What is your favorite aspect of the proposed game? Why? For this question, point out what you think is the coolest feature of the game, what makes it novel, or what aspect would make you most inclined to play it. Your thoughts on the coolest part of the game may differ from those of the game designers!
What is your least favorite aspect? Why? Which part of the proposed game seems to be the least fun? Is there something that might be dull or boring? Why might you get tired of playing the game or find it frustrating? Be candid, yet tactful and polite with your answer.
What one change or addition would you suggest to most improve the game? Offer a helpful suggestion on how to make the game better. Maybe you have an idea on how to make the gameplay more fun. Or, perhaps your favorite feature could take on a more prominent role. You might offer a resolution to your least favorite aspect that would improve the game. Please make comments that are reasonable given the scope of the course.
Sorted for every Game:
YAWN
Rafael Hostettler
Nice idea and story line. I like the gravity modifier, since it involves possibilities galore to solve problems.
Complexity: Game sounds too much to be possible in the short amount of time: Gravity field, paintable objects, isometric view storyline - if you can do it: wow, but i doubt. It also sounds like a absolute nightmare to debug. The playing concept (given all features) sounds quite complex to grasp, not sure if it will be really playable.
Reduce complexity, focus on one of the ideas. Gravity fields alone are already ultra cool. Leave the isometric view away, that's a game idea for itself.
Alessandro Gaia
The game concept is quite original, allows for a great number of interesting actions.
It may be a bit hard to grasp for the common gamer, and difficult to implement.
The game looks pretty complex, make sure not to get overexcited and remember the design philosophy taught in class.
Philipp Simmler
I really like the anti-gravity paint. That tool sounds so much fun to me, I would like to get one by myself an shoot around wherever I am. Also I think the gameplay factor will much increase with a weapon like this.
You mentioned that you will build somewhat like two levels, I think that is just much to less to make a really cool game. For me a game is worth playing if I can get further and further. I mostly I do not want to replay a game if I am finished once. So please think about how you could tight me to the game.
Right now the game sounds like “shift” for me, but instead of switching top to bottom and vice versa you can turn the cubs and this way making blocks or not. Further you can use a anti-gravity gun. And as far as I got it, that is about it. Is there no other way of improving the game by adding other stuff to make the game even more interesting?
Mayan Red Light
Rafael Hostettler
I love the idea of turning the childhood game into a computer game. Powerups, especially the throwing stone, sound very interesting and make the concept sound great fun.
I'm not sure whether the game will keep interest up. Also although I like the water idea, it might be difficult to decide what stopping is, since you will not get to a complete stop. If the turning is completely random you cannot really create a strategy on how to react. So maybe have an increasing distribution. (It's quite save to move for 2 secs, but doing so for 5 is high risk)
The success and interest is mainly based on how interesting the setting will be. Thus there should be a lot of ways to develop a strategy that might work better. Maybe even a Rock-Paper-Scissors-Type of strategy setting. (Like stone throwing > speedy one > slow but invisible > stone throwing)
Alessandro Gaia
The game basic concept is really simple, which is good. A lot of room for interesting modifications.
The gameplay elements described during the presentation sound pretty hard to implement in a way that is easily playable.
From the presentation it seemed that you want to implement only a single game arena - have you thought about the possibility of including more than one, of increasing difficulty (with obstacles that force you to take a longer way, for instance)?
Philipp Simmler
I really like that you have added some cool features and “power-ups” as the stones which can be thrown at opponents, to make them move or loose control. I think this approach will completely make the game fun, and a challenge to master!
Implement more power-ups, they really could make the game the most fun part to play it. Try to give the game some “movement”, because it is mostly just standing around and do an appropriate amount of nothing.
You mentioned to build the gamescene in an old Mayan pyramid dedicated to a certain god. As a god is almighty and sees everything, why do you not use him as guardian. Just model some kind of closing/opening eye and you can leave away the guardian at all.
Rum Runners
Rafael Hostettler
Prohibition is probably the coolest topic for a game. Sounds like funky dark underworld, sins and fun. Drunk'o'meter!! Nice logo too.
I'm not sure about the longtime fun. It sounds great to play, but also quite repetitive.
Implement the Drunk'o'meter as Low Target and think of a way to get sober again that is risky. Maybe also think of some way to make the game less repetitive (Tasks or Bar that get pissed if you don't deliver in time...)
Alessandro Gaia
The game looks really easy to grasp and play.
It does not seem to have much variety.
It appears to be a “single-player-Vs.-AI-only” game; have you thought about the idea of having more players competing for the alcohol deliveries or controlling police cars?
