CAGD 377
CAGD 377
Mobile Game Development
Post 7
During sprint 7, the focus was to get the game completely bug free and make it look how we wanted. There were some features that we did not have time to improve or implement. I assigned my team members stories to continue fixing the code and setting up the camera systems.
The first thing I did was make an icon to put into the shop for the time machine. This was not made before like the other icons but did not take too long as I drew it based of the model I made. After that, I created a tutorial that players could follow since many were confused on how to play the game.
Finally, I fixed the UI which had different sizing for the same object across different menus in the game. It took a while but made the game look more professional. I also added a skybox which made the background feel more in place and not dull.
What Went Right
There were many things that went right. First, we had a good idea of what we wanted the game to be from the start. There were some numbers to figure out but overall our lead knew what he wanted the game to play like. This helped me write the user stories for modeling and coding. Also, I was able to find good reference photos online for the buildings that I was able to take inspiration from when 3d modeling. The 3d modeling process took a while but I like how everything came out. I was able to keep the models optimized for a mobile game with the low poly counts that I kept. The texturing process also went smoothly. I again kept it simple for optimization and since mobile games are seen on a small screen.
Another thing that went right is that we were able to get the workers being assigned to the buildings working quickly. This was a very important mechanic so getting to test it with everything else early was helpful. There were bugs to be fixed across the semester but I am glad we got the basics working. The UI was also good in our game from the start. Playtesters learned to intuitively click on the correct things when playing for the first time even without instruction. There was confusion on how some things were linked but it helped us know what players could understand the game with much difficulty.
What Went Wrong
We had many things go wrong during the process of making this game. First, our UI scaling was hard to get right. Across the many playtests we did, we would find that some menus or text would not be scaled to the correct size across different devices. This was eventually resolved using anchors and some settings in Unity but was a consistent problem across the semester. The code was also another thing that went wrong. There were many bugs that would stop the game from being played like resources not generating or buildings not spawning. To fix this, we did playtests and the programmers found where the code was messing up. Now, it all functions correctly.
Making the models and UVing them took longer than expected. When importing the models into Unity, their scale would get messed up. Even when I applied the same scale to them all, some of the models would come out extremely small and had to be manually scaled to the correct size. During the semester the keystore got corrupted. This meant I had to create a new one and figure out how to upload it to the Google Play Console. The code for the time machine which resets the world was not working correctly but after some troubleshooting I got it to work.
What Would I Do Differently
This process taught me a lot and there are things that I would do differently. First of all, like I said I would more thoroughly check the work that was being put in to verify. I did not check if it was working beyond surface level which caused it to have to be redone later. I would see something is working but later on it would not be fully functional. I also learned to communicate the expectations better to my teammates so there is not any confusion on what to do and how to do it. I think having a talk about expectations and adding more details to user stories would have prevented work from having to be redone.
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Post 6
Sprint 6 was very productive for me as I finished modeling, UVing, and texturing everything. I also set up the models and textures in unity. This all added up to 21 points of user stories completed. I assigned points to my teammates to continue working on the main game loop.
Starting with what was left from last sprint I UVed the mill and lumberyard. I kept the UVs pretty clean and tried to use as much space as possible. After that I had 4 more things to model.
Then I completed the model for the copper and iron mines. These two would look the same but just be textured differently so I had to only make 1 model which was nice. I was trying to figure out how to make a mine and differentiate it from the quarry. I came to the conclusion that the best thing would be to make the entrance to a mine shaft with a rail and put a metal ingot at the top to represent what kind of mine it is. The UVs were the same for these 2 and I stacked all the shells except for the ingots since they would be textured the same. This would save me time instead of just texturing the same thing twice.
Then I made a forge for this project. I made a chimney with a tub that would hold the lava for forging the metal. This was pretty simple to make and I used real life photos to give me inspiration for how it should look. The UVs are nice and clean. They take up the full square so space is not wasted.
