Game Dev Diary - Cadet 227 Reboot

Demo the Reboot by clicking here.

I've decided to reboot the series a little. While I've been floundering with figuring out what to do with the series, it is still something I feel is important and a genre that should be explored. So audio adventure games are still a go, but will just be going in a slightly different direction.

I've decided to move towards more storytelling and less exploration. I came to this decision after two specific realizations. 1) I enjoy audio books quite a lot and 2) forcing some kind of "exploration" that is somewhat contrived is, well, contrived. I put that in quotes because looking back at the experience, it didn't really engage you. Granted, it did feel like you were doing something, but the something really wasn't that important. I figured that if I can create a much more engaging experience by the words themselves, then slimming down gameplay could be acceptable because the player was already invested in the story, setting and measuring all potential outcomes.

So the reboot is essentially making an audio version of those once popular "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. One of the key components to this is that I wanted to create something that allowed for multiple endings. I wanted to really make it feel like not only were you listening to something of a radio show, but you actually had influence on what the outcome would be. The original Cadet 227, regardless of your actions, would only lead you to the one ending. The only real differing factor being how long it took you to get there. If I could focus on the story more, I could also focus on creating branching story paths.

You can actually see how the game is broken up in this tiny tree here.

This extremely simple story only offers two points in which the player makes a decision. Each decision point only offers two decisions. With only two levels down, the game already offers four endings. At the same time, only because I didn't choose to have any crossing paths, content had to be written for a total of seven separate events. You can imagine how large and complicated the decision tree will be if you allow the player three, four or even five decision points. That is, however, the goal.

Each time the game is played will alter the story completely. That is what I want to create.

When you think back at the old point-and-click adventure games, you are probably filled with tasty nostalgia of Monkey Island or King's Quest. You'll also remember that outside of a fun story, it offered very little replay value. After you had solved all the puzzles, what was left? You could compare it to a movie you really enjoy, where you'll watch it over and over because you enjoy it for whatever reasons, but it would be nothing more than experiencing the same story over and over. While there is a time and place for content like that, I also appreciate experiences that offer multiple paths.

So while the original Cadet 227 is probably no more, this is a genre of game I will be approaching in the same spirit and vain as the original Cadet 227. These games will still be constructed in a way that blind gamers can play and experience the game like anyone else. The story will still be all driven by audio and the choices you make, though limited, will open up one of many outcomes and hopefully make each game a box of wonder.

Related Link: Cadet 227 Reboot Tech Demo

Cadet 227 - Chapter 3 - PC Version Released

Listening to: Nothing.

DOWNLOAD HERE
The third chapter for Cadet 227 has been released! I figured I would have finished it later on in the week, but having a nice organized spreadsheet and reusable code made it easier to finish this time around.

I will have a MAC version up soon.

Related Link: Cadet 227 Homesite

Cadet 227 - Part 1 of 13 - Released!

Listening to: Nothing.

Listen to the Podcast!
Cadet 227 officially launches today! Woo!

Over the course of three months, I've written and rewritten the story that I wanted to portray over and over again. At first it was nothing more than a scary story about a monster in a cave, but it eventually became something more than that. I decided that I wanted the story to create more mystery, while allowing myself to actually work on a game that had a definitive narrative.

So this first chapter is, unfortunately, just a teaser. It lasts about three to five minutes (that's what she said), but it will give you at least a taste of the user interface, the types of interactions and what kind of game this really is. Hopefully the sound quality is also up to par in terms of something at least better than cheesy.

If anything, think of it as an interactive radio show from the 30s. I also realize that my fondness of video games has had a very heavy influence on this game and the story.

It has peppered throughout some Assassin's Creed, Bioshock and Mass Effect, while having a simplified game experience like 7th Guest or a Don Bluth game... without the visuals, of course.

As I'm sure some of you remember, the original intent of this game was that a person lacking the ability to see would be able to play and experience it at the same level of anyone else. Hopefully I've accomplished that.

Now that I have the storyline written, the engine in place and the teaser under my belt, I plan on releasing a new chapter to this unfolding science fiction mystery every month. There are thirteen chapters in all, so this will be a year long project. I would like to thank all of the folks at Kickstarter and the donors who believed in this project. Without your support, all the sound effects would have just been me, going "pew pew", "pprrwawawgh" and so on.

Without further ado, download the demo here or simply go to cadet227.com to start the download or use one of the links below.

Thanks again and stay tuned for the next chapter at the end of August!

Download Link: Mediafire (fast)
Download Link: Shen Games (slow)
Donations: Donation Page

Cadet 227 - Badges / Buttons

Listening to: Nothing.

Just wanted to show you what the badges will look like for those who helped out and funded the project. This is what the mailing address request was for. I should have these made and sent out by the end of the month!

In other news, the game is still slated to be completely finished by the end of Summer 2010. I hope to have a working demo of sorts within two weeks to have it shown at the Games for Health 2010 Conference in Boston (link). We'll see how it goes though. It has to be at least 10 minutes long. Hrm, crunch time!

