initial final game proposal for DMF 203

DMF 203 game – final Project
Goals: This game will be a ‘first-person shooter’, of sorts. I’m behind on the lingo. Would the original ‘Asteroids’ be considered an ‘FPS’?. The terrean spaceship (in geosynchronous orbit), will be making shoot/don’t shoot decisions (no logic to these, by the way) and based upon the target hit, will score points, or have points deducted. Is that bifurcated object that is headed your way a Ctulhuian nursing bottle (they are important allies) - for their giant two-mouthed infants (which morph into 3 mouths after they lose their set of ‘eye teeth’) - or is it a miniaturized Maladrxirian binary fission weapon? Is that a Zoooooooooooooooooooordn ‘man-of-war’ craft, or a Shiiiishnian geriatric tour spacebus, coming to see the Grand Canyon and donate their earthling-compatible extra organs, which used to go into landfills on their home planet? Think fast! Or, “Feel the force”, or, “I haven’t even had my morning coffee yet; why do they have me manning the plasma cannon on this rust-bucket when I haven’t had the minimum required refresher simulation training in over ten months?”

The ‘bogies’ will be starting at the top of the screen, and descending towards the bottom of the screen, where the patrol ship moves from left-to-right horizontally, based on mouse movement. Clicking the mouse shoots projectiles, which travel in a straight line, after they are fired. This is not intended to be a friendly/logical/satisfying game. Think ‘Sartre Pac-man’. Or Buddha, for that matter (Life is suffering…). This game is more about mordant humor, modern angst, cynicism, and betrayal-of-trust issues, than it is about ‘fair play’ and richly-rewarded motor skills.

Things to think about and attempt to program in:
1) A ‘space background’ with stars, that moves somehow, but is easily visually distinguishable from the incoming objects.
2) Sound effects. Some background noises (for the sheer annoyance/distraction), and sounds for ‘collisions’ (and launching ‘projectiles’?).
3) Some way of displaying scores (and irreverent messages)
4) ‘Random generators’ for different objects, and random vectors, and random speeds?
Random generators for score deductions (That hostile just moved past you at mach 27. Text display – “Why didn’t you have your transonic monitors turned on?”).

Title: Galactic Xenophobia II

Much coding to learn…

1st game e-mailed to Adam; here is 'funkyActionScript' coding

Here is the coding for game1, if anyone cares to take a look at it. This game does have 'issues'.

//EMDA 203 "First Game" base code v.1
//v1: now with Mouse Control! //Sound! hitTestObject! StageBoundaryBounces!

package
{
//import flash.display.DisplayObject;
//I couldn't figure out the visibility stuff...
import flash.display.MovieClip;
import flash.events.Event;
import flash.ui.Mouse;
import flash.events.MouseEvent;
import flash.display.DisplayObjectContainer;
//
//import flash.media.Sound;//

public class FirstGame1v2 extends MovieClip
{
//Declare Global Variables
var player:MovieClip;
var ball:MovieClip;
var ball2:MovieClip;
var projectile:MovieClip;
var projectile2:MovieClip;
var vx:Number;
var vy:Number;
//var ballBounceSound:Sound;//***NEW
//var playerSound:Sound;//***NEW
var score:Number; //The score

public function FirstGame1v2()//CONSTRUCTOR FUNCTION
{
//Instantiate Variables
trace ("top of constructor")
player = new SmallVertRayGun;
ball = new SmallSaucerGuy;
ball2 = new Alien;
projectile = new SmallRay;
projectile2 = new SmallRay;
vx = 15; //setting movement rates; see much farther down
vy = 2; //setting movement rates; see much farther down

//ballBounceSound = new SoundBasso;//***NEW
//playerSound = new SoundGlass;//***NEW

trace ("Welcome to Galactic Xenophobia!");
score = 0; //This starts the game at 0
trace ("the score is " + score);

//Hide the mouse ***NEW
Mouse.hide();

//Set up the stage
addChild(player);
addChild(ball);
addChild(ball2);
addChild(projectile);
addChild(projectile2);


player.x = stage.stageWidth*.5; //positioning raygun
player.y = stage.stageHeight*.93; //positioning raygun
ball.x = stage.stageWidth*.5;
//positioning SaucerGuy, when he makes his(?) entry
ball.y = stage.stageHeight*.05;
//positioning SaucerGuy, when he makes his(?) entry
ball2.x = stage.stageWidth*.5;
//positioning Alien, when he makes his(?) entry
ball2.y = stage.stageHeight*(.001);
//positioning Alien, when he makes his(?) entry



