Sketch number one: basic gameplay in a side scroller perspective. Also defined as, platforming fun with moving platforms. Woo!
Look, you have to start somewhere! Despite the seeming simplicity of the elements we are using, their is still the possibility of a very complex and engaging experience, we at least hope. That is what we tell our investors.
The concept behind this single level focuses on transition and creation. I believe that an unchanging “world” would be very uninteresting to the player, thus as the player progresses they will find themselves playing a role in the metamorphosis from a stark “schematic” level to a thriving world.
This is where you come in. We are very interested in seeing how other visual artists might imagine this second “world.” Steph and I had visions of a gritty city, laced with paint splatter and subtle suggestions. We are not going for ultra realism, rather the more stylistic the better.
This will then be implemented it into the final stages of the level. The world you have designed will be created around the player, slowly building itself out of individual elements to completely replace the first world all together.
If you are interested, email myself at peteralt at umich dot edu. I hope to have this entire project completed in a couple weeks. (LIES!!!!)
(more…)
Probably the greatest way to wake up in the morning is with a UPS truck parked at your front door and a man clad in brown with a cardboard box tucked under his arm, peering through the your window.
After years of procrastination, I finally forced myself to buy it. What had held me back till this point, I really don’t know. I might have been distracted by something, something not really worth it. Maybe the price point seemed too high and I had to wait till it plummeted like an asteroid to a paltry 10 pieces. Yet there it was, and the only thing standing between us was a drafty door and the insurmountable cold.
The weather here in Ann Arbor is horrible. Imagine death and then subtract a couple degrees. As I type this, it is -13 degrees outside (celsius). The notion of glancing out the window into winter’s sarcophagus fills me with such fear and loathing, that merely opening the door to the abhorrent “outside” would only happen if something life altering were about to take place. That time was nigh!
I scrawled my name on the man’s little “signer ma-thinger computer” thing.
“I guess this kinda looks like my signature.” I quipped.
“I wouldn’t know the difference.” the brown man trumped (I realized afterwards that comments of this nature probably stopped being novel about 3 hours into this man’s career.)
I closed the door and locked the demons of winter outside. It was now just me, my box and my gigantic smile. Then a house mate came to spoil the curiously sensual moment.
“Get anything good?”
“Just a video game…”
“Cool, what game.”
“Oh, just some old one.”
He couldn’t understand, he wouldn’t! Even if I tried to explain the importance of the object that lay in my possession, he would probably nod it off and go back to whatever ex-frat guys do in their spare time, beer pong with stuffed animals or something.
Now alone and with the steadiness of a caffeine addict, I unsheathed my pen to repeatedly stab the box till the tape gave way, opening to reveal its holy splendor!
…and so the artists began their journey into a wholly new and Unreal world…
…only to appreciate the black screen that they, themselves, called into existence.
Since that auspicious landmark in the project, a basic menu has replaced the standard UT2004 menu, and the ‘Glitchfeed’ splash screen welcomes players to the TC mod. After entirely too much caffeine, we have been able to both momentarily understand and manipulate the Unreal Script. As of now, the streamline startup menu links to UT’s submenus. At this very moment, Peter is ripping out his beard while culling the unnecessary menu buttons and their associated options. With luck (and no compiling errors) the GlitchFeedMainMenu will be a minimalist version of its commercial counterpart within the hour.
~Steph
The proper avenues have been taken. The bureaucratic system that is the University of Michigan’s School of Art and Design has been navigated and Glitch Feed is officially a class (read: independent study).
It’s been a long time desire of mine to actually study game design from the artists perspective and after many months of work and negotiations with assorted faculty, Stephanie and I will finally embark on what will be a very challenging artistic, adventure.
We will be working primarily within the Unreal Tournament 2004 engine and we hope to create some pieces that go in different directions than what a mod scene might normally produce.
One major obstacle we will have to over come is our utter lack of any knowledge regarding game code (we are pretty good at everything else. pretty good.) We are learning yes, it is difficult but we will move forward!! If any body wants to lend a hand, we would relish any aid that other artists or experienced coders might want to provide.
Of course, this blog will be updated more often as progress continues to yield tastier fruit.
Read on to see our preliminary course outline.
I want to apologize for the lack of activity within our small (but growing) Glitchfeed community. Things are not dead here, not in the slightest. Think of this as the calm before the storm…
I have just returned from Japan (I will def post more on that later) and life back in Michigan has assaulted me with one maddening day after another. I have been working almost not stop for the past 2 weeks to bring my American life back into order.
One result of these private activities will be the emergence of a collaborative effort between Stephanie, myself and many others with the purpose of designing and creating artistic pieces within the video game medium. Our goal is to create three proof of concepts and one fleshed out game by the end of the semester. During our struggles, we will be blogging our steps for all to see. We also hope to create more community projects, potentially involving community members into our projects.
