But this time with feeling!
It was finally time to make our circle shine! And by shine I mean, communicate to the players that it actually does something of importance. For the longest time one of the biggest points of feedback we received was that the circle was too flat, and players either didn’t know what to to or didn’t know when they scored points. It was rough. We have this great game, but it just doesn’t feel great or rewarding when you play it. To counter act this, Gabe and Tyler came up with this Stage system for the circle. This stage system was for 5 different emotions we wanted the circle to communicate to the player:
It was finally time to make our circle shine! And by shine I mean, communicate to the players that it actually does something of importance. For the longest time one of the biggest points of feedback we received was that the circle was too flat, and players either didn’t know what to to or didn’t know when they scored points. It was rough. We have this great game, but it just doesn’t feel great or rewarding when you play it. To counter act this, Gabe and Tyler came up with this Stage system for the circle. This stage system was for 5 different emotions we wanted the circle to communicate to the player:
After several meetings and long discussions with Gabe, Tyler and Cole on what should go where, and how each stage should function we ended with the effects below:
They are in game and help visual clarity immensely! Overall I’m happy with how it looks but the aura texture needs some work before I would consider it finished (The quality in game is better than the captured gifs).
Countdowns
In addition to the hologram, we talked about adding some element that would let teammates know that the effect wasn’t just to show you where a player fell. We needed a way to convey that the player had fallen, and that they could be revived. It wasn’t long before we settled on the idea of a revive timer where it would empty away to nothing before time was up on the chance of reviving your teammate. It worked in other games, and it would work for us. After implementation, the frequency of teammate revives showed an increase. With the addition of such a simple UI, players understood exactly what it meant.
In addition to the hologram, we talked about adding some element that would let teammates know that the effect wasn’t just to show you where a player fell. We needed a way to convey that the player had fallen, and that they could be revived. It wasn’t long before we settled on the idea of a revive timer where it would empty away to nothing before time was up on the chance of reviving your teammate. It worked in other games, and it would work for us. After implementation, the frequency of teammate revives showed an increase. With the addition of such a simple UI, players understood exactly what it meant.
An Evil Showcase
The other senior project team, Evil Quacks, put together an end of term playtest for all of the projects. In a way it functioned as a pre-senior showcase that let all of the teams have a section to show off their current iterations and get feedback. I was personally excited because it was a chance to test the progress we had made. For the even we made build 2.4.1 which included my revive edits, as well as the Summoning Circle effects I worked on. We sent it over to the half of the team at the showcase and wished them luck.
The other senior project team, Evil Quacks, put together an end of term playtest for all of the projects. In a way it functioned as a pre-senior showcase that let all of the teams have a section to show off their current iterations and get feedback. I was personally excited because it was a chance to test the progress we had made. For the even we made build 2.4.1 which included my revive edits, as well as the Summoning Circle effects I worked on. We sent it over to the half of the team at the showcase and wished them luck.
In the meantime the other half of the team stayed behind to record gameplay for the trailer. Let me just say that it looks beautiful. Cole’s camera script is the best thing we’ve ever added. I guess it’s just that the rest of the game already looks good, but WOW the close up shots of gameplay look amazing. What we recorded is perfect for the trailer and the website’s info section.
What went well?
This week was very productive with all of the clarity updates added. Not only did they get in, but they added that extra bit of pizzazz that the game needed.
This week was very productive with all of the clarity updates added. Not only did they get in, but they added that extra bit of pizzazz that the game needed.
What could have gone better?
Not much. I think this week went great. Maybe I could have finished work earlier. Friday and Saturday I wasn’t super productive, but most of my tasks were finished by then.
Not much. I think this week went great. Maybe I could have finished work earlier. Friday and Saturday I wasn’t super productive, but most of my tasks were finished by then.
Total Hours (25 hrs)
Summoning Circle Clarity Design (15 hrs)
Milady Meeting and Discussion (2.5 hrs)
Revive Timer (3 hrs)
Meetings (2 hr)
Build Prep (1 hr)
Recording for Trailer (1.5 hrs)
Summoning Circle Clarity Design (15 hrs)
Milady Meeting and Discussion (2.5 hrs)
Revive Timer (3 hrs)
Meetings (2 hr)
Build Prep (1 hr)
Recording for Trailer (1.5 hrs)