// Event Listeners
addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, onEnterFrame);
stage.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, myClick);
//looking for mouseClick, to do something with

}

// Event Handlers

function myClick (event:MouseEvent):void
//this is for firing ray with mouseClick
{

trace ("mouse click detected");
//had problems; testing function

addChild(projectile2); //moving 'ray';
projectile2.x = (player.x - 10);
projectile2.y = stage.stageHeight*.87;
//these last 2 lines superimpose it on original 'ray'


if (projectile2.y == projectile.y)
{

removeChild(projectile);
}

trace
("Do you truly feel comfortable trying to destroy ");
//testing things
trace ("something/someone you have never even tried to talk to?");

if ((projectile2.y < projectile.y) || (projectile2.y == 0)) { //trace ("Hunh?"); //testing things removeChild(projectile); } if (projectile2.y < 0) { addChild(projectile); } } function onEnterFrame(event:Event):void { // PLAYER X CONTROLLED BY MOUSE ***NEW player.x = mouseX; projectile.x = (player.x - 10); projectile.y = stage.stageHeight*.87; //Stage Boundary Collisions if(ball.x > stage.stageWidth || ball.x < 0) { vx = -vx; //ballBounceSound.play();//***NEW } if(ball.y < 0) { vy = -vy; } //check for Saucer/RayGun collisions if(player.hitTestObject(ball)) { removeChild(ball); addChild(ball); ball.x = stage.stageWidth*.5; ball.y = stage.stageHeight*.05; //playerSound.play();//***NEW addScore(-2); //penalty for saucer crashing into your gun emplacement } //check for Projectile/Saucer collisions if(projectile2.hitTestObject(ball)) { removeChild(projectile2); removeChild(ball); addChild(ball); ball.x = stage.stageWidth*.5; ball.y = stage.stageHeight*.05; //playerSound.play();//***NEW addScore(2); } //check for 'friendly fire' collateral damage if(projectile2.hitTestObject(ball2)) { removeChild(projectile2); removeChild(ball2); trace ("What are you doing! That organism was on our side!") //playerSound.play();//***NEW addScore(-8); } //allows SmallSaucerGuy to advance down past SmallRayGun, and move off stage // and then brings in new SmallSaucerGuy if(ball.y > stage.stageHeight*.99)
{

addChild(ball);
ball.x = stage.stageWidth*.5;
ball.y = stage.stageHeight*.05;
//ballBounceSound.play();//***NEW
addScore(-2); // you snooze, you lose

}





//move stuff
ball.x += vx;
ball.y += vy;
ball2.y += 2*vy;

projectile2.y += 4*(-vy); //speed of 'ray' (projectile2)



}// end onEnterFrame function


function addScore(addThis:Number):void
//adds or subtracts certain amount to score
{
score += addThis; //computes the score
trace ("your score is " + score); //displays the score

if (score > 2)
{
vx = 30;
//increases the side-to-side speed of the saucer
}


if (score > 8)
{
trace ("Your score may be 10, but Pride goeth before the fall...");
vx = 45; //increases the side-to-side speed of the saucer
vy = 5;
//increases the speed of the saucer's vertical approach to your position
}

if (score > 10)
{
//this makes the saucerGuy very small
ball.width = ball.width*.15;
ball.height = ball.height*.15;
}

if (score > 12)
{
//now you lose your rayGuy completely
removeChild(player);
}

if (score < 12)
{
addChild(player);
}

if (score < 10)
{
ball.width = ball.width*1;
ball.height = ball.height*1;
}

if (score < -12)
{
trace ("Your defensive efforts have been sorely inadequate.");
trace ("If you have actually survived this possibly hostile ");
trace ("extraterrestrial border incursion, consider yourself");
trace ("posted to kitchen duty until the time and date of your ");
trace ("court-martial has been scheduled.");
}

}


}// end class
} // end package

flash movie info

As per Adam's instructions, I have already e-mailed him with my Flash animation as an attachment. We tried to figure out how to post it here on lab on Tuesday, and couldn't get it to work.

