Parallel Universes

Idea number three.

You have a basic avatar, and a room with several objects in it. One of them is a Universe Traversal Chamber. Entering the Chamber will transport you to a random parallel universe, where things change. Colours, shapes positions etc of objects will change, as well as the laws of physics (gravity most notably).

For this to be entertaining, there should be a wide variety of ways in which the environment can procedurally change.

Images and their Secrets

This is idea number two. The core idea involves reading in an image (possibly room for Google Images API) and then generating a few 'species' on the image which will feed off it's colour information. The image will lose saturation as it is eaten, and the species will evolve/adapt various traits based on the colours they have been devouring. When coming into contact with each other, they will fight, and the outcome of battle will be determined by their traits.

It suggests that images have a secret hidden world of activity going on behind the scenes.

Arms Race sketch

This just illustrates the basic loop of:

1. Losing side asks for help
2. Design them a weapon
3. Watch battle simulation
4. Get money if they win
5. Losing side asks for help

Pixel Guns

An idea of the presentation of the guns for Arms Race. Each pixel means something, like black for metal exterior, blue for power, greys for pistons/moving parts, orange for explosive charge, brown for projectile, etc. This is how the device is designed simultaneously in form and function.

Light Reading

I have some other ideas in the works, but they are all spin-offs of my original concept at this point. Here is some light reading I am going through for inspiration and general interest.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arms_race
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_arms_race
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Queen%27s_Hypothesis
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm_actions
• http://www.howstuffworks.com/machine-gun.htm

The idea of an evolutionary arms race particularly caught my eye, this would be a great spin-off point resulting in a fairly different outcome. 

Project 4: Arms Race

I've been kicking around the idea of a 2D game in which the player can design their own weapons. Through placing blocks of various materials in various configurations, the player effectively draws their 2D lo-fi gun while also defining its function. This is part of a wider series of experimental construction-based gameplay ideas I am getting increasingly excited about and would much rather work on.

So why not start investigating a portion of this within the framework of this course?

An interesting concept built itself in my head as I rode the train, about a scenario in which the player is an arms dealer. An evil arms dealer, profiting from a war between two sides, both of which are customers. One side will ask for a great weapon to slay their enemies with, and the player can design them a weapon. Then a simple simulation is displayed showing the two sides fighting, one using your weapon. The losing side will then come to you requesting a weapon that will defeat their enemies. This cycle repeats ad infinitum.

Just to highlight the ethical questionability, the player will earn cash each time their weapon brings victory.

There are quite a few things to consider to make this feasible in the timeframe:

• lo-fi graphics for everything
• bare minimum animation
• simple AI and setup for the war simulation
• simplify available pieces and functions for gun construction, while allowing for a reasonable amount of creativity in form and function
• physics for bullets should be very simple

This is idea 1 anyway.

Dress-ups

Two aesthetic modes I have settled on (in lieu of a lovely outline mode) are Industrial Iron and Modern Gloss.

These show that the language of machines has not changed as much as we might think since the industrial age, they are still parts within parts.

This will be my final result unless I can manage to get something like Gouraud shading implemented before hand-in. So happy with the results!