Atlantis 2: Beyond Atlantis by Cryo Interactive is a point and click game which uses mythologies from various cultures to create an awesome experience. All the puzzles are related to the cultures that they take place in, but because the player most likely is not very familiar with the mythologies of these older cultures, they must learn more about the culture by walking about, interacting with the environment, and by observing their surroundings.

The one puzzle in particular is one that I think is most clever, because it is a simple concept everyone can understand, with a twist. The puzzle takes place in past of the Yucatan, where the player is playing as an Aztec scout. In order to explore the bowels of a temple, the player is faced with a simple puzzle. -

Okay, so more of a statement, but okay, it's just simple math. Of course, the player does not know the number of the bat right off the bat (see what I did there?) However, after playing through for awhile, and getting acquainted with some of the Aztec Gods, the player travels to the land of the dead and meets this fellow.


You get to talk to the Bat God for awhile, and have the option to come back and talk to him whenever you please... so, surely you can ask him his number? No? Well, darn, I guess we are stuck. 

Back at the temple, if you look around it won't be long until you notice and look closer at the reliefs on the walls. 

Huh, so dots for numbers, that's not hard at all. And now that I think of it, that Bat had three dots on it's wing! Interesting, let us go tell the guard the answer that the Jaguars number is three times three, or nine to be exact!


Erm, yes, I know. How can I tell you the number! In this game, when asking questions or giving answers, a sort of dialog box filled with symbols appears, but when talking to this man, he only gives this command, there is no options to respond. Hmm, oh, whats this?


Ah, here is our chalkboard! A bit old school, but not a problem, now let us just peg in the number nine!

That doesn't look right... Oh, we're Aztec's here! If we look around some more we can see how the Aztec number system works, it's sort of like a tally system, but it's based on 20's, rather than our base 10 number system. So we know how to count up to five and all, but does the placement on the grid matter? Yes it does! From another plaque we can see how bars symbolize fives, and adding dots or more bars on top simply adds.


Interesting, so with a bar on bottom for five, with four dots on top, we can symbolize nine!


Finally! Man, learning a whole new number system sure takes a bit of getting used to, but hey, now we are done and ... oh no.


Now we need the Snake's number? So we have to find a Jaguar and count the number of spots or something? Oh wait, we know that number is nine, so nine by nine is... 81! There's only enough room for 80 dots on the board! What do you want me to do? 


Alright, so putting dots in the higher rows is kind of like saying what number is in the tens place, except we are using twenty instead of ten. So we'll need four dots for four times twenty on top, then add one dot on the bottom for our 81. Great! Finally, time for our prize...


Darn, there's still one more puzzle! And now we don't even have a nice guard to explain it to us. However, if you haven't picked up on the pattern, it seems like all the puzzles and plaques are connected. We started at 3 x 3 - then to 9 x 9, and the plaques illustrated the numbers 1 - 5, 19 - 21, and 39 - 41. We can go through the math and find out that this plaque reads 399, 400, 401. Those are some big numbers... something that would come in handy if we had to multiply 81 by itself... and what a fitting challenge for this room.  


Using the knowledge you gained previously, and no doubt with a pad of paper and a pen... You'll figure out how to transcribe 6,561 in Aztec! And we are finally presented with our reward... the piece to one of the final puzzles of this chapter of the game.


I like this puzzle the best because it's informative, it teaches the player about Aztec culture, and also how to think outside the box when completing puzzles in the game, but the player is presented with a clear question and with a straightforward process.

1. Wall Rider - Arm mounted mechanism that allows players to latch onto and travel along walls in straight lines
2. Bio Gun - An organic gun that has to eat to fire projectiles. Depending on its diet it has different abilities
3. Drill-Shot - A sort of glove like launcher that shoots out a drill on a chain, allowing players to latch onto walls or drill holes through them.
4. Remote Explosive Launcher - Gun that shoots out sticky, remote grenades to set traps and stuff
5. Gum Gun - A gun that shoots two strands of gum, you can use this to stick movable objects together
6. Reflector - A large mirror type object that is used to reflect enemy projectiles and lasers
7. Flame Catcher - A backpack devise that sucks fires for use later
8. Shrink / Grow Ray - A gun that resizes props
9. X-ray Goggles - A device that lets players see through walls / certain vision blockers
10. Gravity Core - A suit that allows the user to change gravity in a certain radius around themselves



For our final project for our programming class, we were challenged to develop a version of a classic 80's arcade game. After cajoling my teacher, I was allowed to remake Sinistar, an awesome game I only recently learned about, but love.