reflective essay #4

Years ago, when I was a much younger man, I studied TaeKwondo, in Eugene. I attended a dojang for several years, and, later, partly due to time and money constraints while a student, I dropped out of the dojang, but ended up joining a University of Oregon TaeKwonDo club started by a Korean student. Most of the time we practiced in a gym in Gerlinger Hall. Gerlinger Hall (if it’s still standing) is a turn-of-the-century building built partly of bricks, but a lot of its construction is also wood. A lot of martial arts practice is comprised of repetitive drills, to create ‘muscle memory’ so that you can do techniques without having to think about them much if you need to react quickly. In the styles I have been exposed to, these drills tend to be fairly formalized, and their relevance is not always immediately apparent to the beginner, but they help to develop the skills to lead up to actual controlled sparring. Repetitive drills can also be surprisingly meditative, as long as they don’t hurt too much. I tended to have a harder time relaxing and enjoying myself when punching an old-style ‘makiwara’ (rope-wrapped punching post). Anyway, one of my most pleasant, sensual memories is of doing drills, moving across the wooden floor, in Gerlinger Hall. My favorite form of this drill was, in response to a ‘numbers’ command, moving first forward across the floor, and then backwards, from ‘front stance’ to front stance, changing the lead foot, and doing a strong-side ‘reverse-punch’ into the air at the end of the movement, while executing a ‘kiai’ (shout). This may sound strange, but being young and fit, and moving in unison with rows of others, concentrating on keeping the knees bent and hips low while moving, finally ‘hitting the mark’ in unison with everyone else, while trying to keep the punch relaxed-but-fast-and-strong-at-the-last-moment, with everything coming together at the end, was extremely enjoyable. There were a couple of things that really makes this memory endure for me. The first was the feel of the floor. Two dozen bodies or so moving in unison, and planting 75% of their weight on their front feet at the same time (feeling the soles of your bare feet, and toes, against the polished wood), made that floor ‘give’ in a way that felt incredibly interactive. The floor was working out with us. The second really good part of the experience was the massed ‘kiai’. I have always enjoyed the sensation of power that shouting out a good kiai gives, and when everyone shouted at the same time in that large wooden room, the sound seemed to just swirl around for a moment or two before bouncing back to us in an echo.
Years ago, I used to play a little pinball. I was never any good at it, but it was fun. Finding a good pinball arcade, and walking into it, was magical. There was the anticipation of walking in and past all the machines, and the people playing them, and trying to find a machine that was available, and that you were willing to dump a ridiculous amount of quarters into. There was dinging going off everywhere. Just listening to it created an anticipatory pleasure. There was the settling in on the machine, then putting a few quarters on the glass top, then getting into a good strong stance (similar to the front stance). I usually had my left foot forward, and the right leg back. Putting in the first quarter, and hearing the start-up sounds. I always tested the flippers first, before I launched the first ball. Like I say, I really wasn’t very good at it, but I would snap my middle fingers against the flipper buttons so convulsively, that the next morning it frequently felt like I had bilateral tendonitis. I wasn’t very good at relaxing while playing pinball. I didn’t get very excited by the bumpers, but flashing colored lights were good, and all of the sounds, and I loved gates that spun around a lot when I hit them fast. Some machines were better than others when it came to giving you the opportunity to ‘trap’ the ball at the base of the paddle, and take a moment to collect your thoughts, and let it roll slowly down the paddle, towards the tip of the paddle. Those were the only games I had any chance of winning. I think it was ‘Space Station’ that I did the best on. ‘Space Station’ did not have nearly as much stuff going on in terms of bells and whistles, but it had some, and it was visually clearer. I didn’t like the ‘golf holes’ that ended up shooting the ball back at you so fast, that it was very easy to miss. I also tended to panic and swear loudly when playing games that released 3 balls at the same time. Responsibly mentoring one ball was a heavy burden; 3 balls was too much responsibility. A golden pinball memory: The ‘Captain Fantastic’ in a tavern in Berne, Switzerland in October of 1976 that gave me free replays no matter what I did! Manna from heaven! (Oh my god, I’ve been here for 3 hours and I really need to use the restroom, but this opportunity may never come in my life again…Could I get deported if I get caught not reporting this?).
I went through a period of baking bread, several years ago. The footwork of kneading dough, for me, was similar to pinball. It was necessary in kneading to be able to rock back and forth, using your body weight to compress the dough. While slighty shifting back, one slightly rotates the dough counterclockwise, then repeats the cycle. Its very primal, and you feel that dough moving underneath your hands, and it starts out soft, and sticky, and as you gradually sprinkle more and more flour onto it, it gets to the point where you no longer are acquiring a film of dough on your palms. By this time, the dough is getting firmer and more elastic, and is starting to ‘push back’. It’s very repetitive, and also somewhat meditative. You let the dough rise, and then you get to dump it out, punch it down, and knead it again. When you pull it out of the oven, and you see how much it has grown, and the ‘brownness’ of the top, and you smell that incredible smell, you know you have accomplished something.
As regards some of the reflective essay questions; doing a martial art, for me, is almost entirely a ‘conscious’ experience. Pinball is definitely a mix. There is a certain amount of physicality and focus, but one is taking in a lot of the sounds without really paying conscious attention to it (at least for me). Breadmaking is also both. Kneading is very conscious, but the smells, I would say unconscious. I’m not sure how I would relate this to playing a game. I would think that sounds especially, would be a way to complicate the players performance. The introduction of unexpected sirens and flashing lights are a good way to distract the player ("Why is that happening? What did I do?"). Also, a dull, throbbing, droning noise, could be subtly speeded up to stimulate heartbeat (I’m sure this works), with a sudden volume increase at an unexpected point.