Philipp Simmler
The game idea sounds like really fun to me. I loved playing the first GTA (probably even more than all the other version of the game). And therefore I am looking forward to see the first version of the game
You really should implement the drunk'o'meter. This is what makes your game special and distinct it from GTA. And I think that is worth trying it and should be done at first, or at second stage.
As I have heard you talking about the idea to deliver rum to different bars and get back to your lager, to get new barrels. Could you add an other gamemode? Like reaching a bar far away within a predefined time limit.
Odysseus Quest
Rafael Hostettler
Storyline. Drama, Love, Gods - must be good. Even better: Sirens, Whirls and Giants, yeah! The Gods as protective deities giving special abilities. Ambrosia brings a nice additional problem into the game. (Be faster or collect ambrosia?)
Replayability: If it is always the same track, it's going to be interesting maybe 5 times to play. Simple resetting the flags might help though. How do you make sure that if one player is way ahead the game will still be fun? (Apart from the crossing path. Because if pathes cross i.e. around an island, one has already a huge lead.) Also it might be quite difficult to balance the 12 boat-god combinations.
Leave away the shallow water simulation. Focus on the fun. It's a nice concept and a great story. Better push it there.
Alessandro Gaia
I like the openness of the game, the fact that you can freely choose where to go and how to act.
I’m not sure about having different ships and patron Gods; it’s really really easy to make one better than the others, and all players will use only that combination.
Have you thought about ship to ship battle (other than using your patron’s powers) to temporarily damage an opponent and slow it down, or adding something like a "vector field" all over the sea map that defines the current direction and strength that opposes or favours the navigation?
Philipp Simmler
The Idea of Odysseus having 3 brothers , which are challenging each other for the girl of there dreams! Also that each player has to choose his own god is a cool idea.
I have to honestly say I personally dislike checkpoints, due to the fact that I always feel that I have already lost if I am not the first one checking one of these points. So I think I would leave them away and probably try to resolve the problem differently. Perhaps you could try to give away points if someone is getting to a beautiful place on the map, which you would announce during the game (pretty much the same as a checkpoint). But the first one reaching the sight get more points than the second player reaching it. Further you can make some Combo-sights where points adds up even more when you visited 5 sights in a row.
I found it always disturbing if different characters have different features, especially if these features are not well balanced. If that is the case game will be won the moment when every player has chosen a figure he will play, because the faster the player is the better figure he will get, and this win the game.
Pharao's Tomb
Rafael Hostettler
I like the idea of a physical solving puzzle, it promises many possible solutions.
It's a bit unclear to me, how gameplay will look. The physical puzzles sound promising, but creating them that they're actually challenging to solve won't be easy. (Apart from having a completely unusable control - that is quite easy ) Implementing an animated character that can hang is going to be a huge task, with a lot of possible traps. I wouldn't do it.
I really hope you will be able to get a good human animation engine. I mean that would really make your game cool, but is by far the hardest part you will try to reach! But go for it, and show that you can do it!
What I was missing during the presentation is the grasp the game will have. I mean its not a running game and its not getting fast, so that you have the pressure of beating yourself in a challenge mode. So I think you really should work on the game story, to make some pressure out of that, add time challenging puzzles, or just tell the player that your flooding the whole pyramid if he does not reach the tomb fast enough. Set the player in some way under the pressure, that he has to hurry.
As mentioned in the last point, you could add a timer, which counts how long you needed to find the way to the tomb, and this way the player could get points for timing skills. Next time I will play the game, I can force myself to be faster than last time.
Catching as a digital version with balls - I like. The game is great fun in real life, why shouldn't it be in the digital world. Also the force field idea is cool. The fuel might be the crucial idea to keep the game interesting.
I'm not sure it will work to create a setting where seek and hide really works i.e. the hider really cannot avoid being found and if the whole idea is enough to keep interest up.
Just hunting turnwise is boring. Pepper the game with point counters: for every second you run, you get points. And the nearer you are to the catcher, the more point you'll get. This will make the two runs comparable and instantly improve motivation.
Alessandro Gaia
I like the mix of hunter/hunted and resource gathering/ management concepts.
If the levels are big, it may be frustrating for the players (well, at least for the alien one) as they will have problems finding each other, even with the radar. This may make the game too easy for the mayan player.
What about giving the Maya the ability to retaliate somehow against the alien? He’s playing in his home turf after all, he may have set up some nasty traps...
Philipp Simmler
I like the idea of the minimap which will help you to find the best way to be faster than the approaching alien.
