Monday, November 26, 2012

Game Review: The Sims Social on Facebook

This game had a similar feel to it as margaritaville.  It is a free to play browser game so I didn't have to purchase or download anything.  At first they give you a short tutorial that goes over the basic functions in the  game.  I still didn't understand what all these items were popping up whenever I did something, but I just clicked them to pick them up anyway.  The gameplay is pretty basic and actions only require a few clicks.  I had a little trouble navigating around the map and would prefer to use the keyboard rather than the mouse to scroll around.  After about 20 minutes of playing I ran out of energy and it seems the only way to get more energy is to wait a certain amount of time or to purchase it using real life currency.  I am not a fan of games where you have to pay to perform actions like some sort of toll booth and I do not want to wait to play a game.  It is sad that companies resort to this in order to make money.  Overall I like the idea of being able to create your dream character and live in a fantasy that you create yourself.  I personally would like to have some super powers if I were to live in a fantasy world.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Jurassic Survival Prototype version 5

link: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/71737496/JurassicSurvivalv1.5/index.html

Changelog:

  • Removed constant gold per 5 seconds
  • Added random spawns of gold piles and speed power-ups that double your speed
  • Reworked dinosaur strength and spawn times
  • Added options menu (press esc to access) to change volume and scrolling speed (this was a real pain to implement who knew an options menu could take so much work)
To-do:
  • Still thinking of way to add progression and ending to the game (may not be able to fully implement this by end of class)
  • Thinking of adding character levels with stat points to allocate every level up
  • Have a campaign mode that lets you replay and keep your character level/stats with increased difficulty
  • Need to be able to save game states, character levels, options (not sure how to do that in construct 2)
  • Get better looking sprites for all units/towers (if planning to go further may need to find a designer)
  • Need to fix construction boundaries (still able to stack towers partially)
  • Add some tutorial for beginners to figure out the basic controls
  • Make a better building menu so it is easier to add new buildings

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Review: A Slower Speed of Light

Game: http://gamelab.mit.edu/games/a-slower-speed-of-light/

Playing this game was definitely a very unique experience.  I have never seen anything like this before.  This really got me thinking about what's still out there to be explored and discovered.  At first the collection of balls was quite easy and I had no problem controlling my movement.  As the speed of light started slowing down it felt like my movements were very jerky and I wasn't going in the right direction.  As the speed of light got really slow I felt like I was teleporting around the map and it became a bit tricky to collect the remaining balls.  After playing this I'm glad light moves at its current speed as it would be very hard to get used to a slower speed of light.

Review: Margaritaville

This game was interesting to play.  I liked the quick paced tutorial quests that show you how to play the game.  One thing that I really don't like is that you have a limit on energy, so you have a limit on how much of the game you can play.  I also don't like how everything in the game can be sped up by spending real money on the game.  If a game is free to play, there should be no limitations on how much you can play and be required to spend money to remove those limitations.  This game is a nice way to kill time and would be best on a mobile platform.  I wouldn't spend the day playing this game on my computer.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Jurassic Survival version 1.4

link: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/71737496/JurassicSurvival_1.4/index.html

Changelog:
-made all dinosaurs one sprite type with different animations
-added start menu
-added on death menu with restart button
-added pause menu (press esc in game to pause)

To-do:
-now with all towers and dinos being one universal sprite I can add more types of each without needing a lot of new events
-create a level system where each level consists of a few waves of dinosaurs
-maybe add boss dinosaurs
-add some sort of final level with an escape helicopter to get to
-add more items and things to promote exploration around the field
-add scoring system and possibly some sort of leaderboard
-fix up the construction boundaries
-find better sprite images
Switching to unity may take up a lot of time and I would like to get some sort of finished product until I really decide to switch.  Maybe I should try to use up all 100 events in the free construct 2 version before I switch.  I see a lot of potential in this game version alone.

Freewrite Challenge

10 minutes starts now.  Why are we doing this challenge? So many things to do, so tired, hungry, must eat after.  Can't stop typing, but can't think of anything to write about.  Time ticks away how much longer? So many things can be done in 10 minutes why this? Need to keep going can't stop.  Quiet peaceful outside the window.  Great day to go outside.  Water condensing on cold water bottle. Books piled up along messy desk.  Dust collects upon the objects in the forever untouched room.  Unused cords tangled everywhere.  What a messy room someone should clean it up soon.  Halfway there need to keep writing.  Sounds of cars passing by on the road.  Slight breeze passes through the windows.  Hands are growing weak, but must keep going on.  Sounds of an airplane passing by.  Lights flickering on the computer.  Birds chirping happily outside.  Running out of things to write about.  Sounds of a nearby TV. Wonder what they are watching.  Hunger pangs growing stronger should have eaten before taking this challenge.  Keep on thinking never stop writing.  What else is there to do in 10 minutes.  Why did I take this challenge?  Just writing about jumbled up thoughts. 10 minutes over.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Jurassic Survival version 1.3

link: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/71737496/JurassicSurvival1.3/index.html

This is the 3rd prototype for the game Jurassic Survival.

Changelog:
-made building much more user friendly
-added basic construction permission functionality
-made all buildings one sprite with many animations to simplify events
-added mouse scrolling (press spacebar to re-center on player)

To-do:
-fix building boundaries on construction permission (especially walls)
-make dinosaurs all one sprite with many animations
-add random money spawns and remove the gold per 5 seconds
-add more towers/dinosaurs
-add scoring system for kills, time survived, and damage taken
-save high scores
-make the game spawn waves rather than an endless constant spawn of dinosaurs
-add menu on start and restarts
-may switch project to unity if 100 event limit is reached