Development Platform:
The programming for this game will take place in ActionScript 3. At this point, we all have a copy of Adobe Flash CS5 installed (and running!) on everyone’s computer.
We will be using Inkscape for designing levels, and we all have Inkscape installed and running on our machines. We will be using Illustrator and Photoshop for the art and animations.
Additionally, the game is built on top of two key tools: Box2Dflash and TS Game Library. Box2DFlash is an open source 2D physics engine, which was ported to flash from Erin Catto’s c++ version. This physics engine will allow us to define a world with interacting physics objects. We are able to define mass, friction, rotational mass, and other physics properties for multiple types of objects. TS Game Library, written by Tim Kerchmar, is a game library built on top of Box2DFlash which will help with some of our basic game elements – sound, collectible objects, game objects, and level design parsing.
Team Member Roles:
Charlie – level design, creation (using Inkscape), and some sound assets
Adam – art assets and some animations
Belinda – programming
Assets:
Adam will be responsible for creating most of the art assets from scratch. If he is unable to create something, we hope to use something from a open source or creative commons library.
We are hoping to use many of the open source options for sound (both sound effects and music) – freesound.org promises to have many different options, especially for a farm themed game.
Sounds – chicken squak, flying sound, chicks chirping, jumping sound, winning sound
Art – main player, baby chickens, nest, obstacles, crates, chicken coop
Music – possibly final music for a level or music during levels.
Project Plan:
This plan will continually be more filled out as we realize what technical problems we need to solve to bring this game to completion. We’re hoping to do approximately one level per two week iteration, but we will reassess as the semester continues.
| Date Range | Tasks |
| 2/11 – 2/25 | Design & create level 1. Complete all necessary assets, win conditions, and game programming for level 1. |
| 2/25 – 3/11 | Design & Create level 2. This may involve more art assets, and more programmatic elements. |
| 3/11 – 3/25 | Level 3. |
| 3/25 – 4/8 | Levels 4 & 5 |
| 4/8 – 4/22 | |
| 4/22 – 4/29 | Final play testing, Finishing touches, Final bug fixes, & Documentation Deliverables |
Goals:
· Get Chica and her chicks to the nest at the end of the level
Narrative
· Chica is a proud mother hen. She is fleeing the farm with her chicks to avoid the slaughterhouse, and to make a better life for them in the forest.
Characters
· Chica - mother hen
· Chiquitas - the chicks
Challenges
· Physics-based logic puzzles
· Elementary math problems built as physics problems
Space
· The game is played in a 2D, sidescrolling environment
Objects in the game
· Nest - reaching the nest is the end condition
· Coops - obstacles that Chica can only go over, and which the chicks can only go under
· Boxes - pushable by Chica, but not by Chiquitas
· Various other physics objects to be determined
Unpredictability
· There is little planned unpredictability, but all physics-based challenges occasionally go awry in ways that the designers cannot anticipate.
Key Playing Skills
· Swithching between the hen and the chicks: players need to use the larger, stronger Chica character for certain challenges, while using the chicks for small passages.
Rules of the Game
· Players cannot advance levels without getting to the nest in the previous level.
· Levels can be restarted with no penalty.
· All characters must get to the nest, not simply some of the characters.
· There is no cheating