Finally I made the model for the time machine. I had trouble coming up with a design that was not too complicated and the online references I found were not the style that I wanted. I made the circular design first because I wanted that look for it. Then I made the wires that go into it and the base. I kept it pretty basic to keep it low poly and stick with the style of the rest of the game.
Finally it came time to texture everything. I grouped all the models into 6 different UV groups and started. I wanted our game to have a very simple style that is not too realistic. If I had more time I would have added more stylization but I am still happy with how everything looks. I stuck with mostly basic colors and then added height and roughness details at a very low opacity. This would give some depth to everything but not make it super realistic. Then I imported them all into unreal and set up the materials. I also applied the materials to the models.
Finally, I made the poster for the game. This poster is different than the one I made as a mock up before. I did not really like that one. I used other games posters as inspiration for mine. Just like the game I went for a very non realistic and cartoony look. I tried to divide it into different layers by using the foreground, middleground, and background. I am happy with how it came out. At the end I added a camera raw filter and gave it a more warm color to be closer to what I wanted.
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Post 5
Sprint 5 was decently productive but could have been better. I completed 6 points this sprint and continued my focus on modeling and UVing. I was hoping to get more done but as the semester reaches its end, the amount of work in all classes has gone up. This meant I have less time for each class but I think I can make this up next sprint. I also feel like I am getting more comfortable with the modeling and UVing, which should help me move faster in the coming weeks. In sprint 3 I finished modeling the farm house. This sprint I did the UVs for it.
Next up, I worked on the model for the mill. I wanted this to clearly look like a mill but not have too many parts or too high poly. I went for a basic circular shape that becomes smaller at the top. I gave the top a rim so it would not feel too basic. I think the fans are very important in making it look like a mill. I am happy with how it looks. I would have added more bevels and details but for a mobile game I do not think it is super necessary. I tried to keep a balance between visual clarity and having good performance.
Then, I did the model for the cement plant. I looked up some reference photos for what I should do. Real cement plants are quite complicated and have a lot of detail that I simplified down into 2 pillars and 1 building which the cement pumps in and out of. I think this conveys the idea without having a ton of models for different parts and buildings. I did have an issue where my model got corrupted when I opened Maya after finishing this model on a different day. This meant I had to remake this which took a bit of time but not too hard. I also finished the UVs for this at the same time. The UVs look really neat which I am proud of. It also reminded me to save more frequently and keep backup versions.
Finally, I made the brickworks building aka a brick factory. I borrowed inspiration from what I saw online and again simplified it. The building has 2 floors and 3 sections. When UVing this, something went wrong and some of the faces on the window models were deleted. I tried fixing this through merge vertices and bridging but I kept getting errors. I could not find any solution online so I had no choice but to I to just delete the models and remake them. Since they are pretty simple, I did not have much trouble recreating them. I am not completely sure what happened and I wish I had created an incremental save so I did not have to redo the work I did this sprint. This experience showed me how important file management is during production.
Next sprint, I will finish all the models and UVs left as the project is coming to its end. I will also start and hopefully finish the texturing as well. I wish I was a bit faster at coming up with ideas and modeling so I could get more done. Thankfully, looking up references online is a good way to get ideas. I also plan to better schedule my time so I can stay on track and avoid last-minute stress. Despite some setbacks, I was able to stay on track and continue making steady progress toward completing the models. I think the next 2 sprints will go more smoothly.
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Post 4
Sprint 4 was not very productive for me. Spring break along with the work I was doing for another class meant I had to prioritize and sadly was not able to do much for this class. Considering how much there if left to be done I don't feel great about that. However, I will be doing my best to make up work during the next sprint.
During sprint kickoff, I assigned the normal amount of points which is about 25. The focus for my team members was to get rid of some glitches we encountered during playtests. This included UI and gameplay glitches. My focus was modeling and UVing the rest of the models that were needed. I was only able to make one model and UV 1 thing. I also made a UI mockup for what I wanted the store in the game to look like.
