Bomboy - Marking Period 2 Presentation

Intention Definition & Exploration of Ideas
After visiting George Mason again, it became apparent to me that I may not be using the correct materials to follow my goal of the year (make a game). Game Maker is considered a beginner game engine (this is true) and, even though I am a beginner, I realized it may benefit me to learn Unity while I have the time before it's necessary. Therefore, I am moving my project to Unity. Before coding however, I decided to make the menu select screen. At the beginning of this marking period, I also made my college portfolio video.

Planning
My MP1 Presentation said I was going to take breaks to make items for college, and that's exactly what I did at the beginning of MP2. I made a video portfolio. Once I finished with that (it took a long time), I needed to get back into my game. My goal before I took ten years on my college video were to get the basic controls down in Game Maker, finish the Rogue and enemy sprites, start on the environment objects, and do the beginning art such as the game menu screen. However, once I actually started on that I knew I wasn't going to get as far as I wanted.

Producing
First, I needed to start/finish my college portfolio. So, I gathered my art, took photos, put it all on Premiere Pro, and made a portfolio video. Of course I had to make sure I fulfilled the schools' requirements, and after doing so I produced this:

After I finished the video (it took me FOREVER), I went and made those basic controls in Game Maker (which also took me forever) only to now decide I'm going to make my game in Unity... so, I wasted that time. I decided that since I have so little time, I am going to keep the current Rogue sprite and if I really hate it at the end of production, I'll change it. I am going to base the guards off of the guards I made previously for The Rising Sun (as seen in the portfolio video). Then, I got really interested in the main menu screen. I did a lot of research on different styles and aesthetics, and I decided I really like the simplistic menus with a symbol of what's in the game. So I opted to make silhouettes of the first character, Rogue, and the first environment, the castle. I also only used 3 colors: black, white, and shades of orange. The image is below, however, I am going to go back in and add shadows to the text to make it stand out more. Other than that, this is a completed menu screen of my game.

Also, I just realized in the last MP checkup, I said I had not finished the GDD yet. The GDD is now, in fact, completed and you can find it here: GDD link.

Evaluating and Integrating
Again, I did not reach my goal but I also feel as if that is a good thing. I am glad I did not get far in production because I am now moving my game to Unity and I am not sure if my already-made art can be used in Unity (I have research to do). Also again, I feel behind. I have not completed a finished work except for the portfolio video (which I wish I had my current work I finished in it).
However, at first I felt upset... but then I was given an amazing opportunity. One of the teacher assistants from my time at USC (he's a USC Game Design Major) is creating a game development team to continue my previous game, The Rising Sun. He, of course, has asked me to be in the team and I get to recreate and better my work from the past. I believe this opportunity will give me direction the rest of the year and, while I am sad I may be putting my own original game on hold, I know working with a team with better my communication and my skills all around to create a product I am proud of. Our plan is to make at least 8 hours of gameplay for TRS and then submit to Steam for (hopefully) a green light so people from around the world can download it, play it, and maybe even give us money for it. Our planned finish time is around May/April.
So, even though it is not my originally stated game, I am still completing my goal for the year by producing a finished video game. This is better, in a way, because I actually have to go through the process of working with a team, communicating, organizing, and pulling my own weight to not let others down. I'm so excited it hurts.