Puzzle analysis - Fallout 3 Jigg's Loot

In a players Fallout 3 adventures, they might run across the corpse of a man named "Prime". On this corpse the player can loot a note from Prime (to an unknown NPC) stating how he has stashed some special loot in the museum of technology and that they can find it by following the breadcrumbs he left behind.

In the Museum of Technology, there are terminals that the player can acess with a special number ranging from 1-3. Clicking on the numbers in the terminal will give the player an option of 5 numbers to choose from with only one of them being the correct one. There is no room for error because choosing the wrong number will lock the player out of the terminals permanently so that they will never be able to access Prime's loot safe.

There is really no "breadcrumbs" for the player to find and instead they have to think a little creatively to realize that Prime's name is the only hint they need to solve the puzzle. Out of all the numerical options available on each terminal, one of them will be an actual prime number. This is always the correct number and some of them are large, so it might require a little math from the player but choosing all of them will unlock a special safe at the end of the museum of technology. 

In this safe is a decent amount of money and one of the best guns in the game.

types of puzzles:

-Information Puzzle - for Fallout 3, this is a really cryptic puzzle but anyone with a little math knowledge should be able to figure it out eventually.

-Sequence Puzzle - The player needs to do the terminals in order, from #1-3

Figuring out this puzzle will make the player feel really smart since there are really no other clues connecting Prime to the numbers in the terminals. Prime also throws you off saying that there are "breadcrumbs", implying there are clues in the Museum of Technology, which there are none. The reward is also well worth the time put into the puzzle. 

Jet/Jump pack. This can leave a lingering trail behind it for a temporary amount of time. Any enemy who walks into this particle is damaged. This means that the player can strategically make crossing movements to entrap players within this particle trail.

Similar tot he previous... This is a pack that lets you transport around. This could allow you to "blink around" and leave lingering areas of particle that slowly spread and damage any enemy that walks into it.

Chest laser, charges up for a powerful blast. The player can turn in directions, swinging around a constant stream of energy that cannot be touched without receiving damage.

Weapon that sends some sort of energy blast through the ground like a tremor. Maybe the player can control the direction the tremor is traveling and when it comes out of the ground, under the enemy, or maybe it is just set to a predetermined time/ distance. The projectile comes out from under them attack from below.

chest/ back or feet blade that allows you to flip/spin and create a "screw-attack" like effect. The blades extend when the character jumps/ flips. They spin around really fast making a propeller like effect that damages anyone int he area.

a shock baton with different settings... Temporary paralysis, regular damage, some sort of "fatality attack if the charge builds up. The baton can transform depending on the type of attack.

A fist with boosters on it that propel you forward for a fast punch. The fist moves so fast that it clumsily propels the player forward.

skate boots that leave a deadly particle trail behind the trail the player skates. Any enemies that walk over it are damaged. Also thy player can do some sort of hard to perform but devastating kick attack that deals massive damage.

some kind of shield that forms a energy bubble around your body and has different effects. Some of these effects could be recharging energy, sending out a stunning/damaging blast wave.

A gun that shoots a particle which does not directly attack people but instead alters that state around them. Some sort of expanding bubble comes out of the gun and does things like :alter time/gravity, slowly deal AOE damage, Absorb health for the player, etc.

Sophomore Spinout 2016 Trailer

Trailer for Game Art, Sophomore Spinout 2016.

ARKANOID ZS

"ARKANOID ZS"

Team Members: Seth Baldwin and Zihan "Henry" Wang

For our arcade game remake, we chose Arkanoid, an expanded version of the Atari game "Breakout!". It is essentially the same as Breakout, with the player using a scrolling (left and right only) paddle to reflect a ball into a series of bricks until they are all destroyed. Each color of brick grants a different point value and the metallic bricks are harder to destroy (silver) or even indestructable (Gold). Arkanoid expands on the Breakout formula by adding power-ups that fall from some bricks and grant the player a variety of temporary abilities. It also has floating enemies that fly around and do not cause the ball to bounce in the opposite direction when destroyed (unlike the bricks).

BREAKOUT! (the foundation of Arkanoid): 

In order to build Arkanoid, one must first build Breakout!.

