#030 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Vikingr Character Design

As I mentioned in #026 GAD BA1 P2, there will be 4 different types of Viking; Vikingr Axe-Swinger, Vikingr Brute, Vikingr Warrior and the Vikingr War-Master. I spent some time doing a few rough drawings on paper of particular aspects of the characters, for example, the weapons and armour. Once done I then shifted them over to photoshop and created the final design for each type.

Vikingr Axe-Swinger

Vikingr Brute

Vikingr Warrior

Vikingr War-Master

#029 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Game Mechanics Explained - Pt 5

As I have already explained the weapon upgrade, I will now explain the cooldown and the special weapon unlocked at Level 5. To put it simple, you have 5 ammunition slots. Every time you fire, you use up one ammunition slot. Once you have fired, your ammunition slot begins to refill at a rate of 1 slot every 2 seconds. To save myself re-typing here is what I posted earlier:

"The crosshair is divided up into 5 segments. Each segment will represent the ammunition (fireball) of the dragon and will automatically re-fill at the rate of 1 ammunition per 2 seconds from the moment your previous shot is fired."
As far as the ammunition and cooldown goes, that is it. Simple but effective in restraining the player from a constant barrage of fireballs.


Moving on now to the special weapon attained after getting Level 5 in fire power. I mentioned earlier on in a blog post about what it might be, it is indeed the carpet bomb. As mentioned earlier, the carpet bomb can only be used when your dragon has all 5 ammunition available for use and it uses them all up. Essentially what it does it shoot a stream of fire on to the ground 8 feet wide in 5 separate sections (to allow overlapping) doing 250 damage to anything in the area. Ideally it will be more effective on a buildings as the sections overlap, dealing double or even triple damage.

#028 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Game Mechanics Explained - Pt 4

With the map, levels, experience points, upgrades, enemy units and enemy structures explained, I now will explain the last remaining aspect in this post; That being the flight and the dragons weapons (including cooldown and ammunition). So to begin, I will start with explaining the flight mechanics.

The flight speed will be a constant at a parallel level to the ground, which fluctuation depending on the assent or descent of the dragons flight. I mentioned a while ago about the speed system, but I will bring it up again as documentation.

"When the dragon is flying parallel to the ground it will have a base speed of say 200 units (undefined measurement of speed, perhaps mph or kmph). When the dragon beings to climb the speed is reduced by 1 unit for every degree of angle. The angle of assent and descent will be limited to 40 degrees, so if the dragon is ascending at say, 25 degrees, then speed will be reduced to 175 units. It works the same for the descent speed, only in reverse. If the dragon is descending at say, 25 degrees, then the speed will be increase to 225 units."
The above is exactly how the speed system will function, the speed being defined by the rate of assent or descent, but still capped at a certain speed amount.


Now, moving on to the flight characteristics. I spent a bit playing Glyder 2 today to decided on how I wanted my game to function and I noticed a few things in Glyder 2 that I want to improve on or completely remove. To begin, when climbing, descending or making sharp turns on Glyder 2, your avatar actually disappears beyond the edge of the screen and the view actually shifts away from where you are flying. For me and the few people that had play the game that I spoke to this proved to be quiet an annoyance, it is defiantly something I want to improve on. My game will essentially have its camera angle as if it was strapped on the back of the dragon slightly above and behind pointing directly at where the crosshair is, this allows for a full view of your dragon as well as a better view of the scenery around you (It even allows you to view what has just passed under you which will be handy when flying over settlements at an even level); When the player directs the dragon the camera shifts with it, always focused at where the dragon is flying to (where the crosshair is).

Upgrading the speed of your dragon is pretty similar to upgrade your weapon power, with each upgrade your parallel speed gets increase which causes a knock on effect to your speed in descent and assent, they are as follows:

Level 0: Minimum Speed 140, Medium Speed 180, Maximum Speed 220
Level 1: Minimum Speed 160, Medium Speed 200, Maximum Speed 240
Level 2: Minimum Speed 180, Medium Speed 220, Maximum Speed 260
Level 3: Minimum Speed 200, Medium Speed, 240, Maximum Speed 280
Level 4: Minimum Speed 220, Medium Speed 260, Maximum Speed 300
Level 5: Minimum Speed 240, Medium speed 280, Maximum Speed 320.

