One camera angle I opted to try out above the entire course giving the player a birds eye view I think this camera angle would work well for the courses as it gives the player a lot of information on the course and can help them to decide the best rout to take although it would limit the sizes of course I could create as the whole course would have to be visible to the player which means I would have to zoom out for larger courses which could cause problems for the visibility of the ball.
Another camera angle I tried was high up behind the ball as I feel if the camera were to follow the ball this would solve the problem that I had with the last camera angle which would have limited the size of the course I could create I also feel this camera angle gives the player an excellent view of the course around them so they will be able to make informed decisions of the best rout to take through the course.
Another camera angle I tried was this one were the camera was behind the ball on a parallel angle I feel this camera angle would work quite well if the camera was to fallow the ball as it would give a clear view of the course although one problem with this camera angle is that the directional arrow for the ball is obscured if it is in front of the ball which would cause issues as it needs to be visible to the player when they are choosing the direction of their shot in order for them to do it accurately.
After experimenting with the camera angle for the ball I tried experimenting with the values for the mass and drag to see if I could get the ball to feel smoother to control. Here are the results:
One way I set up the Mass and drag with with mass being one and the drag being 0.5 these values for the mass and drag work quite well for the ball as it allows for easy control of the ball as you can make fine movements at a low power when hitting but still send it quite far at a high power.
Another way I tried setting up the mass and drag was by halving both of them so that the values were 0.5 for mass and 0.25 for drag it allows the ball to be hit very far at high powers but at low powers you cant make fine adjustments as the ball travels very slowly for a long time.
This time I tried setting the mass back to 1 but still with the drag at 0.25 as I thought this would allow for better control over the ball at low powers which it did but not to the extent that I thought it would as it would still slide for a long time after a low power shot but these values still allowed the ball to be sent a fair distance when hit at a high power.
This time I tried setting the drag back to 0.5 but kept the mass at 0.5 which allowed the ball to be hit far at a high power and allowed for fine movements at low powers changing the drag of the ball to a higher value seemed to fix the issue of the ball sliding very slowly for a long time after a low power shot.
This time I kept the mass at 0.5 but changed the drag to 1 as I found out from my last two values having a higher drag seems to stop the ball sliding slowly for a very long time after a low power shot which proved true when I tested a low power shot with these values these values allowed for a high powered shot to go quite far but not as far as the previous values I tried but allowed for excellent control of the ball for fine adjustments.
Another way I tried setting the mass and drag up was keeping the drag at 1 but changing the mass to 0.25 as I thought that this would make it easier for the ball to be sent a fair distance with a high power shot which seemed to work as these values allowed for the ball to be sent a fair distance at a high power and also allowed for excellent control over the ball for fine adjustments at low power shots. I feel that this setup for the ball might be the one I work with for my game.
Another thing I tried experimenting with after experimenting with the mass and drag was experimenting with the size of the ball. Here are the results:
Having the scale set to a value of 2 allowed for smooth control over the ball such as being able to control fine movements at low powers but still being able to take big shots at a high power and was easily visible to the player.
This time I tried setting the scale of the ball to the value of 1 which made the ball much faster at high powers than when I had set the scale to a value of 2 but still left a surprising amount of control at a low power although it was no where near as much fine control I had over the ball when I had it set to a size value of 2. This size for the ball was still easily visible for the player.
After trying the ball with a scale value of 2 and a scale value of one and seeing the benefits and drawbacks I decided to see what would happen if I tried a scale value of 1.5 as it was the middle ground between the two having this value worked quite well as it allowed for the ball to be sent a fair distance but not as much as to when I had the value set to one and still allowed for easy control over fine movements at low powers but not to the same extent as when the scale was set to 2. This size for the ball was still easily visible for the player.
