WEEK 12 | Animamundi

WEEK 12 -17th May

Game Structure, Unity, Playtesting, Sound, Marketing

Monday 17th May

Today I will be completing the game structure in Unity, playtesting and having a last team meeting via Slack.

WORK DUE THIS WEEK

Send Kiera Sound/Audio files
Complete game structure in Unity
Playtesting/evaluation/adjustments
Full vertical slice and finished website/blog

TO DO LIST

Continue with Marketing until event
Complete the structure of the game in Unity, taking into consideration the evaluation and adjustments last week
Playtest game, ask questions based on appearance and gameplay.
Complete and send Kiera all sound files to be implemented into final vertical slice.

MY TASK - Monday 17th May

This morning I will be focusing on completing the game structure, ready for playtesting this afternoon. I will be continuing with where I left off last Friday.

WHAT TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION - FINAL GAME STRUCTURE

After testing it was obvious there needed to be more depth in the environment and more assets to fill the empty space. As one of our intentions for the vertical slice is to captivate beauty within the environment, this is exceptionally important. As well as sound/audio, fascinating visuals increase game engagement and keep players immersed. Assets must be intentionally placed, taking into account the eye-line of the player and what will be most visible to them.

MY APPROACH

Using the feedback and our evaluation I began by placing in more assets and using denser/more vibrant clouds and referring to my composition research at all times. What is especially needed is more foli/nature to fill the empty space which players will see when they traverse the environment by increasing and decreasing in height. In order to test this in-game, I will use the main camera feature to ensure each asset is kept within the correct scale and to fill empty space.

USING SCENE MOCKUPS AS REFERENCE

PROCESS/EXPERIMENTATION

As seen above, the process involved experimenting with the placement of assets and replacing objects to see which worked best. This involved hovering clouds over different positions to see where they looked best and duplicating the composition from other scenes. Experimenting with this was a long process in order to establish the most appealing composition and placement of assets, especially as this is one of our main foci - to achieve beauty in the environment. (Must appeal to our target audience). To avoid repetition, I made sure to give myself a wide selection of asset choice for one scene and always compared to previous scenes to ensure users were kept in awe and fascinated by their surroundings. If the setting began to get repetitive, users wouldn't be as engaged and would lack enthusiasm/interest.

ISSUES THAT AROSE

In order to test scenes I would switch between edit/canvas mode and the players perspective to test the placement of the background assets. An issue that arose were the assets in the background appearing flat and as if they were floating. This appeared around empty spaces which required more cloud assets to fill it out and create more depth. These areas lacked the feeling of an 'air region' which we intended for. As well as this, a common mistake was forgetting to keep the Z axis of the background assets on '0' at all times - this led to not being able to see certain assets in-game. To overcome this, it required a lot of revisiting scenes and checking the value of the Z axis or increasing the Asset Layer.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED? / WHAT WE DID WELL AS A TEAM:

To achieve the sense of depth and distance to make the environment seem much fuller and bigger than it really is, layering and adjusting the opacity/transparency of assets is exceptionally important in doing so. However the composition of this must be taken into account to avoid assets clashing or looking of out place.

Something the Team did really well was providing a wide variation of assets. Whether this was a variation of clouds, shrubs or blossom trees, we were able to create iterations/variations to be used throughout the environment to avoid having to duplicate one design of assets which would have appeared extremely repetitive and boring. This is something that should be required for any game!

TESTING IN-GAME AFTER CHANGES

During these playtests I ensured to take everything into consideration as I traversed the environment - specifically looking out for colour clashes, scale, layers/depth and composition. It is my responsibility to make sure the look of the game is how we intended and to ensure the quality is of a high standard.

WHAT THE TEAM DID WELL

We carried out multiple quality assurance tests and discussed regularly the outcome of asset creation which mitigated the potential risk of assets clashing at a later stage of development (i.e. at this stage). Because of this all assets match the requirements for the art style and there have been no cases where this has been a problem so far!

EVALUATION/REFLECTION OF TEST

From this game walkthrough and evaluating the new changes I am happy with the appearance of the vertical slice and before making final refinements it's time to get some feedback from external playtesters. External playtesters ensures we gather feedback from a reliable source, someone who isn't on the development team who may have a biased opinion or know the game too well. The structure is how we intend for it to be however gathering suggestions and potential feedback will assist the way I finalise the structure of the vertical slice for Kiera to then incorporate my completed soundtrack and sound effects.

