- New problem statement:
- Design a “racing sub” game, where subs can fly.
- Detailed problem statements
- Not sure what “racing subs” look like. We need to define the look of both subs and racetracks.
- Need to find a way to balance the game, so that subs spend the right amount of time in and out of the water.
- Need to figure how to support networked multiplay.
- Risks
- If the racing subs look “too cartoony,” they might turn off older players. If they look too realistic, they might just seem silly with this kind of gameplay.
- Until we know how much time we are spending in and out of the water, it is impossible to design levels or to do the artwork for the landscapes.
- The team has never done networked multiplay for a racing game. We aren’t completely sure we can do it.
- Prototypes
- Artists will sketch different kinds of subs, in a number of different styles: cartoony, realistic, hyperrealistic subs that are living creatures. The team will vote on them, and we will also informally survey members of our target audience.
- Programmers and designers will work together on a very crude prototype that lets them experiment with how much time should be spent in and out of the water and different mechanics for managing that.
- Programmers will build a rough framework for networked multiplay that should handle all the kinds of messages this kind of game will need.
- Results
- Everyone loves the “dino-sub” designs. There is strong agreement between team members and potential audience members that “swimming dinosaurs” are the right look and feel for this game.
- After several experiments, it becomes clear that for most levels, 60% of time should be spent underwater, 20% in the air, and 20% near the surface, where players who grab the right power-ups can fly above the water for a speed advantage.
- The early networked experiments show that mostly the racing is not a problem for multiplay, but if we can avoid using rapid-fire machine guns, multiplay will be a lot easier.