Table of Contents
- Unit 1 - 3D Visual Design
- Unit 2 - Production Management
- Unit 3 - Pre-production
- Unit 4 - Production Techniques
- Video Reflection
Unit 1 - 3D Visual Design
Modular design is the creation of 3D objects that can be repeated across a game environment to create more complex objects or scenes. This technique often saves a lot of time for game developers, as they do not have to individually model each asset within a large game world. Structures broken down into smaller modules allow for more customization, for example a ruin broken down into stairs, walls, and floors could be recombined in any order to create new unique ruins, whereas a ruin that is a single object would not allow for as much variety. The best part about modular design is that it can be used for projects of any size and always effectively save time. We even use modular design in the creation of our game in order to save time and not do any unnecessary work.
Unit 2 - Production Management
The creation of a game is no small task, often times full teams are required to work together in order to see a game to its completion. Smaller games generally require less members, but with less members more work falls on each individual. In order to stay on the same page teams should be in constant communication, otherwise members may waste time stuck or working in the wrong direction. Every team has a team leader to ensure the creation of the game goes smoothly for each member of the team. Larger games often require several teams to be on the same page, making it all the more crucial to have team leaders.
Our team for the game we are creating consists of only four members, though the size is adequate given the size of our project. My role on the team is the 3D modeler, it is my duty to create all of the 3D models that are used in our game. I've even implemented modular design as seen in the previous unit in order to hasten the game development process. The other three members of the team fill the roles of 2D artist, programmer, and team leader. We've each had a lot of work to do for the creation of our game, but collectively we've come together as a team to strive for a finalized version of our game.
Our team for the game we are creating consists of only four members, though the size is adequate given the size of our project. My role on the team is the 3D modeler, it is my duty to create all of the 3D models that are used in our game. I've even implemented modular design as seen in the previous unit in order to hasten the game development process. The other three members of the team fill the roles of 2D artist, programmer, and team leader. We've each had a lot of work to do for the creation of our game, but collectively we've come together as a team to strive for a finalized version of our game.
Unit 3 - Pre-production
Pre-production is vital to the creation of any game, without it a game idea can become lost or clouded and design will take no structured direction. Typically pre-production involves brainstorming ideas for the game that the team may finalize or completely discard, and then creating a structured plan of action to see the game from start to finish. While planning ideas for the game it's important to consider the type of game being created and the feel you want it to have for the player. You must also ensure the game will progress logically so that it does not confuse players and cause them to lose interest. It may seem frivolous to spend so much time working on ideas that may ultimately just be discarded, but the time invested in the pre-production of a game ends up being the time saved by not running into problems that should have been finalized during the pre-production of the game. Problems will be inevitable in the creation of any game, but adequate pre-production greatly reduces the confusion that comes with many people all with different ideas coming together to create a game.
Planning the user experience is an important aspect of pre-production, you want to ensure that players stay engaged and can maintain a state of flow when playing the game. In order to make a game feel interactive it is important to plan for choices to be made by the player, even if they don't change where the player ends up. It is also important to make sure the player does not notice when choices will arrive to the same ending, or else any choice they make from there on out will have less meaning and therefore be less engaging. Some choices are made blatantly in text boxes or menus, but many are made while just wandering around and can often go unnoticed, this allows for developers to subtly guide the decisions made by players especially with affordances and signifiers. Deciding the outcomes for all the actions the player can take, and more importantly for the ones they are intended to take and what leads them to do so, is key to creating a fulfilling and enjoyable game for the player.
Below is a convexity map we created for our game.
Below is a UI prototype that I thoroughly enjoyed creating. A link to the full interactive slideshow is here.
From creating this UI prototype I learned that there are many ways to implement UI features for a game, and they can be adapted to fit any genre of game without breaking the flow. I also learned how to create an interactive slideshow on Google Slides which was very fun, though that is less relevant.
Unit 4 - Production Techniques
This year we've done a lot of work in the Unity game engine in order to create our games among other things. We've worked specifically with modular design which included importing models along with their textures in order to assemble larger scenes such as a series of outposts alongside accompanying objects. We've also worked with programming and level design in order to create prototype levels for our games as well as to create 3D parkour platformers. When creating our 3D parkour platformers affordance played a key role in guiding the player through our levels. For example if the player were parkouring in an urban environment and saw pipes leading to the top of a building with skid marks on them they should assume that the pipes serve to gain access the top of the building. Affordance has also played a role in the creation of our game in that some lockers and doors can not be opened due to them being locked, which leads the player to find a way to unlock them.
Personally it took me some time to get refamiliarized with the Unity game engine, because even though we've worked with it before it had been a while since last year. I struggled at first with programming, but due to having worked with it last year it came back to me over time. Aside from that though working with Unity this year has immensely helped my understanding of how 3D games are built.
Team Reflection
As the 3D modeler for my team it was my duty to create all of the 3D models we needed for our game. I created all of the models required for our game and in some cases even some alternate versions, as some models were used in environments where the alternative version would be more fitting. I've started working with textures as we're coming close to the due date for our game, though I'm not sure exactly what I am to be designing textures for or what I can use in terms of resources. That aside our work as a team has gone rather smoothly this year, and aside from creating 3D models I've also assisted with the planning for our game.
We met several times earlier this year trying to figure out the direction our game would take, and while I had no adamant opinions for game direction I offered insights when we got caught up on ideas. I also ensured the accompanying documents such as the GDD were completed on time in order to have a set document to refer back to in creating our game. Since then our game has taken somewhat of a different shape due to our "realistic" expectations of what we could make in a year truly meeting reality, but overall we've kept the core aspects of our game that we decided upon in the GDD.
We met several times earlier this year trying to figure out the direction our game would take, and while I had no adamant opinions for game direction I offered insights when we got caught up on ideas. I also ensured the accompanying documents such as the GDD were completed on time in order to have a set document to refer back to in creating our game. Since then our game has taken somewhat of a different shape due to our "realistic" expectations of what we could make in a year truly meeting reality, but overall we've kept the core aspects of our game that we decided upon in the GDD.
Below are some artifacts I created for our game, they were created as individual objects to be assembled in order to form classrooms and hallways. The first set of images have all been used in classrooms, and the other two were used in hallways.