The Orb Collector Update (Part One)

In the past month I have started to program “The Orb Collector”. I have been busy with my job (yet again), but I have managed to stay organised and work hard on the project. There are many elements of the game which I have completed, but there are also new problems that have arisen. I’m going to talk about what has been accomplished, what new problems I now face and what new elements will be added.

The Projects Progress

At the moment I am feeling positive about the progress of this project. The following features have been completed:

• The Start Screen
• The Options Menu
• The Credits
• Game Play Screen
• The Objects within the Game
• Player’s Animations
• Player’s Actions
• Enemy Animations
• End of Level Trigger
• Enemy Attack
• Player’s Attack Action
• Scoring
• Key Pick Ups

A new enemy has also been added to this project (Fig 1). I found that the game needs a floating character to give the enemies more variation in attacking styles. This character floats up and down, so it is not the most original idea but it will be beneficial to the game.

The New Floating Enemy (Fig 1)

Because I have had a break from Flash, it took a day to get used to it again. Little things have slowed me down, just because I’m slightly rusty when using Actionscript.

Problems I am Facing

Whilst building this game new problems have emerged. There are three problems that are preventing me from progressing. After I figure out how to overcome these problems, I am confident that I can go onto creating more elaborate levels. I am hoping to create twenty levels in total. The three problems are:

• Having five more of one orb, than the other two, kills the player.
• Have the VCam follow the player correctly, because at the moment there are a few problems in the way it follows the player.
• The player sinks into the floor after jumping or falling from a height.

The following features will be added or adjusted:

• Enemies will now kill instantly, instead of infecting the player.
• As mentioned before, a new enemy has been added (Fig1).
• An introduction will be added that consists of still images.
• There will be an ending that will consist of still images.
• A password feature will be added, so the user can skip the levels they have already completed.

You can tell from this picture, that this is where I spend most of time since starting this project, plus I drink too much coffee.

New Project (The Orb Collector)

The last few months have been incredibly busy. I have designed a new website for myself (Anthony-Rowe.com), work has been hectic and I have been trying to catch up with my gaming. But now things have calmed down I want to work on my own projects in my spare time.

During the past two months I have thought of three solid gaming ideas that I want work on, but deciding which to work on first was the toughest task. In the end I decided to work on a game called ‘The Orb Collector’. This is a one player, platform game, which will be created in Flash.

Basic Storyline

A researcher named 'Zimmer' has been issued a dangerous task, on an earth ravaged by chemical warfare. Human existence is in decline due to the high amounts of poison in the air. Zimmer must search for surviving plantation that can be used to purify the earth’s air.

A spaceship named 'The RoX9' drops Zimmer into high risk environments, where time is of an essence. He has to locate the specimen, collect it and then make his way to the ship. This sounds like an easy task, but in his way are clusters of poisonous orbs and dangerous creatures.

There are three kinds of orbs, which are three different colours; Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. Zimmer must try to avoid these orbs, as once touched they will infect and absorb into him. If untreated, Zimmer will die, but he can neutralise this poison. To do this Zimmer must keep his poison levels equal. If the poison levels are not equal, Zimmer will be denied access to the ship and if Zimmer absorbs too much of one orb, he will die.

Also, there are three types of infected. These creatures are infected with one of the three orbs, if they hit Zimmer, he will be infected with 3X the amount of that poison. The user will be able to tell what type of poison the creatures are infected with by the colour of their eyes.

Types Of Infected

Wall Hanger – This creature hangs off walls and tries to swing into the player.

Zombie – This creature is brainless, but walks incredibly fast and jumps at the player. If this creature touches Zimmer, he will get infected.

Spider – The spider has long legs, if they touch the player, they will be infected. This creature will try to swipe at the user.