reflective essay #3

This assignment being a ‘theoretical’ role, and not necessarily one for which I am qualified in the real world, I think it would be fascinating (and probably extremely stressful) to be a designer. In a perfect world, it would be fun to dictate the research to be done on the game, the level of (in my case) realism to be achieved for the graphic artists, and some of the 360 degree point-of-view I would want to be accomplished. I have mentioned before the level of detail in the game ‘F-16 Fighting Falcon’, which apparently is now owned by Aerosoft. I have seen an interior pan of the cockpit in a recent version, and it almost looks like actual film footage. It would be nice to be able have that same degree of realism in other flight simulators, but with a first-person point-of-view of the player’s arm/hand actually resting on the controls. This requires getting people to get photos of the intended plane cockpit, as well as tracking down pilots who flew them, and finding out how they positioned their hands and feet during flight, as well as interviewing them to find out the sounds, and smells, and general feel of flying. How much vibration was present flying different current and historical planes, and how is that affected by firing wing guns/nose cannons, and shooting missiles? Get the graphic artists to come up with ways to portray that, and have the programmers program that in. How many rounds did each gun carry, what was the ‘cyclical rate of fire’, and how many (literally) seconds of gun use does that translate into? How hard was it to accurately drop a bomb from your fighter on an enemy ship/shore gun was it, and in practical terms, how did the average success rate change with how low your plane was? What atmospheric/sunlight conditions change the pilots’ view through the canopy? Artists/programmers, get to work! The Lockheed P38 was the only fighter with ‘counter-rotating’ propellers. Other planes tended to ‘drift’ (that’s not the correct aeronautical term). That should be programmed into the game. An historically-based game should also be educational, even if that isn’t necessarily what the buyer is initially considering. I want to see some very detailed concept sketches and prototype screen-captures! How do programmers program haze, and briefly blinding sunlight? Wow, I’m glad I’m only giving orders. No, I never got the memo about already being over twice the budget. Sorry, my bad. Seriously, there is a great deal of work involved in a near photo-realistic view out of the front of the Aerosoft F-16 cockpit, and the perspective when you are looking to both the right and left side views of the cockpit interior. How do you depict getting shot down by someone? In a WWII plane, would it be a sequence of large holes in your canopy in extremely rapid sequence, with various cockpit-related things ‘blowing up’ around you, and your vision rapidly fading to black? I suppose this would involve numerous discussions with the artists, and then the programmers. A realistically-challenging aircraft carrier takeoff-and-landing, with the possibility of imminent demise if the flier handles it poorly, would cost more, but might spur more interest in the game. How does one handle the programming of random events? On every xth mission in the Pacific theater of war, there will be a x% possibility of an enemy fighter descending upon you unseen, and either killing you (the pilot) or putting some holes in your wing/flap/engine, which will decrease the functionality of your plane by x%, depending upon the severity of the random event generated by the game. There should also be some programming for your engine getting hit, and more-and-more oil spreading over your frontal windshield, the longer it takes you to land somewhere. That means the game has to able to simulate being able to open the canopy, and look out frontally, on both sides. I think that something of a random event probability will spur player interest by keeping the game from being too predictable, especially for skilled game-players. One thing I’m not too fond of is extraneous music. I would rather have hours-and-hours of randomly generated sparse dialogue from one’s fellow pilots. I realize that this would raise the voice actor costs somewhat, as well as the writing costs. Once you had played the game 5000 times however, you would know your fellow pilots fairly well – almost as if they were family. Music, I think, gets overly familiar and boring fairly soon, but I think that one can more easily accept the omnipresent normal noises. It would be fun to have an extremely graphic-realistic game as depicted above, with different plane configurations, including planes with a rear-gunner, who would have a completely different view, if one were in a multiplayer game with other enemy planes. There could be a mission for a photo-reconnaissance-equipped P38 (no guns, but fast, but you had better get close enough to get the pictures the mission requires), or a duel between a Hellcat, and a Mitsubishi ‘Zero’. These scenarios would have a much lower ‘random-ambushed’ programming factor, although occasionally a gun/guns might jam. Bailing out should be an option (more research into what these pilots were supposed to do once they hit the water is called for). I tend to be ridiculously demanding regarding my expectations of the graphic quality of games that I will even look at. Graphic art realism is probably expensive. Research to make sure that something is accurate is probably expensive. Including random-event generators into many stages of the game is probably expensive. At first I was shocked at the costs mentioned in the Wikipedia article, but after reflection, I can understand it. Making a high-quality video game is very analogous to making a modern motion picture.

