Morgan Kennedy INB379 n7004036: May 2012

5/6/12: 8 hours perfecting games and adding
6/6/12: 8 hours presentation preparation
7/6/12: 3 hours presentation preparation
8/6/12: 5 hours presentation
8/6/12: 3 hours post presentation criticism work

Reflection:

So this week we pulled out all the guns. For 2 days we rounded up all the code and tackled the presentation. Nguyen and I tested and tested and tested, tweeking the game so that it works. There were some bugs that we fixed. But in the end, I'm glad we got so much done.

The presentation could have been better. Don't get me wrong, I think Lall did a great job, but I feel it would have gone better if we had chosen to go with 2 speakers (I was practicing up until the last min, but Nguyen said that Lazz specified only one speaker, so I stepped off the podium). I don't think it was so much that one speaker was a bad idea, but more that I could feel that Lall felt more at ease knowing I was there.

Anyways, the whole time I was watching the red head chick writing stuff while Lall was speaking and I was getting a dreaded pit of the stomach feeling. Well as soon as Lall finish she put her head up and went to town on us! hahaha. We got absolutely burned. She said our game was essentially a tech demo and that for the amount of time app games have been out, the industry is way past a tech demo. She said that we had no glue holding out game together, whether it be a theme or a story line, there was nothing really defining one game from the other. She said she felt the themes were perverse and childish (especially criticizing the bully and windy dress ones). She said the windy dress would prevent the game from reaching the app store.

THEN as if this onslaught of criticisms was a signal for laz and mike to bring out the big guns, Laz jumps in saying that each game is too short to be appealing, that people like the longer mini games because they're an addictive pursuit of perfection which we do not have, and (poor yu-chen though he tried to ease it) full criticism of the quality of our assets. Then Mike followed up saying he thought we were going to have many levels of the same game.

I am glad that the red head as well has the rest had were nice enough to address all of us and not just Lall standing up there by himself. And more importantly, I am extremely happy that we got such criticisms, and if I could for just 1 moment criticize the criticizers (specifically Laz and Mike whom I know are going to review this post but I'm going to say this anyway); where were these criticism earlier during the year during the countless desk crits and class presentations? Instead of just "you guys seem to be on track doing well" we NEEDED to know as harsh as it is that each game is too short, there's no replay value or appeal (and a collection house feature won't cut it), there's no unifying game theme or concept (and just the gachapon concept isn't good enough). That being said I get it, by a certain stage it was too late to tell us these things and we just have to work with what we're going for else we'd never finish in time for the end of year presentation.

Ok so back to the present; we get out of the class, sit around the table and basically all agree that the whole game needs a rework. We need a story line, we need players to have a goal, less games more quality (so upgrading micro games to mini games with multiple levels of perfection), unifying better graphics, appealing games but without crossing moral lines. A full rework is going to be huge, and is going to require every moment of the holidays to catch up and be ready for INB380. I'm excited; I'm pumped. I think everyone feels a little burned, and I know we elected Lall as project manager for the presentation, but really he and I are project manager (we kinda complement eachother), because... as much as Lall knows game, has great ideas, is super enthusiastic... he's not the most organized, doesn't exactly know how to organize people, and generally the two of us together work as a great team, but apart are a little lacking (each of us).

So I told the team, I've created a google doc called "ideas and review" and expect everyone by Sunday night to have an app review (as suggested by Laz) up and possibly some ideas for the rework of Tiki Toki. I didn't get time for a review, but here's my idea (also below it I got my partner Stephanie to review and give criticisms).

Morgan’s Ideas & Reviews:

So you're a character who's fallen in love, but the girl is like royalty (most popular girl in school) and so you have to become the best man possible in order to be hers (sounds a little like Bakuman, but anyways), so you have a master (possibly your father) who you ask advice on the matter. He reveals a special machine that has been handed down from master to student which will train you in all areas to become a MAN! (with an explanation mark). It's a gachapon machine, and inside each ball are toys that represent training tasks that the master has put in there. (the training tasks are mini games with multiple levels that start easy and progressively get harder). To begin with there will randomly only pop out 1 of two toys, but as you get high achievements in these training tasks the master will add more training tasks to the machine. Each time a game is introduced (including the first time the machine is revealed) master will explain how to play it and more importantly, how it will help you become a MAN right for the girl. How far you get each time you play will determine your overall level in that "skill".

