Math...We meet again.

“Tobias was a never-nude, which is exactly what it sounds like.”


I have an idea on how to get my floating object to rotate around my guy. This idea should also solve the collision problem that i'm having. Unfortunately this solution looks something like this:




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This means I must deal with sin and cos and math and stuff that makes my brain hurt. Another downside is that I've only gotten as far as high school geometry. That was 6 years ago. Sigh. On the plus side if it works it will in fact kick ass.







* 3D glasses not available in all areas.

Turn Around Bright Eyes.

Since most people are posting pictures I'll do the same.

So I've had some success lately. So far I've gotten torque to recognize what object I'm looking at. It turns out that it has to be either an interior or a shape. Statics shapes are a no no. I've also managed to make a building teleport by clicking on it. Now I need to figure out a way to attach the object to the mouse. Should be fun.









I also need to figure out how to get out of this powder keg I'm living in. Without giving off sparks.

Mechanic Designer

There, that's me. Kevin Arnold, 1968, the summer before junior high school. And I don't mind saying I was a pretty fair little athlete.


1. What is your mechanic that you intend to create? Diagrams and charts if necessary to explain this idea.

The mechanic that I would like to create would be telekinesis. Telekinesis is the movement of objects by scientifically inexplicable means, as by the exercise of an occult power. The game would focus on solving puzzles using your telekinetic powers. When the player starts they will only be able to pick up small items. As the player progresses their telekinetic power will too. They will soon be able to pick up bigger things. The more you use the power the more weight your telekinetic powers can handle.



2. What’s the theory behind why it is fun?

Who wouldn’t want telekinetic powers?
I think looking at puzzles in a different way will be what makes this game fun. An example of a puzzle the player might have to solve would be opening a door. In order to open this door the player must find objects that weigh enough to keep the button down. Another puzzle may be finding a way to get to an unreachable area. In order to accomplish this, the player must move objects over to the area to help boost them up.

3. What research have you done in to this mechanic? (If you were to make a game, what is your competition? What might you have to research in the real world?)

I’ll have to research basic physics properties to see if I can apply it. I’ll also have to assign weight properties to every item. This means I’ll have to look into how heavy various things are. A game that is similar to this would be Second Sight. That would be my competition. They not only have telekinetic powers, but they also have various mental powers. This would be considered if I were to make this into a full game. For now, however, I would like to focus on a small puzzle solving game.

4. What technology will you be using to prototype your mechanic?

I would like to use the Torque Game Engine and TorqueScript.

Trouble Ahead?

Captain's Log: Star Date 3.14159.

Torque 3D and telekinesis is what I've set out to do. However, it seems after only a week I've hit a little snag. I cannot seem to figure out how to tell what the mouse is pointing at in torque. This is essential to figuring out which object the player wants to pick up. I've been looking in the Torque book and I found some code that may be useful. This function is passing a variable into it that seems very important. After scanning through the project, however, I cannot locate where this function is being called. Hmmm.

More research is needed. Full speed ahead.

First Day of Class

Dear Journal,

I think Patty Mayonnaise is the greatest person in the world.



I think I might take on the role of Game Mechanic Designer. If we decide on using Torque 3D I was thinking of trying to tackle telekinesis. I believe that it would be a bit of a task to incorporate that in Torque Script.