Group Sharing

We have a closed group on facebook to communicate through now, along with a shared google docs account and a shared folder through dropbox. Now we can exchange thoughts, words, game files, art assets and audio assests without trying to meet up and swap data via USB sticks or the like.

The Rest of the Resources for my Game Concept

If your fuel tank runs out, GAME OVER.

Dig to find more fuel, and hopefully a renewable energy source.

Purify the toxic lakes to allow for tree summoning.

If you find a renewable energy source, fuel is unlimited for rest of level and score is doubled/tripled.

Cant summon a tree without enough earth ( x5 )

While the tree is being summoned, defend the lake from continuous enemies.

A successfully summoned tree.

Fuel bar and it's current capacity identifier.

A tank of gas, collected by digging.

Basic 3 frame, 4-way movement sprites for TED.

An enemy pollutant. Emanates corrosion, so kill before they get too close.

A purified lake.

The lake before it's detoxed.

A title screen for Ted the Purifier.

A victory screen for completing the level. (Purified all lakes and summoned all trees.)

A screen indicating an enemy being shot at.

Resources for my Video: To Get

I would like to get some form of a glass trough / long rectangular glass vase / empty ant farm.

This would be for a lime jelly mold, allowing me to shoot through it. I still need a glass bowl for the initial shot, or something with a larger diameter than the wide vase I'm after.

I still need to get a green balloon or 3, not sure if I should dye the water red, but i need the balloon first and try with regular water first. 

Plastic bags I have, but I need to find the most transparent one.

I dont have a blender, so I may have to drop that shot.

Same with the underwater shot; this breaks away from my only XCU or CU shots of the models which I wanted to keep to in order to reduce any model appearance at all. Only shots of feet, a close up of eyes and perhaps a shaking fist. Maybe a hand on a branch to help cement the idea of stalking.

I'll use shots of broken/breaking glass (slow-mo), glowing elements (shifting focal length) and shaky shots of walking through a forest as filler if required.

Oh and only because it's cool: Zero G Ant Farm

Game Alternative Ideas

After trialling my game in Stencyl, I discovered it to be difficult to implement. The particular angle I was after and environment (as a tileset) make for difficulty; not to mention the click and follow requiring more detail to my character model (angled frames for 8 way movement visuals).

This made me consider an alternative main game mode. I still want the circling "Boss" battle of defending the growing floating tree, but I may change the main part of the game into a 4-way movement version similar to RPGs like pokemon. This however clashes with being efficient with fuels etc, when you need to move diagonally but would be unable to (hence forced resource wasting).

Also as this game is for kids 12 and under, perhaps a side scroller like sonic the hedgehog would be more player friendly. Exploration up and down would be like searching the map.

This simplifies my idea and keeps the main concept intact.

Although this is rather late in the development process, I'm thinking this would be rather more successful with the children that would be testing our games.

Character Animation examples

Lo-Fi Prototype

Storyboard Final

A JEALOUS RAGE

More Game Resources

LEFT: Player Character - TED                           RIGHT: Enemy - Pollution Demon

 

                     LEFT: Toxic Lake                                           RIGHT: Purified Lake           -               

                                                            (Ready for Tree Summoning)

 

ABOVE: Vitality Tree

Level Ideas:

 

 This is the tutorial level. It shows a completed lake, an uncompleted lake, and several digsites.

 This is the purification defense part of the level. Only rotation around the lake is allowed, 

with the exception of firing. Defend the waves until the lake is purifed. Once pure, the trees can be summoned above the lake to start healing the earth if enough dirt has been collected.

Storyboard Draft

Storyboard Further Development

Abstract it out further.

Rather than showing something direct, like fire to rage, take the feeling and find something that looks like it instead. Such as rage could be shown as a shaking or vibrating? I think.

Avoid the literal.

Try not to have a human model / person, particularly showcasing feelings. These should be portrayed as images/clips that are a visual representation of how we feel.

RAGE and JEALOUSY

Tension, Paranoia, Longing, Anger, Chaos, Insecurity, Loss, Frustration,

sort of drowning in anger

Frothing, Turbulent, Churning, Velocity

facing inner demons

What do these feelings look like?

Frothy Milkshake?

Frying food? BBQ?

BACON BACON BACON BACON BACON

Boiling water?

Dragging a heavy weight?

Overflowing blender?

Exploding balloon?

Did I mention BACON?

Trying to breathe through a plastic bag?

Glowing element?

Jagged edges?

Rubbish/Scrap Metal?

Broken/breaking glass?

Fogging of glass?

Steaming hot cup in the cold air?
Stuffing face with food?
Broken earth / mechanical digging (digger)?
Bursting fruit?
Destruction

Smoke smoldering -> finally igniting

Distorted perception: Through mirrors, windows, lenses, glass jug/tumbler, plastic bag etc.

Multiple narratives:

WATER. From hiding in it (high-angle) -> To bursting out of it (low-angle)

from bottling up to finally releasing

WATER. From beginning to boil (eye-level) -> To overflowing (low-angle)

starting to boil over to completely overflowing

And here is a draft storyboard. Narrative sorta starts at the bottom and moves up and around each side while touching on the middle when appropriate.

Storyboard Development

I have decided to keep the idea of a jealous rage. Allowing a progression from the seclusion and loneliness of jealousy, through to the exploding anger of rage. I will focus on blues and greens and progress into stronger greens and end up at reds and oranges.

Some ideas for shots:

A High-Angle shot of a person in the foetal position at the bottom of pool (green/blue). 

Could be pulling the finger, and shot zooms in to reveal.

An Eye-Level, Handheld shot of walking and looking through trees. Perhaps progress to the actually looking through branches from tree cover. (if at dawn or dusk, reddish?)

Shots of feet walking on grass, through forests, through water.

Shots of water bubbling/boiling. At each stage: Calm, bubbling, boiling. (blue>green>red)

Match Cut to blood splatter around climax?

Shots of fire at each stage: igniting, burning, raging. (black>orange/red)

Match Cut from grass shot?

Walking through to running.

Shaking with rage - XCU fist shot.

Avoid specifics (only show feet, hand, eyes?)

Increase cut speed throughout clip. Slow dissolves through to an explosion of fast cuts.
Handheld for shots relating to P.O.V. from stalker/jealous guy.
Tripod for all else except maybe a crabbing shot for a walking feet shot.

STILL NEED TO FIND SOME MUSIC TO MATCH!

Lo-Fi Prototype Resource Development

Lo-Fi Prototype Resource Concepts

Player: Robot - TED (Toxicity Eliminating Droid)

Enemy: Pollution Demon (Kill = Fuel Bonus)

Objective: Toxic Lakes (Purification Target)

Objective: Defense Tree (Defend From Enemies)

Some HUD concepts - and Dig Sites.

More HUD concepts, Store, Target, Radar, Points.

I am considering making Time the unit for Fuel and Ammo.