The purpose for playtesting is to evaluate the purpose of the vertical slice, to gather suggestions and feedback on it's appearance and gameplay.

NEXT STEPS

Team Meeting to discuss current steps with game structure.
Playtest game with external playtester
Take comments/suggestions and ask questions afterwards.
Make necessary changes to vertical slice.
Finalise structure.
Kiera to complete last few puzzle interactions and incorporate audio.
Next set of playtesters/adjustments.
Completed vertical slice!

MONDAY 17TH MAY: LAST SLACK MEETING WITH TEAM

Presentation of current game structure, game playthrough via share screen, progress check and health update.

DISCUSSION

Kiera discussed the current stage of development in terms of Unity and puzzle interactions. Also presented the game structure and shared the screen for the team to see the game playthrough. Additionally I played the soundtrack for the team to hear for the first time!

NOTES FROM MEETING:

Team are happy with the structure and love the way the puzzle interactions look working in the environment.
Team are pleased with the current outcome of the vertical slice.
Molly to continue with lighting and have this published by Wednesday 19th.
I discussed how it would be good to put our game up on Itch as soon as it was ready and we would require promotional material/a poster for this which Charisma said she'd be happy to make to assist me with this.
I have gathered the necessary information needed to complete the Team Website.
Team loved the music and said it really brought the experience together, loved the effect of it.
Team wondered whether or not the lanterns would be lighting up - Kiera informed the team this is one of the last puzzles that need to be coded! Other than that vertical slice is aimed to be completed by 20th May.
On schedule for completion, everyone is happy with our current position and everyone is well and healthy!

EVALUATION

In order to have the vertical slice completed by the 20th there are a few things left we have to do, all of which are very feasible! We are on schedule to complete and hand-in the vertical slice by the 20th of May, as well as it being published on Itch.io alongside our team website.

We will be updating each other in the next few days and a final playthrough of the game will be sent to the team via Slack.

MY PERSONAL TO DO LIST

Adapt and complete soundtrack (Sound Design)
Put in necessary information in team website/blog (Marketing)
Complete game structure
Playtesting and feedback
Invites and Promotional Material for Indie Games (Marketing)

PLAYTESTING

17th May - External Playtesters

PURPOSE OF TEST

Kiera and I will be carrying out playtesting with an external playtester to gather feedback and suggestions for possible changes and to gather insight into the functionality of the vertical slice. I will be asking players a range of questions in the form of a verbal survey in order to do so.

QUESTIONS TO ASK PLAYER:

HOW DID THE GAME MAKE YOU FEEL? (Is this in line with our experience mapping? Have we taken the thoughts, feelings etc into consideration enough/done this correctly?)

DESCRIBE ANIMA MUNDI IN A FEW WORDS: (Can be used to describe Anima Mundi on blog/instagram page, have they described our essential experience?)

IF YOU COULD CHANGE OR ADAPT THE GAME IN ANYWAY WHAT WOULD YOU DO? OR ANY SUGGESTIONS: (Take suggestions to make changes and improve)

RATING /5 (Allows us to judge the outcome of these important factors which are the backbone of Anima Mundi)

CHALLENGING:

INTUITIVE:

CLEAR AIMS/OBJECTIVES:

RELAXATION:

MUSIC FEEDBACK (for personal use and evaluation)

TEST 11

17th May - PLAYTESTING WITH LEWIS

PURPOSE OF TEST

To gather suggestions and opinions from an external individual, someone who has no experience in game developments and will provide us with useful suggestions for improvement.

I will use these suggestions to assist my development in the final game structure and Kiera can use any comments related to puzzle interactions to improve this in Unity.

CLIPS TAKEN FROM LEWIS' PLAYTEST EXPERIENCE

SET UP - Player playtested the game from start to finish. As you can see in the video on the right, I provided Lewis with the soundtrack via Voice Memo, this was a great way to get feedback on it before completion! Using the soundtrack also brought the experience together and provided Lewis with the experience we as a team intended. Aims/objectives as well as prompts are written out as a part of the UI in-game to ease Lewis into gameplay and avoid us having to explain it.

QUESTIONS TO ASK PLAYER (after testing)

HOW DID THE GAME MAKE YOU FEEL? / ANY GENERAL COMMENTS?

