CSCI 3651 Presentation

My final presentation:

An update to the prototype:

While it's not a major improvement, it does complete the basic elements of game play.

Next up:

• Compute score and keep displayed
• Track answers to know when a landmark has been reached and a video needs to be shown.
• Have my kids play test to see if the countdown timer should be increased (seems a wee bit fast for their age)

 

A Slower Speed of Light

Reading the blogs and watching the trailer to this game got me really psyched to to give it a go.  I downloaded and extracted to my Win 7 machine and double-clicked the exe.  I went through the entry screens describing game play and began to drool a little.  Finally, one more click to go and .... crash!

I can't make it work on my machine.

The Sims Social on Facebook

It took a few minutes for me to get the hang of what The Sims Social is all about.  The last time I played a Sims game, I was out to build a megalopolis of mythic proportions.  But, it only makes sense that a Sims game of Facebook would deal with building social interactions.

Basic game play was easy to figure out but, like all Sims incarnations, there are a lot of moving parts here.  I focused my efforts on my interactions with Bella and was rewarded with a 'romantic kiss' for my efforts.

The Sims engine has been morphed into a lot of shapes and the success of this social version is destined to follow in the giant footsteps of its predecessors.

Review of Mararitaville on Facebook

Facebook has introduced the world to a whole new level of procrastination.  Not only can we tirelessly and doggedly follow our "friends", we can participate in fun (and not so fun) time-wasting games that suck away our ability to complete anything meaningful in our life.

One of those games is Margaritaville.  I found it to be entertaining in a very simplistic way.  As these games generally go, your character must wander around a Caribbean island looking for tools and totems that found life in the mind of the designer.  I'm sure to the designer there was a logical path from point A to point B but that is not always the case from the player's perspective.

So, to Margaritaville, specifically:

Pros

• Getting started is as simple as going to the link and clicking play
• Gameplay mechanics are easy to understand
• Most objects on the screen react/exist intuitively

Cons

• Music is abhorrent
• Too much help - no time to discover the world on your own without being interrupted by 'help'
• Must spend a lot of time in the game to progress

"Easy Money" review

I played the Easy Money game on the robot overlord site and found it quite enjoyable.

The good:

• simple interface
• easy to learn

The not-as-good:

• not terribly challenging (perhaps the difficulty could increase more rapidly?)
• response of the physics engine was nice but I did keep wondering why gravity had no effect on the ball

I'll be happy to check back as the game progresses.

1st prototype

My first prototype of "Math Around the World" is now available here.  It's not as far along as I would like but I wanted to get it "out there" and available to gather feedback.

Notes:

• Click on red 'X' to start
• Click on 'United States' - other adventures coming soon
• Click the green button to start
• Actual game play not implemented yet -- it is a simple loop of math 'facts'
• When number of correct answers is reached, the video for that landmark will be displayed