Platforming Tutorial Level Idea

I would like to make a tutorial level for a platforming game that involves playing as a piece of sushi. The conflict of the game would involve the sushi's struggle to escape the sushi bar before he can get eaten by the hungry customers. The twist is that the other food on the sushi bar is getting in the way of the sushi's escape. The location would be on the sushi bar and tables in a Japanese restaurant. The time of year is early spring. The time of day is in the morning right before the lunch hour is about to start. Other pieces of sushi live in this environment, but they have no desire to escape the restaurant and act as obstacles to the player. The overall architecture of the level would consist of plates, bowls, and chopsticks on the surface of a table, and this would all reside in a fairly traditional looking sushi restaurant. Prior to the sushi arriving to his plate on the sushi bar, the table was cleaned and then stacked with plates and bowls of food to serve the restaurant's customers. The piece of sushi was prepared by a master chef and placed on a platter for the customers, but what this chef didn't expect was that this little piece of sushi had no plans of getting eaten.

Here is my idea for the level layout.

The level would start with fairly simple jumps that slowly increase in difficulty. Eventually you reach the first obstacle, which is a giant bowl of hot miso soup. The jump over the soup is made easier by a piece of tofu floating in the soup that you can jump on to. You will have to act quickly though, because the tofu starts to sink into the soup as you're standing on it. Eventually, you come across a piece of bouncy tofu, which acts like a trampoline and allows the player to jump onto a tall stack of plates. After that, you get to a slightly harder miso soup obstacle where you must jump across multiple pieces of floating tofu without sinking into the soup. After rolling down a spoon, the player is met with two bouncy tofu pieces. In this part, the player learns that jumping on the tofu from a higher distance creates a larger bounce. By bouncing along these pieces of tofu, the player will be able to land on top of the tallest stack of plates in the level and finally finish the level.

VVVVVV Tutorial Level Analysis

VVVVVV is a platforming game designed by Terry Cavanagh. The core mechanic of this game involves reversing gravity in the level to maneuver past obstacles. There is no jumping, the player can only move to the left or right and reverse gravity. The first level in the game introduces the mechanic and very quickly builds in complexity as the obstacles become more difficult. Here's an image of the level layout:

In the first section, there aren't any obstacles at all, and there is clearly only one direction for the player to go. This section allows the player to learn movement. The next section presents a pit of spikes. The game offers a brief reminder message about which buttons the player can press to reverse gravity. In this way, the player is fairly easily introduced to the gravity reversal mechanic.

 Next, the player reaches the first checkpoint. Here the player has no choice, but to go up, essentially taking a blind leap through the next few sections. In this case, there are no obstacles that the player is in danger of hitting at the top. In this way, the player learns that he or she will need to travel between screens without knowing what lies ahead.

The player takes a leap of faith

The leap of faith has a safe landing

Next the player reaches a set of moving obstacles. They require the same skills to get past as the spikes while also adding a new element of timing. The next few sections are variations in the spike traps and moving obstacles, which helps the player to continue practicing. When the player reaches Gantry and Dolly, vanishing and moving platforms are combined with the spikes. This is the first point where the player needs to be conscious of static and dynamic obstacles.

 Later on in Boo! Think Fast! and Driller, the player needs to take a leap of faith similar to the beginning, but this time there are obstacles along the way that the player must deal with, such as disappearing platforms and spikes.

Here's a video of the obstacles that the player must face through these new leaps of faith:


 This is another example of how the tutorial builds in complexity based on what was previously introduced. After going through a few more sections with moving obstacles and spikes, the player reaches the teleporter that marks the end of the level.

A lot of different elements are introduced in the first level of VVVVVV. They are introduced in a sequence that allows the player to readily interact with them without becoming overwhelmed too quickly while also becoming increasingly complex over a short time, providing a lot of challenge for the player. Aside from the order in which things are presented, I also think that the checkpoints are very useful sources of positive feedback that help in leading the player through the level. Quite often, a new checkpoint is within view of the player, which helps provide a clear idea of where he or she needs to go. It's also a very positive experience to reach a new checkpoint, which provides a feeling of accomplishment and relief after clearing the previous obstacles.

The checkpoint clearly indicates that the player needs to find a way past the spikes in the middle

  

Some work from this semester

Maya Python Script Ideas

Here are some ideas for python scripts I have:
1. A script that takes a chosen uv set and copies it into a new uv set and automatically prescales and lays out the uvs. I think this could help save a lot of time in generating lightmaps.
2. A script that automatically orients the normals of a selection to the z axis and creates a 0 to 1 gradient of red vertex color from the bottom to top of the object. This would be useful in setting up grass models to be used with a wind shader.
3. A script that automatically weights an entire model to 1 for the root joint and sets the entire model to 0 for all of the other joints. This would be helpful in setting up a model for rigging.
4. A script that gives a dialogue that allows one to align the pivot to any side of the model with a single button click. This would be useful for setting up modular assets.
5. A script that automatically adjusts the orientation of a model for either y-up or z-up.
6. A script that automatically sets the translation and rotation on an object back to 0, and any scaling back to 1.
7. A script that takes any number of selected objects and randomly distributes them along a curve.
8. A script that automatically creates joints and weights them for cloth based on a vertex selection of the cloth area.
9. A script that removes all unused materials in a scene.
10. A script that automatically creates and aligns reference planes in each viewport.

Racing Game Trailer Research

Here's a trailer for Trackmania 2: Canyon that I like.


One thing that I like about this trailer is how the cars are always leading the movement of the camera throughout the track. I also like the compositions that are created as the camera travels through the architecture of the level. Additionally, I really like the contrast in proportion that is created between the little cars and the massive structures in the environment. Another thing about the trailer that I like is how the movement of the camera matches the tempo of the song. I also find it really interesting that the whole trailer is a single take camera move through the environment. I think this decision works well in giving people an idea of the amazingly intricate tracks that can be created in the game's editor. While I may not use a single camera move, I'd really like to apply some of the other interesting aspects of this trailer towards the trailer that I will make for my racing level.

Racing Level HUD

The references I'm looking at for creating my HUD includes the speedometer from Smart Cars and electric cars. Here are some images.

I also found some references of racing game HUDs. I would like to make my HUD have a fairly simple and clean look like these images.

Here is an initial design for my HUD that I created over a screenshot of my level.

Electric Beam Particle Effect

Here's an electric beam particle effect that I've been working on.

The particle system uses UDK's beam effect to create bolts of electricity that go to two different target points. Through kismet, the target points can be given random positions over time to create a tesla coil type of effect. I'm currently working on a tutorial for setting up the materials, particle system, and kismet to create the effect, which I will be posting soon. I'd like to thank Ryan for all his help in setting up the materials and kismet. Here are some images of the particle system in UDK.

The next particle that I'd like to do is a water splash for the rain barrel that I made. Here are a few references that I've found.






The Eat 3d cascade video will probably be good to reference when working on this effect as it has a section on making water drips. http://eat3d.com/cascade