Game Critique - first set of prez

AntLion
Art
- No distinctive artwork present to judge this. If they are going to use the ants in the first presentation, maybe it could use more work
Balance
- Game play should be fairly well balanced
- This game consist of just mouse clicks: what’s the attraction feature? (Looks? Great strategy? You would need one, otherwise it’d be very boring)
Model they used
- Cool clay ant
Mechanics
- Good mechanics, you could make the game easy or difficult depending on your timeframe

Originality
- Not very original, similar to colony games
How well the prototype resembles the game
- fairly well

Mizu

Art
- Nice work
Balance
- Easy to play, based on the fact that it’s targeted for everyone
- But is it too easy? Older targets could get bored easiliy
Model they used
- Nicely hand-drawn characters
Mechanics
- Simple, familiar game play
- Easy to play, but also easy to get bored of
- How much re-play value does this game have?

Originality
How well the prototype resembles the game
- The prototype successfully captures the general look of the game. However, the players cannot grasp the exact game play of the real game just by playing the prototype.


Utitled – Michael Y., Kevin T, Alex Y, Alex L

Art
- No distinctive artwork present to judge this at the moment
Balance
- Given the amount of time we have to produce our games, perhaps it’s a good idea to cut back unnecessary elements, and focus on making the necessary really work well
Model they used
- satisfactory
Mechanics
- too many things going on (nice to have varied elements, only when it’s done right)
Originality
- Original
How well the prototype resembles the game
_ Prototype is different from game

Status Update - October 29th

I have picked a good library of sounds to choose from for the final render.
I have divided the sounds into three categories:

Ambience
BGMs
Sound effects

So far we have good underwater ambience sounds.
I've picked varied speed of jazz soundtrack for our game's BGM.
The songs will be upbeat, cheerful, and will get faster as the users move up a stage.
I need to make sure the main movements of our character (ie. swimming) will match up with the base beat of our BGMs for that stage. The reason why the songs get faster is the as our main character grows up, he'll be able to swim faster.

I have also picked good fighting sounds (grunts, swish sounds) from boxing/underwater/weaspon CD.

During this week, we will determine the characteristics of our main character to decide what he'll be saying during the game. Once we decide on that, I will be voice-acting (I hope I make it work) the phrases and manipulate in a sound program to adjust the pitch.

Naturally, our characters voice will get thicker as he grows up, so we might need a male voice actor for the adult stage.

A lot of conceptualizing, trial/error will be required during this week to ensure smooth recording of the phrases.

We think it'll add a nice personal touch, making our overall soundtrack not just from sound CDs.

I will also have to try layering our sounds to find the perfect volume mix.

I will be layering sounds like this:
Ambience (softer)
BGM (soft)
sound effects (clear)

Status Update - October 22nd

I have met with Kate to discuss the finer details of Sound Design for our Fins of Fury game. We have agreed to work on the Wiki together to come up with a list of situations/events that need sound. I will be meeting with my team on Tuesday to discuss high-level plan for upcoming weeks.

In terms of sound, I will be searching for the sounds we need based on the list we come up with at Surrey library and Burnaby. After I pick, Kate and I will go through a screening process to pick what we want.

Also, for the voice for our character, we have decided to record our voice and manipulate the sound so that it sounds like our character.

Character personality and phrases he'll be saying will be determined throughout this week.