Research 3/3

I discovered in my research that I the game I need to make should follow real world moral choices and how choices made should affect people’s perceptions on the real world. Seeing how popular games are, and knowing how powerful an affect they have on people’s lives, the games need to have strong choices about what they believe when they apply real life logic, and the result leads to changes affecting the game.

I also learned about the difficulty of making a full 3D game from what I talked with Brett. 3D is a hard concept to make beautiful in the remaining allotted time. A 2D game with good graphics would be easier than a 3D game with subpar graphics. It is easier to code and fulfill. Perhaps the question order should be edited to better fit the narrative, with the player’s gender first, and the three major questions.

Prototype Plan

Prototype Game

Prototype 1 – Creating sample game music

I will create a track that aids the gameplay and gives the user a more immersive experience. I am used to creating music for the hip hop genre but making music for a game such as this will be a different ball game as I’ve never done anything like that before. It will involve the use of synths and drum samples as well as 808 to give the music more of a low end.

Prototype 2- Experimenting in Unity

To begin this prototype I downloaded Unity 3d and Maya as recommended by the IMM students I spoke to and have started designing sketches of the layout of this game. I plan on creating a small rhythm runner game that will be similar to the game I’m trying to create and might even serve as a starting point for the final project. It will only be one level. This will test my proficiency in unity and help me decide what works within the game and what doesn’t so as to make the best final project I can. This game will be made for mac.

Prototype 3 – Kinect Control

and if I’m able to do this in time I’ll try to add the kinect control to the game. As of right now I plan to create a simple hallway that the player has to run through and turn at the right times. The user will just have to decide between turning left or right with hand gestures for the prototype. This will no doubt be the most challenging aspect as it will involve the use of both the kinect camera and unity 3d.

Research Update 3/3

Technical Aspect

To create this project I will need a couple of programs. I talked to a couple of people in the IMM department and they told me that the first one being Unity 3d would be to design the game environment as well as the interface. I need to learn basic C# that I could use to create the game and this will probably be the most challenging part as it is a whole new language for me. I will also need a Kinect camera to read the movements. As previously mentioned I have no experience with either of these things and I would need to get familiar with them as much as I can. After doing some research I also found out I will have to download an SDK and for Kinect and Unity pro since that’s the only way I could run the kinect program. http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/Programming-Kinect-for-Windows-v2/04

I will also need to use programs FL studio and Logic pro x which I’m already proficient in to make the music for this game. I started making the music last week and have already made 2/3 tracks that I plan to use in the game. One of them is a scary theme made in the spirit of halloween which features a dark synth and fast moving drums and the other is a more orchestral theme which features the use of instruments such as violins, marimba and an artificial harp. They are both about a minute and a half to 2 minutes long.

 

Prototype Plan

For my first prototype, I plan on creating a rather crude but functional NPC as a proof of concept. It’s something that is essential in my mod idea so it will be handy to learn a few things about it now. I already watched a tutorial on NPC creation and it seems straightforward, but time-consuming in nature. It also opens an opportunity to insert some recorded test dialogue that the NPC can speak, including lipsync files. Time provided, I’d like to test quest parameters given by the NPC for the player to complete. Something simple, like, “Give me that can over there.”

For my second prototype, I’m going to do some item modeling. Of course, I’d like to just burst out the gate with a gun, but I may start out more simply. Maybe a melee weapon, or small throwable. I want to do this to get more comfortable with 3ds Max and to prove that the use of Surface Painter is a worthwhile program for texturing. I’ll be sure to view some tutorials with help for some things unique to 3ds and how exactly Surface Painter works. I’ve used a bit so far, but I’m sure it holds many secrets I’ve yet to find.

For my third prototype, of which we have more time to create, I will to some terrain building tests within the Creation Kit. I’m going to learn how said terrain modeling works, and do some aesthetics tests for how an underground scene will look. Also, since this will most likely be an interior location, I may have to fiddle around with the navmesh of the terrain. A navmesh is a mesh you draw/overlay on top of terrain that lets the ai pathfind through a level freely. I may place objects around the level to decorate the scene and maybe even add a shack that is enterable through a load zone door, something that transports you through to a separate cell, or worldspace.