The graphics and sounds were state of the art back in 1982 when it first came out, but the style, game play, and sound still holds up excellently today! My partner, Dionisio Blanco, and I worked together to create this remake as best we could in the limited time frame we had. You can see a break-down of how we shared the work of the assignment on Dio's blog here

 And finally, you can download an EXE to play our version of Sinistar here!


Here's a trailer for the level I created for Ringling College of Art and Design's annual Sophomore Spinout game project! It took the entire year to create the car, it's racer, and the level, but it's finally done, at will be done in a couple of weeks. Hope you enjoy!


Now that our racing levels are chugging along nicely, it is time to think about how to get a player excited. I know one of my favorite arcade racing games growing up was Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64. It was extremely fun to play with friends, and very challenging too. In fact, I still have not beaten the game due to the difficulty of one of the final bosses.

I decided to see if it had a trailer, and lo and behold, it did! It's a fun-filled promotional trailer that shows off the key selling points of the game all with in-game footage and a classic British narrator. I'm not sure if we'd be able to get a narrator, but otherwise I feel like the trailer has a good pacing in the features it shows off, and with cuts timed with the narration. The trailer is mostly focused on the racing aspect and not the exploration aspect, which works well for my racing level. Just because the game and trailer are dated does not mean I can get some good information out of it. I'm so glad someone on youtube conserved this footage, it's amazing to look back at these things now that I know more about game design.
After creating a race car and making a track, we must make a HUD using Unreal Engine 4's HUD making software. Since my car is modeled off of a GAZ-69, I decided to start there, and took at look at the original dash of the GAZ-69

 

I love the rugged and neglected look, so I looked at other old war vehicles and found some awesome dials and knobs and stuff!





I loved this tachometer, and would love to incorporate something like it into my HUD. I also took some elements from other dials I thought looked cool, and tried to add some different functionality to them. I like the general layout I have at the moment, but I feel like it might get a big too cluttered. Therefore, once I start testing it in-game, I will tweak it, I'm thinking I could move the Gear indicator and incorporate it into the speedometer, saving space. I would do it in the style of the tachometer above, with the dials within dials it has for temperature and fuel levels. The weapons indicator would be a light up bulb that will reinforce the notion that the player is armed and ready when they pickup a power up.




Progress on the explosive barrel. Mostly worried about the mechanics at the moment. I created a barrel that floats in zero gravity for my space level, with a pulsing green light to make sure players notice! If it is hit lightly it will release a particle effect for a couple of seconds before exploding! Here's a little teaser of it in UE4.



Here's the code - As you can see there are four main groups. The first group is to make the barrels spin around and make them more exciting that static floating barrels. If they were not moving then maybe it would look like they were a glitch.

Then, there is the hit registration area, that listens for hits hard enough to initiate either a damaged or destroyed state. The damaged state fires off a particle and after a couple of seconds then initiates the destroyed function. This function shoots off an explosion particle, a radial force AND damage actor, and then terminates the blueprint.

I also added in an event to initate the damaged function whenever a coolant cell is damaged. Looking forward, this will allow the cells to interact with any kinds of damage, be it from a collision with a car, to other coolant cell explosions, or even weapon damage from the cars weapons.




For my racing level, I am planning on making the race-way a sort of magnetic highway that the inhabitants of the space station use for travelling to different asteroids. I'm planning on making a destructible asset that fits with this theme, mainly to fit in with the theme of this powerful magnetic highway. Therefore, I'm thinking of making a coolant cell type of obstacle that will make the race much more interesting. I picture this coolant cell looking very similarly to a fusion coil from Halo 3



These sure livened up games of slayer, didn't they?

However, the explosives I wish to create will be rooted to the track, and pop up randomly throughout the race. An observant player will not only be able to dodge these - they can also use their mounted weaponry to shoot cells as enemy races fly by, maybe taking them out in the process.


It's a pretty similar design, but they will be larger, and act differently.

I'd probably place the spawns for these cells manually around the track - keeping a higher concentration in the center to encourage players to drive along the sides of the track to stay safe. 
After looking at a couple of racing intro sequences, I feel like this short but sweet example from Mario Kart DS's Cheep Cheep Beach map.




I think it's pretty cool how they used both of the DS's screens to show off the map, while also making it not extremely disorientating. Basically, in the first 10 seconds of this video, the player is introduced to three major landmarks of the level in order of how they appear. The first is the rock arches - the second is the winding beach with the light house, and finally, is the home stretch to the finish line. We are shown these landmarks from an angle far away, so once the player races through these landmarks, they will understand what the area looks like from afar, and from up close, helping them remember what to do. In the case of the rock arches, the intro shows us it is a large, wide turn, helping players who might be confused the first time around without seeing it from afar.

