MechAnimals

This project was my first Game Project at Futuregames. Our brief was to make a small game that would use the Microsoft Adaptive Controller. After we had been assigned our teams, we sat down to figure out how to begin. Due to my previous experiences in group work and management, I volunteered to facilitate the ideation process.

• I helped to guide and facilitate the group through a structured ideation process.

• I included everyone in the process as much as possible, allowed all ideas, good or bad, to be and tried to give everyone a voice in the discussion.

• Helped create a feeling of ownership of the concept with everyone in the group.

• Used a session of 'Brainstorm' to initialize the ideation and used a modulated version of the 'Double Diamond' to create concepts, which we voted on.

Through voting, we ended up with our final concept - an "endless runner". We had some disagreements in the group that I was able to diffuse disagreement were able to insert and have input of things they would want to see in the project. Afterwards, in our prototype stage, I created two different prototypes to help solidify the concept.

Some of the features that I created:

• Power Up System -  When the character grabs a Power Up, they are transformed into another animal with different abilities.

• Score System - The player gains points by touching a cog or destroying a box, while hitting an obstacle removes points. At the end of the level, besides showing the individual score, the score is also tallied to a common score.

• Implementation of SFX and VFX - Worked together with VFX artists to support and implement their work.

• Grace Period - After receiving feedback on the Score System, I created a 'Grace Period' so players would not be extensively punished from a mistake.

Halfway through the project, we lost our Project Owner. The Scrum Master of the team decided to step up to the role instead, but that left us with no Scrum Master. Since I have had experience as a Scrum Master before, I mantled the new role as scrum of the team for the remainder of the project. The last week left me with several tasks:

• Coordinated with the Leads of each profession to map out the progress and help prioritize tasks.

• Bugfixing, solving Perforce issues, supporting team.

• Updating the Scrum board and assisting the Product Owner with administrative tasks.

In the last few days of production, the new PO fell ill and was unable to attend school. This left us with no Product Owner, so I once more stepped up and took up the mantle of Product Owner. As the end of the project was coming to an end, besides supporting the team, I also:

• Game Trailer - Produced the trailer for the game.

• Presentation - I presented the game on our jury day, in front of a jury of people from the industry.

Despite the challenges we encountered, I feel proud of how we adapted and delivered a strong final product.

Game Link