Since Sweepstakes is an unfamiliar experience to many, this post will serve as a living reference document to explain any terms that might come up in future posts.

• Spring Carnival – A yearly, three day university holiday filled with “amusement park rides, adventures in booths, unhealthy snacks, and buggy races”. (https://www.springcarnival.org/ )
  • This year, Carnival (and Sweepstakes) will be celebrating its 100th year anniversary.

• Sweepstakes – A competition where Greek and independent organizations race with their buggies: small, low, aerodynamic vehicles, powered only by gravity and human pushers. (from the CMU Carnival page)
• Buggy – A more commonly known, alternative name for Sweepstakes, but also the name of the vehicles pictured and mentioned above (and the main focus of our game).
• Driver – The person inside the buggy, who maneuvers the vehicle during the race.
• Pusher – In Sweepstakes, a pusher is someone who runs up and physically shoves the buggy to accelerate it forward (since buggies have no internal engine). There are five total pushers, one for each “hill.”

• Hills – There are five hills, which mark the pass-off sections of the uphill portions of the race. The first two are at the start of the race (in orange), and the last three make up the tail end of the race (in red).
• Top of Hill 2 – Referred to as the “crest” in our internal documentation, the Top of Hill 2 marks the start of the downhill portion of the race. The fastest buggy to reach this point is dubbed “King/Queen of the Hill.”
• Flagbearer – People who wave flags in front of the buggies to mark the start of a turn.
• Top Flag – The flagbearer that marks the half-way point of the Free Roll segment.
• Free Roll – The downhill portion of the race, and the primary focus of our game. This is the most “race-like” section of Sweepstakes, as it is when the drivers exert full control over their vehicle.
• Chute – The sharpest turn in Sweepstakes, located at the bottom of the Free Roll.
• Chute Flag – The flagbearer that marks the turn into the Chute.
• The Backhills – The final pushing segment of the race, consisting of an uphill straightaway to the finish line.

Production Terms

• Prototype – The prototype is meant to answer early questions regarding the game’s design: What controls feel natural? How fast/slow can you go? Is the environment disorienting? What should the UI look like?
• Alpha – At this stage, we begin to see more of the game’s character taking place. Art assets start to replace programmer art, and we begin to iterate on feedback collected from playtesting the prototype. Definite game elements and sounds make their appearance.
• Beta – In beta, we continue to refine the game elements from alpha, while adding in any remaining core features so they can be tested for the final version. If a feature doesn’t make it into the game at this stage, it runs the risk of getting cut/pushed to “Polish.”
• Final – For the final deliverable, we used the term Feature Complete to describe its key features. In essence, this means that the product at that stage should contain all (or most) of the elements needed for a stable release. Art assets, game elements, and other essentials are present. Since a member of the class will be onboarding guests into the game at Carnival, the tutorial has been pushed into the “Polish” stage.
• Polish – At the polish stage, we can finish adding in the “non-essential” features. For a game like this, that includes features which would make it a standalone game: tutorials, additional voiceover, and additional visual effects.