Storyboard Warping Block Breaker: innovativeness and potential
Client 1:
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This looks like a great twist (no pun intended) on the game of Pong/Arkaniod. Forcing the group to work together to keep the balls bouncing and aim them is a great idea. A physical layer to moving the platform seems fun as well.
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Client 2:
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I really want to program this. The warped board is a really interesting twist (ha!). I have to confess it took me a while to understand how the game extended into three dimensions. The third concept sketch makes it really clear, I wish that was at the top of the page. Another bit of info that I would have liked to see in your storyboard is that bricks fall down when their support is gone. Many brick-breaker games have gravity-defying bricks that hold their positions until they are broken. As much as I would love to do this, I'm not sure we can make it happen for Open World due to technology constraints. This would have to run off a full-fledged computer, not the simple video playback device we're using now. We are using a PC for show control, so there is a possibility that this could be a special case where we could run a second application on it to control the room. It's a relatively low-powered machine, so we'd have to test whether it could handle the graphics that this game would require.
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Reviewer 3:
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I think the idea of making the whole room feel like a giant air hockey table is super entertaining and fun. It's definitely a unique experience and not something I would have thought of! I think the only worries I have are how expensive the implementation would be.
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Reviewer 4:
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Seems like a really fun game! I like the idea, I think that the majority of the users will have played some block-breaker game in their life. The idea is innovative and it has a lot of potential! I didn't really understand the warping aspect though.
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Potential, feasibility, user experience and human factors shown in the concept sketch, Ball Bouncing Slider
Client 1:
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Making this a physical piece adds complexity, but is a great look and feel decision. Detecting the position of these sliders accurately enough to track with digital game piece may be difficult.
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Client 2:
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Looks like it would be fun to use. I would make the handle U-shaped, like the handle on the top of a suitcase so it has some support on the other end. I imagine you'd use some sort of rotary encoder or optical sensor to track the position of the slider? There are a bunch of different solutions to this problem, it will be interesting to explore them all.
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Reviewer 3:
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I think the sliding on rails is a good physical interaction and having a handle on it to help move the block is definitely a helpful thing. I feel like if you have the physical box already look like a block, you don't need the animated block on the floor or else it would just feel a little redundant?
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Reviewer 4:
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Great drawing! With the description, I understood the sliding and ball bouncing mechanism much better than I could from just the storyboard. I think the concept is feasible and the user experience will be fun!
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Potential, feasibility, user experience and human factors shown in the concept sketch, Warping Wheel and Game Board Projection
Client 1:
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This wheel makes gameplay much more interesting. It's unclear from the storyboard exactly what the loss conditions of this game are. If one of the loss conditions is allowing a ball to hit a wall with a slider, then this wheel gets much more exciting, especially if the cycles of the two balls are staggered. One by moving one ball into the target blocks, you could be messing up the player that is trying to catch the other ball.
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Client 2:
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I'm a little unclear on where this is positioned in the room. Is it on the center brick? If so, will that block the view of players who are not controlling a paddle? I would consider moving it to the edge of the south wall so that all players have the same view of the game. How will you limit the mechanism so that you can't spin the wheel infinitely and end up with a really tight spiral? Or does it move in discrete steps of 90 degrees? Will you limit it in the physical mechanism or in code? This is not really related to this mechanism, but also consider tilting the floor up just a few degrees so that players can see the ball as it hits the wall. Depending on the dimensions of the room, you could lose sight of it as it gets farther away.
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Reviewer 3:
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I think it's super cool that you can warm the whole field with the steering wheel. I'm not really sure about how the implementation would work with relating the physical interactions with the physical display, but I am excited to see how it would potentially work in the sketch models!
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Reviewer 4:
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I don't really understand what the game board projection warping will look like or how it'll add to the game. The drawing didn't really make it more clear...
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Potential, feasibility, user experience and human factors shown in the concept sketch, Projected Blocks Covering Exit
Client 2:
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This is my favorite drawing and the one that made the game clear to me. The way you've drawn those bricks is really impressive. They look like glass, and I know just enough about drawing to know that that's not easy to do! I agree with your points about resetting the game - in software, we can ignore physics and put the bricks back just where we want :) I really like the idea that you uncover the exit door to let yourself out. Consider though that exit doors have to be marked (for fire codes) and the sign may have to be illuminated. You may be able to get around this with the right graphics, but it's something to test.
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Reviewer 3:
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I think this would be really cool to see as the blocks are hit and disappear revealing a door. I'm not really sure how this would be implemented, but it does seem very feasible with projectors and it would be very fun to interact with!
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Reviewer 4:
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This is a great sketch!! I love the idea of "digital" balls breaking "digital" blocks - it adds to the whole cyberspace/video game feel. I think the idea of using animations and two hits to break a block is awesome. The sketch really communicates your vision for this idea!
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Sketching technique, clarity of storyboard and concept sketches, and their web presentation
Client 1:
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This game idea is presented very clearly. There are a few missing details in the artwork and descriptions that might have been helpful, like what happens when balls hit the side or back wall, and what happens when the ball bounces off the twisted center section. Overall, good job though.
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Client 2:
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Your sketches are beautiful. I already mentioned that I would reorganize the order in which you present the information on the page (a paragraph of description under your storyboard would help a lot). Another thing I would have liked to see is an orienting view into the room that shows how all of the physical elements are laid out in space in relation to each other - I'm having trouble piecing all of that together. One final nitpick is that I would add a margin tag to your CSS. Having the text right up against the edge of the browser makes it tough to read. I hope we can find a way to make this concept work. Great vision here - I think it would be a lot of fun to play.
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Reviewer 3:
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Your concept sketch drawings are amazing and they're very clear in describing the motion of each thing. I think the storyboard could have been a bit clearer because it took me a while to understand where each thing was being projected.
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Reviewer 4:
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Great drawings and website. I wish the warping aspect had been less confusing.
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