Idle Assembly

PLAY IDLE ASSEMBLY (ANDROID ONLY)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Enginseers.IdleAssembly

POST MORTEM

This semester, my team and I had worked on into developing our mobile game called Idle Assembly. In this game, you must develop a factory from the ground up with various modules, building out an assembly line to further develop and refine your product. Doing so lets you acquire more and more cash, allowing you to develop and expand your factory with newer and better parts. While this progress has had its ups and downs, in the end we were able to successfully made not just a finished game, but also published game on Google Play. Not only did I took part as the Producer, but also a Modeler, Graphic Designer, and SFX Artist.

So what went right? As the producer of the game, I was able to assigned my team with enough tasks in order to make sure our game is polished and playable. Not only that, I was able to published the game through the each stages of development: Beta, Alpha, and Release. I helped model and texture the modules for the game. I also took part in creating the design of our title as well as creating custom buttons and panels for our game as well as creating SFX audio and music. Things are the tasks that I was able to implement into the game. However, there are some parts that I wasn't able to implement.

The things that went wrong into development was miscommunication. During development, some tasks were made in the beginning in hopes that it was implemented into the game. One of which is that some of the modules are planned to be animated.

While the modules were animated, there was a lack of communication of when do we add them in. By the time we reached the end of our last sprint, we realized that there wasn't enough time to add them into the game. Because of this, they must be scrapped. There was also a remodeled Packager in the game, but was also scrapped due to time constraints.

While the game turned out fine, I hope to wish to add something more for time. As producer, I wished to communicate these issues to my team early on instead of last minute, so that these tasks wouldn't be scrapped in the first place.

BLOG POST 6

In this sprint, I had assigned 50 points in this Sprint Kick Off. For two weeks, I had been working on rendering the final art for the title, poster, graphic and icon as well as creating audio and custom UI buttons. For this beta build, I had assigned my lead designer to continue improving the gameplay mechanics as well as updating the conveyer belt mechanic as well. For my programmer, I assigned her to implement the audio into the game as well as updating the UI panels.

Before rendering, my only experience when it comes to rendering titles is simply adding gradient textures. However, I learned that there are other alternatives to make the render look better which is known as Blend Option. Learning about this, I used Blend Option to make the title to have some sort of a three-dimensional shape as well as making shadows around the title to make it pop out more. For the Assembly font, I created Outer and Inner Glow to make it look like the word is branded. 

After rendering the title, I started working on creating the Poster. I was trying to figure out how to display what would tell people what the game is about. I tried different perspectives of the factory, but ended up not the way I wanted to be. But I did ended up having the floor pan down to get a good look at the models. That was when decided to have I created shapes to model the modules that we used for the game. The only change is the package machine. The reason for that is because my lead designer wasn't able to find a way to make the original package machine work in the game, we decided to remodel it for the better. 

Second image was the rendered graphic. I simply reuse the background and models from the poster and insert it in the graphic as well as the title.

For the Icon, I once again reused the conveyer belts as the background and of course use the title.

After I finished rendering the images, I move focused on making the background audio for the game. I started off with music first and used inspiration from Planet Coaster to try to achieve the calm ambience while still being industrial. I had cymbals that sounds like someone's hammering in the background as well as some beats that resemble machinery. Once I got the background music, I moved onto creating factory ambience. I brought a couple of friends of mine to orchestrate crowd noises as if the factory is busy. Once that was done, I started using folly sounds like banging a pan, scraping the side of the air conditioner, and using a bike pumper to sound more like a factory. 

Last but not least, I created UI buttons for the game. Using the same method I used when making the title, this time I draw some of them out. For the panels, I had to start from scratch by making it look more industrial as well. While they were great, however my lead designer had rehauled the UI and some of the buttons will most likely be replaced or removed. 

This sprint had been challenging, especially once we started our Beta Playtest. When we had some classmates play the game, the game ended up not working and playable. Because of this issue, we had to delay the playtest to a day. Luckily my programmer and I were able to round up a few friends of ours to playtest our game as well as some classmates as well. Together we were able to get 8 playtesters which was all we needed. All of them enjoyed the aesthetics of the game as well as the audio. They also enjoy the gameplay to an extent as well with a few bug issues.

The last week had been stressful but we managed to pull through and we hope to get past these issues aside for our last sprint. 

BLOG POST 5

In this sprint, I had assigned 46 points in this Sprint Kick Off. For two weeks, I had been working on animating the smelter and refinery and had been re-texturing the models. In order for the game to be more polished, I tasked my lead designer to rework the grid mechanics of the game while also debugging errors as well. As for my programmer, I tasked her to continue working on the time tracking mechanic while also to set up a camera view of the factory while the player is looking through the shop UI. 

The first week I started off with animating the refinery as it is simple to do. All I need to do is to rotate the cylinder in a 360 angle and all is done. The smelter on the other hand is a little bit complicated, but still simple to do.

