February and on

Here goes my synopsis from February till the end of the semester.

I was in charge of the evil list.
Some things from that list that I did personally included:

• Storage device management. 
• Player Sign-In/Sign-Out management.
• Player controller management.
• Resolution management.

I set up various web sites for the web administrator.

I headed up all of the game review sessions.

I headed up one game testing session for our team and hats.

I created most of the art work for the main menu.

I revamped the entire menu system, screens and alert screens.

I split the tech team into sub groups: Level Development, Shadow Development, and Evil List.  This proved to be very helpful and reduced overhead.

Created a stun feature to combat guards and implemented it.  (Was later cut)

Fixed minor issues here and there.

Helped others with their tasks and coordinated with other leads.

January

This month was a bit rocky at the start. We had to adjust our sprints to help meet demo deadlines.

I was in charge of registering a website and getting a basic foundation ready for editing. I was able to register the domain and set up some custom emails for www.1blockeast.com. We decided to use Google apps. They provide a free service for up to 10 users. The web site is up and now ready for content.

I also came up with the game screen model. I mapped out the game from the start, to the menu and the actual game itself. I got together with Tommy and helped him implement the model.

After making some changes to the code the collisions were having problems. Sarah and I sat down and fixed them so that they were all working appropriately.

I have begun working on the evil list. I set up the input state manager so that only one controller could control the game at a time depending on which controller starts the game. I still have more things to check on the evil list.

Sprint 7 and 8ish

Sprint 7
Tasked with coming up with a filter to demonstrate the difference between normal and shadow mode.

Resulted in using a pixel shader to accomplish a black and white effect. This made it easier on the artists so they didn't have to 2 images for the same art.

Got together on the weekend to help each other out.
Also Tweaked the collectible class and help make the rope class.

Sprint 8ish
There wasn't a particular assignment for this sprint. We all got together on the weekend to make sure all of our stuff worked together. Helped debug animations, shadow offsets, shadow collisions, rope debugging and collectible functionality.

We also met before class on Monday to tweak some more things like player movement, player textures, level design and shadow translation.

Sprint 5 & 6

Sprint 5

-Tasked with coming up with an options class that stores game values carried throughout the game.

-Resulted in a working class that does just that.

(Side note- This was an assignment that was given a couple of times that failed to be completed by another person)

Sprint 6

-Tasked with coming up with a look for shadow mode of objects. Eg an alternate color scheme to help know when in shadow mode.

-Resulted in putting it on hold since it is not part of Alpha. Instead I helped Jeff with his pulley assignment and I wrote the collectible class to help people get caught up.

Sprints 3 & 4

Sprint 3
-Task- Come up with a way to draw a HUD that is on a separate coordinate system than the main camera.

-Result- Decided to just use a separate spriteBatch. Generally it is advised to use as few spriteBatches as possible. We are using 2 which should be sufficient.

Sprint 4
-Task- Draw the HUD

-Result- Came up with a HUD but became obsolete since there is no health or live system. Right now it is a skeleton until the HUD contents are finalized.

Sprint 2

Assignment: Make camera follow player.

Update 10/27

Camera is working and panning. Just need a player to track.

Siena Entertainment

Presentation about the history of their company. They are the leader in Children Entertainment Apps. Talked about their experiences with apps. Visited with each group.

Sprint 1 Progress

Found a couple of classes that are free to use.
Camera2D - Camera controls

InputHelper - robust input handler class

EA Work Pipeline

Gate 1 - Concept

Gate 2 - Planning

Gate 3 - First Prod

Gate 4 - Full Prod. Alpha

Gate 5 - Full Polish Beta

Sprint 1

Assignment: Camera Class

EA Presentation

EA Presentation for getting jobs...

Resume Writing

• Keep it Concise (2-3 pages max!)
• Include all your contact information(email, phone, address, etc)
• Start chronologically with the most recent first.
• Do not overstate qualifications
• Do highlight applicable qualifications
• Remove irrelevant information
• Only put GPA’s if they are >3.0 (if major GPA is high then use that)
• Prioritize data highlighting the most relevant for each job...what was your impact??
• Proof read, Proof read, Proof read....

