It has been a long time...

Hello there everyone...

My last post on No Rules Required was an apology for why I haven't been posting so much. The reason, apart from working very hard to complete my Masters, is because I have been busy setting up my own game design studio White Paper Games and designing our first title named Ether. 


The past few months have been pretty tough with working at a day job and for White Paper Games but everything is finally coming together well. We have started production of our demo that hopefully we will have ready to show you around September time and maybe some screen shots even sooner. We have also been trotting around the UK and attended this years Develop Conference which was a great chance to meet people in the industry and make some new friends.

So yet again I apologise for no posts but would like to reassure you all that this is still my personal blogging site and that I will be uploading weekly blogs relating to both my academic career and my adventure with White Paper Games.

So if you haven't already you can visit us at www.whitepapergames.wordpress.com, follow us on Twitter and join our group on Facebook to see what is going on and what we have been up to!

Update on lack of posting

This is just a quick post to explain why I haven’t been keeping up to date with No Rules Required recently. As you may know I have been playing around with various different ideas and have been sticking my thumbs in too many projects to actually focus on any particular one properly. In terms of my work approach this hasn’t been very productive and although I have been working continuously I haven’t managed to progress fast enough or deep enough with any one project to feel like I am achieving anything.

So with this I have decided to place to the side any projects I was currently tinkering with to start a new project with a couple of peers that I worked with during my Masters to actual create something that is professional and exciting.

In terms of information I sadly cannot divulge anything to you till we have something solid to show, but what I can say is that as soon as we have something set up to view I will be posting a link on here. As for posts of my work and articles on here or Gamasutra, unfortunately they will be on hold as all my time and effort is going into this projects design, although I do have a few interesting articles stored up in my brain for you.

Ciao 

Whats that Mr. Box? You can pick things up now?

Small post today with good news! As you may know from my last post I have been tinkering with the idea of small puzzle game involving balls, triggers, platforming and doors. Well I was pondering one of my mechanics which originally was the ability to pick rigidbodies up with your mouse and move them around and realised the problem with this mechanic is that I have used this in a number of other projects before. Knowing this I knew that I really fancied something different with the same objective as the drag/drop. So after many hours trying various scripts and asking for help from the lovely people on many a forum I have managed to make a square pick up a ball by a click of a button!


This may not seem like much to an experienced programmer but in terms of where this projects is now heading I practically have all the tools to really create something fun. This new ability limits the players to only pick objects up when they are stood infront of them. They can then move them around the game play area and drop them where they would like to.

Check the small demo out below to see how it would work with my current ideas.

Another room in a 2D style rather than 2.5D

I made an extra room in the game and changed the camera to orthographic so that the visuals were 2D rather than 2.5D.

Again like before for better quality check out YouTube.

I got distracted and made a new game...kind of!

So I said to myself I would do some work this evening on my Project Cat Boy level design document when I accidentally hit the Unity button *woops*. I then couldn't help but play around with bits and bobs that I have been doing over the past month.

I came up with a simple yet fun game, where the player has to get a pink ball into a trigger to advance to the next room. The rooms aren't mind bending but I quite liked the idea of it and since I haven't used Unity for a little while I thought I would stretch the old mind and make something out of it.

Then as I am so kind I thought I would make a little video to show people. You never know I may make it into a full game if people like the idea!

Thoughts and opinions as usual are always welcome.

If you want to see a better quality video check out the video on Youtube!

Why no posts???

Heya guys!

Just a quick post to apologise for no updates on my current work or articles on design or current gaming affairs. I have been snowed under with the design of my current title meaning that the work I have done is currently not at a stage that is suitable to be shown.

Not to worry though as I am hoping to get some lovely screen shots to you in a couple of weeks time!

Happy easter y'all!

Project Cat Boy Game Play

(Updated: Due to an excellent point from a friend (See comments) The walk and run mechanics will be reversed...e.g. Run as standard, walk on press of a button. Cheers Elcura.)

Hello everyone!

This week I have been working hard on getting some level designing done for Project Cat Boy and have had a mine of creativity surface which is great news. Unfortunately the levels at the moment are Top Secret until they are in production but I can let you know some of the exciting game play elements the game is going to feature. Below there are two lists for you to view, one of basic game mechanics (so you all can see how it is going to play on a basic level) and one of the more intricate mechanics the game is going to feature. There are more to come but at this moment in time they are still being decided on.

As always any thoughts or ideas are always welcome and anybody can comment below. This game is a product of our love for videogames and the people that have helped shape the industry today, any thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated.


Basic Game Mechanics

1.     Walking – Cat Boy as a default will run but he can walk as well. This will be done at the push of a button to allow him to slow down and stroll at a leisurely pace.

2.     Running –Cat Boy as a default will run rather than walk. As a friend pointed out this will allow for a greater sense of energy in the game and will not frustrate when moving back and forth between puzzles.

3.     Jumping – Cat Boy also has the ability to jump at the press of a button. This allows him to reach platforms that are out of reach and to jump across gaps that may heed his progress. Sometimes he will need to jump on props to solve puzzles and progress in the game. This can be done when he is walking and running.

4.     Picking Up Objects – Throughout Cat Boys adventure he will sometimes need to pick up objects and carry them about. This is easily done as when Cat Boy runs into one of these objects he will automatically pick it up and it will be stored in his bag.

5.     Pushing Props – Sometimes Cat Boy will be required to push objects around the game stage to solve puzzles and challenges that he may face.  Pushing against the prop in the direction that you wish it to be moved does this.

Featured Game Mechanics

1.     Collecting Thoughts – In each game world there are a certain number of forgotten thoughts that Cat Boy needs to collect in order for the world’s creator to remember who they are. These thoughts are often hidden in the dark parts of the occupier’s mind as game objects, the parts they wish to forget although the thoughts themselves are pleasant experiences from their previous life. Cat Boy needs to overcome challenges to obtain these thoughts and convince the occupier they are in a dream world and that they are being harvested.

2.     Obtainable Abilities – During each world Cat Boy will receive an ability that he will be able to use in the episodes to come. For example in the first world he gains the ability to push objects around to solve challenges. This will allow the game play to stay fresh and gives the player the element of wonder when they play a new episode.

3.     Evolving Levels – As you start to convince the worlds host that this is all an hallucination the world will start to crumble and change. This affects previous challenges and areas helping keep game play alive and interesting whilst bringing the games narrative to the forefront to show advancement.