Tuesday 15th, Monday 21st October 2019.
Paper Prototype - Sprint 3. Scrum Master: Nathan Hill
Overview
This week, we focused on finalizing our paper prototype. We developed and practised a presentation ahead of our demonstration on Tuesday. We also began to test our prototype among the students in our class.
Product
The main products this week were:
- Outlined Triggers
- Painted Prototype
- Created Presentation
- Practised Presentation
- Tested Prototype
- Uploaded File
Process
Outlined Triggers
I used coloured pieces of card to outline trigger volumes in our game. Different colours were used to outline different trigger volumes. For example, red pieces of card would be used to indicate 'battle' trigger volumes. If the player steps on a red piece of card, they would enter a battle with an enemy. Blue would represent the start-and-end-points of the level, green would represent collectable items. Yellow represents sound volumes, and orange would be used to identify interactive objects. Caoilinn suggested placing small squares of the card into each module to represent a trigger. He also suggested removing the centre from the card to expose the texture below.
Christian bought a book of coloured-card in the college shop. I used this to create triggers. I measured and outlined each piece of card before cutting out the shapes. I then placed each trigger into the grid.
Painted Prototype
Christian and I continued painting the paper prototype throughout the week. We blacked out the interior of the box and coated the outside with a layer of brown paint. Christian painted a yellow design along the brim to make the box represent a treasure chest. We outlined the yellow paint with a black permanent marker to complete the look.
Created Presentation
I was tasked with creating a presentation ahead of our demonstration on Tuesday. I wanted to create a themed presentation that would represent the branding of our game. I decided to use Google Slides to create the presentation - this would allow me to easily share the file among the group. I searched online for a template to use as a starting point. I then edited these slides to reflect our style. I outlined a 'plan' for our demonstration to get an idea of how the presentation should be laid out. I communicated with the group throughout this process to receive feedback and suggestions on the slides.
Practised Presentation
We met as a group to practice our presentation. We used a timer to keep track of our speed. We aimed to spend around 4 minutes on the presentation, leaving 6 minutes for the demonstration.
Tested Prototype
We asked volunteers to test our prototype on Monday. The feedback that we received encouraged us to change our combat mechanics. Originally, the current health of each entity was recorded manually (with Caoilinn keeping track as the battle progressed). This proved to be ineffective, as gameplay would essentially halt as Caoilinn performed calculations. We opted to display the player health via a HUD instead. Additionally, we discovered that each battle took too much time to complete. We decided to drastically reduce the health of each entity, to speed the overall gameplay up.
Uploaded File
I was tasked with organizing and uploading the CA submission file. I contacted my teammates on Sunday to collect their journal links. I placed each link into a text file and added them to our folder. I checked the submission guidelines, and carefully adhered to naming conventions. I ensured that each required element was present in the folder before submission.
Issues
I forgot to factor wall-width into my measurements while outlining triggers. As a result of this, the triggers were too large to fit in our prototype. I decided to start again with more accurate measurements.