Applying for Jobs

• Know what you are applying for! (what the company does and what the position is)
• Read application directions
• Provide all information and material requested(i.e. resume, cover letter, salary information)
• If asked to complete an application, complete it in its entirety, do not write “see resume”
• Email the Recruiter/HR a copy (if you can. Recruiter is usually your ambassador)
• Follow up 2-3 times max...don’t seem desperate!(day of application if possible or 1 week, a few days, few days)

Job Interviews
Don’ts:

• Be late or arrive more than 10 minutes early
• Chew gum or candy during the interview
• Give one or two word answers
• Criticize present or past employers
• Use profanity or slang(even if the interviewer does)
• Interrupt the interviewer
• Ramble on and on and on...
• Talk about salary (unless the interviewer brings it up)
• Avoid answering a question
• Be unprepared

Do’s:

• Research the company before the interview (don’t say the game sucks)
• Turn off your cell phone!
• Speak confidently and clearly
• Get the interviewer’s name right
• Pay attention to your hygiene (breath, body odor)
• Smile
• Wear neat clean clothing
• Keep answers relevant, concise, and clear
• Take your time answering questions(get clarification, if needed)
• Provide examples when relevant
• Be enthusiastic about the job and the company
• Have some questions of your own ready!

Interview Questions

• Why are you interested in EA?
• What do you know about our company?
• What are your strengths (weaknesses)?
• What are your career goals?
• Why should we hire you?
• If I talked to your prev employer, what do you think they would say about you?
• What is your biggest accomplishment? (other variations)
• Why do you want to work for us?
• Who was your favorite manager and why?
• What are your salary requirements?

Behavior Base Interview Questions

• Describe a problem you encountered at work. How did you resolve it?
• Describe a time when you dropped the ball/made a mistake.
• Describe a time when you had to work in a team. What problems did you encounter?
• STAR Method

1. S- Describe a Situation
2. T- Describe the Task at hand
3. A- Describe the action you took
4. R- Describe the result
5. What did you learn

Shadow Thief's 1st and 2nd Meeting

Met for the first time. Got to know each other.

Leadership assignments were distributed.

Played the Wii game, Lost in Shadows. This game helped demo different methods we could use the shadows in our game. It gave us some ideas to try for our game.

Practice Presentation/Official Presentation

Practiced our presentations as a group. Worked on core mechanic demo.

Presented to the panel. Listened to other presentations. Voted for our favorites.

Follow the link for our One Pager.

Presentation stuff

-Work in industry questions. (allow time for questions)

-Backstory'ish

-Demonstration of core mechanic in game play.

-Mention great talents. (screen shots and portfolios).

-Art Samples! (Maybe video?)

-Title "In an Instant" ?

-Not so many slides. (3-6)

-Come up with one pager. (edit original sheet)

-Answer hard questions w/ "yes and...." or "oh yeah then we could..."

-2 part argument- what your game is compared to and a couple of core mechanics.

9/13 Prototyping

-We were not able to use the Farseer physics engine because it is only for 2D. We are looking at using JigLibX for physics simulation. We are also toying around with using a start-up project from App Hub. This will be decided by this evening.

-3D models were imported correctly with success.

9/9 Prototyping

Decided:

• Our core mechanic is toggling velocity change in various objects.
• 3 objects for the prototype - block, belt, and fan
• We will use the Farseer physics engine.

Responsibilities:

• Importing 3D models - Jeff
• Character movement - Rielly/Nick
• Object movement - Rielly/Nick
• Farseer development - Rielly/Nick
• Screen filters and Level Design - Damean

Senior Capstone Pitch

Finished my game pitch.

Follow the jump...

Level Design

Goals of Level Design

• Consider this from the user perspective
• Levels that support your game mechanics well.
• Don't get too attached to your work.
• Collaborate with all the professions.
• Don't latch on. Potentially can snowball.

Process tips

• Good starting point for level design is to use a one pager approach.
• Level sketching.
• Have an idea, take a minute to sketch it out.
• Fail cheap
• White box and playable mechanics then test, test, test....

First Playable

First Playable is up and running!

This weeks sprint I was tasked with syncing Hud with the code. Also, I was tasked with making a camera script that wasn't so rigid and had a little bit more of a give to it.
Sarah, Pace and I came up with a sample level and got it working for the demo.
Everything got done that was planned for. Found some hiccups along the way that we will be tweaking int the next sprint.

What to Expect March 3rd

"First Playable" - Review

First Playable

• Working strongly towards visual target
• Core functionality
• 1 environment
• UI (front end and HUD) in simple working form
• Characters (placeholder)