I still have to come up with a good title..

I just read an article on DigitalBuzzBlog.com about this advergame, and even if initially I was a bit skeptical about it, I’ll have to agree with the authors of that article: This is a real interesting game, for a number of reasons.

First of all, here what we are talking about..

56 Sage Street is an advergame developed for Barclays Bank.

It’s main goal is to improve teenagers’ understanding of banking and educate them about direct debits, loans, statements, fraud avoidance and general money management.

The game itself is a mixture between the money management aspects of Sim City, and a rich storytelling layer that reminds of a Grand Theft Auto kinda thing. Read the rest of this entry »

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Today’s improvements to the game consisted in the implementation of a pathfinder functionality.

This will allow AI objects to “travel” across the levels, calculating a path that intentionally avoids predefined areas.

As you can see in the picture above, the program determines particular paths, that represent “walkable areas” (green lines), and unwalkable zones (the areas that surround the red cubes).

These maps are generated automatically, providing an extremely powerful tool to manage AI movements.

The script comes from the A* Pathfinding project from Aron Granberg.

In my particular project I intend to use this path finding functionality to drive AI vessels, such as an ally Zodiac during inflatable boats confrontations.

Another possible usage could be the reenactment of the pursuit between the spy vessel Shonan Maru 2 and the Steve Irwin, challenging each others’ seamanship skills in dangerous mazes of iceberg fields.

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Well, now we begin to roll.

You can finally try the first version of the latest prototype of the Sea Shepherd advergame.

As my original concept dictated, the game will be a side scroller, with focus on the navigation aspects across iceberg mazes, and highlights in fast paced zodiac pursuits.

At this initial stage, you can try the feel of navigating the Steve Irwin vessel across what should resemble a very ruff iceberg field..

I tried to balance realism in the dynamics with certain more unrealistic elements, such as exagerated buoyancy, excessive speed and manouevre capabilities etc.

The game should have a high level of realism, yeah, but I also want it to be fun and entertaining for a casual gamer.

My favourite quote.. ‘Inaccurate, but it will blow your fucking mind..!’

So, in the hope of blowing some fucking mind up, here the link to the prototype.

The more feedback you give me, the more chances to see the issues solved in the next version..!

Controls:

• Up/Down – Forward, Reverse
• Left/Right – Steering wheel

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Also today I’ve adding some new goodies to the game..!

A radar function has been implemented, that will allow the player to interpret relevant info, such as obstacles or waypoints.

I’ve built this radar modifying an existing Javascript script that can be found here: http://www.unifycommunity.com/wiki/index.php?title=Radar

Soon i’ll have to begin testing the prototypes. I’m very itnerested to find out, for example, if the test players will be able to interpret the radar correctly, given the fact that the sidescrolling gameplay contradicts the usual vertical interpretation of a radar screen. It is going to be interesting to find out if people gets disoriented if the radar is rotated to follow the direction of the scrolling of the game.

I also changed the POV to make the game more similar to my original concept (Whale Defense Response).

Soon I will upload a decent prototype, so you will have the possibility to try it by yourselves.

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..and yet another day working on 3D Studio Max.

Today I faced for the first time the problem of texturing a model. I ended up following this really good tutorial:

Using UVW Mapping Texture Technique In 3D Studio Max – http://www.republicofcode.com/tutorials/3ds/unwrap_uvw_mapping/

Talking about the model itself, it is not perfectly accurate, ok yea, not accurate at all , but for the level of detail needed in the game it is more than enough.

It must be reminded in fact that the average potential player will probably have only heard of Sea Shepherd via the tv show Whale Wars, or even just its cartoonish version signed by South Park.. My goal was to make the vessel recognizable.

The next step from here will consist in texturing the helideck, and probably add a couple of Zodiacs on the deck of the vessel.

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via Twitter..

http://ow.ly/1JXRC Need a break? Prøv #Greenpeaces nye #KitKat spil. #Nestle

..Well, I didn’t exactly need a break, at those early hours i wasn’t even working..

