Final Presentation!

Alright so happy holidays to everyone! I'm giving a delayed presentation of my game:



Please note that the music in the game for some reason isn't played in the video, but it's there!!

The game can be played right here:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16802424/WaterSplash.swf

And thanks Sam for all the knowledge and experience!

Magnus

Game Concept: Multiplayer

The following blog post concerns how making my game multiplayer would affect various aspects of the game.

Overview

In the general sense, Fingersplash (my game) is about typing fast. Now that skill is a competitive skill in nature, so I'd make a lot of sense to let people compare it by battling each other in multiplayer. Hence, the multiplayer version of the game would be a versus style game in which the players were pitted against each other. 

Gameplay

In the original game, the gamescreen is depicting a surfer struggling through waves in the rhythm of the typing of the player. In the multiplayer version, the game would be split screen. Note that even though it is split screen two computers are still needed. Now the mechanics should be that the opposing players surfer will fall if you type faster than the other player, and vice-versa. Words would still appear in the same way and the core concept of typing is of course still the same.

Progression

In the single-player game, a lot of what makes the game fun is upgrades to the player such as longer error margin, new venues, new visual upgrades etc. Then the basic concept can extend to a campaign which makes it replayable. However this progression can be taken somewhat out of the multiplayer as the competitive element is what makes it playable. Now highscores and leaderboards should be what make the game addictive.

Graphics

The graphics can be more crude in the multiplayer, and maybe even more toony than originally intended (the original though was more of pixelated art). The graphics should not take any attention from the competitive element. A good comparison of how the graphics could look like is looking at the popular "Tetris Battle" from Facebook: http://www.ergame.com/uploads/big/dtFbGKNRss/2012/08/image-5019950c1b551.jpg

That's it for my multiplayer idea. Shoot me some comments if you like!

Game Minute

Following is my game minute for the game, fingersplash:


"The young surfer is contemplating which upgrades to get for his board. After all, a new fin will surely allow him to increase his balance, making it easier for him to withstand pressure from the incoming balance. On the other hand, he's also thinking of just going for a soda which will only temporary boost his abilities, then saving money for later upgrades in his journey. The decision is made in favor of the soda and he's quickly out in the water again. This time the waves seem to come in even faster (words) and he's gotta be quick to spell words loudly to maintain his balance. He's even learned a new trick; spelling multiple words at a time. The focus allows him to swiftly type in almost any word. However, he misses a word on a big wave, causing him to fall over. This could have killed him had he not been provided with extra life. However he must now start all over the wave again, squandering any potential to reap rewards for that particular wave in terms of money to buy new gear.
After a long period of surfing the same reef (level), the surfer is now ready to spend some money to travel to a more exotic place with promising rewards of greater glory and money.

Prototype 2:

Hey everyone. My second prototype is now ready to play. It requires flash as it's made in Stencyl.

Here is the public dropbox link to the flash game:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16802424/prototype2/WaterSplash.swf


And here is a short video of me playing the game: http://youtu.be/Hg1dkRBMt5o



Enjoy!

Prototype!

So my first prototype is ready to play. 

The game can be downloaded and played at: 

Play prototype now

Just run the index.html and you should be good to go.

The game is played by typing in the words that pop up on the screen. Typing wrong will reduce your score. By achieving 10 points you complete the level!

A game playthrough is available at youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Un2sQhIF4&feature=youtu.be

However for some reason there's no sound in the screencast. If you play the game yourself you should be able to hear it.

Game Focus: Revisited

Game Focus

'Fingersplash' is a fast paced typing game, in which the player must surf waves and attain high scores at different surfbreaks. The way to do this is by typing out words and sentences before a time constraint expires which causes the player avatar to crash and fall of the waves. The most compelling aspect is that the player can play a progressive game while building an important real life skill set: typing fast and correctly. The player's experience will be about helping his avatar survive and surf through bigger and bigger waves of water. Furthermore, the game captures the excitement of learning a new skill in an intense way, and seeing the results of training/playing to get better.  The progressions are a major part of the game: the player upgrades his board (time to enter words), reputation (score multiplier) and so on.

Visuals

(I can't do this myself but the following is also the developers approach:)

The game is colorful and captures elements of the surfer  lifestyle in terms of the music, terminology in-game, purchasable upgrades and graphical design. Different stages represents different periods of time and therefore incorporate many surfing elements such as surf-rock, mavericks-theme, etc. In regards to technology, the game uses a basic JavaScript engine and run in a browser. Pixelated art is the  the primary style of graphics.

Game Focus

Game Focus

Fingersplash (working title) is a fastpaced typing game.

The main idea of the game is that the player must surf waves and attain high scores at different surfbreaks.

The way to do this is by typing out words and sentences before a time constraint expires

which causes the player avatar to crash and fall of the waves. 

Audience

The most compelling aspect of my game is the fact that the player can play a

progressive game while building an important real life skill set: typing fast 

and correctly. The players experience will be about helping his avatar survive

and surf through bigger and bigger waves of water. 

Furthermore, the game will capture the excitement of learning a new skill in 

an intense way, and seeing the results of training/playing to get better.

Visuals

(I can't do this myself but the following is also the developers approach:)

The game should be colorful and try to capture some elements of the surfer 

lifestyle in terms of the music, terminology in-game, purchasable upgrades and 

graphical design. Different stages can represent different periods of time and therefore incorporate many surfing elements such as surf-rock, mavericks-theme, etc.

In regards to technology, the game should use a 2D engine and run in a browser. In optimal conditions, pixelated art would be as the primary style of graphics.