Embedded Files
PIXEL SPRITES AND ANIMATION: 16/09/24 - 2/10/24
MNASUHKKA
MORCRURA FLOWER
TOUGA
These are the initial silhouettes for the enemies, drawing a rough outline and then refining each to add desired detail like antenna on the Mnasuhkka and tail spikes on the Touga. The one that changed the most from silhouette to the base colour stage was the Morcrura, originally the legs were going to be a lot thicker, but in development I opted for thinner legs to make them more easily to place for the animation stage. For name origins, Mnasuhkka gets its name from a blend of mantis and the fact that the name is pronounced like massacre, indicating violence. Mors in Latin means death and crura means legs, mixing the two eventually gave me the name Morcrura. Finally Tortuga is the spanish name for tortoise, cutting out a few letters to make a two syllabled name.
The next step is to split the silhouette into parts and fill those parts in the colour I want to use. For the mantis, I wanted scales on the back of the design that are pearl coloured, I will try to create this effect when I get to shading the design. For the Morcrura, I split the colour into three parts, tentacles, leaves and the head. This will be good for the animation stage when I can split the overlap throughout these, making the leaves move up and down, along with the stretching legs. Finally for the Touga, I wanted long pointed nails to add to the creepy aesthetic of the creature. The Touga was originally going to have horns, but they were removed because when it would be animated, it wouldn't be able to fit the horns in the shell for the anticipation before it attacks, removing a sense a predictability and creating a problem of unfair attack patterns for players. This was countered by adding intimidating features elsewhere to balance the lack of horns such as the tail spikes.
Next is the shading for each design, displaying each pixel carefully to illustrate texture and light. The outlining method I used makes each outline pixel darker around the outside to make a clear outline but makes the character blend more with the environment than if it were to have an all black outline. When deciding colour, I wanted all the enemies to seamlessly blend in to the jungle around them, using an analogous pallet of the red-violet to blue-violet in order for some variation while still reflecting similar tones. For the Touga, I wanted to create a rugged texture by shading each area with sandy pixels to make the character appear to have a gritty body.
The animation for the Mnasuhkka took the longest time to animate by far. This is for several reasons, the first of which being because of the many moving parts compared to the other animations. I spanned the walk cycle over 10 frames to allow the legs to slide back and forth quickly, having each set move in pairs while the arms move down as the body moves up. Since real praying mantis' never close their eyes, instead I opted to move the mandibles and antenna when animating the face, having the mandibles open and close and making the antenna bobbing up and down with the body movement.
This is the animation for the Morcrura Flower. For the jump animation, I split it into three parts and apply some animation principles. Starting from Frame 4, the anticipation shows the plant charging up a jump by squashing down. Then I begin animating the mouth to open, opening over a few frames and then instantly shutting it after the peak of the jump to illustrate the mouth snapping shut quickly. I applied Overlap with the leaves by having them move at different points to further cement a foundation of physics to my animation. The plant is quite light, making the movements quick and frail, causing the legs to move around in the air.
I wanted the Touga's movements when animated to be quite sluggish due to the large and heavy shell that would realistically slow its movements, making the rocky appearance more convincing. I started with an anticipation, tapping the nails while waiting as the head moves up and down as if panting after an attack. For the actual hit, Tougas fire three acidic projectiles, adding green around the mouth before the attack as a secondary action.
This is a blue variant for the Morcrura enemy, I used the other Morcrura file over after completing the animation and re-coloured the enemy using the Eyedrop Tool to get the purple colour shade and convert it into blue. I then used the blue hex code and Shift+R to replace the purple colour and pasted it over each frame. I had to do this for each unique head and leg frame due to poses having different pixel distrubution. In terms of design choice I decided to keep the leaves the same to make both plants have something in common other than silhouette, giving the player an idea that it's movement pattern will have something to do with jumping.
This is the projectile that the Touga will shoot at the player. There are two versions since the Touga shoots multiple of these in an arc the second variant has more frame duration as it will take longer for it to hit the ground, meaning it needs more time to enter the part of the animation where it sinks onto the floor. I started by making a green circle and making a darker inner circle, applying base colour before shading around it to make it look bubble-like.
Bulcrylium is a shield shaped crystal that functions as a collectable throughout Mental Marine. When designing this I looked at several crystals and structured a single shard and began shading it. Once done, I copied the shard over and adjusted the proportions in the shape of a shield to make the in-game intention more obvious.
