Synoptic Project Progress – Deadline’s drawing close.

As the Synoptic Project begins to draw closer and closer to its deadline we are spending a lot of time refining the game and preparing for the end of year show. Personally, I have been working on the art book, and promotional content for the game, as well as refining the GUI. Nathan has been working on the game design and adding in more particle effects. Finally, Luke has been working on establishing a main quest system the player can follow to play the game.

I believe the team has worked great during the entire process of creating Bottled Up, I couldn’t have asked for a better team. I feel like we have created a great product we can all be proud of. Therefore, by continuing to develop Bottled Up further, I can’t wait to see what the end result looks like.

Below I have included a picture of my personal production schedule which shows that almost all tasks have been completed as we get closer to the important deadline. However, despite how daunting the deadline is, we are all eagerly waiting for the deadline so that we can showcase our game at the end of year show and receive feedback from all of our friends and peers.

Next steps for Bottled Up

As the game deadline begins to draw closer, we are working very hard as a team to progress the game as far as possible. We want to push Bottled Up as far as we can take it, making it look and play as well as possible.

Currently myself and Nathan are working to create more assets for the game to give it more depth. We feel that the more there is to see and interact with, the more enjoyable the game will be to play. Linking to this, Luke is busy working on new mechanics for spells to increase what the player has the ability to do.

The entire time throughout this project we have always aimed to make the game look as good as possible. Aas a team we love admiring the art, in very visually appealing games. Therefore, we set out to great a game similar to this: ensuring that we create consistent models which match the games ascetic and pair well with our chosen shaders / particle effects.

Personally, I believe we are making very good progress. Upon viewing the production schedule we are on track and beyond our targets. We have worked very effectively as a team to create the best project we possibly could. Myself, Luke and Nathan are all very passionate about what we do, and I feel that this is represented through our game.

MVP Preparation

We have decided that our minimal viable product will be the submission we made for YGD BAFTA, as we feel that the game is at a solid point at this period in time, and we are currently extending the game, meaning that submitting the game now would result in a not so great player experience, compared to the submission we have already made.

By simplifying the current state of the game to the submission we made for BAFTA, ensures that the MVP is a fun/playable game that showcases our work effectively. However, once the work we are currently working on has been complete they will be featured in the BETA/Final Submission in the hopes of creating the best game possible.

The MVP currently consists of a forest and graveyard scene, in which the player is able to complete quests, interact with players, be involved with combat with enemy characters and way more. As well as this you are able to enter the old mans house and pick up items from around the map. Finally, there is also a hidden message that runs throughout the game.

As we have already achieved our MVP deadline we are continuing to work towards the final submission of the game. Constantly creating new assets and mechanics to bring the game to life. Personally, I am working on developing the town to add a whole new area to the game for quests and interaction.

Evidence of our production schedules are below

Previous BAFTA/MVP production schedule

Current Synoptic Project Production Schedule

Bottled Up – After YGD BAFTA Submission (Review/Reflection)

Now that Bottled Up has been submitted for a YGD BAFTA, I thought it would be a good time to do a reflection on our progress and talk about our plans for the future of the game.

Obviously, we plan to continue to develop Bottled Up for the synoptic project, as the BAFTA was very limiting in the rules and guidelines, and we have big plans for our game. We are privileged to have had the opportunity to enter for the YGD BAFTA competition, and we are thankful for the opportunity. However, the 250 mb size limit especially, was difficult to stick too, as we want to continue to expand our game to a fully fleshed out game.

As a team I am very happy with all of the progress we have made, we have encountered a few hiccups along the way but nothing that held us back enough, to prevent us from submitting our game. And I am sure that nothing will hold us back in the future to prevent us from submitting the best Synoptic project we possibly can. I am very pleased with the team spirit and work ethic that everyone has been showing, I couldn’t have asked for more of a determined team.

As for next steps, I don’t want to disclose too much, as there is a lot to come. However, we do plan on introducing more; areas, quests, gear (different rarities), as well as NPC’s and more.

Imagined World – Evaluation

Introduction

As the imagine world project draws to a close I wanted to create a blog post discussing the project as a whole, talking about; how my team has performed, communicated and our work flow throughout.

My Team & Their Roles

My team consists of six members; myself (3D / UI / Concept Artist), Nathan Richardson
(3D Artist), Matthew Dickson(Programmer), Bence Franko,(Animator) Luke McFarlane
(Programmer) and Max Ansell(Animator / Programmer).

