At this stage, I'm pleased with the model's progress so far. As a simple model, it doesn't require an immense amount of detail, so I believe it was the correct decision to kick off production with this. This can allow me to build up my skills and familiarise myself with some basic controls and practices, which may help me in some more complex models later on. Since the model was very simple, I didn't have many problems with it as I knew what I'd have to do at each stage, only adding more indents to create a more natural look.

With the UV stage complete, I will revisit this model at a later stage when all models have been completed. I have found it difficult to judge the models in their current state, as only when each model has been textured does any form of style begin to develop. I believe the methods I chose were the most appropriate, as I was able to achieve what I wanted. I didn't encounter any major obstacles with this piece, so I felt comfortable moving on to the next. Setting a target goal of 6 models this week would put me just under the halfway mark and give me 2 weeks to complete the last half of the models on my list, saving the more complex ones for last to establish a progressive workflow. This aims to have a stronger mental impact as having most of the models done by the first week will help build the confidence I need to take on those I may otherwise find more challenging. Next, I aim to make other simple items like the Rock and Sharp Rock, key for recipes involving simple tools to kick the player off.

I'm pleased with how the model is going so far. As an item model, it helps to prepare me for the complex models, which are more likely to provide a greater challenge. Like the last piece, this was necessary to refresh my skills and develop my understanding of Maya skills, including bevelling, including the benefits and consequences, like how it provides you with more topology, although corners can cause Ngons to be created, which must be cleaned up to optimise any shading issues. Unreal converts topology into triangular form, which means the Ngons are warped. Since this item will be a resource to pick up, it will be a small item within the game, This means when I come to texturing, I would set the resolution values to something small to make it more optimised since we're not aiming for much detail. 

I'm happy with this piece's current progress, as it resembles my rock from earlier, which helps cement a constant standard of topology. Applying the same level of detail to my models will help them feel more like a collection rather than entirely separate objects. Going forward, this was useful to help realise what I need to do to replicate this level of detail across all my models. Now, with a few models being near completion, I could better understand the format I'm working with. I think that I made the correct decision when starting this model to use my own previous model as a reference, since it made the most logical sense while offering some aid on scale and topology.

Now finishing this model, I'm pleased with my progress, not only with the finished result but also with my pace for this week. I've found splitting the models into parts and dedicating a day to a few models means I have enough time to not feel stressed or burned out. This model seemed a lot easier than it would've been if I hadn't started with the Normal Rock. Since this model was more complex, I found it difficult to sharpen the edges without the model looking basic. While this seemed challenging at first, using the bevelling tool on the Normal and Sharp Rock helped them to look more adjacent to the other models I'd made so far. Using the Normal Rock as a reference, however, made it much easier to get it to look right, meaning adopting this workflow of sorting the models from least to most complex ended up saving me valuable time. 

Using my mood board, finding the shape of the berry I liked was easy enough. I looked at the apricorns from Pokémon Legends: Arceus, as the game is set in a colder climate, using this in combination with the colour scheme of the berries from my research mood board helped me create a style I felt was unique. These items help the player to craft greater healing recipes if they find enough of them. Since these are a finite resource, they are valuable tools, so players need to conserve them carefully. This means I will also have berries placed in certain spots in groups to help players collect more than one at a time. 

At this stage, I'm more prepared to move on to the next model. This model helped me to further understand the importance of UVs and why unfolding them can have a big impact on the distribution of the textures. I like the berries model and look forward to how it will look when textured. I think this because it's simple enough to get the point across while gaining confidence when doing UVs, and my knowledge of the tools to get the topology I wanted. The more models I make, the more I feel like I have learned about the process, a helpful result given that every model I make gets more complex. I had a conversation with one of my tutors when, on first impression of the models, I believed they were to replicate a spice jar. This was said due to the top of the model looking as though it was a lid. After revealing what the intention of the model is, they could see the vision since they were stylised. It was recommended that the textures may make it look more obvious, so be wary of this when it comes to it.  

