Oculus Launch Pad — Week 7 — Mechanics, Mechanics, Mechanics!
We have about four main technical requirements in this game. From my filmmaker point of view, I break them down into how I see them as two primary mechanics and then two effects on the system.
The first is the mechanic of destruction. We’ve had two approaches for this. Hammering down to level a building, or tossing it in the air. Since the narrative is key to me I like the metaphor of “tossing” a building a way — that basic idea of tossing its history, a business or its people away. We’ve accomplished this first mechanic this week and it has some nice physical properties.
We’re currently working on the second main mechanic of construction — adding a property, whether a residency or an amenity. This mechanic gets tricky because not only does it involve Logic but also it brings the next three aspects to the forefront: a) What are the effects on the systems each time a new building is added? b) How does the player add a building? c) Where do they select it from? I’ve played with lots of ideas with my UX designer and we want to keep this playful. I love using scale in VR so at the moment we are trying to find ways to make the buildings small and grow them to human scale. Our goal is to master this component by early Week 8.
The two effects on the system are harder. One affects population count. I’m not sure how we’re going to do this technically and I’m hoping our Tech Advisor can help us figure this out. The idea is that every time you add a building into the system, it affects the population.
The other main system is what I originally called the “Happiness Meter.” For example, if you construct many apartments but you don’t add in a bar or a grocery store, your residents don’t have places to get food or a way to enrich their social lives. Since “happiness” is really subjective, we’ve re-named this “Quality of Life.”
Updates on UI: I am hoping we can get through the second main mechanic and connect the UI in a fun way. Since this game deals with such a serious topic I’m always looking for elements that feel like “play.” Once we get through this mechanic then I am hoping we can begin to cover the effects on the systems.
Updates on the Art: We’re working on the 3D modeling. We’ve tried 3D Max modeling from scratch. The first building Cecile has done has nice depth but the windows have a scooped-out gradient effect that doesn’t seem right. Cecile is also trying some techniques with the texturing to achieve that classic, Brooklyn red-brick color. This coming week we’ll try a new approach working off of the concept art as a kind of blueprint.
Updates on the 360 docu-stories: I am continuing to film in Gowanus and to gather stories. I’ve had to cast my net a little wider in Gowanus beyond the main area of focus to capture more stories. I’ve now spoken to an entrepreneurial Moving Man of sorts. He transports residents and furniture in his van to their apartments. He loved pointing out the changes in the skyline. I’ll have to stitch to see what footage is usable. I’m still trying to access a certain location for a shot I’d love. Let’s see if my new friends in Brooklyn can help me make it happen!