But ye, why not! ..and here what i found:

As you might have heard, a social media warfare has recently occurred between Greenpeace and Nestlé.

Luckily, I’ve been following the case since it’s very start, and it has been very interesting — on a multimedia designer perspective — to see how this clash of Titans took place.
I believe we can learn a lot from this example, about how mishandling of Social Media can backfire, even for a corporation of the caliber of Nestlé.
Moreover, I’m in particular fascinated by the idea of how this technologies are changing the system, if driven by an organized and resolute force, capable of channeling the collective energy into a meaningful unidirectional effort. Read the rest of this entry »

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You know those mornings.. missed the bus.. freshy spring breeze.. Nothing better to do than reading a good book while waiting to go to work!
Here an excerpt from a book called “Changing the Game, How video games are transforming the future of business“.

Alternate Reality Games (ARGs)

Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are another way that marketers are blurring the line between the real and the virtual. AGs, like virtual worlds, are not quite games in the traditional sense of the word.

ARGs are best described as collaborative, interactive narratives that blur the lines between reality and game. They employ a wide range of electronic and physical media to engage with players, such as Web sites, text messages, e-mail, real-world billboards, comic books, and staged publicity events. The end result is a storytelling experience that draw hundreds of thousands of people into an incredibly engaging puzzle-solving exercise that persists for days,weeks, or months on end.

Unfortunately, our description hardly captures the magic of a good alternate reality game. So please indulge us for a moment, and imagine that you are playing Changing the Game — The ARG. Read the rest of this entry »

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Click to play the game!

Second version of the game concept “The Overfisher”.

..Still in a prototype stage, this version of the game differs from the previous one on the following characteristics:

• AI vessels now sail following smooth courses, resulting in less robocrappy trajectories.

• The player can collect Boosters pickup, or jump on ramps to gain a bonus speed, for a certain amount of time. Read the rest of this entry »

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..What a better way to wake up than thinking about a new game concept?

Here is a very simple idea, that could use humor to help spread awareness about a very serious issue: Shark Finning.

Now there are two possibilities.. or you know exactly what am I talking about, or you have no idea.

Until few months ago I fell into the second category, so here a brief overview about the problem. (If you do not care/are already aware/have to catch a bus, jump directly to the line marked by * )

Read the rest of this entry »

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..and finally, here the first game completely homemade, with pure genuine brainz effort and no step-by-step guidance..!

The purpose of this minigame is simply to get to know Unity’s scripting, in a crash course style.

Click to test your skills as ferocious fisherman!

..my highest score, 135! ..anybody willing to challenge me?!

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..Taaantaatarataantaantaaaaa… (ad libidum, it should be a literal representation of the Imperial March, Star Wars style baby!)

Ouu yeah, it’s finally ready to go!

Read the rest of this entry »

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..Just came across an interesting article about Harpooned, a game that embedded an anti-whaling message, and that i “studied” when facing my advergaming exam.

It’s an interesting article in game development perspective, lots of inspiring thoughts.

In particular, you can read about the public reaction to the game.

The public response to the game fell into 4 basic categories:

1. People who played the game, got the message and approved. This made up around 90% of the responses.
2. People who were appalled by the blood and didn’t play the game. These were often the most vocal responses, and invariably they were opposed to whaling, but didn’t realise that the game was satirical. These were a very small, but vocal minority.
3. Young males who were attracted to the game because it was violent. Often they didn’t notice or care about the message within the game at first. However this group are internet-savvy. They like to post their impressions online and read other people’s comments. I was delighted to see many in this group who started to engage in serious discussion about whaling, after at first only being attracted to the game because of the blood and gore.
4. Pro-whaling responses from English speaking Japanese people. Usually these were along the lines of “Australians kill kangaroos, so you can’t tell us what we can or can’t kill”, “Whaling is our traditional right” or “If we don’t kill the whales they will eat all our fish”. I have had some very interesting discussions with these people and I’m grateful for those who have taken the time to present their side of the story.