I'm pleased with my progress with the Storage Chest right now. At first, I thought that the model may be too simple since I had nothing else but a box in mind. However, by adding some extra detail, it helped the model to stand out from a typical box while maintaining a topology similar to that of my previous models. This piece was necessary as this can be used to allow the player to store items by placing them down or rummage around the levels to find chests that have been left behind. These chests might contain helpful items to speed up the player's resource collection. While not receiving any feedback at this stage, I can get some when the model is finished, to see what peers or tutors think of the model.

I add a cube and stretch it across the width of the lid, pushing the top vertices in to slant the top. Since the chest is on the simpler side of the models, the UVs were straightforward. I later adjusted the UVs as I realised this would cause a problem with the texture distribution, as on the grid, the lid would have the texture on a larger scale since the net is smaller, so the UV grid would be disproportionate to the box. 

Adding a lid helped to cement the design as a storage item. It is also more useful since the player would otherwise be able to see inside, meaning any items would need to be placed inside, or the chest would appear empty and might discourage players from going to it and may be mistaken for just another environmental prop. To get players drawn to the chest, using the lid helps players have more curiosity as to what may be inside, creating some anticipation and build-up, which may motivate players to head over to them if they're spotted from far away. For this reason, I may build taller structures on my level to draw people's attention across the more open design of my landscape to benefit this design choice. 

So far, this model has been a struggle due to having problems getting the subdiv proxy to work correctly. While changing the method of modelling was helpful for this piece, I've decided to step back and attempt the model again at a later time. Due to being more difficult than I expected, I think it's in the best interest of my workflow to take a break for the rest of this week since I'm approaching one-third of the completion of my models. This allowed for some leniency where I can take a step back to avoid feeling burned out. This will help me going forward since I can start next week trying something different and return after getting some more experience.

Starting with a simple cylinder, I added edges at the bottom to give the pillar a base, then I translated the middle vertex into the model. By now, selecting some faces, I could create a rugged look that would indicate damage to the model, more befitting of my environment. Since I liked the natural look the wood item model had, I used the same method for the pillar in an attempt to develop a modular consistency between each piece. I then made a smaller iteration for variation, using the same model as a base and rearranging some of the details for a less identical copy. 

Since the model was quite simple, I was able to get both variants of the pillar done very quickly. While not the most important model, only showing up in a few places, this helped me to feel better about my experience with the metal item model, since I regained confidence after having issues which caused issues last week. What I can do going forward is stay consistent in the modelling workflow and do what I think I need to to keep the topology similar in style to the rest of my models so I end up with a group that feels connected. This model will help break up some space across the level. I intend to use this almost exclusively across the enemy camps to have some consistency. I found that this model was helpful to kickstart this week, and as I move on to more complex models, I have made use of the time so far to develop my skills.

After finishing the pillar model, the UVs didn't give me any problems. Since they never strayed too far from the primitive shapes, the modelling process was very similar to the storage chest, so I didn't have any issues. Going forward, I'm more familiar with taking more primitive shapes and making them more distinct.

With this model, I was concerned at first that it looked too advanced for the basic pickaxe. Because of this, I made a change to the design and kept this as the Advanced Pickaxe. Since I felt that it was difficult to make the item seem upgraded, I didn't know where to take the concept from here. Since it was easier to make a downgrade to the model, I could use that for the basic pickaxe instead. The model's intention is to be used to collect metal: a valuable resource scattered few and far between my level. This makes the item essential, which may have affected my decision to work on it earlier than I would've otherwise. Getting feedback from a tutor, they said that the model was well put together with the base form, and I could now start applying details. This feedback was useful to me as it reminded me of a few tweaks I could make to refine the model. Because of this, I would deem the feedback I received useful.

