ACHIEVEMENT LOG
28th March - 24th April 2022
WEEK 1
WHAT DID I DO THIS WEEK?
Further game development - Game V2/3
Testing
Attended Barclays Games Day - presentation!
GAME V2/3
This week, we received a basic prototype of our gameplay/interaction. This interaction enables players to use their eye to direct a bird into an interactive object, which then triggers music! This is the premise of the experience, so from here we can expand with our own assets. James forwarded us the instructions/guidance for setup of the program on our own devices, which allowed us to take complete control and begin to edit it in our own way. Kiera and I began to put placeholder assets into the space, and change the detection to 'nose', to have something to showcase at the event, which was on the 31st March. It was great to see my environment concept in-game, it brought it to life and teased what was to come, which was exciting to see. We have the foundations of our experience down, as this third version consists of one interactive snowflake, which once hovered over, triggers a beautiful musical soundtrack. In this case, Mozart! (For the time being)
TESTING
We also carried out testing before the Games Day, to ensure our game worked on a projection and we had all the equipment necessary to showcase our experience. It was good to see the experience projected, with our own environment concept and foundations of the game working!
BARCLAYS GAMES DAY
This was a very exciting day. We were able to present Getaway to a large audience, and we gathered some amazing feedback! People loved the experience, the purpose and the idea behind it. During playtesting, we also received comments regarding the beautiful environment drawing and the fascination behind the idea for projections. We also received feedback regarding the detection, and have taken into account that people would much prefer to interact using their hands/palms which we plan to do next. Overall, it was amazing to hear and a great opportunity for us to network and showcase Getaway as well as the team behind it. It gave me a confident boost and made me forget about all the technical limitations we are having! We gained interest from industry experts too, which was just as exciting.
WEEK 2
WHAT DID I DO THIS WEEK?
Asset Distribution
Asset Creation
Asset Review/Testing
Catch-up
ASSET CREATION
This week was mainly focused on asset creation. Earlier this week I assigned us with creation tasks and used the Asset Table to outline the expectation of our designs. We are still currently working on the production of these assets, but as we progress, I have been providing us with feedback/comments on ways to improve and things to change if necessary. Other than this, we are scheduled to complete this by the 13th April, if there are no further changes or refinements to be made.
CATCH-UP
Kiera and I got into contact with James to provide feedback regarding the detection and how we'd like to improve this. He gave us some suggestions with settings to adjust and we have scheduled to have another game version complete by the end of the Easter Holidays. The detection should be much smoother, and hopefully require the palm/hand of users rather than the nose/face!
WEEK 3
WHAT DID I DO THIS WEEK?
Sound Production - received the first draft & provided feedback!
Asset Creation
Asset Review/Testing
Game V4
All soundtracks received - review
SOUND PRODUCTION UPDATE
This week, Harry Williams sent us a draft of one of the layers of the soundtrack, which I provided feedback comments for and he quickly took it on board, and sent us back the full 6 layers of the soundtrack! I sent back a few comments to make it sound less overpowering, as some elements were unsettling, but for the most part he did an amazing job! We have organised to have the final soundtrack in the next few days.
ASSET CREATION & TESTING
This week, Kiera and I also finished the main part of asset creation! We now have a series of environments, a snowflake design and a bird design. However, there are still a few missing elements which we have extended the completion day for - the bird animation, ski-lifts and clouds require more time. We have managed to work this around our schedule, but for now will be focusing on the core interaction.
GAME V4
Using our feedback from playtesting, we made refinements to the program and made some changes to the overall experience. Kiera and James worked together to increase the number of snowflakes in the environment, and also made another layer of 'snowfall' to add an extra element of snow which makes the environment look cosy and pretty! In addition to this, we were informed that the program/server now requires some kind of 'BEGIN' button to start the server, so I have accounted for this and scheduled to create a series of User Interface, during the first week back. (Week 9)
STEPS FOR WEEK 9
We have fulfilled the tasks needed to during the Easter Holidays, and plan to take this last week to have a well deserved break! As we enter back into Week 9, I am scheduled to begin the creation of all promotional material, film the documentary and work with Kiera to implement the new assets into the space!
HOW DO I FEEL?
I am happy with our progress over the Easter Holidays. It was definitely beneficial to have time off timetable to work on these things, because we are now prepared to enter back and work on schedule. We are on track to completion and so far, things are going well. :)