zacharywhitesides-capstone

[zacharywhitesides-capstone]

Final Reflection Video

What were your thoughts about your research topic going into the first week of the semester?

Just a reminder of what my research topic is. My research topic is The Use of Generative AI in the Gaming Industry. I just want to clarify, I believe generative AI should only be used as a tool to help designers and developers come up with ideas, help with workflow, and speed up a video game’s development. At first, I was a little anxious because I’d never used ChatGPT to make a video game before, and I was afraid that ChatGPT wouldn’t code my game properly, and I wouldn’t make much progress. But as time went on, I learned how to talk to ChatGPT and ask it what I needed help with, for instance, making a turn-based battle system and a dialogue system.

What are your thoughts now about your research topic and your project/practicum?

My thoughts now about my research topic are that generative AI can be a very useful tool in a video game’s development. For instance, I have little experience with coding in video games, but ChatGPT helped me with that. I would tell it specifically what I need and how I want it to work, and it would generate the code for me. If I didn’t like how it worked or if I wanted to update something, I would ask it for help again, and it would tell me exactly where to put in the new line of script. Although there were some challenges, for example, getting my respawns to work properly, I think my project came out good. I still had a lot of fun making my game, especially choosing the music for my levels.

What did you learn about yourself as a creative through this journey?

I learned that I’ve grown more comfortable using tilemaps to design my levels. It helped me express my ideas more clearly. On my journey, I also learned to take things one step at a time. While I was making my game, I would try to get so much other stuff done, like assignments or other projects, and I would sometimes get overwhelmed. Through that, I learned to manage my time and focus on what’s in front of me.

What did you learn about the creative and production process?

What I learned about the creative and production process was that it can be both challenging and satisfying. For me, there were some moments where things didn’t go as planned, like scripts not working properly and scenes not loading correctly. But experiencing those moments taught me to be more patient and how to problem solve. And seeing my game finally work was incredibly satisfying.

What advice would you give new senior capstone students?

Some advice I would give new senior capstone students is don’t rush, test your project or practicum as much as possible, and finally, I know everybody else is probably going to say this, but I can’t stress this enough, timing is everything. Do not procrastinate on this, or you will definitely regret it.

Where to now?

For now, I’ll still be in Hawaii, and I’ll be looking for job opportunities in game design. In the future, I may need to move, since there aren’t many game design jobs available here. Aside from that, I plan to explore other game engines to improve my skills and work on small projects to build up my portfolio.

[zacharywhitesides-capstone]

My Game Is Ready!

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to post that my game is ready to play!

Here is the link: https://zachty24.itch.io/jjs-extraordinary-quest

I had so much fun making my game and writing the dialogue.

I hope you enjoy!

[zacharywhitesides-capstone]

Project Update #7

Whatʻs been happening over the past 2 weeks?

I am almost done with all of my cutscenes, and I have been spell-checking my dialogue. Now, I am currently working on my final boss level.

Whatʻs coming up for the next 2 weeks?

For the next two weeks, I will finish all of my cutscenes, add a start menu, and add music.

Hiccups/Hurdles/AHA moments

The scripting has been frustrating, but with the help of ChatGPT, I did some workarounds to get my levels working.

Any deliverable drafts to share?

Game Design Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g1QRBSqPBSAQWJnqTF7oF84W4MXsoI62Ug29hFWr2OY/edit?usp=sharing

Game Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T_9KUDHPekVSWqnfOuyW2X6AlFzaksV_EHz4LvbDD0A/edit?usp=sharing

Visual documentation of the progress. (Please upload screenshots, WIP videos, etc.)

Final Boss Level:

Where you are on your timeline?

I feel like I finally made it to my post-production phase. For my game, all I need to do is create my start menu, add music, and see if there’s anything else I need to add.

[zacharywhitesides-capstone]

Project Update #6

Whatʻs been happening over the past 2 weeks?

