Homework 8

Is the space in your game discrete or continuous?  The game is discrete because you take pictures of objects at set locations. You travel between these objects but the mechanics of the game surround the pre-defined objects. It may also be considered a 3 dimensional nested space.  

How many dimensions does your space have?  The game is 3 dimensional because you can take pictures at different angles and also use height to get around blocked paths.  

What are the boundaries of your space? The boundaries are the gated areas surrounding the objects that can be photographed. The player needs to photograph some of the objects to proceed to the next area. These areas could represent individual levels.

How many verbs do your players (characters) have? What are they? The player can use the the camera to interact with most objects and obstacles by "shooting" them. They can take a picture, use the flash to expose a secret, and see the past through the lens. They can also walk around, jump, and interact with some objects like opening doors or pushing swings. That could either be 3 verbs or 6 depending on how you count them.  

How many objects can each verb act on? What are these objects? Like the gun in the example in the book the camera can act on many objects. The number of objects you can photograph is only limited by how much time we have to finish modeling them. Right now we have 1 area with 4 objects completed. There will probably be at least 3 areas with multiple objects each. Ideally I'd like to have more like 10 areas and around 40 objects but we don't have the time for that.  

How many ways can players achieve their goals The gameplay is generally pretty straightforward. The player finds objects and takes pictures of them. However some objects will not be immediately obvious to the player so the player can achieve secret goals this way.
 
How many subjects do the players control? What are these subjects? One. The only subject in the game is the player using the camera.  

How do side effects change constraints. The only thing that will change the constraints is taking pictures of correct things. This will lead to opportunities to move on in the game.  

What are the operative actions in your game? The player can "shoot" objects and move around interacting with them.  

What are the resultant actions in your game? The player uses the "shoot" feature to make models appear where they weren't, clear paths, bridge gaps to big to jump, and uncover the story.  

What actions would you like your players to do that they cannot presently do? (based on your current knowledge of Blender) I'd like them to be able to look back at their photos they've taken. That seems possible but complicated in Blender.  

What is the ultimate goal of your game? The ultimate goal is to get to the end of the game and uncover the story.  

Are there short and long term goals? What are they? The short term goals are to get through each area and onto the next sometimes by getting past a puzzle or locked door.  

How do you plan to make the game goals known and understood by the player? The player should use exploration of the main game mechanic(the camera) to discover these goals. They shouldn't have to be told explicitly.  

What are the foundational rules of your game? The player is limited to one area until finding a majority of the photographs.  

How are these rules enforced? Taking photos opens up the next area.  

Does your game develop real skills? What are they? The intention is to get the player to think like a photographer and notice a story when looking at objects. You might call this a skill.

 Does your game develop virtual skills? What are they? I don't think the player's character gains any virtual skills. Since this is a supposed to be a more realistic game it would be out of place to have the player's in game stats increase.