Beginning at the End

We begin and end
Often blinded by closeness
But step back, and watch
- Random Haiku I came up with in 1 minute

And so another quarter quietly reaches its conclusion.  Perhaps the red trees in the tutorial reminded me of red Japanese maple, but I thought the haiku is quite fitting.

Throughout the quarter, there was so much we wanted to do but never had enough time to approach; the level never seemed quite done.  But now is a good time to stand back and see what we have accomplished and what we still have to do.

First, a chart of what we set out to accomplish and what we managed to accomplish.

According to this chart, we didn't seem to get as much done as we wanted, but note that the final column is Polish, which we wanted to leave until last, once everything is done.  Also, here's what an expanded list looks like:

This is a general overview of what the tutorial contains.  Each object on there can be expanded further and further, each with its own set of requirements.  Of course, looking at the overall picture, we still have so much to do that it can seem overwhelming.  Breaking it up like this, we can see that the small moving parts that are required to make the bigger picture are for the most part done. 

Now, let's see the difference between last quarter and this quarter.

The difference is clear and shows definite progress.  Of course, it always refreshing to step back and reflect on what has been done before planning out what is to be done.

Ironically, the title screen, the first thing the player would see, was left until last; and as a last minute announcement, the title screen came out relatively left field.  We thought that it was a "nice to have but not necessarily required" element by the end of the quarter and so put it off until the last minute. When it became somewhat expected, we had to whip up a title screen within one day or less.

The original idea was to have a static image with the the words "Press Start" as the title screen, but doing so at that point in time was impossible since the image would have to be designed, drawn, colored, shaded, and implemented.

Instead, I suggested using elements we already have to create a title screen.  One hour later, an interactable title screen is built.


Personally, I always find interactable menus charming, maybe not always the right choice, but at least the developers are trying to immerse the player into the world, even at the start.

When the player starts the game, it will fade into the scene you see above.  The player can move the character around and start learning how to interact with the world, even at the start screen.

So far, only the Start and Quit signposts work.  They will glow when the player is near them and pressing "A" or "spacebar" will activate them.  Start will fade out to black and lead the player to the first level.  Eventually, the idea would be to have some kind of transition.  Personally, I would like specific particles to play depending on the level loaded, such as falling leaves when entering a forest level, or bubbles when entering a water level.

Also, the title screen is not fully complete.  Ideally, there would be small interactable objects in the environment that would respond to the player's bullets.  This would help to teach the player how to play the game, even before the tutorial.

There is still plenty to be done, but that's a story for another time.  Until then...

What you've done 'til now
What you'll do to continue
Take pride in your own...
- Another Random Haiku in 1 minute

Wait... your "own" what?...