Note: Minimum Speed is the maximum speed at the maximum rate of ascent, Medium Speed is the maximum speed at even flight (0 degrees) and Maximum Speed is the Maximum speed at the maximum rate of descent.


Next up, cornering speed/agility. It took me a while to think of how I was going to do this, but after reading a few of my earlier posts I had an idea. Similar to the system of the speed in assent or descent, the cornering speed will be calculated by degrees. For example, at the base level (Level 0), the dragon will be able to turn a maximum of 1 degree per unit (the unit in this case is time, 50th of a second). This way at the base level it will take the dragon 1.8 seconds to turn a full 90 degrees. Additionally, this system also create a nice smooth turning flight path. The upgrades information is as follows:

Level 0: 1 degree per unit.
Level 1: 1.2 degrees per unit.
Level 2: 1.4 degrees per unit.
Level 3: 1.6 degrees per unit.
Level 4: 1.8 degrees per unit.
Level 5: 2 degrees per unit.

Note: The cornering speed/agility does not only count for left and right, it also counts for up and down.

#027 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Game Mechanics Explained - Pt 3

The structures in the game all have specific roles, I will now explain them in detail along with a piece of concept art I have made for each one.

Vikingr Hut
Health: 200 health Points
Experience Gained: 5 Experience Points
Role: The hut is where the Vikingr sleep and eat, it is also where they hide sometimes so keep an eye out for them.
Image:

Vikingr Watchtower
Health: 300 health Points
Experience Gained: 15 Experience Points
Role: The watchtowers are found around the edges of the Vikingr settlements. The longer it takes to destroy it the more aware the Vikingrs will be of your presence and more likely to fight. Destroy it quickly for a stealth attack or leave it there for a fast paced battle.
Image:

Vikingr Balista

Health: 400 health Points

Experience Gained: 25 Experience Points

Role: The Vikingr Balista is one of the basic fixed weapons the Vikingr use against you, it is fast and hard to avoid but does only a small amount of damage to your dragon. Take them out though, as if there are multiple of them in a settlement you will soon find your health dwindeling.

Image:

Vikingr Grapple
Health: 500 health Points
Experience Gained: 35 Experience Points
Role: The Vikingr Grapple weapon is a much more advanced fixed weapon than the Vikingr Balista. The Vikingr do not normally have a lot of them, but you must always be aware of them. The Vikingr Grapple fires like a catapult, but fires a dozen barbed hooks attached to strong rope that is anchored to the ground; Avoid these as much as possible as if you get grappled you will be dragged to the ground and will sustain a set amount of damage from the Vikingr ground units attacking you.
Image: 

Note: In general, players do not need to focus on destroying the structures, however if they do, they will find that they can earn valuable experience points per level.

#026 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Game Mechanics Explained - Pt 2

In my previous game mechanics post I explained the levels and progression of difficulty, in this post I will explain the experience point system as well as upgrades. To begin, you gain experience by killing your enemies and their settlements; there are different types of enemies as well as different types of structures.

Types of enemies and the experience reward for killing them are as follows(from weakest to strongest):
Vikingr Axe-Swinger: 5 Experience Points
Vikingr Brute: 8 Experience Points
Vikingr Warrior: 12 Experience Points
Vikingr War-Master: 16 Experience Points

Types of structures and the experience reward for destroying them are as follows(from weakest to strongest):
Vikingr Hut: 5 Experience Points
Vikingr Watchtower: 15 Experience Points
Vikingr Balista: 25 Experience Points
Vikingr Grapple: 35 Experience Points


To begin, the dragons default fireball does set amount of damage. As you upgrade it by earning experience it gets stronger, allowing you to kill enemies quicker, the power of the dragons fireball and its range/area are as follows:
Level 0: 100 Damage to a 3 foot wide area
Level 1: 120 Damage to a 4 foot wide area
Level 2: 140 Damage to a 5 foot wide area
Level 3: 160 Damage to a 6 foot wide area
Level 4: 180 Damage to a 7 foot wide area
Level 5: 200 Damage to a 8 foot wide area

Note: At level 5 the player unlocks a new move for their Dragon called "Fire Nova". Fire Nova requires the player to have full "ammunition" (this will be explained later) and carpet bombs 5 sections of the ground in a row, dealing 150 damage to each section.

