Devlog 03

This week our team filled in a beat map chart.  We all seem to have a pretty solid understanding about what the game is.  Most sections of the beat map are filled in besides "Power-ups or loot or bonus items introduced and/or used", "Required Assets" and "Music Track".  In our case power-ups or loot refers to what resources you would find in each of the different zones and what can be crafted as a result of introducing those resources.  We will have to dedicate a meeting to this and discuss what kinds of bugs, vegetation, and materials will be featured where and what is required to build the water purifier, oxygen mask, etc.  In terms of required assets, those will come with further discussion of the different environments as well as once the resources for each area have been determined.  Music track will probably be filled in with ideas of what we want the track to sound like, based off the type of area.

Since our game is one large level, we sectioned off our beat map by region.  hot, cold, neutral and bunker.  Most areas have a similar gameplay focus: gathering supplies, managing the oxygen, hunger and thirst meters and completing tasks in the area.  What these tasks are is something that will have to be discussed in greater detail.  The major differences between these regions are what hazards the player is facing and what resources can be found.  Extreme cold makes the player's hunger decrease quicker, and extreme heat decreases thirst quicker.  Lack of oxygen is a hazard in all areas.

Filling in this chart was a good exercise.  It pointed out things that we may have overlooked discussing, like time of day and abilities or gear.  It gives the group an opportunity to check and make sure we are all on the same page and serve as a reference for our decisions if we ever need it in the future.