SWOT Analysis
Strengths
. I have strengths in 2D art (mainly in this project and other have learnt and explored pixel art/ pixel animations) and I will be able to easily be able to create assets and animations for the game,including, backgrounds , props, character models and cut-scenes. I will be able to well replicate the art-style of my reference and will be able to create good designs and animations following my games theme. I have some skills in coding from previous projects so coding hopefully shouldn't be a problem, if I don't understand what to do I will research tutorials to aid me.
Opportunities
. I will have access to coding materials, drawing materials and online materials to improve and help with this FMP. I will also have a standby of teachers who can help and many peers who can evaluate and play my game for feedback.I also have access to drawing and somewhat coding programs at home for 2D and will be able to work on my portfolio and art progression in my game at home after school and during the weekends if necessary. I can use this FMP to showcase my art ability and animation skills while learning more coding knowledge to improve.
Weaknesses
. My main struggle with this course is maintaining reflective journals to add to my portfolio. While I feel like I can properly document all my projects and lessons onto Wix I struggle with remembering to document my process when I'm doing work. To improve ill will separate folders in my FMP - like backgrounds, animations coding- and focus on screenshoting my work and putting the logs into each dedicated folder to make compiling my work easier. I also struggles with Blender at first but i feel like I'm able to sculpt and build better.
Threats
. I worry that I wont complete everything I want to add to the FMP due to time and my ambitious goals. This being such mini-games to bite and contaminate food, unique npc's in the background, making the town more decrepit over time and a possible tutorial. While I will do as much at school and at home I still worry my coding skills won't be up to par with my ideals and worry the mechanics will fall flat. I feel like if I create a check list and scope my options I will find this problem easier to deal with and be less stressed about the dead line.
Example of strengths
How you will try and stretch your skills throughout the upcoming FMP.?
For my FMP I want to try and stretch my skills to challenge myself by developing a larger scale game. For example, new mechanics, sound effects, new pixel art sprites/ animations and level creation.
How you will minimize threats and maximize opportunities?
By following a Gant chart and a check list to help with time management and making sure all the mechanics I want are implemented. This will help maximize my skills by giving me a concrete timeline and work to do until moving onto the next one.
What specialist field you will likely select.?
Games art is my specialist field - including 2D, 3D, pixel and sculpting- so I will use this FMP to showplace my artwork and make that the main draw to my game.
How this will better set you up for success within your selected specialist field?
I'm practicing with more 2D -pixel art- and improving my skills to make my games style more appealing.
Example of work in pixel art
Brief Analysis
What Is The Brief Asking You To Do?
The brief is asking to create ether a play-able game or concepts of one featuring the topic of ether, strength in number or restoration. To do this I will research what topic will go best with the genre of game I will make and apply it to follow the brief. I will most likely follow the strength in numbers brief due to my themes of corruption and using unaware allies. This will be presented at an end of year show-materials required would be a possible trailer, play -able demo and maybe some graphic posters. We have been given 10 weeks (march 3rd - may 9th) for this brief. Aiming for a distinction overall.
Project Scope
Project scope is necessary to maintain time management skills and not to burden yourself with tasks. I will create a check list of both coding and art and review what needs to be done before adding more to the list Stretch goals if i have time that could include music and cut scenes. This includes, object collision , dynamic animations for nps's and a timer/ levels. I will also use gant charts to monitor my work ethic and see what needs extra work done. I will scale down my ideas at first creating the basic core mechanics, walking, timer, different reaction and then explore them with new backgrounds, animations for reaction and even a stealth mini-game to increase a players strategy.
Key Phrase (Restoration, Strength in Numbers)
I will incorporate the point of strength in numbers in my game by then concept of corruption and unaware victims. The main idea of this simulation game is to infect everyone with the plague and get different ending with different infected numbers. I want to have the idea that some NPC's will accidentally infect others so targeting them will help bring your total up. This link to the theme because it create a motive for the player to target certain people and learn the mechanics to get the best score and use their flaws to their advantage. I wont't use the restoration topic in this game due to it having no link in this game and has no impact to the player if it was added unlike the skill based pattern learning the strengths in numbers have.
What Must Your Final Outcome Reflect
The main thing I want this FMP to reflect is my artistic ability to create a visual appealing game with animations and a cosy appearance. I have researched different styles and ways to animate in pixel art and researched victorian clothing and houses to create a realist depiction of a small victorian street. By doing this will create a nice atmosphere that will encourage people to play my game even if the main game play is simple. I will also experiment on new code for this project but that isn't my main focus ; I want to show however that i can create a small aesthetically pleasing game.