As mentioned above, there are different types of Vikingr. Each of the Vikingr types has a different amount of health, the Vikingr Axe-Swinger having the lowest and the Vikingr War-Master having the highest. As you progress through the levels more of each kind will appear in each settlement, for example, Level 1 will consist of 20 Vikingr Axe-Swingers, however Level 2 will consist of 18 Vikingr Axe-Swingers and 2 Viking Brutes. The point in this is so that the player needs to carefully balance their upgrades, making sure they have just enough fire-power to destroy their enemies. Below is the health of each of the types of Vikingr:


Vikingr Axe-Swinger: 100 Health Points
Vikingr Brute: 130 health Points
Vikingr Warrior: 160 Health Points
Vikingr War-Master: 190 Health Points

The structures work in the same way as the Vikingr units, each has different health amounts and are generally much harder to destroy than the enemy units, the health is as follows:


Vikingr Hut: 200 Health Points
Vikingr Watchtower: 300 Health Points
Vikingr Balista: 400 Health Points
Vikingr Grapple: 500 Health Points

Note: See blog about structures for a further understanding of the abilities of the structures.




So what do these experience points do? Well, every 1,000 points you earn your dragon gains a level and a "upgrade point". The player can then spend the upgrade points in the "Your Dragon" menu, upgrading their dragons speed, agility, firepower and firepower cooldown. To completely "Max" a dragon you need 20 upgrade points, or 20,000 experience points (which is the equivalent of killing 4,000 Viking Axe-Swingers).

As shown before, this is the upgrade screen:

The user upgrades their dragon by using up their upgrade points, they do so by touching a star to add the points/upgrade the dragon. When they are done distributing their points, they press submit. Once they press submit the action has been finalised and cannot be u

#024 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Game Mechanics Explained - Pt 1

Similar to some racing simulator games, the game will begin with your avatar/character on auto pilot, flying a path already predetermined to point you in the right direction. A countdown timer will then appear on the screen counting down from 5 seconds, when it reaches 0 the task timer begins (I will explain this later) and the player will now have full control of the dragons flight. From this point forwards player need to control the speed, height, and direction of the dragon as well as navigation to where the object of the task begins.

An arrow will be displayed on the compass/radar interface that will direct the player to the location of the Vikingr that change randomly between 5 Vikingr camps on the map, displayed as the 5 red dots on the map shown below:

Once the player gets within a set proximity of the the Vikingr they will be displayed on the radar as red blips. The Vikingr will be spread out within the camp making it difficult to get multiple combo kills but not enough to make it difficult to kill them all within the set time limit. The level progression will be as follows:

Level 1: Training - The Basics

Level 2: Training - Aiming

Level 3: Training - Flying

Level 4: Task - Kill 25 enemies in 180 seconds

Level 5: Task - Kill 30 enemies in 180 seconds

Level 6: Task - Kill 35 enemies in 180 seconds

Level 7: Task - Kill 40 enemies in 180 seconds

Level 8: Task - Kill 45 enemies in 180 seconds

Level 9: Task - Kill 20 enemies in camp A and 20 in camp B in 240 seconds

Level 10: Task - Kill 25 enemies in camp A and 25 in camp B in 240 seconds

Level 11: Task - Kill 30 enemies in camp A and 30 in camp B in 240 seconds

Level 12: Task - Kill 35 enemies in camp A and 35 in camp B in 240 seconds

Level 13: Task - Kill 40 enemies in camp A and 40 in camp B in 240 seconds

Level 14: Task - Kill 15 enemies in camp A , 15 in camp B and 15 in camp C in 300 seconds

Level 15: Task - Kill 20 enemies in camp A , 20 in camp B and 20 in camp C in 300 seconds

Level 16: Task - Kill 25 enemies in camp A , 25 in camp B and 25 in camp C in 300 seconds

Level 17: Task - Kill 30 enemies in camp A , 30 in camp B and 30 in camp C in 300 seconds

Level 18: Task - Kill 35 enemies in camp A , 35 in camp B and 35 in camp C in 300 seconds

Level 19: Task - Kill 10 enemies in camp A , 10 in camp B, 10 in camp C and 10 in camp D in 360 seconds

Level 20: Task - Kill 15 enemies in camp A , 15 in camp B, 15 in camp C and 15 in camp D in 360 seconds

