Wizarding Project – VR, Cycle 2

Things are coming along very well! An actual dungeon layout is coming into scope, puzzles are being created and spells are working as designed. Up until now the focus has been to create a proper interface as well as create the building-blocks required to make a real game. Now that the pieces are in place, real level designs can be created and a story constructed.

Another major focus is audio. The story, as it is now, is for the player to enter the world and be told that they are beginning their wizarding examination in order to become a proper sorcerer. The instructor (myself) will help them both within the experience and outside of it using trigger-based sound queues inside and myself in character outside.

The final product is coming into view. I am excited.

pressureproject1_danny

My pressure project began very ambitiously. The idea was to use the Webcam, the Eyes++ Actor and Isadora’s sound recognition actors to have users interact with the scene to the beat of the music. However, my PC’s webcam would often misbehave and the system would lag as I attempted to run all of these actors in conjunction, especially when I attempted to incorporate chroma key-based tracking and interactions. The focus of the idea was heavier on sound rather than webcam interactions, thus I scrapped the webcam element and made the process interact with the sound and only sound.

Interestingly, the reaction to the project in action during class lead to my peers wishing me to turn the music off, so they could interact with the scene using their own voices and claps of the hand. It was an unexpected outcome, indeed.

Danny Coyle’s game project: Green Hill Paradise – Act 2

This is a video game/research project of my own design inspired by the Sonic the Hedgehog game series.

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Green Hill Paradise was born out of a question. A question that has all but torn the Sonic the Hedgehog community asunder:

Can a Sonic the Hedgehog game be made such that it supplies a rich and robust experience in a fully 3D environment while staying true to its platforming roots?

We are here to answer this question, not through an in-depth analysis video, not through a lengthy forum post, but through a fully playable video game experience. After 10 months of research and development we believe that, yes, Sonic can not only exist in 3D, but he can THRIVE in it. GHP’s massive environment, winding paths, dynamic physics and hidden collectibles provide players with the freedom to choose where they want to go and how they wish to get there. The only limitations are the laws of physics and the player’s own skill.

No Spline paths.
No Boostpads.
No scripted cameras.
No Boost Button.

Gotta Go Fast?
Earn it.

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Since the game’s release, it has been featured on various websites and YouTube “Let’s Play” videos. I figured it was prudent to share it here with you all as well. If you have any questions about the project, just ask!

Paper-based game results and observations:

Our team of two modified the “Boxes” game where the objective is to create boxes from a dot grid, racking up combos in order to defeat your opponent. Our change was simple: allow players to create diagonal lines between dots and have scoring based on triangles rather than squares. This simple change made for twice as many possibilities and opportunities for scoring. The meta-game involves trapping your opponents into situations where they will be forced to set you up for victory. The ability to create diagonal lines creates an environment where these traps can be set more frequently, thus creating a more aggressive style of play.

Next I tried out a variant of Hangman. This version included a life system. Every time you chose an incorrect letter, you lost a life. Lose all of them and, no matter your Hangman’s status, you lose. Guess correctly and you will gain lives. This change in the rule-set creates a dynamic of “momentum” that the game did not have prior to the change. If you begin guessing incorrectly, you will lose more quickly than normal. If you begin guessing correctly and gain more lives, then you are able to take more risks. An interesting dynamic, to be sure.

~Danny

Isadora Video Tracking demo

A very basic layout. Two blobs are tracked and their locations are ported to the locations of squares.