Lat week I was given my role and the game that I would be working on for this project. and this week me and my team layed out the different task we would each be completing for our game.
My primary focus’s for this project is going to be designing and creating the user interface and designing the core mechanics for the game and potentially developing on Parker’s GDD mechanics later into the project. Initially i was feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility of being the mechanics designer, now however seeing my tasks set out and properly understanding the distribution of the tasks I am significantly more confident. Since this photo when we were initially assigning tasks we have decided that i will also be designing the UI for our game kinetic panic. Having this balance between design being something I’m confident in and learning some aspects of coding i feel as though this is a task i can achieve.
- Guest speaker
Paul MacGillivray was our guest speaker for this week, he spoke about production within games development.
He spoke about the production triangle. This is essentially the time it takes to create vs cost and scope.
Scope was a term i was unfamiliar with, from what i understand it is dividing one task into smaller, more manageable deliverables. I find this style of working is effective for me, breaking down a large complex task into smaller more clear actions is something i find to help avoid me becoming overwhelmed with a task. It provides a more structured may of understanding what needs to be accomplished, having this hopefully should let me approach each task with more clarity and organization.
- User stories
As a games designer or developer it is essential to understand what is wanted from your players. It is your job to understand their points of pleasure but also their frustrations.
User stories play a critical role in the management and development of a project, essentially in games design. They help to identify the player’s needs, wants and frustrations. It is what can help a final product better align with your players. Having empathy is essential in this, understanding a players perspective can help you to adapt to enhance the user experience. Especially in games where empathy can be a defining factor that takes a game from a frustrating experience to a more enjoyable experience.
Here I have quickly mocked up my own risk analysis for this project, including things we can do personally and as teams to help avoid major setbacks.
