Chincoteague Drift was conceived relatively soon after the announcement of the Wallops Creative Project, and although we did not know what exactly the game would be like, we had a general idea of where we were headed. So, working directly off the success of Calcfighter, we went ahead and started generalizing the code we wanted to keep into a working engine. During this process, we started to draft some ideas for what the game would eventually look like, and by the time we had finished with an initial version of Abstract Engine, we had decided on the basic game mechanic of the floating barge. Chincoteague Drift, inspired by the title Tokyo Drift and the signature, drifting movement of the research barge, came soon after.
We quickly discovered that this project was a considerably more complicated endeavor that its predecessor. Instead of a single state platformer, we were creating a fully developed arcade game, including features such as asynchronous multiplayer and gameplay modifiers. Fortunately, the solid foundation we had established in the continually evolving engine enabled us to quickly progress through the basics of the game, such as movement, collisions, and game states. This in turn allowed us to focus on higher level aspects of Drift, such as challenge calibration, online interaction, and of course, easter eggs.
Game design is an incredibly fascinating and challenging field. We've both shared an interest in coding for a long time, so steadily shifting in to more advanced applications such as Calcfighter and Drift have proven to be very resonating experiences. The inspiration to make something great and the satisfaction from sharing those creations with your pears is quite frankly unreal, so I hope that sharing what we have worked so hard to achieve with you will give you some insight into how much we've loved every step of the way.
Update: as of late September, we've decided to revamp Drift with an entirely rewritten Abstract Engine and superior game mechanics, graphics, and logic. We intend to submit it to a couple of app contests, so wish us luck.
Noah Kim, Abstract Studio →
Besides the movement of the transportation being somewhat intriguing, the Wallops boat trip allowed us to explore the tidal creeks in coastal bays and salt marshes. Since the research barge decks were relatively low, the water's surface was easily accessible. This allowed us to perform many scientific tests on the water, trawl for marine organisms, and making physical observations.
Water samples were collected using a Van Dorn Bottle. The temperature, salinity, density, pH, and dissolved oxygen content were measured for these samples. Other observations were made about the water in general. A secci disk was used to measure transparency, a forel ule was used to measure color, and a current cross and compass were used to measure current direction and speed. Additionally, the plankton net, benthic grab, and otter trawl were used to collect marine organisms.
Overall, exploring the coastal environment allowed us to really get an in depth look at different and exciting environments that we had never seen before. Check out the Wallops Island Wildlife Refuge, NASA at Wallops, and the Chincoteague Bay Field Station.