I finished my turn-based battle system, and I’ve started working on my cutscenes and dialogue. So far, two of my cutscenes are finished.

Whatʻs coming up for the next 2 weeks?

By the end of this week, I want to try and finish all of my cutscenes so that in the week after I can add music and playtest my game. In short, I will finish my cutscenes and add music.

Hiccups/Hurdles/AHA moments

I had a hiccup and AHA moment. On my forest level, I was creating enemy encounters (similar to RPG video games like Pokemon). I was trying to make it so that when the encounter is triggered and the player wins the battle, it would return them to the same position where the encounter happened. Although it would return them to the same level, it would not put them in the same position. Instead, the player would be put in a random position. I tried getting ChatGPT’s help with this issue, but the new scripts it kept giving me wouldn’t work. After thinking about what to do next, I had an AHA moment. I could turn this problem into a challenge for the player. Similar to what I did in my Spying Centipede game, every time the player would encounter and fight an enemy, they would be returned to a certain position. This time, they would have to try their best to avoid getting caught by the enemy. To me, I thought this would be a fun challenge for the player. 

Any deliverable drafts to share?

Game Design Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g1QRBSqPBSAQWJnqTF7oF84W4MXsoI62Ug29hFWr2OY/edit?usp=sharing

Game Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T_9KUDHPekVSWqnfOuyW2X6AlFzaksV_EHz4LvbDD0A/edit?usp=sharing

Visual documentation of the progress. (Please upload screenshots, WIP videos, etc.)

Here are my cutscenes, dialogue, and battle system: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Flko02IkdBhe_aDMG4P9W4S6GBV3maPz?usp=sharing

Where you are on your timeline?

I believe I am still in my production phase, but I am almost in my post-production phase. For the next two weeks, I will be finishing my cutscenes, adding music, and creating a start menu.

[zacharywhitesides-capstone]

Project Update #5

Progress over the past two weeks

I managed to create all of the levels that I will use in my game and my character has movement.

Upcoming goals for the next two weeks

My goals are to have a working turn-based battle system and start making cutscenes and dialogue.

Any challenges or breakthroughs

I had a hard time with ChatGPT when I was creating the battle system. At first, it got it right. When the enemy was defeated it would disappear. But, when I tried implementing health bars it kept on giving me new scripts to use and it wouldn’t work in the game. So, I decided to delete the scene and start over. At this time it’s not working yet.

Preliminary drafts or deliverables

Game Design Doc:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g1QRBSqPBSAQWJnqTF7oF84W4MXsoI62Ug29hFWr2OY/edit?tab=t.0

Visual documentation (screenshots, work-in-progress videos)

Here are my levels:

Here is my character moving:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SqbeU7lIYqyyQpCL6ybrVKcQUESvtUlq/view?usp=sharing

Current status on your project timeline

I am still in the production stage. I just need to focus on getting my battle system working the way I want it.

[zacharywhitesides-capstone]

Project Update #4

Whatʻs been happening over the past 2 weeks?

Over the past 2 weeks I’ve managed to create two of my levels. I’ve also started adding characters to my levels.

Whatʻs coming up for the next 2 weeks?

In the next 2 weeks, I will have all of my levels created and begin creating my combat system. If possible, I will also get started on creating my cutscenes and dialogue.

Hiccups/Hurdles/AHA moments

While I was creating my levels I found myself getting used to using tilemaps again.

Any deliverable drafts to share?

Game Design Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g1QRBSqPBSAQWJnqTF7oF84W4MXsoI62Ug29hFWr2OY/edit?usp=sharing

Game Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T_9KUDHPekVSWqnfOuyW2X6AlFzaksV_EHz4LvbDD0A/edit?usp=sharing

Visual documentation of the progress. (Please upload screenshots, WIP videos, etc.)

Village:

Forest:

Where you are on your timeline?

I believe I am on track with my progress. I will take advantage of spring break to try and get as much stuff done for my game as possible. I atleast want to get my levels and battle system created so I can focus on my cutscenes and dialogue.

