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I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#21]

07/11/22 - Week 8 2022

IT’S HERE! DEADLINE DAY!

What was supposed to be a module in 12 weeks with 12 posts turned into a 17 month project with 21 posts. Best laid plans and all.

Last week I researched and studied the different techniques I needed and I realised I wouldn’t be able to finish the game demo where I wanted it to be.

I had to choose whether to continue to the research, not be able to implement them and have an unfinished game demo or use the game demo as a base video to add the audio and dialogue in post production. I wanted to have more of a complete demo so I decided to change tactics and turn it into a video demo instead of an interactive one.

Once the walkthrough was recorded, I downloaded Premiere Pro and begain adding the dialogue. It was a little frustrating since I had done this in Unity, I just couldn’t show it properly. The audio pieces were imported and I began editing them. The audio was an important part of the immersion. With the time restraints and health issues, I knew I made the right choice. I was able to add some effects I wanted to in Unity like the repetition of the door cutscenes and the panic effects (blur and static noise). I exported the video after reviewing it a couple times. It ended up being just over 5 minutes long which I was a little surprised at, I thought it was shorter. There are always things I want to add or change but I am happy with it at this stage.

Once the video was finished, I resumed in editing the essay and transfering the last parts over to the visual document. Formatting the visual document was easy as I had kept the pages tidy as I went along. With some changes to composition and adding a list of figures I was pretty much done.

All 19 pages of the text version of my essay was exported as a pdf ready to be handed in. The visual document took a little longer to export with its 70 pages but evenually, it did and today I have handed everything in.

But it’s not over... I want to learn more about Unity and game development... at my own pace. I still struggle to eat 3 meals a day, drink 2 litres of water and have a regular sleep routine so I will continue to take care of myself and I know I can push on and improve. As for the future, I will continue to make games to learn the skills I need. I love learning by doing. As for education or work, there are internships and placements but they usually are only valid for 6 months after you graduate and they’re mostly in London or abroad. A job posting could also come before an internship opportunity does and I’m happy to start there instead. I know I will find something to do. In the other module, I explored not only game art but also visual development art for animation and other types of media. There are endless options I can branch into and I feel confident in my ability to find my place in the working world.

Now, it is time for a cup of tea and a well earned nap!

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#20]

31/10/22 - Week 7 2022

This week is the last full one til the deadline. It is strange to submit on a Monday.

Last week I studied dialogue systems in Unity as well as triggers and colliders. I started to add text to the dialogue scripts as well as connect a button trigger to each. I found it interesting and I remembered how it felt to problem solve when writing coding script. I decided to take some screenshots for the visual documentation to show my progress.

Although my dialogue was ready, I still had to make the triggers appear at the right times. I researched and tried different techniques but it was slow going. I switched over to write more of the essay and edit the completed parts. This helped with my stress levels but alas a day for forfeit to illness. I think it’s just a thing I have to get used to at the moment. My health is so unpredictable and I’m on the waiting lists for the appropriate help but in the mean time, I struggle.

This week is all about research. I want to learn how to add visual effects such as blurring and noise as well as how to add audio. The Guide character follows the player character with soft movements and a delay, this is called lerping. I want to add this to the Shame monster and make it temporarily follow the player character. This requires more research. I am aware of the time left to not only learn all this but also implement it but I want to try.

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#19]

24/10/22 - Week 6 2022

So the rest of last week was okay. I wrote quite a lot of the essay and began to transfer the completed parts to the visual document. By the end of the week I had managed to finish writing the research and concept paragraphs.

Now I can focus solely on the progress chapter. This is the biggest part of the project; how it moves and develops. This week I am researching online to learn how to add a dialogue system and hopefully I’ll be able to begin making it in Unity.