I'm pleased with the model's progress after making the adjustments I had planned. Receiving some advice halfway through continues to be a reliable method for me to make any changes if a peer or tutor gives me any feedback, in case of any particular feedback. Like before, this piece was necessary, along with the advanced pickaxe, the basic pickaxe is arguably more useful since it's more accessible early on and required to craft the advanced pickaxe due to the basic pickaxe being required to harvest metal. This model helped me problem solve in a unique way, where I was concerned about being able to upgrade the basic pickaxe while keeping the aesthetic simple and keeping the model within the realm of being primitive. This was fixed by instead downgrading the basic pickaxe, making the original the advanced pickaxe, so I could use a simpler design for the new basic pickaxe.

Since this rock is larger scale than the other rock items, I added more detail than I would for the collection of item models. Since this was a resource, I focused on adding more variation across the model to add to the natural look of the model. I hadn't done this with any of the item models due to their simplicity in other games like Dragon Quest Builders, along with their size. Since the models are smaller, they don't need a large resolution, which would risk slowing the game down if there were too many of them loaded at once, and since they're items, they would be plentiful across the level.

With this model, I encountered an issue where the markers for the ore disappeared when I opened up the model again. Luckily, this was only a small fix to save since I just replaced them where they were on the last model in the best spots from memory. While this was a mild setback, it helped as it made me realise that they didn't stand out too much from the actual rock. To counter this issue, I extruded them further and used the middle vertex and stretched it out to make a spiked shape traditional of ore from more stylised games. From the peer feedback I received when I asked to compare the original to the altered version, people seemed to like the changes I made, and I can understand why, since the different colour of the ore next to the grey will stand out more against the grey if the ore showing through is larger.

While the UVs stayed as the basic shape, this was due to how the grid was laid out before and after unfolding. Since the UVs were perfect before the unfold, I left them as is. This model ended up being simple since I only had to make a ball of wool to show the item was cotton. To give the model more detail, the texturing phase would be the most impactful, as with most of the models. The only feedback I received with this model was to add some additional spheres of varying size. Later on in the model's progress, this would take effect as I plan to have some transparency across the texture I make in Blender, meaning several layers of spheres will show through. I have chosen to do this to try to give the impression that the cotton is a thicker material to achieve the woollen effect.

This would have been the most appropriate shape for the NURB curve method however, the topology would be more complex, which could have ended up with a topology that stood out too much from the rest of the models. I'm happy with the model at this point, though I received some peer feedback on what my next steps should be. My teammate said I should add some more edges to give the bowl a smoother finish, which would help remove the sharp edges around the side.

While this was the first model to cause any major problems since the metal item, my tutor gave some advice on how I would have otherwise not known how to fix this issue. Despite the issue, I'm pleased with this model as I'm anticipating what it will be like when textured. Since the item will be a necessary addition, being a major healing resource, it was important to move past the struggles I had and have the model ready by the end of the week.

So far, I'm pleased with how the model is taking shape. If I were to change one thing about the model going forward, it would be adding detail to the roots and hammer, since the hammer was modelled as a placeholder, I can begin adding more detail to it. From this, the workbench will begin to look more like how I intended and will allow me to see if I would like to include any other mini assets to go alongside the hammer. The workbench is one of the most important and detailed models, so originally I left it until last so that I could use the skills and knowledge I learned across my other models onto this piece. Using a peer's feedback, they stated that they like the look of how the Soft Select made the workbench rounder in shape. This was to make a more natural appearance to further embed the theme of primitivity in the crafting and resources.

This is one of the models that I am the most proud of, since the model is not too detailed, and therefore reminiscent of the existing model style. I added much more smoothness to the base after constructing the mallet model to further remove any high volume of roughness. I decided this was best as any additional roughness I needed, I could apply through a texture rather than relying solely on topology. Being such a key model in a survival genre, I had to make the model stand out by including more detail while striking a balance of simplicity, meaning the model had enough variety in texture to be recognisable across a map if it was visible from a distance.

