Homework 6

1. For each of the four elements of the Tetrad, explain how it is addressed by your game. If one of the four elements is not used, please state this.

Story: The frame of the story results from a discussion of our team. We have different thoughts and finally we combined it together. The story is all about to have the players having fun in the game. The player will be playing a role as the hero in the game to save the whole village at the end. The background story is this mysterious old saying passed on: If you can collect all the dragon balls in the village, you will have any of your dreams come true. The aliens heard the story and want to control the world. They landed on the village and try to infect all the villagers with viruses so that they can easily find the balls. The player is supposed to shoulder the responsibility of saving the village.
Technology: We are all currently using Blender now. Mike knows Python, so we are able to achieve "whatever we like" in the game later on.
Mechanics: The player is supposed to use sword to fight with these aliens. I am thinking there should have no time limits because the player has to fight with the aliens and at the same time look for the balls ahead of the aliens. It is more of exploretary. The more aliens the player kills, the more hints they will get to find the dragon ball.
Aesthetics: We have discussed the design theme of our game in our kickoff meeting. The game skeleton was just built up but there are so many details need to be fixed and put into right place at the time. So we searched around the images and games and tried to find the images in our minds for our final game. The following is a picture of what we see our game may look like. Follow the theme, we will be able to build our objects and design the games in a consistent way, especially when we work independently.

2. Do the four (or less) elements work towards a current theme?

I think so. We have built up the game as RPG in medieval era and trying to fill in the details with our frame of the background story.

3. In your own words, describe the meaning of a "theme", and how does it differ from an "experience" (see book for examples in Chapters 2 and 5.)

From player's perspective, the theme is the impression on the game while the experience is what their impression comes from, including the interface, etc. (all the elements in Tetrad).

From designer's perspective, the theme is the concept or idea that applied throughout the entire game consistently. The entire game should follow one theme. The experience can be really different with regard to different settings and game elements. The designer will consider Tetrad when designing for desired user experience.

4.What is your game's theme?

Basically, it's about medieval era fighting game. We wanted the game neither too cartoonish nor too realistic.

5.What are the elements in your game that are meant to reinforce this theme?

All the elements (aesthetics, technology, mechanics, and story) we have been working on are based on the theme that we have discussed. We have been creating the objects following the four elements in Tetrad.

6. What is it about your game that you feel makes it special and powerful?

I think our team makes it special. We discussed and agreed on the game background story. Everyone of us is motivated to learn skills in blender. And we are trying to think about the user experience when thinking about the objects and mechanics. I think this makes the game special.