Level 21: Task - Kill 20 enemies in camp A , 20 in camp B, 20 in camp C and 20 in camp D in 360 seconds

Level 22: Task - Kill 25 enemies in camp A , 25 in camp B, 25 in camp C and 25 in camp D in 360 seconds

Level 23: Task - Kill 30 enemies in camp A , 30 in camp B, 30 in camp C and 30 in camp D in 360 seconds

Level 24: Task - Kill 5 enemies in camp A , 5 in camp B, 5 in camp C, 5 in camp D and 5 in camp E in 420 seconds

Level 25: Task - Kill 10 enemies in camp A , 10 in camp B, 10 in camp C, 10 in camp D and 10 in camp E in 420 seconds

Level 26: Task - Kill 15 enemies in camp A , 15 in camp B, 15 in camp C, 15 in camp D and 15 in camp E in 420 seconds

Level 27: Task - Kill 20 enemies in camp A , 20 in camp B, 20 in camp C, 20 in camp D and 20 in camp E in 420 seconds

Level 28: Task - Kill 25 enemies in camp A , 25 in camp B, 25 in camp C, 25 in camp D and 25 in camp E in 420 seconds

#023 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Game Interface Continued...

Continuing on from post #019 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Game Limitations, I have created the in-game screen that shows an example of the height limitation. Quoted below:

"When a players dragon reaches a certain level the screen will start to shake (I will use the built in vibration for the handset) and ice starts to form around the screen, the higher you go the more violently it shakes and the more icy your screen gets."

I used some brushes on photoshop to create an icy/frozen look, selected a section in the centre (the part that would be un-effected by the ice), feathered it by 20 pixels and deleted it. Here is the result as it would be seen in game:

#022 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Game Interface Continued...

As mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to create a few examples of what the menu interface would look like. I mocked up a quick screen in Photoshop just laying out where the basic buttons and logo will go and then started to add in the detail. I created the buttons by using the Rounded Rectangle Edge tool and adding a stroke line in one colour, rasterized the layer and then adding another stroke like in another colour. I then added a slight leather texture over the top of the button and then added a bevel and emboss to make them pop out a little. The background was created using some stock photoshop brushes available for commercial use.

With the buttons and background sorted I decided that something was missing from menu screen, so I added in a preview of the game play. In the real game the preview will be a short repeated clip of a dragon flying through the games scenery. Here is the result:

With the main menu mock up done I thought it would be good to do more for each of the different sub-menus. For example, what the "Customize Your Dragon" or "Your Dragon" screen would look like. Below are the results for each of the screens I designed:

Story Mode - Level Select

Dragon Customisation Screen

Settings Menu Screen

Game Stats Screen

Exit Confirmation Screen

#021 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Logo/Header Design

I wanted the logo to be pretty simple, just a custom text with a gradient overlay and perhaps a dark stroke outline. To begin, I started drawing out the words using my tablet roughly based off of the text Aniron (used as the main text in my pdf). I then added spikes and sharp bumps throughout the text to give it a more "Dragony" style, I then filled it with a red colour. Here is the logo without any effects:

I then exported the file from flash into photoshop and set a gradient from top to bottom, dark to transparent. I felt that the edges of the text needed to be defined a little bit more, so I added on a dark stroke outline and here is the final result:

#020 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Game Interface

As mentioned earlier I decided on 5 separate displays for the in-game screen, those being the Health Bar, Crosshair/Weapons, Altimeter, Directive Arrow/Compass/Radar and Task Progression. I wanted the designs to be simple enough not to detract attention away from the game but enough to fit in and effective enough to display clearly what they need to display, below is my design as it would be shown in the game:

As you can see, in the top left corner there is the combined interface that includes the health bar, task progressions, radar and compass. I feel that it is clean cut and straight to the point, although I have decorated it slightly by having a brass styled effect on the outline. The health bar is clearly defined by the title "Health Remaining" above a green bar with a simple 100/100 display. The task progression is also put simply as "Enemies: 11/20", which I feel needs little explanation for any user. Combined with the compass is a simple arrow which points in the general direction you should be heading along with a radar that displays nearby enemies.