Final Deliverables
I will submit this completed Wix FMP document showing why progress and planning stages of my FMP, featuring : concepts, concept art, production logs, scraped ideas and knowledge on this brief and course to get the my distinction grade. I will also submit the the flesh out game with my FMP document to demonstrate how one to one my ideas correlated to my finished product. On April 7th I will submit my mostly filled FMP document and game with its new art and new basic coding (health, new personality's) to show I have done the work and then on May 9th send the completed FMP document and game.
Key Dates
We started on March 3rd and this project ends on May 9th ( or May 16th of being the final deadline for last minute changes) and April 7th is mid point assessment , which is a base line test to see if we have created are main assets, code and logs.
Practical and Technology Considerations
I will use Game-Maker to fully code the game due to its easy use involving 2D and the fact I have good knowledge on how to use it compared to others. For the 2D art I will use pixel art (the program) to animate and create sprites and backgrounds and use Krita for my documents sketches and drawing since I have a lot of knowledge on how to use it. Finally, I will use Wix / PowerPoint to write my ideas and planning to submit with my finished game. I will have a gant chart and check list to look over the work I need to finish before doing a new thing logging my process. I will also check in with other students and teacher for feedback to see were I need to work on to improve both game and writing briefs.
Project Management
I will compare old art to the base line art to see if i missed any details and will use my mind-maps, sketches and planning to check it up to my liking / look like how I imagined. I will also write debug codes to write what everything does in the code so if it breaks I know what the problem is quicker. By asking people to play test this demo I will have a vast amount of feedback to help me improve in areas.
Industry Relevance
To make sure that my FMP is relevant to the modern games industry I will be using industry standard tools such as Game-Maker and Pixel Art. Using techniques such as, sketching and rendering and writing debug messages to make work easier to read. I will also identify industry trends that developers use when making their own games.This will help me transition into the gaming industry when I finish school.
End Of Year Show
At the end of year show people will show case their work - art, game and music- to each over and present what we have made and why. I will create a small trailer for my game to draw people into playing it, I will also set up a computer to run the game accompanied by posters and this document to entice people more.
Initial Ideas
How each idea relates to your strengths and weaknesses from the SWOT above?
My use of art knowledge and skill would help me create a visual novel style game including dynamic sprites, interesting character designs and unique animations to depict my story. Due to my strengths this makes the buyer more obliged to buy my game for the art
How each idea would stretch and challenge your skills?
Doing this FMP will help excel my coding knowledge and skill by having the resources and time to learn unique mechanics. By doing this challenge myself by learning a new skill to elevate my game by making it playable instead of just concept art.
How this would better prepare you for the working world?
This will better prepare me for the working world by giving me a variety of skills. By learning basic coding, 3D modeling , pixel art and logging data I become more reliable and more appealing to game studios to hire.
Which ideas you like the most and why?
I horror idea a lot due to the visual novel ideas and themes that I can explore respectfully and show the harshness of the medical system and what nurses face with the stress of helping your patients even when they might be to far gone.
Which ideas you like the least and why.
I dislike the plat-former and the puzzle games the most due to not having a huge story or pull that won't incise the player to play the game. I feel like my other ideas have a solid concept and game play that can intrigue people to play it m ore than them.
Simulation
Simulation
Bubonic
Concept
You are a rat living in the Victorian era who has been bitten by a flea carrying the bubonic plague and survived yet have an urge to spreads the deadly virus to others. Use you puzzle solving skills to find new places , think of new strategies and infect everyone.
USP
My unique selling point the ascetic art style and strategy based game play that leads to different out comes.
Art Style
I use a pixel style and muted colours to create a pretty yet eerie atmosphere that changes the more you play. Having simple yet dynamic animations to elevate my games looks.
Mechanical Overview (if applicable)
Somewhat a plat-former/ strategy game where you use the normal W A S D keys to walk. The main game-play is interacting with objects biting people to infect and seeing how much ciaos you can cause in 10 days.
Storyboard or sketch
Base background
Target Audience
My target demographic is 13 and older due to the themes of death , illness and homelessness however the graphic part won't be detailed.
Inspiration
Plague inc, the actual plague, Big city little kitty.
Technology
I will use ,Game maker for coding and Pixel art for art and possibly Krita for sketches and layouts.
Evidence of Experimentation
Horror
See evil
Concept
Target Audience
You are a new nurse in training and have been sent to the child's ward to look after the young teens and children. You try and navigate way to help the children cope with their situation as you uncover the horrid truth about humanity and try to make a positive change.
I would recommend this game being 18+ due to it's heavy themes about mental health, trauma and upsetting topics that can impact a player dealing with those topics.
My unique selling point will be the dialogue and branching paths to create different endings to engage the player (like Detroit become human).
USP
Miside, Mouth-washing, DDLC and other visual novels
Inspiration
Technology
I could use , Krita (drawing platform), Blender (3D aspects) and RenPY( coding).
I will ether use a 3D model and animate poses using rigs or I will draw 2D sprites with dynamic posing and animate small movement when they talk - Like Ace Attorney.
Art Style
Evidence Of Experimentation
Mechanical Overview (if applicable)
Normal W A S D walking mechanic and pressing 'E' or clicking to interact with objects and dialogue. Having a note book that is the main menu , which shows all tasks you need to do and all endings you have done.
Storyboards and sketches
Shooter
CATS
V
Dogs
Concept
You and your fellow comrades of cats must fight the battle between the dogs for world domination. Use you strategy skills to one up those dogs and grow your army of your feline friends. A mix of a story mode and game mod to understand why the world has come to this and hopeful find those humans.
USP
My unique selling point will be the range of different cats and dogs to unlock and fight with. And the use of guns and swords.
Art Style
A cute simplistic 2D pixel style to captivate players with the unique guns and cats to collect. Inspired by the animation style of Battle-Cats
Mechanical Overview (if applicable)
Somewhat a turn based strategy game where you use the card you obtain form leveling up to get stronger team mate and use quick time event to lad critical hits.
Storyboards and sketches
Concept gacha card
A consept dor the gameplay layout
Concept gacha card
Target Audience
My target audience is 12 and up due to the themes of war and collecting cards. However, the 'deaths' in the game wont be graphic in anyway.
Inspiration
I was inspired by the games TABS, TF2, Battle Cats.
Technology
I would use a mix of Pixel Art, Game Maker and maybe Krita for design aspects.
Evidence Of Experimentation
Ideas decided
Which of your three ideas do you like the most? Which is the most feasible? Why is this? How will this help benefit you skill wise?
I personally enjoy the first ideas the most- even though I quite like both the shooter and horror ideas and might adapt them in future projectors. This is due to, the nature of simulation games and my concept being simple too code , around 10 levels (days) and the goal trying to beat you last score and getting a different ending. I think its feasible since it just game were you interact with objects and tally your score. By having a simulation game I can focus more on the art side than coding due to its simpler nature. This will help with 2D pixel art and animation by showcasing my skills and practicing during the 10 weeks.
Bubonic
Which idea do you like the least? Why is it the least feasible? Why might you discard it?
I feel like I dislike the shooter idea compared to the other two. While I like the concept of it I don't think it will show my artistic ability compared the the others, which is my main goal. I also don't think I will be able to code up to my liking with the turn based combat and new software for coding since game maker might not be able to run it to my liking. Unlike the other ideas, I have a either a story or simple yet fun game play ideas whilst I have a good concept I don't think I will have the time to fully flesh out this idea.
CATS
V
Dogs
Peer Survey
Feedback One
Gathering the information for this idea feedback I can defer that most people think this is the best idea to create my FMP on. The main consensus is that this game should be a 2D pixel art styled game, with a age rating around 12+ due to themes of death and illness. Many people agree that my USP is compelling and that they would play this game due to the interesting idea of a game and or story. My peers also agree that this FMP can be completed in this deadline - play-able game, art showcase and written work- due to my time management skills and my hard working nature. A point to improve on, one thing suggested was to create hazards in the game to make the player more focused on laying low. I will add certain npc's that can hurt the player if not careful.
Feedback Two
Gathering the information for this idea feedback I can defer that most people think this is not the best idea to create my FMP on. The main consensus is that this game should be a 2D anime -esk art style like game, with a age rating around 16+ due to themes of death and illness and mental health struggles involving minors. Many people agree that my USP is compelling and that they would play this game due to the interesting idea of a game and or story. However, my peers also agree that this FMP might not be able to reach the deadline - play-able game, art showcase and written work- due to having to learn how to code a visual novel for the first time. A point to improve on, one thing suggested to add small mini-games to progress through certain areas or to build a stronger connection to the patent.
Feedback Three
Gathering the information for this idea feedback I can defer that most people think this is not the best idea to create my FMP on. The main consensus is that this game should be a 2D pixel art style with a mix of 2D art cards. They agree that the age rating should be around 7+ due to themes of war but it's not graphic in nature. People agree that my USP is unique and that they would play this game due to the interesting game-play and gacha system. My peers also agree that this FMP might be able to reach the deadline - play-able game, art showcase and written work- due to the simple coding but as a demo it's hard to create a story in a short time that's fleshed out and compelling . A point to improve on, one thing suggested to add more cat variants and unique breeds to entice the player to keep playing to unlock them.
Bubonic
I have decided that I will choose my first idea of the simulation/strategy game as my main FMP focus. I have chosen this due to it's interesting game-play I could create and the unique NPC's I could create to make this game even more interesting. I will create an elaborate page of documentation on my FMP including research , planning and journals to make sure this game and FMP can at lest reach a merit or distinction. This will help with FMP as finding my main focus can help me start the planning stages in the future and make the concept more viable and fun.
