Week One
Thursday 11th February
Project Launch
Thursday the 11th of February was the beginning of semester two and the official project launch for the Games Development module. The agenda for the day was to present to the class our individual game proposals that we developed in semester one and then as a class, vote for the games that would be produced during this semester two project.
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The proposal consisted of our game trailers, a brief explanation for the experience and gameplay for the game and any supporting artefacts such as the one-page investor pitch. For my presentation, I explained the experience if my game with visual aids from my one page investor pitch and then shared my game trailer, seen below.
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The chosen games to be developed are Membrane, Outer Mind, Mishu and Anima Mundi, proposed by Callum, Emilia, Valka and Josh respectively. Next, the class voted for who should be the team leader for each of the games that are to be developed. Those of us who wanted to take on the role volunteered ourselves for the game that we wanted to work on and then the class voted on who they wanted to see as team leaders.
I was appointed team leader for the game Anima Mundi and am expected to guide my team throughout the progression of this project. The team leaders were assigned by people volunteering for the position of the game they wanted to work on and then the class voted for who they thought would be most appropriate for the role. Anima Mundi was designed by Josh Basi and is described as an adventure puzzle game where you play a Shaman set out to restore peace within a spirit world.
Also, during this lecture, we learnt what a scope analysis was and what we are expected to achieve this semester. A vertical slice is used to show off the many attributes of a game (the layers of it), and a development team presents a slice of it. It is a slice that goes through the entire height of the game (cake) - hence "Vertical Slice” and demonstrates each feature (layer) of the game.
This image shows how the vertical slice can be compared to a cake made up of many layers that we need to consider to present the game we are working on.
At first thought, this seem like a lot of work and it's going to be challenging to organise and produce each element of the game within the team, and in such a short time.
The Brief
Work in teams to produce a vertical slice of an agreed upon game design from semester one.
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A vertical slice is a technical demonstration of all layers and elements of a game in a given environmentThis means everything that would be applicable in your final product, from the UIX through to server-client protocols, should be present in some form or another on a smaller local scale.
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Guidelines:
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Use the games design documentation as best as you can
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If you think you can present the concept in a better way than described in the documentation, do it.
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The original designer of the game may be consulted for advice but their advice is not to be the deciding voice in any way. The designer cedes complete control of the project to the development team.
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You will be judged not only on your technical output but also on your soft skills, team skills, and attitude to the work.
Project Deliverables
Team deliverables
Vertical slice
Game development documents
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user manuals
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bug reports
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project overviews and scope
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style guides
Personal deliverables
Personal development journal
Supporting artefacts
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sketch books
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digital mock-ups
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models
My personal goals this project are to develop my skills in IT, through infographics and specialist programs such as photoshop and illustrator, as well as becoming somewhat proficient in programming and my use of unity. It is an area I am interested in but have no significant experience in.
Friday 12th February
Interview Process and Get-Go
On Friday the 12th of February, as a team leader, I had to partake in an interview process. All the team leaders came together with James in call on teams, and had to collectively interview every other member of the class to work out which game was best for them to work on. We asked question to gather enough information about their abilities specific to games design and development and tried to make even teams that would each be able to develop their assigned vertical slice.
Each member of the class had to come into the interview and honestly present what skills they have and what they could bring to the development of the games that they would like to work on. I made some quick notes for each interview and noted down which game they would prefer to work on. When it came to assigning people to the teams, the priority was making sure people were working on something they were really interested in. I managed to form a team of 5 hardworking and talented girls with refined skills in 2D design and development. My initial thoughts were that I had a well-balanced team of great individuals but had some worries about how we would go about developing 3D assets and working on the programming. Nobody on the team has much background in 3D or programming but we will have time for training and it is possible to hire members from other teams so I still think we are not at an advantage and can produce something amazing together.
My Team - and interviews
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Molly - Has skills in research and 2D design as well as interest in environment design. She is determined to work hard and meet standards, and would preferably like to work on Anima Mundi. I know that Molly also has skills in rotoscoping and 2D animation.
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Charisma – Would like to work on Anima Mundi. She is interested in the them of the game and enjoys that it has a wholesome feel to it. Skills in user interface and creating sprites. She would also like to take the opportunity to develop her 3D modelling ability. Has some coding ability too.
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Daniella – Would like to work on Anima Mundi. She has great drawing ability and beginner experience in 3D modelling. Dedicated. Primarily skilled in 2D design and has interest for the environment design in Anima Mundi.
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Emilia - She has interest in theme in Anima Mundi. A skilled 2D artist and designer with some 3D modelling and animation ability. Great prototyping skills. She plays piano so can compose a soundtrack to the game. Would like to take the opportunity to develop user interface design.
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Me - I have proficient ability in 2D art, including character and some animation ability, but primarily environments and assets. I enjoy level building and would like to develop my programming ability and IT skills.
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It is a strong team of 2D artists and designers with individual specific skills too. During the interview process, they explained what they were each able to do with honesty. Together we make a very strong development team with the motivation and determination to do well and try our best to succeed in parts of the development we have less experience with such as programming/coding.
However, if we are to struggle with those elements of development, we are able to borrow/hire experts from other teams to provide work and support temporarily. James is also a great resource for support in those areas.
We are able to take assets from online and alter them as long as you give credit and say we have used them. Research what assets we can take as a basis for the game to therefore cut down the modelling required. Can do the same with scripts. Furthermore, we could buy an asset pack that includes simple stuff such as clouds. Can also, for example, take a model of a building and get someone on the team to make a custom texture.
Week One Reflection
We are two days into the project. I am excited to get going and started on the vertical slice. To prepare for next week I am going to study the Anima Mundi Games Design Document and start thinking about the project scope anaysis for our vertical slice.
I have set up a Trello board and Slack group for my group, Anima Mundi, to keep track of the tasks and it also a useful place to keep links accessible to all members of the group. I have also created a group blog on the website https://animamundigame.wixsite.com/website, separate to our individual blogs, to document the work we do as a group. This website also contributes to our marketing for the game. It will provide consumers with an insight into our development process and get them excited about the creation of the game through sneak peaks.
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Furthermore on the topic of marketing, I am excited to be developing this vertical slice in a full team of skilled women and think it would be interesting as well as rewarding to market this game towards young women to inspire them to learn more about the industry and get them playing more games. I will talk more about our target audience, and what we can do to bring more women into this field through are own game-making, later in this project.