Running log for my self-generated GID: Housecat
by Stephen Zepp · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 09/24/2005 (12:13 pm) · 7 replies
Well, I never get the time to actually participate in a REAL GID, but since I have to start getting up to speed on being able to teach T2D in our boot camps, I decided to do an "offline" one this weekend.
Obviously since there isn't anyone else doing one this weekend, I didn't get the interaction from IRC, etc., so I decided to post a running log of the session over this weekend.
My goal here really is simply to document my thought processes and progress over the weekend, and kind of emulate the IRC feedback that I may have gotten during a "normal" GID. I'm open to comments/suggestions, and of course if anyone is really taken by the idea even possibly collaborating, but since this is a learning session for me mostly, I'm not flat out asking for anything! I just thought it would be interesting to have a thread that tracked my progress. These logs are unedited/not really formatted for viewing: simply the raw notes I'm taking as I go along...
Without further ado, my running blog for this weekend:
Housecat! blog:
Saturday
09:45 decide to do a T2D GID. Have never ever actually -looked- at T2D code other than basic support in the forums no idea what to do
Since there isn't actually a GID running this week, I'm going to pretend!
--briefly consider making a 3 level chess game (fantasy chess, project I worked on in college)--blow it off, too complex
--checkers? backgammon? good TBS implementation demo, but boring
--Heroes of Might and Magic clone? fun, TBS, too complex, too much art
--kids game? some ideas, no real interest
10:00 brainstorming more ideas, watching one of my two cats looking for something interesting to do. Flashback to watching him stalking bugs
and think about making a mini-simulation about a mouse trying to just get some food, and a cat stalking him
--idea flesh out: 2 player game, one is the mouse, one is the cat
--environment is a simple floorplan of a room in a house, with a few pieces of furniture
--win state:
----mouse must make it from a randomly placed mouse hole to the "cheese", eat for 60 seconds, and make it back to mouse hole
----cat must find the mouse and keep it from winning
--conditions:
----mouse's movement and visibilty is semi-limited due to being a little old mouse: can only see short distance, hear loud things, smell cheese
can only move on the floor of the house, can move underneath furniture
certain movement is only allowed during environmental conditions--can only "sprint" if "scared" (alerted), etc.
----cat's movement and visibility is larger: can see long distance, hear quiet things, cannot see/smell (recognize) cheese or mousehole
can move along the floor, as well as jump on top of furniture (but not underneath)
10:20 initial control schema for movement, and some gameplay brainstorming. The basic plan is a combination of direct control and "move to target"
--cat has more direct control of where they can move and where they "look" based on different movement modes (smarter)
----can "stalk" when it detects the mouse. slow movement, gets closer
----can "leap" on to the top (and off) of the furniture, making it mostly undetectable by the mouse
----can "pounce" (attack move) on a mouse that it sees and is in range
----can "sprint" towards a mouse it sees, but this is a "loud" movement--will alert mouse. click and hold on mouse
----can "listen": no movement, enhanced hearing
----can "claw": blind attack against "hidden" mouse. if mouse is actually close, may hit it
Obviously since there isn't anyone else doing one this weekend, I didn't get the interaction from IRC, etc., so I decided to post a running log of the session over this weekend.
My goal here really is simply to document my thought processes and progress over the weekend, and kind of emulate the IRC feedback that I may have gotten during a "normal" GID. I'm open to comments/suggestions, and of course if anyone is really taken by the idea even possibly collaborating, but since this is a learning session for me mostly, I'm not flat out asking for anything! I just thought it would be interesting to have a thread that tracked my progress. These logs are unedited/not really formatted for viewing: simply the raw notes I'm taking as I go along...
Without further ado, my running blog for this weekend:
Housecat! blog:
Saturday
09:45 decide to do a T2D GID. Have never ever actually -looked- at T2D code other than basic support in the forums no idea what to do
Since there isn't actually a GID running this week, I'm going to pretend!
--briefly consider making a 3 level chess game (fantasy chess, project I worked on in college)--blow it off, too complex
--checkers? backgammon? good TBS implementation demo, but boring
--Heroes of Might and Magic clone? fun, TBS, too complex, too much art
--kids game? some ideas, no real interest
10:00 brainstorming more ideas, watching one of my two cats looking for something interesting to do. Flashback to watching him stalking bugs
and think about making a mini-simulation about a mouse trying to just get some food, and a cat stalking him
--idea flesh out: 2 player game, one is the mouse, one is the cat
--environment is a simple floorplan of a room in a house, with a few pieces of furniture
--win state:
----mouse must make it from a randomly placed mouse hole to the "cheese", eat for 60 seconds, and make it back to mouse hole
----cat must find the mouse and keep it from winning
--conditions:
----mouse's movement and visibilty is semi-limited due to being a little old mouse: can only see short distance, hear loud things, smell cheese
can only move on the floor of the house, can move underneath furniture
certain movement is only allowed during environmental conditions--can only "sprint" if "scared" (alerted), etc.
