YEAR 2 PORTFOLIO
Project 2 - FNAF: Final Night
Group Task - Game Demo
For our second project of this year, we were tasked with assembling a small group of developers within our class to plan and create a small demo for a game of our choice. We were given 6 weeks to complete all of this, which included pre-production research into similar games, as well as a professionally-sorted PowerPoint presentation for pitching our idea. In addition, after every individual from the group had produced their contribution for the demo, we had to combine all this into a playable game. Finally, We had to complete a concise write-up of the project, including all research done previously, evidence of work done and an overall evaluation on how the project went.
Project Proposal
Before planning or producing anything for the game demo, we first wanted to fill out a project pitch, which would highlight each member's core strengths and contributions, as well as our basic goals and ideas for the game. This in-turn allowed us to easily look back on this pitch and be able to produce ideas and concepts based around our basic understanding of the horror genre.
Other Member's WIX
Due to our plan to create a fully-fledged game demo within the 6 week deadline, the written work was evenly distributed between us 4 members in order to maximise work efficiency, and get us into the production phase as quickly as possible. However, doing this also allowed for fresh and interesting ideas from each member in the pre-production stage, which gave the project more life, as well as making the game feel as if we all contributed. Although my WIX website will only include the written work that I created, as well as any group writing, I will also link every member's WIX website's, so that you can fully see the thought process and planning of the project.
Pre-Production
Organisation
PROJECT ORGANISATION
Within each stage of our production phases, I believe that spending a good amount of time pre-planning different concepts and ideas allows for the overall quality of the final product to be better. Because of this, the use of organization tools will aid in sorting and linking different plans for the project, instead of keeping the ideas in your mind, which could be forgotten.
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TRELLO
Using Trello, I was able to efficiently break-up the whole production of the game into easy-to-manage sections. In addition, I was able to create checklists under each stage, stating what every member of the team has to do for that phase. This overall allowed me to evenly distribute the workload between the 4 members, which would increase the efficiency of our production. Also, being able to clearly state what everyone has to do will reduce the risk of confusion on what people need to do, which could result in some people being further back in the production process than others.
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POWERPOINT
Using PowerPoint, we were able to write down all of our initial ideas for the gameplay, mechanics, visual effects and lighting techniques. Because of this, when we got to the production phase of the game, we could very easily figure out what we need to do in order to complete the project.
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ONE DRIVE
For me, I used One Drive in order to sort and contain backups of all my work for the project, due to having corrupted file problems with my 3D modelling software in the past. Although this doesn't directly effect the efficiency of the project creation, it does heavily lower the risk of losing work, which could result in running out of time for the rest of the project, reducing the overall quality.
Pre-Production
Game Analysis
HORROR ENVIRONMENTS
Within most horror games, as well as the horror media industry as a whole, the use of particular assets & mechanics has been utilized in order to portray a similar theme. For example, Dead Space uses well-placed blood splatter decals, which starts to tell a story within your surroundings, which overall immerses the player into the game. In addition, these splatters are also used mechanically; where the placement of the blood corresponds with the path you need to take in order to progress. In addition, the use of varying mechanics within the game can also reflect this same level of horror, such as flickering lights, which can give the environment a run-down and isolated theme, increasing the story-telling within the game. This can also be used as a marker, signalling the player on which way to go.
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HORROR ART-STYLE
Horror games can make use of a large array of varying art styles, depending on the specific atmosphere they want to create, as well as how this art style will fit in with the rest of the game. A good example of this is the Resident Evil Franchise, where realistic texturing, models and mechanics are all used in order to reflect a gruesome and realistic atmosphere. For this example, the realism allows for the player to be fully immersed into the game, as many of the game's features (lighting, head movement) heavily mimics real life.
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HORROR LIGHTING
Within all games, lighting is a pivotal piece within the level, as a change in lighting can in-turn completely change the atmosphere, style and mood of a game. This is expertly portrayed through the gameplay within Dead Space. With the simple change of brighter, more vibrant colors linked to the lighting of the room, some areas within this otherwise horrific environment are transformed, creating a sense of safety and stability. Because of this, the game can use that area as a safe zone, giving you a break from the gruesome areas in-between. However, it can also be used as a false sense of security, engulfing you deeper into the horror of the gameplay.
