Hello everyone!

Last week we started prototyping and researching various elements of our game. After careful consideration, we decided we will be using the Unity engine for this project. With the engine chosen, we could start working on more detailed prototypes to test out a few gameplay and art ideas we had. 

Getting close to finding name

Since we managed to decide a final game identity and artstyle to work towards, we started iterating on a name for the game that would best support this. We have a few in the air, but nothing decided yet, so you will have to wait for next week for that!

Programming 

 Prototyping with the Wii controllers started slow, some parts of the used API aren't that well documented like the IR which is quite important, but after some example code reading and testing we figured out the movement. It's still a bit wacky but does work and with a bit of fine tuning it can be made into a good working alternative controller option (if you are willing to set it up).

We also prototyped a few gameplay elements, first of which is the ability to rotate the camera around the tower. That way we take full advantage of the 3D environment while also adding an extra dimension to building the tower. 

Secondly, we also tried out if it would be fun to let the block stick to the tower after a few seconds after landing on it. 

Art

Since last week, we’ve nailed down which art style we will be proceeding with! Since we are opting for a chaotic, high energy game loop, we believed this art style would reflect and support that identity the best. Expect a colorfully expressive game from now on!

The art team has been busy fleshing out technical administration concerning production of art. We are both jotting down a full document for naming conventions, folder structure and the likes, and doing a full on artbible for us to refer to, to maintain a consistent artstyle. Since we now have a target artstyle, we are scoping in on the toony-pixelated style to look for games that mimic what we desire. These will play a big role in the art bible. 

In the coming week, we will be going over the design elements of our game. See you then!