Jeffs Final Blog

Ok this is my last blog as I have gone home.

I tryed to get the girls ion the best position that i could before i left wellington. I was having trouble scripting the trasition between level 2-3 and 3-4. I followed the tutorial and used there code to get from level one to level 2. But i couldnt quite figure out the other trasistions.

So what i have done is set up all of the levels and the main menu. If all else fails an it all turns to shit. Tubs can just open the unity file and open each level. The different stages of the character are also in each of these levels. So you will be able to see the stages of the frog and his animations. (I Hope).

So I habe basically tryed to get the basic template and leave most of the mesh placement to the girls. I have tryed to get this far. I have faith in Tubs and what she can do! As she has been with me for the last week. We have been working pretty closely on it. I must say that it is much easyer and alot faster when there are two of you working on the game at the same time. For example i needed a new pipe so i just asked Tubs and she had one ready for me in under an hour. Fully textured and it looks great! So yeah.

I love the Game!!!

Jeff logging out . . .

Animations

Here are some short clips of the animations of Tuff.

Enjoy!

Stage 3 Walk Cycle:



Stage 4 Animations:












Jeff Logging out . . .

Thursday - Progress

We had a team meeting yesterday, to talk about the game and what i had to get done before leaving on saturday. Tubs and I as the remaining group members. Figured that i would like to have the games frame work set out and working. So then Tubs just has to place the meshes and make the level look pretty.

Whose wearing the pretty pants now Tubs? YOU!

Also all of the meshes and files that Kirsty has given me have not been able to be placed and used in unity. I have no idea what is happening and because she has done it all in maya i have NO idea!

Here is a list of what i am aiming on getting done by friday night:

• Character Animation Switch
  
• Camera Switch
• Level Switch
• Main Menu
• Game HUD
• Basic Fame Work of the Entire Game
  

Here is a list of what i would have liked to do:

• Enemies
• Cut Scenes
• Gradual Damage
• Death Fallout Areas

Here is a list of what i would of enjoyed doing if we had a complete group the whole time:

• Underwater Vision Scripting
  
• Moveable objects
• Collectible Items
• Maps
• Comprehensive Game Menus

Jeff logging out . . .

Wen - Progress

After yesterdays what ever about the lab and other stuff like that, I came back after 5 to do some work on my character:


Here are the other two stages of Tuff. With their final textures and stuff. They have also been rigged and animated. I only have the swim, walk and idle cycle for Tuff with legs. Then i can tak them into unity and get the transition between them to work.
I think that the four meshes are very similar and look like they are the evolution of Tuff. I like them.

Jeff Logging out . . .

Friday - Jeffs Progress

I have been working on the weight painting of the frog stage of the character and his animations:

Here is a sample of the walk cycle. (Its a bit hard to tell how far off the ground he is but with the shadow in unity it will be cool.)

Other animations i am working on:
Jump
Attack
Swim

Well on friday i did a test with some kids. Here is the Email i sent Jennifer Cochrane (Mum):

Dear Jennifer Cochrane,

Here is the link to the game. If it works just refresh the web page after each kid has had a go and the game will reset.

www.jeffreycochrane.com/tuffbetatest/Platformer_7_2_7.unityweb.html/

So just install the player and hopefully the game will work if not don't worry about it. I have attached a folder with some images i would like the kids to have a look at and could you tell me their reaction to them. I have included some simple renders of Tuff (The main character) in his final form and the spawn stage in the 1st level.

Order of testing:
Tell the kids the story and then ask them if they would like to play a game like this. Don't show them any images or anything. Then show them the images in the folder. Ask them what they think about them. Then let them play the game until they get to the bottom of the tree.(Through and past the mushrooms, and around the tree for abit). Then ask them the questions

The Story:
Humans are dumping waste into the water. All of the frogs are dieing. Your name is Tuff and you are the last of the frogs. You must stop the humans dumping waste into your water or you will die. You start as a frog spawn at the top of a mutant tree. Work your way to the bottom. As you go along you will evolve through the stages of a frog until you finally become a frog.

Would you like to play this game?

The questions:

• Is it easy to navigate around the game? Why?
• Do you like the colors and aesthetics? Why?
• Do you think that the controls are easy? Why?
• Is the game too easy or to hard? (Jumping between the mushrooms, moving around the tree without falling off.)
• What would you change? and Why?
• What do you like? Why?

The controls:
The mouse is used to look around
w = foward
a = left
d = right
s = back
space = jump

Intent:
I'm just testing the use of the camera and the basic controls of the game. Not the level design or the lack of meshes or things in the level. How the basic game play works. And if it needs tweaking. Can the kids navigate around the game easily without too much hassle.

Could you also put in your views on the game from a teachers perspective:

• Do you think the kids were navigating easily?
• What would you change?
• What do you like / Dislike? Why?
• Other
• Do you think that the game would be better if the kids had no control of the camera. It was just a fixed perspective 3rd person. With the kids able to move the character forwards, left, right and back. And a jump and what-not?
• Ideas.

If the game doesn't work just ask them the questions and show them the images. Some feed back is better than no feed back. If the game doesn't work txt me and when i get to school i can take and send more images of the level and stuff.