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#18]

17/10/22 - Week 5 2022

The previous weeks have been stressful and my anxiety has affected my functioning and sleeping. I have been trying to fix Unity and the Version Conrol package. I made progress with Plastic SCM and found my project but the error messages were stilling coming in full force and I could link my present Unity project to the remote one - it was like Unity and Plastic SCM just couldn’t speak to each other. Eventually, I unistalled Version Control and the errors stopped. This meant I couldn’t back up my project or send it to my tutor so I was stressed and before I knew it, I wasn’t drinking enough or eating properly and that combined with poor sleep caused me to be ill.

I had to take a day off earlier in the week and on Friday I got up and I just couldn’t travel in, everything hurt and I was exhausted. I emailed my tutor explaining I couldn’t attend the workshop. Looking back now, I should have rested and recovered but my anxiety convinced me that I should be working since I was supposed to be working on campus that day anyway. So on I went adding my assets in Unity and making the different scenes.

Today is a sick day. Today I can’t do much at all but here I sit still working on this blog because I have to be productive every day of my life. Well, that’s what my brain says. I think it’s time for a cup of tea and a biscuit.

This week I think I’m going to focus on writing the essay and working on the visual document.

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#17]

10/10/22 - Week 4 2022

So this week was educational, interesting and infuriating. I was troubleshooting Unity for 3 days straight.

There were multiple problems:

I had to find the version I was using last year (my laptop had been wiped due to a repair). I searched fr the answer online and found if I opened any .asset file from my project in Notepad, the first line of text should show the version... and it did!

The next issue was that the project folders weren’t in the right place so I simply copy and pasted them in so I could access my files from Unity.

Now the big issue was that Unity Collaborate has been discontinued and the new Version Control package uses Plastics SCM. The Console Window was been updated with the same message over and over. This meant the errors were just piling up and even if I cleared the Console, it would just start up again

I had been playing around with the package manager and updating the Version Control package when I hit a wall. The Collaborate service had to be turned off in the build settings and since I was not the administrator, only my tutor could change it. I emailed my tutor explaining the situation and he replied saying my access level was changed to owner. This worked and I could turn off Collaborate in the build settings. It did not fix the overall problem.

As well as changing my access level, my tutor notified me of a workshop this Friday on campus. I can’t wait to delve into the world of game development and get this unity project moving.

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#16]

03/10/22 - Week 3 2022

I was able to book and then have a meeting with my tutor last week. It was lovely to reconnect and chat. Last year, due to COVID19, we worked online and had video calls where we could share our screens and work. This allowed much progress to be made each week in the lecture as well as during the week by ourselves. This year, however, my tutor is not on my ccourse and he is busy running loads of other masters’. I can understand why, he is a great tutor and a skilled professional but this means I won’t be able to have our old one to one video sessions with him anymore. The plan for now is to work from home and then pop in on Tuesdays and/ or Fridays for workshops as additional learning because it is about programming for games. While I’m there, he can look over my project and assist me.

As well as the meeting, I started bullet pointing parts of my essay to make a more detailed skeleton plan. Since a plan was put in place for the game demo, I decided it was time to reopen the project. I had opened it once before when I returned to university in July and all sorts of error messages popped up. I closed the project and since my deadline was moved and I was focusing on the other module, I didn’t open it again til now. The same stressful errors popped up like last time but this time I was emboldened by my talk with my tutor and the motivation to go on.

So... it still doesn’t work but now I know more about the problem. This week I will be troubleshooting Unity and googling endlessly on how to fix it

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#15]

26/09/22 - Week 2 2022

So here we are again unable to work due to ill health. Luckily, I’m not as bad as I was before so I didn’t need to take time off. This week I have been working on my essay.

It seems there are endless things to learn about ADHD and how truly immobilising it is on a day to day basis. I still struggle with sleep and anxiety so it really affects my work.

This week I hope to continue collecting quotes and references and then hopefully I can talk to my previous tutor to make a schedule for working on the game demo.

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#14]

19/09/22 - Week 1 2022

Trimester 1 2022 starts today!

So as usual when I want to do something and I plan and plan and then I wake up and my body and brain say no. I had to take 4 days off in a row and wait to recover. As a side note, I learnt how connected mental and physical health are and did some research into it.

