CAGD 470

Sprint 6 Review

Another sprint, another build (almost)! We are almost there and that is one of the most terrifying, yet exciting things that I can say!

Before I continue, I have a disclaimer, I did do work....it just doesn't look like much. 

On another note, it was not the most horrible sprint in the world. It was not the best one, but I will admit that I am the bearer of bad news when it comes to this one. I am a bad producer in the fact of I should not have crunched on people as much as I did....but we needed to assign what we did. That in mind, I made sure to make a mental note to not assign too many points going into the next sprint.

So let's look at the (not so good) numbers!

• Points Assigned: 82
• Points Moved To Verify: 38
• Points Assigned But Not Moved: 44
• Remaining In To Verify: 11
• Moved To Complete: 27
• Left In Progress: 44

So what did I do this sprint? A ton of my work went into the background for the main menu of the game. It is a little bit hard because I should have known to split the work up into separate cards, but no. I decided to keep it all as one card. It took me a while to get the basic layout of how I wanted everything to be. On top of that, I was battling the pixel style of everything.

Once I had gotten pretty much everything in grayscale, it was a little bit difficult to manage perspective and getting the little things in there.

Something was still wrong about it and I couldn't put my finger on it. That was when I said I had had enough of the program that I was working in and put everything into Photoshop. It wasn't the most perfect system, but it worked for what I needed it to. At the end of it all, here is where I ended up!

The other thing that I was working on was the sprites for the enemies. Though they were not done at the time of the sprint review...well...actually...they were, but they were not verified...here they are now!

That is all for now! It might not be much...but it's honest work. Again, I am so, so happy to get to share with you all the final game when it is done! I hope that you get to download and play the next build that should be up now! Until next time and the postmortem!!!

Here are the user stories...

3 Points Completed - 34 Assigned (it looks bad I know...)

• As a player, I would like a visually distinct main menu to get me excited to play the game. (B3)
• As a player, I would like to have a final visual representation of what the AI look like on screen during the game. (Outcasts, Dog, Lost One) (C3) -- This one got left in To Verify.

Sprint 5 Review

Another build is up and ready to be tested by the masses!

That being said, this wasn't a terrible sprint, but it also wasn't the best one that we have ever had. I must admit, a lot of the things that were happening were less of new work that we could log in the backlog, but it was a lot of work to fix bugs and things before we were able to build the game and ship it out for testing purposes.

Another thing that I was looking at in this sprint was the average amount of points that we complete as a team per sprint. Since it was not a huge number, I wanted to make sure that I was not exceeding that value too much in the points that I assigned to the team. Obviously, there were some areas that I had to push a little bit more, but you need to do what you need to do...

With that in mind, let's look at the numbers!

• Points Assigned: 65
• Points Moved To Verify: 45
• Points Assigned But Not Moved: 20
• Remaining In To Verify: 0
• Moved To Complete: 45
• Left In Progress: 20

The green line is definitely out of where we want to be, but I was always told to never remove things from the backlog. They will stay there in the event of picking up the project again and making something of it. As I have said multiple times, a lot of that is mostly art assets and things. Since the two artists on the team also happen to the designer and producer....you can see where the bigger issue might lie.

On that lovely note, what did I do as an artist? :) Well, to be honest with you, it doesn't look like much, but I essentially did a redesign on all the menus to make sure that they match the theme of what we were going for. Another thing that happened was that I was able to get a quick sketch of the first six enemies in the game.

Outcast, Lost One, Dog

Stalker, Warden, Splitter

Crafting Menu

Pause Menu

Skill Points Menu

On top of that, I also got to step in and be a little bit of a level designer (which was tons of fun!). I call it "Baby's First Level" because it was actually the first level that I have ever designed! It might not be perfect, but I am proud of it. :)

Baby's First Level

That is all from this sprint! I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel which is a little bit scary....but it's exciting! Please go play the game! We would love to hear your thoughts of how we can make this game that much better!

Here are the user stories...

10 Points Completed - 13 Assigned

• As a player, I would like to make sure that when I change the direction that I am moving, that angle is reflected in my player sprite. (1)
• As a game designer, I would like to see a base sketch of the AI to make sure that it is going in the direction that I want. (Outcasts, Dog, Lost One) (B1)
• As a game designer, I would like to see a base sketch of the AI to make sure that it is going in the direction that I want. (Stalker, Warden, Splitter) (B1)
• As a player, I would like the on-screen buttons for my game to be unique, readable, and clear as to the function that they perform within various menus of the game. (B3)

Sprint 4 Review

Sprint 4 was a...uhhhh....less big one. I know we were on the hype train last time...but this time, not so much. That being said, it's not that we didn't have things that mattered, it was just that a lot of what we did was small in actual numbers. So, let's talk about those numbers!