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Production
My Contributions
3D Modelling & Exporting
Organisation & Planning
Weekly Time-plan
Production Progression
Weekly Time-plan
Using a simple table to sort what weeks I am going to complete each task was very useful for the efficiency of my working; being able to separate the large amount of tasks to do into a scheduled plan helped me to mainly stay on track before the deadline. These plans are often used in companies (even ones different from the games industry) due to their tight and strict deadlines.
Production Progression
3D Modelling & Exporting
As our team's most proficient 3D artist with modelling software's such as Maya and Blender, my primary role was to model all of the assets that were listed under the block out's asset list, as well as then UV map and texture these assets. Finally, I had to optimise each asset, so that they can be all be efficiently be exported out of Blender and into the UE5 level.
MODELLING
Each model created within Blender had to follow the designated art style for the project, as each model would need to fit correctly with the atmosphere of the level. In addition, every model had to be scaled correctly within Blender, so that when they are exported into the project all assets are proportionate to the player, as well as the other assets. In order to achieve this, I created a temporary object in each blender file which has the same dimensions as the player in UE5. Overall, the use of correctly-scaled assets will benefit the entire team, as I can easily proportion each part of the asset correctly, and the implementation of these assets will be a lot quicker and efficient for the level designer. This is a good skill to transfer into a working environment, as the workers that specialise in level design wont have time to also re-scale all of the assets.
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Realistic Table Cloth
Proportioned Player Object
UV EDITING
After each asset was modelled, I then had to unwrap each model's UV map to ensure that my future textures will fit seamlessly, and without and un-rendered sections. To achieve this, I mainly used Blender's built-in "Smart UV Project" tool under the UV editing window. Because of this, I was able to unwrap all of the asset's UV maps very quickly and to a high standard, which allowed me to focus more time on the quality of the models and materials, as well as being able to maximise the model's quality.
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Before Smart UV Unwrap
After Smart UV Unwrap
Smart UV Unwrap Settings
TEXTURING
Due to the increased workload I received from being the team's manager, I didn't have a lot of time to texture all of the assets. However, in order to solve this problem and ensure that the majority of the assets are fully textured, I decided to re-use some materials that I had created in a previous project. These textures were made from scratch using Blender's shading nodes, and were then baked into PNG images so that they can be applied into UE5 by the level designer quickly. Overall, I believe that re-using old materials allowed me to have enough time to fully finish this project.
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Examples of Baked Textures
Production Progression
Organisation & Planning
As the team manager within our group, I had a few extra tasks to complete for the project aside from my basic modelling contributions. This mainly includes the organisation of all files, written work and images into folders that are easily manageable and coherent. In addition, I also had to ensure that any group discussions about the project, ranging from pre-production concepts to mechanical changes mid-way through, are all documented accordingly and in appropriate formats (mind maps, mood boards...)
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Overall, this allowed our team to stay consistent with our initial ideas and visions for the project, and that any changes are clearly stated in order to allow for everyone to be able to create an extensive and thorough self-evaluation of their work.
FOLDERS
Although this was an obvious and basic idea, the use of placing all work, whether its Blender files, images or written-work, into labelled and categorised folders allowed for easy transferal of all files to different software's and sites. In addition, it also allowed us to more easily track what work we have completed, since everything is in its correct location.
Categorised Folders for each production stage
TEAMS GROUP CHAT
Using Microsoft Teams, we created a group chat of every member for the project. Because of this, we could suggest and brainstorm ideas within the chat for everyone to read, as well as saving all ideas into the chat. As well as this, any files can be sent into the chat's files for other people to download and use. This was especially useful for the mechanics of the project, as UE5 files could be sent into the chat for the level designer to download and implement. It was also used as the main place for me to send my finished exports of the assets. Finally, any issues with asset texturing, as well as mechanical problems can be instantly reported into the chat for the appropriate team member to fix. Overall, Microsoft Teams was vital in the final creation and combining of our game. This kind of team communication and file sharing is vital in a workplace, as some people will work away from the office space due to distance or illnesses (this was a major problem during the COVID 19 outbreak), and they won't be there to add their ideas and files.
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Teams chat files
Texturing mistake noticed by team member
TRELLO
The main point of this project was to see how effective we are at working efficiently in a group setting. Because of this, the work load compared to other projects was significantly higher. Therefore, pre-planning and assigning jobs was even more important than before. To do this, I used Trello, where I created a simple checklist for everyone for every process of the production of our project. This in-turn allowed us to easily see what work was required from yourself, and what you need to focus on. In addition to this, we can also see if anyone is behind on their scheduled work, and if we need to help that person meet the quota. Overall, this not only made the production of many aspects of the project more efficient and simple, but also made evaluating our team members easier and less biased.