[zacharywhitesides-capstone]

Project Update #3

Whatʻs been happening over the past 2 weeks?

For the past 2 weeks, I have been creating my characters in Piskel. They are ready to be used for my game.

Whatʻs coming up for the next 2 weeks?

For the next 2 weeks, I will be looking for tilemaps for my game and creating levels with them.

Hiccups/Hurdles/AHA moments

I made some changes to my characters when I made them. For instance, I gave JJ a cape, Aldric has a spear instead of a sword, and globins wield daggers instead of swords.

Any deliverable drafts to share?

Game Design Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g1QRBSqPBSAQWJnqTF7oF84W4MXsoI62Ug29hFWr2OY/edit?usp=sharing

Game Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T_9KUDHPekVSWqnfOuyW2X6AlFzaksV_EHz4LvbDD0A/edit?usp=sharing

Visual documentation of the progress. (Please upload screenshots, WIP videos, etc.)

Here are my characters:

Here are my sketches:

Where you are on your timeline?

I just finished creating my characters and I am ready to start building my game.

[zacharywhitesides-capstone]

Project Update #2

Whatʻs been happening over the past 2 weeks?

For the past two weeks, I have been working on my story, sketches, and dialogue. I have also been working on more prompts with ChatGPT, getting more comfortable with using it.

Whatʻs coming up for the next 2 weeks?

For the next two weeks, I will start working on my game. I will look for tilemaps to use, create my characters, create my levels, and find what music to use for my levels.

Hiccups/Hurdles/AHA moments

After two weeks, I finally had my story and script planned out. I also finished the sketches for my characters.

Any deliverable drafts to share?

Game Design Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g1QRBSqPBSAQWJnqTF7oF84W4MXsoI62Ug29hFWr2OY/edit?usp=sharing

Game Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T_9KUDHPekVSWqnfOuyW2X6AlFzaksV_EHz4LvbDD0A/edit?usp=sharing

Visual documentation of the progress. (Please upload screenshots, WIP videos, etc.)

Here are my sketches of Aldric (JJ’s father), an NPC, and the King. As I said in my last post it’s been a while since I’ve drawn on paper.

Where you are on your timeline?

I am done with my pre-production stage. I finished the story, sketches, and script and I am ready to start working on my game.

[zacharywhitesides-capstone]

Project update #1

Whatʻs been happening since the start of the semester?

I have finished my video game design doc and I have been practicing with prompts more on ChatGPT.

Whatʻs coming up for the next 2 weeks?

In the next 2 weeks, I will be working more on my story, start making a script, do more sketches, and start creating my levels.

Hiccups/Hurdles/AHA moments

At first, I did find it a little difficult to think of a story for my game and I’m still thinking about a way to end it properly. But now, I’m starting to get more comfortable with how I want my story to go.

Any deliverable drafts to share?

Game Design Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g1QRBSqPBSAQWJnqTF7oF84W4MXsoI62Ug29hFWr2OY/edit?usp=sharing

Visual documentation of the progress. (Please upload screenshots, WIP videos, etc.)

So far I only have sketches of JJ (the main character) and a goblin enemy. It’s been a while since I’ve drawn on paper. I tried drawing light knight armor on JJ and I drew a vest and shorts for the goblin.

Where you are on your timeline?

As stated above, I am currently still working on my sketches, story, and script. But when I get those done I’ll be ready to start building my game.

[zacharywhitesides-capstone]

Hello Everyone! My name is Zachary Whitesides but you can call me Zach and this is my introduction video for the capstone class.

Looking at the past capstones the one that stood out to me was Ryan Ovalles project on crunch time in the video game industry. I thought his project was very unique. He built a video game where the main character is a game developer who goes through the challenges of crunch time. On his capstone page, he also talks about how crunch time for game developers can be harmful to them and how it can lead to severe physical and mental health issues.