WEEK 4 | Animamundi

WEEK 4 - 1st March

Refining Project Scope, Art Style Mood-boards, Asset Creation and Introduction to Testing

Wednesday 3rd March

This week we were to send in our work set from the previous week as well as have a scheduled meeting with James on the 4th at 12:00pm to discuss our development plan.

WORK DUE THIS WEEK

My task due in for this week was to storyboard the final puzzle interaction and refine the scope with Kiera.

MY FINAL STORYBOARD:

SENT TO TEAM 3RD MARCH

THE FINAL STORYBOARD

These final puzzle interactions were a result of my initial research, ideation and brainstorming. After conversing with the team last week we decided on the final 6 puzzles, specifically choosing those that we thought were most appropriate for the purpose of Anima Mundi and will therefore be of interest to our audience.

WHY?

These puzzles each contain a basic interaction with the players environment by using their special abilities. Within each puzzle players have to use either their Boulder or Gust ability. During the vertical slice players will be provided with prompts on how to use these however we will discuss this towards later stages of the project - UI.

As the player progresses, puzzles become more difficult however not too challenging. The reason for these puzzles all link with the main theme 'restoring the beauty of the environment'. The aim is for players to traverse their environment by completing puzzles in order to restore its beauty. This includes restoring a dead tree by moving the direction of a rain cloud, using the Gust ability.

All puzzles make a small difference to restoring the environment which will have a visual impact - through lanterns.

THURSDAY 4TH: SLACK MEETING WITH JAMES

Today during our meeting we shared our work with James as well as each other including our new puzzle storyboard, Molly's ability GIFs and next steps for asset creation/art style.

DISCUSSION

Team were happy with the storyboard and we have concluded on our chosen puzzles. Decided next steps are to refine the project scope to then assign asset creation.

Molly will continue with ability animations and refining them.

Also discussed possibility of Parallaxing. (Research for parallaxing can be found in Blogs>Parallaxing).

NOTES FROM MEETING:

-Storyboard, Art-Style, Abilities

Sharing my storyboard - everyone agrees to finalised storyboard and are happy with the interactions that take place at each stage.
Need to refine project scope to then form an asset list and assign assets to people.
Molly shared her ability GIFS:

Discussed Molly's next steps to adapt on these ability animations and combine with Daniella's character design.
Kiera to write up a full gameplay structure in depth - this way members of the team gather a better understanding of expectations.
James suggested looking into parallax scrolling - making the environment seem like it has more depth. Will do a blog post based on this.
James also recommended assigning someone Lead Artist in order to establish a unique art style and to then guide asset creation to ensure our art style is kept consistent throughout. I put myself forward for this task and the team agreed.
Lead Artist to perform quality testing/checks, provide members with a set of 'rules' or guidance - e.g. colour schemes etc.
From this assign asset creation tasks to 2D artists.

EVALUATION

From this discussion...

I have been assigned Lead Artist and therefore am responsible for the art style of the game, involving quality testing and ensuring the art style is kept consistent during asset creation.

HOW?

The way I will do this is by creating an art bible suitable for the theme of our game. According to Josh's GDD, the theme of Anima Mundi has a Japanese approach. From this I will create an art bible using specific colour schemes and guidance on asset creation which team members can use during development.

As well as this, James recommended we look into Parallax Scrolling to achieve depth in our environment, and to make it appear as though the environment moves with the player.

(Found in Blogs>Parallax Scrolling).

Kiera began writing up a full detailed gameplay structure which we plan to use to finalise our scope with, as well as my final puzzle storyboard. This information was posted on Trello (https://trello.com/c/1fegBctv/13-kiera-basic-gameplay-structure) where we also document our work week by week in order to safely store it.

NEXT STEPS

Using Kiera's gameplay structure we will work together to refine and finalise our Project Scope, allowing us to organise which 2D assets, animations, scripts and audio we need specifically. From this I can create a detailed Asset List and provide this to 2D artists in order to begin asset creation.

REFINED PROJECT SCOPE - ASSETS

This project scope includes every asset we need to fulfill our expectations for the vertical slice.

FINAL PROJECT SCOPE

Now we are aware of our asset expectations and features, here is a final refined Project Scope for the development of Anima Mundi:

CREATING AN ASSET LIST

Using our refined scope I created a full detailed Asset List to provide team members with a list of everything we need including the expectations of each one and how many required. (And the artist that the asset is assigned to) As well as this, we can use this list to carry out QA testing and playtesting further into development. I have included two other sections named 'Feedback' and 'Completion' where I will provide the team with comments for feedback to make any necessary changes - once completed, I will then colour code the task green to confirm completion.