----cat's movement and visibility is larger: can see long distance, hear quiet things, cannot see/smell (recognize) cheese or mousehole
can move along the floor, as well as jump on top of furniture (but not underneath)
10:20 initial control schema for movement, and some gameplay brainstorming. The basic plan is a combination of direct control and "move to target"
--cat has more direct control of where they can move and where they "look" based on different movement modes (smarter)
----can "stalk" when it detects the mouse. slow movement, gets closer
----can "leap" on to the top (and off) of the furniture, making it mostly undetectable by the mouse
----can "pounce" (attack move) on a mouse that it sees and is in range
----can "sprint" towards a mouse it sees, but this is a "loud" movement--will alert mouse. click and hold on mouse
----can "listen": no movement, enhanced hearing
----can "claw": blind attack against "hidden" mouse. if mouse is actually close, may hit it
#3
Project Scope params:
--cut networking until after everything else is feature complete
----requires rudimentary AI for the opponent. Initially select Cat as player mode, with Mouse as AI driven. Next reverse, third allow 2 player
--no artist on project, so programmer art (we're talking X's and O's)
--no sound
Design time: 4 hours
Implementation time: 15 hours
Package/Delivery: 1.5 hours
Project Management: 3.5 hours
Rough Feature set:
--movement modes as described above for mouse and cat.
--detection modes as described above for mouse and cat
--game timer (for scoring and mission end)
--AI for mouse
--AI for cat
--networked/two player
Milestone schedule:
MS 1: Environment Total Time 2 hours
--create scene (walls, furniture, cheese, mousehole)
----create programmer art to construct room, a couple of pieces of furniture, mousehole, cat, and mouse sprites
----implement collision layers and state changes
----random placement of cheese and mousehole, furniture placement initially fixed
--set up timers and win state metrics
MS 2: Movement Total Time 4 hours
--implement movement controls and abilities for cat
------implement "on furniture/off furniture" modes
--implement/simulate mouse movement.
--set up initial structure for AI (to allow for mouse movement)
MS 3: Detection Total Time 6 hours
--implement cat detection mechanisms (hearing, sight)
----implement mouse reporting mechanisms
--implement Cat vis restrictions
--implement Mouse detection mechanisms (alert system)
----implement cat reporting mechanisms
----implement mouse "fear factor" metric
MS 4 Detection, visibility, movement integration (3 hours)
--integrate above systems into playable state
MS 5 playability demo (2 hours)
--"beta" testing and re-implementation for feature set
--fun factor check
MS 6 package and "publish" (1.5 hours)
The above schedule is based on minimal feature set. If things go much more quickly, will factor in additional features as described above, and consider networking for 2 player game.
Total Active Time
Design: 2 hours
Research (design): .5 hours
Project Management: 1.75 hours
09/24/2005 (1:48 pm)
12:15 Setup feature set and milestonesProject Scope params:
--cut networking until after everything else is feature complete
----requires rudimentary AI for the opponent. Initially select Cat as player mode, with Mouse as AI driven. Next reverse, third allow 2 player
--no artist on project, so programmer art (we're talking X's and O's)
--no sound
Design time: 4 hours
Implementation time: 15 hours
Package/Delivery: 1.5 hours
Project Management: 3.5 hours
Rough Feature set:
--movement modes as described above for mouse and cat.
--detection modes as described above for mouse and cat
--game timer (for scoring and mission end)
--AI for mouse
--AI for cat
--networked/two player
Milestone schedule:
MS 1: Environment Total Time 2 hours
--create scene (walls, furniture, cheese, mousehole)
----create programmer art to construct room, a couple of pieces of furniture, mousehole, cat, and mouse sprites
----implement collision layers and state changes
----random placement of cheese and mousehole, furniture placement initially fixed
--set up timers and win state metrics
MS 2: Movement Total Time 4 hours
--implement movement controls and abilities for cat
------implement "on furniture/off furniture" modes
--implement/simulate mouse movement.
