Project CUP - Computers Understanding Puzzles
Puzzles, mansions, and keys? Oh my!
posted about 11 years ago
Overview
Project CUP (Computers Understanding Puzzles) is a 2D adventure and horror game. The player is tasked with trying to escape a house of roughly three or more rooms and is impeded by randomly generated puzzles. Such puzzles can include locked doors, riddles, and various other interactive puzzles. Completing puzzles will reward the player with additional information in regards to other puzzles, items, and so on. As a stretch goal, we may be able to include rudimentary combat with a single, reoccurring, enemy.
History
Project CUP is an off-shoot of another project I am working outside of the club, Project CUL. Project CUL is a commerical game idea that revolves around dynamically generated stories -- one component of the game is to have randomized puzzles that will impede the player. Project CUP will serve as a "test base" for me to work with the randomized puzzle mechanic, while focusing considerably less on combat, story telling, and animation.
Goal and Scope
To create a game that has complex, randomized puzzles, and plays like an otherwise "complete" video game.
Technical
Project CUP will be written for Windows. Despite being developed in Java, Linux and Mac support is not planned, as that would require debugging for both operating systems, and require programmers to have a copy of said OS's. The game is closed-source, will use LWJGL as the underlying platform, and Slick2D as a middle-ware engine.
Artists must have some experience with either Gimp or Photoshop. Those painting backgrounds must have a basic understanding of lighting, color theory, and various painting techniques. Background designers must have Photoshop Extended, as the backgrounds for the game will be made with pre-rendered 3D models that will be painted on top of. Obviously, anyone with 3D architectural modeling experience might be advised to aid with background art.
The current plan with sprite art, is to hand draw the line art, then digitize and color it with either Easy Paint Tool SAI, or Gimp.
Project CUP (Computers Understanding Puzzles) is a 2D adventure and horror game. The player is tasked with trying to escape a house of roughly three or more rooms and is impeded by randomly generated puzzles. Such puzzles can include locked doors, riddles, and various other interactive puzzles. Completing puzzles will reward the player with additional information in regards to other puzzles, items, and so on. As a stretch goal, we may be able to include rudimentary combat with a single, reoccurring, enemy.
In terms of mechanics, the player is capable of moving in
four directions on a pre-compiled grid. Rooms are always to the left
or right, and objects of interest in each room can be examined; items on
the floor can be picked up, furniture can be checked, doors can be
opened, and so forth. The game uses a "split view" similar to older
style PC games; the game takes place on 60% of the screen, while a
status bar on the bottom of the screen presents the player with
information such as the current puzzle being interacted with, the
player's inventory, single-sentence descriptions, and so on. If combat
is implemented, it will also display the player's health and current
ammunition.
History
Project CUP is an off-shoot of another project I am working outside of the club, Project CUL. Project CUL is a commerical game idea that revolves around dynamically generated stories -- one component of the game is to have randomized puzzles that will impede the player. Project CUP will serve as a "test base" for me to work with the randomized puzzle mechanic, while focusing considerably less on combat, story telling, and animation.
Goal and Scope
To create a game that has complex, randomized puzzles, and plays like an otherwise "complete" video game.
Project CUP will be written for Windows. Despite being developed in Java, Linux and Mac support is not planned, as that would require debugging for both operating systems, and require programmers to have a copy of said OS's. The game is closed-source, will use LWJGL as the underlying platform, and Slick2D as a middle-ware engine.
Artists must have some experience with either Gimp or Photoshop. Those painting backgrounds must have a basic understanding of lighting, color theory, and various painting techniques. Background designers must have Photoshop Extended, as the backgrounds for the game will be made with pre-rendered 3D models that will be painted on top of. Obviously, anyone with 3D architectural modeling experience might be advised to aid with background art.
The current plan with sprite art, is to hand draw the line art, then digitize and color it with either Easy Paint Tool SAI, or Gimp.