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Individual Post Mortem

I want to start my Individual Post Mortem by stating that I think the project went along a bumpy path but I think we as a team was able to make excellent decisions on the progression forward. I believe that throughout the project I was proud of what we completed as a team regarding managing assets. I think that as a team we were able to maintain a positive mindset through this journey while having difficult decisions to make and provide for the team because many of us have important roles throughout our capstone tracks. I think that a few individuals could’ve stepped up in areas concerning initiative but like I mentioned earlier that many of us were already stretched thin due to roles in our capstone tracks. With that aside, I do believe that as a team we made significant progress on the project and making intelligent decisions together. I think we also did well with none of us feeling down with the project status of being behind schedule every milestone.

   I think the project could’ve gone smoother in other areas as well but the time constraints for us and the small team wasn’t in favor of us. The project had many different things to do, and I do believe I did as much as I could as the Lead Tester for the small amount of time I had to test features each build. The team was putting in a lot of work to ensure that we got as many features into the build as possible each week so I could begin testing them. Due to the time constraints for each of us, I think that the build expectations every week were our lowest concerning progress moving forward. I only remember that was the weakest link due to everyone being stretched thin for time and also trying to get in as many features as possible. I do think we had bumps along the road, but we as a team was able to overcome those obstacles and push the project forward.

   The last week was a tough one but an outstanding milestone regarding progress. The team did well coming together in the final week to ensure we had as many potential features completed through testing and put into the build. This last week's push and struggle allowed the team to close the gap on how far behind we were on the project. The purpose of this class is to learn how to deal with an individual or team project structured around asset management, and I think that every week that passed we were all getting better and better as a team. I am thrilled and proud of the work that the team put into the project as well as the professional mentality that we were all able to maintain throughout this project.

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Post Mortems

Individual Post Mortem

Meeting with the team was a very good move because it allowed us all to be in the same environment and toss ideas back and forth quickly. I think that allowed us the opportunity to create better versions for our physical prototype.

It was exciting when we were knocking out different ideas for the physical prototype while also improving the design with each version. Ultimately, we decided for a play area with three different rings that would serve as the arena shrinking. After hearing this I had the idea of creating the physical arena by using a poster board, hot glue, yarn and some popsicle sticks as the rope holders. After that I went and purchased some tiny cars at Wal-Mart that we could use for the players and show the design of the bumper cars ideas.

I think that the project could have went smoother with better communication and more team members, we had two members of the team who only participated by being in the team meetings. I think this was a poor reflection on their work habits, but the upsetting part is that we are supposed to be a team. I think that another issue with the project is the fact we are all in different capstones for the master’s and I don’t think that the way the capstone was planned has been thought about in too much detail. The capstones limit our time for working on the project and conducting valuable team meetings.

I think that I also could’ve implemented more levels, and I am looking forward to continuing this project with the team members who actively participated and was looking for making this project come to life. I think that the team should keep holding weekly meetings for those involved in the design and development of this game and keep knocking it out of the park.

In conclusion, I think the project has a good foundation though and has some great ideas, which is why I would like to continue working on the project to polish it up and create more content for a possible future release. I also really enjoyed working with the team members I had and despite us all having different ideas, jobs, capstones and roles I am pleased with how the project is going.

Team Post Mortem

After brainstorming we came up with the idea to capitalise on the popularity of the Battle Royale genre but with our own spin on it. Taking into consideration of the scope available to us we decided on the concept of a bumper cars style game dubbed BUMPERGROUNDS.

We started off with a physical prototype to test out the initial concept and to explore any dynamics that could show up. One of such dynamics is that with our idea there would be a risk to players of falling out themselves whenever they attempted to knock someone else out the ring.

After our physical prototype we quickly moved into digital development. We agreed to create an arena with hexagonal tiles with the edges falling off after set intervals. This was to simulate the closing ring of other battle royale games One concern that immediately became apparent was the car controls. It took a lot of testing and fine tuning before we got it to a place that we were comfortable with. After that we moved on to figuring out how to spice up the gameplay. The 2 ideas we arrived at was power-ups and different patterns that the arena tiles would fall. These ideas helped us to make every match feel unique.