The Altimeter is just a simple bar with a bit of decoration, once again I've kept it as simple as possible to avoid distracting the player. The golden/brass notch moves up and down the bar depending on your height. I've defined the altimeter by adding a small graphics of a mountain, which combined with the live change of the bar will give enough of a hint for a player to recognise it as an altimeter.

Next step... Game Menu Interface.

#019 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Game Limitiations

Game Limitations

Height:

There will have to be a maximum height in the game that your dragon can climb to as well as some kind of repercussion if your dragon touches the floor. I was thinking of some kind of damage penalty when you touch the floor or try to land, which would reflect the speed your dragon is traveling at when touching the floor. Instead of having a solid ceiling on the maximum height, I have thought of another alternative. When a players dragon reaches a certain level the screen will start to shake (I will use the built in vibration for the handset) and ice starts to form around the screen, the higher you go the more violently it shakes and the more icy your screen gets. While the screen is shaking and ice forms on the screen the players dragon will be loosing health in crescendo fashion; the higher they fly above the set amount the quicker their health depletes, eventually killing the players dragon before they reach the solid game ceiling.

Assent & Descent:
The dragons ability to climb and descend will be limited to 40 degrees, which as a comparisonment is double the recommended angle of assent for a commercial aeroplane. The reason I have chosen to limit the assent and descent ties in with the mechanics for the speed of the game, which I will explain next.

Speed:
When the dragon is flying parallel to the ground it will have a base speed of say 200 units (undefined measurement of speed, perhaps mph or kmph). When the dragon beings to climb the speed is reduced by 1 unit for every degree of angle. The angle of assent and descent will be limited to 40 degrees, so if the dragon is ascending at say, 25 degrees, then speed will be reduced to 175 units. It works the same for the descent speed, only in reverse. If the dragon is descending at say, 25 degrees, then the speed will be increase to 225 units.

#018 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - The Basics/Display

The Game

What its about

To put it simple, the game I have in mind is a flying ‘shoot em up’. The player will control a dragon and has to complete a task within a set time limit or, depending on the chosen game-play, just rack up as many points as possible in an arcade styled game-play.

I want the controls to be as natural for the player as possible, something that you can pick up with little no no instruction and know instinctively how to play the game within a few seconds. The player controls the flight of the dragon by tilting and rotating the handset, taping the screen to use the dragons fireball weapon.

Storyline

A war has raged between two races for longer than anyone can remember, it started so long ago that even the stories told about its beginning hold little truth. This war, is the war of the dragons of Agoth and the Víkingr of the Stony Shore. Blinded hatred between the two races is at its climax and you, the player, are about to join the fray.

Born in the realms of Agoth, the dragons are born with the wisdom of their elders, passed down through the ages. Every winter the great lake freezes and with it come the Víkingr’s raiding parties, intent on destroying any dragons nest they can find up in the high mountains. However, when the great lake begins to thaw and the sun rises higher into the sky with every day, it is the time of the dragons.

In the winter just passed, the Víkingr inflicted the most damage done for a very long time; all but a dozen nests remained intact. In the casualties, your mother ImumairI and your father WafedilI perished and now is the time for you to take revenge on the Víkingr. Fly to the Stony Shore and find the Víkingr settlements to seek revenge for the death of your kin. Destroy the settlements and kill as many Víkingr as you can.

Game Modes

Sandbox Mode:
Sandbox Mode is a game mode where players can practise. Whether it be practise in flying with their dragon or practising their aim, this is where they do it. Wooden targets/cutouts of the enemy will be placed on the ground in different locations allowing the player to attack as they wish. Once a target has been destroyed it will re-spawn again within say, 10 seconds.

Story Mode:
Story Mode will be the primary style of game play. The player is tasked to attack an enemy settlement and kill the set amount of enemies within a set time frame in every level. Once a player has completed a level they then have a choice to upgrade characteristics of their dragon by using an experience point system. Once they have upgraded their dragon, or not if they choose to, the player progresses on to the next level. The levels will get progressively harder, with more enemies who are more aggressive as you progress through the game.

Arcade Mode:
Arcade Mode will pretty much be a quick play option. At the beginning the player is given a set amount of points to upgrade their dragon, this will be their only chance. There will be no xp awarded, instead the experience points is replaced by score points. The goal of this game mode is to kill as many enemies as possible to achieve a high score. The game mode ends when the dragon has been killed either by the enemies or by the players negligence.