One last note, I was required to create a personal blog for a graphic novel class here in Michigan. It will be updated daily, so RSS it and check in for some of my more bizarre musings that lack any grammatical form. If you stop by, leave a comment!
(hint: click image)
*update: Mode 7 Style is now dead. *tear* We had some good memories we did! We may see Mode 7 Style reincarnated at some point, but I anticipate that it will not be any time soon.
cheers!
-Peterjapanized
I’m back. Over break I avoided people and played quite a lot of video games. My toppers were: Knytt, Façade, and Age of Empires III (with the natives!). That’s right. I, the Sioux chief sent my cougar army to invade the russian ninja facility in the delicate lands of Orinoco.
The screenshot here is from the devilishly cute game of Knytt. I’ll let other people review it because I’m a little sick right now. Download it on the link! Also, check out
But here’s what this post is really about:
What do you guys suggest to use to make videogames? I’m no programmer that much, I know a tiny bit of java. I don’t have a copy of Unreal so I’m not sure I can mod it (nor do I know how). I found 3Drad again, and the new version is real user friendly and costs $30. It has lots of built in ai to make quick games in one night that could be made into something pretty neat. I’ve used Games Factory 2, and made a cute little game where you try to not die.
Simple question, simple post.. but I’m antsy and would like to make something already.
-ronen.
Filed under: Gaming as Usual
This is not entirely relevant to Glitch Feed, but I’d just thought I’d share…
The EECS department at UofM just had their bi-annual game competition. Participants work all semester on developing their concepts and present them at the event. While most of the games focus on coding ability, I joined a team as a texture artist. I can’t say that the game was anything shocking – it was a spin-off of Mario Kart – but it did give me much needed dev. work. Compared to the other entries, our game not only played flawlessly, but it also looked stellar. As a result, the game WON UNAMIOUSLY!!!
Mad props to Dan, Josh and Allan!
~Steph
Filed under: Game design, Glitch Feed, Glitch Feed Game Development, Relevant Game Design
Relevant Game Design Epidsode 2
Hey there,
This is my idea for a game concept inspired by an every day situation. It’s kinda random and purposely simplistic. Hope you like it!
From Laura (http://mouseecstasy.wordpress.com/)
Filed under: Game design, Glitch Feed, Glitch Feed Game Development, Relevant Game Design
*this image is not of Japan, duh
Relevant Game Design Episode 2
words +peter
inspiration
Living abroad has given me a multitude of challenges that I must solve on a daily basis. While I consider myself fortunate to living in a country that is as advanced, and often more so than my home land of the United States, many barriers remain in my way that will suddenly turn the most basic of tasks into a oninous puzzle of differing and culture and misunderstanding.
As time has passed, I have become more aware of the subtle signals that aid in illumating my path in daily Japanese ritual. What I once percieved as chaotic, I now see as orderly. Trivial tasks have transformed into their name sake and no longer present me with a confounding riddle.
Aiding in this progression is my slowly buidling knowledge of the Japanese language. I am not be able to speak with the confidence of one who has studied many years, but key words have recenly revealed themselves to me, allowing me to piece together the meaning from the abstract sounds that are being poured out by those who speak them.
Being aware of what is going on around me has also been a very crucial tool to assimilating into society. Many times I have been approached with a problem where my current understanding gave me no hints into how it is solved. Instead of attempting a trial and error approach to the solution, I waited for someone who frequents the same situation to come and solve the problem for themselves. I would then learn from what they did and reproduce their actions.
This tactic has proved to be useful in situations of not only basic procedure (such as getting on a train, paying on the bus) but also cultural expectations (when to bow politely, how to greet a stranger, how to ask for forgiveness when you have made a mistake). Here in Japan, almost every detail of every day living is slightly different. Being aware of how others around you handle the same situation will function as a guide and allow one to adapt quickly and become comfortable in their new setting.
Filed under: Game design, Glitch Feed, Glitch Feed Game Development, Relevant Game Design
Relevant Game Design Episode 2
Instead of typical “power-ups” or items that unlock new and more difficult levels of a game, this game focuses on progressively stripping the player of their skills and modes of interaction.
WHEN IT SNOWS, THE WORLD IS MUTE
You are visually, aurally, emotionally and intuitively hyper-aware of every trivial action in your world. And its going to kill you. Every one of the millions of passersby’s heartbeats weakens your own. Blinded by the entire light spectrum, the conundrum of everyday life threatens to deafen you. You no longer have control over you own waif-like feeble voice.
And then something happens. Something that causes everything you have always prayed for but have never quite contemplated to commence.
