Industry Pitch Feedback Reflection – 11/05/22

Matt

• Lovely style – really impressed.
• Really cohesive product with attention to detail in all areas.
• Well structured trailer with a really good attempt at pacing and showcase of content.
• I like your presentation style and how you involved everyone.
• Good reasoning behind your design choices.

Stephen Hey

• Entertaining pitch in the way you presented it in the football style!
• You’ve really hit the brief in finding the fun of arcade football so that was really impressive!
• Pitched correctly to match the style with low barrier to entry.
• What you would do next – think about platforms like switch with the 2 controllers.
• Attention to DLC was great.
• Think about the other international markets that would also enjoy this – Europe.
• Really polished finish.
• Great attention to branding for the game and company.

Reflection

Overall, I am pleased with the feedback we got for our pitch from both Matt and Stephen Hey. If we were to take the game to market it gives us a lot of hope that we would be able to get our vision across to a board of industry professionals or publishers. I am happy with the feedback for the trailer, despite being made at the last second in 3 and a half hours.

Taking the feedback on board from Stephen Hey has prompted me to at least try and program in switch controls, the big issue here is that college PC’s don’t have access to Bluetooth and may not install drivers if we were to buy a 3rd party Bluetooth dongle. Owen does own a Bluetooth dongle so we are willing to try that but nevertheless, the controls for Joy-Cons will be added in to the game. In addition, really pleased with how he thinks our game looks at this stage in time, excellent from someone who’s been in industry for a number of years.

The pitch we made for Stephen Hey has given me a firmer understanding of marketing strategy when it comes to pitching, the way we adapted the pitch to be similar to a matchday programme and the way that Owen introduced the team as an announcer at a football match really set the tone for the pitch and from the moment the pitch was on screen with the fun font and vibrant colours, you just had a good feeling about it.

May 11, 2022May 11, 2022 by nextgenjordan Categories: Synoptic ProjectTags: Synoptic Project Leave a comment

Synoptic Project Skills Reflection – 01/04/2022

I like to class myself as a bit of a ‘jack of all trades’ kind of person and The skills that I have been able to use in this project has been an expensive set, from programming to art theory, every decision made during the development of this project so far has a reason behind it, the shapes we use and the colours we are using for the UI all have a reason for the way that they are.

I believe my programming skills are a lot stronger than what they were before this project, given the education and the time to study the programming language and how Unity works has given me a firm understanding on how to program games. My eye for detail and passion for graphic design has always been strong but having that extra bit of understanding in art theory and complimentary colours has made me make better decisions when creating UI assets for my games.

In terms of 3D modelling, I am confident in the software I have been using for 3D modelling and the pipeline for creating models however I feel like my models could do with that little bit more care in order to create higher quality models. In addition, my animation skills vary depending on the content, I feel that with the synoptic project and animating of UI elements, the animation is nice and it is smooth, however when animating 3D models, whilst I understand the basics of how models rig and animate, it is something that I wouldn’t want to do as a career, I feel it is a tedious process and frustrating to fix things when it comes to animation.

For this project I created our character model and passed it over to Jake, who is keen to animate and crack on with the job, we made a list of animations we needed on Trello and he got on with it straight away, I am yet to import these animations into this project as I have been busy working on a main menu.

The one skill I would like to improve upon is level building in general, during imagined worlds I planned the layout of the world and where certain objects would be and how the world would function, but I feel like my level design skills could be a lot better, I’d love to learn how to properly build a platformer like level to the likes of Crash Bandicoot or an 3D world level like those seen in Super Mario 64.

For the future I’d say that my three most important skills are going to be programming, level design and production. I can see myself being a producer as a career choice however do feel that this qualification alone isn’t enough to get me into that position in the industry, which is fine. I would probably be looking at a junior position at a studio in order to get my foot through the door, as I have an understanding of the industry and the work / pipelines / methods used in the industry.

April 1, 2022 by nextgenjordan Categories: Synoptic ProjectTags: Synoptic Project Leave a comment

Mid Project Reflection – 25/03/22

The practical aspects of building the project is going really well so far, we have an issue with Unity’s new collaboration tool that really need to be fixed by the college IT department as it is restricting collaborative working. As a workaround we have had to create separate projects and import the scenes into the main project from different locations. There is still a lot of work to do for the menu and a lot of programming and animating for the menu to be completed, We have a level that is currently 85% complete and just need to add the dynamics to that level. Then once the menu is done, we will have a MVP to showcase.

In terms of working as a team, I can honestly say I wish I could swap a couple of team mates with someone else. We have no 2D artist so the concepting stage was all over the place, we have a 3D artist who never turns up (Marcus) and another 3D artist who does absolutely nothing all lesson but play on his phone (Keilan), despite offering him a variety of tasks that he can get on with, not a lot of productivity has came from him. This is very frustrating as it is hindering the progress of other team members and to say that he simply does not care is a understatement as he could not care less.

Other than that, Owen has kept his head down and worked hard on the project and the results are starting to show as his pre-production was graded as a distinction, I’m proud of this as I feel I have played a role in helping him achieve this. Jake is constantly working to improve himself and the product, Animation certainly isn’t easy but he is giving it a good crack. We are communicating effectively as seen in Scrum Sheets it is just a shame that the other two members of my team aren’t as hard working.

We brought in Erica on a freelance role and that has worked out nicely as it gives us an extra outlet if we need anything outside of our skillset that she can offer. Erica was / is looking for more work so hence the reason for recruiting her earlier in the project whilst she also works on Krengs.

We are keeping track of the project well, the burndown chart is showing signs of progress slowing down and the reason for that once again relates to Unity’s new collaboration tool, the Trello board and asset list are constantly updated as and when they are completed and blogs are being completed daily along with scrum sheets.

I think the quality of my blog itself is strong, it follows a simple formula and details the work that I have done in that week and also features comments on the work of my team mates and the work they have done. I would like to showcase some more visuals on my blog however.

For pre-production, I received a distinction grade. The feedback I got was:

I want to see more creative research that you’re using to inspire your design choices. Refer to other games and showcase them visually and compare to your own.  
 
Show me more technical research (tutorials) that you’re using to build your skills. Discuss what parts you’re using and show how you’ve used it in your own work. Everyone does this and if you can apply tutorials to your own outcomes you will be showing a high level of skill as well as building your confidence and ability generally.

I have actioned this feedback recently for the menu portion of the game and also shown any tutorials I may have followed or design choices I have been inspired by. This was kind of hard because sometimes I get an idea and just roll with it, sometimes there isn’t any reason or inspiration behind it.

I need to work being more productive, up to now I have only been using college time to work on the project and the time just simply isn’t enough for the productivity I want to be outputting. To combat this I am going to be working on the project from home outside of college hours as well.

March 25, 2022 by nextgenjordan Categories: Synoptic ProjectTags: Synoptic Project Leave a comment

Synoptic Research – 05/01/2022

Background

The popularity of emergent fun physics-based multiplayer party games has reignited a desire for more of this new genre. Not only are these kinds of games fun to play but they are fun to watch being played, which makes it perfect from a marketing perspective. As your publisher we are commissioning you to design and build a vertical slice for a physics-based multiplayer party game that captures the essence of emergent fun that people have when playing games like Fall Guys, QWOP and Getting over it!

Brief

Physics based emergent fun games are back in fashion! Before that market evaporates, we need you to design a game that captures what makes physics based emergent fun games compelling to play and watch and present it in a unique and interesting way that makes whoever is playing and watching it burst out into fits of laughter.

The levels must be simple; the characters must be simple; the controls must be simple. The fun must come from all three of those layered into a physics engine. Find the fun in all three of those things, attempting to force it will seem artificial and exactly not the kind of game we are after. Let the fun emerge. For ideas examine Fall Guys, QWOP and Getting over it. Each of these games has one thing in common, they are simple in level design the emergent fun comes from the simplicity of the controls with the simplicity of the avatars layered into the complexity of a physics engine – in the end you have a goofy game that just makes you laugh to play and watch – that’s exactly what we are after.

Games

Fall Guys

Fall Guys is a game that took the internet by storm, announced for PS4 and PC, the game quickly rose to the top of Twitch streams for its enjoyable content, reactions and gameplay. The game is a somewhat competitive arena based game similar to the likes of TV classic, Takeshi’s Castle. It is madness and chaos that contains at least 40 players racing to the finish line, dodging obstacles and avoiding grapples from other players. This game has everything to make it the perfect party multiplayer game.

Human Fall Flat

Human Fall Flat is a physics based game that doesn’t entirely make sense. It features multiplayer elements where you control a character who has ragdoll like physics, the aim of the game is to complete the level by solving puzzles such as moving boxes onto pressure plates.

Gang Beasts

Gang Beasts is a physics based game that features battle royale elements. The aim of the game is to be the sole survivor and eliminate the other players. Again, this is ragdoll physics and features simple grapple mechanics that allow you to throw the opponents.

QWOP

QWOP is a mildly infuriating game that features physics which respond to keystrokes in a certain order. The aim of the game is to get the athlete to the finish line in record time. Upon playing the game, it won’t take a minute to realise that this is probably going to take a year to complete. This isn’t multiplayer however, the physics are interesting.

January 5, 2022 by nextgenjordan Categories: Synoptic ProjectTags: Synoptic Project Leave a comment

Technical Overviews – 17/09/21

Programming Technical Considerations Overview

Engine and Programming Language

• Unity Engine 2020.3.16f
  • Strengths
    • Easy to use.
    • Unity Teams for easy collaboration.
    • Built in file explorer for easy organization.
    • Multi-platform build support
    • Built in store for assets and plug-ins
    • Cloud build for quicker building of projects.
    • Inclusive debugging tools.
    • Simple input management.
  • Weaknesses
    • Despite being a LTS build, newer iterations have been released fixing bugs.
    • Can’t upgrade projects to newer Unity versions without introducing bugs.
    • Unity Teams is a manual configuration meaning users have to manually publish changes.
    • Other game engines can give an instantly polished look.
    • Post-Processing can be processor heavy.

• Microsoft Visual Studio 2017
  • Strengths
    • Integrates well with Unity.
    • Supports many programming languages.
  • Weaknesses
    • Sometimes with Unity Teams, Visual Studio can lead to a problem where if the file is modified by another user, it will not recognize Unity libraries, in turn, making it harder to code or autocomplete.

File Structure and Backup

Files should be named appropriately and grammatically correct. As an example, PlayerController.cs should be all one word and not Player_Controller.cs. This should also be placed in the correct folder for better organization. This particular file would belong in a scripts folder. If needed we can go deeper with the organization and have folders relating to Player, Environment, Objects etc..

The files should be backed up to cloud storage such as Google Drive and One Drive and should also be backed up to external hard drives. I generally bring my Laptop with me so I will have a copy on there as well.

Planning and Spreading Work Between Multiple People

In our group, we have two people who are experienced with code. Myself and Devon Hunt. We are both looking at the important pieces of code used to make our game function. We will divide coding tasks between ourselves depending on the code needed.

The first script we are looking at is player movement and how our character should move and how multiple inputs for multiple players can be used from the same piece of hardware, e.g. one keyboard or one controller.

Depending on the scripts needed whether it be an object spawning or the environment reacting to something, this is where we will assign different coding jobs to different people.

Format / Condition / Resolution of Assets

We will be working in Maya for our 3D models and are going for a low poly art style. Because of this we will need FBX or OBJ as Unity supports these formats preferably with the textures baked on to the model itself. These textures will not need to be high quality which in turn should make the game less resource heavy and make loading times that tiny bit quicker.

3D Technical Considerations Overview

Renderer / Game Engine

• Unity 2020.3.16f
• Arnold

Shaders / Materials

We will be using standard specular materials in our game, this is because our artstyle is low poly so we don’t want tons of detail on the model.

Software

We will be using Autodesk Maya for any modelling we will need to do and we will also use Unity’s primitive shapes for extra environmental assets.

Poly Count

As we are going for a low poly art style, we do not feel the need to have a poly count for our game.

Engine Scale Factor/Rotation vs Editor Scale Factor/Rotation

As we create and export our 3D Models from Maya and import them into Unity, we will be keeping a close eye on the scale and rotation of our models. The plan for our game is to only to be able to move on one axis and have a jump, so it is essential that our character is facing the right way and of the right scale.

Lighting in the World

Our game heavily relies on lighting to bring the game to life. Our characters will have head torches that need to be visible for the game to look good and to give a sense of where our characters actually are. There will also be torches and/or lanterns around the map to show lit up areas or points of interest.

Models and Textures in Engine

We will be modelling in Maya and texturing in Photoshop for a low poly look. If the texture’s look out of place in our game, we will either need to rework the textures or use standard materials in engine.

September 17, 2021 by nextgenjordan Categories: Synoptic ProjectTags: Synoptic Project Leave a comment

Agile and Scrum – 16/09/21

WII 5. Know the principles of AGILE and SCRUM as project management techniques.

What is AGILE?

AGILE refers to a set of methods and practices based on the values and principles expressed in the Agile Manifesto. It refers to standard team building and teamwork exercise such as collaboration, self-organization and cross functionality between teams.

AGILE Manifesto

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
• Working software over comprehensive documentation.
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
• Responding to change over following a plan.

AGILEis about creating smaller iterative builds that improve over time. There is more of a focus on getting a working product as quickly as possible. Consistent review and reflection can help improve the product whilst it is still in development.

What is SCRUM?

SCRUM is a framework that is used to implement AGILE development.

FRAMEWORK

A good example of how to separate the two would be to say the difference between a recipe and a diet. A diet is a set plan based on principles and values where as a recipe would be something you might use to build on your diet.

The way SCRUM is designed means that we should have a working version of our product ASAP. This version will be super basic that will continuously be built on and improved with each iteration, also known as a SPRINT.

September 16, 2021 by nextgenjordan Categories: Synoptic ProjectTags: Synoptic Project Leave a comment