Thursday, December 16, 2010

Blog 10: James Henderson Jr

1. What went wrong?

The Pirates of the Unreal project in my opinion went very well and is the best project I ever done. To be honest there was nothing that went wrong. The game came out perfect and we were able to do everything we said we were going to do from day one. The only thing that was a little bit of a pain was the textures, but that wasn’t a big deal as it was a quick fix. In my opinion the project went perfectly.

2. What went right?

The Pirates of the Unreal Project had everything going right for it. We got everything we wanted in the game. All our assets turned out great and our landmarks were on point. We were able to get the lighthouse to shine a light to the cave and get the boat moving inside. The sea monster was great and that took a while to make, but it turn out fantastic. The overall level layout was on point with the diagram layout we did; everything was solid from day one.

3. What would you have done differently if you started over?

The group had some great ideas for the level and I was able to draw out a layout of the map that the team could agree on and we made it. I would not have done anything differently honestly. The project turned out great and I enjoyed every moment of it with no problems.

Week 10 Post Mortem: Angie Gomez

What went wrong?

I wouldn’t say that much went wrong with the level. Instead, I would say that we had to change some things, but it didn’t take away from the end result of the level. Other than the more advanced Kismet animations that we had originally planned on, nothing too big was changed. It was a lot of little things with the level, here and there. A few collision issues and problems when models would partially disappear, but those were usually resolved easily. I had some trouble with a few of the Kismet operations, because I really only know the basics of animating and setting up triggers. It was mainly the Boolean operations that tripped me up, but I found a few loopholes to work it out in our favor. Besides that, the level process was generally successful.



What went right?


All the assets that were produced came out great. They contributed greatly to the overall theme we were going for. I utilized the unreal assets as much as possible to fill the level out, and those meshed well with the rest of the environment. The fire particle system turned out good, to my surprise. I was just glad to get it working, personally, and it really added to the scene I think. The collision on the ship worked great. I thought we were going to have a lot of problems with that, but it was actually quite easy. I was glad that we had time to add in music and sound effects to the level, I think that was the last bit to tie everything together. The end result of the Kismet animations and operations was successful. People seemed to enjoy the variety in them.



Lessons learned
Looking back, there isn’t too much I would change. I’m quite pleased with the end result, and there wasn’t too much of a struggle throughout. I tend to shoot out of scope, usually with all my projects, but this one leveled out. We didn’t accomplish everything that we had in mind, or that I had in mind rather, but we hit a happy medium. It’s good that I work with teammates sometimes, they keep me in line.

Week 10 Post : Michael Morgan

1.     What went wrong?

The main thing that I could see that went wrong was the size of the ship compared to the player. Unless the player was a midget pirate I don’t think it worked for me. I think wrap around stair might have worked better with the light house but I was just as happy with the ladder.

2.    What went right?

As a whole I think the level came out really well. From the brainstorming process at the beginning to the final project I think we reach our goal. The assets came out good and they all fit the theme of the level. As soon as you get dropped into the level it says pirate to me and the music further adds that feel. I was happy that all the triggers got finished and the boat actually sailed into the cave. Finally the sea monster fight scene was awesome.

3.    What would you have done differently if you started over?

The only thing I would have done differently was watched what things were designated to which person. Other than that I would have probably just added a couple things like animations, making the light on skull cave more noticeable, and probably adding more enemies.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Week 9 Blog: Angie Gomez

The level is just about complete. I finished the rest of the Kismet animations today and the level is completely playable all the way through. The theme song that James found fits really well. I've been singing it all day. It's rather catchy. The seamonster was an awesome addition to the cave, and I really like how the spiders turned out. I actually don't like walking near them now, they're a tad freaky. I'm thankful for all the effort that went into the assets from my teammates, without it the level's theme wouldn't be as clear. Like James said, the playtests went well. People always enjoy trying to break out of a level when they playtest it, but I think I've finally blocked off all their ways of escaping now. I also tweaked the level a bit so the player still thinks they can roam wherever they please, but it's actually quite linear so it keeps them on track. I'm excited to present the final product on Thursday. It's finally looking like our own unique level.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Blog 9: James Henderson Jr

it has been a great nine weeks and now going on into the final week, week ten, I am happy with our project. It looks really great and I am very confident that everyone else will like it too. All our assets is in and textured, There was still the matter of fixing the sea monster texture. The sea monster turned out better then I expected and he goes right along with the level. During play test two, the people who played our level were really impressed and they enjoyed playing the game. I was really excited to show someone outside of class and get there opinion, about the game. While wrapping up the level we added some music into the game. I found us a theme to use and we decided to put that into the game as background music. It gave us a little trouble, but it worked out fine, Also the part I am excited about is getting the boat to move. Thanks to Angie she was able to make the boat move into our cave and it looks really awesome. I am so proud of this level and the way it came out, from the start we kept what we said we were going to do and now its about to be complete, its like i said, it seems it has been a fun journey for us and now it comes to a end. We will put the final touches on the project on Tuesday and be ready for Thursday. Great job everyone