code for programmatic collage - week #3

package
{
import flash.display.MovieClip;

public class Main extends MovieClip //class signature
{

public function Main() //function signature
{
// constructor code
var go1 = "Which world?";
var go2 = "It's all relative, isn't it?";

trace("Hello World"); //prints "Hello World" to Output
trace(go1); //prints var go1 to Output
trace(go2); //prints var go2 to Output
// Herein ends the printing part of this...

var ourThing:MovieClip;
//declaration - the colon says,"It MUST be a MovieClip"
var ourThing1:MovieClip;
//declaration - the colon says,"It MUST be a MovieClip"
var ourThing2:MovieClip;
//declaration - the colon says,"It MUST be a MovieClip"
var ourThing3:MovieClip;
//declaration - the colon says,"It MUST be a MovieClip"
var ourThing4:MovieClip;
//declaration - the colon says, "It MUST be a MovieClip"

ourThing = new Duster; // instantiation
// the 'linkage' name of one of my library 'MovieClips'
ourThing1 = new Boots_HeavyDuty1; // instantiation
ourThing2 = new BlueHashMarks; //instantiation
ourThing3 = new TwentyTwoCartridge; //instantiation
ourThing4 = new TwentyTwoCartridge; //instantiation

addChild(ourThing); //add to stage
addChild(ourThing1); //add to stage
addChild(ourThing2); //add to stage
addChild(ourThing3); //add to stage
addChild(ourThing4); //add to stage

ourThing.x = 350;
//this moves symbol/MovieClip further to the right
ourThing.y = stage.stageHeight/2;
//this moves symbol/MovieClip down from the top

ourThing.alpha = .5;
//this reduces the opacity of the lines

ourThing.scaleX = .5;
//this reduces the 'width' of the symbol/MovieClip

ourThing.rotation = 45;
//this gives the symbol/MovieClip a 45degree rotation to the right

ourThing1.x = 250;
//this moves symbol/MovieClip further to the right
ourThing1.y = 100;
//this moves symbol/MovieClip down from the top

ourThing2.scaleX = .85;
//this reduces the width of the symbol/MovieClip

ourThing3.x = 375;
//this moves symbol/MovieClip further to the right
ourThing3.y = 240;
//this moves symbol/MovieClip down from the top
ourThing3.rotation = 325;
//this gives the symbol/MovieClip a 325degree rotation to the right
ourThing3.scaleX = .80;
//this reduces the width of the symbol/MovieClip
ourThing3.scaleY = .80;
//this reduces the width of the symbol/MovieClip

ourThing4.x = 365;
//this moves symbol/MovieClip further to the right
ourThing4.y = 260;
//this moves symbol/MovieClip down from the top
ourThing4.rotation = 35;
//this gives the symbol/MovieClip a 35degree rotation to the right
ourThing4.scaleX = .60;
//this reduces the width of the symbol/MovieClip
ourThing4.scaleY = .60;
//this reduces the width of the symbol/MovieClip


} // Function Main

} // Class Main

}

This code worked when I copied; hopefully the attempt to make it all fit legibly in the somewhat narrow 'new blog post window space' did not mess things up.