 

Research Update #3

This past week, I’ve finally gotten into what will make this project and the ideas I have for it come to fruition. Plenty of programs needed to be downloaded and a lot of time will need to be spent getting used to a learning how they work. In order to figure out which programs I needed, I spent plenty of time reading forums, instructional Wikis, and watching youtube tutorials mainly from this guy. In order to get the models made, textured and imported into Fallout 4, there are a bunch of steps that need to be done. In addition, there is a large amount of time to be spent on the creation of world spaces and NPCs in the Creation Kit.

The first program that I will talk about here is Autodesk 3ds Max. This is a modeling program, similar to Maya, that will assist me in the creation of weapon models. Now, going about getting a custom mesh into a game isn’t as simple as pressing the Export button. For Fallout 4, once you have a mesh and a texture for the mesh, you need to export it as a .nif file. In order to do this in 3ds Max, you need to have a separate plugin that allows you to import and export as .nif files. With that custom .nif mesh file, it’s time to open it in a program called NifSkope. This program is mainly used for Bethesda titles and basically acts as a bridge for the modeling program to the game engine. It assigns animations, sounds, size, and more. It’s basically where you glue your gun together after you made all the pieces. Then you can bring it into the Creation Kit to finally put it in your game. In action, it’s much easier said than done. Within those few steps I’ve mentioned, there are a ton of little tiny steps that take time to hurdle over.

All other tasks are pretty much located right within the Creation Kit. In it, I can write quest paths and their subsequent dialogue trees. I can also create custom NPCs that can speak those custom lines. World creation, object placement, and Nav Meshing can also be done right within the Creation Kit. It looks like it’s gonna be a lot of work, but not impossible.

Prototype Plan

Prototype 1 – Alexa Seasonings Skill

My first prototype will be a published Alexa skill that will help me learn the basic Alexa skill creation workflow. I will use one of my ideas, spices sorted by region, and work it into a helpful skill that will recommend spices based on what region you are cooking from. I will use Amazon AWS, Alexa Developer, and Getstoryline.com to put this skill together.

Prototype 2 – Arduino LED coding

I will learn how to code for Arduino in this prototype and demonstrate how I can program lights to make them turn on and off at specific times. For example, there will be a designated light for each spice and if I want to know the location of a certain spice, the light will know when to light up.

Prototype 3 – Alexa-enabled Arduino LED

For this prototype, I will put all my previous ideas together to build the simplest Smart Home program possible: telling Alexa to turn on and off an LED light with Arduino. Once I get that far, I can start configuring the lights for certain regions and flavors. This will get me as close as I can to my finished project.

Looking towards the future, I will still need to implement a database to save favorites and custom spice combinations.

Research Update 3 of 3

10/29/18

This week I have a challenging research task: figuring out how to hook up an Alexa controlled LED light. I’ve done some looking around with smart home products and Bluetooth, but circled back to Arduino, something I found out about in the beginning of the semester but never got around to looking into. There are some tutorials that demonstrate linking Arduino to Alexa, but I will need an Arduino circuit board and some mini LEDs to get this going. For now, I will start on the code and do more research on LED linking tutorials. For my prototype, I’d at least like to have one LED hooked up and controlled by Alexa by simply saying, “on” or “off”. I want to continue researching Arduino and its capabilities before I decide on any hardware or look into anything else. This just might be what I’m looking for. The biggest remaining question is how the spice rack will know where each spice is on the rack. Also, I wonder if I have the coding ability necessary to put this all together on the backend.

A/B Prototype Plan:

  1. Menu Screen with Hamburger Tool & calendar
  • Aesthetics: Need Logo front and center (mock up something before first prototype that will change). Front Screen will include logo, hamburger tool in top-right corner, and Login/Signup Button. Simple Login screen, and simple hamburger tool selection: about, artists, calender, forum, live, & photo feed. The calendar will be easy to read with listings of all upcoming local events in the user’s area. There will be a selection to add an event coming up (this will have to be moderated)
  • Function: Home Screen→ Hamburger tool option/Signup screen→ login/sign-up page/one of the hamburger tool options
  • Survey Questions:

-Should there be one person updating the calendar at all times or should bands be able to add their own event coming up?

-How can this be moderated? — should it be volunteer? Should there be rules to which events can be posted?

-Ask aesthetic questions about the logo — need to think about this.

-Is there anything missing from the tab section or anything that I should get rid of?

