For this semester we have to build a vertical slice for one of our classmates’ games working together as a team.
A vertical slice is a fully playable and functional section of a game. Similar to a demo but more refined in nature. Typically consisting of about one or two levels of the overall gameplay. Vertical slices are typically used to present games to investors and companies before continuing to work on a game . They can also be useful to fully visualise how your game will look before continuing to work on it.
Given that for this project we are going to be developing a game based on a classmates games design document from the previous semester we were given the opportunity to select both our role and which project we would most like the work on. Within my selections I expressed my preference for either main level designer or character artist, as these were the roles I was more experienced with. I believed these roles would allow me to make stronger contributions to my team.
However, as neither of these options were guaranteed, I was given the role as the main mechanics design for Kinetic panic. Whilst this was not the outcome i had initially expected, i am going to be approaching this role with a positive mindset and one of learning. Learning these new skills will allow me to more confidently work on more technical based roles going forwards and provide me with new skills.
This shift in role has surfaced up some concerns for the personal standard of my work and contributions to the project itself. Whilst i am up for the challenge of learning a new skill within the games industry i don’t doubt that these anxieties will persist throughout the project.
During this week we also discussed the probability and impact of different possible events during this project. Since this is a team project we each are heavily relying on our teammates to do their bit, communicate effectively, and set reasonable goals. Simply by having something such as this in mind can influence people to try and avoid the likelihood of some of these things not happening.
Some things are unfortunately unavoidable and this can be very nerving to me and my peers alike, but in those instances it is important to control the things you can. Such as communicating with your team when something does happen, Afterall we are a group and are here to work together to ensure the success of our game slice.