SystemsofPlay

What was that movie called? Reality Bites, I think it was.
Although Armin and I were really tied to IPt Pressure Drop our original game idea trying to finish it and get it working was another matter. The decision to start on another game and explore the same ideas in a different form was Armin's. I was determined to go back throught the code and continue the frustration. Although I was slow to convert, in retrospect it was a good idea to start over. Rather refreshing in retrospect. So here is the other game, in beta form. re-named ITP Deadlines, the title is not too catchy (yet) but these things take time.

FLA (Which is NOT opening in Safari

Zip

I had hoped to go back through and re-invent my earlier efforts using my new found end of the semester confidence. But sadly fate? family emergency, reality etc. interrupted my plans a bit. With a non-working game that I am still really interested in I am left to contemplate the conundrum of beening unable to visibly demonstrate what I've learned. Sadly, again, insert late 80s Winona Ryder movie title here. Thanks for all of your help and a great class.

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 06:34 PM | Permalink

Here's the final beta for Pressure Drop...

Pressure Drop

Here's the problem we ran into when we ran the hit test. No errors appeared but the targets stopped moving when hit...
Frustrated Pressure Drop

The narrative for this past week's tumultous and emotional events can be found here:
http://pressuredrop.wordpress.com

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 10:37 PM | Permalink

Narrative of the week's events:
http://pressuredrop.wordpress.com

Mechanics:

http://itp.nyu.edu/~lg221/SysoP/Pressure/LPressure.html

More Mechanics...

http://itp.nyu.edu/~ac2398/SystemsOfPlay/Pawn/PushBall.swf

Obviously I'lll figure out how to consolidate both FLAs and location

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 10:51 PM | Permalink

Modified levels are here...

SWF

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 05:32 PM | Permalink

It took me awhile to decide how to approach this idea. Should I use a grid? Or just move on to collision detection. I tried both approaches and ended up settling on the grid somehow. Now the idea is to have the avatar be the can of Raid! and to have the cockroach move semi-independtly. I wasn't able to do this really so I ended up linking the two motions together. REally simple but you wouldn't believe how lng it took me to figure that one out! This makes it very simple to "win."

Still to do:
*work on collision: spray mc should appear when two objects collide:
or...

add start screen
?make roach change direction at grid's edge

add timer mechanism?
This doesn't quite fit in to the grid structurebut I did think of something like this... another time

game is here: http://itp.nyu.edu/~lg221/SysoP/Second/RealKill.html

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 10:24 PM | Permalink

The goal? To kill cockroaches. Raid can is assigned to the mouse. Mouse clicks (collision detection) result in the release of the red spray and the death of the cockroach...

Are the cockroaches a part of the grid or on top of it? My code can't tell right now and either can I.

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 01:15 PM | Permalink

I found a game that is soo close to my own idea that it is just plain unfair! You may remeber my quetion about the use of octagonal grid tiles in class... Well never mind this was the grid pattern behind my idea to have a game where you kill cockroaches in a bathroom. While searching for ideas I came across something so eerily familiar that I had to make a note of it! fly swat It's a similar idea only with flies... There is no Real or aura or original, I know but i did want to OFFICIALLY register some disappointment...

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 06:33 PM | Permalink

Isn't this supposed to be FINISHED by now? I started working immediately after class last week and here's where I ended up. Sadly the hit test still is not working and I wasn't able to achieve the bounce off of the furniture effect that I so strongly desired...
I'll try to get these lingering questions cleared up tonight as everything LOOKS as if it should work.

SWF
RELATED FILES:
PROJECT FILES:Ball
PROJECT FILES:BallCatcher
PROJECT FILES:BallManager
PROJECT FILES:FLA
PROJECT FILES:Main

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 02:17 PM | Permalink

I had a system crash and then had a really hard time reconstituting the AS files. The ball used to move. and I was trying to map the basket to the mouse. So here is where it is right now after working better yesterday sadly... the move function doesn't seem to be working... so the ball is not moving. Which is a grave disappointment really. Mostly because I thought i understood and just wanted to build the core mechanic using classes before trying it using Main etc. I wasn't really able to rebuild but will try after class tonight.

The idea is that you move the basket and try to catch the ball. The Main class would initialize the gamePrompt etc.

SWF
FLA
Ball Class

?
lingering questions... where does the hit test go? With the ball class?
Could there be a super class that might cover the functionality of all of the furniture elements on stage? Each could respond differntly to beng hit etc.

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 09:16 PM | Permalink

I continue re-working my keep away/tag idea in the form of multiple classes. This week I tried to build the classes myself in an attempt to pinpoint what I was/not understanding. (There is still something about the basic AS2 syntax that continues to confound me but atleast I was able to get something moving around on stage. Progress is slow. Time seems to stop. It is like some first week of ICM replay that I didn't expect.)

After last week's discussion about game space I was interested in finding an interesting visual environment where my two stick figures could operate. I thought of a realistic domestic space and wanted to try and create a space in which the furniture/building blocks might represent multiple points of view—bird's eye, frontal etc. I went shopping at Design Within Reach to find furniture. I picked out an artichoke lamp, Nelson Ball Clock chair and recreated some code to create a tiled background in order to represent the rug/flooring... The idea being something very sophisticated along the lines of keep the weird creatures off of the expensive furniture? Or a pong-type scenario where the creatures are throwing the ball inside and are penalized for hitting the funiture?

Well...here's the game space. I'llcontinue to develop the idea and work to make it fun/coherent and something I can actually program...

Game Space Idea

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 08:53 PM | Permalink

The Original Concept:

I continued to read EAS and review the basic concepts. I came up with an idea to do a very simple game of Keep Away. The core mechanic being simply that one character would try to touch or intersect with the other. Although I know it is not the preferred method I ended up attempting the task using TIMELINE ANIMATION (insert chimes of death here).

Although I've done it a billion times in Processing I couldn't seem to get my elements to bounce and change direction as I would have liked...

KeepAway SWF

KeepAway FLA

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 04:27 PM | Permalink

Notes on the System of Tag

Mimics basic predator/prey situation
One person is “it” or the predator
Everyone else is the prey
Pred chases prey and tries to catch it
A children's game that has become a part of everyday speech to illustrate the frustration inherent to a missed encounter. "We keep playing phone tag"

Defined:
Tag is game played between two or more players.
One person is designated “it” and the object of the game is for one person to catch up with one of the other players and to “tag” them and thereby designate them as ‘it”

Tag usually

Objects
People/Players
Bounded Playing Field—playground, city street (anywhere)

Attributes
Players can move in any direction on the playing field
Must stay within the bounded area
A person is captured

Internal Relationships
Individually centered game in which few strategic allegiances are made. Players will at times warn others of the predator’s approach…

Power + speed rewarded

I FORGOT TO DIAGRAM THE SAFE SPACE. A tragedy really but here's a belated attempt.
There is an addtional/alternate rule applied to Tag that incorporates a safe zone an area where the prey is safe and can not be tagged by the predator.

Posted by Leah Gilliam at 04:15 PM | Permalink