Easter Break!

Easter Break begins today and will end with the All Fools Game Fair, an annual game design showcase of various course projects, including Pendulum Ascension, as well as other noteworthy projects. Over the last two weeks, the team's goal is to produce a playable version of the game for the fair in which to receive feedback from players. While we have not set an official feature lock, I decided to halt any additional feature until we implement the current features and if we still have time. I came to this decision Due to the amount of work building up for the programmers, as well as some problematic communication discrepancies. During the first week, I was absent from class as a blizzard stranded me back home, and thus missed out on important iteration planning. When the weather cleared and I made it back to campus, I began working on creating all the assets for the torch puzzle, the only task assigned to me. The problem, nobody made a list of what assets we needed for the puzzle, or even a clear explanation of how the puzzle worked. From the information available I knew we needed a torch rack, and an oil pit, though the description of the puzzle remained too vague and seemed to break the tower of Hanoi puzzle direction. I discussed the puzzle with others, and came up with several ideas similar to the original concept, yet worked around some of the issues I found with it, only to find out that there was communication problems between those designing the puzzle. For the time being I set that assignment aside until we figure out exactly what the puzzle is; however, I believe the assets are useable despite the confusion. This last week I began focusing on improving some of the other areas aside from the second floor which up to now was the center of attention. I began with environment outside the manor, a neglected and barren lawn, as there were few assets created for it. According to the feedback we have of the current state of the game, the grass texture appears "too happy" and out of place. I managed to create a new texture, though the process took longer and was more difficult than I expected. I wanted a grass tile that displayed more detail than a flat green tile, yet was not seriously obvious that it was tiled. It took several iterations to find a pattern that blended well and still retain a grassy texture. Thankfully, we decided the only visible section of the yard is the walkway up to the door, which greatly cuts down on the assets need. Tyler began working on the fence and gate around the mansion and I finished of the week with two leafless trees, which may or may not receive any.