Music matched the vibe of the game which he liked a lot.
However wasn't as easy as it looked, sometimes struggled to jump onto platforms and this resulted in him dying quite a few times! This was sometimes frustrating.
Rather self-explanatory - first two prompts were enough, no need to prompt players later on.
Understood the controls after these two prompts and were easy to use.
Did it feel a bit of pressure and found it quite challenging knowing which ability to use and when, but found the experimentation enjoyable.

DESCRIBE ANIMA MUNDI IN A FEW WORDS:

Exhilarating

Tranquil

Dreamy

Peaceful

IF YOU COULD CHANGE OR ADAPT THE GAME IN ANYWAY WHAT WOULD YOU DO? OR ANY SUGGESTIONS:

"Height" - more of an exploration element. Lewis would like to move up and down more, felt a bit linear. This would make it more challenging.
Maybe some more trees and Japanese buildings (architecture) in the background so the theme is clear but other than that really enjoyed the look of all of our art.
More nature and maybe more animals too.

RATING /5

CHALLENGING: 3 (because last puzzle is not complete, would be higher but so far a 3)

INTUITIVE: 3

CLEAR AIMS/OBJECTIVES: 5, happy with brief instruction and the prompts helped too.

RELAXATION: 4, as It was quite challenging but still very nice and relaxing.

MUSIC FEEDBACK

"Suitable for the environment"
Fit the theme very well
Created a pretty atmosphere
Would add more sounds of nature (maybe waterfalls and birds etc)

EVALUATION / REFLECTION

Reflecting on feedback

Bugs with platform islands (not being able to reach and getting stuck on the side) was frustrating for the player.
Would like if their was more height in the environment, allowing him to see more of the sky and below to feel as though he's getting higher/lower.
Use more Japanese themed architecture to represent theme clearly.
Could add more animals and nature, maybe different species of trees.
Complete all puzzle interactions
Complete soundtrack and add in extra elements

Evaluating feedback

Lewis found Anima Mundi as a great balance between challenging and playing for relaxation. We succeeded in having players feel peaceful and calm however the player still felt a little pressure to perform well, but this could have been a result of recording/analysis. Player really liked the appearance of the game and gave recommendations of how to improve this for example using another species of tree and some more architecture. Additionally, he loved the soundtrack and little details within the environment which brought the game together nicely and felt as if the game was self-explanatory enough therefore does not require any more prompts/assistance in game. As for the soundtrack, I will incorporate nature sounds in the background to achieve a similar sound to how Lewis described. This will be a great way to capture the sounds within the environment without having to implement them separately.

TIME CONSTRAINT & IMPLICATIONS

As we have 3 days left until hand-in and the release of Anima Mundi, there are only a few things which are feasible in terms of taking feedback and acting upon it:

Incorporate more architecture into scenes, by duplicating what we have already and making these more visible.
Kiera will have each puzzle interaction complete by the 20th which she is on schedule for.
Can slightly adjust the platform islands in the environment to achieve more height, however as Molly is working on the lighting, this will interfere with the production of shadows so we cannot do this to the best of our ability during this time. But this is definitely something we can take on board for future reference.

NEXT STEPS

Next steps will involve completing our last few puzzle interactions and finalising the structure of the game. Using this we will carry out more playtesting and document the following feedback again. In order to get to this stage, this is what we need to do:

Kiera to complete puzzle interactions in Unity.
Emilia to finalise game structure taking into account feedback from playtesting session.
Other team members to carry on with their tasks e.g. promotional material, manual and lighting.
Develop soundtrack and send to Kiera.

FINAL GAME STRUCTURE

WHAT TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION

Feedback from playtesting session and focusing on making the environment look as appealing as possible. Focus on player engagement, immersion and player perspective.

MY APPROACH

I focused on making the environment look prettier through the use of small details and adjusting the composition. In order to test this I will also be playtesting again myself to experience the setting from a players point of view.

PROCESS/EXPERIMENTATION

Kiera recommended adjusting the tint on the clouds to a pink/orange tone to reflect the light from the sun which worked really well, especially contrasting against the denser white clouds in the back and foreground. Also using feedback from playtesting I incorporated more Japanese huts and 'Torii Gates' into the background of multiple scenes to reflect the Japanese themed environment. I experimented with the composition of these assets and used the 'rule of thirds' to achieve a more dynamic composition.

