Prototype Notes

Minimum Viable Product: Sample game constitutes a first pass at the introduction page just before the first climate event takes place. Unbeknownst to the staff at Bubble-Up Morning News, Tipping Pointe is about to undergo a massive power blackout due to grid stress in the middle of a wetbulb heatwave. The introduction events take place a few days before on the player's first day of work at the network. 

Greybox:  The level layout of the news station is in place. As it is currently the level is sparse, but most objects have at least one representative. Lighting is a work in progress.

Beautiful Corner: I'm most proud of the comic book post process effect is a fairly efficient cel shaded effect with subtle halftone shadows. It contains an outline effect that outlines the character that is speaking. The colors are muted using a Kuwahara filter I made by splitting up the image kernel 4 ways, though I may tone this down.

Known Bugs: Game does not have an end screen yet. Camera glitches when player approaches characters close enough to initiate dialog from some (most) angles. Walking away from a character and returning instead of going to the next objective unlocks the dialog for the next objective. The camera pan isn't quite strong enough as well.  I'm working on these, just not quite there yet.

Credits for meshes , anims & audio:  All third party assets have been Fab Marketplace Free at one month or another. Mixamo animations were used as well. Fab assets as follows: Several meshes for small items (including Brad's Gameboy) come from Edith Finch's Classroom. Several chairs and decor come from Leartes Bank Building.  Architecture and various other decor come from Dokyo's Hospitality Pack,  Next Level 3d's Loft Office, MadHoundGames LPGenericPropsSet 02 & 06. Audio from Fantasy Music Starter Pack from Cinematsic & two pieces by Jonathan Shaw (Heated Lands & A Fight in the Fields.

Overview

News4 Tipping Point is a dialog driven game with a comic book layout about a small television news show in Tipping Point, KS. The player is the assignment editor for “Bubble Up Morning News” for YASSQN, a regional television network. When the region is impacted by climate related events, player choices explore the impacts of focus on discussion of climate disasters. 

Developer: Solo effort by Khaprani Call to Action: Consider the ripples of your words

Goal

The player’s goal is to maximize climate understanding in as many viewers as possible, while taking into account the boss’s need for ratings,  personalities, and information landscapes of coworkers.

Gameplay

The player navigates the world of the news studio with the aim of guiding the production of a regional news show together with the help of an eclectic group of coworkers towards creating a show that informs the most viewers as a series of climate related events affect the area.

Story Arc: A 6 panel page builds to 1 newscast. Min Viability: 3 pg. 1:Intro 2:Body 3:End.

Multi Arc Expandability: Body pages will expand to include newscasts as production permits.

Experience Goal: Every Page Leaves an Emotion. Razor: No panel w/o conflict. No easy choice. Pillars: No Saints or Villains, All sources are people, All disasters have been real.

Obstacles: The player is challenged by dialog choices to balance viewer ratings with increasing climate understanding. Effects of interpersonal choices will limit/reveal choices & impacts.

Mechanics: The player has third person walking /camera control within a comic panel for a particular story beat, then dialog choices displayed on the right of the UI. Dialog outcomes are displayed within the panel after the panel freezes before the next panel is revealed. Climate understanding and Viewership are displayed as progress bars that can be positive or negative.

Comic Layout Progression

Comic Post Process is a work in progress and may change significantly as feel for the game evolves.