IS480 Team wiki: 2010T2 CrusNitor MidTerm
Contents
Project Progress Summary
The following are the chronicles of our IS481 journey up till the mid terms.
Project Highlights
Steep Learning Curve
We had underestimated the initial time we needed to learn and get fully accustomed with the programming language of Objective C. Initially we had estimated that we will need about 2 weeks to master the language. However, we took about 5 weeks to grasp the basics and concepts of Objective C. The difficulty arises from stark difference between the syntax of Objective C and Java, the language we are most familiar with. Further complicating the learning process was due to the fact that we also had to learn the frameworks of OpenGL and later on Cocos2D.
Freelance Designers for Game Art
One of the most major concerns of our project was the apparent problem of not having any graphic designers in the team. This is a critical area as besides the game play, the aesthetics of the game also forms a major component and attractiveness of any games. We are fortunate enough to link up with a group of freelance designers. They were kind enough to design and develop the animation for our game characters for free, on the condition that they are entitled to the ownership of the game assets. Thus we developed an agreement where we will own the codes of the games and will feature a credit page within the game to give the designing team the due recognition for the game art.
Increased risk in terms of schedule and project control
While the collaboration with the freelance design team was a boon for us, it also presented us with increased risks. We have to re-factor our timeline and produce a more agile development schedule. This is because the game art and asset production takes time. This means that we have to possess the flexibility of working on other aspects of the game while waiting for the assets to be produced. Subletting the asset development out to the design team also means that we have increased the risk of not having full control over one of the main aspects of game development. As such, we will have to take this new risk into account and come out with mitigation strategies.
Project Management
Project Status
Features | Status | Confidence Level | Comment |
Wireless connectivity | Fully deployed and tested | 1 | May install a heartbeat mechanism to enhance it. |
Directional-Pad | Fully deployed and tested | 1 | |
Primary attack | In progress 10% | 0.9 | |
Special ability | In progress 5% | 0.8 | |
Artificial Intelligence | In progress 15% | 0.8 | |
Game score | Not yet started | 0 | |
Health | Started 5% | 0.2 | |
Basic UI Server-side | In progress 10% | 0.8 |
Project Schedule (Planned Vs Actual)
Among the main realizations that we have made is that the development of the game artificial intelligence (AI) and game physics will have to be developed incrementally as the project progresses. This is very different from our initial conceptualization where we figured that we can develop these two components in a one-time off basis. These components will be continually build upon and revisited at the start of other iterations so as to ensure that the development is in line with our vision for the final game product.
Iteration | Feature | Planned Date | Actual Date | Comments |
Construction Iteration 2 | Milestone First Playable Version | 11 Feb 2011 | 25 Feb 2011 | Delays in game asset production |
Construction Iteration 2 | Game AI Development | 28 Jan 2011 | 14 Mar 2011 | Development will be ongoing instead of one-time off task. Will be revisited at the start of each iteration. |
Construction Iteration 2 | Game Physics Development | 8 Feb 2011 | 14 Mar 2011 | Development will be ongoing instead of one-time off task. Will be revisited at the start of each iteration. |