'RULE OF THIRDS'

Please refer to my Blog post for more information: Blog > Composition

The Rule of Thirds is a Composition Guideline used in art which "dictates that if you divide any composition into thirds, vertically and horizontally, and then place the key elements of your image along these lines or at the junctions of them, the arrangement achieved will be more interesting, pleasing and dynamic". This is said to achieve a more natural image and places more emphasis on the subject of the image.

USING THIS IN MY WORK:

Taking this into consideration I paid more attention to the placement of assets and focused on one scene at a time. Using the main-camera mode to view the scene from the perspective of the player helped with this. Using the rule of thirds allows me to focus on the subject of the scene and where exactly to engage the eyes of the player. If designed correctly, I can draw viewers attention to the main subject of the environment being puzzle interactions and the position in which the player is standing. This is most important when the player is standing still before a puzzle interaction rather than constantly moving throughout the environment, as this is where players are most likely to relax and observe.

I have used the rule of thirds to assist the composition and placement of assets at each stage before a puzzle interaction takes place.

EXAMPLE

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?

Less is more! Also composition is very important and something I will consider earlier on next time! Especially when it comes to 2D games, the composition of assets are the most important thing in making the environment appeal to players. As well as this, lighting brings everything together and without it everything appears flat and bland! I'll definitely use this method in the future and recommend it to the team/other artists.

COMPOSITION

In this draft scene mock-up, the interactive puzzle pieces are the panpipes and the eagle, placed beside the tree. The tree in this scene is the highest point and therefore will catch the attention of the player first. The main focus of this scene will be the interactive elements just below the tree (the puzzle that has to be completed) therefore behind it I have avoided layering too many assets which may distract players. To the left in the background I have layered background assets but made sure to fade them out before the puzzle interaction to ensure the players focus remains on the puzzle they must complete.

NEXT STEPS

Tomorrow I'll be focusing on adjusting the last few assets and testing this from my own player perspective as well as two other external playtesters. I will also be focusing on finalising the soundtrack and sending this to Kiera.

Add nature into soundtrack (sounds of birds chirping)
Finalise game structure by composing playtests and gathering feedback.

18TH MAY - Today I'll be focusing on finalising the game structure and composing a series of playtests.

TEST 12

Tuesday 18th May - FINALISING GAME STRUCTURE AND TESTING

PURPOSE OF TEST/EVALUATION

Throughout the development of the final game structure I made sure to play through the game regularly and evaluate scene changes from a players perspective. This allowed me to notice certain assets out of place or the need for minor adjustments. I plan to carry out playtesting this afternoon with Team Leader (Kiera) and take feedback into consideration to develop this for a last time.

PROCESS/ISSUES/CHANGES

Towards the end of this first video you can see an asset was placed behind a cloud however due to the opacity of the cloud it looks as if the Japanese Hut is floating. While I was playing this is something I noticed and had to deal with quite regularly. The appearance of this is unattractive and makes the game appear flat! In order to fix this I made sure to layer more assets in the background as well as adjusting the scale to play around with distance and perspective. Below you can see my experimentation with blossom trees, and using the blossom on a low opacity to seem as if they are towering over players, making the environment seem much bigger than it really is.

During this second walkthrough I noticed quite a big empty space around some of the interactive puzzles. In this case the 'cloud dispersion' puzzle is the main focus in this scene, however once players use their gust to move these clouds, the space behind appears empty and quite eerie! As this is not what we intend for I duplicated assets and padded out the scene using some architecture and use of blossom again to fill the space, as well as taking into consideration the rule of thirds. This helped with achieving height in the environment as it seemed all assets were just on one level.

SMALL FIXES / CHANGES

During game tests/walkthroughs I noticed a few assets were layered on top of eachother and caused the environment to look a bit busy and overwhelming. The purpose of Anima Mundi is to provide players with an environment that puts them at ease, with intentionally placed assets in their environment, alongside music and casual puzzle gameplay.

EVALUATING

Taking note of what needs changing and the issues I have come across will make it easier for me to revisit scenes and make the necessary changes accordingly. During my game walkthrough I screenshotted and evaluated the areas that needed attention and my next steps will require revisiting these stages and adapting them by using both mine and Kieras suggestions.

