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* Maybe start a connected project on Sourceforge or Freshmeat to have SVN support
* Maybe start a connected project on Sourceforge or Freshmeat to have SVN support


==Game Design==
==Game design==
Preliminaries are In progress, please join in somewhere.
What do we want from the game? Preliminaries are In progress, please join in somewhere.  
 
What do we and the users want from the game?


===Gameplay requirements===
===Gameplay requirements===
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: See also: [[CisLunarFreighter Detailed Requirements Analysis]]
: See also: [[CisLunarFreighter Detailed Requirements Analysis]]


===Scripts for splashscreen and phase transitions===
===Scripts===
In progress, please join in somewhere along the learning trails.  Add links to your stories and scripts below to solicit review from dropins or regulars.  Stories and scripts may be in industry standard format or informal.  Either place them in wikimedia files or pdfs published through the Wikimedia server:
In progress, please join in somewhere along the learning trails.  Add links to your stories and scripts below to solicit review from dropins or regulars.  Stories and scripts may be in industry standard format or informal.  Either place them in wikimedia files or pdfs published through the Wikimedia server:
* ...
* [[/Splashscreen scripts/]]
* [[/Phase transition scripts/]]


===Storyboards for case studies or play scenarios===
===Storyboards and case studies for play scenarios===
Please provide on Wikiversity or in PDFs or open source Word processor format.
Please provide on Wikiversity or in open document format.
* [[/Implementation stories for extreme programming/]]
* [[/Implementation stories for extreme programming/]]
* Draft [[CisLunarFreighter UML Case Diagrams]]
* [[/UML case diagrams/]]
* ...
* ...



Revision as of 04:14, 23 October 2007

File:CisLunarFreighter opening menu draft1.jpg
Expanding thumbnail screenshot

This page is to collect and organize information regarding the Wikiversity learning project CisLunarFreighter.

CisLunarFreighter is a game being produced by participants at Wikiversity to get direct hands on experience with developing computer games. Using open source tools to the extent possible, participants using a variety of resources will produce a stellar educational game.

Project pages are easily tagged by placing a category link, "[[Category:CisLunarFreighter]]", at the bottom of the page. This makes a list of project pages easily accessible at the bottom of each tagged page. Please help by tagging new pages with the cisLunarFreighter category as explained at Help:Category and Intermediate Wikiversity. Please also use subpages for content related to this project.

Goals

  • Have fun
  • Performing production tasks and whilst learning
  • Learn from mistakes
  • Create multiple player interactivity
  • Create client/server applets for CisLunarFreighter as well as a standalone application
  • Create an interface to other games with compatible communication format, and/or setup multi-user co-residency (API?)

Project plan

In work in small pieces around Wikiversity learning trails. Perhaps a couple of entrepreneurs or other project leader types will tackle a draft schedule or work breakdown structure soon.

Software development plan

We plan to use free open source tools to the greatest extent possible to produce data and software that is free redistributable and fully modifiable by anyone who wishes to do so. A former game producer has quite a bit of existing proprietary graphics models which we have now confirmed may be at least partially translated into open source blender files. It remains to be seen the accuracy and usefulness of the translation process. At this time we intend to develop in java with a deployment plan built around an adequate performance MUD server (even if must use different language) and java clients and game servers. Obviously this plan needs a great deal of research, thinking and augmentation before it can be considered a useable draft.

See also: /Open source tools/

Potential Java Pieces Needing Evaluation

Editor's note: Move this section to an introduction to initial evaluation and results they grow. Mirwin 20:00, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

We may be able to use these as components or examples to learn applicable technique in Java environment:

  • gazelle - Fundamentally an animation tool. Plays .avi and .mov animation files under JMF (Java Media Framework libary from SUN) Also, of possible interest to graphics artists or perhaps even programming with SVG. Will it work with older .avi and .mov file???? A lot of older graphics laying around if we can convince people to free them once they are finished with traditional commercial life cycle.
Download links are broke, could be vaporware.
  • xine - GPL'ed media player
  • mPlayer - This seems like overkill for a small project but if we could add borders consistent with a view screen and our GUI appearance (providing appropriate credits in our credits file obviously) could we use this to keep our coding requirements down? Trading bulk for development effort ... or is there a good player in a Sun Library somewhere we can just call? Can we find out from reading mplayers code?
  • jslibs - "General-purpose native libraries for SpiderMonkey, Mozilla's JavaScript engine."
  • Ajax3d - 3D engine for Javascript, using <canvas> tags for output.

Tasks

Let's brainstorm tasks:

  • Create and finalize preliminary specifications
  • Create concept art based on specifications (or use concept art to help guide specifications)
  • Decide what sort of subsystems are to be used...
  • Based on the subsystems (game engine, etc) start creating the art
  • Maybe start a connected project on Sourceforge or Freshmeat to have SVN support

Game design

What do we want from the game? Preliminaries are In progress, please join in somewhere.

Gameplay requirements

An overview of major requirements:

  1. Entertaining - the game should be fun.
  2. Social - Interaction with other people via
    1. Chat - most mud environments allow this
    2. Email - useful or not?
    3. Game consequences - makes the game more interesting
  3. Educational - Players should learning something
    1. Expose users to some science, engineering, and operations concepts
    2. Math practice
    3. Reading around the web
    4. Use of open source tools for modification and extensibility
    5. Software design and coding techniques
See also: CisLunarFreighter Detailed Requirements Analysis

Scripts

In progress, please join in somewhere along the learning trails. Add links to your stories and scripts below to solicit review from dropins or regulars. Stories and scripts may be in industry standard format or informal. Either place them in wikimedia files or pdfs published through the Wikimedia server:

Storyboards and case studies for play scenarios

Please provide on Wikiversity or in open document format.

Brainstorming

In progress, please join in somewhere.

Pages connected with the project

Terran, Lunar, Asteroid, or Saturn Pirate Base
Mini Map Radar Overview, Cockpit Menu, Headsup Communicator

Specifications

What should the user experience be like?

An overview of the game's major requirements:

  • Entertainment -- should be fun.
  • Social -- Interaction with other people via
    • Chat -- most mud environments allow this
    • Email -- useful or not?
    • Game consequences -- makes the game more interesting
  • Educational - Exposure to some science, engineering, and operations concepts
    • Math practice
    • Reading around the web
    • Use of open source tools for modding
    • Software design and coding techniques

Requirements

Fairly standard hardware will be required. The game will be able to run smoothly on older systems, and also be able to be flashy on high-end systems.

See also: /Detailed requirements analysis/

Game materials distribution

Has begun on an adhoc basis. Longterm we intend to setup a SourceForge project to backup and distribute at least the stable releases of the open source materials on demand 24/7.

Hardware requirements

The game client and server should run on any adequate performance desktop. It is not intended as a primary focus to meet the needs of the emerging hand-held computing and communications markets.

Game testing

This will have to be done by the developers until we get enough of a game up and running to attract alpha and beta player/testers.

We might get some help from other Wikiversity participants at other Wikiversity course participant's pages.

Configuration management

This needs some study and work defining useful methods. Many of our learners and participants have little or no experience with automated configuration management and tracking tools such as subversion, Ant or others.

Active participants

Participants willing to coordinate, consult and/or kibitz reqarding questions:

  • Mirwin 05:07, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
  • ...

See also

Creative materials

In this project we wish to use materials free as in beer as well as licensing so we have simple distribution to anyone who wishes to download from Sourceforge or receive source or executable from other sources.

Applicable tutorials

The following online tutorials demonstrate useful game programming techniques.