Vitocrylium is a bolt shaped crystal that functions as a collectable throughout Mental Marine. If you collect enough, you're able to increase your maximum stamina while in your armour, giving a reason for the shape having lightning bolts typically resemble speed or stamina in most forms of UI, making its purpose more guessable by the player before they even pick it up.
This is a Mnasuhkka egg, the side collectable that doesn't effect the players abilities in any way and adds a more informational side to the game. This can allow players to develop their understanding of the world by learning more about enemies in the game by collecting their eggs. To make this, I took the shade from the Mnasuhkka's eyes and arranged each into a ball of eggs.
This is the HP Buffer, used to increase the player's max HP. It follows the same animation style as the rest of the collectables to make the group more easily recognizable as collectable objects. When animating the object moving up and down I added a dark line around the edge that every few frames would light up to give the illusion that the item is glowing.
LEVEL PLANNING (DESIGN PRE-PRODUCTION): 26/09/24 - 29/09/24
This is the base template for the level, designing the screens and level length, along with where each collectable is going to go, each one being initially hidden off screen, causing players to look for spots they could enter like gaps or platforms leading up to potential other areas.
The opening screen with no hazards or misguiding routes, just a straight path requiring the player to jump to lead them in the right direction.
After introducing the player to the controls in a safe place, the player must string a series of jumps together to avoid spikes. The player can jump 4 tiles across and 3 tiles high, making the first few hazards very easily avoidable.
Next is a gap that is impossible to cross, forcing the player to fall down to the screen below. This is placed early on in the level so that the player has few options, avoiding the chance of them backtracking too far to try find a solution.
The player is forced to fall down the gap into the bottom of the pit. They'll find their gun from the crash and is now able to shoot and perform a boosted jump to help the player cross gaps. This passively teaches them that they can access other large gaps.
After the room with the unreachable gap the player can now cross it and reach this section. It's very straight forward, being able to access the next section without putting the player in danger. The player need to use the boost jump another time to reach the ledge to the right.
If the player was able to observe the holes in the ceiling, they can position themselves to boost up through the middle of the spikes and reach this room where the first collectable is. Adding this optional challenges further develops a sense of unique paths with the level.
The next section reminds the player they can use the boosted jump to launch themselves sideways, crossing large gaps. Having sets of spikes allows players to wager how much distance they can travel using the boosted gunshot.
This next room has small sets of spikes distributed along the bottom, making it tough to boost jump in the narrow space. This allows the basic jump to be reinforced, preventing any controls in the moveset from becoming irrelevant. The next segment has a narrow platform at the end of a platform that has a risk of overshooting the jump, teaching players to aim the boosted shots carefully.
Approaching the end to the cave level, the player comes from below and has to line themselves up between the spikes on the wall and the boost jump after a normal jump to reach the next section. Failing this task will cause the player to fall in between back to the last area and has to re attempt the jump again, this is why I made the ground safe at the bottom to not punish the player too harshly.
The final screen within the cave is a tunnel with the first enemy on top of a raised section. The Touga is represented by a 2x1 set of X's. Once the player has got past the enemy, they can move on from Crooked Cave and onto the jungle section of the vertical slice, Mangled Overgrowth.
A simple opener to the Mangled Overgrowth area with a Mnasuhkka approaching, represented by a 1x2 set of X's. This gets the player used to the enemy by introducing it on its own with the only other required task in this section is to jump up some ledges.
The player is then faced with a large wall, which must be scaled using the metal bridges. The player uses the mechanics introduced within Crooked Cave to climb up the bridges to the top of the cliff, avoiding Mnasuhkkas and a new enemy which is the Morcrura, shown by the 1x1 X tile.
This is the top most point of the cliff, offering multiple layers of shelter against the Touga's acid attack, this means players can scout for safe spots on the bridges before making their move to boost jump over and defeat the Touga blocking the next segment.
This section shows off more of the Morcrura enemy that are placed in pits so their high jumps don't reach as high, making them less of a threat in the early section of the second level. There are also horizontal spikes to make a more challenging jump.
The next section has a set of thin platforms surrounded by spikes, with a high ledge only accessible by a boost jump. The middle platform has a Morcrura on it, meaning players can try shooting it or speedily jumping past risking getting hit but makes the area faster, offering a different way to play the level.