Related Link: Cadet 227

Cadet 227 - Developer Diary Entry #4

It’s been a little while since I’ve updated and I apologize for that. I’d like to thank you for the continued support on the project. As a reminder, the project’s been fully funded and anything extra will help me spend a bit more in making sure the game is as an engaging experience as possible.

I’ve been having some thoughts about the "skipping dialogue" part for the game. I just think it will end up being too messy. It’s not so much the complications of how it will work, but rather I don’t think it adds to the gameplay experience. I’m actually going to go the route of a simple room description (room name, items in room, exits) and full room description (room name, description, exits). I’ll just make sure the room description is just long enough and can be skipped, but nothing like a novel to get through.

This will actually free up a key to use, which I’m thinking will be used as a "use item in inventory" button. It will be automatic in that if you have the item, the correct item will be used in the appropriate room. Having to sit there and cycle through each item would very well be a pain to use. Yes, I understand that a player could potentially run through the entire game, grab every item they see and then try each item in every room, but that isn’t how the game is meant to be played. Players who do that will inevitably also complete the game, but lose out on the experience. If they derive joy from that, then who am I to deny them that as well?

This will also add a little variety to the game where you actually are encouraged to explore and figure out puzzles as opposed to just following a linear path, listening to a story.

I can assure you there are at least two safe combinations to remember and a bit of Konami’s Track and Field running action to be had in this game.

Stay tuned! I hope to have some original music up soon.

Cadet 227 - Developer Diary Entry #3

Listening to: Nothing.

Today's post is a bit more technical.

I started working on the underlying engine for Cadet 227. It's strange knowing that all keypresses are only affecting game elements in the background, producing no visible change on screen. I have trace statements running, of course, but it's just a new way of experiencing the development of a game. It's... like a game in itself.

Anyhow, just busy working on that. Currently I have going from room to room in place as well as the system reading a block of dialogue. I haven't incorporated the skipping portion yet. A very interesting thing I learned about AS3 today!

When you add the "SOUND_COMPLETE" event listener to a sound channel, you have to assign/add it again after the sound has been played--every time.

playDialogue(dialogueBlock[currentDialogue]);
channelDialogue.addEventListener(Event.SOUND_COMPLETE,soundComplete);

If you don't do that, it won't work correctly. The "soundComplete" function, in this case, won't be fired. If you place it before the sound channel play command, it also doesn't work. It has to be added after the sound has started playing. That's my AS3 tip of the day... or month... or year.

Related Link: Cadet 227

Cadet 227 - Developer Diary Entry #2

Listening to: Nothing.

Thank you for the continued support! It’s very awesome knowing that people want to see something like this happen. I’ve even got a few e-mails from folks volunteering their help, as a voice actor or to help with sound music! I can’t even wrap my head around dialogue trees just yet, as you’ll understand near the end of this post with the difficulties that arise with simple room descriptions. I will address the dialogue game mechanic in a later post though since, in all honesty, I have thought about it. That’s not to say I won’t need other voices though. A person can only listen to my voice for so long before wanting jump out a window.

The correspondence with visually impaired computer users continues as well as additional outside research. It looks like JAWS is the main screen reader, so I’ll have to download a demo and try it out.

I’ve learned that when the online Flash version goes up, which is only a piece of the game due to its size, it will have to be embedded in a very plain page. Just like how we scan through pages and look for keywords within sites, I’m sure we’re all guilty of blazing through an RSS reader for posts that appear remotely interesting, visually impaired computer users do the same. The problem is that they have to listen to each piece from beginning to end or skip it. That means while we can pick up keywords at the end of a sentence or even in the middle, visually impaired users must get the gist from keywords at the beginning. They can’t skip to the end. They can’t skip to a word in the middle. It’s possible to change the speed of reading on the reader, but there’s still no jumping around. All in all it’s a new way to view how sites are to be laid out to provide the best accessible user experience.

This is another reason why the full game will have to be a download. I don’t want to have to have a user go to the site, navigate to play, enter the page, tab to the embedded file, turn off their screen reader (there are certain keys on the keyboard attached to functionality within the screen reader, like “B” being like Tab, cycling through elements on a page), play the game, turn their screen reader back on and possibly confuse them on how to move on to another site. Also keeping track of customized settings for different screen readers is impossible, so it could end up as a big punch in the face. As a download, expectations for what’s going to happen are set in place. You know you’re going to start an application and can set the screen reader to the appropriate settings, rather than trying to figure out a workaround in hopes it doesn’t conflict with any other accessible software running.

The game is planned to use a few keys. The arrow keys will have you move from room to room. The spacebar is the action button. The keys A, S, D and F are the other keys: secondary action (kind of unsure of this), repeat the last piece said, brief description and full description. You never have to move your left hand from home row and right hand from arrow keys. I believe ESC will be the only time you move your hands, and that’s to quit the application. The game saves at every room, so there’s no real fear of losing progress.

