Pitch on our game idea,
We did a presentation to promote our game, Absolutely Nothing. We did this to give everyone an idea of what the outcome of our game could be and the setting, target audience and requirements that we need to make the game.
Critical Reflection
Reflection on the final product for Unit 4 and 5,
Going into this unit, I had no experience in creating a game within a team of people and no experience being a project manager. My skills in art, especially pixel art, were okay not amazing and my knowledge of animation was very limited.
However, I have developed my skills shown above as well as more quite considerably. The area I contributed to was the art. I was also the project manager so I complete some documents that was required to be filled in like a spreadsheet etc... One part of the work I struggled with was the programming but after some talking as a group we decided I would focus on art instead of the coding.
The group that I was apart of worked incredibly well for a group of people that have never worked in a team managing a project before.
Gnatt Chart,
Issue Log,
If we were to make a further iteration of this game we would address this problem by adding some sound effects and a soundtrack to make it more immersive for the player.
The project as a whole,
The project as a whole achieved what we initially set out to do. We decided on setting the target audience at the PEGI rating 12+. I think that in hindsight, we could have set the target audience to the PEGI rating of 7+ this is because the game doesn't really contain much violence and the violence that it does contain isn't very graphic.
In future iteration of this game, I would add additional levels, sound effects and a soundtrack, more shop upgrades and other enemies to fight.
If we were to change the way we managed this project I would not select a solo leader/project manager. I think that the team would have worked better if we all had an equal say in the way we completed the product.
If I could change some of the work I contributed to I would change the Background of the game. I would have added a parallax with another background to add another element to see while walking on the surface. I would also have added an animation on the coins on the HUD. I animated them becoming brighter and then becoming darker to seem like a light just reflected off them.
If I were to do a similar project in the future I would work more on the production of the game at home so a better game would be created due to the extra work I put in at home. I would also make sure that I have access to a sound software so I can create some sound effects.
Going into this unit, I had no experience in creating a game within a team of people and no experience being a project manager. My skills in art, especially pixel art, were okay not amazing and my knowledge of animation was very limited.
However, I have developed my skills shown above as well as more quite considerably. The area I contributed to was the art. I was also the project manager so I complete some documents that was required to be filled in like a spreadsheet etc... One part of the work I struggled with was the programming but after some talking as a group we decided I would focus on art instead of the coding.
The group that I was apart of worked incredibly well for a group of people that have never worked in a team managing a project before.
Gnatt Chart,
The image above shows you the schedule that we, as a team, planned.
My personal time management was relatively good. The only problem with my time management was that I had a couple of days off. But I still contributed on these days off, I worked on the documents like the spreadsheet and I worked on my blog.
We didn't come across many issues over the time we spent on the project. Our group work really close to the plan and meet all the set deadlines. The only issue we had was not having access to any sound creation software.
We could have used some copyright free sounds from the internet to overcome this issue however, we didn't want to use anything that wasn't created within our work as we thought it would detract from the work we actually did.
If we were to make a further iteration of this game we would address this problem by adding some sound effects and a soundtrack to make it more immersive for the player.
The project as a whole,
The project as a whole achieved what we initially set out to do. We decided on setting the target audience at the PEGI rating 12+. I think that in hindsight, we could have set the target audience to the PEGI rating of 7+ this is because the game doesn't really contain much violence and the violence that it does contain isn't very graphic.
In future iteration of this game, I would add additional levels, sound effects and a soundtrack, more shop upgrades and other enemies to fight.
If we were to change the way we managed this project I would not select a solo leader/project manager. I think that the team would have worked better if we all had an equal say in the way we completed the product.
If I could change some of the work I contributed to I would change the Background of the game. I would have added a parallax with another background to add another element to see while walking on the surface. I would also have added an animation on the coins on the HUD. I animated them becoming brighter and then becoming darker to seem like a light just reflected off them.
If I were to do a similar project in the future I would work more on the production of the game at home so a better game would be created due to the extra work I put in at home. I would also make sure that I have access to a sound software so I can create some sound effects.
Management Spreadsheet
Management Spreadsheet,
The images below are apart of an excel document stating all the details of our plan for the production of our game, Absolutely Nothing.
This screenshot shows you the project name, estimated start date, estimated end date, project manager name, Members of the team and any holidays that happened during production.
This screenshot shows you the individual tasks within the project. Along with this, it shows the estimated start and completion date and who in the group has contributed to the task.
This screenshot is where I put all the estimated dates to fill out a gnatt chart.
This is the Gnatt chart created from the data I used in the previous screenshot.
This last screenshot is stating all the issues that we came across. We didn't really have any problems apart from the one shown above.
Overall, I think that we worked pretty well and pretty closely to this spreadsheet. With the Gnatt chart, some of the predicted dates where dead on but others were predicted too early or too late.
Develop an Idea of a Product
Game Idea - Absolutely Nothing,
My Game Idea is a Mining, Survival game. You play as a character that is sent to a new planet to inhabit. Whilst trying to do this, you face multiple threats from mother nature e.g. Storms, Lightning etc... and alien like characters. The player's character is an unknown entity within a spacesuit. Your spacesuit can obtain several upgrades which makes your character stronger. During your exploration, you will come across a few temples which contain an alien language. You are required to translate this language.