INCORPORATING OUR EVALUATION INTO THE STRUCTURE

Before playtesting I checked the structure was up to standards and Kiera checked if each asset in the hierarchy was on the correct layer and therefore visible to players in game. This was important to establish everything was in the right place and ready for our next set of playtesters.

NEXT STEPS

Kiera to complete the last puzzle interaction ready for playtesting.
Complete and hand-in soundtrack with nature sounds ready for playtesting tomorrow.
Molly to publish lighting changes to Unity file, allowing Kiera to have access to this and complete the vertical slice.
Daniella to hand-in her final User Manual suitable for PC.
Charisma to begin on assisting me with promotional material.

THE TEAM

Completing the last few tasks!

My Soundtrack is complete and my documentation of this can be found here: Sound Design.

Daniella's completed User Manual

Charisma's last UI Screen

I have sent the team the completed soundtrack and from the reactions I think they all like it!

NEXT STEPS

These new elements of the Vertical Slice have been implemented into Unity and the puzzle interactions are now complete. Next we will be composing playtests with two external testers!

TEST 13

19th May - CONTINUING WITH PLAYTESTING

PURPOSE OF TEST

"Playtests are also used to help ensure that a product will be commercially viable upon release, by providing a way for consumers to play the game and provide their opinions."

These playtests will help to gather feedback for the last time and make changes accordingly before completion of our Vertical Slice. Using this feedback we will provide users with an improved version of the vertical slice.

PLAYTEST 2

Playthrough of full vertical slice, with soundtrack, sound effects and all puzzle interactions complete. (1)

Notes taken during tests-

Didn't spend a lot of time reading prompts, understood how to use abilities
Fascinated by environment and design
Loved the music and animal animations
Took a few tries to complete bridge puzzle - Due to inaccuracy, this adds to the challenge
Enjoyed cloud puzzle, continued to push clouds throughout - continued interaction
Was kept engaged throughout, focused
Was surprised by the outcome of most interactions, shocked, appealed
Felt a sense of curiosity

QUESTIONS TO ASK PLAYER (after testing)

HOW DID THE GAME MAKE YOU FEEL? / ANY GENERAL COMMENTS?

Was kept engaged throughout, felt like he needed to focus the whole time
Loved the animations around environment
Music made him feel relaxed and sleepy
Felt very zen
Enjoyed the simple gameplay, not too hard but also a little challenging

DESCRIBE ANIMA MUNDI IN A FEW WORDS:

Calming

Peaceful

Pleasant

Friendly

IF YOU COULD CHANGE OR ADAPT THE GAME IN ANYWAY WHAT WOULD YOU DO? OR ANY SUGGESTIONS:

More area to explore, possibly do things other than complete puzzles, would like to see more of the environment
Would like to have more abilities and more complex puzzles in the next region
Increase number of checkpoints, it got frustrating to die and then respawn far away, this got repetitive

RATING /5

CHALLENGING: 4

INTUITIVE: 4

CLEAR AIMS/OBJECTIVES: 4, sometimes didn't know where the puzzles were

RELAXATION: 5, loved the music and animals flying around player

MUSIC FEEDBACK

'Sweet'
Relaxing
Made him feel very calm and sleepy

EVALUATION / REFLECTION

Reflecting on feedback

Ratings in terms of the challenge aspect, as well as it being intuitive with clear aims and objectives have increased since the previous playtest. This is due to the use of prompts to help understand gameplay.
Introduce more area to explore the environment, possibly secret pathways to collect something or complete another puzzle
More checkpoints are needed to avoid frustrating players and providing them with repetitive gameplay
Some puzzle interactions weren't clear, meaning the player walked past and avoided them unintentionally
Perfect level of challenging gameplay and relaxing/tranquil environment, great balance between the two

Evaluating feedback

My evaluation of this feedback is that we should consider other areas for players to explore. Due to our time frame we have one day until the deadline therefore altering the environment at this stage is something that must be done in moderation. We do not have the time to make all the changes possible however we can do our best. Because of this, for future purposes giving players more freedom in their environment will be considered, allowing them to explore their surroundings as well as just completing puzzles and moving forward. (Less linear) This could include being able to simply just sit and observe the environment, giving players somewhere to escape to - this adds to our main aim, to provide users with an immersive and tranquil experience.

