Class Notes 31.1.2018

World:

• Forest will probably skew towards a normal forest, so the monsters are the weirdest part
• All the plants could be larger than life
• Flora can be arranged in unfamiliar way
• Older ancient forest, Oregon forests
• Lighting could be slightly off kilter
• Maybe monsters cause "alienness" in the environment
• We should push on the weirdness of the world, through atmospheric conditions, shapes, ways in which monsters have adapted environment.
• Does the woods look different at night? If its interesting at night, what makes you want to play in the day?

The Frontier

• Between what is known and what is unknown
• Being able to befriend the monsters to use them in some way, monsters are like a toolkit
• Interactions with monster that can be unlocked
• New biomes
• Monster competitions
• Being able to find and take care of bigger super size monsters
• the monsters themselves are the frontier, what is their potential?
• How does the kid live his life
• Love language based interactions
• specific interaction story beats, unlocks more of the game
• Is the forest mysterious, in that you don't quite know where you're going to end up
• 2 fog of wars: The forest that hasn't been explored yet, the monsters that haven't had their needs met

Gameplay Scenario

• Super energetic, cheerful character that is very bouncy. Monster is tangled in the brambles, monster is wild at first and you cant get close.
• You find an attachment and cut the monster free
• He runs off into the woods and you have to chase after him, till he gets to a spot where he starts scratching his back trying to remove debris from his coat
• You show the monster your solution to remove things from his coat, he acquiesces and you move to remove things from his fur
• You enter a grooming game mode
• Game mode unlocks the "platformer" capabilities of the world

Style Assumptions

• Stumpy whimsical
• Clear readability of monster emotions, monster baby face bias
• Monsters can change color to show mood?
• Strong foreground, midground, background
• Larger than life feeling
• Humongous monsters in the background, that you can see
• Lots of visual and audio cues to create anticipation and tension
• Colors may be used to tell story

Brooklyn Walker, Sketch

Notes Pitches 1.29.2018

Michael

• Thomas is from an uncomfortably large family, everything is always a turf war (clothes, space, food)
• Fed up one day, he goes to the woods and meets a monster, named backpack, that is fed up with the other aggressive territorial monsters
• He and backpack find ways to resolve monsters' territorial and "learning to live with each other" problems
• Based around the law of consecration, life is not a zero-sum game

notes:

• trim down specific examples, focus on experience component or gameplay
• liked the through line, but needs to be hammered home farther

Jon, Brooklyn, Tanner

• We are all biophiles, game is to play on that connection we have to nature
• Game is based on befriending monsters in different biomes, and befriending them raises a biome's "happiness level"
• Go through various steps to befriend monsters: Gain trust, interact with monster, interact monster with other monsters
• We are a "childlike" group, and still understand to an extent what its like to be a child again. Game would be based on that childlike wonder.

notes:

• Overall needed a little more energy, create and resolve tensions
• so what?
• be more concise, stronger maybe on game justification, strengths of team

Megan

• Rough and tumble outcast kid, aggressive because he is bullied by a large kid
• actually runs into a monster and bullies it on accident, then he goes to help the monster
• Realizes that all the monsters are sad and have problems - but the problems are not natural problems
• The same large kid is bullying the monsters, you have to help the kid come to terms with his problems to help the monsters
• We are quirky, but need to learn to get along with others and not ostracize ourselves

notes:

• bully needs to be a monster? resolution was dissapointing
• make the justification for the team more specific to the team as a whole to make the game

Tanner Garlick Monsters + Blog Dump

Michelle Cole Sketches

Brooklyn Walker, Pitch 4

Jonsnow week4

Megan Young sketches

Michael McCullough Gerald, the Giant Galloping Menace

shawn

Neighborwoods Pitch

I'm still recovering from getting my wisdom teeth removed so I won't be in class but here is my idea for Neighborwood.

Premise:

-Main character is a child living with grandparents (parents are gone). The grandparents are elderly so they hardly are around to watch the main character and give him/her attention.

-As a result the main character goes off exploring around the house and one day comes across a particular journal while digging through boxes in the attic. This journal is one of the grandparent's and it described a sanctuary for these creatures … these … monsters. The grandparents used to take care of these monsters but as they grew older they could no longer continue and ended up abandoning the zoo.

-The main character realizes that those monsters are still out there, that they need help! So using this journal our main character is able to find a monster, help it, which leads to him/her discovering this run down tree-house like place (the grandparent’s sanctuary).
-Monsters are different but somewhat familiar to the main character and us (resemble neighborhood stereotypes)
-While trying to bring this monster zoo back to its former glory the main character discovers there are monsters who are bitter about the grandparents abandoning them so they try and sabotage the main characters efforts. Will eventually have to become friends with these mean monsters and make amends.  

Experience:

-Main character is happy and accomplished when him/her becomes the caretaker figure in these monster’s lives (since he/she has not really had one in their life). 

-What makes this games satisfying is bringing chaos and ruin to an organized and clean state. Ex. A very hairy monster getting its fur and house cleaned for the first time in a LONG time.

-Gameplay would be a community-building, puzzle-solving, and exploration game. Main character would need to discover more of the zoo to know where monsters and places are.

