Monday：

Note:

The Different between Pitch Deck and GDD

• Pitch Deck: High-level presentation meant to attract collaborators, publishers, or investors and communicate the vibe of the game.
• GDD: Detailed description of systems, tasks, references, and diagrams—designed for developers to execute the project accurately.

GDD should include:

• Overview (2 sentences describing goal and how the player achieves it / Characters, settings, levels, gameplay)
• Gameplay (Do programmers know what they are doing?)
• Gameplay Loop
• Visuals (It must be extremely precise; do not describe the style in vague terms)
• Level design (Map / Whiteboxing / How to Present the Teaching Gate / Difficulty Curve)
• Narrative (Linear or branching narrative / Dialogue system / Cutscenes / How different choices influence the ending / Pacing of the main storyline and character relationships)
• Audio (Sound Effects List / Inspiration Sources / Resource Sources)
• Project management (MVP / Which areas consume the most time / Scope for reduction / How to design vertical slicing)

The objective of GDD is to ensure clear communication, providing everyone with a shared blueprint for the game.

Content must be specific, actionable, and visualised.

The readability of documentation is key to its success.

Class Activity:

Activity 1

The name of the game we drew：Snake

SNAKE：

Game Loop：

This is our first version of the game loop for Snake. Whilst it essentially explains the game’s loop, there are some omissions.

The snake, controlled by the player, will eat apples; after consuming an apple, the snake grows longer. It may die by colliding with walls or by bumping into its own body. However, we overlooked the scenario where the snake encounters no obstacles. Therefore, we have redrafted a diagram depicting the complete game loop.

The New Game Loop：

In the correct version, we have incorporated scenarios where the snake survives. Upon surviving, the snake returns to the layer where it eats the apple and continues following the original cycle.

GDD Feedback from Sophie Artemigi：
I have established the broad concepts for each module within my GDD, but lacking sufficient detail, my GDD fails to provide viewers with a concrete mental image. Therefore, I must continually delve deeper into every piece of information within my presentation, refining each detail to ensure clarity.

Thursday：

During this lesson, classmates seated at the same desk discussed their respective GDDs with one another, raising questions and sharing ideas.

These are new ideas, problems and solutions I have summarised based on my classmates’ suggestions and questions:

1.

As these are notes I’ve jotted down on the spur of the moment, I’ve taken to recording them in my native tongue. I shall translate my notes.

During our discussion, I received three questions:

1. Q: In the game, plants can be obtained from the plantation when cooking, but how is the required meat procured? A: Since all characters in my game are animals, the cast includes creatures such as pigs, cows, and sheep. Therefore, I wish to avoid using real-life meats. On Friday, I gained inspiration while watching Zootopia 2. In my game, fish and insects serve as the sources of meat. Fish meat can be used directly, but insects cannot be consumed as is. My game features carnivorous plant plantations where players must capture insects (obtained from vegetable growing areas) and categorise different insect types to feed to the carnivorous plants. These plants break down the insects and produce fruit. When ripe, the fruit is ejected into the air, and players must catch it. This fruit represents different types of meat.

2. Q: How should the mini-game for obtaining meat be configured? A:The methods for obtaining other meats besides fish and the associated mini-games were addressed in the previous question. There are two mini-games for acquiring fish. The first is available to all characters, allowing players to fish from the shore. The second is exclusive to characters modelled after aquatic animals (such as ducks or otters), as each character possesses distinct innate abilities (to be detailed in the character design). This method involves submerging to capture fish, with the mini-game resembling Flappy Bird.

3. Q: What festivals and foods are featured in the game? A：I intend to research several of the world’s most popular authentic festivals and investigate the traditional foods associated with these celebrations.

Characters Design：

Dog：When players select the dog character within the community, it reduces the likelihood of theft occurring within the community.

Cat：Cats achieve a higher success rate when stealing while visiting other neighbourhoods.

Penguin：Penguins hold an advantage in glacial terrain, as the riverbanks are frozen over, making them one of the few creatures capable of fishing in such environments.

Fox：During market transactions, there is one mandatory haggling opportunity each day, allowing one to force the other party to reduce their offer by 10%. For example: if the other party offers ten tomatoes in exchange for a portion of meat, the fox may force them to lower the price to nine tomatoes for a portion of meat.

Rabbit：Rabbits excel at digging burrows, thus gaining an advantage in mini-games involving the harvesting of subterranean crops (where the game difficulty is reduced).

Game settings added：

The community now features both private and public modes. In private mode, players cannot visit other communities, nor can other communities visit the player’s community. Bartering in the marketplace is also unavailable.In public mode, communities may visit one another and markets will be accessible. However, the ability for others to enter communities also means that those in public mode are at risk of theft.