This month is when we start on our final project. We are finally starting our Major Project journey. We already had a few ideas and inspiration to make this game a great game. First of all we decided to put on paper and sketch out all of our ideas and make a scenario of what we want the game to be about and what will be the mechanics and principles of the game. We came up with a few main points that we want to include in the game which are: - Style points system - Camera control and recording system - Slow-motion - New car unlock system at the end of each levels These main points will be key to our game and gives us a great direction to go to for developing our game.
Dev Log n.2 - January 2020
Now that we have been working on the game principles, we are now putting them in place and figuring out how will we able to implement them in the game. On the other hand we are starting to sketch and discuss how our levels will be looking. We have been designing quite a few different 'blueprints' figuring out how the level will be designed. It is a very important task to plan how our first levels will be looking, not only for the game but it will be extremely practical to play-test our work on these maps. We are taking inspiration from the roads of Tokyo, Singapore and Honk Kong to have a better visual interpretation of the maps and how will they look like.
Dev Log n.3 - January 2020
Since everything is starting to get into shape, our progresses are going well we still are in development but we will be soon able to produce a playable prototype so we can get feedback from our peers and make some more improvements. While Samuel is taking care of getting a prototype ready, Emma is taking care of the design of the game by creating first a UI which will be used as a speedometer, once this was finished and implemented a few other design elements needed to be taken care of. First we needed buildings so she started creating some 3D models that will be used later on the first level of the game. The second design element is the map for level 1. This map is inspired by Singapore's map. For now level 1 is in progress but we already have the roads ready so we will able to play-test and present our progresses soon enough.
Dev Log n.4 - February 2020
Finally, after a few months of work we are finally able to present a prototype. It is quite at an early stage but we are quite happy with it and it will be a great source for feedback. From this early stage we are staring to evolve more and improve it implementing new mechanics such as slow-motion and we are currently working on the camera recording system that we are having quite an issue with. Our main concern is how to make it actually work in-game? But for now this concern is not a top priority. Even if the prototype is ready we still want to tweak it a bit more so it looks more presentable. But for now our slow-motion is working perfectly, our UI has been implemented in the game. Our next goal after presenting the prototype is to create 2 small tutorials for the point system and the camera recording system.
Dev Log n.5 - February 2020
The game's evolution is going quite well on both design and coding sides. There are a few issues with how to build the roads, they are quite hard to put in place but we will find a solution soon to fix this issue. Other than that we put in place a functional main menu with different options where the player will be able to see their recorded stunts in game in a library, a tutorial button, a normal play button to play the on each levels and a free play button. The menu has a nice animation to add a bit of aesthetics to the game. The game is slowly getting into shape and we are hoping to improve our prototype for more feedback.
Dev Log n.6 - March 2020
We have been improving an importing more assets and improving the game's mechanics. We also have been play-testing a lot what we had and we came to the conclusion that it is necessary to keep the rewind and slow motion features, however what we really need to improve is the car controls, for now they are not flexible and not smooth and gives a rough play experience. Samuel came up with a few solutions to fix that generally rough pay experience. The first one would be to make the car jump which will add more challenge to the game. Also the rewind system will be a part of the game play, it will be available for 25 seconds throughout each levels to help the player go back in time. The time limit is for the player not to overdo this function and gives more challenge to the game. For now this is how the game looks like to this day. (see image on the right)
Dev Log n.7 - March 2020
Today we are March 16th 2020 and there is not much progress on the game, let's consider it more as an update on our situation towards the game's evolution. Due to the global pandemic outbreak we had some major issues such as we had the obligation to go back home which is a pretty big handicap for us as a team. Not only that but Samuel due to this crisis was not in possession of any sufficient tools to work properly on our project. Hopefully the university soon will communicate strategies to overcome and adapt to these exceptional circumstances.
Dev Log n.8 - April 2020
Today it has been a bit more than a month since we have been showing any updates about our game. The university gladly gave us a month of extension on our deadline which is really useful. We will try to use this extra month as much as possible so we can catch up on our delay or at least try to progress and get satisfactory progresses out of it. Even if the university will treat us with indulgence on our final project grade, we still want to come out with a great game we are fully satisfied and proud of. Samuel says that he will shortly order a new laptop so he can properly work on the project.