  1. Thesaurus of artists
  • Aesthetics: Very simple design, easy to navigate, gives info on artist as well as tour dates and links to their social accounts
  • Function: Clicks hamburger tool→clicks artists → thesaurus appears with search bar and a-z
  • Questions:
    -Do any apps that you typically use to find music artists have confusing functions or are they pretty straightforward?

-should there be a search bar or just a-z?

-should people have an option to add their band’s name to the thesaurus?

-When clicking an artists name, should options include seeing their merch, tour dates, info, etc… anything else?

  1. Forum screen with conversations
  • Aesthetics: Same pleasing yet simple/easy to read design as thesaurus, displays multiple conversations as well as the ability to add a topic: could be about setting up shows, looking for a singer/musician to join band, etc.
  • Function: Clicks hamburger tool→clicks forum/chat (not sure what to name it yet) → forums appear
  • Questions:

-Do you think this forum could be misused?

-Should there be a moderator?

-How many forums should appear at first before the scroll?

 

Research #3- more technical

 

  • Exploring some more of the following programs:

 

  • PubNub, PhoneGap, Cordova, React, Swift, xcode, Zeplin (part of sketch?), Figma.

Pubnub(free or 49$ per month for more services)- Real time app building tool, lots of helpful chatting tools/resources if confused by building platform. There aren’t a ton of reviews of it online, which makes me think it may not be legit/used often. I want to use something that will build my app the best way it possibly can, so I’m not quite sure about this.– good for location based apps?

*** ADOBE PhoneGap(free i think??–ADOBE)- A program that makes allows you to create a website which then will be packaged into a mobile app..It looks pretty straightforward. I would definitely be keen to using this program as long as I knew the right amount of javascript/html/css… I would first need to watch a ton of lynda videos/talk to a ton of people.

–> super helpful how-to

Cordova(free or not?)- Similar to phone gap… Their client base is very small (tiny companies like fitness apps), but it looks free and maybe simple to use in the case that you know your programming.

React(free i think–need props)– Javascript framework created and used by Facebook, and you can use it to build native mobile apps..This heavily uses javascript which I am definitely not comfortable with using… so I’m probably going to pass. Huge companies like facebook and instagram use it though which means it definitely has a ton of capabilities… I may actually look into this for building but need to brush up on my java!!!

OTHER: Swift, Xcode, Zeplin, Figma (does anyone think these programs might be helpful?

Research Update 2/3

Current Context

This week I took the liberty to explore more “state of the art” projects in a similar field as my project is going to be in. Since I have already looked at trailblazing games such as the Old School playstation 2 classic Rez and the more recent Beat Saber I decided to expand to more platforms and research some rhythm games that could help inspire my project. On IOS I actually found a game that was pretty cool called Geometry Dash. The game designed by Robtop features a 2D environment where the user plays as a box moving from the left to right, with geometry shaped obstacles that have to be jumped over as you approach them. Each level of this game has it’s own theme song and although the game could be played without sound, the sound definitely aids the gameplay as there are jumps every time there is a note change in the music. Every time the user hits an obstacle they simply start over. However I believe that the sound is the appeal in this game. It features catchy music that once you’ve heard a couple of times can actually memorize and help time your jumps as you progress through the game. I would like implore a similar strategy in the making of my project and have the music be about 1 to 2 minutes long and be simple enough to be able to catch on to and recognize when changes will be happening in order to make the movements necessary to progress through the level.

In terms of the movements the player would be making, I took what Professor Ault said to me about trying to utilize the kinect movements as much as I can to create a more immersive gaming experience seriously and started researching some kinect rhythm games. I thought a game that does this very well was Dance Central 3. I had not been exposed to the game because as a Playstation fan I felt like I can’t cheat on my system. However after watching people play online I quickly saw the appeal to the game. This game actually uses pre-existing songs and lets the player choose a character to perform the song with. It features the users actual kinect signature on the top right while the screen is filled with a dance environment depending on the song that is chosen and the character performing the moves that go along with the song. Depending on how well the kinect signature matches the movements on screen the game grades the user on how well they are dancing. This is actaully a lot of movement and I don’t know if I would be able to execute anything as flawless as this but it definitely inspired me to add more elements to the game other than just turning left and right. I think I could use this in a way that the player would have to do more basic movements such as raising their arms or jumping/ ducking over or under obstacles in the way. Combining that with the moving environment, I think I could create a very immersive and exciting environment for the user in VR.