by MacKenzie Bates -

All is Fair – MacKenzie Bates

All is Fair is a game about relationships. It is about how they differ, how they are similar, how to make them successful and making the player experience them.

This takes the form of a Twin Stick Art Shooter, as I like to call it. This 2D top down shooter has gameplay similar to Halo Spartan Assault, but simplified and focused on the relationship between the player and their computer-controlled companion.

The player and their companion are fighting “The Fear” which is the physical manifestation of things that try to end a relationship. It represents: tension, fights, confusion, jealousy. The Fear fires part of itself (just as do all characters, bullets look like the outer shell of person whose health was used as ammo to fire the bullet). The Fear has infinite hatred/ distaste (infinite ammo).


Old-ish Gameplay Video (missing some things shown in class)


Links:
Download Code (~220 MB)
by MacKenzie Bates -

Steven Messinger

Instead of going for a CEO or upper management at a game company, I search for someone who has come from a similar background as me and has a position that I think is achievable.

  • Steven Messinger graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in computer science and a specialization in digital media and arts.
  • He was an intern at Electronic Arts on the PC game Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II where we worked as a gameplay engineer.
  • After graduation he worked a short time as a tools programmer for Image Space Inc on the PC racing game Rfactor.
  • Next Steven landed a job at Rockstar Games San Diego where he worked on Midnight Club: Los Angeles as programmer, Red Dead Redemption as an Ambient Designer (World Designer) and GTA V as a Senior Scripter (designer that codes).

Over the Summer of 2013, I interned at Electronic Arts on The Sims 4 as a UI gameplay engineer and my dream company to work for is Rockstar Games as a Gameplay Scripter (designer that codes) and move up to a Senior/Lead Scripter and possibly further up. So seeing that someone in a similar position as I am was able to do what I want is very encouraging.

Steven wrote this nice article about How to Break in as a Game Programmer: Read Here

Links:
Mobygame Profile
LinkedIn Profile

by MacKenzie Bates -

Rediscovering a Place – Brainstorming

Museum – Artistic Photobombing OR Curator vs Annoying Tourist
– Given list of painting that need to photography/protect
– Curator: Either Photobombing Tourist or Protect by saying “No Photos Please”
– Tourist: Photograph Painting
– Not limited to Museum, Public Art, Phipps, Party
– Use Pumpkin to Photobomb (cover head – 1 point, pumpkin breasts – 2 points,  pumpkin earmuffs – 2 points)

Bathroom – String Cup Telephone
– 20 Questions style between bathroom thing
– OR drawing on toilet paper with pens (bathroom has a: Pen Island)
– Gloryhole reward or something

Oculus Rift – Cuz Magic

Pumpkin Patch –  Somethin Somethin Magic

Bus Stop/Ride – Pumpkin Baby
– Two team relay from CMU to downtown
– Players can’t get on bus, ask stranger to take care of pumpkin and give to person at next stop
– Each team has 10 pumpkins, winner is one with most that make trip
– Trust of strangers to get pumpkin to end, pick trustworthy looking ones

PEEPS:
TICHA MICHELLE DAVE MACKENZIE RALPH!!!!

by MacKenzie Bates -

MacKenzie-LTLYM #11

Learn To Love You More: #11 – Photograph a scar and write about it.

Photograph a scar on your body or on someone else’s body. Make it a close-up shot so that it shows just the scar. Include a story (write it on a computer as a separate file, don’t write it on the photograph) about how the scar happened. Please do not send images of wounds that are fresh and have not healed. Only images of scars will be accepted.
  
D O C U M E N T A T I O N >
Send in either the actual photo or a digital (scanned or copied) version of the photograph along with the story.

I was in kindergarten out on a bike ride with my family. My two older brothers raced ahead of me, go up a short curved street curb, bike on some grass and then they are on the sidewalk. I want to follow. I sped towards the curb and go over it. Next thing I know I am falling sideways. My training wheels got stuck in the grass. I instinctually use my left arm to brace my fall. It all goes black. I awake to my family around me and a strange tingle in my left arm. My elbow is broken in three places. I will need surgery to realign where the nerves are and set the bones with a pin.

by MacKenzie Bates -

MacKenzie – Best Games Fest

Turtle Wushu

“JSJoust but without the music and with plastic turtles instead of Move Controllers.”

The game was fun and fast. Does rely a bit too much on players honestly following rules such on only hitting hand, but when I played everyone stuck to them. I like the name and theming, but I don’t feel like gameplay reflects turtles. Turtles are typically quite slow and may make quick movements (snapping) occasionally. Would have liked to see gameplay feel like this if game is themed so heavily on turtles.

Unwanted Entities

“Gentrification: Moving colored popsicle sticks between sidewalk spaces.”

This game definitely has potential. The main things limiting the game on my play through were:

  •  The game master kept changing and adding rules as we were playing, which made it exceptionally difficult to strategize or understand if what I was doing was following the rules.
  • Cheating was pretty easy given how spaced out the game was (around a huge parking lot) and that there were shrubs obstructing seeing entire game space.
  • For the same reasons as it was easy to cheat it was also very difficult to know how other teams were doing.
  • At least in US, doesn’t really make sense for the “unwanted entitles” to be pale popsicle sticks and that the colored sticks push them out.

Mont Trottoir

 “If only hiking Everest were this easy.”

For sure my favorite game of the night. Loved the competition between the two teams and the cooperation necessary inside teams. Need to stay connected between turns kept all players engaged even if its not their turn.

Felt like some of the cards were a bit imbalanced or unnecessary. My team never used “Ice Pick” card even though teams start with 4. (Instead we just used “Base Camp” cards since they pretty much served same purpose but were better.) Use of “Avalanche” early in game seems to be what caused my team to win.

by MacKenzie Bates -

MacKenzie-Subversive Play

Subversive Cooperation

The idea is simple take any single player console game and make it a cooperative experience for a number of players (2-4).

The setup is easy.

  1. All players sit facing the TV in a line.
  2. Setup the looping countdown (here) for 7 seconds
  3. Launch a game
  4. When the countdown alarm rings, pass the controller

When tested with two players on Forza 5 and Titanfall, the mod did create an engaging and fun cooperative experience. The cooperation did come at a cost though as we did not do as well in the games as we would have on our own. But with practice this “hot potato” style of play could be perfected. Nevertheless, the mod makes these games fun for a group of friends to play together and rebels against the stereotype that the only way to play these games is to be alone in a dark basement.