Concept Art

Title Screen (Fig 1)

Game Layout (Fig 2)

Game Layout (Fig 3)

Hollywood Heist

During my second year at university, I was issued a brief based around the theme ‘Hollywood Heist’. Whilst doing research on the topic and also being a huge fan of film, it was obvious that this genre has been done a thousand times before. A group of suave, well dressed, talented individuals rob a bank/ casino, using their skills and charm. What is the point of making another game that has been done many times before?

Instead of making this game about a group of ‘cool’ individuals, I decided to make a game based on a group of misfits. This group of people will have little strengths, but this game focuses on their negatives. So instead of a character that has the specialty of smooth talking women, there is someone who is terrible at talking to people under pressure. When the player is controlling this character, the main focus is to avoid conversation with people or their cover will be blown.

This game takes place on a casino that is also a ship. The group are trying to help a friend who has lost his life savings at the casino. He only lost a small amount of money, but the group feel sorry for his loss and want to help him. They are only set on stealing the exact amount their friend had lost, even if they spend more money in preparation.

Here are some of the characters:

Maxwell

Maxwell is the leader of the group. He is a very tall individual that sticks out like a sore thumb. He is also has a terrible stutter, but strangely enough Maxwell is an incredibly confident person.

Sam

Sam is a very slow mover, who cannot speak and has trouble thinking. What Sam lacks in brains, he makes up in strength.

Ivan

This ex marine is the master of disguise, but he loves to dress up in women’s clothing and is slightly mad. He is also a master at hand to hand combat and has an incredibly short temper.

Nicola

This computer whiz is extremely timid and hates interacting with people. If someone manages to talk to her, her cover will be blown. She is that transparent!

Educational Background and Previous Work

Right, I’ve decided to talk about my educational life and exhibit some of my previous work. I’ll try to keep this interesting as I know how boring these things can be.

I studied at The University of the Arts London (LCC) in Games Design. This course was very practical. The FDA lasted for two years and during this time I received a Merit Plus. I later received a 2.1 (80%) for my full BA (Top up).

Here are some images of my work:

Monkey Mountain

Early Concept Art for Monkey Mountain

The 3D models were sculpted using 3D Studio Max; the textures were made using Photoshop and the game was built using XNA. This project was meant to be a four player game, but due to time constraints it was made into a two player game.

A screen-shot from Monkey Mountain

The characters in this game are brightly coloured monkeys with springs on their heads. The levels are set in two tiers. The players have to throw coconuts and pineapples at each other. When a player's health bar reaches zero, their monkey will enter a dazed state. When dazed, the player’s opponent can jump on their head and bounce onto the upper tier. The monkey who reaches the top tier, wins.

Pulse

Pulse Concept Art - Image 1

Pulse Concept Art - Image 2

Pulse Concept Art - Image 3

These are some images for a project named Pulse. Unfortunately it didn’t get past the concept stage. These images were hand drawn by myself and were coloured using Photoshop.

Fire Safety: Ashes of Regret

Fire Safety: Ashes of Regret - Image 1

Fire Safety: Ashes of Regret - Image 2

This is a ‘serious’ game that teaches fire safety within the work place (In this case a cinema). This is a point and click game where the user has to investigate a fire that killed seventeen people. I really believe that educational games can be a great teaching tool, but they have not been used to their full potential. Watch this space!

Why have I started a Blog?

Ok, so I’ve just finished watching the series Castle, Red Dead Redemption has been cast aside and I am in need of a cure for boredom. Game Design, that’s it! Something I should have been doing since finishing University. I fell into the Games Testing trap and it is a hard trap to escape from. Games Testing has been a great experience though, I love playing games, having input on a project and seeing how the industry works, but due to the terrible contracts I am never safe from being ‘let go’. So now I am dedicated to making myself a better Game Designer, and to do this I will be working on the following:

• · 3DS Max
• · Photoshop
• · C++
• · XNA
• · Flash and Action script
• · My writing skills
• · Drawing Skills

I will be blogging my progress, exhibiting my skills, and writing about things that interest me. I am not going to limit myself by only writing about games, as all forms of entertainment fascinate me and they all help towards the design process.