Players have a goal, to become a MAN (or a WOMAN.. possibly can choose gender).
Players are addicted to the game by perfecting their 'skills'.
Games hone skills relevant to becoming a MAN/WOMAN (e.g. "being able to remember all the special things she said you need to build your memory" so you play the shopping game over and over, getting progressively harder)
As you get good at "skills" more minigames will be added, and as well as the master providing instructions on the new game her added, there will be a bit of story line included
Storys are told by the camera zooming in on a manga like board and reading through (saves on animation effort, and makes it easy to change dialogue into different languages) - any noises characters make will be sound noises like "ahh" and "ooooohh"

Issues:

Need to make sure crude sexual references are avoided
I think we should be aiming for the younger market (15 to 25) and also the asian market (south east asia, korea, china, japan) because going for a market as broad as "everyone" doesn't help (trust me, I major in marketing)
The above story might not be perfect (as in you may have a completely different story idea and I really want to hear it) but the important thing is that it ticks the boxes: a) players have a goal, b) they work towards perfecting the mini games we give them
We need ideas of 'skill' enhancing minigames, no matter how random the skill may seem (as long as it's fun and challenging to play); but we need to make sure the graphics and characters appearing in the minigames link to the main story line

Thoughts:
Stephane Lee’s Thoughts:

The high school boy/girl love theme has been done to death on only appeals to otaku
Make the theme like antient japan or china so the gatchapon machine is really old anf made out of wood.
There’s a suggestion for a different plot line. There was a boy who accidently unleashes all the mischevious ghosts. You’re a little boy in a village who has a master and you want to train to fend off these ghosts from your village. Before you level up (and get another game) you must first defeat a boss ghost using all the skills you have mastered. You’re defending your village through the ages, so each time you level up it jumps a little forward in time till it gets to modern age (and it’s subtle so you don’t notice that the world is slightly changing).

I think I really like Stephanie's idea of an antique gachapon machine (it's almost like it has mystical powers). I also like the idea of a mini boss with plot update each time you reach a certain level in your mini games (on defeat you get a new mini game). I think the team will come up with a better idea for the story line. I didn't have my heart set on boy meets girl (because of gender bias to target market), but I did like the concept of hero, doing tasks to become better for a goal.

I don't think anyone in the tiki toki team are disappointed with concept of a rework; we're all hard working, believe in each other and the game, and will do anything to make it the best. I know, at least for myself, that we have learnt a lot about our game, and how to make it. We've built a lot of skills, and now through the mistakes and trails, know how to make this game perfect. It's going to be a lot of work over the next month (we basically have to make the same progress we made in a semester, in one month) but I think we can do it. I'll probably keep blogging here, not for marks but just because it really does help me feel like we're getting somewhere, and mentally keep track of where that is.

Tasks Coming up:

Reviews of current game apps (the more the better, we'll steal shamelessly mini games we need for our game)
Perfection of game idea (coming up with a better story, a specific and perfect art form, an addictive game concept, and even sound and music decisions)
Criticisms - call me crazy, but even though it's the holidays, I'd really like to run our game idea past Laz, Mike, and even the red head; it's not that we need their approval, I just need to know we've got it right this time
Project Plan (once the game idea is solid we need to divide up the tasks, put them in order, and just start knuckling down and doing it. I think we really worked great together on the days leading up to the presentation, and I'd like to set aside a day a week to do the same)
Work Work Work - simple, just to each task and get it done

It's been a fun semester, but I have a feeling that the fun is only beginning!

Thanks

Morgan Kennedy