor, lending a charming look to the game.
The monsters are clearly sushi rolls, although they certainly look evil and menacing with bugged out eyes and gaping mouths of sharp teeth. The Dragon Roll boss monster is only slightly more frightening than his smaller minions, with the addition of taloned limbs and the ability to breathe dangerous, fiery projectiles at the hero.
While the story is basic, unfolding through only two levels, it makes sense in the context of the story and drives the action. Text alerts substituting for cutscenes speak to the player as if they were the samurai hero, informing you that you must climb the mountain to return pieces of cursed sushi to the mighty Dragon Roll, a huge sushi roll currently possessed by an evil spirit that has killed your father, a master sushi chef, and is holding his spirit hostage. Once the player collects all the sushi pieces, they are prompted to defeat the monster before entering the final level, where they must dodge fireballs the Dragon Roll spews around the cave and hit him 10 times to defeat him and avenge the hero's father.
Although I'm proud of the overall result of my game, I wish I could have fixed a lot of problems I didn't get to as a result of time constraints and the confusing, often unpredictable and fineckey GameMaker software. The two levels are short and lacking content, and I'd initially planned to include some other pickups to enrich gameplay; there might be some health boosters, or pickups that would make the player temporarily invincible, as well as an extra costume for the hero or a ranged weapon even that would serve as milestone rewards to keep the player interested. I had also wanted to add more complex levels, complete with ladders to climb, keys to get, traps to avoid, and doors to extra areas to open.
I also wanted to add more sprite animations to further characterize the hero and the sushi enemies; I had actually made animated gifs of a walk cycle and an action of the samurai swinging his sword, but I could only include 1 image for the fight sequence; for some reason my game would freeze when more than a single frame of an image was included as the sprite, even though I had included an action for the fighting hero object to turn back into the default hero object after the animation had ended. I had also intended for the sushi minions to have zombie walks and attack animations, although this didn't work out, and my attempted "AI" system (would pace along paths, sense the presence of the hero when he got close enough to attack him, and follow him after that) for the enemies seemed to crash my game and cause glitches.
In the end, I had to simplify some of the grander ideas I had initially had for my game. It was certainly an experience though.
And here it is:
http://www.yoyogames.com/games/106293-samurai-sushi
My game aesthetic takes the traditionally cutesy, quirky concept of animate sushi with a darker, grittier feel of more mature action and fighting games; while the environments look about as semi realistic as 2D platforms on a gridded-out object placement system could look, the idea of the game is to navigate through the mossy stones and mountain precipices to collect sushi ingredients. The otherwise muscular, mean-looking samurai hero is dressed in ironically hot pink and neon green armor, lending a charming look to the game.
The monsters are clearly sushi rolls, although they certainly look evil and menacing with bugged out eyes and gaping mouths of sharp teeth. The Dragon Roll boss monster is only slightly more frightening than his smaller minions, with the addition of taloned limbs and the ability to breathe dangerous, fiery projectiles at the hero.
While the story is basic, unfolding through only two levels, it makes sense in the context of the story and drives the action. Text alerts substituting for cutscenes speak to the player as if they were the samurai hero, informing you that you must climb the mountain to return pieces of cursed sushi to the mighty Dragon Roll, a huge sushi roll currently possessed by an evil spirit that has killed your father, a master sushi chef, and is holding his spirit hostage. Once the player collects all the sushi pieces, they are prompted to defeat the monster before entering the final level, where they must dodge fireballs the Dragon Roll spews around the cave and hit him 10 times to defeat him and avenge the hero's father.
Although I'm proud of the overall result of my game, I wish I could have fixed a lot of problems I didn't get to as a result of time constraints and the confusing, often unpredictable and fineckey GameMaker software. The two levels are short and lacking content, and I'd initially planned to include some other pickups to enrich gameplay; there might be some health boosters, or pickups that would make the player temporarily invincible, as well as an extra costume for the hero or a ranged weapon even that would serve as milestone rewards to keep the player interested. I had also wanted to add more complex levels, complete with ladders to climb, keys to get, traps to avoid, and doors to extra areas to open.
I also wanted to add more sprite animations to further characterize the hero and the sushi enemies; I had actually made animated gifs of a walk cycle and an action of the samurai swinging his sword, but I could only include 1 image for the fight sequence; for some reason my game would freeze when more than a single frame of an image was included as the sprite, even though I had included an action for the fighting hero object to turn back into the default hero object after the animation had ended. I had also intended for the sushi minions to have zombie walks and attack animations, although this didn't work out, and my attempted "AI" system (would pace along paths, sense the presence of the hero when he got close enough to attack him, and follow him after that) for the enemies seemed to crash my game and cause glitches.
In the end, I had to simplify some of the grander ideas I had initially had for my game. It was certainly an experience though.
