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Finals

http://www.timturnidge.com/DMDN%20285/Project%202/2ndEnv.swf
http://www.timturnidge.com/DMDN%20285/Project%202/JasonFrostFirstEnvironment.swf

Rage.

After constant coding headaches etc, I have developed my 2 environments. They aren't completely what I wanted but show the direction I want to go. I wanted to have random enemies appearing but I couldn't get my head around the arrays etc.

Here is a screenshot of my Second Environment, which is basically my original from top down:


For my side scroller environment, I added another layer of depth by making you able to interact with the environment by being able to go through the clouds. I also wanted randomly generated enemies, which were going to be enemy clouds, appear and you having to dodge them. However I had many coding headaches and could just not get this to work.

Jason tired and out.

Project 2 Progress

I have developed the scrolling background that I want to use as an environment. I have set it up much like the concept picture I made in Photoshop further back in the blog. I will also take this chance to introduce my new character that I have created for this project, purely because I wanted a new character. He is an elemental that brandishes a flaming sword, which you must use to hit clouds to create rain. While this is not part of the environmental experience as of yet, I want to incorporate it into the game if I ever progress further with it. In the flash the moon doesn't move at all, however the background mountains gradually move, and the foreground mountains move slightly faster, giving the impression that you, the elemental, are flying through the air at great speed.

I want the environment to be affected when the character moves down into the cloud cover, and appears under the clouds, where it will be a very different contrasting area, or even have a area that is within the clouds, then the final boss being under the clouds? I will update later with concepts of how the other two environments will look and feel, I hope they will be extremely contrasting to the original serene looking environment.

Concepts for Project 2 and Project 3 Proposal

Had a little bit of fun designing concepts and decided to take inspiration from pictures of clouds, such as this one. and was wondering how to incorporate into the game. So I decided to add a sense of place and ground that Seventh Sky lacked, by using the clouds and mountains as a 'ground' in a sense. The background will be moving at different speeds to simulate rapid environmental movement.

I started thinking about what its like when you're above the clouds in an aeroplane, and on the rare occaision mountains penetrate through the clouds. This beautiful scene Is what I drew inspiration for my environment from. I am hoping it will prove successful in replicating the feel of freedom in Seventh Sky, yet give it a sense of place that I feel it lacked.

For Project 3, I want to create a fast paced game that gives the user the idea of weightlessness and agility. This will be by using a serene background, and the ability to move all over the plane, making you feel as though you are floating. I have not thought of the agility aspect so much as of yet but will be theorizing on how I can develop this further. My character will be either a robot mecha, or some other abstract form. The available weapons will be restricted to melee.

The main character would be an intricately fluid mecha robot, much like the ones in Seventh Sky. You would hold off against a number of flying enemies. The main idea of the game would be to use your melee attacks to defend yourself.

There will be a boss level which would involve you attacking certain parts of a flying mecha, although this is slightly cliche, I am trying to think of new and exciting ways in which to do this. For example, the sword you are using could be changed colour, and will only do damage to certain parts of the enemies that are the same colour as your sword. This would add a more strategic feel to the game, rather than just hack and slash.

Project 2 Research

The environment I have chosen to research and look into for this next project is the environment in the game, Seventh Sky . I have found it an extremely interesting environment to be a part of and would like to emulate it in my game design. Although it is in another language and is quite hard to understand, the overall feel of speed and agility the game creates is immense. A copy of the game can be played here, although it is not finished as of yet. To the right is a screenshot although it doesn't capture the feel of the game as much as I would like it too, play it for yourself.

My analysis has shown that the game doesn't provide a good enough environment that I would be going for, because it uses a type of navigation that is infinite, and has no ground. I am not sure if this is because it is unfinished or not. But I still love the aesthetic and the feeling of freedom the game gives, so I will try and emulate it in my flash game. I have also noticed the melee aspect of the game. Your melee attack works in a chain, so as you attack, as you press the melee attack button you set off a chain of melee attacks, each stronger than the next. This will interact with the enviroment because I am deciding whether or not to use clouds as the enemy as a twist, or to just include conventional enemies.

Final Flash

Final Flash, Left, Right, and Hold Down Space to Attack