This asset list was shared with the team via Slack and Google Docs to ensure we have access both on and offline at all times if need be: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w07y71xNHjl7GFcYKodi4pgAAp3s-mzV05Y0VSCCuks/edit?usp=sharing

This will be changed and updated regularly to organise the creation of assets and to keep the development dated in order to understand when specific tasks are due.

This ensures each team member gets their task done in time and therefore we can stick to schedule.

CHOICE OF ASSETS

Referring to our Asset list, I have researched into Japanese Architecture to reflect the Japanese theme desired by Josh (Original GDD) in order to represent this within our vertical slice. From this I produced a list of assets to be included in the envIronment.

(Blogs>Japanese Architecture)

To ensure asset creation gets done efficiently and to the best of our ability, I will be assigning 2D artists with different tasks to distribute the creation of assets fairly between us. Depending on skill set and capabilities, if anyone has an issue with the task that has been assigned to them, we must communicate this to resolve this issue and to prevent setbacks.

EXPERIENCE MAPPING

An important step before proceeding with development and design is taking the end user into consideration. During earlier weeks of development I looked into User Design to establish a target user for our game. With a specific user or target audience in mind, this makes it easier to design in line with their demands, wants and needs.

I have used my persona, storyboard and Kiera's written up gameplay to establish the thoughts and feelings of a player during each stage of the vertical slice. Evaluating this experience map will allow us to make changes and adjustments according to our initial intentions. E.G. Does the player feel how we expected them to?

EVALUATION

There are 8 main stages of our vertical slice, 6 of them including puzzle interactions. After evaluating each stage it's clear to me that players will spend most of the time feeling curious yet excited by their interactions with obstacles and puzzle pieces, however less affected by the visual environment. As this is one of our main focuses, it may be worth discussing with the team in order to reduce the number of interactions in our vertical slice, to fulfill our team goals and intentions.

Throughout, players will be kept engaged by these puzzle interactions as well as other components such as audio. Reducing the number of puzzle interactions will allow us to focus on the main elements of the game and therefore fulfill the expectations of the vertical slice. These elements would include visuals/game architecture, sound and UI, just as much as mechanics. As a team we aim to provide players with a method of escapism and to do so it's important to consider game engagement and immersiveness. We'd like to offer players a chance to explore and immerse themselves into a virtual environment. According to Josh's GDD, visuals and sound are essential for this and therefore will be our main priority.

CHANGES/REFLECTION

Reducing the number of puzzles will make Anima Mundi less challenging and more of an experience rather than a game. We do not want to pressure players or make them feel on edge at any point of the game, our main objectives are to provide them with relaxation and a sense of calm. I will discuss this with the team in our next meeting as I feel it's necessary to focus on these aspects of the vertical slice, especially to fulfill the intentions of the original game designer, Josh.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE

It's essential for the experience to use sound and appealing visuals to immerse players and keep them engaged throughout gameplay. It's also essential for players to feel at ease and comfortable while playing Anima Mundi, as our purpose is to provide them with a light-hearted and tranquil experience, rather than challenging players and creating a sense of competition between them and the game.

MY NEXT TASK - THURSDAY 4TH MARCH

ART BIBLE

Before assigning the asset creation I must establish the art style of our game and in order to do so I will be creating an art bible to outline how to achieve our desired art style in terms of technique and appropriate methods to do so. Full Art Bible can be found here.

I have begun by creating a Google Docs specifically for Asset Creation and shared this with the team. Please refer to this document for more detail!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qKwRhWw8a2JGt2Nr4HGmWCvtkofPeI06UNyEWZNRwFY/edit?usp=sharing

Firstly I created several inspiration mood-boards according to Josh's GDD based on the typical appearance of an Air Region, environmental designs and art style. His GDD consisted of brief information as to how he wanted Anima Mundi to appear and I will be referring to this throughout. In addition to this, I will be using his suggestions from the 'Question the Creator' session last week.

My research into Art Style can be found here: Blogs>Art Style

Each mood-board was created using Pinterest and I have linked them for members to look into more if they need. These mood-boards should be used as reference throughout the creation process.

I then shared 3 potential art styles with the team and asked members to vote for their favourite one. The result of this was the Okami inspired art style. (number 3).

ACHIEVING A UNIQUE ART STYLE

Using the result of this and Josh's GDD, I have to establish a unique art style for our game. Looking into the Okami Art Style it became aware to me that foreground assets require more detail than the background, and markings/outlines are used to make assets appear more prominent. Additionally, I looked into the style of environment we will be working towards (a Japanese theme) and combined this with inspiration from Japanese Illustration Art.

The assets that will be in the environment are those relevant to gameplay/puzzle interactions, as well as environmental features such as trees and platform islands. The reference boards for these assets will be provided for artists, and from here we can develop assets in the art style I have established.

