New Video - Demo of Game...

Hi Everyone,

Heres the first look at the menu system. I haven't discussed what I've done with mark in detail yet so this is not what it will finally turn out like. However all & any comments & criticism are welcome. Tabs on the far left control the main 5 menu tabs, slightly right of that are the choose-able options on each tab.

The first thing you see will be the tab below prompting you to select a language. No other tab will be accessible until you do. The circle in the bottom right will display your choice in every tab from than on by displaying the flag of the country of origin of that language. the maps display the country's where the language is commonly spoken in white.  (all text information in the images is only for example.)

Next is the the game tab which shows information about the games and gives the option to choose and start start one. (From here on I've changed the flag in the bottom right just to display them all.)

The options window is simple for now, the only choice is to toggle on/off full screen or windowed.

Records tab will allow the player the check there performance & progress in each game.

In this example successfully executed cultural recipes are viewable. 

Finally the exit screen is simple only offering the option to exit when clicked, but having the user reconfirm there decision will negate accidently quitting the application.

Regards,

Conor.

Ooops! I put the Italian flag in twice & I left out the the german so here it is below with the postcard options highlighted.

Hi Everyone,

From the feedback we got from the meeting on Wednesday, here's a little up-date of what the Cultural window will look like. The text and images are for example only.

Hi,

Here's some mock-ups of what the card game should look like.

The scene is the same in each but the backings are different.

Hi guys,

I finished the HUD for Spend!Spend!Spend! earlier this week. Here is what it looks like, with all the windows opened. The shopping list will be randomly generated(Bottom Left). You can change the quantity of the Items Collected in the Basket window(Bottom center). The location window lets you know where you are and is also a way to navigate around the shop(Bottom Right). The info window appears when you interact with an object(Top Right). It allows you to change the quantity and add to your basket. It also gives you the option to listen to an audio clip that provides that correct pronunciation. The Budget window tells you how much you have to spend, minus whats in your basket(top Right). And the Spend!Spend!Spend! ends the game give you your result.

And below is all the windows closed(Except the Info widow top Left).

The Players Budget will always be displayed in the top right.

I'll be fixing little graphic issues with Cookit! and Spend!Spend!Spend! this week and I've started the card flipping game. I hope to have something to show you all by the end of the week or over the weekend.

Til then, Cheers,

Conor. 

Working HUD Demo (No Audio)

Hi Guys,

Right the free video capture software I'm using does not allow me to record audio, if anyone knows of any other software for free that allows this let me know asap.

Anyway, this video basically shows the HUD working. I've still to link in the game logic which will resemble the classic "Master Mind" game. The player will choose the 5 ingredients from the kitchen cupboards, fridge, etc. that they think match the list of ingredients provided for the recipe being played. These items appear in the Items collected HUD. The user will then press the "Cook It" button all the correct ingredients will appear green and the wrong ones will appear red. The user will delete the incorrect ingredients and go continue search for the correct ones. When all the ingredients are correct the fished dish will appear on a plate, with a menu underneath asking to play again or exit. Also this is where the user will receive a cultural postcard, etc.

Any questions or suggestions let me know.

Mark :-)

Hi all, I've being working all weekend on spend!spend!spend! as I am away 29th, 30th, 31st. I'll be back on the 1st of Aug. Till than heres some progress Images of where I am with the shop game. I have to stress that this is a work in progress and not the finished shop. I am not going to available to work the weekend either but I do hope to have something more final midweek next week. Conor.

 

HUD Design for "Cook It!" almost finished

HUD Not Displayed

HUD Displayed

This should be up and running by Friday. This addition will really turn it into a proper game and I'll try get a demo up online (download may be an issue) or a video at least up and running so people can have a look and see how it all comes together. I'm really pleased with how it looks, Conor did a great job, if anyone has suggestions to how it should look, TOO LATE. Ah no seriously, but if there is any thing you think we're missing shout it out today or early tomorrow at the latest.

Thanks,
Mark.

Re: Cook It!

It's nearly there. Coding up the random recipe logic, it's taking a bit of work. Also find lots of errors between audio and text fields. Spelling mistakes etc., these are cause crashes which then need debugging. its a bit of a nightmare but should be down with it by next week.

Conor has pretty much finished all the art work for the "Cook It!" game and he has done a great job. We will need to finish up the HUD art work and coding by next week so that we can send a demo of the game around for people to test.

As the "Spend, Spend, Spend!!!" game is almost identical in setup to the "Cook It!" game it shouldn't nearly take as long to figure out how to get it working and finished. I hope to have these two games done and dusted, ready for user testing very soon.

Regards,
Mark.

Special Recipes & Random Recipes

Heres what a random meal should look like.

And these are the Special Recipes

All thats left now is a little bit of art work on the hud(Heads up display) and I'll be starting the art for spend!spend!spend! this week.

Conor.

Short Video Demo of "Cook It!"

This is a short video of where I'm at with "Cook It!", the audio doesn't seem to have been picked up i the video capture but I'll have an installer up in the next few days. There has been a few unexpected delays, and a lot of bugs and their fixs have yet to be made. It need the HUD and a bit more game logic, scoring system, etc and it'll be in the bag. ;-).

"Spend, Spend, Spend!" will be next then onto a few more basic games, as less content and more fun, like a platformer to re-enforce the language learnt in the "Cook It!" and "Spend, Spend, Spend!" games.

HUD (Heads Up Display) Design

Here is what Conor has been working on for the HUD design, I've yet to implement it into the game but it will give you some idea of how the "Cook It!" will look on completetion.

Cook It! Storyboard 2

Here is some more details on how the user will interact with the game.


Everything will have a label and a description when scrolled over, also when the likes of the toaster is scrolled over the user could have the option to prepare some toast, this could be a way to get verbs into the game, so the user could select the correct verb to "prepare", "cook", etc toast. It would be in essence an interactive mini game within the game "Gather Ingredients" game. There is potentially loads of these mini games that could take place so it would be a way to keep the user entertain and teach them useful grammar at the same time related to food and food preparation.

Cook It!

Here is the first installment of the "Cook It!" Storyboard (Really Rough).

SGLL ProjectX

SGLL projectX is a game being developed between the DIT School of Computing, Learning Technology Team and School of Languages for the Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative. The game is to be used to supplement class-work and consolidate what has already been learned-including reading, aural comprehension and written responses. The approach used in this project is to use a series of mini-games linked by a common theme. Each mini-game maps to the curriculum. Languages being used are: Italian, Spanish, German and French.