A tool for developers to quickly prototype their ideas, providing many options and the ability to integrate animations and sounds seamlessly.
This project held a special place in my heart, as weapon design is a topic I am particularly passionate about, both in terms of design and programming. Additionally, it was my first experience in programming a tool, presenting me with new challenges to overcome.
Anticipate all the parameters the designer would need to create a weapon
Program the weapon creation tool
Program a controller and training dummies
Set up a "Weapon Test" level design
Write a user guide to discover the tool independently
Produce sprites, animations and sounds to test the tool
Unity 2D
Visual Studio 2019
Aseprite
Google Docs / Sheet
GitKraken
Photoshop
Beyond the programming itself, the primary challenge of this project lay in tailoring the tool to its intended audience. To begin, the target audience needed to be clearly defined. I started with a category of young developers who are comfortable enough with Unity to use it but who have difficulties in programming, faced challenges in programming, hindering their ability to swiftly prototype their ideas. This persona was not just a hypothetical concept, I had already met people in this case and I perceived their expectations.
Adapting the tool to this audience involved several key points. Firstly, it required establishing easily understandable variable names. Secondly, I wrote tooltips to clarify any potential doubts. Lastly, I engaged in extensive iterations on the overall creation process to make it as fluid as possible, automating unnecessary handling. This way, users could concentrate solely on their creative process.
I kept in mind the test of my tool all along its creation. To facilitate this, I prepared several weapons for users to explore to draw inspiration for their own. It's a total of about fifteen Game designers who provided valuable feedback.
The majority of the feedback was positive, with users expressing satisfaction and finding the user guide clear enough to navigate independently. Notably, I received excellent insights on areas for improvement, particularly regarding automation possibilities that I hadn't initially considered. I also gained insights into the importance of implementing barriers to prevent designers from making unintended changes. Promptly addressing these points, I incorporated the lessons learned into the continued development of the tool, notably during its application in Western Showdown.Â