This part has a drop where the player learns to use the boost jump in a new way. they have to drop but not leave it too long where they touch the spikes, shooting to save themselves from taking damage. Since the level is early on, you can get back over by using the bridges attached to the trees to get over rather than risking going through the spiky area again, making sure the way back is impossible to reach from the other side by making it too high to reach by using the boost jump.
This area is a simple continuation with metal bridges and a Mnasuhkka paired with a Touga which will be firing projectiles from above. If the player is feeling confident enough, they can get up there and defeat the Touga, they can make it to the other bridges and explore what's above.
If the player goes up from the last section, they'll find this optional area where a Touga is firing projectiles through the gap, adding a layer of timing to your boost jump across. The same idea is applied for the next section where the player has to land on the bridge to continue climbing up, falling down will take them back to the last screen.
This is a simple area with a lot of Mnasuhkkas on the top bridge, hinting to the collectable being a cluster of mantis eggs. The collectable leads the enemy to the drop which takes them back through the previous screen and lands them safely near the intended section.
The next section has a single Mnasuhkka on a hill approaching the player. Once gotten past, the player can reach the door to the right, taking them to the first puzzle section.
This is the first puzzle section in the level, introducing an ON/OFF Switch mechanic. First the player must turn the switch on to turn the hollow "R" blocks solid. The player than has enough height to reach the next area, they can shoot the switch floating and turn the blocks back to hollow, passing through to the next area.
For the second segment of this puzzle area, the player must hit the switch to turn the blocks solid again so that the player can stand on them and shoot the switch. As they shoot they switch, they need to prepare a vertical boost jump to get up to the higher section. For the final challenge, the player must shoot the switch on the other side while falling to catch their fall, allowing them to escape the first puzzle area.
After leaving the first ruin, the player has to land onto a platform with some Morcruras on it, making jumps onto ground higher than the player with spikes along the bottom.
The next area while fairly simple, is used to introduce a new enemy, a variant of the Morcrura that jumps directly towards the player.
This next section has a Mnasuhkka and a Touga on a bridge to fire projectiles at the player while they try to deal with the Mnasuhkka. Players may skip over the bridge in this screen but while nothing can be accessed from here there's a secret area below that leads up to here.
This section features some Morcrura with spikes and a pit, the pit is enterable and leads to a challenging hidden area that rewards a collectable.
This is the area below the pit from the previous screen. The area requires more precise use of the boost jump, boosting between ceiling and floor spikes and trying not to overshoot with your aim in the bottom section.
This area further develops on what the previous screen showed about overshooting. players have to land precisely by figuring out exactly how far the charge shot sends them sideways, trying to cheat by boost jumping up will result in hitting the spikes unless performed well, leading to some way of talking more than one different approach to the same problem.
This hidden area is where the first HP Buffer can be obtained, having to boost over higher ground covered in spikes, the second time having to time it more carefully to avoid hitting the spikes on the ceiling. Once the player makes it up, they can collect the item and fall back down and go right to the other screen, taking the player back up to the surface without any hazards on the way.
Another simple area with the blue Morcrura, allowing the player to adjust to them further. In this area, there are sections of raised ground that force the player to jump which can slow them down while also making them more vulnerable to the blue Morcrura.
This is a simple area with two Touga that guard the second alien ruin. One is raised to change the points where the acid balls are being fired, making one unreachable so even if they defeat the first one, the second one will still be firing at you. The second enemy is only reachable until after you pass.
This puzzle section has four sets of coloured blocks from the first one. The player can't do anything except fall down the hole. They have to be aware of the Touga that are shooting below before they fall.
The section of the puzzle area after they fall includes two Touga firing at the player onto a thin platform with four switches at the sides of the wall that the plaer can't reach. Instead they must shoot at the holes in the wall, requiring precise shots while being attacked by the enemies. After hitting all four switches, they can fall down the holes at the side to head to the top section.
After stepping outside of the second puzzle area, there's a tree with a symbol, and a pit with spikes on the side and a Mnasuhkka at the end. Each symbol uses dice numbers as a placeholder for the game.
If the player heads down the pit, they'll fall down to this segment which requires a well timed boost jump to the left. By avoiding the spikes on the left side of the screen they can obtain the final collectable of the vertical slice which is the Bulcrylium. After obtaining the item or failing they can use the bridges to get back up to the screen with the marked tree.