PRIORITY LIST:

1. Player's paddle movement and collision with ball - Seth

2. Ball physics - Seth 

3. Brick collision/destruction and point distribution - Seth/Henry

4. Boundary collision - Seth

5. UI scoring elements - Seth

6. Power-up programming - Henry

6. Power-up drop and integration abilities - Henry

7. Random flying enemies - Henry

ASSET LIST:

1. Ball - Seth

2. Bricks of varying color and point value - Seth/Henry

3. Paddle - Henry

4. HUD - Seth

5. Bounding box/wall meshes - Henry

6. Power-up icons - Henry/Seth

7. Background - Henry

8. Flying enemies - Henry

9. Start Screen UI - Seth

BRICK COLORS / POINT VALUE:

• White (50pts.), Orange(60pts.), Cyan(70pts.), Green(80pts), Red(90pts.), Blue(100pts.), Purple(110pts.), Yellow(120pts) - 1 hit needed to destroy

• Silver - Multiple hits to destroy (2 to 8, depending on level)

•Gold - Indestructible

POWER-UP LIST:

Should we make it?:

YES - Priority power-up. Necessary for the games mechanics/entertainment value

MAYBE - Would be nice to have but not a priority due to blue printing that is probably very complex.

PROBABLY NOT - Should be removed from our version of the game. 

Lazer - YES

Paddle can fire projectiles. This makes the game a lot more fun.

Enlarge - MAYBE

Enlarges Paddle Size. Not a very impressive power-up but would still be a helpful one to have.

Disruption  - MAYBE

Splits ball into 3 separate balls (losing the first 2 wont count against your # of lives). This is a very cool power-up that we want but is probably difficult to program so only if time permits.

Player - YES

Adds player life. This is the most necessary power-up for maintaining balance and since it should be very easy to program, it's priority.

Catch - MAYBE

Catches the ball and releases it on command. This is fun but we could see it being a challenge to figure out... We are not fully comfortable with this one yet. 

Slow - YES

Slows ball speed. This could be easy to program (change velocity) and is fun... Priority.

Break - PROBABLY NOT

Opens an exit to immediately advance to next stage. Since we don't have stages, we don't need this at all. Scrap it.

FLYING ENEMIES:

Arkanoid is cool.

Grand Turismo 6 Trailer

I think this trailer is very impressive for a lot of reason. Firstly, the in game footage is so incredibly good that it can be mistaken for live footage. The editing is nice and slow, whereas a lot of other game trailers contains fast editing that doesn't leave much time to take in and appreciate what you are seeing. The final, and most important reason this trailer is so good is because it is edited to the song Keep Your Distance by Amon Tobin, which is fantastic.

HUD Mockup

I wanted to keep my HUD light but clear. To do this, I decided to only show the backlit/digital displays of the cars components. Since my car is from the 70s, I made sure to keep the design of the components retro, to avoid it looking like from sort of sci-fi LED display.

I used old technology from the 80s and 70s as inspiration for how it's laid out. For example, the speedometer is based of a tuning dial that was prominent for many old receivers.

Another thing I want with my HUD, is "conditional icons". For example, Health will be shown with a number but also a engine icon that displays normally from 100 -51 health, then on fire with 50 - 1 health and finally showing it explode when the player is killed.

The inspiration for this came from the Doom Guy. 

Exploding Barrel Test

Here is my exploding barrel built in Maya and Substance and programmed in Unreal. For the particle effects, I took the explosion and smoke particles from the Unreal starter content and then manipulated and made them my own. The idea behind the barrel is that it is some sort of radioactive, alien material inside that is kept contained by some sort of electrical mechanism. When the player damages the barrel, the electrical mechanism break and begins to spark, so after that the radioactive material combusts and vaporizes the barrel.

Explosive Barrel Concept

Since my race track level is in a giant foundry that works with an alien metal, my barrel contains the slag waste product that comes off this metal after refining it. It would not make sense to have a barrel with actual explosive material in an environment that contains so much fire and molten material, however the volatile slag in the barrels is extremely active and creates pressure inside. There is a depressurizing mechanism in the barrel but when a car hit is, it will become damages and the pressure will freely build up until the entire thing explodes.

Since it is a alien material, the slag could look like something unfamiliar. So I think some sort of glowing sludge would be interesting and I would like to make it look unstable (maybe radioactive).

Racetrack Intro Sequence: F-Zero GX - Big Blue

Pretty much all of the racetrack intro sequences in F-Zero GX are the same, in terms of editing and music, so choosing one really came down to the look of the level and what is shown from it. I really like the big swooping camera angles and how there is quick edits that focus on the more landmark obstacles of the track then ends showing the starting line. Another thing I like it the screens that comedown to countdown to the start of the race. Overall, I think it is a nice, fluid and quick intro and something I want to use for inspiration in my own intro sequence for my track.

Roll Your Own Particle Demo

I have 4 particles in this scene; smoke, floating embers, lava falling and the lava impact. I am happy with the embers and the smoke for the most part but the lava dropping and hitting the surface can be pushes to look more realistic. However, I think they are heading in the right direction as far as what I want for my level.