And here it is:
http://www.yoyogames.com/games/106293-samurai-sushi
Walkthrough: Medieval II: Total War
In his walkthrough of Medieval II: Total War for the PC, Ethan demonstrated the sheer scale and complexity of the massive turn-based strategy game. The game even begins with an ambient introductory cutscene to set the historical scene before showing the player a series of menus where they can choose different campaigns and game modes to play through, and different factions, each with their own unique military units, strengths, and weaknesses play as.
The game's basic resource management and conquest goals are the same as similar, smaller-scale games like Age of Empires, Civilization, or Age of Mythology, although these are much more involved and it can take days or weeks to finish a single game. The interface is suited to display all the necessary information the player needs to run their empire by compactly grouping stats, indicators, scores, and units into sidebars or pop-out menus; players balance everything from their income, public order, religion, population growth, and politics, to trade, and even marriage. The player occasionally receives tidbits of historical information or period quotes relevant to the current actions they're taking or resources they're managing to enrich the believability and immersiveness of the game. Voiceovers and other audio cues even have regionally appropriate accents.
The interface impressively accomodates the flood of information the player receives to make it more manageable, allowing the to zoom in on and pan around around their map environment. When zoomed out, military units on the weather-correct map are represented by banners instead of individual figures, although the player isn't left out of the close up battle action at all; in battle mode, the player is treated to a closer cutscene of authentic looking soldiers that are a step up from the usual "cookie-cutter" men. The user can direct their units to use various strategies to win the battle, though the player does have the option of letting the computer automatically determine which side would win, albeit only based on numbers for the sake of saving time.
In this case, its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: Although the huge scale makes it very challenging, there is certainly no obvious shortage of content and replay value, and that's not even including the multiplayer option or expansion packs.
The game's basic resource management and conquest goals are the same as similar, smaller-scale games like Age of Empires, Civilization, or Age of Mythology, although these are much more involved and it can take days or weeks to finish a single game. The interface is suited to display all the necessary information the player needs to run their empire by compactly grouping stats, indicators, scores, and units into sidebars or pop-out menus; players balance everything from their income, public order, religion, population growth, and politics, to trade, and even marriage. The player occasionally receives tidbits of historical information or period quotes relevant to the current actions they're taking or resources they're managing to enrich the believability and immersiveness of the game. Voiceovers and other audio cues even have regionally appropriate accents.
The interface impressively accomodates the flood of information the player receives to make it more manageable, allowing the to zoom in on and pan around around their map environment. When zoomed out, military units on the weather-correct map are represented by banners instead of individual figures, although the player isn't left out of the close up battle action at all; in battle mode, the player is treated to a closer cutscene of authentic looking soldiers that are a step up from the usual "cookie-cutter" men. The user can direct their units to use various strategies to win the battle, though the player does have the option of letting the computer automatically determine which side would win, albeit only based on numbers for the sake of saving time.
In this case, its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: Although the huge scale makes it very challenging, there is certainly no obvious shortage of content and replay value, and that's not even including the multiplayer option or expansion packs.
Walkthrough VII: Ghostbusters
The main strength of the design for Ghostbusters for the Xbox was how well it complemented the movies; the game environments stayed true to the movies, followed some of the same storylines with the same characters, and tied up loose ends from the series. The original actors voiced their videogame counterparts, the music effectively captures the creepy atmospheres, and even some of the movie enemies show up.
The rich environments make up for the linear gameplay plot; the player can otherwise occupy themselves with sidequests, finding artifacts, unlock achievements, and exploring extensive areas like the firestation where character development actually occurs as a result of spending time "getting to know" the characters in your player's squad more. Nearly everything in the environments contain destructibiles and can be damaged- you can burn walls, explode clocks, topple carts, destroy tables, and interact with certain objects that shimmer to give you a hint.
The interface also contributed to the cinematic, first-person interactive effect since there were no onscreen indicators. The player's health is displayed on the ghostbusters pack on their character's back, ghost readings and menus pop up on the onscreen "PKE meter", and fellow Ghostbusters provide all the audio hints the player would need.
The rich environments make up for the linear gameplay plot; the player can otherwise occupy themselves with sidequests, finding artifacts, unlock achievements, and exploring extensive areas like the firestation where character development actually occurs as a result of spending time "getting to know" the characters in your player's squad more. Nearly everything in the environments contain destructibiles and can be damaged- you can burn walls, explode clocks, topple carts, destroy tables, and interact with certain objects that shimmer to give you a hint.
The interface also contributed to the cinematic, first-person interactive effect since there were no onscreen indicators. The player's health is displayed on the ghostbusters pack on their character's back, ghost readings and menus pop up on the onscreen "PKE meter", and fellow Ghostbusters provide all the audio hints the player would need.
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