While I'm happy with how the model turned out after causing me issues earlier on, it was absolutely the right decision to step away and return later, as asking for some advice helped me realise what I could do to fix the issue. By looking at the model from a different perspective, I could complete what I needed to, even texturing the model to get a head start on my production. I'm happy with the model because of how the shape has turned out like I was picturing. The process has taught me that subdiv proxy can help you get some more concise shapes but I should be highly aware for next time what the risks to the process are so that I don't have this issue in the future. Being the rarest resource in the game, the item should be well-received if a player happens to stumble upon some. For this reason, I changed the colour values around to see what worked, landing on a royal blue-purple colour to exude rarity due to it being an uncommon colour in the natural world.

Blur can help give the texture less contrast in the texture, allowing you to blend with another texture to apply more details while keeping the best parts of each. Levels help to alter the values of the light and dark accents of each texture to either reduce the contrast or accentuate it.

The grass texture had some problems at first with getting the colour and brightness exactly right. By experimenting with the right values, I was able to overcome this and develop the modifiers to values I was satisfied with. I did have my doubts about my grass texture at first, that it may look too realistic, but toning the texture down should keep it looking nicer in Reece's level.

The dirt texture in my opinion turned out really well, as I've gained a lot of confidence and logic in my technical skill with Substance Painter. This has allowed me to work quicker through these textures and has given me more time this week for refining my portfolio and time plan.

After making the four main floor textures this week, I've gained confidence in using Substance Designer. From these four, the diversity in textures helped me to develop my skills when looking to make different kinds of textures by blending others together. Over the week I have been practising skills that I have learned to be essential to make a good texture in Substance Designer, therefore giving me a workflow foundation I may use in future. The most challenging was the ice and snow textures, as the default texture to use wasn't as obvious. To do this, I had to find a texture I thought could work and try to mask it to appear as another texture, with the ice using a cross between two textures to create a frosted effect. Since I got this week's tasks over quickly, I could work on polishing the GDD for the rest of this week to get ahead.

When taking the textures into Unreal, the process seemed fairly straightforward. After exporting from Substance Designer, I added a New Material in my content drawer for each of the textures necessary for my level that would be used. For safety, in case I wanted to use dirt or grass for any reason, potentially some blending with the Landscape sculpting, I just had to export each of the texture maps from Substance and plug them into the corresponding pins of a Material node. This was, for the most part, self-explanatory as the normal maps would connect to the Normal pin and the same applied for colour and roughness. The height map was the only confusing one, as there weren't any pins named Height. After discussing with a peer, this would apply to the Pixel Depth Offset pin because that was the most equivalent to a height map. Since each of these will function as floor textures, there must be detail to avoid them looking like block colours, but not too much where they look realistic. While I ended up not needing the Grass or Dirt texture as suspected, the Snow and Ice turned out well in my level, better than expected.

For each finished model, I'll show an angle of the topology, a top-down view, and a front view to show off each finished product. This helps display my topology, along with how dynamic my model is from looking at different points. The baking process was straightforward for me to understand after receiving a guide from Andrew. The steps involve making a new material in the properties panel and adding an image texture to each material. Once setting a resolution, turn the baking type to "Cycles" and choose the Diffuse for the base colour option, the rest under the Diffuse drop down like Roughness and Normals, add fake depth since the texture isn't adding any topology. To save the maps for each of these, select Bake at the bottom and wait until the map shows up in the top left and save the map to a folder. This keeps things organised, so I know where everything is when I import all the models into my level.

The following questions were used to help prompt me, which was helpful to speed up my reflective process over the textures and gave me a structure to stick to, keeping my summaries of the process concise and consistent:

How has the texture turned out? Was it better than expected?

Do you think the purpose of the model is clear, and why?

Has a tutor/peer fed back on work? 