This kind of organisation is commonly necessary in the workplace, since many team managers will not always be nearby to inform others on what work to do at that time, so a scheduled list is used.
Overall Trello Progression Plan
Individual Checklists
Gameplay Survey
For game developers, surveys and questionnaires are a vital form of feedback from players. These forms can be easily created in many different formats, such as long paragraph questions to a 1-5 scale. This overall allows the testers of the game to produce constructive on concise points on what was made successfully, but more importantly if there were any areas for improvement or physical errors. In the games industry, most companies will use this method in the stages before the game is released to the public in order to finalize any mistakes and ensure their game is as good as it can be at that time.
Because of this survey filled in by various different students from my class (all now in my group for the project), I was able to find what I and my other team member's did well on, which will allow us to know our strengths within our chosen specialism. In addition, we were also able to find errors in the project, such as incorrectly rendered materials, that we hadn't noticed during our checks. Finally, any aspects of the game from models to level fluidity, that players didn't like were noted clearly. In conclusion, this survey has been very helpful for the final production of the project being at its best quality, as well as highlighting the individual member's strengths and weaknesses for this project.
Final Evaluation
OVERALL OUTCOME OF THE PROJECT
Overall, I believe that the level we created followed our initial presented idea to the extent where we are able to clearly see the benefits of pre-planning. It contained a large variety of quality-modeled assets, which allowed for the level design to be unique and engaging. In addition, our variation between several complex gameplay mechanics in-turn allowed our game demo to develop the story and gameplay as you play.
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WHAT WENT WELL AS A GROUP
Firstly, I believe that our extensive research into the horror game genre, as well as the games industry as a whole, allowed us to produce interesting and thorough concepts before we started the production phase. This was achieved through the use of moodboards, mindmaps, and written research evaluations. Because of this, we could very easily see all of our ideas for the project and efficiently reduce our concepts, until we had a complex and interesting final idea. Overall, this allowed the production stage of our project to be a lot quicker and easier, as we could read from the many references we made to create our part of the project. However, I think in the future I would like to expand this further by recording our spoken discussions for concepts, so that we can't forget any ideas we have thought of. Since this is a technique commonly used within companies and their meetings, I believe that it would be an excellent skill to have already learnt about and tried.
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As well as this, I believe that the use of timeplans allowed us to mostly stay on schedule, as well as clearly show what each member has to do for each process of the production. We achieved this through the use of Trello, a free time-planning website, which allowed me to break down every part of the production. Also, I could make individual checklists for each team member, which clearly stated what they had to achieve within the timeframe of that production stage. Because of this, every member could know what to do, regardless of whether the other team members are also present. This allowed for any individual work to be produced at any time, which allowed for the progression of our project to extend outside of the classroom. In addition, as a group we could see if anyone is struggling to keep up with the estimated timeframes, and therefore see if we can adapt our roles and tasks so that every part of the project can be completed together, as well as making sure every team member has a similar workload. In conclusion, I believe that timeplans are essential at not only listing every task that needs doing, but also minimizing an unfair workload on certain individuals. However, in the future I would also like to implement a specific weekly plan, so that each member knows exactly how much work is expected from them each week, overall reducing confusion.
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Lastly, our communication through the Team's group chat allowed us to focus on mistakes and errors from of team member's jobs, and therefore allowed us to efficiently solve and learn from these problems. For example, it was pointed out to me that one of my textures that I had exported for the level designer had a section that wasn't showing in UE5, which effected the overall quality of the level. This was clearly labelled and shown through the Microsoft Teams message so I could easily see the problem and fix the texture. Because of this, any issues with the gameplay mechanics and textures were immediately reported to the relevant person. Overall, this allowed us to maximise our workflow, as well as reducing the risk of errors being finalised un-noticed. However, in the future I would like to save the evidence of errors in my work so that I can reflect on what occurred in my written evaluation, allowing me to look back at a later date and see what I need to improve upon overall.