The development suffered from a few bugs. The physics of the cars were a challenge to get just right. Another issue was with the powerups. In the end only 2 powerup worked as intended. Another bug that occured was with the particle effects we use to for the background. It took a while before we got it to form the pattern we wanted.

Some feedback we received was on improving the feedback a player receives while playing. Some players thought that we needed something to improve the actual moment when 2 cars would impact each other since this was a key part of our game. We were also told that we needed to improve the feeling of winning the game since the game simply restarts once a winner is decided.

The project for Bumpergrounds was something that definitely had a rocky start. Communication was lacking overall for the entire month. Two members of the team were frequently missing, so other team members had to cover down to make sure that their work got finished. Due to team members being diverted from their main tasks, this led to us not being able to get every feature we want in the game, such as more power ups, different maps and different car models.

 In conclusion, the team feels that they were able to create a fun experience. Despite the time constraints, setbacks and the features that had to be cut we are proud of the turnout of the product that we made.

[jpmore00]

MEX Mastery Journal Assignment

During the Methods and User Experience (MEX) Course I have learned a great variety of skills that I can apply to future projects and my portfolio. I have made over twenty connections inside this course with the range being from (UX) User experience researchers to artists and designers and a few game developers. The content was covering the terminology and different methods researchers need to know to conduct the most essential and efficient research. I also learned more in depth about the measurements and how to try and minimalize biasing the data or results of my findings. I was able to participate in a team of three with two other students and we were able to conduct our own research methods and measurements for a group of game development students. I found that this was an excellent opportunity and a great form of hands-on activity. Being able to interact with the development team and figuring out what they wanted to collect data on, my team and I were able to create a survey that we utilized using Likert scale questions followed up by long answer text to support our findings through using a self-report method. We were then able to collate the data into results that could show the developers where certain attention was needed with their build. We were also able to present our data to the class through a PowerPoint presentation. I think I was able to takeaway a lot of information from this course that I can use to further my knowledge base of the user experience side of research. I do still have a lot to learn, but I’m making progress and will continue trying to further my knowledge with interesting content like this.

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Mastery Journal Month 4

This month for my Mastery Journal research I decided to explore and continue my topic of Level Design. With having said that this month I focused on finding research aimed at designing levels that will guide players and help them proceed forward without compromising the challenges and making it too boring or too stale for players. 

The research that I conducted this month allowed me to expand my knowledge as well as prepare me for coming months of research. I was able to understand more methods of how to design levels more efficiently and effectively. I looked into designing levels that allowed more cognitive flow for players. This research also looked at how to design levels with recurring themes and specific colors dedicated to certain tasks to teach the player how to progress and learn from previous levels. The research also explains how to get into the mindset of developing levels like tutorials with fewer distractions so the player can absorb and learn as much as possible during those tutorial levels. 

This area of research following along my previous research topic of level design will help and connects to the (UX) User Experience capstone because of testing and reiterations and data management. The UX capstone will allow me to conduct research and collect data properly, mainly because nothing is perfect and hence conducting play tests and sessions targeted at specific areas can help improve your game and improve player experience and give even more knowledge to use at your disposal later on in the game industry. With that being said, this will also give me experience and knowledge for how to further improve my skills as a designer while also teaching me how to properly do research and maintain data analyses. 

Overall I’m really happy to have learned more ways to design levels as well as knowing how to further improve my design skills through the human psyche. Very interesting research and can’t wait to keep improving my skills with even further research and knowledge with capabilities geared towards level design and how to become a better designer overall.

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Mastery Journal_PTM

During PTM I have learned a multitude of different perspectives, especially when it comes to team management and personalities also. I thought I knew quite a bit about leadership but was still surprised at the vast amount of knowledge and research that goes into Project and Team Management. This course met my original objective because I was waiting to work together with fellow class members. Once we got into our teams, it was easy to see none of us were near the same in personalities and how we worked together to overcome problems. I really enjoyed the experience of doing experiments that was tailored to give us more in depth learning for the different personality types. My original expectation was that it was going to be another generic leadership class that doesn’t really teach the different styles of leadership and how to properly switch your leadership styles if you’re capable of doing that. Like I mentioned above however, I really enjoyed working with others and the different perspectives and personalities as well as the different methods going into the brainstorming and problem-solving sections of a team.

