Buttons (The Final Saga)

Finally, thanks to Patrick, I have working buttons on my game demo. Turns out, I had it in ActionScript 3.0 (I thought I had checked that). Oh well, I was glad to finally get things moving again. Bit of advice, if you have any stumping questions, simply send it to your Globaloria advisor (not your teacher). I did it, and he fixed all of my issues.

Adding animations

Adding animation worked much better than adding buttons. I have managed to stump everyone who comes across my game in the realm of buttons. Though I had no trouble in the trial, when adding such things to my game,the code is rejected. I have tried altering the code, renaming things, and a multitude of other ideas, none of which have prevailed. On animation, though, I found out that no matter what you change about the object you are working with, it will always morph into that object. Using this, I managed to create a ball that appeared to bounce toward, then off, screen. At first the scene passed too quickly, but I discovered that altering the number of scenes also affects the speed of the ball. It's all about placement. Hope this helps someone out there in cyberland.

More Butttons

After finishing the simple button exercise, I moved on to working with multiple buttons. It turns out, if you follow the button instructions for making one button, then duplicate the process with a different object, you will get multiple buttons that fufill multiple tasks. I've decided that Flash reads like a strange book, and I wonder what actions you can put in that flash will understand. I'll have to research this further. For now, though, I am busy with transferring my button exercise into the multiple scenes of my game overview.

Question?

Through all of the tutorials, I am learning a decent amount about Flash and how it works.  However, I do have a question (which is quite convenient considering comments are a required part of the course).  When do we actually begin designing the game?  So far I have made about twenty different tutorials about my game but have yet to actually design more than a few scenes.  This is an open question, and if any reader could assist me with it, I would be most grateful.

Button Button! Whose got the button!

For some reason, like many other aspects of this project, the ability to create buttons has eluded me.  I have watched all of the videos, followed all instructions, and yet, still, I am missing something.  My button will light up, but never switch screens.  I haven't even made it past the trial button, so my game prototype remains a hopeless mess.  My Googling attempts are thwarted, so for now, I must write this update and continue to fight the great flash battle.

Other Required Post

I have enjoyed the chance to jump  back in flash, though I am not certain why they have us doing the same process again.  Many of the questions asked are redundant, but I think I am getting used to that.  Hopefully, more flash interaction will follow soon, for I enjoy drawing scenes and figuring out codes.

Required Post

Write about your game topic. Is there anything new you've learned about it since you last wrote about it? Has there been an interesting post from a blogger, or article you've found on a similar topic?

No.  I have not learned anything new about my topic, for this assignment wasn't about learning something new about my topic.  My information remains the same, though I was happy for a chance to physically start my game on Flash.

Videos Everywhere!

We just finished writing, planning, and recording the presentation on our paper prototypes, and, yet, we're on to the next activity.  Of course, another video.  As if it didn't take us long enough to upload our first video, now we have to upload one to our blogs.  It's a horrible idea.  I would rather just copy and paste the script of my video, for it makes life much easier.  Oh well.  Expect a dreadfully dull video soon...

Video

After five thousand video malfunctions, we have our videos made. I have made mine three times, but due to technical difficulties (improper memory, improper format, etc.).  Luckily, three days and three tries later, we have the videos created in a proper format.  Now, all that is left to do is to upload them to Viddler and post them.  With our current luck and rate, this will probably take three more days, but hopefully not.

Paper Prototype

My game design has been successfully filled out on paper.  It was quite beneficial to actually plan out step-by-step everything I plan on doing.  Unfortunately, I was unable to film because our camera refuses to cooperate.  I am bringing in my personal camera (Canon Vixia HD) on Tuesday, for there is no school on Monday.  That way, I can ensure my filming will be a high quality success.

Busy Busy

This week is spirit week at our school, and as student body president, I have a large role in planning and organizing everything.  Between planning everything and my other activities, I am finding it quite hard in this class to keep up on all of my information.  To me, the system seems a bit redundant.  I have to repost everything I initially posted to other sources, making the assignments more tedious.  With all the updating of the system that I do, I have slipped bit by bit.  Luckily, I have the ability to log on at home and update my logs and blogs.  If the system were simpler, it would certainly make life easier, and I would have a bit more time to finish everything (not to sound pompous, which I know it did).

Prototype

My game now has a title:  CityEscape.  I think it is a nice twist on the word "cityscape."  The plot follows Roger, who awakens in the abandoned city after his plane crashes.  After he notices an old cell phone tower, his mission becomes clear:  assemble the pieces of his cell phone and call for help.  Once this is accomplished, he must race across the city in order to get to the waiting help.  The first half will be point and click, followed by an arrow game.  I must now create scene by scene.

The Loneliest Number

It's official.  I am a team of one.  That said, I will be taking all roles and responsibilites associated therein.  I will design the game, plan the game, execute the game, etc.  I am satisfied with this, for, though it requires much more work, I have complete freedom to do whatever I choose.  No having to consult a partner, not having to worry about them when I work on my own.  For me, it's probably the best option.  Yes, one is the loneliest number, and yes, it's what I wanted.

