https://douglasdickson.itch.io/fmp2-prototype
In this project I set out to create a demo level for a top down shooter set during WW2 were the players objective is to defeat the enemies and collect plans at the end of the level and can use a multitude of weapons to do this another consideration I kept in mind whilst making this level demo was my design focus as I had a had decided on a main design focus of making the player feel powerful. I feel that I have been successful in achieving this as I was able to create a playable level demo with all that I wanted to include in the level as well as being able to successfully implement my design focus of creating a sense of power for the player. The feedback that I have received from ongoing testing that I have conducted throughout this project also re-enforces the fact that I have been able to execute my design focus well as people stated that the player felt powerful. Overall from what I have been able to do and what other people have said about the project I feel I have been very successful in executing my design focus.
Strengths:
After looking back at what I have produced I feel that one strength would be the weapons as I was able to create a wide array of weapons that all worked really well with the gameplay and can be used for different playstyles I am proud of this aspect of my game demo as it is something I feel that I have done well as well as being something that people pointed out in testing that I have talked about previously. Another strength that I can point out from this project is the graphics as I feel that they work really well with the game, help the player to identify what things are, stay in a style that is consistent and look nice and presentable I also feel that the graphics went well as it is some thing that people pointed out as something they enjoyed about the game during the various stages of testing for my game and I feel that the graphics for this game look a lot better than any I have done previously in other projects. Another thing that I feel is a strength about this is the way that I have been able to present the game on my itch page as I feel I was able to create a good and presentable itch page with different screenshots of sections of the level, a unique banner as well as al the information the player will need and although the page is simple I really feel that it works very well as a page that people will enjoy and a page that is presentable. Another strength for this project would be the audio for all of the weapons in the game I feel that this is a strength is the fact I was able to source and edit sounds that are good and clear that provide not only a sense of uniqueness to each weapon but also are sounds that are accurate to each weapon portrayed as I made sure to only source sounds for the gun from clips of that gun firing. It also seems that players enjoy the sounds of the weapons as it is something that people talked about as something that they had enjoyed about the game in some of the testing that I had conducted of the game.
Weaknesses:
Although I feel I got the sound as good as possible in some areas such as the weapons this did not leave me with enough time to source sound effects for other areas in the game such as item pick up’s and enemies which were lacking as they do not have sound at all which I feel really detracts from the level of immersion I had with the rest of the game and adds to a sort of incomplete feeling in the audio of the game although it is not something people seemed to pick up on in testing feedback I still feel that it is a problem with the product overall. A weakness that a group of people pointed out to me was that the controls were not the best they could have been and that controller support would have been a good idea although I did not have the time to do this as I would have had to create controller binds for all of the guns in the game, interactable and grenades and because I did not have enough time to do this it left the game weaker as it did not have multiple options of control for people who struggled to use the keyboard and mouse controls.
Production Reflection:
Overall I feel that this project has been a success even though it has not turned out 100% to my liking as I have been able to achieve what I set out to do in creating a working level demo that gives the player a sense of power and overall is in a state that I can say that I am very happy with and feel proud of. Another reason I feel that this project was a success is the fact that other people seemed to enjoy as in the feedback from testing sessions of my game people enjoyed my game in a lot of its aspects such as the gameplay, the graphics and the sound and I feel that I can say that each of these aspects and the game it’s self were a success as the level demo is something that people really seemed to enjoy playing through. One thing that I have learnt about this project is to spread my time equally across different parts of the project as when working on the sound for the game I spent too much time on sourcing and editing the sound for the guns I did not have enough time to source or edit any other sounds for the game. I feel that if I were to work on another project I would take what I have learnt from this project to help me to not make these same mistakes as I would try to make sure I spread my time in a way that lets me complete everything that I need to do even if it means cutting down on the standard of some aspects.
Conclusion:
In conclusion I think this project has been a success although there have been some parts that I would say have not gone as successfully as they could have despite this I feel it is a success as I have been able to create a game that works, keeps to my design focus and is to a level that I am happy with and that other people are happy with.
Doug's Game Blog 