Hello for the last time from the Production Side of Trapped!

Let's go ahead and get into the meat and potatoes of it all!

What went right?

In terms of what went right, Zachary and I discussed some of the things that we felt were the most successful when going through the creation of the game. First, we really pride ourselves on task completion per sprint.  This allotted for extra features that we didn't think we could get into the game and it also came with extra polish that we could put onto the final build of the game.

The next area that we feel that we really excelled at was the overall aesthetic that we got in the game. Though both Zachary and I realized that this was the vision that we had from the start, we had trouble verbalizing exactly what it was that we wanted. When we ended up being able to somewhat figure out how to say those things, our 3D art team took it and ran. 

The last thing that we felt was really successful for this game was the team dynamic that we created.  With this came lots of good collaboration efforts both on a team level, such as  Level Designers and our 3D Artists, as well as inter-discipline with Wesley and Alexander working on the Character Customization Screen. The other way that we were able to maintain this positivity was with our weekly "gold star" that we would award to one team member for doing outstanding work that week/sprint. It sounds like kindergarten, but it encouraged our team members to do well and give them the credit that they deserved.

What went not so right?

I don't think that any project would be complete if there weren't a few issues that came in during the process. This was no exception for our game. 

The very first thing that went not so right was our sprint pacing. What we mean by this is that within specific sprints, work would not always be getting done consistently and be held off until the end of the sprint. This then meant late nights, overwriting of other people's work, mistakes due to lack of concentration, as well as lack of sleep. No one loves to crunch, but when you have a deadline, you do what needs to be done. Unfortunately, as it always happens, crunch does not always produce positive results. The other issue with sprint pacing was not just iner-sprint, but also for the flow of tasks over the whole game. Inconsistency led to a miscalculation of sprint/point average which then meant needing to recalculate what everyone could do each sprint.

The next thing that went not so right was team communication; it had a lot to do with who was working on what. Specifically, in Github, many times when two people would be working on the same thing, conflicts would pop up in Github when people went to push their changes. This then led to some breaking, reverting, and headaches. The other things with communication were with the virtual environment. Needing to wait for responses from people can be detrimental to task flow and lead to miscommunication. It is so much easier to hear from people directly to know what they are working on or to walk over to their desk and ask for assistance.

Lastly, the thing that we identified as going not so right was the overall plan for the game. Initially, we had set our scope to be a lot smaller than we should have which then led to not only an ETA miscalculation of when we would be done with our game but also a reconfiguration of what we wanted to put in the game for the final product. 

What would we do differently?

Even when things do not go so right, this means that there is room for improvement! If we were to do it all again, there are a few things that Zachary and I realized that we could do to be a little bit more successful. 

Initially, our first goal is to think bigger. We both realized that to fix the scope problem, we just need to think bigger when we start! Think of all the things ever that you want in the game and write them down. When brainstorming, there really is no wrong answer. If it doesn't get in the game, it's not a big deal! 

The next thing that we would do is be a little bit more critical. Sometimes when deadlines are a thing, you have to push things forward. This is not the best practice and we are aware of that. It can lead to re-doing work and deleting things that were already made. It's not a real nice morale booster. That being said, we want to make sure that our vision is so crystal clear and we stick to it the whole time. Without that vision, the game is a little bit off the rails.

Lastly, Zachary and I want to enforce deadlines a little bit harder. You want all these things in the build, but they need to be there when we say so. The other thing that sort of falls under that umbrella of pushing is pushing people to do their best. It's not that we didn't get good work, it is that we didn't always push people to do just a little bit more. Our team was awesome and we think that if we had pushed them just a little bit more, we would have had not only an excellent product but an extraordinary product.

What would we do again?

If Zachary and I were to do it all over again, there are definitely things we wouldn't change. There were things that went right this semester and we want to credit those things.

Having the gold star is 100% something we would do again. This not only led to people wanting it and providing good work, but it gave recognition to those that needed it and made sure to keep the team morale up. Though some days it became a joke, it really was vital to the success of our team.

We also would like to pride ourselves on our logistical organization. Whether it was spreadsheets, Google docs, notepads, sticky notes, or Trello cards, Zachary and I had everything documented and documented again. We loved that we were so organized with things because it made sure that we were keeping track of all the important things. Another huge success that we had was our Trello labels. With these in place, we could find all the cards we need, sort through them easily, and show us all the things that we needed to see when we needed to see them. There is so much information always flying around, so keeping track of it all is a miracle.

The last thing that we wanted to do again was to push team comradery. We love the environment that we made for our team members and we want that for any and all teams that we have in the future. I love that Zachary has the same passion that I do for positive team dynamics and with the two of us, I think it made for good leadership within the team.

 What did we learn?

Oh, the joys of learning. I love new experiences because you get to learn things that you didn't always know before. I think that learning is growing and if you are always wanting to learn more, you will never stop growing. There were definitely points and things that Zachary and I learned through this experience.

First and foremost, Zachary and I learned the importance of lead to lead communication as well as lead to team communication. It was one of our goals to make sure we were transparent with our team. We wanted to keep everyone on the same page and keep everyone up to date with the vision that we had. In terms of lead to lead communication, there were very few days where Zachary and I would not talk. This not only led to making sure that I knew what was going on in his head to match the vision of the game, but it also led to having someone to lean on in this stressful process that understood what I was going through.

We also learned the importance of maintaining good team dynamics. It can be so tricky to make sure that people are happy with the environment that they are in as well as diffuse tension where it is. These things, however, are super important to make sure that your team is doing well. If they are not doing well mentally, asking for work can be a not-so-great experience.

Another thing that Zachary and I learned was how to verbalize things. At the beginning of this, both he and I had such an issue trying to tell people what we wanted. We could both see it in our heads, but words were so hard for us.  As time went on, we both figured out how to tell people what we wanted and lead them to success.

Lastly, we figured out how to make a game with a team. Both Zachary and I had been on a team making a game, but we had never been the ones leading the team and making the game. These were a lot of lessons in coordination as well as task and resource management. It is one big balancing act, but through it all, we had each other's backs and that is all I could ever really ask for.

Things We Are Super Proud Of

At the end of the day, we are so happy with our final product and even more proud of our team and all that they accomplished. We could not have done this without them and their amazing work. There are a few things that we believed really deserved a special shout-out because they exceeded any and all expectations that we had.

First were the character models. Not only did we have one, but we had two and Vanessa knocked it out of the ballpark. She was able to take the concepts that Zachary and I made and turn them into something that perfectly matched our vision and the overall mood of the game.

Then there was the Character Customization Screen. This was something that we didn't even think was possible, but it was the collaborative efforts of Wesley and Alexander, Vanessa, and, our all-star, Atley for getting all the great things that the player has the opportunity to unlock and play with.

In comes the Main Menu. We are so happy with how it turned out and that is thanks to Shawn. We told Shawn that we wanted a 3D Main Menu and he initially looked at us like we were nuts. He, however, made it happen.  His product exceeded all expectations and made for the perfect mood when the player starts the game.

Last and certainly not least, the modifiers in the game were our favorite. Zachary and I each have our favorites, but these would not be possible without the exceptional work of Dylan. He took the vision that Zachary had and made it happen. 

Final Good-byes

This semester was really an exceptional experience. I had not intended to be in the place that I am right now and I most certainly did not plan to be leading a team this semester. Would I change that experience? Absolutely not. I could not have asked for a better Game Designer than Zachary and I could not have wished for a better team. 

With that, this is it! Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me and my team and I cannot wait to share with you more experiences (hopefully) in the future of game development. Be sure to go play Trapped!

-We Need More Walls Inc.