3/18 Update

Continuing to work on my prototype and updating my paper. I'm working on implementing power-ups. Having some issues with this. I hope tog et some feedback from class tomorrow.

Added the second level today.

The style is a bitall over the place. Was trying to go for an "Ice Age" theme. Some assets do not go with the theme. My focus is on getting playable functions down.

3/12 Update

Continuing to work on my paper. Progress is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eVuU_QcYOb6RliFDAOHQ7gT3UZP7cRvzTWxNq843Wx0/edit?usp=sharing

3/11 Update

Created a spawner. It currently is spawning out 3 sizes of boxes. Touching the boxes results in game over. Implemented acorns as points. I feel like I'm steering away from the original ball idea, but I'm keeping the core movement mechanic and gameplay. Doing my best to understand what I'm scripting.

3/9 Project Update

Player movement is working. I reused a character I modeled and animated for another class as my player. I created a new movement script based on my previous tests.

I finally got the movement constrained to the left and right inputs. Further movement speed needs adjusting.

3/9 What goes into a successful game?

R. Koster, A Theory of Fun for Game Design. 2005; 2004

Successful games tend to incorporate the following elements:

Using this as a checklist and updating methodology and paper.

• Preparation
• Allowing the player to practice or give the player choices that affect their effectiveness before a given challenge. given to the player before the given challenge.
• A sense of space
• The space the player will be navigating in. This space and player relationship should be clear.
• A solid core mechanic
• This is a puzzle to solve, an interesting rule to add content to. The core mechanic is usually a fairly small rule.
• A range of challenges
• This is the content the player faces inside the game. It does not change the core mechanic, it works inside of it and may or may not bring different parameters within the core mechanic. An example would be an enemy.
• A range of abilities required to solve the encounter
• It is advised not to have 1 ability because the game can become dull. A good rule is to unfold abilities overtime to keep the content fresh.
• Skill required in using the abilities Bad choices lead to failure in the encounter. This skill can be resource management, failures in timing, failures in physical dexterity, and failures to monitor all the variables that are in motion [10].

3/7 Degrees of Freedom

There are numerous aspects to consider when making a game for physical therapy. Movement and specific motions are critical. Depending on the type of motor disability, the game movements will need to be tailored to the specific limitations of the individual player and the disability. Every player will have different degrees of flexibility and goals set by the therapist. To avoid being specific to one movement for this project, I aimed to understand movement as a whole.



Researching degrees of freedom: http://www.leadingones.com/articles/intro-to-vr-4.html

Head movement Basics:

Image B. Image source: www.resourceonbalance.com

Roll: Left and Right Tilt

Pitch: Forward and Backward Tilt

Yaw: Turning Left and Right

3/6 Update

Finished reading Theory of Fun for game Design by R. Koster.

Some important things I took away from this was:

• Games might seem abstracted from reality because they are iconic depictions of patterns in the world. They have more in common with how our brain visualizes things than they do with how reality is actually formed.

• This is an important insight for game designers: the more rigidly constructed your game is, the more limited it will be.* To make games more long-lasting, they need to integrate either math problems we don’t know the solutions to, or more variables (and less predictable ones) such as human psychology, physics, and so on. These are elements that arise from outside the game’s rules and from outside the “magic circle.”

• Fun is all about our brains feeling good—the release of endorphins* into our system. 
• Fun from games arises out of mastery. It arises out of comprehension. It is the act of solving puzzles that makes games fun.

• In other words, with games, learning is the drug.

• The brain craves stimuli. At all times, the brain is casting about trying to learn something, trying to integrate information into its worldview. It is insatiable in that way.