Production Project – Session 2

SUMMARY

Role: Level Artist and Main Coder

Intention (SMART Goal):

My goal was to make a complete and working background. I did not intend on coding but I knew more about coding so I became the main coder. I worked on the player animation and movement. I also worked on the holes in the ground for my game. I made the holes and coded them. I worked on the icicles’ code. I worked on the 3-second cooldown as well as the 3 different backgrounds (different transitioning locations…. neighborhood, city, school). I also designed most of the UI designs as well as coded them.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

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https://www.shed-works.co.uk/sable

https://www.gamereactor.eu/video/390623/Sable+Gregorios+Kythreotis+and+Daniel+Fineberg+Interview/

The developer of this game is quite different from others. He worked as the creative head by himself. The whole game’s look is from his creative ideas. That’s what makes the game so unique from others. The game’s look is very special from other games, and doesn’t try to look realistic. In fact, the player’s vehicle can even fly. The games look is quite cartoony looking.

Training Source(s

4:03: If you would like for an object to do an action in an X amount of time. Either spawn or disappear in an amount of time or anything else.

4:23: Here is how I made the icicles fall down. You can make the objects spawn in an area randomly by using the code in either X or Y by writing ” Random (1-200). That will make the object spawn randomly but only between the zones set there. This is a good method to make a game like mine or something like flappy bird very easily.

Project Timeline

Minimal viable product: This should mainly be the coder. They will make blocks as a starting point to make a basic playable version of the game. While doing this, the others can do what they need, like the UI person can work on a UI, music person make music, etc. That way nothing is held back.

  1. Make character
  2. Make block for character to move on
  3. Code character movement
  4. Make obstacle block
  5. Code obstacle block

Implementing the done work: here is where we put the character into the game, the background, the UI design, etc.

  1. Implement character
  2. Implement background
  3. Implement menu
  4. Implement music
  5. Implement character animations (jump, fall, walk)

The harder ideas: Here is where you can play around with the game and add the abilities you wanted. For ours this will be different levels, structured background with a start and end visually.

Proposed Budget

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

Team #4 Game

Skills Commentary

Game Slide Show

My Work:

Player

I coded the player animation and inserted him into the game.

Code

I coded the collision hitboxes, the time down, and invisible blocks. I also coded the arrow and WAD keys.

UI

In the UI I made most of the design except for the start button and coded the replay, easy/normal/hard layers. I also worked on the Reset button, R and Enter to reset the level.

Obstacles

I coded the icicles to work, and made sure that they would not spawn on top of the player on the start of the layout. I also coded the potholes in the ground to reset the level if the player touched them.

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

I had a lot of problems, but I think going back and going step by step through coding is a great way to solve problems. I also think saving versions of your things whether just the background or the game version itself is a good idea to do frequently. I learned that the hard way when I worked 2 hours on a game and lost everything.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

I did a lot of communication a lot with my team especially because I was kind of acting like the head of everything. I did a lot of the coding, the design, and most things in the game. Basically, anything you see on the game I have worked on a little or a lot. I did overwork. I did a lot of my teammate’s work. The team was gonna go slow if I ignored it so it’s better to work alone than not have anything. I intend on staying on the same team but this time we will have a properly working system.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

The tutorial above is a good example. I used the video but the video sometimes overcomplicates or does another thing. So it’s kind of understanding the thing they are doing before you do yours. Are you creating an exact replica or something different? He was using a similar code or reversed code to mind so I had to figure out a part of code by decoding his code (more of a block coding).

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

I think I learned a lot about stepping up and acting like the boss when you need to, or at least speaking about what might not work. I have learned that there is no need to carry while other classmates play on their phones. it’s not that they want to play, but it’s more that they don’t have anything to do. This is partly the fault of the system but me overworking, and the system not having a good setup for our designs and code to be implemented.

Reactions to the Final Version

Most of the feedback was positive, but there were some suggestions. Most people liked the background.

Your game is well made and it was fun to play. I thought the replay ability of the game was quite too long to work around as well as as the holes in the ground… there were too many then were needed. – Leo (Classmate)

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

I think the final version looks really good. I did not intend on making the city or a very detailed background. I got to learn quite a bit about pixel art. Our game itself was an okay game with a good story. The story of our game is that a student is going to school and he had to dodge obstacles. The game is hard but not too hard. The game keeps the player playing and playing. It has a decent UI that’s not too long or complicated. To top it all off, the music was also pretty good.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

I have learned the creative potential for construct. Also, I have learned a lot more of the things you can do with animations, enemies, and random generators. I also have learned a little about pixel art. I think that the more you work with construct the more you discover… just like I keep learning and learning every game I create. Saving your projects every second when you can is also a very big thing. I learned this the hard way when I worked on a game for 2 hours straight and lost the data. I do however also understand that construct is not a coding engine so I am still open-minded on learning unity when I can.

Grammar and Spelling

For grammar checking I am using Grammarly where I can… the school for some reason has blocked the ability to add extensions so I can’t add Grammarly but I was using Grammarly for half of this blog. I am also planning on using a person to read over my blog.

Editor

Odin