I believe that with this model, the textures have significantly improved what I think of the final product. To achieve the difference between the light and darker wood, I added a new material in Blender and copied the nodes for the materials to get the same roughness effect and save time. The only change I had to make was going into edit mode with Tab and selecting all the faces I wanted to make the lighter variant. Once assigning the texture, I went into the brown colour ramp and modified the values to get a lighter result, then baking all the variations I needed. Because the model is one of the more detailed items so I had one of the maps be a normal add fake depth so it can be better shaded. From the beginning, using my mood board, looking at examples of typical wood items like in Animal Crossing or Dragon Quest, I could make a few changes while keeping the model consistent and recognisable. Having a teammate review this response, they liked the roughness effect on the model and that the three logs together make the model more dynamic and fill out space.

In Blender, connecting the Noise Texture and a Colour Ramp to add randomness, I applied transparency to make it look layered, creating that thickness that I was looking for in the modelling phase. By the end, this texture turned out better than I expected with most of the models, since it's difficult to determine how the model will turn out in the early stages. Personally, I believe the purpose of the model is clear due to the technique I used, where layering spheres helped add thickness, which accentuates the texture as I had imagined. After having a peer give their feedback, they said the model was simple which helped it to remain consistent across the rest of the models, however, the simplicity in topology could have perhaps been more complex with some mild variation to make the cotton ball less neat. I exported the diffuse and roughness, with the maps not causing any issues. Like I mentioned when I did the UVs, I kept them simple to avoid any stretching across the textures.

With this model I couldn't just suffice with the textures I have already, so I need to make a new one for the berry juice. Starting with a Colour Ramp coloured pink, and added a Noise Texture with some distortion, adding more depth to make the texture appear like liquid. I think that this model is obvious enough, with the shape being easy to tell what the intention is. My only concern would be the readability if the image is only a small icon in the crafting menu, as players might not be able to see what the purpose of the item is styled to be simplistic. Despite this, I'm impressed with how the juice texture turned out since it required more thinking to get the consistency with the other textures.

With this model, I first had my doubts. Once I made the texture, I was pleased with how it turned out. I first applied the berry juice texture to this model and made some tweaks, removing the node affecting the roughness made the berry colour more solid and allowed for a softer look to it. I did get some feedback saying how the wood texture on the top doesn't look as natural, however, I did this to remake the look of the berries from Pokémon to try to abide by the simplistic style. Self-reflecting on this model, I do think the purpose might not be clear from first glance based on the model. Unless the player goes into the crafting menu and sees that they need the berries to craft a bowl of juice, it should be enough to infer that this is for the player to maintain the hunger meter. For next time, I could have fixed this to add some plant-related aspect to make it resemble a berry more closely.  

The Basic Pickaxe is another model where I'm pleased with the end result. I think that it turned out better than I was expecting and delivers a clear message as a usable tool within the game. The only change I had to make to the model was using edit mode due to the model having more than one texture, using it to select the head and texture that to be stone. A peer said that the model has a clear purpose and representation, meaning the structure has effective communication. 

The process of texturing the advanced pickaxe was very similar to that of the Basic Pickaxe, texturing the entire object wood and making a separate material for the metal, then using edit mode to select all of the faces that have to be metal. I chose to use metal because it will make the item appear more important as it uses different colours from the rest of the model's palette, which uses more natural hues. In terms of textures, this is one of the models that I'm most impressed with how the textures turned out. The only issue pointed out by my tutor was that the textures on the metal segment seemed to be stretching a little, which affected the final result. While this was an issue, in the game, this may end up working out since the model may be low-scale enough for this to have no in-game impact. My only problem was the stretching across the metal UV, but the model ended up looking perfectly fine and didn't cause any issues in the engine.

Because of the issues I had with the metal item, I ended up making the UVs within Blender, shown by the red lines. Making the metal texture previously for the Advanced Pickaxe and applying it to this model. Having some self-reflection, this isn't one of my favourite models due to all the issues. Despite this, I'm still pleased with how I've done since I wasn't sure how to replicate the target shape, and I ended up with something close that appears abstract, using the colour as a way to show the item is rare and more important. Using the irregular shape and unnatural colour should help achieve this as it shouldn't come across as a standard item. Because it was a simple model item, I only needed to apply one texture but due to the metallic, I needed some extra texture maps for the metallic. 