Essay #2

I’m not sure that I have much of a sense of game design at this point! I have not played many video games in the past. I remember the sense of admiration I had at first encountering an arcade version of Pong in the U of O student union, years ago. Good lord, Pong! I was dumbfounded at the thought that ‘some sort of programming’ could simulate a paddle hitting a tennis ball, and that depending on which part of the paddle it hit, and how fast you were moving the paddle by twisting the knob, you could actually influence the angle at which the ball was returned to the implacable computer opponent. And - just think of it! - this computer could replicate the ball bouncing off of a wall! Pinball machines were on their way out, sad to say. I didn’t spend much time with them, because I wasn’t very good, but I loved pinball machines. The sounds, colored lights, bumpers, and graphics tended to suck me right in. Video arcade games were the new kids on the block, and I wasn’t very happy about it. I still love the graphics on pinball machines, especially the older ones, from before the 80’s, and even further back. I played ‘Asteroids’ a few times, but I never got into Donkey Kong, or Mario Bros. In the 90’s, I did have a home version of ‘F-16: Fighting Falcon’. I was not good at that one either (and usually set the preferences to ‘unable to register damage on my plane’), but I was amazed at the amount of information that the creators programmed into it. The ‘view options’ included zooming in on, or around (360 degrees, outside), the object that your nose radar was locked onto, zooming in on, or around (360 degrees, outside), the missile flight path that you had just launched, and zooming in on, or around (360 degrees, outside), your plane. Any of these views would show the clouds and/or landscape changing, while you were rotating the view. You could also shoot down your own planes or rescue helicopters (resulting in a court-martial), shoot down civilian airliners and strafe beachfront resorts while you were supposed to be practicing inert-bomb-dropping runs in Hawaii, and raise merry havoc on the specialized mission involving a nuclear bomb, by dropping it on your own airstrip just after taking off. This, needless to say, also resulted in a court-martial. You could take off, bail out, and let your multi-million dollar jet simply tumble from the sky, to the chagrin of involuntary taxpayers back home. The inclusion of all this completely unnecessary data left me in absolute awe of the game’s programmers. I never played Myst, either, but remember being impressed with what little I had seen of the graphics, and concept.
I always wondered about the limitation of the single screen. Are there any games out there right now that work with multiple screens? I have always thought that it would be fun to have a large full-cockpit-sized flight simulator of some WWII fighter with flat cockpit windshield panel segments, in which each panel would be a separate display, which would be linked together to a decent CPU, to simulate the experience of flying a WWII fighter, with high-resolution graphics. Vibrations, noise, cockpit movement, oil smells, and very loud sounds of the engine, and .50 wing guns, would be jolly good fun. You could even include a pressure suit to simulate hard turns, as long as there would be programming parameters to not overly tax anyone’s weak heart. Realistic simulations of carrier takeoff and landing would be a very interesting experience, too.
There was another home computer game I played for a little while called ‘U-boat’. The goal was to relentlessly pursue and sink allied ships, civilian or otherwise. I could handle it, because it was relatively slow-moving, but the concept itself was admittedly a little morose. The graphics weren’t bad. I have tended to have some judgment issues with the sanguinary nature of ‘first-person shooter’ games, and yet the two games I have just mentioned were basically just that. I am guessing the reason that I played them is because there are tangible results to the players’ actions, and perhaps that is why I never played ‘Donkey Kong’ or ‘Mario Brothers. I never really ‘got’ them (though perhaps I would have if I had played them), and I was turned off by the simple graphics. Why did I like the graphics of Pinball, but not Donkey Kong? I’m not sure I can answer that. I was pretty impressed with the graphics of F-16 at the time, and not so long ago I looked up a more recent version, and the screenshots were even better. Having never played Super Mario Brothers, I can’t really relate it very well to the creator’s childhood explorations, but I applaud the fact that he was able to continue his childhood sense of creativity. I can appreciate the challenge of designing a game for the general public that will have some challenge, but not too much. There are those who will pick up on important concepts immediately, and those that will not. Sufficiently engaging the interest of both groups would not always be easy.