Current Dissertation

69 pages
14,542 words
currently reviewing the test data collected and writing that chapter

have to still touch up implementation chapter and then future work

dissertation

currently finishing the concept and design chapter

current word count 10,258
current page count 49

moving onto the testing and evaluation chapter hopefully tomorrow

on that note last friday i was able to go into my uncles class at scoil na mainistreach in celbridge , had about 10ish children try the game recieved mixed responces but all in all it was a good experience since the kids were able to give nice feedback and found things that they needed help with

bile fully implemented look so trippy

Christmas updates

During the hectic Christmas period the game has evolved leaps and bounds , the game core mechanics are in place and the user interface although needs tweaking is close to the original designs that I had in place since the conception of the game.

the following are a list of features that have been implemented over the Christmas period and are implemented in the games to date:

1) - User Interface : As mentioned above the interface for the game is one of , if not the most crucial element of the game as it is this element which will instantly decide to the younger players as to whether they will play the game or not .

.Past

.Initial Development

.Current Development Stage

As seen from the original designed interface to the current prototype interface the design has been pretty much similar through the development process. The top area being used for a score area , the middle region being the actual game area screen , the left area is to be an area for the player to view the bile levels within the body , the right area is for the player to create / maintain the lobules within the game and finally the bottom area it for the player to be able to read the goings on of the game

2) - Ethanol : The "villain" of the game the ethanol based cells are the most commonly found cells in the majority of alcoholic beverages and thus for a game combating alcohol within the liver the presence of these cells is a must. The cells have the ability to spawn from any location around the game screen thus forcing the player to adopt a flexible strategy when it comes to implementing an area to capture and contain the cells. Currently the cells have the ability to collide with the lobules and become absorbed but the lobules then themselves become damaged as the "taint" from the ethanol deteriorates them over time thus the lobules will become damaged and if not properly mended will die and form fatty liver , which in turn will cause cirrhosis.

3) - Lobules : The "soldiers" of the game the lobules are placed by the player to strategic locations in the game screen to stem the flow of the invading ethanol cells , this in turn gives the player the feel of the game being a RTS ("real time strategy"). Currently the lobules have the following characteristics:

• They have 5 lives each thus the each lobule has the potential to absorb five ethanol based cells before the die.
• Lobules can be placed anywhere within the liver where either cirrhosis or fatty liver is not present.
• the player currently has the capability to add up to and including five lobules at any one time.
• the lobules are created by spending five hepatic cells.

update 30/11/09

Currently doing the finishing touches to my interim report references and such , overall my progress is in a good place and i feel that with the coming winter break just over the horizon a good amount of work can be done

interim report

for the past two weeks i have been heavily working on completing my research and creating my interim report

the interim report is the culmination of work that i have done since beginning this game, the final document will be broken down into 3 elements
1- the interim report itself
2- my game design document
3- game concept document

the interim report itself will be broken down into sub-catagories to better explain the depth of research that has gone into the project and example chapters will include

background - this encompasses an explaination of the liver including its makeup and its vital role within the body

research - being the biggest chapter this will explain
the medical research i've conducted on the topic of liver disease ( jaundice , cirrhosis, fatty liver , etc..)

also this chapter will list and breifly explain the programming technologies used to create the game prototypes ie XNA development tools

the interim report also includes the design chapter of the game this includes the game mechanics , genre , style and feel of the overall finished game.

finally i'll have a chapter on reviews, this will include books that i have read and conversations and meetings held on the topic.


p.s. currently working on the design chapter and touching up others but here is the current
document

3/11/09

ok got the general idea behind the game now ...
goin to be a rts rpg style game , the main reasons behind this si the sytle of gameplay works great with how i think the game should feel ... more to come in detail gotta go for dinner