Using the rock texture, I make two instances of it for the pillar and the base in two separate Blender materials and darken the base slightly for some slight variety. By naming the materials "Pillar" and "Base", I could clearly tell which version of the texture I was applying to each part of the model. Since the model doesn't bear any practical purpose, it'll simply be used for environmental placement. I can use it sparingly or as breadcrumbs to get players to follow a certain path, or have them around camps to show buildings that may have been destroyed. Looking back, however, I think I could have made more variation between the two textures, as while there is a difference, it is a subtle change. I would go about this by expanding the contrast on the Colour Ramp on the base to make it darker. Originally, I didn't want too much variation to give the idea it was made of the same material without much polish to indicate the tools accessible aren't ideal, but I could've experimented with more contrast between textures before baking.  

The short pillar was very similar to the standard. With no texture difference, I have the same reflection that I would have made the base and the body of the pillar have more contrast to the parts stand out more from each other. Like with the other pillar, the purpose is the same, with this model intending to add some variation in case having too many standard pillars would make them look too flat in a group. I'm happy with the pair, but I believe there was definitely room for improvement. Despite this, I can use this across texturing the rest of the models to experiment with more contrast in case the difference of the colours falls short.

The rock item turned out better than expected, as with simpler shapes, I was anticipating that the model would turn out worse than I had expected. I believe that the shape and texture are obvious enough to indicate the purpose of the model. To further accentuate the purpose, I could try placing as many as possible by stones and rocks to give the impression that these can be picked up while giving the impression that they've come from these larger rocks. While I think the purpose of the model is clear, since not many items are crafted using stone, I can use these as items for trades to make them more desirable. This would make the item common to the player and potentially allow them to realise they're items should the player not notice. Using a roughness map gives the model more definition, using the detail to highlight the item.  

I'm satisfied with how the texture looks on the model. While it looked as I expected after seeing the texture applied to the Normal Rock, I had the problem that it may look similar to the Normal Rock when the icon is small in the inventory and crafting menus. Since the item is a crafted item, requiring two Normal Rocks, that might cause some confusion if the item is only really viewable in a menu. The sharper edges should help people to differentiate between the two. With the two rock models, I think bevelling these two specifically helped neaten the edges and keep them smoother, so the model looked more refined. If I had bevelled the others, I worry that this would've made too much of a difference between models as a lot of them are made up of more faces, making these look too rough in comparison, which I thought would be the best decision to help maintain consistency. 

With this model, it covers a larger surface on the ground, so I added a mask to create a frosted effect. This creates the illusion that the ore has been more exposed like the texture references in my mood board. Using a most abstract colour for the metal texture should make it stand out from the browns and greys of the wood and stone items, making it catch players' eyes, important for a valuable item. While less shiny than I expected, this may be due to a mistake when baking the roughness map; most likely, making some greater changes to the texture might have fixed this.

The storage chest was a model I'm happy with how it turned out, I made some changes like adding a second material for the inside for more depth, which helped accentuate the depth of the model and variation. Because of this choice, I found that it made me like the model more. Considering practicality and setting was a large part of the model's progression, as I had to think about what tools the player would have access to to make the model realistically possible to make. Due to this, the lid is just placed over the box rather than being attached by a hinge. Since this makes sense within the game world, this has the potential to further immersion. This is one of my favourite models I've textured, with a peer saying that the different textures and colours help it stand out with all the intrusions and extrusions to give the model more depth, like I had intended, keeping the design more complex while being applied to a simple shape and style.

While I noticed stretching of textures in parts, the model ended up turning out okay. Since it's one of the most detailed models in terms of textures, I'm impressed with the final result, as it's the largest amount of textures I've used in one model. Carefully assigning each texture, I learnt more about the texturing process in Blender, and it is a task I could complete more easily in the future after gaining more experience. The paper and hammer help to tie the model together and provide it with a clear purpose. This can be tested later in post-production, where we can test to see if players are particularly drawn to the object. If this is the case, then I will have first-hand satisfaction that the model is fitting of its purpose. My only issue was with the maps causing the textures to stretch. I believe that if I had known more about UVs and researched some more helpful ways to organise them, I could've ended up with a neater final model. While a tutor said I could've removed the base as it wouldn't be seen for more optimised UVs, I realised that I would still need it since the workbench is a placeable item, which means the player can carry it in their hand, meaning it wouldn't constantly be touching the floor.