This next section has spikes and standard Morcrura flowers with another symbol. Each symbol also has meaning for the next puzzle segment that player's will have to memorize the order in which they appear from left to right.
This section before the next puzzle area has segments of raised ground with spikes on top of them, making the player have to use the boosted jump to leap over them and land in between the next set.
This room contains symbols attached to pillars, each symbol can be rotated to reveal a different symbol. The order follows the same order that the symbols are displayed in the past few screens of the level from left to right, potentially requiring players revisit the area and look carefully for which symbol follows the last.
This area between the last two alien ruins has two unreachable Tougas fire projectiles over the pit of spikes, requiring the player to cross the gap at the right time to avoid getting hit.
This puzzle involves lots of different coloured switches wired to different coloured blocks. First the player must lower the blocks labeled "R" by hitting the R switch on the floor. The player then needs to hit the B switch to make the B blocks closest to the player's position solid and the ones blocking access to the G switch off. Once the G switch has been hit the set of G blocks on the next screen are off, the player just needs to time a boosted jump onto the R switch to create a path to the next screen.
The player has to first turn the B switch to make the B blocks on this screen hollow, making the G switch on the screen reachable. Now they can hit the R switch below them to turn the R blocks blocking the path hollow. The final step is to reach the G switch and hit it, turning the G blocks solid and you can reach the high ledge and with the R blocks off, the puzzle becomes solved.
After solving the last puzzle in the area, there isn't much of the level left, a few lowered areas the make it harder t avoid the blue variants of the Morcrura, having one jump from a high ledge on the right side of the screen.
The final segment would be an empty zone for a smooth transition to what would be the next area, requiring two boosted jumps to prevent the blue Morcrura from following players.
Overall, the first two levels help the player to become acquainted with the mechanics by presenting the player with numerous ways to use the tools provided. The player also learns of different recurring puzzle types that they have to over face, testing memory and strategy in order to briefly change the pace of the game and appeal to a wider audience.
With Crooked Cave, the 10 screen long level helps the player ease in, having no moving enemies until the very end, allowing the player to focus on just avoiding spikes for the majority of the short opener to the game. Not starting off with the gun allows the player to get used to base controls until the game teaches the player the importance of the gun by having a jump early on that's impossible without it. This gets them used to defaulting into most situations by trying something out with the gun first as it will most likely be the answer.
Both levels show players plenty of uses and different time based challenges involving both horizontal and vertical boosts, waiting until after the peak of a jump to avoid hitting spikes, and overshooting boost jumps which will end up causing the player to miss the intended target and land on spikes like on Screen 28.
STATISTICS AND CONTROLS: 04/10/24
This is a basic graph I made giving a numerical value for everything in the game. This includes player values and enemy values which covers every asset within the vertical slice which can damage the player. First I gave the player a base value of 100 so I could work on enemy damage, making spikes do the most as from my research into metroidvania games like Monster Boy and The Messenger, spikes do more damage than most enemies. After sorting enemy damage, I could then determine how much damage I wanted the player to do, making a table displaying moveset options including damage. Once I decided on player damage using fairly simple numbers to make the charge shot worth charging up for, I could dictate enemy health based off how many normal shots they could survive and how many charged shots they could survive, making the turtle-like Touga the bulkiest to further illustrate its hard shell and thick skin. Finally for the sheet I needed to make controls that were suitable for all consoles we would sell the game on, mapping buttons sensibly to ensure the player adjusts to the controls quickly in order to complete challenging areas they might come across.
LEVEL MODELS: 07/10/24 - 08/10/24
These are the spike tiles used all throughout the game. To make this I created a cone in Maya and an subdivided it to be eight sides. I then duplicated it using Shift and Transform to make five spikes in a square formation for a single spike tile. Making one but on the base and one at the top, I could add a Paint Roll Layer and then export the Base Colour Map in Substance 3D Painter. Once dragged into Pixilate so that the png can be converted into a pixelated version, set the Block Size from 8 to 100 and tapped Pixilate, a pixel shader can be applied in Unreal Engine.
This is the metal pole model made separate from the bridge that it holds up. This was so that the pole could be altered to have multiple bridges attached to one pole.
