With only two remaining weeks before presentations, this sprint was primarily about allowing the team to aim for an initial test presentation the following week. This can be best examined in three areas. First, we needed to continue developing the actual project, primarily bringing in all final art assets into the game. Second, we would have to record another video session to continue developing upon our presentation idea. Finally, this week would also mark the beginning of the creation of our actual presentation format. By hosting several work sessions throughout the week, we've made a lot of progressed toward our end goal of creating a demo presentation by the sprint deadline.
I designed the art pipeline and communications to be straightforward in terms of understanding. Within the game project, a hierarchy of folders leads the specific files in an understandable manner. Team members can easily examine the Art folder, and then navigate to a menu screen or Micro-Game without much difficulty. Within any given folder, all utilized art assets are available, conveying the resolution required and potential distribution of frames. From that point, it's mainly a matter of replacing the programmer temporary art with finalized versions, and upon rebuilding the game, the assets all incorporated automatically.
As we held several work sessions, I was available to assist with navigation of folders or explain asset structure when needed, but there were no overt issues with implementing art. By recreating the game after every additional wave of art assets, I was able to rapidly provide visualization of the items within the game structure to allow for review of the finalized art assets.
At this stage in the project, there is not a lot that I can provide in terms of programming. Evidently, creating code during final sprints is usually discouraged due to potential bugs or regression problems. However, in this situation, the more impactful consequence of continued development is our inability to incorporate further Micro-Games or menu features at the moment. It is best that we complete the vertical slice as it currently is, and then focus on the process of presenting and forming all of the required documentation. Additional development would potentially involve further art and design pieces, as well as changes to the presentation format, so these will go on hold until the project resumes.
However, until then, there are still minor improvements that have been suggested to assist with game or menu performance. An Achievement display page is now available, allowing the user to scroll through a list of achievements. Achievements can either be unlocked, locked, or hidden. Locked achievement display the objective descriptor, while hidden achievements simply suggest that the player has not reached the appropriate stage of the game yet. An example of locked statements would relate toward completing game modes, and each achievement would elaborate on the specific difficulties to complete. A hidden achievement could represent an objective that will only become visible when the player has unlocked a certain Micro-Game.
While the system for scrolling through and building achievements into the game is finalized, the actual unlocking process is not developed at the moment. This feature would not be difficult, as it primarily involves accessing a central area of information and querying for confirmation of the achievements requirements. However, since this would require additional testing for achievements, and since it is not imperative for the vertical slice, this will be put to the side until future development.
The Playlist functionality has also been enhanced a bit, which mainly provides additional information and clarity for games. Splash screens will now properly scale over the entire game HUD. Swipe the object has been improved to increase object size and allow them to spin in the air. A few other games have undergone some minor adjustments to lengths and fonts, but otherwise, focus on development has been given to the creation of the final presentation articles.
Earlier this sprint I found a Mac, acquired Keynote Presentation, and began researching how to utilize its features. As predicted, the software is clear and easy to use, and will allow us to deliver a strong presentation and argument in the next few weeks. I began by getting a better understanding of its delivery methods, and built a template for the presentation to discuss all of the major topics and convey our ability to utilize advanced presentation mechanics to effectively show our points. Specifically, we will be able to limit text on the screen to one point at a time, easily fading in / out on points and seamlessly transitioning between slides.
Later we began examining some of the most noteworthy presentations to-date. We want to ensure that we could follow the most important presentations guidelines. In particular, this involves utilizing images to support verbal details. This also means overtly discussing the more technical components of information, while concisely bringing it to a simple and easy to understand point that is simultaneously displayed on the presentation. This will be important for the technical research part of the presentation, as I will need to find ways to elaborate on more complex code development points, while also being able to explain why it is important for the average viewer.
We also began examining some of the Apple keynotes as well. There are a lot of lessons to learn from how they introduce, discuss, and persuade viewers of the strength of their products. We began pulling possible ideas concerning how we could show the genesis of our game, as well as how we could define what our game is. All of this can be attributed to how Apple keynotes manage to effectively introduce previous versions of a product, and then quickly overview and convince viewers of the value of their product.
The finale of this sprint will involve additional development of the presentation and another video session to create another commercial example. Our game will be completed by the end of this sprint, allowing us to focus solely on creating and rehearsing our presentation during the final sprint. While our presentation and video may not be complete at the end of this sprint, we intend to have enough of a basis for our presentation that we might be able to acquire some amount of feedback, as well as set forth a few questions relating to our intended direction. During the final sprint, I will likely be assisting particularly with the presentation development and video editing, but otherwise, this will likely be one of the last iterations for programming development until the project resumes once more.