Aerodynamic Bouncing Test Initiative

A game about space launch testing, made to help teach game testing. Meta as heck.

Alexander King + Nick Carbonara

Class:

Instructor:  Naomi Clark    

Aerodynamic Bouncing Test Initiative, or AB Test for short, is the result of collaboration between Game Center professor Naomi Clark and MFA student Alexander King, who designed and programmed the game’s systems, and BFA student Nick Carbonara, who designed the visual assets of the game. As the headline suggests, AB Test is a launch game designed to be used as a learning tool for game designers. Along the way we hit upon a space launch theme, which seemed like the perfect compliment to a game about launching projectiles. Forget hitting pigs with birds, try hitting the moon with an astronaut! With a cannon. And trampolines.

The goal of this project was to create a simple game that Game Center students could use to experiment with altering various game metrics, such as launch velocity, gravity strength and more. Students would then present the resulting custom-tuned game to playtesters, from whom they could gather insightful data. This goal, as it happened, meshed pretty well with the pseudo-NASA theme, as the presence of several note-taking rocket scientists highlights. Add a self-referential title, and AB Test successfully launches itself into a meta-level of game theming. As for launching to the moon, we might need more trampolines.

Check out some classy screenshots below!