UPDATES
Quarter Semester Presentations, Moving Forward
The team has been moving forward with the new direction determined last week, expanding on the prototype and adding new features. The player can move freely and move in small circles to drop bombs. The behavior of the predator has been tweaked and now feels more realistic. Enemy behavior has been defined, and the orbs dropped by the enemy now drift and shrink in a realistic way. A meter has also been implemented that fills when the player collects orbs and is drained when the player drops bombs.
Faculty feedback from the quarter-semester presentations has been helpful in establishing some momentum with the new direction. By reviewing games that were suggested, the team has gained some useful perspective and has a better idea of what mechanics will be fun in the game. Though the game has strayed somewhat from the original concept, faculty is pleased by the fact that this new direction has more potential for fun.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Deliverables: Implemented circular-gesture bomb-dropping, better feeling enemy behavior, floating disappearing orbs, fully functional bomb meter, and HP.
Research: Playtested with five ETC students; found that the basic interaction is fun, but the space should be more meaningful, power gamers can easily manipulate the chase mechanic, and certain visibility issues remain.
Expert Feedback: Met with Arnold Blinn from Microsoft about our process and code architecture; received positive feedback about our end goal and iterative development.