Over this week, I have thoroughly enjoyed the texturing process as it allowed me to learn so much about this area that I couldn't get out of a tutorial. Doing these alongside Reece and working together helped me to get into a rhythm of texturing faster and more efficiently, as the method I stuck to was easy to get the hang of quickly. While not my intended path in the industry, I may find it easier to work with someone doing this profession and find their methodology more relatable, improving my teamwork collaboration with other roles across the industry.

With the final turn-outs for the models, I think I'm able to sort each of them into categories covering models I think I definitely could've improved, from models where there was room for improvement, but I was pleased with the end result more than others. The texturing process was a great learning curve that allowed me to better understand this process and will provide me with more relatability to those working with texturing. Since level design is my main focus for the project, I'm more focused on prioritising my main long-term goals for the industry and gaining greater practice within the theories of level design in a three-dimensional space.

Below is a walkthrough of the whole level explaining some of my processes. I found that using my research on level design was key during this section, as I was able to apply my theory to the design of the map. I found this process a lot of fun as I was able to use inference to my advantage by manipulating where the player is most likely to go and what that means for my level. By doing this, I could better decide in my pre-production where each piece of the level would fall into place. Because of this, my level design blueprint didn't change much between pre-production and now, only with some small adjustments for game balancing. Playing a big role in my decisions, I could decide how much I wanted to reward the player for each path they check or obstacle they clear. I found that once adding in all of the assets, it was much easier for the level to improve quickly, as the addition of the ice texture and Reece's models added a lot. When designing the level after my greybox and adding Andrew's day/night cycle, there was an initial worry that the level would be too dark at night. To counter this, some torches were later placed down at points of interest. acting like a nighttime exclusive aid to the player, breadcrumbing them into heading a certain route. Despite the level being much darker, it's still very easy to see where you're going. Walls being far apart is a beneficial design of open levels to avoid any issues with the Engine lighting, and it works in my favour here.

Using Uppbeat, I found the most appropriate sounds as I could. For the main theme, I needed something that wasn't too loud to distract from gameplay, serving as ambient music. I was prompted to make this choice by our main inspiration of Minecraft as the relaxing music gives players more incentive to go at their own pace. Using the rest of my credits, I downloaded some sounds that were the most suitable outside of premium. This would be a problem since certain sounds didn't have an exact match, but I found what I could make work. The biggest example of this was the noise made when a rabbit is hit; the closest thing was mouse squeaks that were too long, and I needed something short and simple, so I settled for a squeaky toy noise and went for a cuter theme, making the rabbits seem more harmless. While the music wasn't perfect, I was forced to work with what I had at my disposal, and it still adds immersion and charm at times befitting of the game's style.

Response 1:

How did the game look in your opinion?

I really liked it :) I thought both levels looked very appealing and also visually distinct. I think the player models and also creature and enemy models were all really well done. Especially the shark, the animation of the jumping was so cool I genuinely screamed seeing it, it was so awesome. -Harriett

What do you think of the character designs? Do they fit the simplistic resources available?

I think they fit really well with the vibe of the game and also the resources/tools. The style seems very consistent to me. -Harriett

Did you experience any issues while playing? 

There were some parts where I ate something, and my health didn't replenish. Or I was on seemingly no health but was still alive, so I don't know if the health bar was frozen or un synced or something. Also, another time my attacks didn't work, so I had to re-equip the club. 

