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WEEK 1: 13.01.25
WEEK 1: 13.01.25
This week, I met with my team and set up communication to discuss the project's developments over the rest of the period. This will be helpful if we operate remotely and need to inform each other of any additions or changes to ideas or problems with any production roles. Making a Trello can be used to monitor my progress, simplifying my time plan. I marked lower-priority tasks of the week in amber and included the first third of tasks, so I'm not overwhelmed with a list of incomplete work. Adding a backlog list serves as an incentive to make sure no work reaches that point, but if it does, I can focus on it to continue the structure of the pipeline I set for myself. Over the next week, I will continue developing our GDD template according to our ideas and the proposal, looking more specifically into industry references so I can further develop my understanding of real processes. Neither my team nor I ran into any obstacles this week, so we can resume our plan as intended, going into next week, meaning we are on schedule to finish the proposal as expected.
With the proposal, I focused on reflecting on my time at college this week while developing the project concept. These areas allowed me to get a good start on my proposal by going into each unit and revisiting what made each area useful at the time and how it applies to my current project. This phase of the proposal was the most useful as reflecting helped me to realise what I've learned and how I can apply the past year to this project.
During the write-up for the proposal, we develop a document that will later resemble a GDD for the game. By colour coding our names, it is easier to credit each other for who has contributed in what way.
Spending some time writing a description means we can be on the same page. Having this allows us to have a clear idea of the concept and present our work to other audiences with a better idea of what the game's central focus is. Over time, the document can be adapted to feature any new ideas we develop throughout the process.
The next priority was to make a model list. By writing down all the aspects that we consider compulsory for a survival game, we can make a note of every model we intend to make over the duration of the project. This will set a foundation, and later we can discuss who will be responsible for each. We added some basic inclusions like workbenches similar to the ones in Dragon Quest Builders and the crafting tables from Minecraft, and materials like the branches and rocks to craft tools. Certain items have been added for utility, like the Berries that can be used in crafting recipes to make healing items for players, tools to help farm other items, making resource collection better optimised, and rewarding the player by progressing through.
This is the first list of mechanics we came up with. Since Andrew will be programming all of these features, we made a rough list where we can remove excess items that have no place in the final version. Applying this method will help us to include only what we believe is necessary. We discussed that both a hunger metre and a temperature metre may be too much to keep track of, so we may change what is included at a later stage.
(Colour coding assigned to members)
WEEK 2: 20.01.25
WEEK 2: 20.01.25
Over this week, I began collecting a significant amount of credible sources to use within my research and production phases. I can use these to reflect on key practices and pipeline stages that help me achieve a better end product with each role. The proposal has progressed to a standard I am satisfied with, being on track to finish this phase in two weeks, and I can develop my time plan further. By the end of this week, I had gathered most of my references and developed the shared document so our ideas of the game won't differ, allowing us to be on the same page throughout development. On top of the current schedule, next week I will sort out my research plan in more detail and begin to formulate a world map. This will help when Reece and I design our levels, as we can work on how our levels will connect.
I used my time this week to develop the proposal references, including portfolios of level designers, level design principles, and opinions on some of the main games I intend to look into. This allowed me to get an idea of what other survival games I can look into in the later weeks to branch off from the main game inspirations of The Last Campfire and Minecraft, though mostly sticking to survival-adjacent games since The Last Campfire simply serves as inspiration for art style. Last week was helpful to generate ideas with the team, so alongside the proposal, I will continue this.
A list of items the player can craft was added, with the initial recipe required to craft them. From the time frame, we set out to make some basic crafting items that fit the practicality of a survival game. Returning to the document this week, I expanded the model list with my team and decided which models each of us should do. Adding some extra recipes like food can help the player recover health after a confrontation, making the game more balanced and can impact the pace, encouraging players to stock up on multiple copies of these items.
This list details the statistics of the characters that the player can interact with. Including their drops, this can be later modified to balance the game, a key aspect of level design. Giving the player enough to work with so that the experience is challenging, while not providing too much so that the player has everything they could want too quickly, and the player leaves themself with nothing to do. Where I position these characters in my level can matter greatly, as this can change how quickly players will be able to access the key resources they need to progress.
This list goes over some key biomes that may appear throughout both levels. The biomes are specific to mine and Reece's levels, adding some points of interest that would function as structures that interest the player. Scattered across the map, these points of interest would include loot for players to find that will help them collect resources and fend off enemies, so it makes sense that these areas are well guarded to challenge the player, so that the items serve as rewards rather than free pickups.
Revisiting the model list this week, I went through with Reece on which models we should each assign ourselves so we can plan ahead on our time planner. We decided that it would be best that Andrew designs the armour since he is also designing the characters, so he can model the armour based on his character's proportions.
WEEK 3: 27.01.25
WEEK 3: 27.01.25
Over the week, I finished my proposal and worked on developing a more concrete time plan. By formatting this in more detail, I can better prepare for the entire project in advance, while in the earlier stages. Gathering more research sources made it easier to begin thinking about research and how to structure my mind map for next week. The references were the most helpful thing to come out of this week, as I spent some more time reading Jesse Schell's Book of Lenses and revised some of the most applicable to our project. This week went as intended, with no real obstacles that slowed down my progress. Being where I want to be for this week, which means I am on schedule according to my time plan. I will use next week to detail my time plan further and have tutors' feedback on my entire proposal to ensure I am ready to begin researching the concept and expand my ideas for mind maps to include everything I want to cover. I will do this by making a list of everything I want to talk about and summarising it into 5 key areas, allowing me to branch off and cover more varied topics.
Continuing with a similar process to last week, along with idea development, led to a more concrete concept of our team's idea that will lead to less confusion later on by developing the idea through the early stages. By doing parts of the proposal before the assignment begins, I not only save time going into my research but also make the proposal easier as I only focus on a few segments a week while prioritising the rest of the week's time working on idea development and constructing the foundation of a GDD.
Below is a document featuring my proposal and my time plan. This was made over the past few weeks to present my idea to tutors in order to gather some feedback. Conversing with my peers was key so that we each had the same idea of what our FEP would look like. From this, we can develop a pipeline and work together so that every asset is ready when anyone else needs it.
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