Thoughts

As I continue to think about my game, I keep thinking of more and more intricate ways of doing things.  I have been incredibly busy outside of the class lately, and it has me thinking.  Though I keep thinking of more intricate ways of solving things, that doesn't mean that the actual game play has to be difficult.  At this point, I am rambling, but my rambles help me figure things out.  I want the game to be a real mystery, not a cheesy and easily solved puzzle.  Unfortunately, I lack the animation skills to draw the scenes I'm looking for.  I am searching for a happy medium between big, bright cheesy graphics, and an antique, subdued look.  Hopefully something will come to me, and if it does, I will post it here.

Impatient

I'm becoming impatient.  I am beyond ready to delve right into my game and create it, but I have no idea what to do.  I don't know the codes, and I am pretty overwhelmed by the concept of creating a video game from scratch. I'm completely torn between the concept of creating an awesome game and taking on such a tremendous task. 

My first game!

Finally, with a bit of trouble, I figured out how to create my first game.  Of my own accord, I changed sizes and speeds of characters, as well as added a background.  Overall, I see it as a success, especially since I am now fairly familiar with flash.  The worst part of all most definitely came from the brackets.  They are the devil.  I enjoyed the rest, though, and hope to build a future game that keeps people as well entertained as I am.

The Bunny Moves!

In all honesty, this may be one of my greatest accomplishments.  I made the bunny on the screen not only move, but eat the carrot.  My life is complete. (Or maybe not)

AAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!

No matter what I try, my bunny rabbit will not budge.  The trial mini game began quite nicely.  My carrot showed up correctly and moved as I wished.  I even went beyond what the instructions said.  After I reset everything and moved on to the bunny, things became harder.  I was able to bring the rabbit on the screen, but, when trying to make it move, the bunny turned into a brick wall.  Now, no matter what codes I change, the bunny refuses to move.  I'll attempt to fix it on Monday.  This thing will be the death of me.

Cell phone game?

I have been trying to decide what to do, and I think I have finally made a decision.  I want to create a point and click game.  This has nothing to do with most of the things I have researched in the class, but out of class, this tends to be my favorite kind of game.  It would be incredibly simple to do, for the animation wouldn't hardly exist.  I think that I would do a walkthrough/timeline of cell phone technology.  It would almost be an I-Spy type of project.  I might even add a bit of mystery.  Maybe my character will be searching for a phone to call someone for help.  Twist of irony: Maybe I'll make it iPhone compatible. I am still a bit scatterbrained about all of the details, but I have a broad concept, and I'm gonna roll with it.

Why Privacy is Important

Don't paste things publicly on the internet.  It is far too easy to imitate someone else on the web.  That young woman who added you on Facebook is probably a fifty year old man.  On this topic, I don't have much to say other than it's dumb.  That is why you will never learn my last name.

Who knew that children in Darfur could run so fast?

I have been playing different games as suggesting (and required) by our advisor.  Across all of the genres, from action to puzzle, I have decided that the type of game doesn't matter.  At first, I thought I would have an action game preference, for I am a Mario obsessor.  As I progressed through games, I realized something:  If the game is entertaining, the genre won't matter.  I played a game called Ayiti: The Cost of Life .  The game itself wasn't all that exciting, but, as I played it, I found myself getting more and more addicted to it.  I wanted to see how much money I could get, and groaned everytime I saw that someone had a cold.  I played another game similar to it where I was the UN representative for Europe (apparently Europe is unified).  It was equally addicting.  My favorite game that involved action was Darfur is Dying.  The kids running from the trucks were unusually fast, but, still yet, I and the person on the computer next to me were both yelling at the screen for him/her to go faster.  Other games I played did not compare to these select few, and I found myself returning to them after my assignment was completed.  No matter what topic I choose, I hope that my game will keep people entertained.

P.S. Who doesn't enjoy a funny picture?

My First Post (Creatively Titled)

My name is Matt (no last name for security purposes)from West Virginia. I am quite indecisive as to what I should write for my first entry.  I have never written in a blog, and I don't generally read them ( I don't normally want to hear about someone's trip or amazing experience.)  In general, I tend to get off topic quite easily, so bear with me if you're reading.  For starters, we were given a prompt:  What do you expect to gain from your Globaloria experience?  As questions go, this one is pretty vague.  I joined the class because I like the teacher, and it's my senior year.  I already know my way around a computer fairly well, so I am not so sure what I expect to gain.  The biggest advantage of this program is not having to pay $500 for a program.  Unfortunately, the creativity is somewhat limited, for, as anyone in Globaloria knows, the game must be "educational" in some form or fashion.  I hope to figure out a good scenario in which to write my game, and I am pretty certain that it will contain something related to stick figures...