The first task I worked on was creating a drawing for the shop menu UI. This was a visual reference that could be used to create the UI in Unity. I wanted it the layout to feel clean and easy to navigate, especially since this is a mobile game and screen space is limited. I took inspiration from UIs I have seen in other mobile games. The colors I chose were meant to be pretty readable and intuitive. I focused on grouping similar items together and making sure important information, such as cost and resource requirements, is clearly visible.
The next thing I worked on was modeling the lumberyard building. Compared to some of the other buildings, this one was a bit more challenging to represent clearly while keeping the poly count low. I knew I had to add wood to represent what the building was. This was done by taking a square and multi cutting it quite a few times. I kept the poly count in check because this is for a mobile game. I extruded different faces at different lengths so it looks like there are a bunch of wood pieces stacked up on each other. Similar to my other models, I followed the same scale guidelines to ensure consistency across all buildings in the game. This does mean the model is not the length I want it to be but I think consistent sizing is more important. Keeping everything within a uniform size makes it easier to place objects in the world and helps maintain a cohesive style. Overall, I am satisfied with how the lumberyard turned out.
The final task I completed this sprint was UV mapping the house model. This is an important step in the process because it prepares the model for texturing. I have never been great at UVs so this step can take me a bit. I wanted to have minimal stretching but also try to have as little cuts as possible to preserve space. The door and windows were quite challenging to UV without many a lot of cuts. Also, since they are so much smaller than the base of the building itself, the UV shells are quite small. I might split this UV into different materials later.
Even though I did not complete as many tasks as I had hoped this sprint, I still made some progress in the project. I will continue to work on finishing up the models and UVs during the next sprint. I would also like to start texturing if possible but I am not sure how realistic that is right now. Time management will also be crucial as we start reaching the end of this project especially as I try to balance work between multiple time intensive classes.
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Post 3
During sprint 3, I focused on getting more artwork done. This was so we could build and publish our first build for playtesting. I assigned my team stories to continue coding the game and polishing the mechanics. The first thing I did this sprint was create a privacy policy. This was done through a website and then added to the google play console. I then moved on to artwork.
I decided to make icons for the different buildings which the player will be able to make in the game. Having an icon for these will give the game a nice look and help give buildings visual distinction instead of just text. There were a total of ten icons I had to make. For the size, I decided to go with 64 by 64 pixels. This would keeps the icon size consistent. It is a good size that will give me enough details but won't need too much space on small phones. The style I chose for these icons is quite pixelated. I think this better suits the game then smooth gradients and too many colors. Many of the icons share the same colors because I did not want the color pallete to look too big and messy. Starting with the house it is a simple front view with the same shape as it's 3d model. Same thing with the farm. The iron and copper mine share the same pickaxe icon but with different colored metal to tell them apart. I had some trouble making the quarry but I am mostly happy with the way it came out. There is a good sense of depth there. The forge is represented with an anvil since that is what a lot of people are familiar with. I also think making an anvil as the icon is better than an actual brick forge which might be confused for something else. The brickworks building is a basic cube made of bricks. To make it look less boring I added cracks to it. The cement plant is just 3 towers placed behind one another to give a sense of height and depth. The lumber yard was hard to depict but I decided a lot of wooden planks on a cart was a good way to go about it. Finally, the plywood mill is different colored pieces of plywood stacked on top of each other.
The next thing I made is the feature graphic for the game. I wanted the title to stand out and be visible on smaller screens. I found a font I liked and used it for the text. I then added color and nails to the text to make it more unique and have a rustic vibe. I wanted there to be a big scale to make the world seem alive. I added the silhouette of a city in the back and gave it a purple color to blend in with the sky. This adds atmospheric perspective. I front I have mountains to make the world feel grand and natury. Again these mountains do not have much detail because they are meant to blend in. The foreground is a grassy hill with 2 houses on it. Houses are what the game starts with so I wanted that represented. Since this will be seen on a small screen I kept the details minimal.
I also created a game icon. The idea for this was made by the game's lead designer and I made it in photoshop. It is a city with lights on top of the grass. This combines the elements of the game which start off small and natury and evolve into big cities and industrial processes. I made the lights a neon color to help them stand out.