• Points Assigned: 71
• Points Moved To Verify: 32
• Points Assigned But Not Moved: 39
• Remaining In To Verify: 1
• Moved To Complete: 31
• Left In Progress: 39

So... the green line is looking scarier and scarier as we continue with the project, and that being said, I think that Shawn and I have determined that there will be art assets that will not be in the game. It is super hard, we have discovered, to be the game designer and the producer and also be the only two artists on the game....but it's not the end of the world! We have a good chunk of things done right now, which is the perfect segway to talk about what I did in terms of art this sprint!

Disclaimer, I had a card left in To Verify because I did it last minute, but it was still the bulk of the work that I did this sprint. The first thing that I did though was some little assets that we needed. A key was made to unlock the secret room on the map (I like the little notches facing up....but that's just me).

The next thing that I did was making the icons for the weapons that you can find in the game: a knife, a pistol, and a rifle. Something to note, too. This sprint, one of the biggest hurtles that I got over was making all these assets in a different program. I have an actual program that is meant for making pixel art and I have wanted to become a little bit more acquainted with it. It was a little bit of a struggle at first and there are definitely things that I miss about Photoshop in it, but it has been helping me to line things up a little bit better.

Knife

Pistol

Rifle

The last thing is literally my pride and joy....it took way too long, but it was a huge challenge for me as well. I ended up making an 8-point version of the character so that when you use the controller, the character will turn to that direction you are facing. Visualizing all of this was so difficult and making sure that the clothing matched that angle was such a thing....but I got it and I am proud of it! Here is a composite of all those angles:

That is all from me this sprint! Cannot wait to make more progress on the project as I really like working on it. Until next time!

Here are the user stories...

5 Points Completed - 11 Assigned

• As a player, I would like a key icon for the HUD that will indicate to me that I can open the secret room in the level. (1)
• As a player, I would like icons that can be used in the weapon element of the HUD as well as on the player in game. (B3)
• As a player, I would like to make sure that when I change the direction that I am moving, that angle is reflected in my player sprite. (1)

Sprint 3 Review

Sprint 3 was the big one! The first electronic prototype is out and ready for playing!

In terms of the producer-y stuff, let's look at the numbers!

• Points Assigned: 85
• Points Moved To Verify: 62
• Points Assigned But Not Moved: 23
• Remaining In To Verify: 0
• Moved To Complete: 62
• Left In Progress: 23

Looking at the green line, you can still tell that we are going to have an issue finishing, but, like I've said before, that is completely normal. We know where the issue lies and it will not be in features that are programmed that will be cut. There will probably need to be some sacrifices that we make in terms of the visuals of the game.

That being said, let's talk about 2D progress! I was able to do quite a bit and I am pretty happy with that! I ended up finishing all the icons and oh boy that was a challenge! I don't know if I am super happy with how everything has turned out so far just because of the lack of color variation, but we will see how it turns out in the final game! 

Armor Piercing Rounds

Armor Piece

Binoculars

Bullet

Fire Rounds

Laser Sight

Monster Bait

Metal Spear

Torch

Tuned Barrel (my little pun)

Unstable Stim

I was also able to do the character! We are having a bit of an issue deciding what direction the standing pose is currently in, but not to worry! That is a next sprint problem...heh.

That is all from me this time! Thank you for joining and I hope that you go and test the game!

Here are the user stories...

11 Points Completed - 15 Assigned

• As a player, I would like the game HUD to be easily readable, navigable, and visually represent all the things that I need to know while playing the game. (B3)
• As a player, seeing a fully rendered image of what my character will look like will make me feel powerful and sturdy. (C3)
• As a game designer, I would like to see a base sketch of the iconography for the resources that I have represented in my HUD as I play the game. (A1)

Sprint 2 Review

Hello again from 470 and The Last Array!

The moment that our team found out that we didn't have a build due every 2 weeks like another class that we have all taken, the world was a whole new ballgame. We ended up making so much progress that we hadn't initially intended...which is a good thing! At the same time though...we are quickly running out of programming cards in our backlog.

That being said, let's just initially look at the progress that we made this sprint...