-Harriett

How would you rate the level you played? (Grass is Reece's, Snow is Callum's) 

I liked both. I think the grass level was overall pretty good at guiding you round but there was one point where I got pretty stuck, there was a light ahead that I assumed I was meant to go towards but not a clear path and instead I ended up circling round back to the start. I think also the lighting on this level got quite dark and it made it hard to play during the night periods. However, I think it was good how torches were used to lead the player along paths and such. I think the snow level was less impacted by lighting, I could still see during the night generally. I think the use of different environmental pieces helped guide me to areas I needed to look at. Like the raised area with the tree made me go round and then walk up to the Timberly character you can trade with. Then the big rock across the roof of the area with the rabbits lead me to going over and finding the boss area. -Harriett

What was the most and least effective feature in your eyes?

I think the interactivity as a whole was really good. There's a lot to do in the game and things like crafting and cooking items all link together. I think the only improvement I could thing of is just more visual indicators of things. Like eating unlike other items you use you don't click you just switch to it in the hotbar but the item stays in your hand until you switch of so unless you're looking at the hotbar it's not super obvious.

-Harriett

What would you change about the least effective feature?

This is definitely a big ask so I think it'd be down the line if you were to work on the game more, but I think more animations when interacting with items could be helpful. But that's really just more of a polish thing the gameplay itself is good. -Harriett

What are your final thoughts?

Overall, I really enjoyed it. I was super impressed with how well all the parts of the game worked together it seems very well thought through. Like especially with the time constraints I just think everything is really well done. -Harriett

Response 2:

How did the game look in your opinion?

Looked like a mix of Minecraft and Fortnite (graphically it felt like old Fortnite but played more like Minecraft) - Robbie

What do you think of the character designs? Do they fit the simplistic resources available?

The designs of the characters are good but could be made better with a customisation feature for the hair. - Robbie

Did you experience any issues while playing? 

There were a few times when I fell down holes and got stuck. Sometimes when eating food, I wasn't able to move afterwards. - Robbie

How would you rate the level you played? (Grass is Reece's, Snow is Callum's) 

The grass level was good for learning the mechanics, but I had trouble finding where to go. The snow level used objects to help guide me to areas I needed to look at. This made it easy to know where to go, and the level had a good balance of objects that are both out in the open and hidden from view. -Robbie

What was the most and least effective feature in your eyes?

The most effective feature is crafting because it seems essential to play the whole game, and the least effective may be the berries, as I didn't find much use for those any more than the rabbit meat. - Robbie

What would you change about the least effective feature?

Make it so that berries may be used to lure rabbits as bait so they don't run as much. - Robbie

What are your final thoughts?

Building works pretty good but is quite difficult to place the items exactly where I want them, crafting works fine but it may be better to highlight what can be built rather than them all be the same colour and the fighting works fine apart from a few times where if 2 enemies are too close to each other you can't start fighting them before having to run away then run back.

This feedback was very helpful in getting what I needed from feedback. Both responses were useful to watch and see what each player did. My level was designed around accounting for as many player types and instances, with trades for socialisers and hidden resources for explorers. Level theory and instances are something I wanted to put a lot into my level, and I found a way to use breadcrumbing more subtly by getting them to explore. While at first I thought it wouldn't work, all of my playtesters who gave feedback took the route I intended, first going up to the top camp, turning around to the salvager camp and now that the larger camp is in view, attempting the strongest obstacle yet. By doing this, the player gained experience first, got some resources to trade with then attempted the major camp in the middle of the map. Using level beats and directional guidance helped too, having every player reach the first salvager, whether they found the salvager in Reece's level or not. This worked in their favour as by putting the salvager camp on display, I could lead them to a mechanic they may not have seen before, which tells them that they should look out to see if there are any more. From playing my level, people interacted with the items like the workbench, which was good to know that they believed the purpose of the item was clear. Every player also followed the same path, proving my subtle approach on breadcrumbing still worked out while giving the player freedom to explore points of interest. Looking at the feedback, I didn't receive any negative feedback or criticism about my level, and the general response was that both levels were enjoyable and well-connected.