I fell that overall the experimentation with my game went well as I found out a lot more than I once knew about unity and also found some great results that have changed the way the game will be made. The experimentation also helped to make the ball feel better to control as it no longer slides for a long time after it has stopped moving and is also now a better size for the course
Game details grid:
| Overall Game Theme: Western theme | Main Mechanics of the game: stroke count power meter directional arrow par score |
| Individual Hole Themes: cow town cattle drive gold rush | Position of the Game Camera: behind the ball |
| Player Experience: A challenging mini golf experience with 3 unique holes | Additional Possible Mechanics: Time limit |
| Features of the in game UI: Power meter stroke count par score | Features of the Main Menu Screen: Hole selection Ball colour selector |
Asset List
| 3D Models |
| Cow Town Buildings Tumble weed Cows Horse Cow Town Sign Rocks Cacti Crates Pickaxe Gold Ore Cave Mine-cart |
| Skybox(s) |
| Day Night |
| UI Elements |
| Main menu Power Meter Stroke counter Par score |
| Textures |
| Sand Texture Cave Texture |
Above I have listed the assets that I will need for my game which I have split into 3D models, skyboxs, UI elements and textures I feel that what I have written in these lists will be all I need
Level Layout:
In the image above I have planned out the ideas for the courses for that I will make the course labeled with the number 1 is a straight forward hole with only one obstacle which is a moving tumbleweed I have decided to do this as it is the first course that the player will play so I have made it simple so the player can get a feel for how the ball moves in a simple environment.
The course labeled with the number 2 is a course that is a bit more complicated I have done this as the player will be more familiar with how the ball moves and so they would be able to navigate a more complex course with obstacles that they will have to navigate their way around.
The course labeled with the number 3 is a complicated course with many obstacles such as rocks, moving mine-carts ,cacti, crates and a cave I have done this as the player will be fairly confident in how the ball works and moves so this course should provide a course that is quite challenging for the player to complete.
3D model planning:
This is my 3D model plan for the cactus that I am going to 3D model for my game From different perspectives The top left Image depicts the cactus as viewed from above. The bottom left depicts how it will look from the side. The top right depicts how it will look from a perspective pf looking up at it from a low point of view. The bottom left is what it would look like viewed from the side.
In the image above I have planned what I would like the UI for my game to look like in the top left corner I have the stroke count and the par score I want to include a stroke count so that the player can see the amount of strokes and a par score so the player can see how well they are doing compared to the average score which add a slight element of competitiveness as the player will strive to beat the par score. at the bottom left of the image I have put the power meter for the ball so the player can easily see how much power they are hitting the ball at. and next to the ball the directional arrow so the player can easily see and choose the direction of the ball.
In the image above I have planned what I would like the menu screen to look like I have tried to link it in to the western theme of my game by planning it to be old wooden signs with bullet holes in the big wooden board at the top of the page is were the title of the game will go and below that are three buttons that correspond to all three holes within my game one thing I have planned to do is have a bullet hole appear on the hole you choose but this is not something I will not prioritize and will only do if I have finished every important aspect of the project.
This is my production schedule and shows when I should have work completed by Once I have completed this work I will change the colour of the block from red to green I think I have done a good job with this production schedule as I have left some time at the end which for now I have planned for testing but it can be used for other parts of the production if I fall behind for any reason.
The image above is my production schedule the green boxes represent were I am up to. Although it is on my production schedule I am still debating the need for effects in my game so I may end up pushing the collection of effects to the end of the project as this would give me more time to test and refine the game. Overall I feel the production of my game is going well and is still on schedule for were I want to be at the moment.
Sound Design PlanningÂ
Sound Asset List:
| List of required sounds | Description of Sound | Library or Foley |
| Initial hit of the ball | the sound of a golf ball bieng hit by a club | Library |
| Ball going into the hole | the sound of a golf ball bouncing in a hole | Library |
| Sound of ball hitting rock | sound of ball bouncing off of rock | Library |
| Ball Rolling | the sound of a golf ball rolling | Library |
| Power Meter | a pinging sound for when the power meter is activated | Library |
| Out of Bounds noise | a buzz sound for when the players ball goes out of bounds | Library |
| Start of new hole | a pinging sound for when the next hole starts | Library |
| Cow sound | the sound of a cow mooing | Library |
| sound of ball hitting wood | sound of ball bouncing off of wood | Library |
Sound Libraries used:
| Freesound.org Zapsplat.com Soundbible.com |
Above I have listed what sounds I will need for my game with a description and how I will source theses sounds. For all of these sounds I have decided to use a sound library as this usually results in higher quality and sound more professional but one problem with this would be you cant always find an exact sound you want but this can be fixed by editing the sounds in a program like audacity.
I have also listed sound libraries that I will use I have chosen Freesound.org Zapsplat.com and Soundbible.com as they are sound libraries that I have used in the past and have had fairly good results with but I will not limit myself to just these sound libraries if I can not find a sound and if I cannot find a good match for these sounds on any sound library I will use foley.
Doug's Game Blog 