Where's the Beef? - Prototype Sprint 1

CAGD 370 is all about figuring out the process of actually beginning to make games. Working with teams, using agile development, and understanding the overall structure and experience of what making games is like. For this project, we were tasked with getting into groups of 3, coming up with a game concept, and creating a paper and electronic prototype of said idea. This post is discussing the process of the first sprint and how it unfolded for me.

In all honesty, it was a bit rocky to begin with. I was absent from class on the day that we formed project groups, so I was automatically placed with 2 other students who were also absent that day. For the first few days, it was just me and one other person as the third had not yet spoken to us, so we had to wait a while until we were able to get into contact with him. Once we did that, we continued forward with the development process. For me, being in groups is difficult because I find that other people tend to not do work as quickly as I do or up to my personal standards, so I've been having to learn how to deal with group work situations better as I go. My game concept was the one we ended up picking to develop, so my role in this project is Lead Designer. However, the Producer has admittedly been very slow in his work and I've caught myself having to step in for him quite a bit. I'm not allowed the touch the cards the Producer is meant to write, but I often have to remind him of things, and I noticed that even after that some things are still not complete. I'm not sure of his personal circumstances, so I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt but it is frustrating for me personally. My other group member, our programmer, has also caused me a bit of frustration, as he focuses solely on his own work, and never gives any type of feedback on any other aspects. It's not too big of an issue, but something I've noticed that bothers me.

Aside from group stressors, since our group started late and is having issues with assigning cards, we haven't done much work on the electronic prototype yet. However, we did finish a rough paper prototype. The paper prototype consists of 4 maps, a score sheet, collectibles, enemy and player pieces, a d6 die, and a rule sheet. In our prototype, the player begins at the start of the map, and jumps from enemy to enemy until they reach the boss and are able to finish the level and move onto the next. They fight the enemies by rolling a d6 die to determine their dealt damage, while each enemy has a set amount of damage that they deal. The player begins with 6 health points, and can find healing collectibles around the map as well if they run low. I was in charge of creating the maps and enemy/player pieces. The maps I created also double as good concept art for the general layout of the maps we will end up creating in the electronic version.

Shown above are the maps that I designed for each of the 4 levels of our prototype. In order, they're called Wheat Whereabouts, Green Glacier, Cheesy Crossroads, and Patty Piazza. I wanted fun names that feel like they could be something out of a Nintendo style game, so I searched for words synonymous with some sort of location that began with the same letter as the first word I chose. I think using alliteration in titles like this is a really good tool to make something simple yet eye-catching.

Moving forward, I'm hoping I'll get a lot of work done building levels and menus for the electronic prototype and that things will go smoother and more quickly than this initial sprint.