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Week 8 Blog: Angie Gomez

I was a bit nervous this past week thinking that we might be falling behind, but after working on the level Friday, I think we're still in good shape. That happens a lot to me around the 7 to 8 week part of the term. It feels like there's a million things to do still, but it all gets done. I managed to make a fire particle system over the week, with the help of tutorials of course. I'm quite proud of it, because I'm usually not so great with the technical side of things, but it wasn't too difficult. After I added that in to the torches in the level, I fixed the lighting accordingly. Some of the small assets have physics now too, because throwing things around is always fun. The Kismet for the lighthouse trigger is rough, but it's working. There's also a ladder now so it makes a bit more sense, and there's not just random orange arrows. The key for the lighthouse still needs to be done as well as the ship and cannonball. The cannonball is going to be my biggest obstacle I think. I have a vague idea how to do it though, and I still have some time to figure it out. The team has still been pumping out assets and working hard. I'm really looking forward to seeing James' finished model of the sea monster; it was already looking awesome. The level is definitely coming together!

Friday, December 3, 2010

Blog 8: James Henderson Jr.

There is only 2 weeks left and the project is almost done. I been very impressed with our progress. I believe the sea monster is the last big asset we need to add in the game. It seems with every term I have there is a good point, a stressful point, and a anger point. Lately I been stressed out and a little upset about some things. I may have said this before, but I try not to let what goes on in my personal life affect my work. I know that my team needs me, and I need them. I always been that person to want my group members impressed with me and hope they would recommend me again in the future. Our project has grown into a success, and I feel it has taken us on an adventure to say and now that adventure is about to end. When all is over I would love to work with Micheal, Jordan, & Angie again in the future. We worked hard on this project and now its about to be done. Like I said, I am almost done with the sea monster and he will be ready to export, Also there still some lighting and collision to get done so I am ready for this and I know the group is too. Great Job everyone

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Week 7 Update: Jordan

The playtests this last week went quite well, and I gladly will be taking up the reigns on the lighting and collisions, possibly with some more level work I would like to throw in. I haven't had much time with everything going on the past few days, hopefully tomorrow and the next day I can get something substantial done. I am pleased with the project thus far and these weeks have really blown by! With very little time left I can say that I am excited to hammer out the rest of the level; we have done a very good job of staying within scope and I am very pleased with this. Scope is a huge issue in our department and knowing that we are closer to understanding what we can and cannot do is an amazing thing. Our group is so lucky to have the flow that we have without all of the stress. Overall we have had a lot of positive energy and I believe that is feeding off into our project. I am very happy at this stage! Looking forward to tightening up the level.

I do see that there is still a good chunk of work to be done but I am fully confident in our abilities to see it through. Hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving break!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Week 7 Blog: Angie Gomez

Like James has previously blogged, the level is really turning out for the best. The playtest on Tuesday went rather well. The testers seemed to like it, despite us missing key elements due to them being Kismet animations, and that's a good sign. We still have a lot to add to the level, but we've made some great progress. I've handed off the actual level file to Jordan who is going to work on the collision and lighting. I'm working on finishing my assets and helping with the texturing. After all that, I don't believe there's much to do besides add the Kismet triggers and animations. I'm hoping that won't be too difficult. I have a general idea on what to do, so I think it should go pretty smoothly. I'm very happy with where we're currently at, and I believe we're making good time.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Blog 7: James Henderson Jr

I am so proud of the group and what we have accomplished the last 6 weeks. Our project turned out really good. On Tuesday we play test the game and got some interesting results from the people who played it. Most of everyone who played the game really liked it. We realized that there are still some problems with the game that can easily be fixed. All of our assets went into the game, but there are still a few more we need to put into it. The next time the group meet I hope to put the sea monster into the cave. Once we put all the Assets and give its textures we will be close to being done with the project. Throughout the course of this project we never had any problems and we still going strong. Some of the models were a pain to make, but it worked out good. I hope to get screen shots of the level when it is done and remember what a great design it turned out to be. We are still working on it, but it will be done on the final day. I hope to finish some of my assets turning break, and put them in the game. I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Week 6 Blog: Angie Gomez

I've been forgetting to keep up with my blog, it seems. A lot has been happening in the past couple weeks. The team has really been putting out some awesome models. Almost all of the assets have been placed into the level. There's still quite a bit of work to be done, texture wise, but the level is ready to be playtested. I utilized the Unreal static meshes as much as possible when I was blocking in the level to fill it out and keep it from being too empty and boring. Collision and lighting still need a lot of work, but all that will come once the assets are finalized in the level. I will also start working on the Kismet triggers and animations soon. Everything is coming together quite nicely though, and I'm thankful to have a hardworking team.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

blog 6: James Henderson Jr.