Because the smelter is modeled in which the conveyer belt must be on the same level, I had to animate it in which where the smelter would lower for the ores to enter, scoop them up, smelt them, and place them in the iron cast. Once the ingot is solidified, the cast will rotate to drop the ingot onto the conveyer belt. The only issue I ran into when animating the smelter, is timing the animation. Sometimes the cauldron would go too fast or the cast gets delayed or it rotates too early. Once that is fixed, I moved on to texturing.

The second week I started texturing the conveyer items. I textured the ore to look natural, the refined ores to look rough, and the ingots to look more polished. As for the package, I used a cardboard material for it and duplicate the same material to be more reflective so that it could look like the package is taped. 

For the reason for retexturing the models once more, excluding the conveyer belts, is to make the models more noticeable and popped out more. Because my lead designer prefer the yellowish color for one of the textured models, I textured the rest with the same color. 

Due to the Beta Build, we are working hard into creating not only just working game mechanics, but also a playable game. In the meantime, we have a couple of people outside of class to playtest our beta build. Also to make sure we move away from a prototype, we planned to add audio, custom buttons, and a fully render title, graphics and poster for the next build. 

BLOG POST 4

In this sprint, I had assigned 33 points in the Sprint Kick Off. This sprint, I had been modeling items that will be placed on the conveyer belts and heavily focused on texturing the first three models: the conveyer belt, refinery, and smelter. This sprint also included publishing the Alpha Build, which was a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be. For the rest of the team, I tasked my lead designer to continue creating the in-game currency generation, fix some issues from our last sprint, and implementing rotation to the building mechanic. For my programmer, she was tasked to create descriptions for each modules, implementing game instructions, creating a storage system, implementing time tracking for the players, and writing loops for resources.

Starting off with the items, they are gonna be implemented onto the conveyer belts. In each modules they go into, they transform, turning into different items. Because of this, I had been modeling four items: Ores, Refined Ores, Ingots, and Packages. I started off with the package model as a simple start. I kept extruding the cube to create the look of a box and extruded a strip to create as if the box was taped. As for the ingot and the refined ores, I simply reshaped the cube to make it look like an ingot. Once that was done, I duplicated six times and reshaped each of them. And finally to create the Ores, I started off with a sphere, cut it half way, and reshaped it to look like a rock. After that, I choose certain faces on the rock to create ores sticking out of the rock.

Now after modeling, I put my focus onto texturing, starting with the refinery. Since My lead designer asked me to make the texture to be simple, I did my best to follow that objective. From many references of indoor refinery, they looked be brass and yellowish, but the center model is greyish. So, I had the texture replicating the colors. I kept the "doorway" black to indicate that items can go through it. 

Once the refinery was done, I textured the smelter next. I simply create different metal textures for each parts of the models. However, I added an extra material for the spot below the cauldron, which would be emissive giving off that it is heating the cauldron.

I finally worked on texturing the conveyer belt. The color are simple to do so I was able to textured them with ease. To give it more detail I added bars on the side of the belt and finished the rest in photoshop.

Publishing the Alpha Build was surprisingly time-consuming than I thought it would be. At first I thought it would be like the last build which is just published and be done with it. However I didn't realize that not only did I need to publish it, but also I need to add in screenshots, a Youtube gameplay, graphics designs, and more. Despite completing this sprint with 20 points, we got enough work done and hopefully we would work harder for the next sprint.

BLOG POST 3

In this sprint, I had assigned 40 points in the Sprint Kick Off. I had been working on two models and a couple of posters for the game. This also includes publishing our first electronic build for playtesters. As for the rest of the team, I had my lead designer tasked with implementing mobile controls for the game and have the players to create currency and income including having a display of them. For my programmer, I had them focus on the UI interface, adding images of the modules on the factory menu and creating a playable build.

So my first task was to create both the start and the end of the assembly line. The idea behind for the end of the assembly is how packages are being delivered. That is when the items will be placed in the back of the truck and be shipped to somewhere where it belongs. I started off with modeling the garage where the truck should be. Once that's done I added the back of the truck. Since the players would only see the back, modeling the rest of the truck wouldn't be necessary. Once the end of the assembly line was done, I continue with the start of the assembly line. Looking through references, the ones that kept repeating are the slope entrances where the items falls through onto the conveyer belt. So I began modeling it starting with where the items should spawn. Then I build my way to build that said slope and angle it where the conveyer belt should be. To add in the realism, I added support beams to the entrance.

Before moving on to the second model, I had to publish the electronic build which was due on the first week of the sprint. So I had my team to try to get the game to be playable before it can get published. At the same time, I had to make three temporary posters for the build as well: Main Poster, Graphic, and Game Icon. I started off with a working sketch of the title and had it drawn to fit the vibe of the game. After that I created a couple of conveyer belts and a bunch of items place on it to portray what the game is about. Since this is just a placement poster, I don't need to create a finalized look of the poster.

The next placement poster was the graphic. This was supposed to where the game would be featured in the Google Play Store. What I did was first added in the title. Then I reused one of the conveyer belts and place it in front. I then duplicated it and place a couple as a background.

