Task 01: Game Design Document

Member Efforts:

1. Aurellia Franseska Djauhari (0365053) 

2. Eins Herbert Takawijaya Tee (0365993) 

3. Gam Jze Shin (0353154) 

4. Liew Xiao Hui (0353121)

Week 02
Progress:

• Online Meeting

• Making GDD and PowerPoint presentation

First, we held a team meeting to decide on the overall concept for our game. We then followed the lecture templates to create our Game Design Document (GDD), which is the game's title, genre, platform, and purpose. Together, we worked on the story, gameplay mechanics, level design, characters, visuals, and overall game loop. We also identified our target audience and drew inspiration from similar games and media. We developed a PowerPoint presentation and then assigned jobs to the group. I was responsible for handling the audio aspects of the project, which included creating and selecting appropriate sound effects and background music to enhance the gameplay experience. 

Week 02

Progress:

In this week we discussed our idea of game that we all had, we all wrote our idea and discussed which of our idea is the best. Once we decided which of our idea is the best, we started writing the GDD that is given by the lecturer, Then we made a presentation to present our idea later on week 4.

Week 02
Progress:

• Game Concept Research

• Online Meeting

• Own idea Proposal - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1naqiLEwjPFlSAwbEjLbfvBpS5ZwjT8gXIl3Orr6LwNg/edit?usp=sharing

This week initiated our game concept development. Each team member independently researched and documented their ideas. After reviewing my groupmates' preference for an underwater theme, I explored that direction in my initial proposal, which was then shared with the team. During our first meeting, we collectively discussed all submitted concepts and ultimately decided to proceed with Xiao Hui's time-themed idea. Following this decision, we collaboratively developed the game's design, visual layout, characters, and other elements, adhering to the provided lecture templates.

Week 03
Progress:

• Presentation Slides

Before the presentation, we needed to prepare our slides. Xiao Hui created the basic concept design slides based on our theme. After that, I helped divide the sections and refine the content for each team member. Since I’m more familiar with the character design and visual layout, I took charge of that part. While refining the content, I also focused on making the presentation more visual and easier to understand by reducing the amount of text. I added more graphics to represent key points, so the slides would be clearer and more engaging during the presentation. 

Week 01
Progress:

• Individual game design idea - Google Docs

• Online group meeting

• Group game design document (GDD)

In the first week, our four-member team was formed, and we began brainstorming ideas for our platformer game. To work efficiently, each member researched and developed ideas individually, then shared them in the group chat for review. We later held an online meeting to refine and select the final concept and draft the Game Design Document (GDD).
Before brainstorming, I researched platformer games to better understand the genre. I realized that Sheepy: A Short Adventure, a game I had recently played, was a platformer and found it inspiring due to its open-world exploration, engaging NPC interactions, and unlockable abilities. Drawing from this, I aimed to create a game with a meaningful narrative about society’s overuse of digital devices, alongside exploration mechanics and a life-based time gauge. Additional inspiration came from games like RECUR and Timelie, which feature time-based mechanics. I envisioned offering multiple endings to encourage replayability and searched for visual references on Pinterest to better convey my concept to the team.
I compiled my refined concept and visual references into a Google Doc and shared it on Friday.
After reviewing all ideas, we held a meeting on Sunday night and agreed to develop the steampunk-themed time manipulation concept I proposed. Eins referenced a similar mechanic from Honkai: Star Rail, inspiring us to refine how time-shifting would work in our game. We worked together to complete the GDD, though we kept it brief as we planned to get feedback from Ms. before finalizing details.

Week 03
Progress:

• Presentation slides design

• Presentation slide content: basic information, concept, purpose, and game design (mechanics and rules)

I started working on the presentation slides early to ensure we’d be ready for Thursday’s presentation. Using Canva, I searched for steampunk and pixel-style templates but couldn’t find one that fit our theme, so I designed a custom layout. I sourced pixel graphics, adjusted their colors, and experimented with layering, transparency, and layout until I achieved the desired look. Once the design was complete, I shared it with the group so everyone could add their parts.
We divided the tasks, and I took responsibility for the basic information, concept, and purpose sections. After finishing my part, I noticed Eins hadn’t started his section on game design. I discussed this with Jzeshin, and we agreed to split his tasks: I worked on game mechanics and rules, while Jzeshin handled level design and character entities. Since the mechanics were based on my original idea, I reused and refined my earlier descriptions to align with our updated concept. I also rewrote the rules in a clearer and more detailed way to guide future development.