January 25 Assignment (REVISED Jan 26)

Due: Feb 1:

1. Based on the class discussion, refine your job descriptions and put an emphasis on your time line and push-back responsibilities. In particular please create a single column for the time line spread sheet and send it to Ursula by Monday 1/30 noon.

2. It is time to play Half-life. (Yes, you are being asked to play a video game as an assigment for an upper level college course. Please do not tell your parents this unless you are paying your own tuition.) In class we will articulate what you are to look for in your game playing. Please play for at least two hours, but please do other things this coming week as well ;) More seriously:

What has emerged from the journals submitted by email is that Virtools may help us prototype but ultimately we are going to need a robust game engine to complete our work One of the issues is that the experience of HL2 -- the graphic style, the sound, the interactivity, the story -- is very different from what the story for our game suggests. How much of that is just a questions of cosmetics -- how much will that change with just a fresh coat of paint?

To get some answers to that, each group should spend a couple hours just playing the game and making note of where HL2 and our idea converge and diverge. A graphics person can consider how characters look and move, the geography of the levels, lighting, etc. A sound person can consider which of the existing sound effects are appropriate, how sound is tied to gameplay, and whether or not it's just a question of replacing ambient sound and music with our own tracks. A technical person can consider how various characters behave and how a rifle in HL2 might translate to telekinesis weapon our game. Each group should designate a leader to report from their particular perspective , what can we use pretty much as-is, what will we have to create from scratch, and what might we just tweak from the existing components in Source?

This will also require the tech team to spend considerable time in the coming week dis-assembling HL-2.

Dailies for Feb 1: Come prepared to demo a piece of the current HL-2 that illustrates what you learned. WHAT ELSE?

WHERE DO YOU PLAY? The machine in HH 407 on the round table has the game installed. You can get in if Genevieve or Omid is there. You can get a key from Chris or Phil or Ursula. You can get a key from Maryann Atchison in HH 209 (CS offfice), or from Karen Ferrara in the Art office.

3. We have a copy of Virtools, but only Chris, Jon and Greg have been given access to it. If you REALLY want to play with it, please email Ursula.

4. Reading for this week: reading chapters 1 and 2, as well as chapter really read chapter 12. The first two relate to game esthetics and contribute to the question assignment 2 above. Chapter 12 relates to milestones and deadlines (timeline and deliverables)

5. The dailies for Feb 7 will involve a "complete" demo of the pipeline as a mod of HL-2 that illustrates how each component (character, scene, lighting, AI) etc. will be incorporated in the game. The purpose of this "mod" is not to focus on story, but to begin to really flesh out the production pipelines. To that end each area and each individual will have to articulate a "push back" set of deliverables. For example, to add a sound file to the game, we will need to define a protocol for development as well as for the files types. To put the file, requires building the file, which requires recording the sound and editing it, which in turn requires composing the sound. Each "area" is responsible for getting its pieces into the game. As part of your job description refinement. Define your "push-back" needs, not by person but by deliverable. (See step 1 above).

6. Journaling/final report: Every week you will get a short reflective writing assignment. If you do this diligently your final report which will constittute a significant portion of your grade will only require you to do some simple editing. To keep you honest, you will be asked to submit your weekly journal to your area instructor by Tuesday noon of each week via email. You will not be graded on content, but your instructor may return comments to you, or your comments may provide fodder for the next week's discussion period.

Journal questions for week 1:

1. Define your individual push-back deliverables based on Source model.

2. We did not spent a lot of time in class discussing job integration. Comment on the process of building a time line and communication network. Is it worthwhile? Why or why not. (yes you will be asked this question again after we look at the composite time line.)

3. Rollings and Morris talk about milestones and deadlines. What is the distinction and why are they important?

4. R&M have a particular definition of Game Spec. Relate their analysis to what we are trying to do.

5. In order to get the first "demo" completed by Feb. 7, what will you have to contribute individually. What processes need to be defined for your group? What files formats, techniques or other technicals need to be defined. Comment on how far your group is in defining all of this. Be prepared in class on 2/2 to contribute this information to a master sheet similar to the time line currently posted.

6. What other concerns, ideas, insights do you have to share with us that may help focus future sessions. ("none" is not an acceptable answer here.)