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WHAT COULD OF BEEN DONE BETTER BETWEEN US
One thing that could have been done better between all members was the distribution of workload. Although the timeplans did allow for recognition of any major parts that need to be finished, there were many aspects that weren't accounted for, which resulted in a lot of work being placed on just a few individuals. Because of this, our overall efficiency of production severely decreased, which in-turn effected the quality and quantity of the assets and mechanics produced. In addition, a lot of extra had to be used up trying to re-arrange our checklists and plans, in which this time could of been used more productively. In the future, I would like to utilise a different style of team member management and job checklists, where we can spend more time in the pre-production stage properly planning what everyone has to do, as well as how many tasks there are overall.
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In addition, the finalisation of our project could of been massively improved upon. An example of this is the way we sent over files for implementation to the level (such as Blender files), where we had to send the files directly into the Team's group chat. Not only did this clutter our discussions and plans in the chat, making planning harder and less efficient, but it also made this process a lot slower since we had to wait for several large files to be sent into the chat. In the future, I would like to use a shared external hard drive to contain the majority of the assets and mechanics, where we can very quickly transfer these files from one computer to another, leaving any bigger files to be sent in a separate chat.
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SOFTWARE PROBLEMS & CONSEQUENCES
I had major issues with texturing my assets due to the licensing for Substance Painter, my desired texturing software, not working. As a result, I had to create many of the materials using Blender's shading tools, which I personally don't like as much due to it being not as simple as Substance Painter. I also had to re-use many materials I had used from my previous project, even when some of these materials didn't fully make sense with the desired art style of the project. Overall, the lack of a reliable texturing software heavily degraded my asset's material quality, which definitely was reflected in the final renderings of the project. In addition, the extra time it took to create new materials from scratch could have been used in other aspects of the project production, such as helping fixing mechanical errors. In the future, I would make sure the texturing software I plan to use is fully operational and efficient before I enter the production stage of the project, so that I am able to change software's easier.
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LEVEL DESIGNER EVALUATION
Overall, the level designer (Ben) was very efficient at creating several different blockouts of the project, with each one scaling up in detailing and accuracy until we could simply place in the assets needed for that area. This as a result allowed him to very quickly add multiple assets I export to him, which overall allowed us to focus more time into the mechanics of the game. In addition, the fluidity of the level was good; his blockouts clearly reflected our initial concepts and plans in the pre-production stage, and each different room in the project made sense in the context and atmosphere of the game's story. This allowed for the game's immersion to be consistent throughout the whole project, which is especially important for a horror-based game. Finally, his ability to adapt the design of the level if needed was very helpful, such as when Ben changed the design of the entrance to the basement because the fluidity didn't make sense in the previous design.
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However, there were also some areas for improvement, for example some of the scaling for the assets compared to the player model were not equivalent to real life, such as ladders and boxes. This resulted in some areas of the level breaking the immersion for the player, which can effect the entire project's design. In addition, some materials for these assets were disproportioned, meaning the textures looked stretched over the asset rather than fitting with the shape. This problem can be easily fixed by re-scaling these assets to the right size, using the player model as a base template. In addition, there were some areas within the level where assets could have been placed differently to enhance the game's overall quality. For example, in the shelving maze there are cardboard boxes completely filling every single shelf, making the room seem very simple and less interesting. This impacted the game's visual quality, however it could be easily changed by deleting a few of the boxes on each shelf in a different pattern to add variation in the room.
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In conclusion, Ben was an essential member of the group; he was capable of efficiently designing rooms to a high quality through his use of multiple different blockouts, as well as allowing the game's atmosphere and storytelling to be easily recognizable through the placement every different assets.
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GAMEPLAY MECHANICS DESIGNER 1 EVALUATION
One of the team members (Stefan) who worked on the game's core mechanics, such as the stamina UI and coding, as well as the enemy chase sequences and detection UI, put in a significant amount of effort into said mechanics. Each mechanic enveloped into the level were all extensively researched in order to find a version that fits the atmosphere and context of our initial concepts. This allowed for Stefan to change certain aspects of a mechanic that might not be suitable in our project, rather than copying code off of someone else without knowing what it does. As well as this, due to Stefan's deep knowledge into the game we based our project off of (Five Nights At Freddy's), as well as the horror gaming industry as a whole, his input into the pre-production plans and concepts was pivotal to ensure our game was contextually accurate and engaging.