While I did not make the official poster yet, I did do a mock up to give myself an idea of what I wanted. I looked up some game posters for inspiration and used some online photos to create this. I am not fully sure if this is what I will end up with but it's an ok start.
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Post 2
During sprint 2, I wanted to get more work done than the previous sprint. I wanted to make sure the main mechanics of the game were being made so my two teammates were assigned tasks focused on that. I focused on the art side of things. The first thing I did was make the build of the game so we could make sure we knew how to do it properly. I also set up a canvas in my unity project. This will be important to test the UI icons I will be making.
The next thing I did was make a concept of what the main game will look like. This included a little drawing of an island and the kind of UI I wanted at the top. For this game, the look will be kind of like Clash of Clans or Dragon City with a main piece of land the player builds on. I wanted the UI at the top to be super clear to see, touch, and easy to understand. I am happy with how it looks but it will of course evolve across the game's making.
The last thing I worked on this sprint is the 3d model for the house. The lead designer was assigned a user story to make concept art of what the buildings should look like so I have something to follow. Using that and some references I found online I got started. I also gave myself a guide of 2.5 meters on each side of a square to build inside. This will keep the dimensions of the all the buildings similar. I am also using a human to scale everything to the proper size. The house has 3 stories with the bottom being stone and the top being wood. I wanted to make it kind of medieval to fit the game. The windows are only on the front and left side. I have left the other sides blank because they will not be seen in game so there is no reason for them to be there. The house is also very low poly. I might bake a higher poly version on later but I am not sure yet. Overall I am happy with the results of this sprint. Even more things should be modeled next time and hopefully I can start texturing as well.
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Post 1
My name is Kiranpreet Kaur and I am a member of group number 3. The group is me, Benjamin, and Keanu. I am the producer and 3d modeler. Benjamin is the lead designer and Keanu is the programmer. Our game is called The Big Siv. It is going to be an idle roguelite mobile game where the player collects resources to grow their civilization. They can eventually gather enough to build a time machine and reset the world with more resource upgrades available this time.
As a producer, my job was to talk to the lead designer and get an understanding of the game so I could create the necessary user stories. Our first idea was to make a 2d button based game so that is where the focus of my stories was. We talked and made epics and user stories for the assignment. Afterwards, I looked through those and chose ones that I thought would fit our sprint 1 needs and assigned them. However, in class we learned that the game had to be 3D. This of course changed our plan and we had to think of new ideas for the game mechanics. This took a while and a lot of conversation with each other. Our new game would have the same gameplay but instead of buttons we would make 3d models of buildings that could be interacted with. The map would need to be movable with touchscreen and the game would have more menus.
Since this is my first time attempting to make a mobile game, I had to do research on how to get started so I could then write user stories for those things. I still need to do some more research including how to deal with multiple screen sizes. We are using Unity for this project so I assigned the programmer to set that up along with the Github. I also assigned tasks to set up a button and the game screen.
Another thing we focused on this sprint is the paper prototype. We decided making a digital one would be too time consuming. We discussed what we wanted out of this prototype. I assigned Benjamin the task of writing out the rule sheet. I then made the tokens for the rule sheet as well as the game board. The game board is split into 3 main sections. The first to store any tokens you get. The second is for the 3 buildings you can make. Those columns list the resources it takes to make that building and can also be used to keep track of the amount of workers assigned to it. The third column is for any tokens that have been used and discarded. At the bottom, there is an area to keep track of the amount of turns you have been playing. The resource tokens are simple because I did not want to use too much ink when printing. An apple to represent the food, a stump for the wood, and a person to represent the workers.
This sprint I was not able to get much work done. A lot of time was spent just thinking about the game and doing research. Also, I was working 6+ hours a day on work for another class. I had to prioritize so there was not much work done here. However, next sprint should have more things and we can get started working on the game in detail. I want to start modeling the house for the game after I get art from the lead designer on what it should look like. Hopefully I can also make a basic UI layout to get started on testing.
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