Game Layout

I feel that the layout of the game and what is displayed is very important, too little and players won’t know what to do, too much and the player will be bombarded with more information that they can register at one time.

Originally, this is what I was thinking:

• Health Bar
• Weapons Bar (cooldown)
• Crosshair
• Altimeter

• Speed Meter
• Attitude Indicator
• Compass
• Radar
• Directive Arrow
• Task Progression

However once I started thinking about it, I recognised that having 6 displays on the screen at the same time would definitely fall under the “too much” category as discussed above. I thought more about what is necessary and what could be considered a luxury, so I refined the list and have explained each of them in detail below.


Health Bar Display:
The Health Bar is something that is definitely needed. Without the health bar players will not know how much health they have remaining, which as a over-casual game I recognise to be vital. Knowing that you have little health normally makes people play a lot more carefully, without a player knowing how much health they have it might cause them to play more aggressively and cause their dragons demise much quicker.


Crosshair/Weapons Bar Display Combined:
Again, the Crosshair is something that is required in the majority of shooting games, how else would you know where you are aiming? In fact, it is even more vital in this game as not only does it tell the player the direction that their fireballs will aim towards but it also tells the player where their dragon is flying.

I will combine the Crosshair with the Weapons Bar by creating a circular Crosshair which is divided up into 5 segments. Each segment will represent the ammunition (fireball) of the dragon and will automatically re-fill at the rate of 1 ammunition per 2 seconds from the moment your previous shot is fired. The Crosshair will most likely be the most used interface display tool, so it makes sense to combine two simple interface tools into one simple interface tool.


Altimeter Display:
The Altimeter isn’t completely necessary, players can use the ground as a reference to the lowest point they can fly and as I will explain later, they will be prevented from flying too high. However, after playing the games that I research I can see how it will be a very useful tool. For example, the player will want to take the least amount of damage from their enemies, a way to do this would be to take a steep dive to build up speed, pulling up before you hit the ground and then fly over your enemy quickly while shooting at them.

The Altimeter will allow the player to judge when to pull up before it is too late, this is something that even aeroplane pilots have trouble doing without instruments to tell them their height and speed.


Directive Arrow/Compass/Radar Display Combined:
On any free-roaming game some kind of navigation system is required, this is the reason why I will include a compass in my game. With that said, there is no point in having a navigation system if you do not know where you are meant to be going! For this I will combine a blip radar system into the center of the compass that not only tells the player where they should be heading too, but also where their enemies are when they are close enough to appear on the radar. Having a short ranged blip radar will allow the player to line up their fly-overs with more accuracy, aiding them in killing their enemies.


Task Progression Display:
As I mentioned in the game modes section, in the story mode players are tasked with killing a set amount of enemies that increase with each level. The task progression display will tell the player how many more enemies they need to kill out of how many they were tasked to kill.

For example, if you are tasked with killing 20 enemies then the task progression display will begin at “20/20”. As you kill your enemies the number on the left will drop, lets say you have killed 9 already, the task progression display will show “11/20” which means that you have another 11 remaining enemies.

#017 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Envrioment

So far I've got a general concept of what I want to create for my game, so now I need to delve deeper into the more specifics of the game. I spent a few hours watching tutorials on how to create mountain scenery in 3DS Max, comparing the different styles and identifying which one will work best for me. A lot of them suggest using contour lines from a real life map as a basis, which for learning purposes would not be so bad, however I wanted to create my scene from scratch so the few tutorials I found that used the paint deformation push/pull tool on a plane field were more suitable to my needs.

So I set about just doing a bit of a test, creating a small lake with steep mountains/hills on one side and a smooth hilly side on the other. It was only a small scale basic test to see how much or how little detail I could put in to it just by using one tool. Below is my first attempt.

After that I made a render from the top view so I could add some texture to the poly. Once in photoshop I used a soft brush tool to go around the area that would be the lake, then traced around the edges in a slightly bigger brush in a brown for the shore line. After that I traced the shore line with a green brush and painted the rest of the map green. For the last part I used a white brush at 50% opacity on the highest points of the mountains to give the effect of snowy peaks. Below is the texture:

I went back into 3DS Max and used the material editor to add the material texture to the transformed plane, here was the result:

My next step will be to create an environment that meets the requirement of the game, including a starting/home point and a number of locations were the enemy settlements will be.

