Comments on: P3 Description: Doom of the Ninja https://github.blairmacintyre.me/site-archive/cs4455f12/2012/10/03/p3-description-doom-of-the-ninja/ Video Game Design and Architecture Thu, 11 Oct 2012 02:31:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.2 By: Yan Xu https://github.blairmacintyre.me/site-archive/cs4455f12/2012/10/03/p3-description-doom-of-the-ninja/#comment-43 Fri, 05 Oct 2012 18:22:54 +0000 https://github.blairmacintyre.me/site-archive/cs4455f12/?p=1099#comment-43 I agree with what Blair has said.
Another suggestion is to think more about the simulated space and the avatar’s relationship with the space. If everything happens in an open space, then collecting all energy orbs within certain amount of time becomes a straight-forward racing with a small amount of path planning. But what about the space design that can occlude/enhance the vision, provide a maze, or allow teleporting? Experiment with a few different space designs and think about how it changes the game feel of Ninjia’s movement.

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By: Blair MacIntyre https://github.blairmacintyre.me/site-archive/cs4455f12/2012/10/03/p3-description-doom-of-the-ninja/#comment-20 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:56:43 +0000 https://github.blairmacintyre.me/site-archive/cs4455f12/?p=1099#comment-20 The game description is a good start. The one big thing lacking is a more specific description of what the movement would feel like, and how. “Speed” + abilities could mean a lot of things!

Consider Brad’s squid game, and how he settled on instant movement to simulate speed. You controlled the character by pointing where you wanted it to go, NOT by moving it with WASD keys. You should step back and think of your character in that light; can you create an alternative kind of control scheme that gives the player a satisfying sense of mastery of movement that seems to fast and nimble for them to control with traditional game controls? What do you want it to feel like: should it feel calm an zen-like, while being fast, or twitchy and frustrating (as it otherwise might)? What does it mean to be moving fast and not being seen? How do you get seen by the dogs?

For your prototype, you should NOT even consider the special abilities. Think about how hard it was to get a satisfying sense of control on the first two projects; you have less time here, and the stakes are higher because this time I really want it to feel good! So, pause, and think about the feel you want, and what it might mean aside from just WASD-and-fast-movement!

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