The last poster was the game icon. This would be seen on the phone home screen when the players downloaded our game. This was also the easiest to do. All I did was have the title to be huge and have a couple of conveyer belts be placed in the background. 

Once my team was able to get everything to work in the build, my programmer was able to create the electronic build and send it to me. That way I will be able to publish the build into Google Play. What we had for the electronic build was a working gameplay mechanic. However there are no goals or objectives for the players at the time, our build is entirely focused on gameplay. So we had 10 playtesters and the results were mostly positive. Everyone enjoyed the camera movement, the controls are easy to use, and the building mechanics were good. However there were bug issues with the building mechanic, including modules flying after being placed. Not only that the UI interface was improperly placed. Due to the criticism, I had both my Lead Designer and Programmer to fix these issues.

The last thing I did this sprint was the crate machine. This would be for packaging the items once they are finished being refined. I had a lot of issues finding references for the machine. Some were relied on humans to package the items and some were so complicated to be modeled. Instead, I based the design off of a somewhat workable surgery machine created by Michael Reeves. Instead of a knife, it would be a box in which it would place over the item while it is still moving. once it is ready, the box would be lift up and a packaged item appeared in place.

Despite our current velocity being ahead of our ideal velocity, we didn't complete enough points in this sprint. For the next two or four weeks, I plan for us to work through these two sprints in order to not only have a playable build, but also a build that has an objective in which the players should continue playing the game. 

BLOG POST 2

This week had been busier than last sprint as we focused solely on our electronic build. As a producer, I had to assign 35 points of work for this sprint. 20 of which were completed by the end of Sprint 2. In the meantime, I had been modeling two designs for the refinery and the smelter. Not only that, they will be animated as well in the near future. While we managed to get through 20 points of work, there had been complications with one of my group members.

First thing I did was work on assigning my team some points. I had my programmer continue working on the UI interface, especially creating a shop system and a factory menu for the player. As for the lead designer, I gave him the task to work on the gameplay mechanic, specifically adding and placing buildings using a grid system. As for me, I assigned myself to model both the smelter and the refinery. Over time some of the backlog cards wouldn't make sense to the point where we must get rid of some of the cards that are either unnecessary or something we have already done. Once I was done with assigning the cards, I began focusing my work on two models.

Starting off, I worked on the refinery. Originally, the refinery looked to be more like a factory with pipes. However, after learning that the game will take place inside of the factory, I had to remodel the refinery. This model is based on a real life version of an indoor refinery with some liberations. Those liberations are the opening slots of where the ores should enter. I thought it was a better and simpler way to address how the ores get refined. It was also originally supposed to be high poly, but due to the game being a mobile game, it would be low-poly instead. This model will be animated later on hence why the cylinder part of the refinery is through the grid. The next model I worked on was simple to work on, it was more trying to figure out how to animate it.

The next model I worked on is the smelter. Figuring out the concept of the smelter was difficult. Since the conveyor belts cannot be angled and must be in a straight line, there was no way for the items to be moved into the cauldron. So I had a solution, which is for the cauldron to move back for the ores to enter it, turn enough for the ores to be smelted, and pour the melted ores into a cast. 

During the last week of Sprint 2, there was an issue with one of my group members. Apparently, due to an ear infection, he wasn't able to do his remaining cards. So we both have been communicating with each other since then so he was able to catch up finishing up the cards. The results ended up being successful as not only he made the gameplay mechanic to successfully work but also able to complete 9 points of work. I was really impressed with how much work he has done despite having such a limited amount of time. 

For the past two weeks, we got a lot of work done before and thanks to the gameplay mechanic, it went along successfully. However this week would be a lot busier as we are required to upload our electronic build through Google Play. Meaning that not only we need a playable build, but also require a poster and screenshots of the game.

BLOG POST 1

For this assignment, I had to work on a mobile game. This would be the first time developing a game for a handheld device. This game would be developed by a group of three. Not only that this would be the first time I took a role of a producer but still be modeling for the game as well. I usually keep an eye on the group to see if my team are on task while also giving them tasks through Trello. 

I first tasked the programmer to work on the mockup of the shop menu and the buttons for the player to use. For the Lead Designer of the game, I gave them tasks to create a paper prototype, an isometric camera view and the basic controls of the game. As for myself, I was tasked to work on the low-poly model of a conveyer belt and helped out with the design of the paper prototype. In total, we were given 21 points of work for this Sprint. 

While I'm not producing, I have been modeling a low-poly conveyer belt. While the body of the model was simple to model, I have a problem aligning with the plates on the conveyer belt as I have a difficult time fitting them in the appropriate places. So I had to manually placed them. There were also some concern with me and the lead designer about having the belt to be animated as well. But for now, the belt is done. 

Another task I worked on was with the Lead Designer on creating the paper prototype. While the designer worked on the rule sheet, I worked on the design of the prototype with the guidance of the designer. Luckily we haven't run into any problems when it comes to working on the prototype. Once the prototype is done, I printed and cut out the pieces. 

This sprint has been pretty slow so hopefully we might get things done once we switch to sprint 2.