Its been a rough week for me and I feel a lot of stress right now, especially with my personal life, Despite it all I still feel that I have a awesome group. We have gotten a lot done on Thursday and most of the assets are in the level, so I believe we are ready for testing. We have a awesome level with most of our assets in it. As I said before, Everybody has been doing there part and making this project look good. I still have been modeling the sea monster and some of the lighthouse which had been difficult, so those would be my only problems. I do want these designs to come out right and working to a point where I can put them into the game.

Pirates of the Unreal is turning out better then I suspected and I am happy with it, just like the group. Time is short and the level has to be done and now I see the team work is strong as well. We are determined to get this done in the end. I believe that putting assets and the textures on the level really brought it to life and it is so a full success. I can wait to play test the game and see what others think about it. Pirates of The Unreal is going to be awesome.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

blog 5: James Henderson Jr.

The last five weeks have been great. I feel that I have a awesome group. We have gotten a lot done and the assets are looking great. Most of our assets are ready to go into the game, and thanks to Angie the level looks really great, also Mike has made a nice pirate ship, and Jordan is making great assets for the game. Everybody has been doing there part and making this project look real good. There really hasn't been any problems with the project, but I believe that designing the sea monster was a pain to do. I had recently lost my files and lost everything I had did Wednesday night so I had to redo my work. Making the sea monster was a challenge for me considering I am a environment modeler.

The project is turning out great and I feel that everybody has been working well as a team. Now that the level is looking good and complete we can start putting all our assets into the game and get ready for the play test. I am looking forward to the play test to see how our project goes. I hope that once the assets are in they work well with the game. My only fear is the sea monster which I am still working on. I am very proud of my group and the hard work we been doing. Pirates of The Unreal is going to be awesome. Great job everybody.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Random.

Might I add that I love the fact that "Caribana" shows up right underneath our Title on this page? That's f'ing sweet. Was that planned?

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Week 4: Angie Gomez

After four weeks, our idea has really solidified. We all worked together on the design document, and thanks to Google docs, the collaboration was fairly easy. I believe that the design document is well thought out and that we were able to stay in scope, but also come up with a lot of great ideas. The powerpoint is also ready to go for the presentation on Tuesday.

This week I started working on my chunk of the assets and worked on some concept art. I'm hoping to start the terrain this upcoming week, because it's never too early to get that sorted out. I'm really excited about working with the puzzle aspect of the level. I've already seen a few assets modeled from the team and everything is looking awesome so far!

Blog 4 by Michael Morgan

I'd like to start by saying I know that I have been missing the posts and I thanks James for reminding me. I think the group is progressing pretty well we are in the stages of creating or design document and creating assets. I finished modeling the skull head and I'm working on the pirate ship which is coming out pretty well. Haven't had any problems that I know of the Google Doc solves most of them.

I'm excited to see what we end up with so far lets keep it up guys and gal..

blog 4: by James Henderson Jr

o What stages of the (project) am I on and how is it progressing? How or what could I improve?

In this stage of the project we are making all of our Assets that will go into the game and so far the game idea has really grown. This is the stage where we design and put all our assets in the game.

o Did I change my (project) milestone goals? If so, why?

Our goals are a little changed up, I don't believe that the milestone goals have made anyone to happy. We have so many ideas and very little time, so the goals are hard and maybe confusing, but I'm confident that as a group we will figure this out.

o How did I deal with the problems that came up?


So far there are no problems, Honestly I do be concern with some of the group members on whether they are still enjoying the project or not. I don't want the group to be miserable, I want us all to be happy and if we were to work with each other again in the future, then I would love to work with them again.

o What is working and what is not working in the planning and implementation of the (project)?

Everything is working smoothly. Everybody has there assets that they are making and the assets are turning out great.

o Briefly describe your time spent and any problems (within the team, with a computer, etc)

I spent most of my time modeling the assets and helping design the game doc, as I said everything is running smooth and I am confident that we will get this done, also there again there are no problems.

o Evaluate the (project) as a whole including team members, if applicable


I'm sure that my group is happy and I love working with them. I am enjoying this project and I hope to get this done.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Week 4 Update -- Jordan

What stages of the project am I on & how is it progressing? How or what could I improve?

