Served

Title: Served
Date created: Fall 09
Genre: Rhythm Game
Platform: Playmotion
Team Size: 4
Role in creating the game: programmer
System Requirements: Panda3D ver 1.6 and python

Information: Made for Round 5 of Building Virtual Worlds.

Modeler: Craig Yoho
Texture Artist: Rob Chan
Sound Design: David Teot
Programmer: Yang Shan


I did all programming in python using the Panda3D game engine.

The objective of Round 5 was to create a world specifically for the BVW Show. We were allowed to create our own teams, so I pitched the idea of creating a dancing game using the playmotion. I was influenced by Elite Beat Agents, and wanted to translate their buttons and sliders into dance moves that a player would have to follow using his body. There are two screens - one is a large projection screen that the audience can see, and one is a smaller LCD placed at the feet of the dancers. That way, the dancers can see the buttons on the smaller LCD screen while facing the audience when they dance. In the video below, the smaller LCD screen is behind the teapot table on the floor.

Our sound designer worked to create remixes of some of the songs to make them more upbeat for the game. The texture artist worked hard to make the buttons intuitive for the player. And our modeler worked with our texture artist to create the backgrounds and transition images.

A lot of our time was devoted to user testing to make sure the buttons were timed correctly and that the naive guest would not be overwhelmed by the buttons on the screen. I also created a level editor tool that allowed us to place buttons and sliders at the correct locations and have them appear at the right times. Our team created a skit and story to go along with the dances and created a "heart of the audience" concept to help the naive guest win their dance-offs.