This is my model for a mushroom in the cave section of the vertical slice. I used the extrude tool to model the stem and flattened a Sphere for the cap. After Mesh Combining them and bridging the models together, I cut the model UVs to separate the blue from the white by adding a cut between the stem and cap where the colours would connect, The cutting it down the middle to allow the stem to unfold. After adding a Black mask in substance to separate the Paint Roll textures the colour was applied and I could use the same process as before to get the pixelated version.
Lastly is the bridge, which involves a UV Cut around where the bridge will change in colour, having a different metal colour in the middle than the darker outside that matches the metal pole. By using the same mask process with the mushroom, I can separate the colours and export it and place it into Pixelate.
PIXEL BACKGROUNDS: 10/10/24 - 16/10/24
My next task is to design the game's area backgrounds, starting with Crooked Cave. Since I wanted a gloomy atmosphere, I used a dark blue background with sharp stalagmites and glowing mushrooms (two 3D models that will be placed in the level). This should aid in making the level more immersive by having elements that are in the background that appear within the level.
The first stage I did was to block out a few ideas for where each stalagmite would go, changing size starting with the ones that are the furthest away then overlapping with the darker shades of blue that are close to the player, allowing the background to achieve a sense of perspective. I made floor around the mushrooms lighter shades to give the impression that they are glowing.
In the final version, I adapted more shading onto the background, defining shape onto the stalagmites to make them seem more like rocks. Adding a second colour on the stem and cap of the mushrooms allowed for them to stan out more than they did when they were just one block colour. Since I thought the middle area was quite bare, I added large rock pillars on different layers I made to create more depth and remove some of the emptiness in the middle section of the canvas. Using various shades of dark blue allowed me to set the theme of the level more clearly by using what I learned from researching pixel background. I was able to apply my knowledge of dimensions to create perspective using shading.
Given I designed an underground area in the jungle, I wanted to recolour the background to match the purple colour palette of the jungle level. Since the glowing mushrooms aren't seen in the jungle area, I started by removing them and then recoloured the background using Shift R for each colour, changing every instance of a blue shade into a purple one with a similar hue value.
The next most important background is the main background for the Mangled Overgrowth, the jungle stage for the vertical slice. I started by using the fill tool and adding a light purple across the whole canvas.
I worked my way towards the player by starting with the lighter colour objects that were further away and then finished by adding the tree trunks that were the darkest shade of purple I selected from my palette. Next I added the floor and the ceiling of leaves, using the same process of working my way to the darker colours by starting with the lighter ones. Following this, I added smaller details like shrubs, branches and vines that extended out from the canopy, later adding pink moss to the branches to further accentuate the jungle aesthetic.
With the base finished I worked on adding texture through pixels like I had done with the cave background, adding stripes up the left side of the tree to look like bark, along with colouring in the shrubs and adding shading around the top of the vines and moss. the final change was editing the background colour as I wanted to illustrate the fact that it was dark given that forest floors get very little sunlight. I decided to go for a darker blue so that it flowed with the lighter trees to create an analogous colour scheme.
For the Jungle Canopy background, I wanted the top of the trees to be at the bottom, covering around half the screen creating a vanishing point with some emergent trees further into the background that are placed above. I began by using the Lasso Tool to select trees from the other jungle background and paste them into a new scene and keeping their position on the width of the canvas. I selected three trees that would be far enough apart where they wouldn't collide, using up as much space as possible to avoid the scene being too empty in some areas.
I followed some attributes I stuck to when designing the first jungle scene like making patterns across the tree trunk and vines hanging down from the leaves- carrying all these aspects to his new background allows for a smoother transition and creates a cohesive theme and environment with the art style.
The final part of the process involved adding further depth by making patterns on the trees that are closer to the player, along with changing the sky to make it get gradually darker the further up it goes. The final addition was dotting white pixels around to create a starry night effect, only placing stars in the darkest parts of the sky to fill out the empty space in the top middle of the scene.
The final background made featured some background planets, given this background would be above the jungle canopy background designed earlier. I started by painting the background the same colour as the darkest sky colour from the last background using the Eyedropper Tool then the Fill Tool. I then created a large blue circle and a smaller green circle, I chose these colours to stay with the cold colour scheme of the rest of the game. I then used the Lasso Tool to go around them and create a light outline, making the other side darker to create the illusion that the object is 3D. After I decided where the planets should go, I dotted stars around like in the previous background.