• Points Assigned: 82
• Points Moved To Verify: 59
• Points Assigned But Not Moved: 23
• Remaining In To Verify: 0
• Moved To Complete: 59
• Left In Progress: 23

In terms of the progress that is happening here, it looks like we are a little bit behind and that we will not finish before the end of Sprint 7, but the reality is that those numbers are reflective of the whole project.

This is the image that really tells all. The mechanics of the game are what are flying ahead of everything else in the world. According to this velocity, we should be finished with all the programming of the game by about the middle of Sprint 5...which is a little bit concerning. That being said, Shawn and I are working to get things into the backlog for our stellar group of programmers to work on.

In terms of the work that I did this sprint, I did quite a bit of 2D work (and I didn't even remember that I did!). I was able to make a character concept, a Player HUD concept, and a few of the icons that will be seen within the game. The thing that gave me the most trouble was the player concept because it was not the art style that I am particularly used to. I'm really good at making things look cute, not looking (excuse my French here) badass and awesome.

After looking into the reference sheet that Shawn provided to me and looking up some references of my own, I got something that I am pretty happy with and Shawn was happy with too! 

When it came to the HUD, I took a lot of inspiration from a game that Shawn told me he liked the HUD for: Enter the Gungeon. I was able to take the initial sketch that Shawn provided and spruce it up just a little bit. 😊

The one thing that I didn't expect to take as long as it did was the symbols. I thought that there were way less than there actually were...so that was a thing. I ended up getting quite a few done, but I still have a lot to go. I was pretty happy with how they turned out and I was happy to hear that Shawn liked them too. I am pretty comfortable with making pixel art, so I decided to use that to my advantage.

Backpack

Medkit

Bandages

Fabric

Scrap

Meds

That is pretty much it! Thanks for reading and I hope to see you here again soon! (Next time with a build!)

Here are the user stories...

11 Points Completed - 17 Assigned

• As a game designer, I would like to see some test assets textured to see if they are following my vision of the overall art style of the game. (7)
• As a game designer, I would like to see a concept sketch of the main character to make sure that it is going in the direction that I want. (B3)
• As a game designer, I would like to see my initial mock up of the HUD layout a little bit more flushed out by artist. (A1)

Sprint 1 Review

Hello and greetings from 470!

This semester, my team and I will be taking on the task of making a rouge-like dungeon crawler called The Last Array. Throughout the semester, I and four others will be banding together to (hopefully) make a player experience like never seen before! Okay, so it might not be the next Hades, but we are definitely going to give it our all!

In my team, I will be serving as both the producer as well as a 2D artist. This is going to pose a little bit of a challenge for me, seeing as I have only ever been one role or the other, but I am excited to take on something new. With me in this adventure, are four others:

• Shawn Rogers - Game Designer & 3D Artist
• Jeremy Casada - Programmer
• Dylan Loe - Programmer
• Alex Olah - Level Designer & Programmer

We have put the dream team together! Now, let's get to some progress.

As far as this sprint goes, I was tasked with some preliminary Producer-y things such as helping the designer build a backlog and putting together a burndown chart. If that were not enough to fill up my plate, I was also sure to keep track of the progress of the team and perform my tasks as a 2D artist. In the realm of 2D art, Shawn asked me to model and texture some test assets for the project to make sure that we could go after the art style that we hoped for.

Backlog (made with the support of Shawn)...ignore the cards in To Verify....

Burndown Chart

This sprint, I had some challenges with the 2D art stuff, not really the Producer-y stuff. In terms of assets, the models weren't so tricky (though the tree definitely gave me some pain), but it was the textures. I wanted to make sure that I was getting something that Shawn wanted to put in his game.

Some Test Assets

What I ended up doing was a lot of research into good pixel art, but also taking the shells into Photoshop. I'm not exactly sure the implications of everything on a larger scale, but we will hope that this still goes according to plan.

The Test Textures!

That is pretty much everything I have been up to this sprint...on top of everything else I have to do...but I am happy to be on this project and working with some awesome people!

Until next sprint!

Here are the user stories...

7 Points Completed - 17 Assigned

• As a game designer, I would like to see some test assets modeled to use as environmental indicators for the first playtest of the game. (3)
• As a team, having a cohesive backlog of the work that needs to be done throughout the project will make sure that everyone has tasks that they can accomplish each sprint. (3)
• As a producer, I would like to see a burndown chart of all the points and user stories in the project to give myself a clear view of the progression on the project. (1)