Particles for Race Track Level:

Heavy Falling Sparks + Smoke - Skip to 4:10:




Light Smokey Haze - Skip to 0:39 + Bubbling Lava:




Bubbling Lava + Small Flames:

The Foundry

Foundry Level Idea

My idea for a racing level takes place in a giant foundry. The cars will begin the race towards the top where the environment is clouded with smoke and industrial machinery/buildings. As the player descends deeper into the environment, the environment becomes more hot as they get closer to the crucible in the core.

The hot colors of the molten environment with contrast against the cold, metallic colors of the industrial machinery.

Spiky Block Guy - Programming

This guy took me a long time to make although I learned quite a bit about Blue Print while making it.

The timeline is what gave me the most trouble. It took a lot of tinkering and testing before I finally was able to figure out how to make things work correctly. However, after making my first few animation on the timeline, I was pretty quickly able to gain a basic understanding of how it functions.

There were a couple of things I needed a classmates help on, but for the most part I was able to figure it out on my own and that makes me happy.

My Blue Print. 

The Cenote

(Tutorial Level Proposal)

Here is a drawing of my level

My tutorial level will take the player deep into a sinkhole and then back out again.

Since my level involves backtracking, there are two phases to it.

Phase one will involve the player descending downward. There will be little obstacles in the players way since they wont activate until phase two. When they arrive at the coin int he far bottom right of the map, they will activate phase two of the level.

Phase two will involve the player making their way out of the tunnel with traps that are no activated. By this point the player will have been introduced to controls and the basic platforming, but now they will be forced to learn how to maneuver and avoid the obstacles as they ascend to the top.

A vector version of my level design with some minor changes

Super Metroid Tutorial Level Layout

Super Metroid begins with a cinematic recap of the events of the previous installments in the franchise (Metroid and Metroid II Return of Samus). Samus has captured the titular Metroid and given it to scientists to be studied and ultimately used for the good of mankind. Shortly after dropping the Metroid and retelling her story, she receives a distress call from the scientists saying that their station is under attack. We see her ship return to the station and from there the initial tutorial level of the game, Ceres Station, begins.

Opening Cutscene

Samus enters the station in a vertical room with various floating platforms, A style of room that is very common in all the Metroid games. This is an excellent area for the player to figure out learn the controls and practice some platforming.

The first room, good for getting used to the way Samus controls.

Eventually you continue through a series of empty rooms that are all accompanied by atmospheric noises. Rooms with no enemies is not unusual for a Metroid game and instead this first part of the level is just an opportunity to show off the game designers' ability to create an eerie atmosphere.

Finally Samus enters a laboratory where the dead bodies of scientists are lying on the floor. This is definetly a moment that shows off the more mature nature of the game. It also contributes further to the plot, letting the player realize that they will probably be confronting whatever has attacked the station.

A disturbing image for a Nintendo game.

You finally enter a large chamber where the Metroid is lying on the floor in a glass container. As Samus approached the Metroid, the door behind them locks. This initiates a short animation where Ridley appears.

Ridley appears out of the background to steal the Metroid.

Ridley snatches the glass container containing the Metroid and the games boss battle music begins. 

Ridley is impossible to beat and after Samus’ health is taken down to a certain percentage, he flies out of the room carrying the Metroid.

The timer appears.

After Ridley flies away, a timer begins, letting the payer know that the station is going to self destruct in 1 minute and they need to escape. 

Samus must run back out the way she came, maneuver around obstacles that appear as the station falls apart.

The station, now glowing red, shakes and even tilts from side to side in one room. These effects are not obstacles, however, Falling debris and jets of steam are obstacles. Running into them will not cause much damage to Samus but can delay her from reaching the exit in time.

Steam jets can come from anywhere and will throw Samus back, delaying her escape.

Falling debris is the hardest obstacle to avoid.

After escaping, Samus flies from the exploding station in short cutscene. We then see her arrival at the Planet Zebes, where the entirety of the rest of the game takes place.

Space Station Ceres explodes, as Samus makes an escape. 

Samus follows Ridley to Planet Zebes, where the rest of the game takes place.

This is an excellent tutorial level because it introduces the player to almost every type of obstacle they will be facing in the game (platforming, traps, boss battles and time limits). All of these challenges are thrown at them the moment they begin the initial boss battle with Ridley and even though this flow is a bit jarring, it is also really exciting and somewhat challenging (though not too challenging). It also does an excellent job of introducing the games story by showing a recap of previous games, setting up Samus’ (and the player’s) ultimate goals and also setting the stage for the games most epic boss battle when Samus must battle Ridley again. On top of all of that, the level alos takes its time, letting the player get emerged in the world of Metroid.

The only element that would seem to be lacking from the tutorial is any positive or negative feedback to the player. However, I think this is done on purpose. The game designers want the player to feel overwhelmed at this point. Throughout the rest of the game, players will be introduced to the assortment of powerups Samus’ suit can have to overcome obstacles and beat bosses like the ones found in the tutorial level.