On the other hand, I feel it's necessary to incorporate more checkpoints into the environment otherwise players will begin to get frustrated similar to our playtesters! This is something we'd like to avoid as we do not intend to make players feel on edge or pressured during Anima Mundi. Increasing the number of checkpoints will make players feel less as if they have failed or aren't performing as well - no need to repeat stages. Anima Mundi is purely based and focused on the aesthetics, visuals and alluring experience.

TIME CONSTRAINT & IMPLICATIONS

We have one day until the deadline therefore we must make the most necessary changes within this short period of time. The most important change we have agreed to move forward with is increasing the number of checkpoints in the environment which Kiera will be responsible for.

However I have taken note of ways to improve for future reference:

Providing players with more freedom in their virtual environment
Allow players to back track, explore more to the world than just interactive puzzles
Incorporate 'easter eggs' / hidden references in game - maybe hints to a secret pathway or place to sit and observe, sit in a tree, listen to some music, maybe provide them with the chance to speak with a guardian spirit/animal?
Placement of lanterns could be made more visible once player has entered the scene where they are required to complete a puzzle - in order for them to know they have to complete this puzzle, how do we alert them of this? Could consider using audio or a small prompt in the environment to do so. (E.g. blossom falling from trees, something subtle yet effective)

TEST 15

19th May - CONTINUING WITH PLAYTESTING

PLAYTEST 3 - Charlie

Playthrough of full vertical slice, with soundtrack, sound effects and all puzzle interactions complete. (2)

Notes taken during tests-

Started off feeling a bit pressured, couldn't get passed the first few platform islands
Like the sunset background and 'vibe' of the environment
Player appears frustrated after dying
Confused as player scanned through UI prompts and rushed to get into the game
Player struggled with using abilities but after a few tries became more comfortable
Unintentionally walked past puzzle interactions
Player unaware of their objectives, after little explanation he understood and started performing better
Intrigued by outcome of puzzle interactions, also enjoyed the sound effects of panpipes and animations
Last puzzle completed unintentionally, player wasn't aware

QUESTIONS TO ASK PLAYER (after testing)

HOW DID THE GAME MAKE YOU FEEL? / ANY GENERAL COMMENTS?

Angry when he kept dying, thinks it needed more checkpoints
Not the gameplay he is used to (Fan of warzone/COD)
Other than that it was "light-hearted and uplifting".
Music was uplifting, matched the surroundings
Liked the colourful environment, suited the aura of the game
Liked the Japanese theme, enjoyed the look of the trees, huts and gates
Did feel a bit pressured because he struggled with staying on the platform islands!

DESCRIBE ANIMA MUNDI IN A FEW WORDS:

Peaceful

Challenging

Vibrant

IF YOU COULD CHANGE OR ADAPT THE GAME IN ANYWAY WHAT WOULD YOU DO? OR ANY SUGGESTIONS:

Last puzzle - wouldn't have known how to complete it if it didn't bug
Would like if there were more abilities - expand on this? Maybe levitation or double jump
Jumping needs to be a bit smoother, player attempted to jump but still ended up falling and had to restart multiple times

RATING /5

CHALLENGING: 3

INTUITIVE: 4.5

CLEAR AIMS/OBJECTIVES: 4

RELAXATION: 5

MUSIC FEEDBACK

Matched the aura of the game
'Chilled'
Enjoyed it for relaxation element

EVALUATION / REFLECTION

Reflecting on feedback

Player also commented on lack of checkpoints, would like more of these to reduce frustration after dying
Puzzle positioning needs to be considered, potentially discuss implementing smaller prompts for these and how to warn players - Although, the purpose of the game is to light up the lanterns around the environment therefore if a lantern is off, players should know that they need to backtrack and retrace their steps. This is something that maybe can be dealt with by making the objective of the game bigger and clearer at the start of the vertical slice.

Evaluating feedback

My evaluation of this is that most players do not read information when they are provided with it! Each playtester either scanned through or ignored their prompts/instructions which may be a result of players feeling as if they will understand as they go on, therefore do not require instructions beforehand. This is something I sometimes do myself, and feel as though I will become more comfortable with the game once I play it through once. However in terms of Anima Mundi, the main objectives are the main focus of the game and therefore players must be aware of this before they proceed with gameplay! In order to overcome this, an idea is to increase the size of the UI at the beginning or positioning it differently which states the purpose of the Shaman's journey and how to complete the vertical slice.