Right now it is not clear what I should and should not do as an individual, I just know that we need our design document and presentation ready for Tuesday of next week. We have all been actively creating content for the document and editing it as we see fit. My goal, personally, is to have properly researched the historical and geographical context in which we are setting our game. I have done this and have added much of said context into the Design Document under the first section.

Did I change my milestone goals? If so, why?

I feel like we don't really communicate our milestone goals as a group, we sort of just do what is assigned to us and everything seems to fall together. It seems we are working on an individual level and meld our ideas together into a pot and eventually we see what is going to work and what will not. For now this seems alright but in the near future I believe we will need to make more direct goals for each of our members (aside from the asset list).

How did I deal with the problems that came up?

Personally the only problem I feel we have had is the fact that I didn't show up last Thursday, nor did I upload the Flowchart as needed. I duly apologize for this and wish to keep future incarnations of such nature from happening again. I did have the work done ahead of time, as I am sure was witnessed. I should have been responsible and immediately uploaded the document. Aside from that, I see no immediate problems in our work toward the project. I feel that everything is simple enough that we can really focus on what we have to do, and not get caught up in things that aren't level design and "world building."

What is working and what is not working in the planning & implementation of the project?

As stated previously, what is happening right now is working thus far. But like I said, and I'm sure the group is already aware, we will have to start working more out of class as time goes on and also assign more specific tasks to individuals. Or, we will just have to meet up on off days if necessary. Currently I cannot judge exactly what will or will not work in the near future.

Briefly describe your time spent and any problems (within team, computer issues, etc.)

I feel like I have answered this mostly already, but most of my time spent thus far has been on editing the Design document, adding content, and researching our target time period with regards to the geographical context, political context, and historical context of the Caribbean in the late 16th century. I would like to add as much visual information as possible in order to help the player feel like they might actually be seeing what a fictional Caribbean pirate island might look like... if it wasn't fictional. Yah ok

Evaluate the project as a whole including team members, if applicable.

I am still satisfied with our progress, and still excited about working on the project. I'd like to get started this next week on my appointed assets, and referencing native culture and pirate culture with my work. Angie is crafting up some nice concept illustrations, and James and Mike are whippin up some stuff in 3dsmax. All's well.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Week 3 Blog: Angie Gomez

At the end of week 3, we have a lot of the basics done. On Thursday, the team organized an asset list and assigned specific assets and jobs to different members. We're hoping to utilize as many Unreal assets as possible to really fill out the level without overworking ourselves or going out of scope with our assets.

I offered to take up the job of forming the terrain in Unreal. I've had a little bit of practice with it, but I'll need to research and find some tutorials to get a better understanding of it. I also offered to do any tiling textures we might need, but thankfully due to the wide assortment of Unreal materials, I only have a grass texture to tackle so far.

We had a bit of a problem Thursday, because of file management issues. The team should probably set up a dropbox account so that we can send each other copies of the files and download them for ourselves. Also, if someone can't make it to class, they can send the file from their home computer.

The project is going along. I think we need to make a definite decision on the puzzle aspect soon, and if anything might be too complicated to do then we'll have to ditch it. And also, we need to start piecing together the design document.

Friday, October 29, 2010

blog 3: by james henderson

things have been good, but not so good on Thursday, for the first time I felt very doubtful about some things. I'm not mad at my group, but its just to much going on. I thought I knew the situation, but I don't.

o What stages of the (project) am I on and how is it progressing? How or what could I improve?

We are working on constructing the project, and modeling Assets

o Did I change my (project) milestone goals? If so, why?

I thought that the map was good, but not good enough and I blame myself for that, but the goals are the same

o How did I deal with the problems that came up?

no problems yet, we are still doing alright

o What is working and what is not working in the planning and implementation of the (project)?


everything is alright for now, the map needs working on, we will have to see what happens

o Briefly describe your time spent and any problems (within the team, with a computer, etc)

I started modeling some things, so we would be good on that and there have been no problems

o Evaluate the (project) as a whole including team members, if applicable

the project is ok, and the team is great

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Week 2 Blog... by Jordan Phillips

I am about three days late on this, but I figure I should get in on this blog action sooner rather than later. Otherwise I will consistently forget to do so.


What stages of the project am I on & how is it progressing? How or what could I improve?

Currently the team is working on the creation of our map. I helped develop the rough drafts of our map as well as the overall flow of the level, as well as helped come up with some landmark ideas. Aside from this I anticipate research efforts toward making our 16th century Caribbean world feel authentic.

