terrainrecords/iaproject

Gamemaker IA Project on Band Management

iaProject

Scenario:

The scenario is that student bands often have internal conflicts due to different personalities and beliefs. In addition, time schedules are a difficult part of band management. The purpose of this product is to create a realistic simulation for all these issues for band managers to preview their management before they actually get onto the job. No good realistic student band management videogame exists on the market, and learning management are too abstract.

According to my client, one of the most challenging aspects of band management is the relationships between different members. The differences in personalities, opinions, and decision-making styles can lead to disagreements and conflicts, which can further divide the team. This internal split can also affect the choice of music played by the band, as each member may have their own preferences and tastes in music (Interview 00:09 00:26).

In addition to the interpersonal dynamics, time management is also a significant challenge faced by band managers. It can be difficult to find a common time for all members to practice together, especially if everyone has a busy schedule, as DP students tend to be (Interview 00:26). Members may have to prioritize their personal commitments, which can lead to a lack of consistency and cohesion in the band's performance.

Rationale:

The solution is to create a management simulation videogame based on school band management in real life according to the needs of my client. The purpose of this product is to create a realistic simulation for the band managers to preview their management before they actually get onto the job. No good similar products exists in the market after researching on SteamDB, and most band simulators are not reviewed well. The competition analysis is in the appendix.

This solution can be used to solve the problem because it could be used to preview the issues and plan the solutions ahead of time. For example, the game could present realistic scenarios that a band leader may encounter while managing a band (Interview 00:09 00:26). The game could present various decision-making scenarios for the player to navigate. These events could be designed to test the player's problem-solving skills. The player could be asked to choose the best course of action based on the scenario. The player could learn from the game by the game’s feedbacks on the player's performance. For example, the game could provide a score or rating based on how well the player performs in each scenario, so that the player could reflect for improvement based on their decisions and outcomes.

Prehaps more importantly, the game should be engaging. If a game that tries to solve an issue isn’t engaging, it wouldn’t be able to solve the issue as no one would play it. The gameplay itself will contain a balance between challenge and reward, where players would have to think about the decisions they make just like how they make decisions in real life, which will result in consequences mirroring that of real life. By implementing engaging features, the game can offer a sense of progression and growth. As the player develop a band from formation to graduation, they will witness their virtual band members improve their skills, gain recognition, and achieve milestones, as well as being in conflict and failing concerts. This sense of progression serves as a source of motivation and evokes a deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

The game will be created with GameMaker Language (GML) in GameMaker. GML is a Javascript-like language that is designed to be flexible while being not too complicated. The language includes multiple advanced abstract data types such as multidimensional arrays, pointers and structs. I have prior knowledge in GML from extracurriculars a few years ago. However, I have forgotten many of the techniques. This means that I will have to re-learn many parts of the language and engine. I have access to GameMaker, and tutorials on the language are easy to find on various sites, including the official site. In addition, by using Gamemaker, I have access to an engine environment that makes it easier to program the basics of a game, such as graphics and controlls. By doing so, development of the actual important features becomes more prominent as my time spent on programming wouldn’t be taken up by writing the basic graphic features and menus.

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