Week 12/13: Prototype Visual Improvements

Hi guys, Adam here again with another update on Udder Nonsense, the new title for our current game project.

The logo was created by Christie, and I just wanted to thank her for doing such a fantastic job.

Our prototype is almost finished visually, and I'm able to share with you a few progress pictures from the past couple of weeks.

This is the original layout of the level, before all of the textures had been finished. It ended up being too barren and a little too empty so we went with something a little more exciting.

The second layout of the level was an attempt to find a shape that worked, as we'd had a few complaints that the level was too square, so it was stretched out and the missing textures were added. Now the main issue was filling in some of that empty space.

The third layout of the level was very close to what we wanted. The level now looks more busy and interesting, and the trees, created by Nerys, were perfect to fill in the blank background of the level. However, there were still issues. During the night-time part of the game, the blue barn turned almost purple, and the detail was almost completely lost on it; also, the left and right background were still looking a little bare. Several object sizes were also a little off scale with one another, and so a final few tweaks were made.

Our "final" screenshot. Whilst still subject to change, we're feeling happy about the current visuals of our game, and in motion it looks even better (I'll try to include some GIF's or video in next week's update.) The spaceship was a last minute addition to explain how the animals appear, and looks fantastic thanks to Hendrick for the model, and Christie for the effects on it. I also have to thank Jeric for a large amount of the texture work that went into all of this.

This is a prototype of our menu screen set up by myself. It cycles through day and night the same as the actual game, and is quite lovely to look at if I do say so myself, especially with all the animals wandering round with their in-progress animations and poses courtesy of Nerys.

The couple of objects above are the current work of Hendrick, and are in the process of being finished and added to the game, and personally I can't wait for them to be done.

Thanks for reading guys. I hope you enjoyed another small look into our game. Hopefully next week we'll be able to show you some video of the game in action.

Thanks guys!

Week 11: Texturing and Prototype Progress

Hey guys, Adam here.
Its been a while since the last development blog post and a lot has gone on with our game. Including having a title screen (albeit temporary).

The 3D models are all but done, and are in the process of having their textures finalised by Jeric and Hendrick. The barn has been fixed up by Christie and is looking fantastic.

Meanwhile, the animals and player character have been rigged and are beginning to be animated by Nerys. Whilst these poses may not make it into the finished game, they show the cute visual style we are trying to go for too well for me not to include here.

The prototype has been developing solidly as well. The missile system has been implemented, allowing our three implemented animals to provide you with a different weapon.

The cow shoots milk at a long range which can be blocked by terrain and dodged. The chicken fires an egg in an arc, which then explodes, damaging a large radius. The sheep drops a small trap damaging players walking over it.

We also had a play-test for our game last week, the results of which you can check out in our last post before this one.

Thanks guys!

Results of the Playtest

On the 5th of October, we held our first play-test for Outstanding in the Field. It was very successful and before i discuss the results I'd like to thank both the members of Double Ducks Studios, for facilitating the play-test and all of their hard work, as well as our play-testers (Harry, John, Mitch, Felipe, Lindsay, Vittoria, Daniel and Brad) for taking the time to test and review our game.

For this post, I will be including the questions provided for the testers, as well as a generalisation of their feedback.

Which title do you like most for the game?

"Udder Nonsense" won with 5/8 votes. 3/5 votes were suggesting a new title, but offered no suggestions.

What are your thoughts on the visuals?

Visuals are considered "appealing" and "stylised". Several testers noted that they matched the simple gameplay of the game.

What is your favourite part of the game?

Almost all of the responses mentioned that fighting with other players, as well as being competitive, was the major draw of the game.

Is the gameplay enjoyable? Why/why not?

A general yes. Several testers noted that the game could sometimes be frustrating however, due to both a bug related to picking up animals near other objects simply not working, as well as the rocks not actually working as cover.

Would the game be more enjoyable with more players?

Most testers expressed interest in playing the game with more players, however, none expressed it in a way that would overshadow the fun of the 1v1 mode. There was one tester worried that the screen would be cluttered with more players however.

What would be one change you would suggest?

There were 3 common suggestions of additional features.

Firstly, the addition of more power-ups, or even rarer "variant" power-ups, which could offer more powerful versions of the standard animals.

Secondly is the suggestion of a sprint feature, to allow players to catch up with others, mostly suggested to allow players without an animal to catch those with one.

Thirdly, the addition of a point system for attacking other players, to allow for different play styles.

Would you suggest this game to others? Who?

While several of the testers specifically mentioned suggesting the game to younger children, most expressed that they would suggest the game to anyone, as an all ages party game.

Does the camera angle work? How/would you change it?

All testers had a positive opinion of the camera angle.  Although testers specifically mentioned moving it closer a touch.

Are there any control issues?

There was one major control issue with the game. Testers universally thought that pick-up and put-down should be mapped to the same button, whilst shoot should be separated to the current put-down button, or even moved entirely to a trigger button on controller and space bar on keyboard.

Round time?

Positive overall on the current round time, and the number of rounds was suggested as 3 multiple times. The idea of possible shorter rounds was suggested multiple times.

Any other comments/feedback.

Firstly, filling the map up a bit more with more obstacles and scenery. Another suggested lowering the rate of fire on the Milk weapon, and increasing the usability of the Wool weapon.

Rating out of 4.

An average of 3.375/4, or 84.375%

We will endeavour to integrate as much of this feedback into our final product as possible, and I would like to once again thank both the rest of the team working on the game, as well as the play-testers for their help with this play-test.

Thanks guys!