More Stuff to Update With

So, last week Nadia and I applied for a Russell Grant. (It was a chaotic process but somehow, we got it all sorted.) Nadia we've been working on the J2ME code for the phones and the graphics for the visual display. Below is the graphics we plan on using for the spectator visual display. I wanted to keep it simple so it would be easily readable and not get too confusing with all the action going on.

The phone displays will be very similar in layout, however due to the color limitations on the phone screens, they will not be in color. Thus, the shapes will be more imperative.

Once we get all of the bugs worked out of the jar file to get the code running properly on the phone I'll begin to implement the visual interface on the phone. It will not be graphics, but rather strings of text (asterisks, X's and periods on the screen).

If you are a missile, it will inform you which base is your target and where it is. If you are a base it will tell you where all the missiles and which one is your biggest threat.

Proposed Timeline

September 28- October 5 Research various ways project idea could work, talk to CRCA, find out what resources are available. Iron out project details and write up an official proposal.

October 5- October 10: Prioritize what hardware/software is needed to start/complete the project.

October 10- October 31: Research other styles of games already written and research what problems/bugs the developer had in writing it. Figure out the game narrative and how the gameplay will work and feel for both spectators and players. Look into Blast Theory games and other forms of locative media. Research various methods of implementing these factors using J2ME and Processing.

November 1- November 10: Research phones more in depth. Decide which phones offer the software that is needed and the quantity at which we will need them. Research information about projecting or using Price Center's LED screen.

November 18-November 30: Write up a budget to determine the total cost of the project and find out what must still be purchased that can't reasonably be acquired through other means. Apply for the Russell Grant: Write Proposal, fill out the application, and acquire support letter.

December 1-January 3: Acquire phones. Work on J2ME client to get the computer communicating with the phones. Research other games that the phones make possible (Brett has suggested Gecko Splat).

January 3- February 1: All hardware should be acquired by this time. Work on graphical interface. Design what each player/spectator should be seeing at any given point in time. Implement the phone client and work on putting the phones with the gameplay visual interface.

February 1- February 15: Complete the phone client and combine it with the final visual interface for gameplay. Test run it with Beta Testers and get feedback.

February 15-February 28: Apply the feedback to make any necessary changes or adjustments in gameplay and how everything works together. Finalize details about final performance. (Getting permission to use the space/screen/finding participants/figure out performance length, etc.)

February 28-March 11: Finalize anything and make any last minute changes necessary. Double check on details of final performance and make sure there will be documentation of some kind. Acquire participants for the final gameplay (some from beta testing but some originals as well). Give the final performance.

Budget

So we put together a budget of about how much our project will potentially cost (assuming we didn't have access to resources through the VISARTS department.


Budget Spreadsheet

Another update!

So, We've been working on finding the necessary cables to start messing with the phones. Hopefully Nadia was able to get some of the other ones from Brett. We've been working on figuring out technicalities this week. I've been asking around trying to get information on using Price Center as a space and hopefully getting access to the LED screen above PC theater. This way we'll know if we need to code a certain way to use the screen (assuming we somehow get access to it). We have the contact info for someone who we believe can help us out but have had no such luck in contacting them. We are going to see if we can get Brett to ask on our behalf as the request coming from the head of the ICAM department might look more professional.

Assuming we get the cables and the phones, we should be able to being testing out the software soon and getting a feel for how everything works. This is crucial in working on the code to run the program and finding out what kind of graphical display interface will actually work on both the phones and the screen.

Blast Theory Games

So, past week and half I've been reading in to Blast Theory Games. These games are very similar to what our project is hoping to accomplish. I'm currently researching the ins and outs of gaming in both virtual space and real space. The idea I'm working on at the moment is how to keep parties on both ends of the game entertained and cooperative. Many of the Blast Theory games use SMS or mobile technology to have the players communicate with each other, which should be helpful in designing our game interface.

http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/bt/type_games.html

Update

So, I still have the plague. Lovely. Nyquil has been my BFF these past few days.

When I am conscious though, I've been working on finding previous shooter games in processing. This way I can see how other people have accomplished it and see what problems/issues they had with the gameplay. I've found a lot of examples of "Asteroids" and other shooter games, which is giving me hope. When I'm feeling a little better I plan to test out some of these codes and begin messing with them to get a feel for just what they do. Hopefully this will lead to a working prototype for our game interface.

Official Proposal

Our initial idea for this project was to make a real-life version of the game Pac-man. Instead of the traditional game controls with a keyboard, the players of the game will move around in the physical space in order to move their Pac-Man on screen. This would be achieved by having a GPS-capable cellphone with the game client and a server side computer that will process the incoming GPS data. Upon further research, we learned that this idea had in fact been done fairly recently, and set out to find another project idea.

After we realized that our Pac-Man idea wouldn’t work, we decided to try another style of game that would offer more of a challenge. The targeted community that will benefit from our project include fellow students who are also interested in integrating mobile phone technology (apps and GPS system) with server side information processing, and students who are interested in game design for phones. This will bring greater mobility in future app/game designs.

The other group community that would benefit from this project would be the incoming freshmen of Sixth College. This project will allow them to examine how technological and artistic developments can work together and consequently affect our lives today.

For this project, we plan to make the game Missile Command “come to life”. In the game, the player is required to defend six cities from oncoming missiles. These missiles will be controlled by a user on a computer using some kind of game interface. (Processing?) The user’s mouse clicks will determine when and where the missiles are raining down from with limitations on the amount of missiles that can be sent. The other half of the game will take place in a physical space. Six people using GPS-capable cell phones will act as the defending cities. They will be required to get to the designated co-ordinates and detonate at the correct time to destroy the virtual missiles. This will be achieved using the cellphones with the game client and a server side computer to process the incoming GPS data and relay the missile information provided by the game interface.

List of responsibilities/apps needed for this project:
1. Game client for phone, done in J2ME, that uses GPS signals to defend the cities.
2. Server, process the GPS coordinates and sends the information to both the display and cellphone client
3. Game interface. Where the user commands the missiles from and the game is displayed.

Research

So begins the research process.

We started by paying a visit to C.R.C.A. in the Calit2 building to see if we could get any input on the best way to go about creating this live gaming experience. After speaking with William Huber, we got a few things figured out.

-We could potentially try to make both the cities and missiles powered by cell phone users in the real space.
**We would need to acquire 36 GPS phones to do this, which isn't very reasonable given our student budget.
-We could have the missiles powered by a user on a computer and have just the cities be people with cell phones. This way, we'll only need 6 GPS cell phones.
- We will need a phone client, a game interface, and a server to connect the information.
-We will need to figure out how we want to program the phone --> computer (j2me?)


Things to do this week:

-Talk to Candy about phones
-Start working with basic processing sketches to work on the game interface.