Posted on February 27th, 2012 by David Elliot
Join us on Thursday, where Jonathan Cecil will lead a workshop on creating meshes in Unity. 12pm, snacks and learning! The Unity Mesh Creator is a tool that allows you to easily and automatically convert 2D images into 3D models. Super Simple Super Awesome! More info on the Unity Mesh Creator can be found here: http://games.ucla.edu/resources/unity-mesh-creator/
Posted on February 13th, 2012 by David Elliot
The Game Lab hosted a playtest last Thursday (2/2) for David O’Grady’s card/die-game prototype of Foursquare (the popular children’s playground game, not the social media app). Playtesters Chris Reilly, Aliah Darke, Sean Soria and Jennifer Porst graciously volunteered their time to throw down slammies, warheads, and other trick shots in an effort to knock various classmate-avatars out of the game–and earn the most bragging rights in the third-grade class!
David used the playtest to gather useful feedback on the game’s core mechanics, which require players to balance basic skill shots, rules manipulation (the server gets to “call” certain trick shots and rule variations), and social leverage to win the game. Players can yell out “That’s mean!” if they are the victim of a nasty trick shot, which allows all the players to get involved in deciding who is really out. The players provided crucial feedback to help improve the pace of the game, enhance the stakes for knocking out a player, and streamline the scoring rules.
This feedback will be reflected in the next iteration of card-based prototyping, and then the project will move into video game development. David is still assessing whether the game mechanics lend themselves to a mobile media platform or a Kinect-based interface. In the meantime, David is taking the prototype to Albuquerque, where he will talk about game development and playtest Foursquare with video game academics at the PCA/ACA regional conference (2/8-11).
If you would like to check out Foursquare, please contact David at david@davidogrady.com, who will happily set up a time to play in the Game Lab.
Posted on February 13th, 2012 by David Elliot
Submissions Now Open for the Fifth-Annual IndieCade Festival
Submit Your Game & Spread the Word! Independent developers of interactive games from around the world are invited to submit games of all types, from tabletop to text-based, alternate reality to action-adventure, roguelike to real-time strategy, to genres not yet explored!
A diverse jury of art leaders, industry luminaries, and academics will review all entries and select finalists whose games will be featured at the 2012 IndieCade Festival. Finalists will be considered for 12 awards, with winners honored at a formal Red Carpet Awards ceremony; as well during the festival with a celebration of audience and gamemaker choice awards.
All teams who submit a game will receive a festival pass and will be eligible to attend IndieXchange, a daylong on-site event offering practical master classes in how to develop the business side of independent games, as well as networking opportunities with fellow gamemakers, publishers, arts leaders, and potential funders.
For more information and to submit your game, please visit indiecade.com.
We hope you will spread the word to independent game developers of all stripes. Indiecade invites independent game artists, creators, and designers from around the world to submit interactive media – from art to commercial, ARG to abstract, mind-bending to mobile, serious to shooter – for consideration. We encourage works-in-progress. Please explore our website for the descriptions and success stories of past IndieCade finalists.
IndieCade 2012 Information:
The fifth-annual IndieCade International Festival of Independent Games will be held October 4-7, 2012, in Los Angeles. The festival includes a Red Carpet Awards; a must-attend professional conference; the IndieXchange meeting series; an open-to-the-public GameWalk of finalist games; a continuous schedule of big games and night games; and other events. IndieCade is a traditional walking festival that occupies multiple theater, gallery, and restaurant venues and spills into the streets.
About IndieCade: IndieCade promotes independent game development globally through a series of events highlighting the rich, diverse, artistic, and culturally significant contributions of independent game developers. IndieCade’s programs are designed to bring visibility to and facilitate the production of new works within the emerging indie game community. IndieCade was formed by Creative Media Collaborative, an alliance of industry producers and leaders founded in 2005.
Contact: central@indiecade.com
Posted on February 1st, 2012 by David Elliot
If you’re around the Game Lab tomorrow at noon be sure to stop by and help us play test David O’Grady’s card game and have some pizza!
David O’Grady would like to playtest a card-game protoype of Foursquare (the playground game, not the social media application). To do so, he is looking for four playtesters for about an hour or so. David will be looking for feedback on game mechanics, strategy, game layers (basic play, meta-rules, and social effects), and anticipated issues in adapting the prototype into a possible iPhone/iPad video game.
When: Thursday, February 2nd, at noon in the Game Lab. Pizza will be provided!
About Foursquare: Foursquare is a playground game in which four players–one in each of four squares–hit a red rubber ball until a player is out, rotating up to the server square (the “4” square). Basic mechanics are a bit like playing volleyball “on the ground,” slapping a bouncing ball into an opponent’s square until someone misses. However, the richness of the game is found in more strategic shot making (calling special “knockout” shouts, for example) and in the social consequences of how one plays the game (playing “mean,” winning and/or losing “friends”). For more on the playground game (and adult league variants), please see: http://www.squarefour.org/rules.