JAPANESE ILLUSTRATION ART

ASSET MOOD-BOARDS

I also mood-boarded specific assets needed in the foreground of our vertical slice. This included typical Japanese architecture for example Japanese temples and nature such as blossom trees and butterflies.

Using these mood-boards I created a series of colour palettes and finalised this by establishing one final colour scheme.

Using these colour values I provided artists with guidance on how to achieve similar brush strokes and styles throughout asset creation as well as similar textures to refer to. The textures consist of basic outlines with delicate markings and etches. As we have a lot going on in the environment, it's best to keep the art style simplistic yet effective.

CONCEPT

I then created a basic platform concept to instruct artists with how to create the remaining assets in the same style. I used a mood-board to influence the appearance of the platform islands.

SOFTWARE: Adobe Illustrator

BRUSH TYPE: Round Brush Tool

SIZE: 2pt for markings and detail, 0.25pt for outlines.

I started with a basic outline which I provided the values for - 0.25pt in Adobe Illustrator. Additionally I highlighted the colour values used from the colour schemes taken from the boards in the Art Bible.

I used these to paint a platform concept and outlined it using the correct brush size.

It's best to begin from silhouette concepts, to identify the specific shape we want in our environment. Ideally there should be variation between platforms, and this is something I will inform artists.

Once establishing exactly which assets we needed in the environment, I took the basic colour palettes and combined this with our desired art style. Using the Japanese Illustration mood-board and Okami art style I was able to identify a suitable scheme for our environment.

I also looked into the importance of Colour Theory which can be found within my Blogs section here.

BEGINNING WITH SILHOUETTE CONCEPTS

From this, adaptations can be made such as differentiation between shapes and sizes. Photoshop can be used to take my original texture and warp this to create a series of island variations as an easier method.

REFERRING TO ASSET LIST

Referring back to the Asset List I am able to specify what needs to be made and assign an Artist to each one. Charisma and I will be the main asset creators and Molly will assist in animation as well as Daniella if need be. I will be using the art bible to store mood-boards for creators and headings to establish the content between artists.

Using this I will set the first set of asset creation between myself and Charisma due next week:

CALL WITH CHARISMA - 4th March

I scheduled a call with Charisma to discuss the Art Bible and my expectations for asset creation due in next week. We discussed each others tasks and I made sure to make it clear that I am available if she needs and to message me if she has any worries or queries! We were in agreement with the expectations of our tasks and therefore began with development.

MY TASKS

It is my responsibility to design the Bridge, Butterfly and Nature elements for the environment.

I will be using my collection of references/images to influence my asset designs but most importantly, I will be referring to the art bible throughout the process.

MOOD-BOARDS - taken from Art Bible.

JAPANESE STYLE BRIDGES -

Using this mood-board to achieve a realistic representation of Japanese architecture. I have also done a blog on this as research which can be found via my Blogs section.

BUTTERFLY DESIGN IDEAS -

An assortment of butterflies will be necessary in order to establish which scheme works best with our other assets and background developed by Kiera. This butterfly design should later be animated.

SILHOUETTE CONCEPTS - BRIDGE

BRIDGE DESIGN

I began by creating silhouette concepts for the bridge to be placed in the environment and also be the first puzzle interaction using the 'boulder throw'. To establish the shape that works best for this puzzle interaction I have used silhouettes to identify a shape first, and then proceeded with sketching on top and adding detail.

REQUIREMENTS & PURPOSE:

Players must fill the gap of the bridge using their Boulder Ability. There must be a clear visible gap in the bridge to represent the obstacle they have to overcome.

Furthermore, I have chosen to develop the 3rd Bridge Concept because I feel this will best suit the theme of our vertical slice. It can be easily positioned between two platform islands and coded by building the bridge by 3 layers, to ensure the character will be able to walk over it. Additionally, I will be able to design the bridge to present the missing steps in which the player must fill by using their boulder.

This design fulfills its purpose as the gap between steps are clearly visible to players and is most appropriate for this puzzle interaction.

I will use the previous colour schemes and art style guidance to paint the bridge in three separate layers as I am aware this makes it easier to apply box colliders to later on.

SCALE

I have added this basic diagram of my bridge concept between two platform islands and the player onto the art bible - to establish a suitable scale for Anima Mundi. Members can refer to this while creating other foreground assets. The scale of the mobile frame is 1920 x 1080 mm and this should be referred to at all times.

CONTINUING WITH ASSET CREATION...

Myself and Charisma will be working on Asset Creation over the next few days until I assign the next set of assets to develop.

WHERE TO STORE FINAL ASSETS?

