Breakthrough

The Wild Kart is on the track!

Though it took much longer than it should have, and though we haven’t had a chance to add in the control and features that we were hoping for, the team is simply excited that we were able to get the major obstacle of the game solved.

After a ridiculous amount of effort, from Kevin as well as several of the other engineers in the studio (Dan, Pace, Jorge, and others), we’ve finally got the kart following the track. It was such an unbelievable amount of work to do, and we’ve gained a healthy amount of respect for those who make racing games, and other pathfinding type games. It’s much more difficult that we originally anticipated, and our paradigm has shifted considerably.

In Kevin’s words, “I’m no longer surprised at how many people make space related games that don’t have to follow specific paths. That makes total sense now.”

The presentation today seemed to go rather well, despite the minor technical hiccups. Overall, though we did not have a fully playable game, the excited response that we received from the client and from the audience really seemed to indicate that we are on the right track.

Kevin has mentioned, as well, that he wants to take the code home over the winter break and see if he can’t get the rest of it working before the New Year. (Overachiever!)

So, good presentation, strong concept, and really pulling our own fat out of the fryer on this one. Here’s hoping that it was enough!

Outside Consultation – Poor Outlook

After consulting with Adam Bargteil, (a specialist in the University of Utah’s Computer Science Department), Kevin had a couple ideas of where to go, hoping for something to work, as a possible workaround. We’ll see if that helps.

This morning, Kevin expressed his frustrations with the project, more specifically, the code that he’s been wrestling with over the weekend. He’s attempted a lot of different ideas, but after every attempt, the result is the same – the car refuses to follow the track properly. And without that one crucial component, the rest of the project can’t be completed. It’s truly the lynchpin item of the project.

Through our Executive Producers, we’ve contacted Adam Bargteil, a 3D art and programming specialist at the University of Utah’s Computer Science Department, asking him for his advice on the subject. Owing to Mr. Bargteil’s expertise, Kevin came back from the meeting with a number of ideas that he felt may work, though by the end of the day today, we were still in some significant trouble. He’s planning on taking the project home with him tonight, and seeing if he can implement the new ideas before Wednesday.

In speaking with Kevin today, his largest concern was that when we had originally planned out the project, we had felt that this would be a very simple project. Knowing that this was the end of the semester, and realizing that we probably wouldn’t have  a whole lot of time as other projects and deadlines came into play, we purposefully aimed for a simple concept that we could nail quickly.

Unfortunately, we didn’t realize how difficult this one component would turn out to be.

All in all, we may have to think of a new strategy for the presentation on Wednesday, especially because we want to have something to show the client. We’ll have to think on it tomorrow, but for now, we’ll just have to hope that Kevin can pull things together.

Difficulties – Hitting the Point of Frustration

Alright, Misha has the track mostly complete, and Adam’s got the hands ready to go, but it looks like we’ve really hit an insurmountable obstacle with this track problem. Kevin has taken the time to speak with just about every engineer in the cohort, and we’re still not really coming up with an answer. In speaking with Dan, his solution has been to utilize some fairly high-level calculations for each turn, but if any of the turns end up not being exact 90-degree turns, we’ll have a problem.

Kevin hopes to take the project home over the weekend, and hopefully come up with a solution. We have faith in him, and we’ll have to see where we’re at on Monday. If a solution doesn’t come together, we may have to think of something else for the presentation.

Wheels, Hands and Speed

Things are moving along quite well, as we fly headlong towards the final week of production. The track is taking shape quite well as Misha incorporates the design that she and Karratti drew up. The only snag that we’ve come across is that with the velocity that the cart is currently moving at, the track can be completed within about a minute if the player does everything correctly. So, we’re currently looking into lengthening the track set-up to increase player time.

Related to that note, Kevin is currently tackling the task of attaching the cart to the track so that we can begin to get an actual feel for the way the player is going to experience the track. Where the cart itself and the track are mostly complete, the problem that we’re having is that the rig is not detecting the track itself, and doesn’t want to follow the path properly. We’re hoping to have the problem resolved, however, in the next day or so.

Finally, Adam is putting the final touches on the control interface component, being two disembodied gloves. The player will control these two hands with the analog sticks, attempting to keep the cart on the tracks as best as possible.

This next week will be a task in compiling all of these pieces together. We have high hopes that we can solve the challenges ahead of us and deliver a compelling experience for next week!

Minecart and Track

Well, despite the Thanksgiving weekend, work is still moving along. Kevin has been spectacular in putting together a modeled and rigged up minecart that’s ready to go, and Misha has been awesome readying up the track. Adam has decided that our first level will simply be an oval track, so that the player can get used to the mechanics of the game.

As an aside, however, we also plan to use this area as a “test track” to determine the effective velocities and track lengths for optimal gameplay. That way we can adjust it all BEFORE we put together the more complicated track.

Things are moving along smoothly. Thankfully, the simple concept allows us to more effectively put together a strong system, so that we can really fine-tune things along the way.

The Wild Kart is Coming Down the Track!

Utilizing the ground-breaking Haptic-Interface technology, we’re happy to announce the creation of “Team Wild Kart,” dedicated to the creation of the game “Wild Kart!” Over the next four weeks, we’re looking to create a game that will very quickly show the benefits and unique possibilities of the technology in a fun and accessible game that anyone would have a good time with.

The Wild Kart is on the tracks, and we’ve just given it it’s first little push!