Read more: Link to the article.

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..originally thought as an academic project, the production of this game became something different, something real.

The main idea, when i started, was a vague “to study Advergaming“.
..Suddenly I realized that if I wanted to brand a company via a game, I had to have a very deep understanding of the organization i was dealing with, to efficiently identify which values and which messages to communicate via an interactive application.

..This process brought me through a long period of analysis of the history and identity of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the organization chosen as topic of the advergame.

This allowed me to create a campaign motivated by a real issue, pushing me towards the necessity of finding a concrete solution to the problem I chose to face.

What fascinated me about this project was the nature of Advergaming itself.

I consider this marketing strategy to be an often misunderstood and underestimated one, which can reveal itself incredibly powerful, if developed properly..

The Issue

Most of you have just heard of these guys on tv news, without paying to much attention.. You know, those gangs of punks, driving inflatable boats at near-miss distance from whaling vessels, holding banners representing “eco-terrorist thoughts”..? Ok, the guys I worked for (..or better said, worked with) are the evil cousins of them. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a non-violent no-profit organization, who aims at protecting marine animal wildlife via direct action. In the case of the issue concerning this project, this direct action takes the form of physical obstruction of whaling operations, justified as enforcement of the international commercial whaling ban disregarded by the Japanese government.
Using a loophole in the treaty, in fact, year after year the Japanese whalers carry out whaling operations under the false pretense of being “researching” the cetaceans. Where diplomacy and international pressure fails in enforcing the international moratorium on commercial whaling, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society takes a stand to protect biodiversity, and to face the illegal poachers.

The Game

The player will play the role of an anti-whaling activist, opposing the whaling operations. Initially she will be asked to document the situation but, keeping faith to the real course of events, when faced by the ineptitude of governments and their games of power and economical interests, the goal of the game will pass progressively from the will to Expose the poachers, to the will of Confronting them. This can be seen both as challenges the player will face, and also with the fading mood of the history, fading towards a more and more dramatic struggle. This progressive deepening of the intensity of the story will essentially provoke emotional immersion in the game, enhancing the possibilities of successfully communicate a message embedded in the story.

Converting a game into an AdverGame..

..and this is where the magic happens. Emotional immersion will hopefully ease the chance of having the player embracing the set of values pushed by the game (carefully chosen to communicate a message positive to the brand). Moreover, interaction with the game will enhance the retention of this message, in a much more powerful way than other more classy forms of advertising. A last attempt to make this application useful for the organization, is the idea of embedding a last playable level unlockable only on the main Sea Shepherd website. This will close the gap between the casual gamer and the organization, in a situation in which the player will suddenly realize that the history she is immersed into is actually real, and that action and information is at one click of distance.

Technicalities..

Bababa the game was developed in Actionscript 3, putting particular effort in developing a program with a flexible and pondered architecture.

Working alone, I preferred to organize my available time into multiple sprints, with the recurrent production of prototypes widely tested in both quantitative and qualitative manner by relevant representative of my target group. This allowed me to focus on the usability of the game, in the intent of enhancing it’s entertaining potential, improving the chances of both a viral effect and the retention of the message due to the repetition, seen as replay value.

And yeah, i had some kickass good time doing this stuff..! ..handed in wanting for more!

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A quick video made to represent the experience given by the advergame, if developed a step further..

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Oh yes, you read it well.

The scary moment of having to begin to design the graphic user interface is arrived, brought more by deadlines than by motivation..

(yes, i do hate designing stuff SO much)

Nevertheless, here a quick preview of what’s going on behind the scenery.

The levels are ready to be dispatched, those which i chose to develop (just a more polite way to say that i didn’t code the last one yet.. )

So, here ye go, some graphic beauties!

edit: ..ah, sorry for the misleading ultra mega spectacular tweet.. just fishing visitors, you know, business..

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