Did I change my milestone goals? If so, why?

Our only milestone as of now is to have our design document prepared for 10/28/10. My share of the work is to have a clean design of our level flowchart. If there is anything else to be done I will eagerly take up the task.

How did I deal with the problems that came up?

No hang-ups as of yet. I would pray we wouldn't have any so soon!

What is working and what is not working in the planning & implementation of the project?

This answer would look very similar to the previous one. What is working is that seemingly, we are at least working. A good vital sign for how young our project is.

Briefly describe your time spent and any problems (within team, computer issues, etc.)

I can't say that I've spent any time outside of class yet doing anything. However I am confident that I will have everything prepared for the design document, as well as everyone else. I can say that I am ready to start doing things outside of class relatively soon. The only problems we have run into are absences, but it seems that this is not much of an actual problem. Hopefully this will remain to be a non-issue. We have good people on our team and enough leadership and motivation all around in order to get things done.

Evaluate the project as a whole including team members, if applicable.

I am excited for this project and I definitely look forward to working with this group. The fact that I have little concern of any weak links is a great sign, because often I am pretty pessimistic about group dynamics. I have been a weak link myself, and absolutely do not intend on ever feeling like such a turd again. Wonderfully, this is not one of those cases and I hold an optimistic scope on this group project. So tally ho, les do this!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Week 2 Blog: Angie Gomez

Hey guys,
I'm running a bit late with this post, lost track of time with this weekend. Although, I was able to go to the Meaningful Play Conference for the past few days, and it was a great opportunity to get a different perspective on game design. Anyways, I hope I didn't miss too much from my group this past Thursday. Looking forward to getting this idea moving!


What stages of the (project) am I on and how is it progressing? How or what could I improve?
We're still brainstorming different ideas for the level, currently. We've also been getting a general idea of who will be doing what jobs throughout the project. James came up with a variety of maps for the team, so thanks to him, we decided on one of them to move forward with.

Did I change my (project) milestone goals? If so, why?
I haven't really set any specific milestones for myself as of right now. I believe as a team, we're still gathering all our ideas to merge them into one project. We're hoping to split the project up into different yet even jobs so that everyone gets to work in an area that they like, and maybe the not-so-pleasant jobs aren't all given to one person.

How did I deal with the problems that came up?
There really hasn't been any problems so far that I'm aware of. The team seems to get along well together. I think I'm working with some fine gents! It'll be a good project!

What is working and what is not working in the planning and implementation of the (project)?
The project itself is running smoothly so far, no real bumps in the road yet. Personally though, I have a bad habit of getting carried away with ideas. Namely, I like to go jump out of the project scope. So I know I'll have to try and not do that to my team, haha.


Briefly describe your time spent and any problems (within the team, with a computer, etc)
Like I said before, no huge problems currently. As far as computer problems go, I just hope my laptop battery makes it through this term. Other than that, things are going well.


Evaluate the (project) as a whole including team members, if applicable
I'm really excited with our project idea. I think it's one that isn't done too often, and I think our team can really pull something off. With all that we're bringing together, the idea is definitely taking shape. Plus, pirates are just plain cool. :D

Friday, October 22, 2010

Blog 2 By: James Henderson Jr.

Hey everyone,

This is my post for the group blog and I wanted to say what a great group I have. We are on week two and our idea for the game is going great. Pirates of the Unreal I know we can work and get it done for the final. I am going to enjoy working with you guys on this project. The Blog 2 entry I want to answer some questions:

What stages of the (project) am I on and how is it progressing? How or what could I improve?

Right now we are on the brainstorming and layout of our map stage. We have our ideas going and they are good ideas. I believe we have everything we need to make a full working game.

Did I change my (project) milestone goals? If so, why?


I believe we all got our eyes set on the same goal, but the ideas just keep flowing and for now all goals are the same.

How did I deal with the problems that came up?

There weren't many problems, but we are still in the early stage of our project and once we figured out what we wanted to do, We liked the idea and stuck with it. The project right now is in work.

What is working and what is not working in the planning and implementation of the (project)?

Right now everything is working good, the layout and ideas flow good, no problems yet, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

Briefly describe your time spent and any problems (within the team, with a computer, etc)

The project is in development, so there not many problems the way I see it. I believe my team is pretty confident in the project, just as I am confident in all of us. I have spent my time though working on the layout of the map and everything is running smoothly for now, and I'm glad.


Evaluate the (project) as a whole including team members, if applicable


I do think that my team is a great team and we will get this done. I like the project overall and I think it will turn out great when its all done.