Hello everyone, my name is Dylan Levy-Gantt and I am the game designer on the CAGD 495 game, "Elementalist" and this will be the final entry in the devlogs for the production of the game. Over the course of this past 4 month semester, the amazing team and I have made a great game that we can show to friends and family to make them finally realize that all those days sitting in front of the computer was actually worth something. Something to be proud of. I am eager to share the finishing touches, the good, the bad, and the ugly of this entire process with you all. Without further ado, let's begin. 

WHAT  WE ACCOMPLISHED

- Up to 4 players can be on screen and interact with collectibles and enemies.

- 4 characters with unique abilities and animations.

- 4 unique, themed worlds.

- 5 rooms in each world that consist of lighting torches or killing enemies to progress.

- 2 unique enemy types.

- 8 unique enemy animations and textures.

- A save state so you can progress and come back to the game later.

- A complete menu system and volume sliders.

- Minimal UI that just shows main objective.

- Unique music and ability audio for each world and character.

In the time span we had to make this game, the feature list we were able to complete is absolutely awe-inspiring. This game simply would not be in the state its in without the energy, passion, and pride that this whole team had in the production of this game. I cannot thank everyone enough and we should all be immensely proud of the work done because this game turned out really great and fun. Now to dive a little deeper in the process of what made the game the way it is. Starting with what went wrong.

THE BAD

1. Pre-production and leadership

Okay so yes this one is entirely on me. To be brutally honest, I really didn't have everything fleshed out before production began. The design doc was missing features, there were additions to it that extended production by weeks at a time, and two people could read it and interpret two different things so the wording was a bit off... BUT, c'mon this is the first time I've ever been on a production team like this let alone have it be MY idea that everyone is working on okay so yes the start was rough but no pain no gain and it's safe to say I've learned my lesson about being more prepared in the art of creating a game.

Along side the reality of not even having the full game in mind during the pitch, the communication I needed to share with Billy, my producer was completely incorrect on my end. Again, to be brutally honest, I expected Billy to be in the position of "poking the bear", effectively leaving it up to him to make the game and consult me for features and gameplay. This was completely wrong. The game designer should work with the producer on day one to flesh out every single thing the game needs so production actually feels like a worthwhile expenditure. Since I essentially just threw myself at the game making process, I treated the process of sharing the leadership work the same. I sat by as the days continued knowing damn well the game wasn't fleshed out and that brought an unnerving anxiety that I never want to experience again. These miscommunications eventually snowballed into me going into some of our levels and physically moving them around without the consent of the level designers which is a game design sin. I'm forever glad I have been sent through this process because the amount of stuff I would do different is immeasurable. 

2. Understanding of Unity

Not gonna lie, I was completely unaware with the full extent of what Unity could do to speed up production. Looking back at the times we implemented animation, levels, programs, cameras, there is just infinite room for improvements which I will remember next time I work on a game. I don't know what it is but I feel like I just don't understand Unity as well as some of my friends in the class even though we have all shared the same classes in the major. The amount of time's I've asked a programmer if something is possible only to be met with a "...uh yeah that's how Unity works." is immeasurable. 

This class was the first time I've used Unity collab as well, the tool that allows multiple people to work on the same Unity project. I have lost count of the amount of times I had to ask questions on the simplest things but at the end of the day stupid questions is the reason I came to college, to learn. I was admittedly terrified to even start the process of setting up the collab and testing out the first assets because I assumed someone else would do it. That attitude is now far gone and I can gladly say that I have a much bigger appreciation for the work of every discipline.

3. Grabbing the bull by the horns

A moving production process without the people at the top having a clue of where it's going is kind of the most scariest thing I've ever been a part of. Problems will snowball, the amount of overtime you need to fix things increases, you play catch up, and then you feel like you want to give up. I want to go back in time and slap myself for the attitude I had but knowing myself, if I throw myself at something and go into it knowing what I knew by default, I usually learn a lot through the mistakes I make and this process was one giant lesson let me tell you. Eventually Billy and I grabbed a hold of the production pipeline and directed it in a better direction but it took too damn long and the results of that could've been catastrophic. 

Scope was an absolute travesty as well. I originally wanted bosses in the game and was intent on making that possible but we just didn't even plan for them in the backlog. Again, I want to slap myself for failing on that end so hard. I was able to quickly come up with a new direction to take the game since we had boss doors made so I showed the player that the door just goes to the next world. This "quick thinking" will get you fired in a real production process faster than you can snap a finger so I will always remember that as one of my biggest short comings.

THE GOOD

1. THE TEAM!!

I cannot overstate how talented and passionate everyone on this team is. The energy in class and on discord was unreal. Everyone was showing off work to one another, cheering each other on, and helping other disciplines during the production. I can confidently say that if one person was off this team, the state of the game would be a million times worse than where it is now. I 100% got the absolute best person in each discipline and that was a driving factor on my willingness to have everyone work on something that they could be proud of and use for portfolio work and resumes. The overtime, the quick fixes, and the willingness to do more for the game combined into an amazing environment that challenged everyone to be harder workers. 

I personally have made some great relationships in class and I love that I will be able to look back at what we all have done and remember such a fun time. When everyone around you is working so hard and passionately, it inspires some primal feeling to compete and produce some of the best work anyone has seen from you. It's truly a wonder and I'm forever grateful to even experience it let alone be a leader on the team. I've looked to so many colleagues for advice or questions and if they didn't know the answer, parts of this game would not exist.

