Introduction:

For the latest project, the design students have to make a game with the following limitations:

In your assigned team, you are to create a fixed-screen game for PC with limited inputs. Your focus will be on mechanics and level iteration.

Creative Limitations:

• Must run on PC
• Use only the arrow keys for gameplay.
• Levels are loaded from an ascii map text file
• ll art assets are to be created in Magicavoxel.

While we are not involved in the design process of the game, we have to assist each team by providing them with tooling that will help them create their intended games with ease.

Requirements:

After recording some notes based on the pitches from each team, we have compiled a list of tools and components required, they include:

• Ascii Generator:
  This will read in data from a notepad or document, it will then generate prefabs at those locations based on what the designers allocated to that Ascii value.
• Audio Manager:
  This will control all audio from a single location, for easy of use, scriptable audio clips will be made by the designers containing the values they wish, then they simply have to drag it in to the audio manger, then it does the rest.
• Grid Based:
  This will not only move object to certain nodes but also will be able to check data on nodes before it moves, it is the basis for most of the games movement.
• Time based:
  Most of the games require some sort of timer to control variables or events
• AI:
  Most of the games require an AI, that will be able to track the player as well as aggro on line of sight of the player

There is some more individual things that teams will need dependant on their projects, however those will be trivial in comparison to these.

The next step:

Tomorrow we will make Tech Specs for each of the components and as well as Read me with exact instructions on how we think these should be used. This should be a good basis for the intended use of the tooling and how the designers can use it.

Post mortem:

In hindsight i didn’t update this as much as i should have, if you want to read my final thoughts on the project you can find them featured at
https://www.gamedev.net/blogs/entry/2265301-toolin-around-by-halves/