When I heard you talking about your targets I asked myself if it is not possible to set your minimal target down a little bit. I mean wouldn't it be fun playing the game already in a few days, or probably a week? Just try to find out which aspects are really the most fundamental and have fun playing this first step already!
Is it possible to add a damage function to? So the alien could just destroy the Mayan rolling object by hitting it? Would it change the gameplay if both opponents would die at the same time? Because if not, you could just make it possible that the alien hits the Mayan, and both players will get the same amount of damage.
Here what every person says:
Rafael Hostettler
YAWN
Nice idea and story line. I like the gravity modifier, since it involves possibilities galore to solve problems.
Complexity: Game sounds too much to be possible in the short amount of time: Gravity field, paintable objects, isometric view storyline - if you can do it: wow, but i doubt. It also sounds like a absolute nightmare to debug. The playing concept (given all features) sounds quite complex to grasp, not sure if it will be really playable.
Reduce complexity, focus on one of the ideas. Gravity fields alone are already ultra cool. Leave the isometric view away, that's a game idea for itself.
Mayan Red Light
I love the idea of turning the childhood game into a computer game. Powerups, especially the throwing stone, sound very interesting and make the concept sound great fun.
I'm not sure whether the game will keep interest up. Also although I like the water idea, it might be difficult to decide what stopping is, since you will not get to a complete stop. If the turning is completely random you cannot really create a strategy on how to react. So maybe have an increasing distribution. (It's quite save to move for 2 secs, but doing so for 5 is high risk)
The success and interest is mainly based on how interesting the setting will be. Thus there should be a lot of ways to develop a strategy that might work better. Maybe even a Rock-Paper-Scissors-Type of strategy setting. (Like stone throwing > speedy one > slow but invisible > stone throwing)
Rum Runners
Prohibition is probably the coolest topic for a game. Sounds like funky dark underworld, sins and fun. Drunk'o'meter!! Nice logo too.
I'm not sure about the longtime fun. It sounds great to play, but also quite repetitive.
Implement the Drunk'o'meter as Low Target and think of a way to get sober again that is risky. Maybe also think of some way to make the game less repetitive (Tasks or Bar that get pissed if you don't deliver in time...)
Odysseus Quest
Storyline. Drama, Love, Gods - must be good. Even better: Sirens, Whirls and Giants, yeah! The Gods as protective deities giving special abilities. Ambrosia brings a nice additional problem into the game. (Be faster or collect ambrosia?)
Replayability: If it is always the same track, it's going to be interesting maybe 5 times to play. Simple resetting the flags might help though. How do you make sure that if one player is way ahead the game will still be fun? (Apart from the crossing path. Because if pathes cross i.e. around an island, one has already a huge lead.) Also it might be quite difficult to balance the 12 boat-god combinations.
Leave away the shallow water simulation. Focus on the fun. It's a nice concept and a great story. Better push it there.
Pharao's Tomb
I like the idea of a physical solving puzzle, it promises many possible solutions.
It's a bit unclear to me, how gameplay will look. The physical puzzles sound promising, but creating them that they're actually challenging to solve won't be easy. (Apart from having a completely unusable control - that is quite easy ) Implementing an animated character that can hang is going to be a huge task, with a lot of possible traps. I wouldn't do it.
Catching as a digital version with balls - I like. The game is great fun in real life, why shouldn't it be in the digital world. Also the force field idea is cool. The fuel might be the crucial idea to keep the game interesting.
I'm not sure it will work to create a setting where seek and hide really works i.e. the hider really cannot avoid being found and if the whole idea is enough to keep interest up.
Just hunting turnwise is boring. Pepper the game with point counters: for every second you run, you get points. And the nearer you are to the catcher, the more point you'll get. This will make the two runs comparable and instantly improve motivation.
Alessandro Gaia
Yet Another Working Name (YAWN)
The game concept is quite original, allows for a great number of interesting actions.
It may be a bit hard to grasp for the common gamer, and difficult to implement.
The game looks pretty complex, make sure not to get overexcited and remember the design philosophy taught in class.
The game basic concept is really simple, which is good. A lot of room for interesting modifications.
The gameplay elements described during the presentation sound pretty hard to implement in a way that is easily playable.
From the presentation it seemed that you want to implement only a single game arena - have you thought about the possibility of including more than one, of increasing difficulty (with obstacles that force you to take a longer way, for instance)?
Rum Runner
The game looks really easy to grasp and play.
It does not seem to have much variety.
It appears to be a “single-player-Vs.-AI-only” game; have you thought about the idea of having more players competing for the alcohol deliveries or controlling police cars?