For the detail, I wanted the planets to have a blend of colour, so I added a few different shades of blue onto the blue planet at random points, using the Jumble Tool to blend them all together. When I did this, some of the pixels jumble with the white and caused them to scatter across the background. I liked the effect that this caused as it made it look like the planet was deteriorating, so I kept this to make more going on in the background. For the planet that was further away, I used the same method with the Jumble Tool to blend different greens together, adding some brown to create some analogous colour tones to evoke a lush environment.
SCRUM MEETINGS: 02/09/24 - 04/11/24
SCRUM Team Meeting Overviews
Documented by Callum Goldthorpe
02/09/24 Attendants: Callum G, Leon L, Tom C, Ross K
Time of Meeting: 10:45 - 11:05
In this initial week we developed an idea, getting the bases for the genre. We had the idea to make a futuristic sci-fi metroidvania with the 2D/3D hybrid style like seen in the Octopath Traveller series and SacriFire. An important next step was to decide which of us was doing what tasks, splitting up animation, level design, modelling and coding. We also decided setting tasks for a timeplan was the next priority, and preparation for research and the start of our individual GDDs. During this week, we used a group Powerpoint to draft a base idea and shared it within Microsoft Teams, we used Miroboard to display our own research and Google Docs to start work on the GDD. Our next step is to finish the base of the GDD for the end of next week, adding more onto the working document after the main templates have been made.
09/09/24 Attendants: Callum G, Leon L, Tom C, Ross K
Time of Meeting: 10:45 - 11:00
Week two’s sole focus is completing most of the research and the base of the GDD, we built workflows to follow conducting Scrum meetings and formatting Kanban Frameworks for a roadmap, creating a more detailed version explaining each role and how long we expected it to take. By the end of this week, our GDDs base templates were finished and all of us had completed research. During this week, we used Miroboard and Google Docs to complete what we had started in the first week. Ross and I will be working closely together as we’re both contributing to animation, so we can share ideas and tips to help improve each other’s work.
16/09/24 Attendants: Callum G, Leon L, Tom C, Ross K
Time of Meeting: 10:45 - 11:00
For week three, we discussed next steps going forward with Production, talking about which order we should tackle events next, Leon and Tom work on behaviour logic while me and Ross work on illustrating these behaviours. The first job for me is to make sprite work for each asset before I can begin animating, which was to be completed by the end of this week. Ross had the task of designing the protagonist before doing the animations for the character. During this week our roles became varied, using Aseprite for sprite work and Unreal Engine for coding logic. By the end of this week, we had used Aseprite, Unreal Engine and Miroboard to finalise any research that was added to our own research boards.
23/09/24 Attendants: Callum G, Leon L, Tom C, Ross K
Time of Meeting: 10:45 - 11:00
Week four began by having a review of progress so far, with work being sent into a shared Microsoft Teams channel where we could discuss production pacing and analyse potential improvements. Since Aseprite is inaccessible in college, we use the time inside of college to work on write-ups and further work into GDDs and animate remotely, managing our time as efficiently as possible. I work on producing animation, aiming to finish the last few animations to be able to begin work on a level plan while also concepting collectables to go within the final level fitting of the genre and setting. Ross makes more animations for his character, aiming to move onto UI in the next few weeks. Leon and Tom’s coding progress for the enemies is nearly finished, as they’ve been working closely together to resolve any issues. By the end, we used the same software as last week to further build on last week’s progress.
30/09/24 Attendants: Callum G, Leon L, Tom C, Ross K
Time of Meeting: 10:45 - 11:00
Nearly halfway through the project, the level plan is complete and I can use it to build the level quickly within Unreal after we make the 3D models. Since the game needs to be built in 3D in some way, we intend to split them between us by making a list this week and start the models next week while me and Ross finish up the animations. By setting the deadline of enemy coding logic and animations to be this week, we can begin on the later side of production to keep on track with finishing a week early to leave room for the evaluation. By making the decision to split models between us, it becomes harder to be overwhelmed than it would be to assign it just to one person to do. By working on this collaboratively, we can ensure it’s finished within the first half of next week. At the end of the week, we all covered the deadlines we had set out to do, me and Ross had completed animating our sprites and Leon had developed all the code needed for the enemies and Tom had done the same for the main character.