Target Audience,
I would like to address an audience of the age of 12+. I have gathered some research on the official PEGI website about what can be contained in a certain game with the corresponding PEGI rating. I think that the PEGI rating of 12 will be the most suitable for my game. This game will also be aimed for both genders however I think males will be more likely to play it over females due to the genre.
My skills within games design is Blender and creating levels in 3D with Unity. I am also quite comprehensive with the 2D side of games. Due to the fact, I am working in a group with two others, We had to agree on which type of game we want to make, 3D or 2D. Majority vote was for 2D which is why we are using construct to create our game. I do quite enjoy creating pixel art within Photoshop which is one of my main jobs in the group.
One other skill I think I have is being good at animation and animating certain things like objects and environments.
Below, are three mind maps we created as a group. The first two I created and the last one we created as a group, together.
These Mind Maps provided very useful strategy as it allowed us to write our ideas down without forgetting them.
Requirements for the Idea,
We are supplied with computers and all the necessary software to create the product. The software is as followed; Construct 2, Photoshop and access to a scanner. I do also have a computer outside of college but it does not have the software above.
My Game Idea is a Mining, Survival game. You play as a character that is sent to a new planet to inhabit. Whilst trying to do this, you face multiple threats from mother nature e.g. Storms, Lightning etc... and alien like characters. The player's character is an unknown entity within a spacesuit. Your spacesuit can obtain several upgrades which makes your character stronger. During your exploration, you will come across a few temples which contain an alien language. You are required to translate this language.
Target Audience,
I would like to address an audience of the age of 12+. I have gathered some research on the official PEGI website about what can be contained in a certain game with the corresponding PEGI rating. I think that the PEGI rating of 12 will be the most suitable for my game. This game will also be aimed for both genders however I think males will be more likely to play it over females due to the genre.
Resource Audit
We have numerous equipment available at hand, for example;
College PC's which are equipped with the necessary software to create our desired game. The only piece of software we have no access to is a sound development software like Reaper or Logic Pro.
Skills Audit
College PC's which are equipped with the necessary software to create our desired game. The only piece of software we have no access to is a sound development software like Reaper or Logic Pro.
Skills Audit
My skills within games design is Blender and creating levels in 3D with Unity. I am also quite comprehensive with the 2D side of games. Due to the fact, I am working in a group with two others, We had to agree on which type of game we want to make, 3D or 2D. Majority vote was for 2D which is why we are using construct to create our game. I do quite enjoy creating pixel art within Photoshop which is one of my main jobs in the group.
One other skill I think I have is being good at animation and animating certain things like objects and environments.
Mind-maps,
Below, are three mind maps we created as a group. The first two I created and the last one we created as a group, together.
These Mind Maps provided very useful strategy as it allowed us to write our ideas down without forgetting them.
Decision on the Idea,
The idea for the game came to our group relatively quickly. We all decided on one idea compared to having three different ideas and then choosing one from them.
Requirements for the Idea,
We are supplied with computers and all the necessary software to create the product. The software is as followed; Construct 2, Photoshop and access to a scanner. I do also have a computer outside of college but it does not have the software above.
Research on Target Audience,
The target audience that this game will be aimed for is 12+. After doing some research on the PEGI website, I read the description to all the age ratings the PEGI 12 suited best. Absolutely Nothing will contain small part of violence but not over the top, realistic violence. There will not be any bad language contained within this game and no nudity.
Games that are rated as a PEGI 12 usually have a broad following as it is aimed towards a wider audience. These games also tend to have complimentary reviews as well as not being bad mouthed.
Examples of games rated PEGI 12 are;
OverWatch
Hyrule Warriors
Portal 2
Star Wars Battlefront II
Examples of Survival games rated PEGI 12 are;
Unturned
Don't Starve
Research Production Techniques Further,
To complete these unit's, we won't need an amazing computer as 2D game creating isn't as demanding compared to 3D game creation.
We will have to trial and error our way through the coding part of our game. As we aren't too knowledgeable about coding however, this will build our knowledge and make us better at it when it is complete.
Games that are rated as a PEGI 12 usually have a broad following as it is aimed towards a wider audience. These games also tend to have complimentary reviews as well as not being bad mouthed.
Examples of games rated PEGI 12 are;
OverWatch
Hyrule Warriors
Portal 2
Star Wars Battlefront II
Examples of Survival games rated PEGI 12 are;
Unturned
Don't Starve
Research Production Techniques Further,
To complete these unit's, we won't need an amazing computer as 2D game creating isn't as demanding compared to 3D game creation.
We will have to trial and error our way through the coding part of our game. As we aren't too knowledgeable about coding however, this will build our knowledge and make us better at it when it is complete.
Constraints,
The main constraint that will be apparent during the project is time. We don't have a lot of time to get this project completed and the way to overcome this constraint is by doing more work outside of college hours.
Another constraint we will have is not having a sound developing program like Reaper or Logic Pro. One way to overcome this hurdle is too use Non-Copyright Music/Sounds from the internet.
Another constraint we will have is not having a sound developing program like Reaper or Logic Pro. One way to overcome this hurdle is too use Non-Copyright Music/Sounds from the internet.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)