Odysseus’ Quest
I like the openness of the game, the fact that you can freely choose where to go and how to act.
I’m not sure about having different ships and patron Gods; it’s really really easy to make one better than the others, and all players will use only that combination.
Have you thought about ship to ship battle (other than using your patron’s powers) to temporarily damage an opponent and slow it down, or adding something like a "vector field" all over the sea map that defines the current direction and strength that opposes or favours the navigation?
I like the mix of hunter/hunted and resource gathering/ management concepts.
If the levels are big, it may be frustrating for the players (well, at least for the alien one) as they will have problems finding each other, even with the radar. This may make the game too easy for the mayan player.
What about giving the Maya the ability to retaliate somehow against the alien? He’s playing in his home turf after all, he may have set up some nasty traps...
Philipp Simmler
YAWN
I really like the anti-gravity paint. That tool sounds so much fun to me, I would like to get one by myself an shoot around wherever I am. Also I think the gameplay factor will much increase with a weapon like this.
You mentioned that you will build somewhat like two levels, I think that is just much to less to make a really cool game. For me a game is worth playing if I can get further and further. I mostly I do not want to replay a game if I am finished once. So please think about how you could tight me to the game.
Right now the game sounds like “shift” for me, but instead of switching top to bottom and vice versa you can turn the cubs and this way making blocks or not. Further you can use a anti-gravity gun. And as far as I got it, that is about it. Is there no other way of improving the game by adding other stuff to make the game even more interesting?
Mayan Red Light
I really like that you have added some cool features and “power-ups” as the stones which can be thrown at opponents, to make them move or loose control. I think this approach will completely make the game fun, and a challenge to master!
Implement more power-ups, they really could make the game the most fun part to play it. Try to give the game some “movement”, because it is mostly just standing around and do an appropriate amount of nothing.
You mentioned to build the gamescene in an old Mayan pyramid dedicated to a certain god. As a god is almighty and sees everything, why do you not use him as guardian. Just model some kind of closing/opening eye and you can leave away the guardian at all.
Rum Runner
The game idea sounds like really fun to me. I loved playing the first GTA (probably even more than all the other version of the game). And therefore I am looking forward to see the first version of the game
You really should implement the drunk'o'meter. This is what makes your game special and distinct it from GTA. And I think that is worth trying it and should be done at first, or at second stage.
As I have heard you talking about the idea to deliver rum to different bars and get back to your lager, to get new barrels. Could you add an other gamemode? Like reaching a bar far away within a predefined time limit.
Odysseus' Quest
The Idea of Odysseus having 3 brothers , which are challenging each other for the girl of there dreams! Also that each player has to choose his own god is a cool idea.
I have to honestly say I personally dislike checkpoints, due to the fact that I always feel that I have already lost if I am not the first one checking one of these points. So I think I would leave them away and probably try to resolve the problem differently. Perhaps you could try to give away points if someone is getting to a beautiful place on the map, which you would announce during the game (pretty much the same as a checkpoint). But the first one reaching the sight get more points than the second player reaching it. Further you can make some Combo-sights where points adds up even more when you visited 5 sights in a row.
I found it always disturbing if different characters have different features, especially if these features are not well balanced. If that is the case game will be won the moment when every player has chosen a figure he will play, because the faster the player is the better figure he will get, and this win the game.
Pharaohs Tomb
I really hope you will be able to get a good human animation engine. I mean that would really make your game cool, but is by far the hardest part you will try to reach! But go for it, and show that you can do it!
What I was missing during the presentation is the grasp the game will have. I mean its not a running game and its not getting fast, so that you have the pressure of beating yourself in a challenge mode. So I think you really should work on the game story, to make some pressure out of that, add time challenging puzzles, or just tell the player that your flooding the whole pyramid if he does not reach the tomb fast enough. Set the player in some way under the pressure, that he has to hurry.
As mentioned in the last point, you could add a timer, which counts how long you needed to find the way to the tomb, and this way the player could get points for timing skills. Next time I will play the game, I can force myself to be faster than last time.
Unidentified Rolling Objects
I like the idea of the minimap which will help you to find the best way to be faster than the approaching alien.
When I heard you talking about your targets I asked myself if it is not possible to set your minimal target down a little bit. I mean wouldn't it be fun playing the game already in a few days, or probably a week? Just try to find out which aspects are really the most fundamental and have fun playing this first step already!
Is it possible to add a damage function to? So the alien could just destroy the Mayan rolling object by hitting it? Would it change the gameplay if both opponents would die at the same time? Because if not, you could just make it possible that the alien hits the Mayan, and both players will get the same amount of damage.
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