As a player moves from room to room, they are not forced to listen to the full room description. They’ll most likely check out a full description the first time they enter a room for the first time by pressing F, but there’s no reason to hear it all every time you walk in. The brief description, accessed by pressing D, will simply list the room title and the exits. This keeps me in check in making sure that the mental map created from navigating the station and mine is compelling, but straightforward. People would probably shoot me if I decided to make the mine 27 4-way intersections with 11 turns at every section. I can barely remember where I leave my wallet without drawing a map.

While writing the script and recording the audio, I have to find the right places to split the pieces. If the player presses any key during dialogue, it will skip it and move onto the next part. They can press the S key to repeat the last thing said. An issue I can see is if a dialogue block plays, let’s say it’s in three parts, and the player presses the S key during the second part. Will it start the second part over? Will it start the first part over? How will it continue the dialogue block? I have an idea in place, but these are the things that need to be tweaked to make sure the experience isn’t annoying as hell and allow players to feel like they can move at the speed they want to.

This is another reason why copious amounts of dialogue for one situation or description will be avoided at all costs. I can imagine a person sitting through three sentences/parts in a dialogue block, but not fifteen.

I just realized that allowing any key to skip dialogue may prove to be a problem. The player won’t know which part they can skip and which part of the dialogue block they will start next. They may then press to skip repeatedly and end up skipping the whole dialogue and accidentally starting it all over again (imagine using F to skip dialogue). Maybe I will shift repeating the last dialogue string to A and skipping the dialogue piece to S. I know some users will have the patience to listen to the start of a dialogue piece before skipping, which may mitigate the problem, but I’d hate to punish those who don’t.

The initial tutorial is written. I have the story, not actual dialogue, written up to the end of the first day of mine scanning. The mine scanning takes in-game days. The first day will be very short, allowing the player to understand how it works. The second day will be the longest in the mine. The third will be the big climax inside the mine, station and everything else.

I’m currently looking into the cost of licensing James Taylor’s “You’ve Got a Friend”. From the way things look, it’s going to be prohibitively expensive for Donationware. If it’s possible to work something out, it will play a hopefully memorable moment in the game.

Cadet 227 - Developer Diary Entry #1

Listening to: Nothing.

I woke up this morning to find that the project has been fully funded! It only took a bit of elbow grease and within a few days of the project’s opening it has reached its goal. I will have a final list of contributors in both the game and developer diary for sure. I am very excited to work on this project and overcoming any of the challenges that it may throw my way. Thanks again to the contributors and your generosity! It speaks volumes, it does!

So because it’s officially underway, I thought I’d go and start a developer diary to chronicle the process, things I learn and challenges that I’ll run into. I’ll have clips and demos of things for people to check out as they get done.

One e-mail I received this morning was from a visually impaired computer user, who I will refer to as DT at this time. DT wrote:

Hi,

Thanks for your message. Unfortunately, even if this is accessible, it is unlikely to work for visually impaired people since Flash is not an efficient technology for us.

DT

This didn’t discourage me, but rather set off neurons in my brain and the question valves. Why is Flash not an efficient technology for the visually impaired? Is it because something like JAWS is not able to properly read the contents within a Flash media file? Is it because there are few sites that have designed their layouts to properly combine standard web elements with Flash elements? Is it because there’s no real need for Flash for visually impaired computer users since Flash was originally meant to be for a “rich multimedia experience for the internet”? How useful is an animated banner is Flash in this situation, right?

I’ve sent a reply back asking a few of these questions in hopes of finding answers that will help me tailor the game design to better approach the ultimate goal. At the very least, Flash can export an executable file, which also allows me to distribute the game as a physical download.

I will send a message to San Francisco’s Exploratorium later this week as well. I remember they had a vision deprivation obstacle course when I was younger. It would be interesting to see if they could house a computer with speakers in a completely dark room and have this game running. I know that if I was put in that situation, the overwhelming darkness and ambient sounds would freak me out completely. The trailer isn’t “scary” or “chilling” to me anymore, but it’s also because I’ve heard it a few dozen times already. The first few times I listened to the final mixdown I couldn’t close my eyes.

In any case, again, the project is now funded. I will start fleshing out the entire story and script for the game. There are a few key moments I have planned that should have a player jamming on their keyboard (who doesn’t love the traditional Track and Field button masher?) and being fully engulfed in audio fear. Well, that’s the plan anyway.

Related Link: Cadet 227

Kickstarter Project - Cadet 227

Listening to: Nothing.

Cadet 227 Trailer from Alexander Shen on Vimeo.

Please turn up your headphones.

This is my Kickstarter project that I'm trying raise some money for! It's an action/adventure game for the visually impaired / blind. Hopefully I can reach that funding goal of $500 by the middle of April! There's more information on the Kickstarter page.

Tell your friends! I'll be sure to post more about it as the weeks go on.

Related Link: Cadet 227 Kickstarter Page