CHANGES

Increase number of checkpoints
Adjust height in platform islands - avoid disrupting Molly's lighting production

NEXT STEPS

19th May Kiera has increased the number of checkpoints in the environment and moved a few islands in the environment to add more height however as this would interfere with the production of lighting, it couldn't be done to our highest potential.
Publish Molly's lighting changes.

PUBLISHED LIGHTING - Molly on the 20th May

Molly has published her creation of lighting in Unity and provided the team with screenshots of this:

EVALUATION OF LIGHTING

Molly did a great job with the lighting in Unity and it has been really effective in terms of tying everything together. The use of gentle shadows has created movement in the environment and makes the air region seem less flat and more three dimensional. Molly has also used a beautiful 'rose tint' on the blossom trees to reflect the light from the sun which harmonises with the orange tones in the sunset background. I am really pleased with the outcome of this as are the rest of the Team and we are very grateful for Molly's hard work. This has been great training for Molly as she wasn't too comfortable with it at the start but persevered and achieved a stunning outcome.

MY TASK - Thursday 20th May

Today is the hand-in and deadline of our Vertical Slice! We are on schedule for hand-in by this evening and I am very pleased with everyone's progress and contribution to the end result. Today I will be collecting the last bit of information from the team to post on the Team Website, which I will then publish and send to Kiera for hand-in.

My documentation for the marketing of Anima Mundi can be found here: Marketing > Anima Mundi

After the scheduled hand-in I will be continuing with marketing for both Anima Mundi and Windie Games, in order to promote our Online Arcade Event taking place on the 28th May.

Documentation of this can be found here: Marketing > Windie Games

THE FINAL VERTICAL SLICE - Thursday 20th May

The Vertical Slice is now complete!

After making the appropriate changes our Team Leader, Kiera, has uploaded our complete Vertical Slice to Teams alongside our Team Website.

Team Website can be found here: https://animamundigame.wixsite.com/website

Additionally, I have created and set up our Itch page where people are now able to download Anima Mundi! https://gameanimamundi.itch.io/anima-mundi

This link will be supplied to guests via Microsoft Teams during our Arcade Event, allowing friends and family as well as members of the public to play our game!

Charisma kindly created a suitable cover photo using the correct measurements for Itch which I have used to advertise the game on our main page.

Anima-Mundi on Itch

I have used our Game Overview from the team website as a description for the game on Itch as well as install instructions for downloaders. Anima Mundi requires approximately 1.5GB of data.

Anima Mundi is also available on Windows and Mac.

I have set this up in order to ensure our game is ready for our arcade event on the 28th.

THE FINAL VERTICAL SLICE WALKTHROUGH

Anima Mundi complete vertical slice walkthrough recorded by Kiera

The team are very pleased with the outcome of the vertical slice and we have thanked each other for the hard work and support throughout the duration of the project. It wouldn't have been possible without each member of the team!

END OF WEEK SUMMARY AND REFLECTION

All within this last week we have managed to compose a series of playtests, complete and publish our full functional vertical slice and release it on Itch for the public to play!

This last week was the final push and we have all done so well and each team member has worked incredibly hard.

To summarise this week we began with completing the game structure and playtesting this with external testers to make additional changes and the necessary minor adjustments. We focused on the thoughts and feelings of the player and recorded this during each test. From this the vertical slice was further developed and Kiera made the minor adjustments in Unity. Using this final structure we then carried out another set of playtesting and gathered more feedback! The team supplied the last few bits and pieces to complete the game, specifically the lighting production and information for our team website.

I have published our team website and will proceed with advertising our game and arcade event via our Instagram and Twitter pages - @Gameanimamundi and @WindieGames.

The team worked very hard over the course of 12 weeks and we have successfully fulfilled our expectations for the vertical slice in terms of our project scope, objectives and team goals. I am very happy with the outcome of our vertical slice and especially its appearance! As a team we focused on visuals and aesthetics as one of our major foci which we did successfully and are very pleased with the outcome.

I am grateful to have worked with such a lovely team and despite implications we faced on the way we managed to adjust the schedule accordingly and complete all our tasks within the given timeframe.

PROJECT PIPELINE/MILESTONES

Although during the process we experienced unexpected setbacks and issues that occured, we managed to work together to adapt and overcome, in order to produce a functional vertical slice! Our milestones and pipelines have been met and completed successfully.

Reflection, Evaluation and a Summary of the project can be found here:

Game Development > Post-Project

I am feeling: