March 3rd
Monday
3rd
The first thing I have done in this FMP was start to create my FMP website was to make a SWOT analysis showcasing the strengths, weakness , threats and opportunities in the past work I have done this year and demonstrating what skills I will use to create a good FMP and project by managing the positives and negatives properly. I also started to plan out the initial ideas by starting a mind map. This mind map will present what genres I will work and which will work well with my concepts. This all relates to my FMP since by doing this I can present my work and how I came up and adapted these ideas for feedback to improve my work.
Tuesday
4th
On Tuesday I started to create a base sprite for each NPC ,which is a simple walk that runs for 7 frames per second with a canvas size of 64-64. After making the base walk and separating the limbs I created a basic concept of characters with different coulor palette (blue, red, green and grey). I added basic personality tropes to each and incorporated design elements that incorporate the ideas, example being a long poofy dress for the damsel and a nice head of slicked back hair for the charmer. This relates heavily to my FMP due to having basic sprites to start coding and to have a visual representation on what it would look like when they move. It also shows my artist ability and creates a good idea on what character elements I want to create compelling NPC's.
Started making base sprites for all npc's
Wednesday
5th
On Wednesday I started the basic coding. I started with my prior knowledge from my last projects and created a basic W A S D walking mechanic. By doing this the simple green block I will add a rat sprite over I can now add movement to the game. I also add the base background to line up any future collision walls. I then imported all sprites made yesterday and created them in OBJ_ objects ready to code. To make the animations work when they are active I split each frame into a sprite sheet and resized and imported it into GameMaker to make them be able to walk properly constantly. I used the OBJ_Greyman to become the parent code for the other npc's. However,
I encountered an issue where the rat sprite was embedding itself into vertical geometry. The sprite animation of the player was pushing the bounding box of the player into the wall, meaning a collision was occurring. I changed the player sprite to a green box and drew the animations on top. Whenever a change in animation happened (going from idle to moving and vice-versa) I changed the collision mask of the player to your box sprite. This regulated it across each activated sprite and prevented the rat animations from encroaching on the wall.
Thursday
6th
I firstly finished off my idea refinement section by finishing writing a my SWOT Analysis and idea generation .To add to my code I created a parent sprite (gray man) to make the other NPC's be able to walk around the map. I did this by creating speed variables in the grey man stating how far to walk on both sides of the canvas size, I then state when off screen to instance destroy ,doing this makes sure the npc's won't get stuck off screen. This worked since by adding the prior parent code all inherited code for the grey-man copied over to the other NPC's making them follow the same guide lines. I then changed the left 'walk towards point' by moving their Xscale down sow they didn't walk into each over and to give the player more from to see. This helps improve my FMP by having a unique mechanics others don 't by making the 'busy street' idea look more realistic as it shows different people ate different speeds walking along giving the player a motive to keep of their toes to find the right person to infect.
Friday
7th
On Friday I created a simple refrance sheet for my NPC's to give people a simple guide of who and what these charcters are and do. I started and completed both blue women and red women. This showcases my character design skills using Krita and Powerpoint. I also continued to draw and add to my first background. I added details to the bar and the broken down wall to create more depth. Lastly, I would finish writting my second idea on a possible horror game. This relates to my FMP since I'm working on my art sprites and finishing my idea refinments.
Saturday
8th
On Saturday I finished my last idea on my 'Idea Generation' that being a simple turn based card game about cats an dogs at war. I developed possible ideas on this game, how it would work, the mechanics, art style and unique gimmick ( being the gacha system to unlock new cats with different rarity). By adding this to my FMP I can improve it by having three concepts ready to become play-able games if I so chose them , this mainly creates more freedom and shows people on my website what ideas I have in mind for the future and how I can expand on them. I also started to create simple character designs for my characters. On being the rat and red women, I demonstrated their simple traits, personality , character design , main gimmick and how they deal with illness. By having this for an FMP I show my dedication as I have created reference sheets just to show my skills before I need to , by doing this I can make sure my designs are secure before I focus more on them with developing their faces and outfits. FMP wise having a base character sheet already for each character will help keep my ideas compact and helps me not stray away from my main ideas.
Sunday
9th
On Sunday I finished my first background in pixel art. I used the following app PixelArt to create this background and used a rendering technique by blocking out the main silhouette , then adding more and more detail each time then finally adding another layer of dark blue shade to create depth. I then imported it into GameMaker and created simple collision walls following the pattern of the background making it become interactive for the player. This will beneficial to my FMP due to having a background with a lot of detail that can entice a player to play the game as the art could engage them, my plan is to make two more background to make the game play more fun as to build world building of both a butcher shop and the opposite side if this background will create better immersion for the player. I finally fished the main NPC's character sheets as well . I have giving them basic personalty and design traits to make them stand out and be recognizable to the player. This will help with planning and FMP as it has created basic design that I can adapt later on the weeks and create better designs following the formula I have given for them now.
Progress pictures
March 10th
Monday
10th
On Monday I started to work on the research portion of my FMP. I presented each piece of work will be on this Wix website to make sure I have all important documents to complete my FMP goals. I started work on the in depth game research on my chosen games/ events - Plague Inc, Stardew Vally and the Black plague / Victorian England. This will improve my FMP due to me following the criteria and completing another portion of work to improve my end result of both my physical game with knowledge I will learn from this and make my FMP look thought out and well made.
Tuesday
11th
To improve my ideas section more and elevate my FMP I decided to create small little 'screenshot' of rough sketches that could be in this hypothetical game. For the third idea I have chosen to make a rough sketch of a possible 'gacha car' that can be collected when playing. Hes a cowboy and ginger cat. This helps show my ability to brain storm and create concepts that people can understand without needing to read a lot of information. This help FMP wise as I can elevate my ideas page with art and get the best grade I can with simple layout and possible ideas in sketch and draft form.
Wednesday
12th
On Wednesday I finished the first game research I started on Monday ; that being the Plague Inc research. I wrote how it's design , UI and main game-play impact the game and how this all relates to my FMP ; I have used videos proving my claims to improve my research portion of this process. I learnt how to make a good layout and how to make simple game-play interesting with visuals and a fun goal. I also learnt about how diseases spreed and their scientific resources. This is an important part to my FMP due to improving and A0 with adding vast amount of research for one game and why this specific game will help me improve my own game. It teaches me what to do with simple thing like accurate research to make your game realistic and have interesting mechanics to make simple game-play fun and something to play when your board. By adding videos and articles on what sources I used I can refer to them if i need extra input or to clarify things out game-play mechanics before making a mistake.
Thursday
13th
On Thursday I created a new section on 'Idea Generation' called Brief analysis. I wrote how this project will work and key details I need to keep track of to make my FMP the best it can be. Such as key dates, End of year show and understanding my A0's. This will help with my FMP because by having this I can make sure I am doing the correct things with the project and not stray away for the main goals, making me more focused on important details. I also started with writing about Stardew valley for the games section of my research page ; with a main focus more so on art creation rather than game-play. I have research how the developer created the character designs, sprites and animation to make compelling characters that are memorable. I have linked videos demonstrating this as well showing my depth knowledge on the Stradew designs. This relates to my FMP by having research on ideas and tips to create appealing sprite work and designs , using his colour selection techniques and simplistic pixel style that has at lest one core elements in each designs to make them stand out.
Friday
14th
On Friday I have finished the whole Stardew Valley portion of my games research. I looked into simple game-play aspects like walking and interacting with objects and how this all relates to my FMP . By doing this I can show a in depth understanding of the core aspect of what makes a game stand out and show how much research and resources I have made to create this whole section including articles and videos to prove my points on why this game was chosen with Plague Inc. This relates to my FMP by completing one portion of my games research in heavy detail , doing this proves my competence on being able to ache vie a high grade since I have created a long selection on both games outlining its important's to my FMP with proof and have created a data base of tutorials and ideas to refer to in my project when I need them.
Saturday
15th
On Saturday I wrote in the games research portion about the Victorian ages , mainly about what it was like , their fashion, homes and life style to create a simple idea on how to shape my game around this time period. I looked into what fabrics , colours and styles of clothes they wore, what buildings would of been shaped like back then and what was the attitudes towards health care like medicine and the mindset of a variety of people - rich , poor , young , old, women and men. I used latices and documentary videos about the Victorian age as proof for my findings and added them into this section ,this will improve my grade as I have giving evidence for why I have chosen this time period with videos and sources agreeing with my depiction I have giving for the game. This relates to my FMP as the time period is very important to the games as the main premise is ' what if the plague happened in Victorian times?' as making the time period as realistic as I can in this game will achieve my goal on conveying this 'what if' scenario properly.
Sunday
16th
On Sunday I have finished the last portion of the 'games research' by adding my following understanding and research on the Black Death. I looked into how it came about , how it spreed, the main symptoms and how it was eradicated in the 13th century. I used documentary's and achieved knowledge to make sure thew plague I create in my game falls inline with how the black death came about and the symptoms people faced with this disease. This will improve my FMP by having so much ranging research on both games i'm inspired by and real world events I can make sure my game follows in the footsteps on compelling game-play and realism like Plague Inc , artistic appeal like Stardew Valley and realism following the black death and the 19th century. This will help improve my grade as all this research will become a core part in my development to help me see what I need to focus on on each topic- mechanics , art and story.
March 17th
Monday
17th
On Monday I started to map out my research page and understand each section of work I will need to do. I did this so I can map out my time to figure out , which piece of research needs to be completed first. By doing this for FMP I can complete my AO3 portion of my grade by researching different games , resources and important things about the industry. I started to research both Plague Inc and Stardew valley, but I plan to work on researching both the black plague and the 19th century.
Tuesday
18th
On Tuesday I begun my 'Market Research' on my research portion of my website, I focused on both games Plague Inc and Stardew Valley and their 'Steam' reviews both positive and negative. I started by compiling both positive and negative reviews on both games on steams and researched the main consensus on what both party's feel impacts the game badly and well. Example being, how short Stardew's time is making it hard to do tasks. I then made a positive and negative section on my 'Market research' for both games and explained ; the main point , why it effects the game and how it relates to my project / how i can use it to improve or adapt into. This will help with my FMP as creating an in depth market research page will help make my website more high quality. I then went onto Reddit and looked at how both community's feel about their game and how their fandom runs. By doing this I got insight on how they feel about everything that goes on with the game and developers and their public reception with their fans. I then added another section under the reviews about community's within the games, I then wrote : how the community run, is it good , what can I do to grow a community. For FMP I can show my understanding of the games world and how people feel about certain developers , I can also take tips on taking criticism as it improves the game rather than being stubborn like other developers in the past.
Wednesday
19th
On Wednesday I finished up on my 'Market research' by adding a section about how each game handles their development logs. I looked onto their official websites and documented some logs they made for their games to understand what tips and techniques they have done to not only draw attention to their game but create a good work flow. I listed both positive attributes and negative attributes for each games development logs to make sure I add whatever production plan they did for their games to make mine work well while making sure to be ready for the negative draw backs, such as making the logs public for anyone's input. This will improve my FMP by making a research section completely done and it being in great detail that will increase my AO3 grade as a distinction as my work has explored many aspects of market research with , evidence, personal opinion and multiple researched topics on display. I have also added interviews with the Stardew Valley developer to show his struggles with making his logs public.
Thursday
20th
On Thursday I added a new section to my games research , which details my research and use in both GameMaker and PixelArt. I wrote in the GameMaker section : what this site is, how to use it, why I will use it and how does all of this relate to FMP. I also used video evidence to demonstrate simple GameMaker tutorials to prove why this site will be used for my coding portion of this FMP. Similarly, I did the same process with the site PixelArt detailing why this art app will be useful in making both my animations and sprites. I used example tutorials to prove my point in this software being well made to handle the sprites I desire. This all links to my FMP by adding more research in both of the software I will use for this project I can not only show outsiders how I manage to create my play-able game but show why theses platforms are necessary for this project.
Friday
21st
I started my project Proposal on Friday, however, I will leave that near the end as some of the writing portion needs to be done before the FMP ends. I wrote my main resources and what this project initials to make my project proposal complete and look smart. By doing this I can be closer done with my FMP as I have done one more important project to increase my grade. I have also added a resources page to my research portion o my work to show of all my tutorials and help I will use if I get stuck while making this FMP. I did this by compiling old videos I have used in this project and some new ones that fit my themes and added them into their own 'coding' or 'sprite' sections and underneath I added links to site I have used in this project, such as Pintrest, YouTube and Art Station. I also added some videos for research in my games research portion to help elevate my points. FMP wise, this act of adding videos will help improve my FMP by proving my points more clearly with evidence and having a catalog of help when needed shows my integral understanding of locating evidence.
Saturday
22nd
On Saturday I finished on my last idea generation idea by adding a fake screen shot on what the game hypothetically could look like. I created a image of a girl in a hospital background following the format of visual novels by adding a text box, I chose to draw her in a 'Moe' style of anime as it makes the games look more eerie and unique. I did this to create horror visual novel so people looking at my FMP could see the vision on where this idea could of looked like. Adding this to my FMP makes my idea generation portion stand out as I went in depth with semi-showing my own ideas of art style and mechanics making my page more memorable with its unique quick sketches.
Sunday
23rd
On Sunday I simply wrote a small checklist on Word to give me a timeline on when I should complete and what I should work on first. By doing this I can mange my time better and have all my needed assets ready. This will be positive for my FMP due to it showing how well I can time manage and be organised to achieve my goals.
March 24th
Monday
24th
On Monday I started to work on the Legal and Ethics research and add onto my tutorials in my resource section. I used the game Cooking Mama -Cookstars as a point to research to explain why it failed legally. This helps my FMP since it show a clear understanding on what not to do when releasing a game - if used other assets make sure their copyright free with credits and make sure not to infringe on other ip's. By adding more links to my resources I show a clear way to present all my references from Pintrest to YouTube improving this FMP by having easy access to any other help I need.
Tuesday
25th
On Tuesday I have finished the Legal and Ethics section of my research portion by finishing writing why the game Cooking Mama Cookstars failed due to illegal IP usage and why it was taking down. I showed my knowledge and understanding of how to properly avoid and struggles with legal trouble and how to avoid making a game with unethical elements. This is important to not in my FMP due to having proof I have learnt how to create an ethically correct and legal game my project will not follow in the footsteps of games that have been taking down due to failed understanding on this filed and research. I have created a new page on the planning section to elevate my art process and skills called art studies. They will be small doodles of art studies on human, objects and other important thing I should practice drawing before making official pixel art assets. This will help with FMP as it will show my dedication by adding a new section made for my own learning and improvement , which could show my dedication for the highest grade and improvement in this course. Lastly, I have created a simple side on and front facing sketch of the Blue Women showing a concept idea of her face structure and hair style. By doing this I can create personality and bring these pixel characters to life by adding real drawing of what they look like to this website adding small details such as her sad eyes, and her beauty mark adding character. FMP wise this elevates my work as creating simple sketches of characters will make my work stand out compared to others.
Wednesday
26th
On Wednesday I created a Time Management section to my 'Planning' hook. This section demonstrates my Trello page and how much work I have done each week and what I need to work on. This relates to my FMP by having evidence of me working on different types of work each week show me and people what I need to ether work on next or thing I have accomplished. I then created my GGD and filled it out as a PDF and put it on the planning section as well. By doing this I have created a document stating everything I have done for this project and what I would like to do for this project. For my FMP having this is vital as completing it fully ad well is one of my objectives to getting a distinction. Lastly, I created a peer feedback page on the planning section to talk about my amended designs and ideas that could be improved on. The main points I was giving was to make my rat character more unique ether by having them deteriorate or be a different colour yet my designs received praise as it was stated they felt empathy when they was ill. Linking to my FMP, by having feed back from peers I can show my skills on improving my work with criticism to make the end product better and more enjoyable - example changing the brown rat to a white rat.
Thursday
27th
On Thursday I created an abundance of mood boards following multiple things involving my FMP. Such as : Pixel art , Victorians, clothing, homes, rodent types and the plague ; this create nice complete ideas in a form of mood boards that can clearly show the viewer what vibe and idea i'm going for , for this project. By having theses boards and them explained I can refer to them for new ideas and concepts , such as what breed of rat they could be. I have also created a new clothing section for my planning stage, featuring four new dress designs for the red women. By doing this I can experiment with colour, shape and form for each character to find the right dress or suit for each character. I have written about why I have chosen the first dress for the red women and plan to do that for all NPC's. This relates to my FMP by having a range of designs I can create the perfect character to my game featuring appealing clothes that appeal to their personality.
Friday
28th
I fixed the collision issue on Friday with the wall were they player would get stuck. I changes the players collision box to make it small so when they go past the collision wall they will hit it but not get stuck. I have also finished the second background and imported it into GameMaker ; I did this following the same technique I used for the first background -blocking out the main silhouette , then adding more and more detail each time then finally adding another layer of dark blue shade to create depth. By having two new background I can expand my FMP by having a more engaging game as it creates more world building, which will benefit my game as it makes it more desirable than a basic simulator game. Lastly, I imported my Green man clothing ideas and wrote about them. I used a range of shape and real life ideas to make his personality shine by I choose the simple black outfit as it made him stand out more.
March 31
Monday
31st
I added a timeline (starting form week 4) about what I did by documenting it in Trello. This includes showing that I finshed the research stage and starting to work on both the sprites and background work. I also added more sections for the planning stage including, clothing concepts, backgrounds, art study's , peer review and start the layout of the amended designs.
Tuesday
1st
To continue with coding I wanted to connect both rooms to be able to make my game more open and unique. Firstly, I added both rooms into GameMaker. Next, I added an OBJ_ROOMCHANGE1 and parented to the OBJ_RAT. In the collision code I used the lines or Room_Goto( Room2) ; this means that when collided the rat sprite and object will change to the second room. I then added the collision change box to the desired place to be telaported. However, I then dupicated the process to make the second room change to the first room when collided. I also added a small OBJ_NEWS object in the second room so when collided the screen will chnage to a new room that shows a base place holder for were the numbers of infection and hint will be. On the other hand, problems I have faced is the fact I want to make it a certain key to change rooms, and the fact it teleport's you to the edge of the map not looking realistic. I will also add a sprite index to make it look like that rat is sneaking in. Another problem I faced was getting stuck in the newspaper screen. This will be fixed.
Wednesday
2nd
On Wednesday I started to remake my old base sprites focusing mainly on the blue women. I used the updated clothes and face I have chosen form my Amended designs to improve the sprite. I remade the canvas scale by 96-96 to make her have more detail and look better in my games ratio. I used 7 frames for each characters walking animations to make them smooth ; one problem I solved was her face looking to out of proportion so i remade her face layout and made her more realistic. I split each body part into sections - head, hair, arms skirt- and tweened them in place whilst giving them personality. After having a base walk I then hand animated the skirt to make it look like its moving when walking and hand animated some other aspects to make the sprite look more soft and delicate. This improves my FMP by elevating my art and animations to make my game look more appealing. I have also added the gray mans clothes
Thursday
3rd
I repeated the same steps to create the better base sprite for the red women. I wanted to convay her more rich and snobby personlty by having her arms not swing as much and fingers point down compared to the blue women. I also used the amended designs for the red women with the persific dress to convay her personialty and character.
Friday
4th
I repeated the same steps to create the better base sprite for the green and gray man. I wanted to convey the green mans more happy and charming nature by giving him a more prominent smile in his sprite and make his walk cycle bubbly like the the damsel. I also finished the remake sprite of the gray man and copied the same body language style with the red woman to present his aloof character.
Saturday
5th
On Saturday I started on making the plague doctor sprites using the basic amended designs and used the same walking base to use for this sprite. After I did this I worked on some extra sprites ready for coding ; I worked on the blue women's new sprites. I used her walking sprite since I split her body parts into sections and used them to redo the animations, I remade her hands, skirt and made her cry with adding tears frame by frame. I then tweened a running motion with her hands on her cheeks/eyes and fixed any issues with tweaking each movement frame by frame. I then created a long animation sequence of her vomiting into her hands. I did this by doing the same process I did for the crying animation. The main features is adding stretch and pull to make her feel more realistic when she hunches over. I then also added the feature of her vomiting onto her dress to add a more realistic approach to this. Using small details in this scene like her eyes dimming and crying shows her empathetic nature clearly. This will improve my FMP by showing my artistic value in my game.
Vomit sprite/plauge
Sunday
6th
I worked on creating a remake on the rat sprite following my peer review on my designs by making them a white rat. This was simple since I just changed the colours. After doing this I created a squeezing sprite that can be used for a sprite index to transition to and from each part of the street. By doing this I can give my rat more animal like characteristics by showing him squealing into a small hole. This will improve my FMP by adding more artistic details and add to my game and make the transition room to room more smooth rather than a black screen as it adds a more grunge effect.
Rat Sprites
April 7th
Tuesday
8th
I created my last object studies by showing my ability's of creating a realistic background and object piece. This includes coins, bar stools and the entrance for butchers. I also started on creating reference sheets on my amended designs using the faces and clothing ideas to present my characters in a layout that is readable and adds more art for my FMP to get the best grade I can get.
Wednesday
9th
On Wednesday I started with creating the reference / amended designs and used the blue women as my future template on how I will layout my other work. I first compiled all my references I have made (dress and face) and sketched out the layout of both the drawing - and what they will be- and writing. I then made a full body drawing of the damsel with one 3/4th's perspective, one side on perspective and on back perspective. I then did some small sketches for expression examples for personality. I then copied the 3/4 and side on drawing , sized it up and changed it to my liking to show how she deals with the plague. Lastly with drawing, I added eyes of her character to elevate my reference sheet and make it stand out. After drawing I exported it to PowerPoint and wrote the layout of which image is which and a small biography of her backstory/ important information and how they impact the game. This improves my FMP by creating a easy to read amended designs and presents my work more a kin to the real artist industry on how they create character designs and finalize one
Thursday
10th
On Thursday I worked on the red stomping sprite on Pixel art ; I also created some simple side profiles of the rat. I did this by using both tweening and hand drawn elements to make the red women's movement more dynamic and powerful. Doing this helps demonstrate her anger and her personality. I scrunched her face and used stretch and squish to make her movement more bouncy. By having this move set I can used this sprite to make more dynamic characters and mechanics to improve my games overall quality. FMP sake this will help make the game more difficult as the player now has to risk biting her as she can now randomly damage you making the game more engaging. I also created new are work of the rat, I have made a reference sheet showing all important details on the rat and a front / side profile showing what he could look like. By doing this I can improve my old designs and show people what these characters could possibly look like out of 2d pixel art. For the FMP having more work in planning can easily improve my grade by having more high quality content in each characters section.
Friday
11th
On Friday I added on the research portion all my references and tutorials I have and or will use in this project. These list from individual websites and section of videos about : coding, pixel art and Victorian England / the black death. By doing this i can show all the resources that has helped me make this FMP and game, this will also help reach the AO3 marks I need for the research section of my FMP by giving it more types of research I have done. I have made a red women reference sheet, which shows her personality , designs and attributes. Doing this means I have a more thorough amended designs for her explaining why I chose certain characteristics for her and clothing choices. This will help with FMP as it makes my work look neat and ascetically pleasing by have a clear cut design presented. Lastly, I re used my old safety analysis and used it in his topic as I think it's high quality. By doing this I can add the necessary piece of work to make sure I get a full pass or higher in this section. FMP wise this is helpful as I can easily demonstrate my knowledge for safety in games.
Saturday
12th
On Saturday I worked on finishing some writing , such as some reflective journals and planning. By doing that I can improve my FMP since I need to explain my process and write what I need to improve on to make my FMP complete. I have also today created an amended designs for the Plague Doctor, showing their sprite, side profile and outfit with some key information about them. Doing this will help keep my design uniform and on model by having something to easily refer to when stuck and having something like this can help with future portfolio work as it show my ability to make clear character reference sheets. For FMP this will help my grade for the planning section improve by having detailed amended designs I show care in my art and creations showing dedication for this project.
Sunday
13th
On Sunday I started to sketch out a layout for the Butchers room/background. I used a mix of my references, mood boards and some images on google to create a simple background. You the rat are on a high shelf walking across it with food to hide you to reach the end to infect all the new food ready to go, onlooking a till where the knife welding butcher will stay at all times. By doing this I can have an idea on creating this last background and making it look nice and appealing to the player and helping the world building aspect. For the FMP this is going to help the game by having a mini game that can either kill you if you fail or give you a good reward if you win. I also finished writing and drawing 35 separate pieces of artwork for the clothing section helping my planning section by showing all ideas for these characters. This helps by giving me multiple ideas on how to create my designs and what type of colour, clothing fits with the character. In this FMP AO2 is the planning section and by having this I can certainly get a merit or higher.
April 14th
Monday
14th
On Monday I started to work on more game sprite stuff including finishing the last background with objects , adding a coin drop animation and adding a vagabond to my FMP. By completing the last background I can use these assets to start creating my mini-game and puzzle section for my game. By doing this for my FMP I can have more fun and unique game-play while improving my games art quality by changing the scenery. I next, made a simple coin drop animation with the red women. By using parts of her walking sprite -that had each body part split up- I had a small movement of her carefully and quickly giving the vagabond some money. This will improve my FMP in many ways, one way a story-telling way showing her softer side and the treatment of poorer people back in the 19th century and kindness from the rich is rare. This also helps a lot in a game-play aspect by adding a way to use auditory aspect to the game -hearing out for the sound of a coin or seeing her drop the coin- and the start of a small puzzle section to infect more people. This will defiantly improve my FMP since I can have more game-play aspects to draw people in. Lastly, I added a simple base of the vagabond that when he dies in the start of the days small buzzing fly's will appear. This give a small story aspect since it shows that people won't notice if the poor are injured until the rich get unwell. This improves my FMP since I can add more story aspects that resembles the time period this is based in without needing dialogue.
Tuesday
15th
On Tuesday I re - read all my written work and did grammar , spell checks and in general writing re vamps to improve my work. By doing this I can make sure why work reads professionally and clear for clients and get a high grade. This is important for an FMP due to having a grammatically correct portfolio will improve my work and make me seem more focused on correcting any mistakes to get a better end result.
Wednesday
16th
On Wednesday I started to layout were and how the butcher will look like in the cut-scene. I used the clothing reference I did in the planning section to figure out an outfit for him that blends well in his surroundings. I animated a small blink animation of him looking board ; by doing this I can add a : realize animation, grab knife animation and a kill animation. This will impact my FMP positively due to creating a character that can be seen as a clear enemy and be used to create a small mini-game to improve my games quality by giving the player more ways to infect people.
Thursday
17th
On Thursday I worked on finishing up on the butcher sprites. I re used the normal butcher blink animation to adapt it into the new butcher "see" animation. I used techniques like stretch and snap to give him a more bold appearance and to make it more detectable to see when hes spotted you. I also added an exclamation mark to emphasize him seeing you. This adds artistic development due to having multiple sprites to depict my goal of having a small mini-games where you try not to get spotted. This is impact's my FMP positively since it makes my game more unique by having other ways to infect than biting ; by having this character I also prove my artistic ability by creating dynamic designs that are recognizable.
April 21st
Tuesday
22nd
On Tuesday I implemented the new re-coulored rat sprite to reflect back to my peer feedback for my amended designs. By doing this I can make my players designs stand out more and be recognizable. I then implemented my last finished background - the butchers- to my game and added the new character - the Vagabond. All the Vagabond will do is till still and be used as a puzzle mechanic for the player to break into the butchers and will have fly's buzzing around him when he dies. By doing this I add the feeling of realism to my FMP making my game stand out by showing this is a Victorian era with the inclusion of Vagabonds and how they died normally first in situations like this as they are the most vulnerable. The main thing I added today was a new mechanic , the room change mechanic ; you can now enter a small hole in the background to be able to enter a new place in the map with new options. By doing this I can make my game feel bigger and give the player more options that just one place to roam. I explain more on how I made this mechanic happen in the production portion of this page. For my FMP this mechanic will stick with people due to how unique it is and how smart it is to create a 'bigger level' with the illusion of exploring.
Wednesday
23rd
On Wednesday I add the basic squeeze mechanic to be able to enter the new butcher room. I have added the butcher idle sprite as a placeholder until I code his spotting mechanic and added collisions to the counter and meat to make sure the player can't run of and in the meat. By doing this I can create the ground work to start making this butcher a more deadly character and give my game more interesting game-play. I have added this mechanic of entering this room as a base until I code the mechanics of stealing a coin and breaking down a metal cover to then enter the butchers. Adding the base code will helping adding extra code easier as I don't need to worry of the game breaking by reusing code that has worked in the past. This will help improve my FMP by Having a mechanic where you have to use your knowledge of the game to break into a butchers to increase your infection counter, by having a high risk high reward mechanic I can give the players a goal to try and beat the butcher.
Thursday
24th
On Thursday I completed the bug fixes on the newspaper board making it functional with just a small bit of updated graphics and on fonts to make it look the best it can. I added more depth and dimension to the newspaper board to make sure the read part of the board stands out more, I did this by casting more shadows and adding highlights. By doing this I have created a fun way to see how many people the player infected. By doing this my FMP can have a unique mechanic that improves the games over all quality. I then coded a simple off-screen timer, that will end game after two minutes. I created an new OBJ and wrote the codes in the photo album meaning after x amount of minutes, seconds and milliseconds the game will end. By adding this I have added a simple mechanic that can be worked on with adding more rooms for each day instead of just ending game. FMP wise this is important as by having this I have created a main mechanic that helps the game function and gives the game more pressure for the player to infect.
Friday
18th
On Friday I started to code the sequence on how to my my NPC's flash red when bitten to make it more helpful to the player to see if they have infected them. I did this by creating a new shadier and looking at my resources to figure out how to make them flash when interacted with, however I ran into many issues, one being how them being children to the grey man, when one was bitten all would flash red. I will use my resources to figure out the issue. By doing this I show my ability to work on and try to fix mistakes even when I get stuck on something new. Doing this to FMP I can add a new feature that improves my games over all visual quality. I also went in and recreated some lost journals from last week to get up to date.
April 28th
Monday
28th
On Monday I caught up on old reflective journal writing, however I ran into a huge problem when half of it was deleted so I had to remake it from scratch. I remade both week one , two and four and improved them with grammar and sentence structure. By doing this I can have a higher chance to increase my grade with a more thought out reflective journal, FMP wise this falls under AO8's marking section meaning I can increase the grade making my over all project improve.
Wednesday
30th
On Wednesday I remade all of the NPC illness sprites using my research to accurately depict the main symptoms of the black plague in each character (rashes, bleeding lack of hair). I did this by re using their walking sprites and hand drawing the illness on their sprites to look ill. By doing this when I create levels they will slowly change to this sprite , which will help with not only world building but making people have empathy towards them. I then added their single death sprites that will play near the end of the game crowding the street ; adding this will help with the realism of the plague by showing the death of the NPC's you have infected. For FMP this will help with world building as I helps gives the sense of time and how the illness kills the innocent people you have bitten. I also added code for when you bite the blue women she while now change sprite and run off crying, this will help show her personality and be a good base for her unique mechanic of making everyone panic for a bit. Lastly, I attempted to fix the issue were when bitten all sprite will turn red instead of just one. While I couldn't figure out the issue in lesson later at home I realized I need to make the flash effect their unique instances so I will fix it tomorrow. This shows my dedication and problem solving attitude.
Thursday
1st
On Thursday I used the knowledge on different instances and fixed the issue of the red flash by setting it to only flash when (x) instance is bitten. By doing this can now have a cool effect when biting an NPC improving my games graphics, it also helps indicate to the player who you have bitten as that was someones feedback. By doing this for FMP I can show my resilience in finding a fix to the problem and improving it , I also show a skill of taking in ideas to improve my game. I have added three new sprite, them all being different variants of realistic hearts for my future health system. All made in PixelArt I wanted to have a heart system that slowly rots when hit, by making it realistic I can keep the visuals similar to my games art style making it not stand out negatively but still look dynamic and interesting. On bit of feed back I got was outlining the hearts to make them more visible from the background, so I added a small cream boarder to help it stand out. This will help improve my FMP's visuals by having a diegetic UI in my game. I also added the feature for when you bite the blue women she will have a 25% chance on running away crying but a 75% chancing running away looking sad. Doing this I can give personality and dynamic characters by showing their personality without words. This improves my FMP by having a randomize mechanic making the player wonder if it's worth biting a certain character since it either goes smoothly or they face a small problem.
Friday
2nd
On Friday I created a Production Log page and started re documenting the main coding aspect of the FMP as I need to clearly show my progress and how I created a certain piece of code in the game. I did the basic coding, parent coding and started creating sections I will write in. By doing this I can achieve the AO4 grade boundary and get over a pass, I can also show of how the game runs. This will greatly improve my FMP as it can improve my overall grade as I have now completed a new section. I also have finished up most of the lost journals and or improved them, fixing grammar, spelling and punctuation. Doing this will help me achieve the AO8 grade boundary as I have saved and remade my lost reflective journals on this project showing all my past work. Which intern will help my FMP over all as I have the qualification for a defiant pass and work for a possible distinction.
May 5th
Tuesday
6th
I simply worked on creating a more readable font for the newspaper mechanic that shows the score. By doing this I can listen to feedback for my teacher by making my font fit with the theme. I also started to ad more to my production logs. FMP wise I have created an improved version of my earlier work making my attitude to feed back strong as I listen to their advice.
Wednesday
7th
On Wednesday I worked on creating the butcher sprites for the mini-game. I firstly imported the main butcher idle animation to be able to tween later, I then used his body parts a tweened a basic animation of him picking up a knife and throwing it. Next,I hand drew the knife flying into the camera, the blood splatter and using frame by frame to make his body and face more natural when he throws it. By doing this I can create a compelling animation for when he throws the knife, this will help give the game tension and make the player feel on edge. This will impact my FMP positively by having a consequence to the mini-game if you fail by having it be an instant game over, this will help build tension if you want to increase your infection score.
Thursday
8th
On Thursday I worked on creating the butcher mini-game. I firstly, imported the 3 types of sprites into the game that I have made previously. I then added whats in my production log into the OBJ_butcher to make him be able to "spot" the player and kill then at a certain interval. However, I did face troubles of him not either playing his animations or instantly ending the game so I will fix this on the following days. By doing that I can make sure my game works appropriately. By doing this I can create a fun mechanic and mini game that makes the player more immersed in the game due to having multiples ways to infect. This also helps to show off my art skills by showing of these animations for the butcher as it makes the game more interesting. The main cause for this is to improve my FMP by having a high risk high reward type of game-play as by using audio ques and strategy to enter the butcher once you pass him you double your infection score making it worth it if your skilled enough. I also worked on some recovery work with my development logs, as I am almost done with them.
Friday
9th
On Friday I went and fixed up the butcher mini-game to fix the issue of the butcher animation not playing correctly and the player instantly dying when seen. I did this by setting an animation end variable in he OBJ_butcher to make it after (X) frames the animation will stop in that frame, this will solve the issue by having the animation always starting normal and ending when desired. I then fixed the issue with the instant death ; I made it so the collision boxes have a count down so when it hits a certain number the kill animation will play.Doing this means once the kill animation is fully complete the game will then end. This will help with my FMP over all as it shows my problem solving skills on how to improve a certain mechanic.
May 12th
Monday
12th
Today I was able to fix the issue with the interchanging blue random sprite, so now she can work as intended, by doing this and catching up on my writing portions of my FMP-I added more to my reflective journals and production logs- I can further the writing I have done and get the best grade I can in this section. This impacts my FMP as the writing portion is necessary for this course and good writing shows my skills with explaining and detailing.
Tuesday
13th
On Tuesday I did an over view of my work and fixed any spelling issues and added more to my reflective journals. By doing this I can get myself back up to date with them. I then created a , Starting button, Title card and a boot for when you click the start button it will crush the rat and start the game. By having that mechanics I can make my game more interesting and memorable by having such a unique starting screen. I used ideas from my mood board and decided that both the title and start button should be low hanging signs as they were common in this era. By doing this I can show that I have used my resources effectively to create new ideas for my game, I used a bright font to make it easy for the player to see which button does what. I then made them into OBJ's on GameMaker for when I code a start screen; that will improve my game by giving the player time to prepare to start and see how to play. FMP sake this is important as it will help with the games over all appearance as having a screen like this with decorated button that blend with the style well I can make a compelling game.
Wednesday
14th
On Wednesday I fully completed all the game art sprites needed for the base game ; including animating them fully. I did the last killing sprites and the green man special sprites to help him be unique. By doing this I have added art that draws the player by having small cut-scenes that could be static or simple become small yet life depictions of ether people or animals. Incorporating this into my FMP I have a more thorough game that has a recognizable art style and atheistic , which makes my game more appealing to play than others. I also caught up and completed my Project Proposal buy adding the key dates near the end. By having the Project proposal completed I can now for certain at lest get a pass due to not having one would give me an automatic fail. Due to it's importance it's very beneficial to my FMP as I need it to pass. Lastly, I added some more writing to my Production logs, completing the red women, rat, and plague doctor portion accompany it with their art, I have filled out the green mans art but need to write up on his sprite work. By doing this I can have an extensive production log that goes over all my work I have done for the FMP. FMP wise his makes my work more streamline and easy to read.
Thursday
15th
On Thursday I made a starting screen were you look at the rules and press a button to play. I did this by re using the main background and resizing the canvas to make one section bigger and making it a new room. I then added the OBJ's I made Tuesday and put them in the area I wanted them to go. I re used the same technique on the UI with my first project and made it so when clicked the game will start. I also added a mechanic on when left click is pressed a boot will come down and stomp on the rat. By doing this I can have a more unique way on making my start screen memorable and slightly show that this game might be darker than it looks.I then added a button when clicked will show a simple how to play menu. I made this in PixelArt by using and old plague doctor sprite , adding a background and using text to create the main rules of the game - I highlighted key details as well. Having this in my game helps the new player understand their objective with out it being spoon feed to them. This improves my FMP by having a fun and working starting screen I have done a core mechanic that makes my game feel more complete.
Friday - Sunday
16th
18th
On Friday through to Sunday I decided to create a simple OST for my game and future trailer I even made a corrupted version of the OST for the future days. I did this by using a platform called 'Online Sequencer' which houses a lot of instruments to be used in many types of songs. I referenced an old song made in the Victorian era ' An English Country Garden' and remade it with a different tempo, key and instruments making it sound more 8-bit and have more string instruments. I then made sure the new midi was to my liking by adjusting the pitch and fade in and out duration was up to my expectations, doing this will help improve my over all music quality. Then I duplicated the main OST file and added a distortion filter, pitch change and tempo change to it to make it feel more unnerving. By doing this I can create tension with my game when tings get more dark and depressing. Over all this will help my games as music for a game not only sets a scene but helps the game be remembered more -examples being Omori, Undertale and Hollow Knight. This will help improve my FMP by having another external factor that can improve my games quality as sound is important to make a game memorable and to make the player feel more immersed in the world.
May 19th
Tuesday
20th
On Tuesday I created another reference sheet for the butcher to make sure my art is constant and fully thought out. By doing that I can have a better character model as it shows my attention to detailing when it comes to characters. I then fixed the main health issue the player had when the red women would hit them, it would ether not work or crash the game. I fixed this by adding some code (featured in the production log) that made it so when the rat dies it goes to a black screen instead. By doing this I have a core mechanic completed making my game fully play-able , which help improve my games demo. This all link to my FMP by having fixed the health I can be ready to publish my work as a small demo showing the core mechanics and making it more unique and better by the end of year show.
Wednesday
21st
On Wednesday, I coded it so the red women would stop in her track and randomly stomp on you if you bit her. By doing this I not only expand on her personality but make an interesting game-play mechanic. However, I got feedback saying they didn't notice when she would stamp so I made sure when she does stamp she pauses so its clear to the player you have been injured. This helps with my FMP as it shows I used feedback to improve my game and make it more visually appealing seeing the sprite more clearly now. I then went into PixelArt and made myself a death screen using a frame form the rats death sprite and adding more detail to it. Examples being, more blood and some more visible organs coming out to make the screen more dark and graphic. By doing this I can show that my game is meant to be 13 and up do to the dark themes and graphics, it also helps me be ready to code a possible death screen if you are killed. This related to FMP by having a clear focus on death I can make my game for an older audience and make my game a small demo once it is implemented into code.
Thursday
22nd
On Thursday I added the death screen I made yesterday to give the game a concrete way to lose, and coded it to be able to send you to the main menu if you die. By doing this I can have a fully finished small demo that shows the main mechanics by giving it an ending or a lose screen as it is very important for a game to have one. This helps with my FMP by showing my final result of my game with the owrk backing it up showing my process as I need it ti be able to pass. I also added the main code for the plague doctor to be ready for coding as I well do that for the end of year show. By having him in the code however, I can prove he is ready and prove I will add him in. This all related to my FMP as I dont want to create a game with to big of a scope so I have given evidence that he is their.
Friday
23rd
On Friday is the deadline so I made sure all my work is at a finished quality and started to work on my evaluation logs. I made sure spelling and grammar were correct and that all necessary information is there for marking. By doing this I give myself the best chance to pass as all work is necessary. I then added an evaluation portion to my Wix as I need to explain if I correctly completed all the necessary targets to pass this course. Doing this allows me to be able to improve my over all grade as creating them is important to make the reader understand if I have or have not completed them fully. FMP sake as this is the last part of my FMP I want this to show all the work I have done fully to get the best grade.