Final Update 1

So far I had very few problems, the programming has not been so tough everything is working fine. The animation of the monitor sliding in to screen every time you go to another page was inspired by ratchet and clanks interface. This way I save a lot of time because  I reuse my main page. I have to rework my main page, I have to change the letters for the title so they include the blue glow. I also have to make the exterminator’s suit blue. So far I have five pages almost done so I’m pretty close to my schedule.

Start page sketches

My idea for this games is a side scrolling shooter about an exterminator that has to fight giant mutated insects. I had tree different ideas for the start page, the first one is the silhouette of an exterminator in front of a skyline, and then the title of the game in front and then the start button at the bottom. The second idea is the gas mask in front of two gloves, and then in the background there are bolted metal plates. The last one is just the bottom view of a bug, and then there is a cancel circle on top of it. I think my favorite one is the first one, it is simple and it shows what the game is about.

Flash Navigation Method 2

Once again it was pretty easy, as long as I labeled everything correctly it worked fine. I did encountered one problem. Without noticing I accidentally placed the code for the options button in frame one and in the button. So what was happening was  that after I pressed the start button in the title screen it would go to the options screen that is on frame 11 on my second scene. Since the button code was  to go to and play frame 11 it would skip the main page and go to the options screen. I took me a while but I figured it out and deleted the code in frame 1. Then it worked perfectly, the start button would take me to the main screen, the options button would take me to the options screen, and the back button would take me to the main screen. It was a little frustrating but I knew the problem was something simple.

Flash navigation method 1

This was very easy to do as long as everything is named correctly. The only problem I had was that in my code scene_2 was writeen as scene 2. Once I added the underscore it worked perfectly, then adding new pages was easy. With flash once you get it right the first time, then the rest is easy. What I also like about flash is that with the code snipets its even easier because flash pretty much writes the code for you. I really like the different scenes method over using the same scene just different keyframes, it is just more organized and cleaner.

Flash buttons

I studied several websites and UI artists, what I saw the most was that buttons usually change color when you scroll over them. I pretty much did the sam thing, I changed the greens to blues and the white letters to black, and also increased the size of the button when you scroll over the button. Once you click the button it shrinks in size so it looks like you are pressing it. My hit region is the same size as the button, the buttons are already big so I didn’t have to increase the size of the hit region. I just kept it simple so it is easy to navigate.

Flash prototype interface

I am truly pleased at the ease of being able to work between flash and illustrator. All you have to do is export from illustrator and import straight to the library. I really like how easy it is to organize your assets in Flash library, you can easily modify the properties of each asset. Just like any other Adobe program it has the ability to work layers, another way to keep you work organized. The key to keep everything organized is to make sure you name everything, that way programming will be easy.

Research and respond

I found the article Flash Interface Design Made Simple to be very useful, it pretty much shows you step by step,  the simple process of creating an interface. Every step seems achievable and very useful, these steps give yo an easy template to follow. I totally agree with the Flash tools being very complicated, it always takes me time to get used to them. Even when you get used to them they are still less efficient than Illustrator. That is why I like that it is so easy to work between different Adobe programs. In the end all you have to worry about  is making your interface look good.

Options Screen

This is my option screen for my midterm, I used to pictograms in my options screen. The first pictogram is the arrow. I used i twice so you could switch between different languages. The second pictogram was the house icon on the back button. Instead of having to write home, I just put the house icon instead. I changed both I cons so they could match the style of the words. The hardest part was trying to find a background that would fit with the the font and the meters. Some colors would make the words stand out but the meters would blend in. The blue background with the gradient ended up being the best choice.

Icon creation

The icon is the start button for the title screen. I chose to use the color green to represent motion, so the player knows what to expect about the game. I chose a cartoony font because that is the style I want to go with. To g with the style I added strokes to everything to make it seem cartoony as well. The second icon is the sprint meter it is represented by a sports drink bottle. It would start off empty and it would start to fill up every time the player would touch the healthy items. Once the bottle is full the player would get a speed boost until the bottle would become empty. I also added a stroke to the bottle so it would look cartoony.

 

 

Flow Chart and Site Map

The first  idea for a game is called Commit to be fit, a game about losing weight. This game is a third person game where you run and try to avoid things that will set you back or distract you. This game is timed so the player will try to run as fast as they can so they can get as far as they can. The farther you go the more points you get, at the end the points will be converted into pounds. The more points you get the more pounds you lose. The whole point of this game is to try to score a higher score every time you play so you can lose more weight.

My next game idea is a tower defense game based on the story of the three little pigs. The whole point of this game is to try to stop the wolves from reaching your home and try to eat you. You have to sett up your different weapons so they can destroy the wolves before they reach you. Once the wolves reach you they will start to destroy your house. Once they tear your house down they will be able to get to you and you lose. As each level continues there will be more wolves coming after you and stronger ones too.

I decided to go with commit to be fit, here is the low chart and site map: