Finally, exams are finished! I completed my final two, which were make-ups from when I missed school (the covid chronicles). Although they took up a portion of my week, I still got some classroom days to work. Mostly I spent time gathering various textures for where needed, however I also made this Row 3 logo to be used in the game. We’re pretty much in the final stretches and this will be the last check-in of the year. Aside from this weekend, time to work has come to a close. Ultimately I think we accomplished the necessities and bare minimum, but came to realize how grand of a scope Mountainheart was in the first place. We’re certainly turning in an abridged version of the original concept and gameplay, and it is not as polished as we may have hoped. Between covid and exam interruptions, we haven’t had much face to face time these last few weeks which has made this more difficult; there also hasn’t been much communication outside of class. Regardless, I think we accomplished enough to call it a working game, and even more important is that we have learned a lot throughout development. Summary:
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I was out the entirety of the week with covid and with AP exams rolling by, I have been bogged down on two different fronts. I haven’t found a significant amount of time to set aside for this class or to prioritize our game, especially since it seems like it may not come to fruition in time. In the time I did work, I continued with what I had been working on before; graphics and UI adjustments. I ran into some roadblocks with using Procreate to lay out pieces of the UI and may instead convert to Photoshop. Photoshop is more precise with placements and is better for this type of work such as positioning pieces. I need to work on my time management and hopefully having class time can help boost my contributions. Overall, the game is coming along but it may not be on its feet in time. There was a covid outbreak following prom at school, and AP exams are popping up. It’s crunch time. As you may know, I missed most of the week, feeling ill. Unfortunately it came back positive for Covid-19 and I am still quarantined here in my room, bedridden. I accomplished some work from home and in my meager 2 days in class, but it isn’t a lot to show. I know this is crunch time and hopefully I can finish up my contributions between exams, however these weeks will be packed full of cramming for all sorts of things, so I am unsure how much time I will have. I hope that my team can continue making progress and we can at least get this project standing on its feet. All-in-all:
This week I spent my time on the aesthetic of the UI. Before that I had pretty much mapped out the overall look and design, but now I have been working in Photoshop to actually make it more usable and to refine the edges so that it carries the nostalgia of an old 1990s PC. I think I could improve my efficiency, and spend more time away from class working, however I had a busy week between preparing for tests and the States competition for Science Olympiad. This week I hope to finish everything around the UI and to work at home as well since I finally should have more free time. I like the results of how its coming along, but I really need to get a move on and hurry. Conclusion:
Between missing school and having Friday off as a holiday, I was only at school one day this week. I didn’t have much time to accomplish work in the classroom but I was able to work from home a bit when I was feeling better. I continued with the UI that I had begun earlier. I’m happy with where it’s at. I still need to figure out how to make it pop a bit more and give some depth along the edges. Otherwise, I like the general aesthetic. I can’t say much about how the team has been progressing besides that everyone is doing their part. The only setback for me was not feeling well and being at school only one day. Next week I hope to utilize class time to get back on track and finish this UI once and for all. TLDR:
This last week was spent working on the Cliffside logo in class, as well as the UI at home. The logo was inspired by a retro wave style theme and a font called ‘groovy.’ I was searching for inspiration that encapsulated the way I envisioned the 60s aesthetic and vibe. I downloaded a free font similar to what I liked and then watched a tutorial for text layering in order to create the intended effect (type shift). I think it turned out well but was way more difficult and time-consuming than it should have been for something so simple, and felt very unintuitive which is again why I hate Photoshop. For a program with an overload of tools, the features aren’t ever there when you need them. Although it’s a simple text effect, I think having a logo and building the vibe sets an important tone for the entire game. I like the juxtaposition between the look of Cliffside’s logo and the actual environment inside the abandoned facility. It’s eerily welcoming. My group has also made a good deal of progress with the UI functionality and audio effects. It’s nice to see it all come together. I also came up with and brainstormed a few ideas on how we could add some stylism and humor that conveys the game’s personality; when trying to quit, the game the screen will pop up with the usual “are you sure you want to quit?” followed by a spam entry of “are you absolutely, positively sure you want to quit?” like a cascade of pop-up ads or viruses on an old computer OS. I think this is a prime example of the Mountainheart game “feel” we are going for. Coming up with and adding creative features like this has helped build some morale and hype for our game. Everyone seems to be on the same page and way more unified, though we still aren’t as far as we need to be. This upcoming week will be focused on finishing the UI completely and all of the aesthetic aspects. I will do the finishing touches on the logo, and continue with the UI which will hopefully be done by the end of the week. Recap:
As the lead 2D Artist for my team, I am currently working on the UI that the player will interact with by the endgame of our development. I wasn’t given a reference for the intended design, so I decided to go based upon my own feel of the game. Mountainheart takes place in an older facility, which led me to the idea of doing something diegetic and fitting with both the time and theme, which brought me to my inspiration: the World Wide Web (the original internet browser) UI, and subsequently the original Microsoft operating system as well. Cliffside is a research facility so it should be sort of tech-y. And it’s oddly advanced for the time period. It is also a horror game so I didn’t want it to pop too much, to where it stands out from the rest of what’s going on. Rather than copy the blue, white, and grey of the Microsoft classic theme, I decided to stick with muted colors that share the same red undertones. This is because Mountainheart, naturally, strikes me that way and it felt right given the name. Mountain + Heart; beige and red. It also does not distract from the game’s horror elements, rather adding to the immersion. I imported a pixelated font to convey the older operating system and UI, and have been working down to the pixel to add onto that effect elsewhere in the design. It has been a struggle making it look pixelated and low resolution, like an older computer screen, but also clean and friendly to users. I still have features to add and right now its mostly the bare layout; highlights will help it standout, and more buttons will add functionality and fill in the blank space, which I can add after I consult with my team. Right now it is a bit flat and stiff. I need to add the finishing touches and then draw in some dimension, like I said. Overall I think our team has really gotten on track, and I am happy I have had more time to focus on 2D artist things. I would also like to do 3D models in the future, but first the UI is my priority. The settings menu will probably take this week to finish and I may be able to get a jumpstart on the cassette inventory from there, hopefully utilizing some of what I have already made. I have made sure to work with layers so that the design is modular, customizable, and correctable. I look forward to finishing this and am really excited to see how the UI works in game. On the need to know:
This week I have focused on my responsibilities as the primary and lead artist of my group. Xander and I have worked on the conceptualization of the UI design together, while I have been putting it together in Illustrator. Rather than a play-head button, we decided to do something more unique and have an actual cassette on the player's screen. This adds to the immersion of the game and will more strongly engage the player. It also increases the functionality by having several buttons available, such as the eject and rewind/fast-forward buttons, as would a real-life cassette player. We plan to animate it as well so that the player can visualize the tape's progression as well as swap the individual tapes in and out of the player. This way it would mirror a real cassette tape and player. We may also change the design of each different tape, or number them according to their serial so that the player can differentiate them easily. As for the actual design, since Mountainheart takes place in a facility from the 60s, we decided to do a similar color theme as demonstrated by the muted beige background highlighted with the vibrant pastel lines. Because it's a UI component, and for the sake of remaining cohesive, I decided to go the route of making the tape simple and somewhat cartoony. Not only was this easier to make from scratch, but it also gave necessary leeway for the design to be modular and customizable. However, because Mountainheart is a horror game and takes place in a dilapidated facility, I decided to touch it up in Photoshop by adding a texture to help convey the more rustic and eerie ambience; a fine compromise between hyper-realistic and overly cartoony. Since I used a modular approach to designing the tape, and because its a vector designed in Illustrator, we can always make edits and nitpicks. As for now, I am very happy with how the simplistic design meshes with the texture. It definitely encapsulates what I was going for without any shortcuts, and it is definitely the feel we were going for. Xander is still experimenting and wants to try a pixel based UI as well, which may be something else we test out. I also need to work on the other components of the UI, but this is the focal piece. From here, we plan to animate the cassette as well as begin integrating into Unity while I finish the rest of the UI. As for my responsibilities as team lead, the project is on track although a few of my peers have been stagnant in their work this week. I can't always be watching over their shoulder, especially when I'm actively working on important pieces for the game. I incentivize them whenever and wherever I can, but there are limits to my power and time. There is a lot to get done and not only am I actively working in class the most, I also have to organize the team which is even harder than it sounds. Overall:
This week my team has been efficient in our accomplishments. Each member is on track and understanding of their duties I updated the Trello and added extra functionality so it was easier to navigate, such as connecting it with Google Drive folders and directly attaching files. I also used features such as the checklists to give my team specific tasks to accomplish. This way it is clear-cut and easily understandable what specifically they are supposed to do; far more conducive to them getting tasks checked off. Outside of delegating roles and detailing everybody's tasks, I have been working on the UI. This has primarily been in the form of research, so I do not have much to show yet; there is a lot to take into consideration such as what program to design a UI in, the file size and type, resolution, how to integrate the designs into Unity, and other things that could potentially be obstacles, before jumping right in. I also have needed to brush up on my Illustrator skills so that I can make a visually appealing design because this is what will constantly be displayed on the players' screen. I do have some pieces of the design together, which I will polish and also make into vector graphics. Overall, my team has worked together well this week, with minimal internal setbacks as was before. Aside from me being out the last two days of the week from dislocating my knee, it has been primarily smooth sailing and the Trello board has been a good mediator between me and my group for keeping people on task. Xander has also filled in, taking on the role of making sure people are being efficient in the classroom. As far as the game goes, we have finished whiteboxing and Cameron is working on publishing it and sharing the file with Pranav and Liam because it is pertinent to their roles. Xander has been writing and recording audiotapes while also gathering inspiration for other group members to use, as Creative Director. Liam and Pranav have been compiling basic scripts and sound assets. The greatest accomplishment as a group was mitigating the confusion and internal conflicts from before with responsibilities, and getting everybody in a position where they are comfortable and not loafing. Next week will we continue working on whatever is leftover from this last week and the main focus will be on finishing the UI, as well as working out the basic character controls in Unity. All-in-all:
Picking up from where we left off in pre-production, my team needed reaffirmation on the roles I previously dished out, and the expectancies related to each role. I did this by speaking with each member, as well as with the group holistically. I considered all of our talents, experiences, and interests; from there, I did my best to reach a fair compromise with each member and to utilize everybody efficiently. My goal was for each member to have a similar stake in the project and for there to be some semblance of equity. However, I settled on it being imbalanced considering a few of the team members have stronger abilities and more commitment to the project, while others have significant responsibilities outside of this class and/or less incentivization to put in as much effort to the project. There is a limited degree to what I can enforce and how much influence I put forth without access to a grade book or individual salaries. To clear up some confusion, I made a document outlining the specific responsibilities affiliated with each team role, and I carefully thought out the amount of time each part would take. A lot of changes were made. The original roles I assigned did not account for each member's intrinsic motivation, and how much I can really count on them for. With the changes in the available timeline, we needed to adjust the overall plan and create a more realistic goal; to do this, Xander and myself partitioned the game into segments and decided on a reasonable portion of the game we could complete, now that we are down to half of the time we originally expected. Rather than a fully working version of the game, we have changed it to a "Beta Prototype," essentially serving as an introduction to the game rather than a fully-fledged playthrough. I also took into effect my new knowledge of the game design pipeline and my recent experience in Unity. This involved rethinking some of the initial priorities of the game, such as implementing whiteboxing and prototyping. As a team we have begun with outlining the map visually, as well as piecing it together in Unity using ProBuilder. Once it is set in Unity, and the file is shared across all members, we will begin implementing some scripts we have gathered as well as begin playtesting the physics and player controls. Once the basic mechanics are in place, we will add more detailed assets, which are currently in the works, and start on mapping the User Interface (UI). After that comes the more difficult and niche aspects of the game, such as custom scripts and audio + environmental effects. This week has been productive in terms of getting all members on the same page and creating reasonable goals. I was able to mete out responsibilities tailored towards each member based on personality rather than only the logistics of their role and the expectations that come with it; this was improvisational, and not what you would find at a professional company where expectations are rigid and come with a contract attached, which is unique to working with a team in a classroom. I anticipate social loafing to occur and a skewed workload -especially towards the more competent and involved members - to surface, but I also expect the bare minimum out of each member; a game is a lot to accomplish and we each have to play a part so that the game is working from all ends. In the future weeks I hope to add a bit more substance to the group's accomplishments, especially considering the tight deadline and project window, however this was a necessary start to ease into the progression/flow of things and to make sure we all know what to do going forward. Next week I will begin creating the UI predicated upon the prototype from pre-production and the input I received for revisions. I will also be supervising to make sure everybody is on track and knows what they are to be doing. At this point we all have roles to be fulfilled and ways to be getting a headstart. Responsibilities document: Organization of the shared Drive: TLDR:
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AuthorMy name is Quinn Peterson! I will be reflecting about my art work in this blog! Archives
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