I caught up with writing and preparing this blog but I was unable to do as much I wanted.

Hopefully this week will be more productive. I plan to tackle the 6000/7000 word essay by researching and finding references. Luckily before I paused my studies, I had an outline for my essay so I have that to work with.

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#13]

12/09/22 - Week 0 2022

Well, well, well, look who it is... it’s me... hi.

I was right about needing a break. Everything went well for that module and I handed in on time (actually a day early... who am I?).

This week I will begin to continue my prep for this module. One of the main components I want to start is the visual document. I have done this for many modules and projects as I feel it works well to bring the project together and showcase the work and development. Clip Studio Paint EX has features to create comics and stories so I use this to create a large pdf with all the work in one place and chapters to show my journey.

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#12]

25/07/22 - Week 8 2022

This week has been... interesting. I returned to university with problems while re-registering but luckily with my new tutor’s help it was sorted quickly.

As previously mentioned, I have 2 modules to submit. It was a cause of stress since this module is worth 60 credits so it’s important and I wanted to put everything into it. Today the stress has been lifted. Today I found out because this module is my final big one I can submit at the later date... IN NOVEMBER! I decided to split my deadlines up so I could focus on each module and give them the attention and time they needed.

I did have a meeting with my previous tutor from last year and we decided to meet again and make a work plan once the academic year had started (19/09/22). So I will be focusing on my other module for now. It is due 26/08/22 and then I will probably need a break before returning here to update.

See you soon!

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#11]

18/07/22 - Week 7 2022

Nothing much is different this week. I continued to create the art for the game demo. As I was creating the different assets, I realised since everything was made for tiled assembly, the scenes may look repetitive. Trying to combat this, I made the wires longer than 1 background so it’ll stretch over multiple.

Returning to university on a Wednesday is a little strange especially when there’s just over a month until the final deadline. I am looking forward to reconnecting to the university. So 20th July is the day I hit the ground running. With the prep I have done for both my modules, I am comfortable with my work load and progress.

This week I will re-register and update my work plan once I’ve touched base with my tutors.

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#10]

11/07/22 - Week 6 2022

This week I have been making assets for the game demo. All the assets were created using Clip Studio Paint EX and a XP-Pen drawing tablet.

For some of them, I needed to only rescale but others I made from scratch in the new art style and scale.

For the door cutscenes, I created the left and right doors as well as the background to show the next hallway behind it. To make the doors “disappear” when opening I created on overlay which was a duplicate of the background but where the doors would sit when closed was removed. This meant as the door pulled back like sci fi bay doors they would be covered by the overlay.

The environments were redone in the new style. They were still the same metallic hexagonal hallways but this time I created more decorations and props to fill the space out. I created shelves, scuff marks, rust spots, barrels and wires to make each scene unique. A new environment I created was the garden. It is tiled like the other environment art and the props I made (bushes, rocks, trees) bring depth and detail to the scene.

The UI designs were something I experimented with. I chose to include emotion indicators to show what the player character was feeling and the panic scale visually showed how overwhelmed the player character was.

The only character I had to create was the monster which represented shame. I had sketched a placeholder during the concept phase so I had something to go off. The main idea was the monster hovers over the player character and all of its many eyes stare down at them in judgement.

I realised I had started to lose interest in drawing and art in general. Taking a year away gave me a break and took the pressure off to constantly create and produce high quality work. When I started this process again, I felt the difference and I looked forward to taking this project on again.

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#9]

04/07/22 - Week 5 2022

Well hi!

This week I decided to continue my storyboard. Although the text was complete, the visuals were not. I wanted to show the colours and composition of the scenes. It also allowed me to show how each scene flowed to the next including the cutscenes.

I added 4 sections so it would be easier to bring everything together later on:

Movement - dictates how far the player can move and makes sure they don’t miss important dialogue

Dialogue - each dialogue title is linked to another document which has the dialogue written out ready to go.