           Another thing I learned and enjoyed was gaining the knowledge for creating a budget and thinking like I was opening my own studio or pitching a project with a budget and all the little details. It was eye-opening to see how quickly a project could go over budget, but thanks to the activities and the learning I was able to create a schedule for the team as well as projected budget and needed materials in levels of priority to keep it low. I’m going to continue to use what I learned throughout this course to improve my skills. Being able to take this knowledge and continuing to improve my skills I will be able to successfully outline and fortify a project I might want to pitch to potential investors in the near or far future.

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Week 4 Mastery Journal Blog

I have made quite a bit of connections with a few instructors and have made connections with two new classmates that came to the master’s program from other establishments. I have learned over this course that research plays a very important role in designing games and finding new methods that could save time and money, or even teach you how to hit your targeted audience or demographic. My mastery plan is to go through the User Experience lab when I’m accepted. The research in team dynamics course has shown me how to go about conducting not only proper research methods and ways of finding what is most beneficial but also how important it is to cite properly when trying to find and use scientific research to better your project and achieve the best results possible. The content of the class was conducting research in the industry and how to properly extract the information you need to create more successful tests and studies.

The game design project also plays a huge role of showing how personalities and psychology can tie in to creating a very productive team environment and shows how you can discuss or hold meetings that will ensure everyone leaves the meeting on the same page and with little to no confusion. It also ensures everyone is up to date as well. This course was a very valuable learning experience with many variables that are at time tough to understand, but once you truly understand the dynamics and the research side of a team project and how to conduct it properly it allows you to better yourself. Keeping a good attitude and the willingness to learn improves your work flow so much better as well.

[jpmore00]

A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.

Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved February 04, 2018, from

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ayn_rand_141517?img=2&src=t_motivational

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Week 2 Mastery Journal Research Topic

I have decided to delve into the area of research: Level Design, for the research purposes I am going to explore how to properly design levels to ensure players around the world will be immersed into the style of a game as well as the design layouts. I have chosen some level designers from the industry who have great reads and different perspectives of how to give players a great experience, these industry level designers also have great knowledge and insight into level designing in the industry as well.

     I am going to go over Ten Principles of Good Level Design by Dan Taylor, Level Design: First Blocks by Max Pears, Level Design: Introduction by Kade Dunn, and Who Are Level Designers? by Max Herngren. I will compile research from all four of these level designers to provide research for my topic of level designing and the process to go about designing. My research topic will go over different level designing aspects and show how you can improve your skills and use your knowledge to become a better level designer every time you work on a project and how to get better results for a project you are working on as well. This will cover how level designing fits into the industry, what they work on, and also how to work as a level designer with a team.

References I will Use:

Dunn, K. (2016, May 25). Level Design: Introduction. In Gamasutra. Retrieved February 4,

2018, from https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KadeDunn/20160525/273464/Level_Design_Introduction.php

Pears, M. (n.d.). Level Design: First Blocks. In Gamasutra. Retrieved February 4, 2018, from

https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/MaxPears/20171102/308782/Level_Design_First_Blocks__Part_1.php

Sergeev, A. (2017, July 31). Who Are Level Designers?. In 80 Level. Retrieved February 4,

2018, from https://80.lv/articles/who-are-level-designers/

Taylor, D. (2013, September 29). Ten Principles of Good Level Design. In Gamasutra.

Retrieved February 4, 2018, from https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DanTaylor/20130929/196791/Ten_Principles_of_Good_Level_Design_Part_1.php

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Full Sail Mastery Timeline Months 9-12

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Full Sail Mastery Timeline Months 5-8

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Full Sail Mastery Timeline Months 1-4

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Full Sail Mastery Timeline

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We are part of this universe; we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts, is that the universe is in us.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved January 28, 2018, from https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/neil_degrasse_tyson_531166

[jpmore00]

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.

Henry Ford

Henry Ford Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2018, from https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/henry_ford_121339?img=5

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