#015 GAD BA1 P2: iPhone Game - Game Research & Concept

BugWings

BugWings was one of the only games that I could find that utilised the gyroscope for game control. You begin the game by picking your character, after that you go straight into game play. The goal is the game is to complete each level by flying around the “Great Pond”, collecting pollen balls and blue stars before finally making a precarious landing on a lily pad.


The graphics reminded me of something from the PS1 generation of games, however I think that the style of graphics used were intended to make the game have more of an arcade feel to it. Lots of bright colours are used which mixed with the audio create a very up-beat happy style of game.


Initially the control style sounded something similar to what I wanted to use, but after playing the game my opinion changed. I, along with others, found it difficult to maintain a parallel level to the water to collect the pollen balls.


The response to tilting the iPhone were a bit slow, making the controls very dull; No doubt full control of your bug avatar comes with lots of practise. In my game I want the controls to be quick and responsive, I will probably also have a section in the game options that users can tweak the sensitivity of the controls too.

1951 World War One

1951 WW1 was one of the other games that I found that used the gyroscope for game control, it also made use of the accelerometer to perform special moves. The game is pretty much a WW1 dogfighter style game, where you control a steam powered aeroplane and are tasked with shooting down enemy aeroplanes. The 1951 WW1 game is probably the closest I’ve found to what I want in my game in regards to the controls and part of the options. It uses the gyroscope feature for control of the aeroplane and the accelerometer to perform barrel-roll maneuvers to dodge your opponents bullets or to loop around behind your enemy.

There were a few faults that I found pretty quickly when playing the game, which from my understanding was down to the point of view you play from. In the game you have a 3rd person overview of your aeroplane, which makes it difficult to work out where your enemy is when you are trying to shoot them. When it looks like you are level with them you might actually be a bit above or below them, making a very frustrating game-play when you think you’ve killed them but you end up missing. For my game I will go with a 1st person view where you can see from slightly above and behind your dragon avatar, making control, aiming and altitude easier to identify.


The other aspect of the game that is similar to what I want to create is the scoring and rewards system. As you progress through the game you level up your pilot depending on the success of your air battles. For every plane you take down you receive a set amount of experience points, and at the end of the battle you can receive bonus experience points based on things such as the time it took to complete the level or how much damage you’ve taken. You can then improve your planes characteristics such as increasing your firepower, defence, speed, and health. I want to do something similar with my game where you can spend your experience points on things such as the dragons firepower, speed, agility, health and maybe even additional styles of attacks (carpet bombing?).

Glyder 2

Glyder 2 is the game that has given me the most ideas, the control system and style of movement is nearly exactly what I am looking for in my game. Just like BugWings and 1951 WW1 it uses the gyroscope and accelerometer for movement, however it differs in the fluid movements within the game. You must guide your character named Eryn, who has found herself lost in a foreign dimension, back home. You must help her by exploring the levels to find her way home, which can be achieved by collecting items and completing certain tasks in a pre-determined order set by the tasks given to you.




The control system is similar to BugWings, in that it utilises the gyroscope and accelerometer so that when you tilt or rotate the handset and your avatar responds. Similar to 1951 WW1, the altitude and speed meters are displayed on the lower screen, allowing you to have more control over your flight. The meters are defiantly something that I want in my game, however I was thinking of having some kind of bar on the left side instead of a circular dial. Something that I will need to think about further is how the speed will be controlled,




In regards to the graphics, they are remarkably good considering that the game is for a mobile phone handset. At times they can be pretty blocky, which makes it difficult when trying to pull off certain maneuvers while flying, but the sensitivity and sharp responses of the controls make up for this.


Although you can’t level up your character as such to improve the flying characteristics of your avatar, you can equip different types of clothes/gear to alter the characteristics of your avatar. For example, as you progress through the games levels you can collect different sets of wings.

GT Racing: Motor Academy

Although GTR:MR is not a flying game, I’ve looked in to it as it was voted one of the best racing games on the app market in regard to its controls by IGN.com. I managed to find someone who already had the game, so I played the game for about an hour to see how well the cars response to the users input.