I will be working with one screen so the multi-screen layout of the DS probably will not affect my intro sequence, but maybe I can set up a script so if players play split-screen on the computer, it can show the track with slight differences in views?
Here's a short video featuring what I have so far with my mining laser particle. I'll have to revisit it in order to make the area of impact feel more powerful, but it works enough for the blocking in phase.



But, basically these lasers move side to side a random amount, blasting away at the rock below. If the player runs into one of these they will be fried! Therefore, I made the lasers fairly slow, and with the curvature of the asteroid you are driving on, you will be able to see the lasers with plenty of time to dodge. I accomplished what I have so far with two separate particle systems. One for the beam, and one for the debris on the bottom. Using this system, I simply have to wire the bottom particle to a ray cast event from the ships to place it correctly on the asteroid's uneven surface. 
For the racing level I am planning on having mining lasers be one of the main obstacles for players to watch out for. I came up with this idea while I was looking up reference. I want my level to be space themed, so while searching for asteroids and what not, I found some EVE-Online screenshots.

EVE-Online is a fantastic, one of a kind game that has accomplished the impossible - having a completely player driven economy with almost no interference from the developers. In fact, the developers mostly let players do anything that is considered hacking or cheating.

Either way, one way of getting cash in EVE is to mine asteroids! In-game ships use mining lasers to blast ore out of rocks and collect tons of minerals. I always loved EVE, the game play, the wacky people that play it, and the beautiful sky boxes that populate the many star systems players can wrap to.

 

Therefore, I shall try to mix together the particle system they've developed here, with something a bit more threatening. I will also pull inspiration from the Halo series, especially the Covenant's infamous Glassing Cannon



I would aim to make a particle that basically takes the beam look from EVE, adding in the devastating orange glow the Covenant's concentrated beam of plasma creates when it impacts the surface. I will have to play with how powerful that glow is, so players are not blinded by it completely.


Video for better quality

Here are some additional effects from Halo Wars that I will reference. I like the idea of a strong pulse that happens every so often. Maybe I can make it feel powerful, but keep it from being as blinding as the glow from the first gif by having this periodic pulsing effect.


I'm going to create a themed racing level in space! After working on an ancient celestial temple, I need to get some sci-fi under my belt, so I will be modeling, texturing, and making lots of fun spacey sci-fi props for this level.

I'm planning on making a level that incorporates asteroids and space stations built into them, no unlike Omega from Mass Effect 2. The race will take place primarily during the day, so everything will be lit by a sun with very key key lighting. However, I am playing with the idea of having an eclipse during the final lap of the race to change the mood and make it more intense, by switching everything to a very low key, and illuminating the map with dull red emergency lights.




The track will have three primary areas, an asteroid cave, a space station, and the surface of an asteroid. I want to create a sort of meteor shower that the player has to drive through while on the surface of the asteroid as a stunt.

If that is too difficult I might just change it to a sort of crater soloum, where the player has to avoid driving into a crater.
But I will try to blend sci-fi elements from games like Mass Effect, Dead Space, and Destiny with realistic space elements such as using Phobos as a reference for making the surface of my asteroid and also referencing parts of the International Space Station to make panels and details of my space station more believable.





Here are just some quick thumbnails of certain aspects I want to capture, such as the eclipse on the final lap...









The entrance of the first asteroid at the beginning of the race, where the race first begins...










And exiting the space station on the way to the asteroid's surface.

For Programming class we had to create an activate-able falling trap for a 2.5D platformer using Blueprint. It was fun to set up this little guy, and create a little "challenge" which you can see in the video below.





Just for fun, we made faces that change on the falling blocks to make them just a bit more lovable after they crush you into oblivion. Here's a look at the blueprint that runs these guys below



The "challenge" at the end came about when I realized that lots of people jumped on top of the blocks after their attacks to get to a higher vantage point, or just for fun. I thought that having more on top of each other would make for an interesting challenge, as the player needs lightning fast reflexes to react to falling blocks on top of more falling blocks! I also added in unstable platforms because destruction looks great, is fun, and adds another mechanic to the game that encourages the player to act swiftly!
In our Game Design II class, we were tasked to design, and eventually build a platformer level. Therefore, I put together a simple map of the layout I would like to create.


The player will start out in a risk-free area in order to learn how to navigate. They will learn to jump and to push blocks to activate certain items. Once up the lift, the player will interact with turrets that will shoot in a straight line. Once through the first door, the player will have to learn to push blocks while also dodging bullets. Once to the next area, the player will have a choice, to either travel up or down on a lift. Both the top and bottom areas present the player with a different challenge they must overcome to press the yellow button, opening one of the two yellow doors in the "nexus" area. They will then teleport back in order to ride the lift to the other challenge area they did not complete.