--set up initial structure for AI (to allow for mouse movement)
MS 3: Detection Total Time 6 hours
--implement cat detection mechanisms (hearing, sight)
----implement mouse reporting mechanisms
--implement Cat vis restrictions
--implement Mouse detection mechanisms (alert system)
----implement cat reporting mechanisms
----implement mouse "fear factor" metric
MS 4 Detection, visibility, movement integration (3 hours)
--integrate above systems into playable state
MS 5 playability demo (2 hours)
--"beta" testing and re-implementation for feature set
--fun factor check
MS 6 package and "publish" (1.5 hours)
The above schedule is based on minimal feature set. If things go much more quickly, will factor in additional features as described above, and consider networking for 2 player game.
Total Active Time
Design: 2 hours
Research (design): .5 hours
Project Management: 1.75 hours
#4
09/24/2005 (8:18 pm)
Bah, you should have said something. I was doing a GID this morning too. Then I got bored and went and watched TV, next thing I know its 4:15AM :/ I guess I must have missed you if you came on IRC, havent really been paying attention today. Ohwell.
#5
I stalled out due to real life issues around 3 PM my time, but will kick back in tomorrow. Mostly concerned about even programmer art to be honest...the rest is easy stuff!
09/25/2005 (3:00 am)
Nah, I wasn't on irc (for some reason never have been a fan, no idea why!).I stalled out due to real life issues around 3 PM my time, but will kick back in tomorrow. Mostly concerned about even programmer art to be honest...the rest is easy stuff!
#6
Even though there wasn't a real GID you should have jumped onto IRC anyway, plenty of people idleing that could have given feedback. You might have been able to snag someone to knock up something to replace the programmer art as well :)
09/26/2005 (7:46 am)
Screenies?? It is not a GID without Screenies, its in the rules... well it might not be, but it should be :PEven though there wasn't a real GID you should have jumped onto IRC anyway, plenty of people idleing that could have given feedback. You might have been able to snag someone to knock up something to replace the programmer art as well :)
#7
09/26/2005 (7:53 am)
As life would have it, I never actually did anything but design work over the weekend, so this looks like it's going to be stretched into a "game in a week" for me, but still holding the 24 total hours worked on it timeframe is what I'm planning. 
Torque 3D Owner Stephen Zepp
----mouse gets a pointer to it's target (can smell the cheese), as well as it's mousehole (knows where it lives).
----can "scan"--sit up on hind feet, glances around in all directions. Gives mouse 360 vision, slightly enhanced range
----can "meander"--wander in a direction (based on facing), gives 90 deg vision left and right of centerline of path, standard vis range, quiet
----can "sprint"--can only sprint when alerted, and has no real control over where to sprint. Automatically heads to nearest furniture or mousehole
------if none of the above is within recent "memory", player gets a warning and mouse sprints towards mouse pointer (can do interesting
avoidance tactics here maybe?)
----can "hide"--underneath furniture or in mousehole. absolutely silent, and cannot be seen. once vision lost, can meander without detection
until cat re-acquires. Cat cannot "see" underneath furniture, so good for mouse
Environment
----cat sees all furniture in room, but must detect the mouse, and cannot detect cheese.
----cat gets large playwindow to hold entire room? mouse gets very small play window due to low vis range? check playability/fun factor of mouse
----initial plan: floor is one tile layer, mouse sized layer, then furniture layer, then "on top of furniture" layer for cat only.
------need to see how we do this in T2D: I know we have layers and collision layers, is this easy to implement?
10:50 Realize I need to keep a blog, summarize all ideas into the log.
11:10 Time for "free form" brainstorming. I do my best thinking about design while doing something else, so let's go unpack some more boxes in the kitchen
--been in my new house in Eugene since Sep 3, still have boxes untouched EVERYWHERE!
11:46 Identified some of the challenges:
--how to gameplay demonstrate the limited visibilities. AFAIK, T2D doesn't have the concept of visibility FoV (research this), so will probably
need to figure out the best way to do this since it's core gameplay.
--same goes with visibility radius: the mouse especially needs to have a very limited (but adjustable) vis range for best gameplay...can either:
----actually have the game window itself be very small--might add to immersion, might also be a pain to play in
----since I have very few actual game objects, can easily iterate over the objects with a radius check and not render if fail
--will have to explore the state of ghosted objects in T2D. We know that it's not fully implemented/supported, but initial design (since I'm a TGE guy) is based on the assumption that objects (the mouse and the cat) are ghosted as normal. Shouldn't be too difficult to at least test, and may be able to start up a thread on what I had to do to get it ghosting at least basic properties.
----might just want to do the cat only for this GID (or the mouse!) and have rudimentary AI for the opponent.
Also got my 4th!!!! set of dishes started after unpacking pots and pans. Housework sucks...at least I can think about cool stuff at the same time