I also created a new Google Docs to provide artists with a place to store final assets. From this I can perform testing and give team members feedback: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g9XfMxKRRWdh4n7p8RprSkDxvpwselZglnNLOQ8by-c/edit?usp=sharing

Friday 5th March - Lecture with James

Testing and Manual Version Control

WHAT DID WE DO?

Understood the basis of Version control and the importance of testing.

NOTES:

Version Controlling – mechanism that keeps track of changes between different versions of a game element (assets, scripts, builds etc) controlling these changes means making sure that everybody works continuously from the same version.

Manual Asset Log - Asset version control log, in the form of a table - Dates, Notes of changes, Author of Changes.

Testing our assets, prototypes and builds:

SMOKE ALARM TESTING

Steve McConnell - "Testing goal runs counter to the goals of other development activities. The goal is to find errors. A successful test is one that breaks the software. The goal of every other development activity is to prevent errors and keep the software from breaking".

HOW CAN WE USE THIS IN OUR DEVELOPMENT?

During the later stages of development we need to consider testing. An example of this: GUST - Does it work as expected? Does the outcome happen at the time we want it to?

This may lead to bugs e.g.

Crash bugs – causes entire game to crash

Critical – major functionality problem with game. A game play feature not functioning as designed.

Minor bugs – minor but noticeable bugs. Stretched textures.

Feature request – not a bug but a nice-to-have. Extra functionality request.

TASK: For team to make Pass/Fail testing table for our individual assets:

We made a brief asset testing list via Slack however I have created a more detailed table below:

This table includes:

Asset/Build - Individual asset type

Expectation - What's expected from this asset?

Pass/Fail - Has it passed or failed its expectations?

Notes - Anything to change? Something to take note on?

Bug type - The type of bug e.g. Crash bugs or Critical.

THE IMPORTANCE OF TESTING

I have written a blog based on 'The importance of Testing' which can be found in my blog section here.

HOW WILL WE USE THIS?

We should use this testing table to evaluate the performance of assets once placed into Unity. This will be especially helpful for Kiera as she will be in charge of Unity development and coding. This table ensures the expectations of each asset and interaction are met, if not, this table can be used to record the type of bug and any comments regarding this - such as what needs to be changed and way to prevent this from happening again.

END OF WEEK EVALUATION

PROJECT PIPELINE/MILESTONES

This week we were able to refine and finalise our Project Scope. This scope will be referred to throughout the project to ensure we meet the requirements of the vertical slice.

We have created a pipeline to establish our project milestones and when each phase of the project should be completed by. To do this efficiently we have used Miro to build a project roadmap.

Link can be found here: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_lCAa_1I=/

This week (4) we have begun working on the Design for Anima Mundi, focusing on establishing a unique art style and assigning with asset creation.

In order to complete the vertical slice by the 20th May, we must have the Design phase completed by Week 9. Next week it is my responsibility to review the quality of asset creation and make sure the art bible has been obeyed.

As we hand in our first set of assets, Kiera will begin with programming by taking into consideration the expectation of all assets once placed in the scene.

ARE WE ON TRACK?

If we abide by the schedule by taking responsibility for our tasks and resolving any issues that may rise while doing so, we will be on track to complete our next milestone by Week 9.

WEEK SUMMARY

To summarise this week and next tasks:

We had a call via Slack on both the 4th and 5th of March where Kiera reviewed our previous work and set new individual tasks. As Lead Artist, I have provided the team with the necessary information to begin asset creation according to a specific art style!

DANIELLA

Daniella has handed in her Character Concept design and has been set the new task of Controller Mapping - how exactly will the controls work?

CHARISMA

Handed in draft Air region Concept - https://trello.com/c/a99RK5gH/12-charisma-air-region-concepts

Charisma and I will continue with asset creation and refer to the art bible throughout.

MOLLY

Hand-in the way Abilities will work.

Set the task to begin rigging Shaman using abilities.

KIERA

Completed final scope with Emilia.

Next task to Design player interaction using my puzzle interactions.

EMILIA

Completion of Art Bible - to be made accessible to every team member

Continue Asset Creation with Charisma

WEEK REFLECTION

A personal reflection on this week...

After creating the art bible I am much more comfortable with the creation of assets as I believe it contains thorough guidance in how to make all assets look the same. However I am worried that as time goes on this may be forgotten therefore I will make sure to keep it regularly updated and remind artists to follow it at all times! Also I will carry out regular scene testing to ensure the style is followed and give necessary feedback if things need to be changed.

We have established a final project scope so we are now aware of everything we have to make and the expectations of this.

I am comfortable with my position in the team and so far we are on track to completing the vertical slice by the deadline - 20th May.

How am I feeling?