Donkey Kong High Score

My high score was 600!

Oh! Doctor! PowerPoint

Link to your PP presentation:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=1Hm-RFWxBAVdgiUnXx_AJYj1jJGWd4DSHWhnAlct54N_XkGDK2kBsPuv-LSLo

Oh, Doctor!: Gameplay Questions 1

1. What type of challenges do you want to include in your game? Do you want to challenge the player's physical abilities, mental abilities or both?

I would like my game to mostly focus on physical challenges. I have never been an enormous fan of puzzle games, not to mention I have very little experience in actually designing them. I realize that simple key-and-lock "puzzles" are nothing more than tedious fetch quests, and wish to avoid them.

2. Game genres are defined in part by the nature of the challenges they offer. What does your choice of genre imply for the gameplay? Do you intend to include any cross-genre elements, challenges that are not normally found in your chosen genre?

My game belongs in the survival-horror genre, so the greatest challenges the player will face include resource management (such as health items and ammo) and surviving through encounters with enemies that are much more powerful than him/her. Maintaining a substantial level of tension throughout each level will be pivotal in making the game successful.

3. What is your game's hierarchy of challenges? How many levels do you expect it to have? What challenges are typical of each level?

My game's primary challenge will be to locate a specific human-based target within every sprawling, maze-like level. The other aforementioned challenges - resource management and survival - will come second. I would like my game to have 15 levels, with each level taking at least an hour to complete. Core gamers will be able to complete the game within half this time, if they are up for the challenge.

4. What are your games atomic challenges? Do you plan to make the player face more than one atomic challenge at a time? Are they all independent, like battling enemies one at a time, or are they interrelated, like balancing an economy? If they are interrelated, how?

The game's atomic challenges will be to locate each level's human target, as well as defeat or bypass its enemies. These atomic challenges will interweave with one another, and not be taken on at different times or through different gameplay modes. The game will contain boss fights, but for now I do not know if I want each level to contain its own specific boss or not.

5. Does the player have a choice of approaches to victory? Can he decide on one strategy over another? Can he ignore some challenges, face others and still achieve a higher-level goal? Or must he simply face all the game's challenges in sequence?

Since there is only one primary objective for each level, the player can proceed through one however way she wishes. 

The player can choose, for example, to simply follow the level's clues and run past each enemy to get to the human target, or, the player can choose the offensive route and attempt to kill every enemy that crosses her path. Weaponry will consist of ranged weapons and melee weapons for more confrontational players, and various traps and shields for players who prefer stealth and advanced tactics. Weapons will be completely customizable, and these customizations will provide effects that are either beneficial to the player by affecting the game's core mechanics, or completely cosmetic and over-the-top. So, the player will have many options of how to dispatch of their enemies, or work around them.

Also, the game will provide flexibility in picking levels. This means that after the player completes Level A, afterward they will have access to level B and C, which can be completed in any order. This manner in which levels are selected will apply to the entire game.

6. Does the game include implicit challenges (those that emerge from the design), as well as explicit challenges (those that you specify)?

The only implicit challenge that I can think of arising stems from weapon customization - what this means is how players will utilize the weapons and item they collect to survive and combat the hostile forces within each level. Otherwise, every other challenges are explicit: find the human target, survive, kill or be killed, etc.

7. Do you intend to offer settable difficulty levels for your game? What levels of intrinsic skill and stress will each challenge require?

Ultimately, yes, I would love for my game to have more than one difficulty mode. The harder modes will challenge each player's combat prowess, as well as their ability to utilize the game's various weapons and items effectively. In the higher difficulty modes, the game will have harder-hitting monsters and traps, stricter time limits and scarcer item placement and drop-rates.

8.What actions will you implement to meet your challenges? Can the player surmount a large number of challenges with a small number of actions? What is the mapping of actions to challenges?

Enemy and trap placement within each level will be vital to constructing challenges for the player. My game is side-scrolling, which will have a huge effect on how enemies and traps will work in terms of the areas they affect and the directions they will move in. In terms of being able to surmount a large number of challenges with a small number of actions, yes, this will be possible. Players will be able to construct extremely powerful weapons capable of killing more powerful enemies. Of course, weapon usage is determined by how much ammo it has, which helps to add an element of balance to the game.

9. What actions will you implement for other purposes? What are those purposes--unstructured play, creativity and self-expression, socialization, story participation, or controlling the game software?

It was mentioned before that weapons will be customizable in two aspects - function and appearance. Players will be able to play expressively by creating weapons that are tailored to their personalities and gameplay needs. For example: a character's firearm can be customized to launch grenades, but it can also be customized with barrels of different colors and styles. Weapon size and appearance will be exaggerated to emphasize the game's over-the-top and humorous art direction and sensibilities, but it will also allow the player to see all changes that are made to their weapons. The character's avatar will also be cosmetically customizable, but not in any way that will significantly affect gameplay.

There will also a be a simple system that allows the player to (literally) take a piece of their last acquired human target and attach it to their character to permanently affect his/her performance and abilities.

10. What save mechanism do you plan to implement?

I am not a huge fan of being able to save games at any specific moment or time, because it eliminates the tension that comes from wanting to survive so as to avoid having to repeat a section of gameplay. Therefore, the game will have designated save points that provide the only means through which the player can save their progress.


Does the gameplay require a pointing or steering device? Should these be analog, or will a D-pad suffice? What do they actually do in the context of the game?

The game will be completely playable with a simple D-pad configuration. The game implements a side-scrolling camera, so all physical movement completed by the player takes place on a 2D plane; the D-pad complements this camera model.

Does the function of one or more buttons on the controller change within a single gameplay mode? If so, what visual cues let the player know this is taking place?

Gameplay will be simple and easy to pick up: a button for healing, a button for using one's primary weapon, one for the secondary weapon, etc. The only real context-sensitive action I can think of for the time being is basic interaction, which will occur when standing in front of and facing an object such as a a door or NPC. If this simple action requires a button's function to change, then the player will be given a visual cue: a large "X" over his character's head, or perhaps the word "Inspect." Otherwise, button layout will be an uncomplicated affair.

If the player has an avatar, how do the movements and other behaviors of the avatar map to the machine's input devices? Define the steering mechanism.

Right on the D-pad will move the avatar to the right, and left will move it left. Pressing up on the D-pad will allow the avatar to enter a door. As the game nears completion, the up direction may also be used to jump and perform basic interaction with objects and NPCs.

How will the major elements of your screen be laid out? Will the game use a windowed view, opaque overlays, semitransparent overlays, or a combination?

My game will have a very uncluttered screen; I may not even include a health bar, and rely on on-screen, splattered blood to convey how close the avatar is to dying. There will be a map-screen, however, which can either be viewed in a separate, opaque menu, or while still playing the game in a semitransparent viewing mode. There will also be an opaque gauge depicting how close a level's human target is to escaping. If this happens, it means Game Over for the player.

Does the gameplay require a pointing or steering device? Should these be analog, or will a D-pad suffice? What do they actually do in the context of the game?

The game will be completely playable with a simple D-pad configuration. The game implements a side-scrolling camera, so all physical movement completed by the player takes place on a 2D plane; the D-pad complements this camera model.

Does the function of one or more buttons on the controller change within a single gameplay mode? If so, what visual cues let the player know this is taking place?

Gameplay will be simple and easy to pick up: a button for healing, a button for using one's primary weapon, one for the secondary weapon, etc. The only real context-sensitive action I can think of for the time being is basic interaction, which will occur when standing in front of and facing an object such as a a door or NPC. If this simple action requires a button's function to change, then the player will be given a visual cue: a large "X" over his character's head, or perhaps the word "Inspect." Otherwise, button layout will be an uncomplicated affair.

If the player has an avatar, how do the movements and other behaviors of the avatar map to the machine's input devices? Define the steering mechanism.

Right on the D-pad will move the avatar to the right, and left will move it left. Pressing up on the D-pad will allow the avatar to enter a door. As the game nears completion, the up direction may also be used to jump and perform basic interaction with objects and NPCs.

How will the major elements of your screen be laid out? Will the game use a windowed view, opaque overlays, semitransparent overlays, or a combination?

My game will have a very uncluttered screen; I may not even include a health bar, and rely on on-screen, splattered blood to convey how close the avatar is to dying. There will be a map-screen, however, which can either be viewed in a separate, opaque menu, or while still playing the game in a semitransparent viewing mode. There will also be an opaque gauge depicting how close a level's human target is to escaping. If this happens, it means Game Over for the player.

What camera model will the main view use? What interaction model does the gameplay mode use? Is it one of the common ones, or something new? How does the camera model support the interaction model?

The game is viewed through a side-scrolling camera, and is played through an avatar-based interaction model, which is very common in gaming. I chose this camera model because I am fond of the side-scrolling game aesthetic; while I could have chosen a more dynamic and versatile model, I chose this one out of preference.

Does this game's genre, if it has one, help to determine the user interface? What standards already exist that the player may be expecting the game to follow? Do you intend to break these expectations, and if so, how will you inform the player of that?

The game's survival-horror-based challenges are tied to each level's vast, labyrinthine, and interconnected lay-out, which provides an overwhelming sense of helplessness and insecurity for the player. The game's map, which expands to reflect the areas the player has explored, helps him to piece his/her surroundings little by little, since the start of each level can be somewhat disorienting.

Does the game include menus? What is the menu structure? Is it broad and shallow (quick to use, but hard to learn) or narrow and deep (easy to learn, but slow to use)?

The game's menus will be easy to learn and master. There will be a menu for equipping items and weapons, as well as a shell menu for exiting the game and returning to the title screen.

Does the game include text on the screen? If so, does it include provisions for localization?

Yes and yes.

Cluttered Interface!

Pinball Mapping Exercise

Pinball Mapping Exercise!

I played three pinball games: the Original Hardcore Pinball, Ratatouille pinball, and Power Pinball (from Kiwi Games, creators of Bloons Tower Defense).

(Above) Is the Ratatouille game, while (Right) is the schematic of the playing field.

The ones up above are from the Power Pinball game. 

i) What is "good gameplay" when it comes to pinball game design? 

In my opinion, "good gameplay" ensures that the player maintains as much as control over the game's mechanics as possible. What was most frustrating about the less polished pinball games (such as the horrendous Original Hardcore one) was that many times I felt as though my ball was lost shortly after launching it. In these cases, the ball would quickly be"caught" by the level's many assorted bumpers and paths and then dumped at the bottom, leading to a quick death. These experiences proved very frustrating, for it was the game's wonky physics that were more at work than my actual input.

ii) How do pinball playfield designers create exciting experiences?

Designers can create an exciting Pinball experience by creating a large and open playing field, as was the case with the Power Pinball game (the second set of screenshots I posted). The screen above captures only a portion of the playing field; the designers clearly worked to prevent boxing the player in and restricting their actions. The openness of this level layout made this Pinball experience the most fun.

Pinball Doc Questions!

1) What was the big innovation in the 1940s that made all other pinball machines obsolete?

The big innovation in the 1940's was flippers.

2) In the 1970s, what new technological advance brought pinball up to date and enabled another step forward in the industry?

The 1970's introduced computerized, solid-state pinball machines.

What types of innovations did it make possible?

The innovations this made possible included function reliability and easily-added new features.

3) Which company specialized in 1970s pop-culture themed pinball machines?

The company was Gottlieb.

4) What technology shook the pinball world in the 70s? Why?

Video-game technology shook the pinball world because it more fun, involved more than one player, and easier to manage.

5) By the 1990s, was pinball successful or not?

Yes.

6) What was the key innovation behind "Pinball 2000"?

Pinball 2000's key innovation was a video monitor that projected moving images to the player.

7) What was the problem with the license behind the first major rollout of the Pinball 2000 idea with a major 3rd party license?

The problem was that Episode I didn't do as well as expected.

8) Why did Williams decide in the end to shut down its pinball division?

The pinball division was shut down due to reactions from pinball fans, as well as sales.

9) Do you think this was a good idea?

Yes. Pinball feels very dated in today's gaming market.

10) Does a good idea always guarantee a commercial win?

No.