-Main character would be afraid of monsters at first and would need to make friends with them in order to help other monsters.
-Main character would eventually need to go home at a certain time to avoid suspicion at first but eventually would be able to stay out longer (maybe the grandparents catch on and are okay with it). 

Why is it worth making?

Nothing like this has ever been made that gives children a more serious tone and allows them to work out problems themselves based on specific choices they choose. It is also not tailored to just a young audience. Older players can enjoy the freedom and community-building this game has to offer. Could possibly be a TV show as well.

Why are we the ones to make it?

We are a team of talented viz dev and look dev artists. I have no doubt that if we made this video game it would look beautiful.

Brooklyn Walker, Personality Profiles

1. Noa, 9: Creative problem-solving/building: Usually thinks in terms of strategy and efficiency. In a nerf gun fight, they’ll lay low while discreetly gathering all the nerf darts to stash somewhere in their fortress, instead of moving around and frantically picking up only a couple at a time (long-term strategy). They do well with math problems and art projects, and don’t require a ton of help from parents with their hw. Independent thinking and autonomy are very important to their emotional well-being. They love using erector sets and making claymation videos in their spare time.

2. Braxton, 8: Adventurous/aggressive/competitive: Everything is viewed as a game/competition. Talks to friends at length about the details of their last football game and how many points they scored (keeping score/status and accuracy is important to them). Usually the one to read the rules of a new board game and keeps track of points, making sure no one is cheating. Parents have to make cleaning their room feel like a game or competition between siblings, and whoever wins gets a prize-achievement/incentive is a driving force. Doesn’t like doing English or math hw, but is thrilled by hands-on science experiments and field trips. The discovery and exploring aspect of this game would be appealing to them, and they would probably only play this game socially.

3. Danny, 7: Caring/nurturing: More emotionally-driven. Has one or two really close friends and connects well on a deeper, more personal level. Takes good care of their three chickens. Parents put them in charge of gathering their eggs everyday and making sure they have enough food and water. Sits outside with them while they’re grazing and gets to know each one. Would feel devastated for weeks if a raccoon ate them. Doesn’t love cleaning their room, but keeps it in order because they have a sense of ownership and pride over their stuff.

Michelle Cole Personalities

Carter: The animal lover: He love animals, and has collected a large amount of animal toys which he is always playing with and taking care of. He tends to like the bigger animals like lions, bears and wolves. He also really likes dinosaurs. He also likes playing outside, and pretend.

He would like this game because the game would fall into the animal loving category. It will allow him to be able to interact with fun and fantastical creatures that he already plays with in his imagination. Also because the game is all centered around befriending and caring for animals which he already likes to do. Also if the game as a creature bonding feature it helps facilitate that special feeling when you have a connection to an animal.

Dallen: He loves collect things whether its types of toys, cards, rocks, etc and is super into reading. Sort of nerdy. He's super into Pokemon. He also likes to get into the facts about things and loves learning about all the details of subjects that interest him.

He will like playing this game for the monster facts and wanting to be able to find every monster in the game. Also they like to explore aspect of the game, and enjoy nerding out about the game with their friends.

Jacob: The introvert: thoughtful, attentive, and diplomatic. He tends to enjoy playing by himself. He tends to also have a higher ability to see and care for the needs of others, but sometimes her shyness will prevent him from interacting. He is very imaginative, detailed and respectful.

He would like this game for the friendship and relationship building parts of the game that he struggles with outside of the game. This also fulfills his imaginative side, allowing him to interact with creatures. This game will also be good for his slower paced personality since the game lets him go through at his own speed. Also he might like the friendship building without the anxiety he has with real people.

Personality Profiles

Market Profile_Jonsnow

Class Notes 22.1.2018

Pitches

Michael

• Larger monsters in each area
• Befriending and building relationships with others
• Build zion-like community in the woods

Megan

• About creating not destroying
• You have to fill in the missing pieces in the monsters lives
• Think critically and creatively and find solutions to their problems

Jon

• Based on forming bonds with creatures, which inspire awe and wonder
• We have experience with forming teams and social construction

Brooklyn

• "Monstery-moments"
• Room based, befriending monsters allows progression
• Monsters have troubles that you need other monsters to help
• Good for BYU shows that people are different but we can fulfill their needs

Kalee

• People vanish from town, and are stolen across the river, no one goes across because of monsters and danger
• Monsters appear scary at first but soften out once you befriend them
• befriend monsters in order to find lost brother who was stolen across the river by "beasty" monsters
• Good for byu because its a story of help and rescue

Tanner

• Zookeeper's son wants to be like dad, but takes care of monsters instead
• As you befriend monsters you can meet the other monster's needs

Michelle

• Kid goes into woods and finds remnants of giant buildings meant to care for large animals
• When monsters see that the area is getting clean monsters come to get help
• going out into the forest to help monsters that may also come to home base
• Byu culture of learning to befriend people, a community feeling

Kris

• Biomes with a mega monster and smaller monsters
• Makes friends with smaller ones first and bring them around to other places
• build up your camp from friendshsips
• Quest to find dad and have a monstery-exploring experience 

Brooklyn Walker, Pitch 3