Yo Drop Fans,

Quick update.  The 3D model problems we were having before were slayed by the talented Ariel/Tao duo.  Up above you can see our models in scene with the sleek weapons inspired by Akai samplers.  Animations are finally working now including a head nodding motion while a player is neutralized.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmyKa-wfmUU

The Drop

Last week, we showed off some of what we have been working on to the students and faculty at the ETC.  Up above you can see what we showed to demonstrate what is going on during the drop moment.  A lot of this is placeholder and far from what we eventually want, but can give you a taste of what we are heading towards.  In the video, you will notice the environment starting to change during the buildup before the climactic moment of the walls shattering as the drop hits, revealing the video screens behind the walls.  Eventually, we want the dancing crowds to increase in number and reflect who is playing their music longer throughout the match.

Playtesting and Analytics

Tomorrow, we will be hosting several small groups of high school and college students to perform some formal playtests.  Tao has been working on building a profiler which collects various points of data throughout each match such as health over time, accuracy, combos, movement of the player/camera, etc.  We are going to be using these data points to take a deep look at how players are playing and also specifically comparing people that identify as rhythm players/FPS players.  Some of the other things we will be looking at are how much a player moves versus the accuracy/combos they are able to achieve as well as what discrepancies there are in the drop sections vs. intro/breakdown moments.  Once we make some conclusions from these data points, we can better fine-tune the game’s mechanisms to promote better balance and better align the interest curve of the gameplay and the music.

UI Iteration

One of the critical things we have to improve in the next few weeks is clarity of UI and feedback in the game.  We have added a combo meter to better show the progression of your combos.  We added a glow to the score bar for the player that is winning to make that a little bit more clear.  Also, Ariel is working on some additions such as effects on the crossfader to make it standout in the map and when you are pushing it.  Elizabeth is working on replacing our placeholder icons for Beastmode and our combo breakers so hopefully players can intuitively know what they do just by looking at them.

That’s it for today.  See you next time.

The Drop