Cheers, Thanks a bunch!

Here are the results:

Evaluation of Game

Sam 5years old, Angel 7 years old, Elliot 10 years old

Sam and Angel both liked the sound of the game and would choose to play it.

Elliot: story sounds cool, but the idea of being a frog doesn’t appeal much

Images

Frog

Sam: like the frog with its tongue sticking out. The feet and body are like a ball. Its eyes are bulgy

Angel: Good graphics – don’t like the bit at the end of the tongue. I like the way it’s jumping and the way that the eyes have been created

Eliot: The frog made me laugh – it looks funny in mid air! I like the webbed feet

Egg

Sam: I like the egg, but the colours are a bit dark

Angel: the egg needs more colour, so the tadpoles stand out more. It’s a little dark

Elliot: I like the transparency. Colours are a bit dark

Other images

Children not sure what they are. Could locate water and ground. Dodn’t know what sunshine looking image was

After playing the game:

Sam: Moves to fast, I keep losing my place. Hard to use buttons

Suggestions: make the game slower.

Make the tree go to an island

I want to find a pond that hasn’t been polluted

Can I have a button where I can go back to the start when I am lost?

Angel: It’s easy to navigate (used buttons W, A – didn’t use jump). I just walked off the edges.

Colours – they show what you’re up to. The green is good.

Easy controls – easy to remember

I didn’t see any mushrooms. I walked off the edge of thetree to get to the bottom.

Suggestions: egg needs to evelove more as the journey progresses

Should put in flies to help you evelove. A tadpole also needs water to survive – you should have to go near water to keep going, and the egg should slow down if it has been out of the water for a long time. In this game, it keeps going at the same speed without food or water and they shouldn’t happen!

When you get to the water part, it should look polluted – that water looks okay to me!

Elliot: It’s hard to look around because the camera moves too quickly and is hard to control.

The ground is good – I like the texture. The red in the tree is weird.

Suggestions: Need activities to do to make it more interesting. Close to end of game, Tuff could find a female frog, because in order for the frogs to survive, need a female!

Teachers Perspective

Angel and Elliot navigated through game easily. Sam had a lot of difficulty coping with more than 2 buttons and speed of game.

What would you change?

Slow down speed – or allow controller to slow speed.

Have more landmark bits along the tree to help children navigate. Difficult to know where in the tree you were.

Like / Dislike

Like the idea of the game. Graphics were cool – especially underwater, hills etc.

Got dizzy and lost in the game. Need more educational features eg: Angels idea of catching flies a good one. Needs to evolve, but children need to do things to make it evolve – whether it be visiting water, answering questions, finding flies. Difficult for children to see things were polluted. What is Tuff doing to actually change the environment? Does he need to get to certain places to “win” something that stops humans destroying water? Have a game at school where they have to catch cockroaches, but have to answer a question after catching so many to evolve……

Kids love having control of the camera. Wouldn’t wan tto restrict them – but could control their use of it, by the game slowing down the more the are away from water / tree. Dying when there too long or more pollution being put into pond.

None of the children got the frog to evolve from the egg. Only Elliot found the mushrooms and we weren’t sure what we had to do. What was the tyre thing.

Kids all loved having a go and are very keen to re-visit your game!! Many thanks for giving us the opportunity at this stage!! We hope this evaluation helps!!

All the best!
Jennifer Cochrane

Jeff logging out . . .

Wed - Frog Development Images

Here are a few development images of the frog stage of Tuff:

(He is rigged but i am yet to weight paint him)

I also put a test texture on Tuff and did a few renders: The texture is not final but you get the idea.3 lights:

Jeff Logging out . . .

Wed - Jeff Work

Today i worked with the 1st level again. I tried a few different cameras. As the orbit camera is a bit spastic in enclosed spaces. I have also placed the dead spawn at the top of the level and textured them, I made a sign to point the way to the bottom of the tree and textured that. I had a little crack at the underwater vision. Placing the bouncing mushrooms. Alot of tweaking, tuning and testing.

I had a chat with mum about the testing and other things that i would like to do with the kids. I have a 1st level movement and basic camera movement test on Friday. With a selection of kids from mums school.

- I want to see if it is too hard or not hard enough
- Camera is Ok
- The style is appealing
- It is fun to play

I will be asking the kids to play the game and then with mums help answer a few questions that will help the further development of the game. This test will be key to the further development of the level and the rest of the game. And will be a good indicator if we are aiming at the right things or not.

Jeff logging out . . .

Jeffs Progress

Today and yesterday i was working on the level and the meshes in the level. So here are heaps of development images.

Here are the light bugs basic shape and layout. The grey ball at the end will be clear and contain a light inside. The eyes are spirally and weird looking. I think that the style of the light bug fits the style we are aiming at.


The basic layout of the light bugs over the level:
The light bugs:
In game Light bugs:

Tuff - Frog Character Development: The hardest thing in the model so far has been the feet:




What's next for Tuff:
Finish the model
Rig Tuff
Animate Tuff
- Walk
- Jump
- Tongue Attack
- Other
Texture Tuff

Also I would like to get the 1st level quite a way through so that i can get kids to test the playability and other aspects of the level.

Jeff logging out . . .