Interaction - how the player can interact and affect the scene. E.g. Press Q to hide in a bush.

Audio - each audio clip I want to use will be placed at the ccorrect time to increase the player’s immersion.

Finishing the storyboard took longer than I wanted it to due to ill health and lack of sleep. It still amazes me how much sleep affects every part of my day. Hopefully, I will feel better after a cup of tea and a nap.

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#8]

27/06/22 - Week 4 2022

Long time no see!

It’s been just short of a year since I updated this. My year of rest and recovery has been good but also ridiculously slow moving.

Some things have improved but only to the level I was at before I started my Master’s. My referrals are still going through so I have not recieved any help for those conditions but my general health is better. I moved back home with my dad and sister permanently as living away was too hard. I couldn’t look after myself and after my illness in June 2021, I started deteriorating drastically.

So I am now where I stopped last year - week 4.

I’d thought I’d restart before my official return date because I lost 3 weeks last year and I wanted to get back in the right mindset for studying.

To restart my work, I organised all my files and went over my brief to make sure I remembered my module objectives. The storyboard I created helped greatly in reminding me what assets I needed to edit and create.

I started with writing the scripts/ dialogue for the characters. I found this brought life into the game again as the characters themselves started to develop. As well as scripts, I found more royalty free sound effects for the audio side of the game demo. I wanted a hydraulic door sound from sci fi games.

Time to get back to it!

#video games #game design #game art #video game art #scriptwriting #mastersdegree #universityofsalford #creative technology

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#7]

19/07/21 - Week 7

Each week feels like I can breathe a little easier. I am a little better, I still can’t do anything and I’m still bed bound but the pain is receding and I don’t need more antibiotics.

Another positive is my application has been accepted. I have mixed feelings about taking a year out. On one hand, I wanted to finish my master’s and start my career but I also know I can’t do that right now. A year away doesn’t mean I will stop being creative. It’s such an integral part of me, something I do every day. I can’t wait to see what I’ll do in a year but for now, I will focus on getting better and taking time to rest.

So I will return around the 20th July 2022, see you then!

#video games #game design #game art #mastersdegree #universityofsalford #interruptionofstudy

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#6]

12/07/21 - Week 6

Another update!

I haven’t improved and I’ve had to return home with Dad. I am still bed bound and too ill to work. After 2 rounds of antibiotics, I thought I would bounce back but this has not been the case.

Since I am not improving, I called the university for advice. After this discussion I decided to apply for an ‘Interruption of Study’. This is a year out so I have time to recover fully. After not working at all for 2 weeks and struggling the week before, I have lost a lot of time. To try to complete my work in the remaining time while I’m still ill will be nearly impossible and my health would decline further.

So here I am updating this blog, still bed bound and unable to work - the call to university took so much of my non existent energy. Hopefully I will have news next week and if my application is accepted, there will be a break for a year.

My stress levels are lowering at the thought of being able to take time to recover properly, I can barely do anything and I’m in a lot of pain at the moment. I have to take each day as it comes and put my work on hold.

#video games #game design #game art #mastersdegree #universityofsalford #creative technology #interruptionofstudy

I AM Game Demo - Definitive Practice 2021 [#5]

05/07/21 - Week 5

Just a little update for this week.

I am too ill to work at all. I thought last week was bad... oh boy! I have been sick and bed bound all week. In fact, I was so ill my dad had to sleep over and look after me. Now, I like being looked after, I’m sure most, if not, all of us do but this infection is intense- I haven’t been this ill since I was a child. It knocked me sideways and everything got put on hold. Luckily with Dad’s help, I could rehydrate myself and start to take my antibiotics from the doctor.

My mind is still fully aware of time passing and my deadline closing in (even though my rational side says there’s 7 weeks left) so I have been trying to calm myself with breathing exercises. It’s very frustrating not being able to do anything and thinking about it makes me feel worse so for now I’ll focus on getting better.

#video games #game design #game art #mastersdegree #universityofsalford #creative technology

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