2. The initial idea.

When I first pitched the game, I admittedly played to peoples nostalgia. We all miss those games that you can sit on a couch with your friends on and goof around in the level. Castle Crashers, Hotline Miami, Celeste. All great games that invoke a fun experience. This seemed to be the selling point for a lot of people. They miss these games too and I wanted to give them the opportunity to work on a game that makes them feel the way those other titles do. Did I have all the features fleshed out? Hell no. Did I have the art direction and game feel fleshed out? Actually yes. From the get go, I knew exactly how the cameras were supposed to show things on screen, how the player is supposed  to move and feel,  and I knew I wanted the player to feel like they are playing a swift, elemental being. With these pillars of the game so ingrained in my mind, I knew that this would keep me grounded for the development process.

These pillars also made the people who wanted to work on a game like this, show themselves to me and offered to work on the game beforehand. This sorted the crop even before I pitched and left me with an amazing team. These same people asked me about the design of the game during production, adding criticism when something didn't look or feel right which I value immensely. 

3. The game was simply fun to work on.

This is the most important thing to me. Making a project that eventually one day you would play yourself. This driving factor on the development process made those weekends working overtime worth it. I would routinely check the clock and realize that hours have passed while I just make world after world with the scenery given. This feeling is how you know you started a great project. Hearing that people on the team escaped their homework by working on the game made this process feel like a hobby which is kind of the best energy to have. Making games should be a fun time that you can enjoy with friends and family and this process was right up that alley. Programmers enjoyed implementing animations because the characters look so good after. The level designers liked making the levels they wanted to see in the game. The modelers enjoyed collaborating on the look of the players. 

Watching as the players on screen run around and use their abilities was just fun to play and tweak. I deeply enjoyed the process of finding the right valuable for the players speed and jumps to finally get the feel right. This process was tedious but I weirdly enjoyed it a lot. This feeling I got only cemented in my mind that I want to do this for a living and I can't thank Jeff and Dan enough for the guidance.

Okay Dylan, yeah that's all great but what did you LEARN?

APPRECIATE THE  PAIN OF CONSTANT PRODUCTION

There is always another deadline, another feature, another camera angle, another prefab, another bug, another error yada yada yada, but there WON'T always be another time you get to work with such great people. Appreciate the time you spend worrying about the next thing in the game because it simply means you care. My biggest fear is working on a project I don't enjoy working on and this project was nowhere near that. Every day felt like I had a chore list of stuff to do but when you hop on discord and work on problems with your friends in this collective space, it's the laughs when a new bug pops up, it's the "..uh are you awake?" on discord in the middle of a midnight crunch, it's the "Holy shit that looks so cool"'s you get from someone across the room that makes this whole process really worth it. During the process you have to be able to pull yourself out of your mind and take a step back at why you're even in the place you are right now.

ASK GOD DAMN QUESTIONS

This seems like a no brainer, but c'mon, sometimes it needs to be said. I throw myself at new experiences all the time but it's not worth anything if you don't put yourself in a position to learn. Asking questions put you in a mental state that digests information into your personality better than simply being told something. I don't care if I ask a programmer at 3 A.M. how I can fix a bug and he/she gets upset, I'm here to learn dammit! Admittedly, I should've asked Jeff or Dan more questions on my role as a game designer but I think that because I just assumed I knew what I was doing and being slapped in the face with reality, I now have a bar to compare future work to and I can't state how thankful I am for that.

THE GAME DESIGNER/PRODUCER IS AT THE SAME LEVEL AS ANY OTHER DISCIPLINE

Through this process I routinely made it clear that this was my first time doing something like this and was going to ask questions for every discipline. What I think this did was bring everyone to the same level, yes I probably worked harder than other disciplines but who cares I accepted this role and will see it through. This mindset allowed others to see me as an equal and would treat me the same as any other friend which I appreciated. I never want to come off as the A-hole boss even though I can and will if necessary. I am glad I could work along side my friends and be seen as such as well. 

TALK TO YOUR PRODUCER!

Yes, lesson learned guys, I know I know, I'm stupid for even assuming things would just happen correctly and I could just sit back and watch it. Yeaaaaa no. I made a big mistake waiting for so long on this project to work with Billy because he really is a great guy and we could've made an even more amazing product. For future titles and projects, the planning for the entire process must be done as soon as you have the teammates that fit the roles. I'm glad to have met Billy and hopefully we can work together in the professional world.

ALL IN ALL

Wow okay, deep breath in here. 

This class was amazing. The people I've met, the production process of a game, the knowledge of every discipline, the late nights, the early mornings, the weekend meetups. I can confidently say that this is the most important class I've taken in college and I can appreciate the fact that I was one of 2 games chosen out of 7 to see my idea fleshed out. Having people believe in your vision and working collectively to get it done brings a genuine tear to my eye. I was really able to use my charisma and public speaking abilities to weasel my way in to a game designer role while having no prior experience in any of these responsibilities. I appreciate the criticisms on my style, the game, my personality, the process itself and everything in between. I can't thank Jeff and Dan enough for believing in my idea for a game and I can't thank the team enough for being such troopers during the process. The game we made is so fun and full of energy and with any other team it wouldn't be so.

So for everyone on the Elementalist Team, this is big boss D signing out.

Until next time,

THANK YOU!