7/10/24 Attendants: Callum G, Leon L, Ross K
Time of Meeting: 10:45 - 11:00
Over this week, Tom will be away and unable to work on the project for the majority of this week and the first half of next week. It’s our job as a collective to reach a near finished product by the time Tom comes back on the Wednesday of next week so that when Tom comes back, he can import all of the files into the Unreal Level and I can work with him to replicate my paper plan of the level I made into his Unreal scene. We will all be working on 3D models for the first half of the week, texturing them in Substance Painter and then applying a pixel shader to make them blend with the style better using Pixilate. Ross finished all the animations for the character and began working on UI, aiming to complete loading screens and the main menu screen before next week. I will be working on pixel backgrounds for the second half of the week, having three different backgrounds required in total. Leon began working on the puzzle logic for the ON/OFF blocks, aiming to complete each of the four iterations of this block. This week we used Unreal for the puzzle logic, Maya for modelling and Substance Painter for texturing each model, along with Pixilate for adding pixel shaders. The three of us had completed our models and finished all other deadlines we had set to achieve for the week.
14/10/24 Attendants: Callum G, Leon L, Tom C, Ross K
Time of Meeting: 10:45 - 11:00
For this meeting, we started by defining each other’s ambitions this week with the next steps toward the project. My role includes finishing off the pixel backgrounds I started over the week to get them in the level by the end of the weak break. This week, Leon’s task is to complete the logic for the puzzles, specifically the second puzzle variant of the pillars. Ross’ task this week is to focus on finishing up the loading screen, finishing off everything he set out to do from the start of the project. Tom’s job after coming back is to finish his models within the first half of the week and then use my level plan I made in the past weeks to start work on building the level within his Unreal scene.
21/10/24 Attendants: Callum G, Leon L, Tom C, Ross K
Time of Meeting: 10:45 - 11:00
For the last meeting before the week break, we decided what needed to be done urgently as a team before moving onto individual tasks to allow for enough time to be spared writing up the evaluation in the final week. We decided to check all work had been submitted to the group Microsoft Teams chat we had so that if anyone needed to access any files over the week break they would be able to, now being able to complete the last stages of the working GDD. After completing this, we split off into our individual tasks for the week.
Polishing enemy logic is Leon’s main objective this week, then sending the files over to Tom before the week break so that Tom can build the level during next week. My job is to ensure all my sprite sheets have been sent to Tom and he has the level plan I made so he can build the level giving us enough time to playtest the finished level in time for the last week. Tom has to finish building the level he started last week based off of the plan I made.
Fixing the attack animation was Ross’ goal along with polishing any animations or menus.
By the end of this week, all of us had completed the bulk of the production side of our projects, only having one or two things to do over the next two weeks for an on time submission.
28/10/24 (Week Break)
For the last stage over the week’s break, we’ll all spend time polishing any unfinished work and then completing the write-up for an evaluation by the end of next week. This will give us plenty of time for any inconveniences so that we can finish on time and submit for the 8th of November. Throughout this week, We will be working on writing up all of our production, then beginning to work on the evaluation a week early so there’s no hurry to deliver it before the deadline. Tom will also need to make sure everything programming related in the level works before he begins his evaluation, using Unreal and Google Docs.
4/11/24 Attendants: Callum G, Leon L, Tom C, Ross K
Time of Meeting: 10:45 - 11:00
In this final week we will all share the same collective role: finishing the evaluation. It’s important that we check to see if anything we missed could be added given how much time is left. The top priority is to finish the evaluation in the first half of the week so it can be checked over during the week for any improvements to be made. The only other task is to record examples of playtesting within the early stages of this week so that they can be documented on our portfolios and allow every aspect we set out to do initially to be covered in each of our evaluations.
VERTICAL SLICE TRAILER: 04/11/24 - 05/11/24
Mental Marine - Trailer.mp4This is the vertical slice trailer made in Adobe Premier Pro to show off our game idea. When looking at earlier trailers, we needed to make sure the trailer didn't reveal too much with the puzzle attributes of the game, making sure to show off the mechanic without revealing the solution. We also made sure to show off the enemies, revealing a few and saving the rest for the experience of the vertical slice. Adding the music in the background allowed for the trailer to help the trailer present more emotion, allowing for transitions showing another aspect of the game to be delivered using the beat. One of the most successful parts of the trailer to ease the player in at the beginning is how each background moves down, transitioning from a sky view to the jungle canopy, moving down to the forest floor and then the cave underneath.
The link above leads to the itch.io page for Mental Marine.
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