Weekly progress 3/30 New game type

I started researching new projects. I collected a lot of information in the previous 6300 courses, so I try to make prototypes now. Before I specifically design the prototype interaction, I plan to start with technology, learn related tools and look for the potential of this design.

Simplify my design. This new genre needs to be LAN-based, so I need to try LAN communication-related technologies. Although Tick Tock provides innovative gameplay that can support two-person cooperation without LAN, there are some problems with this design, which I will discuss later.

So I first tried to set up a LAN in Unity, so I tried to learn the network manager plugin. I was exposed to some new concepts, including how to connect to a local area network and how to synchronize data. Because of the need for cross-platform, I set up the Android development environment. After continuous trial and error, the basic LAN connection function and object position synchronization are now achieved.

But I still have many questions about data synchronization, such as control permissions and synchronization of multiple states.

In addition, I found an interesting library name in tram5tana in P5.js in Matt’s 5102 course. Through this library, I can easily implement the online function of P5.js. I also found some examples of interactions using mobile phone sensors, which are similar to my design philosophy. The designer of Tramotana summed up his concept very well: treating the mobile phone as a collection of multiple sensors, and also bringing a very good battery. I took this opportunity to research Tramotana. There is very little documentation about it, and most of it is written in JS that I am not familiar with. So I encountered a lot of difficulties. Today I can remotely read data from my phone ’s sensors, and control the screen and light of the smartphone.

I also tested Tick tock with friends because I was very interested in the design of this game, this game created a cooperative game method without LAN connection. I summarized my and my friends’ evaluation of this game for my design reference. We all agree that this game has very good graphics,
and the puzzle design is interesting (at least I think so). But there are many disadvantages, which make my friends feel bored and not immersed.

1. Information is difficult to summarize, although the emphasis is on communication between players. The design of this game makes it difficult to summarize the information together, which can easily cause users to feel cumbersome.
2. Single gameplay, some players will quickly get bored.
3. No sense of accomplishment and a lack of rewards. Which means less positive feedback to players.
4. Because the plot is fixed, you can only play once.

Tick Tock

These issues have given me some inspiration, and I should try to avoid them when I start to design specific games.