I quickly noticed how easy it was to control your car, the sensitivity of the controls were on the sharp when taking on the tight corners yet soft when going around the more open bends. I found that even when taking on the chicanes that started out with a soft bend then switched to a sharp corner the controls responded well to the adjustments of the handset.


The only thing that I could find fault in is that the controls were slightly too easy, there wasn't anything to keep you on the edge while racing. The corners came too easy, almost as if you hardly needed to put any effort in to controlling the car.


Although smooth transitions from the controls is ideal, I think there needs to be something that keeps the person on edge and engaged in the game that won’t discourage them from playing because it is too hard to control, but enough to make sure that they will get bored from the flight being too easy.

N.O.V.A.: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance

Just like GTR:MR, N.O.V.A is not a flying game, and once again it was voted one of the best 1st person shooters on the app market by IGN.com. The reason why I’m looking in to N.O.V.A is because the style of aiming system and perspective that it uses.


You control your character with a on-screen d-pad on the lower left screen and you control your cross-hair, which is always in the middle of the screen, by rotating and moving the handset around on its axises to direct where your weapon is aiming. I will not have a d-pad in my game, as you control your Dragon by rotating/tilting the handset and the cross-hair will be fixed in the middle of the screen. That way a player aims by actually flying the Dragon in the direction of the target, or perhaps even slightly below.


Another thing I’ve taken not of is the reloading time in N.O.V.A, even a great mystical dragon cannot spew out a constant stream of fire. Instead I will have some kind of cool down system to replace ammunition, where you have a total of 5 shots to use and each shot stacks up a cool-down of 1 second.




For example, when you tap the screen you fire two fireballs from your dragon, it then takes 2 seconds from the moment you take your 2nd shot for your cooldown bar to return to full. If you take 5 shots then it takes a full 5 seconds from from the moment you take your 5th shot for your cooldown bar to return to full.


The cooldown system also brought on another idea, where instead of tapping the screen to make individual shots, a player can hold their finger on the screen to perform a carpet bomb maneuver, which fires a continuous stream of fire that covers a larger area. I will gave to limit the carpet bomb maneuver, perhaps have a maximum amount it can be used per level or some kind of rage bar that fills up with the more enemies you kill.

How To Train Your Dragon: Flight of the Night Fury

I’m not going to go in to too much detail about How to train your Dragon: Flight of the Night Fury. The reason for this is simple, it is essentially a re-skin or Glyder 2. Although the scenery and storyline are different, it is tapered to the plot of the film, the game mechanics are exactly the same. The objectives are essentially the same, just re-worded to fit in with the storyline of How To Train Your Dragon. All the controls are the same, as well as the flight patterns and adjustments in the gear shop.

Game Concept

Working Title: Revenge of the Dragons

Platform: iPhone/iPad/Android Phone

Target: 10+

Genre: Flight Simulator/FPS

Overview: ROTD is a platform adventure set in a fantasy world inhabited by Dragons and Vikings. The player seeks revenge from the perspective of Erader the Dragon on the Vikings after a raid in the previous winter left it orphaned.

Story: A war has raged between two races for longer than anyone can remember, it started so long ago that even the stories told about its beginning hold little truth. This war, is the war of the dragons of Agoth and the Víkingr of the Stony Shore. Blinded hatred between the two races is at its climax and you, the Erader, are about to join the fray.

In the winter just passed, the Víkingr inflicted the most damage done for a very long time; all but a dozen nests remained intact. In the casualties, your mother Imumair and your father Wafedill perished and now is the time for you to take revenge on the Víkingr. Fly to the Stoney Shore and find the Víkingr settlements to seek revenge for the death of your kin. Destroy the settlements and kill as many Víkingr as you can.

Characters:

- Erader

- Imumair

- Wafedill

Enemies:

- Víkingr (Generic)

Collectibles:

- Awards

- Experience Points

Environments/Sets:

- Forest

- Mountain

- Lake/River

How does a level works?

- Task set of amount of enemies to kill.

- Kill the enemies in the set time frame with bonus experience points for destroyed structures and combo kills.

- If you fail, you restart the level from the beginning.

- Avoid enemies weaponry; catapults, arrows, throwing axes.

What are the goals?

- Kill enough enemies to complete the task within the time frame.

Key features:

- Physics based game.

- Unique flight simulator.

- Simple and intuitive controls