Additional Prototyping

This week I started working more on my final prototype project for this class. The paper prototype I presented in last week's blog may have illustrated the game in a clear format, but I thought it would be difficult to illustrate the game actions, user control interface, gameplay rules, and feedback/output if I continued with this physical paper-type prototype. Instead, I started creating my prototype on the computer so that it would be easier to illustrate all these aspects of the game. I found this video below about successful prototyping and used it to think about how I would create my own prototype.


I haven't created a visual to show you yet, but this is the idea I currently have for the slides I'm going to create on my prototype: 

Slide 1: Main Page with "click to play" button and selector with easy, moderate, and difficult options.

Slide 2: Map with hardiness zones and 6-8 dots scattered throughout the map to show garden locations the player can choose. Possibly show mouse hovering over a dot with a box that pops up and tells the location and zone of the garden.

Slide 3: Pop up screen with garden information: Name of job such as Eggplant Eddy and a storyline to go along with it.

Slide 4: View of garden with a vector grid and user interface having text at the top right corner showing the date, time (with time zone), and temperature. Bottom left will have remaining budget. At the bottom of the screen I will have a menu bar with icons for menu button, inventory button, and farmer's almanac button.

Slide 5: Menu screen - A screen with buttons for ending the game, saving the game, starting a new game, game version, copyright, etc.

Slide 6: Inventory screen - The inventory will have buttons at the bottom for categories such as trees, flowers, bushes, and objects (benches, fountains, retaining walls, etc.) Each item will have a price underneath and the budget will be visible on the screen.

Slide 7: Farmer's almanac screen - (Current game objectives, hints, journal)

Objective examples:

Build at least four 4'x8' garden beds

Grow a vegetable garden that yields at least 100 lbs. of vegetables

Plant at least 10 pounds of eggplants

No more than three plants may die.

Slide 8: Build some sort of user experience screen with a tree or a plant being placed on the vector grid.

Slide 9: Trophy screen - bronze, silver, or gold trophy with points along with a picture of a vegetable basket overflowing with eggplants to show success.

I can't wait to put this prototype together and get a clearer picture of what my game is going to look like.

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