Storyboarding, scripting and learning outcomes

I have put aside the interface development for the past two days and have begun to explore ways to develop the learning outcomes of the game. Today I have been looking through the reading material recommended by Greg and have been noting key information that could be used to script the game. (i.e. information for splash pages, intro pages, tutorials and dialogue boxes throughout the game). I have also been identifying interesting ways that this information can be visually presented to the viewer. From this information I hope to generate a detailed script and storyboard for the game.

Mouse is partially-functional

The 'drag' coding in the mouses 'drag and drop' is functional. I now need to make particular 'drop' zones and get that part working. This is taking more time than originally anticipated but is a major factor in the game so needs to be sorted. Before I go any further I will sit down and try to define a general structure for all of the game code. Classes etc.

Interface under construction

Ariel plan

Drag and Drop Mouse

The idea of the mouse turning into the food as you need to drag and drop it to areas is nearly functional. By the end of today I should have it fully functional.

Coding

Working on using my own classes and objects within the playground project. Should be able to pretty soon.

Game Structure Diagram

Diagram

Made a diagram today that is a cross between a use case diagram and a flowchart. It gets the point across hopefully. The diagram highlights the general flow of the game and any major programming areas that need to be developed (and to remember all of them!). The diagram shall be uploaded when converted to digital form sometime during the day.

Programmers Funny Stuff

This is for someone who is coding this in the future, or for me to look back at when I'm finished coding. After some time trying to figure out how to change the cursor image and writing this :-
TPlatform::SetCursor( TTexture::GetSimple("cursor/cursor"), TPoint(2,2) );
I figured out it was this :-
TPlatform::GetInstance()->SetCursor( TTexture::GetSimple("cursor/cursor"), TPoint(2,2) );

...D'oh!

This is the first sketch of the proposed interface design. As you can see from the large amount of pencil notes, there are plenty of adjustments to make before we reach the final design.

Today i wrote up a detailed game scenario, and noted the functions required to complete one task within the game. Brendan looked over these notes and has been researching ways to programme key gameplay features.

The Next Steps

At this early stage we have developed a general Design Plan for the game and have explored a possible visual approach. The next steps will involve generating a more detailed Design Plan. In the next week, we will discuss and document all possible gameplay scenarios in order to achieve a clearer notion of how users will interact with the game. This analysis should contribute to a more concise and considered Design Plan.

Work up until now.

After initial game research, development of ideas began for different topics. Some of these topics included hydraulics, marking and food safety. Research also began on such things as art work styles and game engine design and implementations. After much discussion Paula and myself decided to work on a game with a food safety aspect. With met up with Greg (food science and environmental health lecturer D.I.T. Cathal Brugha St. and one of the consultants for this project) and trips to such places like the Dublin city council markets and the D.I.T Cathal Brugha street kitchens soon followed. This gave us a great feel for the idea of a health and safety project and also allowed us to take pictures which we could benefit from in the future. During this week (2nd - 8th July) we came up with a few ideas and after consultation with Hugh (Supervisor of the project) the team presented an idea to Kevin and Noreen ( D.I.T. e-Learning supervisors). The working title of the game ' contamin8 ' and the blog were also created today.

Start Of Blog

The blog for contamin8 has been set up.