imadethisthing

I’m not done with learning, just the kind of learning that happens in a classroom.  School and I are like oil and water, if oil and water fought all the time.  But I won’t stop teaching myself, and hopefully might start teaching others (I have something cool lined up, if it works out).

On June 1st, my thesis (Sandstorm) will be on display and playable at the CDT Thesis Exhibition in the lobby of the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center starting at 6pm.  The exhibition is open to the 5th (I think…), so if you can’t make it to the opening, you cans till check it out.  I’ll also be at the lobby on the 2nd from noon to 2pm if anyone wants to chat me up outside of the opening (which has hors d’oeuvres and free booze).  You can find the S.C.J.D.C. at 2 W 13th St, New York, NY 10011.

For a tiny bit more information, head over to Sandstorms modest website and get to some learning yourself.

I know what I want the pilot (the player) to deal with when they play Sandstorm (that’s the title for now).  Players must navigate the world while they navigate an intense and crowded dashboard.  Using the dashboard efficiently means executing the mission efficiently.  But while driving, players are either using one or both hands – so it’s their job to know when to ‘let go’ and modify the dash.

Once the pilot is dropped into play, they must start up the Sandstorm (an advanced manned quadrupedal-assult-vehicle).  The quicker the player can do this, the quicker he can get out of site and setup for the mission/go Rambo.

Setting up for play may mean sending out a few mortars at locations defined in you the mission brief accessible on the top of the two monitors, or going silent and surveying an important checkpoint, or pulling out all of your guns and going Rambo.

The dashboard is a set of tools for the player.  The player can use these tools as intelligently, creatively, or negligently as they want.  Peoples personalities will make for different play styles – And each form of play should be as legitimate as the next.

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I’m at that point in my calendar where I must program.  This point in my calendar extends till the game is done, so expect more posts about it!  I’ve uploaded three tests, which will be amalgamated in the near future, click an image to interact with the test.  This first one is controlled with the mouse, bring your mouse to the top of the screen to move up, and bring it down to move back.  Left and right work like you think they would (if you thought they would turn the vehicle).  Touch the orange cube and it will appear nearby, in case you’re bored and want to search for an orange cube forever.  Hit the break for two more tests!

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School is about to begin again, to what will hopefully be a much less hectic semester (sans thesis).  I only have two classes, and that means I’m in school twice a week.  My thesis class this semester is instructed by David Carroll (a very righteous dude), and I am excited for the feedback he will no doubt bombard me with.

In the picture above, you may notice that there are some new additions to the cabinet.  The first is a very large door.  It has an awesome shape, and gives the cab some nice lines.  There are also speakers (all 5.1 of them) embedded in its walls.  And under the seat (which you can’t see here) is an Aurasound Bass Shaker.

Get ready for some more photos in the near future, and regular updates as school starts up again!

I had my final crit for the first semester (out of two semesters), and it went wonderfully!  As in any good crit, the critics destroyed me instantly, but  this is a process I love.  The only good feedback is honest feedback.  And when you get nothing but compliments, the critics probably aren’t as invested in your work as they should be.  As for where I am as of now, the cab is about halfway (I’d like to think), and the game bible and some more concept art are finished (though still liable to change).  Here’s a photo of Adam Sober (a fellow designer, and builder of the cabinet), sitting in the M-QAV as of today (the iPhone doesn’t come with it).

Hit the break for an image of the logo, and some more shots of the cab.

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Tonight was very good.  I got to throw some graphics onto the two screens currently installed in the cab; and though they are preliminary, I feel confident that this project will be totally badass.  With the game bible out of the way, I know what I need (graphically and physically), and I am able to mock up art.  Hit the break for some concept graphic snippets.

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The time has come to start building the M-QAV’s cockpit, and it’s going swimmingly.  Through a serendipitous series of events, I met Adam Sober – a current brother in arms in the creation of the M-QAV’s game (still unnamed).  Adam Sober started the possibly named Square Design (they’re still figuring it out), a cool workshop/design studio in Brooklyn NY populated by talented RISD grads.  Adam’s offered his help on the project, hence the great craftsmanship on the physical end.  Hit the break for more pics of the cab.

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The M-QAV is the Manned Quadrupedal Assault Vehicle, and the vehicle you pilot in my thesis.

Hit the break to enjoy some concept renders.

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If my thesis is making a game that is bad on a computer, and fun with the proper interface, then it should make sense that prototyping it is a total bitch.  I can tell something’s going right for a few reasons.  By making a controller tooled in parallel with the experience, I’m trying to show the poverty of the basic game controller meant to work with everything.  What I’m discovering is a real pleasure.  I’m coming up with many interface elements (and formats) and physical tools for control in my cockpit that I haven’t heard of, or seen in current games.  A reason these ideas are unused is that it would be impossible to control a game in this way with any dexterity using a regular controller or mouse.  The fact that I am thinking up unused (they probably aren’t new for interface, but still new in games) ways of interfacing means that there are creative benefits to making a controller in parallel.

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The other week I had my first big thesis presentation – It didn’t have to be, but at 2 in the morning the night before I decided it was important.  In the end, with the help of my lab partner, I had made my most badass presentation ever.  Hit the break for more.

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