Making its worldwide debut for the esteemed guests of CMU President Jerry Cohon, the awkward encounter between Buddy and Cathy was received with polite laughter and interest in what we created in such a short amount of time.
Now, we're giving everyone the opportunity to try out Prototype #0. Click here to get started, and come back to leave us feedback. Any and all comments are greatly appreciated!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Play Prototype #0!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Details for #1
In Prototype #1, the player responds to the request of powerful artificial intelligence that has captured a dangerous run-away android. This dangerous android has attacked humans, and the player must hack into its memories and delete the pieces that have made it into a violent being. But as the player sees more of the android’s memories, s/he learns that the android isn’t as dangerous as it may have seemed, and the artificial intelligence may have hidden motives for wanting the android erased.
For the player, hacking into the android’s memory involves listening to a semi-musical song that the android’s mind creates during its regular operation. The player must solve a puzzle by adjusting the pitch of different sounds that make up the android’s “mind song,” thus unlocking its memories and completing the objective.
Presentations + Androids + #0 Dated
This past Friday, Tim and I had the pleasure of informing the faculty and our peers of our project's history and progress during our Quarter Presentation [download the Powerpoint slide show here - it's about five megs in size]. Immediately following, members of the faculty came by our office to share their thoughts and ask us questions. Basically, the vibe was that we need to better define what it is we will specifically be doing this semester. To that end, we had a nice, long chat soon after, where we pitched ideas for prototypes to each other.
And that brings us to Prototype #1:
AI. Androids. Shady motivations. More to come later.
I know all of you are anxiously awaiting the chance to play Prototype #0 and help cover for your friend, David, by lying to Cathy, his girlfriend. We're tweaking some animation details and will be debuting it in anticipation of the President's Weekend here at the ETC, this coming Saturday, the 29th of September. Check back then for a link to the game!
All of us are looking forward to finding out what everyone thinks about the methods of interaction and how yinz approached the situation [as a story, or a game to be beaten]. There will be a link to the comments section of the blog, from the Prototype page, so tell us what you thought!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Info on Prototype #0
It's the god-awful hour of 10 in the morning, and you get a phone call from your good friend, David. He needs you to cover for him, in case his girlfriend Cathy comes looking for him, which she inevitably does...
By changing your emotional state based on Cathy's questions, the player attempts to convince her that even though David disappeared earlier in the morning, everything is OK, and she should go home and relax. Act too timid, and Cathy may suspect that something is up. But, if you act too much like a know-it-all jerk, you'll offend her and earn David's ire. As in life, you must walk a fine line in your interaction, working toward a comfortable conclusion that leaves everyone feeling fine.
We'll have a link to the actual prototype within the week. Keep checking back for more tidbits as production plows along!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Our New *New* Goal + Prototype #0
"To discover new techniques that emotionally invest video game players."
Simple enough for an R&D project, eh?
After much deliberation, we decided to utilize not only our overarching goal for the semester, but create specific goals for each prototype that fit into the framework.
For example, Prototype #0 also has the goal of creating an emotional feedback loop in a relatable situation. The player will use a simple input to relay their emotional state, which the non-player character (NPC) responds to, which will create a response in the player, which s/he will convey using the input, and so on and so on.
Stay tuned for more information on Prototype #0 as progress happens!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Our New Goal
The team had a meeting with Brenda and Jesse today. Jesse brought cookies from the Pretzel Shop.
Delicious.
We talked about the idea we had for a prototype, and came to the conclusion that we were planning to do two very different things: trying to determine what sort of mouse movements correspond to what personality types (and what status that conveys), and get the player emotionally invested in the story.
So, we talked for a long time about what our goal really is, after coming to the conclusion that we weren't sure of what we want. For the time being, this is what we got:
"The goal of Project Context is to research prototypes that emotionally invest the player."
Edits coming soon :)
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Planning Our First Prototype, Number Zero
After much hashing out of ideas, theories and hypotheses, we are finally starting our first prototype. Well, we're about to. Matt is starting to get acquainted with Flash and ActionScript, while Chris is getting caught up with ActionScript 3. Tim has a solid script down, but is feeling under the weather. Pat is wrapping up our poster and half-sheet, featuring the cat-toying-with-school-bus logo!
Now, to get to prototype specifics. The situation is that the player gets an early-morning phone call from an old friend, asking him to cover for him if his girlfriend, Cathy, drops by. The player gets no details, only an inkling suspicion that the whole truth isn't being told... The phone clicks off and there's a knock at the door. An upset Cathy stands in your doorway, looking for answers.
The player interacts with the story, toggling between telling the truth and covering for your best friend, all the while using mouse movement to convey your status in the conversation. Will Cathy believe you when you tell her that you don't know where her boyfriend is, or will their relationship end with your conversation?
Sunday, September 9, 2007
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