Conclusion (Reflections)

What was your overall assessment of the process, and the outcomes?

Overall, I've truly enjoyed this process. I've done a lot of work, learnt a lot more about project management (which is extremely valuable to me), and I've had a hand in creating a game that I'm really proud of, and even in its current form would make a solid professional portfolio piece.

Our team works really well together- I've made some incredibly valuable contacts and I'm absolutely looking forward to working with them on Heroes of Yggdrasil next semester!

What role did you play/tasks assigned that was least satisfying to you?

Sound effects! Creating so many low-bitrate SFX was very taxing, took a long time and wasn't very rewarding.

On the other hand programming the sound management system (audio channels, pitch shifting, etc.) was quite rewarding.

In the future, I'll recognise how much work of that type is too much for me to handle on my own. Dividing the task into a sub-team of sound designers would have made the task much more manageable.
An alternative strategy, when it comes to a task of that size, would be to attempt to spread it out across a number of weeks.

What were the tasks undertaken that most used your skills and abilities?

Team management. Since starting uni, I've come a long way in terms of leadership. I like to think that there's no such thing as a team that cannot work well together. This might be wishful thinking - however - the principle behind my thinking is that given the right environment, communication frameworks and guidance, any team can excel. The main issue is that a lot of teams lack the motivation to improve teamwork pipelines.

As I'm hoping go into postgrad study, project management is an important skill for me. Plus, I enjoy it!

What were the lessons learnt with regard to time management, task planning and team processes?

One of the most interesting and important lessons I've learned this semester has been how different individuals will perform best in different environments. For example, one of our artists works best in his own space, at the time he chooses, free from distraction. On the other hand, on of our programmers needs a social/team environment with the expertise and opinions of other people to draw from.

Learning how to manage seven individuals like this (including myself!) has been extremely worthwhile.

The key to task planning, I believe, is establishing common expectations among all group members. If the group as a whole knows where we're headed, how quickly, and for what reason, the team members will work well together. When expectations are mismanaged, serious problems begin to arise. (See our viability presentation for that!)

What plans do you and your team have for the next phase of development of your project?

We have big plans! I'm quite excited to continue work on the project.

• We'll be expanding the playable character roster with unlockable heroes that have unique abilities
• Combined with our existing implementation, this will deepen our iterative gameplay and make each run a different experience.
•  Jotunheim, the world of the Giants. An icy realm with mountains, caves, and constant snowstorms
• New level generation and environmental challenges will give this world a much different feel to our existing world, Midguard. Having multiple realms will give our game a deeper sense of progression.
•  Level bosses and minibosses. These combat challenges will be a true test of skill for players of our game.
• Expandsion of the enemy roster with new enemy types such as flying or shapeshifting enemies.
• This will vary gameplay from level to level and widen the application of our party-switch mechanic.

If you couldn't tell, I can't wait to increase the fun and testability of our game. We have a very solid proof of concept, but it could be so much more! I'll certainly be working on this project over the holiday break.