Once both areas are complete, the final area will open, presenting the player with a familiar sight -- the starting room. However, when the player attempts to travel up, the lift will instead fall down, surprising the player. They will then have to complete one final challenge that combines both previous challenges. Then, the player will reach the end room. If the player collected all the coins (to be placed later, once the level is created) then they will attain an alternate ending through the "special door"
The Impossible Game is a fun little platformer created by Grip Games and published by FlukeDude. It first came out on the Xbox 360's marketplace  in 2009, which is when I first bought and started playing it. It's been a long while, and now it's been ported to mobile and even PC. The game is very simple, very difficult, and very addicting, mostly due to how the game's music matches up with jumps, making the player enter a sort of 'groove' as they play the game. When the player fails a jump, the music stops abruptly, causing the music and level to reset.

The music is the main driving force in this game, as it is utilized as a reward mechanic for the player, as well as a hint system. There are many "beats" of sound that ring out at points prompting the player to jump. If the player continues to jumps well, they are rewarded with the ever-building music titled Fire Aura by kid2will. If the player fails, the music restarts, often at the worse moments. In fact most of the most difficult obstacles are placed specifically at builds in the rhythm of the music, completely depriving players of the satisfaction of a complete measure of music. And since the game resets so quickly (in literally one second) the player is compelled to go farther than before to hear the rest of the song.

The player controls the jumps of an orange cube that continues at a steady pace across the screen. There is only the jump mechanic, which has various subsets. There is what I call the "tap", the "hold", and the "slide." The difference between these is simply how long the jump button is pressed. When a player taps the jump button, the cube jumps once. When they hold the jump, the cube jumps continuously until the jump button is released. The slide is to just stop jumping.

These controls are important due to the two obstacles the player must avoid, spikes and blocks. If a player hits a spike at all they reset the level. For the block, only if the player hits the side of a block or falls off onto the black ground do they reset. Therefore, the player must alternate their focus on landing on top of blocks and avoiding spikes. Taps are mostly used to jump over spikes and land on singular blocks. Holds are used when blocks are arranged in "stairs". Slides are for long platforms and "short stairs"

Example of a "stair" with a where the player must "slide" to avoid the spike


Example of "slide" where not jumping allows the player to progress, where a precise "tap" at the end would jump the pit


Here is a map I complied of the first level for the iphone version of the game. Because this is a very horizontal game, it was difficult to cut this map up logically.


During the first stretch of the game, lots of space is given to the player to figure out how to jump, and how to interact with spikes and blocks. The musical cues for jumps are extremely obvious, while there is a distinct tonal shift for the parts where the player must hold. The player learns to time jumps over single and double spikes, as well as learning to hold on the blocks without fear of hitting any spikes or falling.


However, the game introduces the first slide at the end of the third group of blocks. Even the music tricks the player into falling for the spike at the end of the hold, teaching the player to always stay vigilant during holds. The player hops more until the first musical culmination at the fourth grouping of blocks. Here the game introduces jumping spikes while also trying to land onto blocks in the air.


The player is reintroduced to a trap at the end of the flat area, with a spike on top of a square. This reinforces the slide to avoid traps. At the bottom is a very long hold, which lets the player catch their breath and refocus.


Once at the top, the player is faced with another short slide. At this point the background rhythm and jump beats start to meld together, and are not as obvious, but subconsciously they assist in timing jumps.  


At then end of the long hold down the stairs, the player faces a triple spike for the first time. This obstacle requires a very precise jump to clear, and is a major pain. The difficulty is also compounded by the fact that the music culminates at the point the player clears this jump, severely annoying players when they fail, but motivating and eventually rewarding them once they clear it.


After the triple spike, the player is faced with an almost chaotic area where holds and slides are mingled, and confuse the player. This area demands good control of the holding and sliding mechanics. Another triple spike waits at the end of this challenge, making sure the player has gained enough skill to proceed.


After that challenging section, the player is rewarded with a long hold to refocus, but not for too long, as the spike at the end might trick a player if they zone out.


After all that, there is a double-triple spike waiting as the final challenge. The player must pull this off perfectly to proceed. After this, the level is pretty much finished, and player can breathe a sigh of relief. However, how many attempts did it take?



After replaying this level hundreds of times, I can see just how important music is to gameplay, and how it can add an unseen dimension to a game that can affect how a player acts or feels. I will keep this in mind as I design my projects into the future.
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