Game Highlights / Role Breakdown

Game Highlight Video

Feedback

Your project looked great from the early stages and you were always well on top of the technical, animation and construction elements, which is excellent and will serve you well if repeated for the synoptic. Your organisation and work ethic were you strongest asset throughout production, which says a lot considering how good everything else is. Make sure you maintain your approach in the new year because it will guide you to success regardless of the project you choose. Your actual demonstration to the rest of the students significantly undersells just how impressive your project really is – you could’ve demonstrated so much more of it! Be careful with how the synoptic project presents itself because there may well be VIPs at the end of year show. All in all, you’ve done fantastically well and produced the crowd’s favourite project! You should all be very proud of your work.

– Feedback from lecturers on Next Gen Course.

Feedback Review

Obviously we are all over the moon with the amazing feedback we have received, from everyone, regarding our Imagine Worlds submission. As well as this, we are all humbled by being voted the best Imagined World out of the 21 projects submitted.

My Contribution

Below I have included some renders of my key contributions to the project. Further Breakdown of each asset will eventually be found on art station.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Overview

To conclude, I couldn’t be more happy with the out come of the Imaged World. Obviously there is so much more I would add and tweak, as would the rest of my team I’m sure. However, for 3 months work I couldn’t expect anything more from my team.

Weapon Sketches

In order to create the required weapons for my RPG game I have done multiple sketches of weapons which I have taken and produced weapons from. Below are my sketches from start to finish (nothing pretty). Despite these being rough sketches they benefited me greatly in the process of creating my 3D models and getting the look that I required. Blog posts going in depth on these weapons are already out and can be read about on other parts of my blog.

 

Rabbit Hop Game Play – Updated

As of recent I have been refining my 2D platform game – Rabbit Hop. This has included creating more levels, modifying movement, adding trees and changing water/lava, as well as particle effects. After doing all of this I personally feel like my game is heading in a very good direction, for a year 1 game especially. The changes I have made mainly effected the visual appeal of the game, which I do feel have improved the game. However, by improving the movement of the game I have made the game much more enjoyable to play, and the more levels allow for my content for players to enjoy.

In the future, I plan on increasing the level count, possibly adding different biomes, to change the game up a bit and add more unique game play. As well as this I want to add more boost modifiers like the speed boost, possibly a jump modifier next. Also I want to add more enemies and a high score system, so players can keep track of their best efforts to complete the game.

Overall, I am very happy with how my game is currently progressing. I personally find my game very fun to play, as do many of the people who have tested it. I am strongly looking forward to progressing my game further and fully developing it into a fully complete and working game.

 

Want to try out my game? Download it below, 100% free, all feedback is greatly appreciate, thank you!

Download

Low Poly Stylized Sword 3D model

I spent today developing the sword 3D model I created last week. This 3D model was created for an RPG style game which myself and my friends are working together to make. Mainly, I am personally working on developing weaponry for the game, so plenty weapon based 3D models are to be expended on my blog over the following few weeks.

For this sword I wanted to make it match the mystical theme of the game, so I decided to use emissive maps to make the blue areas of the sword glow, creating a sense of unknowing and magic about the weapon.

Overall, I am very happy with how the sword turned out as I feel like it will perfectly fit the feel of the game. I am really looking forward to further developing this game and getting my weapons it in. As well as this, I am really looking forward to showing off the game on my blog.

The only change I would make to my sword (if I was to do it again) would be to change the handle and make it more complex.

Game Inventory UI Design – Adobe Photoshop

Today I have create a game inventory UI for an RPG style game idea which myself and my friends are working on creating in Unity. I used Adobe Photoshop to create a fantasy style inventory which incorporates space for actual bag inventory, as well as character inventory (what the character has select / on).

I have included the raw image of the inventory below. Once the inventory is incorporated into the game I will do an updated blog post showing off what it looks like. I am overall very happy with how the inventory has turned out and I am looking forward to seeing it in the game.

Rabbit Hop (2D Platform Game) – End Screen Update

This morning I have spent some time polishing up my 2D platform game, Rabbit Hop, as it my favourite game (out of the games I’ve made so far). One thing which I have updated on the game is the end screen: making it more interactive and interesting. I always intended for the game to have an interesting final end screen, which when the game is fully finished, will be hard to reach and contain “Easter Eggs”. However for now as the game is in early stages it doesn’t contain any “Easter Eggs” but is fairly interactive. I have designed the end screen to be like a small one frame level which the player can move around within. However, the player has a time limit of 30 seconds before the game fully restarts.

Previously, the end screen was just a flat level with a sky which the player could move around on. Now, the level has; trees, boxes and water. All of which add a little bit extra juice/visual appeal to the game. Especially, by the use of the buoyancy effector on the water. Along with the buoyancy effector, there is also a particle effect which will trigger when the player “splashes” into the water. Below is how the end screen currently looks.

As well as this I have also updated the rest of the water in the game, added more trees, and updated the lava to look more effective. One the game has been updated more I will release another blog post with more detail on the game as of current and a potential version of the game for people to download and try.