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However, there were also some weaknesses that showed for Stefan. For example, due to not following the Trello time plan as closely as I would have liked, many mechanics were not finished and exported to the level designer on time. Although we managed to get most mechanics in by the end, we were severely behind schedule, and this really showed in the overall quality of our project, since we all had to come together to get these mechanics implemented. In the future, I believe that a more precise time plan should be sorted, with everyone agreeing to follow it. Also, communication between the other team members could have been useful in order to know that he need extra time for certain mechanics.
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Overall, Stefan's knowledge of FNAF, as well as his researched and high quality mechanics were one of the core aspects of the whole project.
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GAMEPLAY MECHANICS DESIGNER 2 EVALUATION
The other mechanics designer (Jacob), who focused on mechanics such as the generator startup, flashlight usage and overall assistance of other mechanics, was equally as useful to the team. Jacob had some very creative and original ideas that were all taken into consideration during the production of our project, which gave us a larger variety of concepts to chose from. In addition, he was also excellent at learning new tools within Unreal Engine very quickly in order to help the other mechanics designer effectively.
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However, although he had many great ideas, there were points at the beginning of our project when Jacob was not available for the idea discussion meetings, and therefore disagreed with a lot of these ideas made in the discussion. Saying this, Jacob and the group as a whole managed to work round these issues and collaborate as 1 group.
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In conclusion, Jacob's ability to quickly learn a new coding concept or tool was vital in order to ensure any errors or confusing mechanics were quickly fixed.
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PERSONAL EVALUATION
As the team manager, I believe that I was able to coordinate a group of people with different specialism and roles to create a playable and presentable game demo. My extensive written work in pre-production such as timeplans, mood boards, reference analysis and mindmaps allowed for us to create a clear and detailed concept of most aspects of the project. In addition, my personal research and practice into Blender allowed me to quickly model high quality assets that could be easily imported into the level by the level designer. Also, my structured and manageable folders within the group chat, as well as within my personal computer, allowed for all files to be easily documented and found when needed.
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However, I believe one thing I could have done better was the textures for the models. Due to having issues with Substance Painter, I had to use old textures that were baked too bright, as well as not being fully appropriate for the assets assigned to them. Also, some models were very poorly UV mapped which resulted in some textures being stretched over objects, or duplicated to fit correctly. This overall resulted in poor quality assets within our project, severely decreasing the immersion for the player as a result.
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SURVEY REMARKS
The results from the survey were mostly quite positive. In terms of the models, they consistently scored highly for detail, accuracy and contextual placement. It was said that they were "very realistic" and "look very good". However, some areas of improvement were also highlighted, such as being "very accurate but still needs textures" and "giving them animations". Overall, I believe that the input for the models was quite helpful and clearly highlights what I would need to improve upon in the future.
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For the mechanics, they scored in the mid-high range in terms of quality, with 80% of responders believing that all or most mechanics made sense in their environment. The mechanic that stood out the most was the flashlight (made by Jacob), with people saying they like "charging the flashlight" and that you "had to recharge it", as well as it being a "really cool feature that i haven't seen before". A few suggestions for new mechanics includes music, b-hopping and cameras. Overall, the mechanics were seen as "very well made", however they "could do with instructions".
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The level design was also scored in the mid-high ranges for its fluidity, with 60% of players thinking that the progression through the level made sense. A few areas people would change or adapt include making "the storage area a little smaller", as well as adding "an extra room".
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Taking all aspects of the game into account, the game's overall quality was mostly scored very highly, with a few comments such as "I enjoyed it and that is coming from someone who doesn't play horror games".
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Personally, this survey has been very helpful to me, as I now know that my main weakness within my specialism is UV mapping and texturing, therefore I can focus on improving upon those aspects.
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WHAT I'VE GAINED FROM THIS PROJECT
Within this project, I have been able to improve upon both my personal and group-based skills. As a 3D modeler, I was challenged with producing several different assets, all with various detailing, designs and shapes. The realistic art style we went for was something I was slightly familiar with, however this project allowed me to present my realistic assets in an actual game, rather than screenshots. I had to adapt to different changes and problems within the deadline, such as changing how I would texture each asset. As a team manager, I learnt how to adapt timeplans for a group setting, implementing individual deadlines and goals for each week of the project. I also had to keep on track with each member's progress each week, making sure everyone will finish at the correct time in order to continue the production of our game. Since I usually work as an individual, I definitely learnt how to rely on others to complete work and be able to produce a higher quality game then what would be capable by myself.
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