Dev Log n.9 - April 2020
After a week and a half of wait Samuel finally received his new laptop which is great news. We then called each other's to list things we have to do in priority, what we need to get rid off in the game and what we want to keep and if we want to implement new features in the game. - Redesign the global feel of the game to a trackmania-like or a Distance-like by making longer road with lighter curves. - Make each level start with 10 rewindable seconds that can grow bigger by collecting rings thru the level(kind of like sonic rings).· -Remove totally the camera / cinematic system; and focus on level design instead. - Make the game more “race against the clock” based. Using the rewind and collectibles as part of the score.· - Find another type of reward for the player as the cinematic idea was abandoned. By making this list we now have a great view of what we need to do and we just need to work harder to achieve the game up to our expectations.
Dev Log n.10 - May 2020
Today we have made a lot of progress on the game by implementing multiple elements to the game. First we made a car selection panel at the start of each levels with some amazing car to unlock and use throughout the game. We also gave a fresh look with a new sky-box and holographic palm trees. Last but not least new UIs are now available in the game. The first one is the result of the rewind system changes, we did not put a limitation to it, actually the player will be able to collect rewind seconds all over the different maps and will start with 10 seconds of rewind each level. The new UI has the look as the collectibles so it is more intuitive for the players to know what they are collecting. The other UI is a Walkman where the players will be able to browse through songs available and decide what they want to listen while playing
Dev Log n.11 - May 2020
We officially finished the tutorial and the first level. We uploaded it on itch.io as our first official prototype. We immediately received feedback from our peers pinpointing some major point that we should soon modify. The most recurrent ones were the lack of indication signs on the map which could get confusing in certain situations, but fortunately we started working on them at the same moment. The other one was to redesign our speedometer which seems not to match very well with the game. It looks a bit outdated since the updates that we have done on the game. We will be taking care of the speedometer as soon as possible. And third we need to add more juice to the game with some more visuals and VFX for the collectibles collection to make the game more entertaining and give more satisfaction to the player.
Dev Log n.12 - May 2020
Today the second level is completed and posted on itch.io. With the help of a few people who gave a lot of constructive feedback. We both worked on some issues that came back in the comments, such as the game over system. Once they player falls down high from the road there was no actual game over. This was an issue that players encountered so Samuel’s idea was to integrate fog clouds in the game so whenever the player falls down in the fogs, they will be redirected directly to the start of the level they failed. The fogs clouds are an option to restart the game if the player has no more watch collectibles to rewind.
Dev Log n.13 - May 2020
We finally edited the speedometer issue that we encountered a few days ago. Emma made a new one that fits way much better in the game and has a more electronic touch to it than the previous one. The new feature is a gauge with an arrow that will indicate the player that the faster they go the harder it will be to turn and to have full control the car. This small detail seemed important as it can be used as a really good indicator for the players in case of difficult turns at a high speed. We also modified the look of the road. Before we had a pretty blurry road texture but now we made it reflective to give more brightness to the road and the map in general.
Dev Log n.14 - June 2020
Level 3 is finally completed. Samuel did the final touch ups and made sure that they were no problems with the code of the game through repetitive from his side and Emma’s side. Emma took care of doing final touch ups and added the indication signs on the tutorial level and the three other levels to make sure that they are fully completed and ready for a new prototype and for the final version of the game.
Dev Log n.15 - June 2020
Not a really big update since most of the programming is finished but level 4 is in process;Emma already traced the whole road map and can start on placing the buildings and finishing the map as soon as possible so we can have in time the 6 maps expected. On Samuel’s side he is working on more VFX and implementing more songs and sound effects in the game. Overall, the project is going well and we are really organised with our tasks.
Dev Log n.16 - June 2020
Today level 4 is finished and level 5 is in process. After play-testing a few times we noticed certain irregularities in the maps such as jumps that are too wide and impossible to make, some buildings that are not touching the ground, so Emma corrected these small details until the four maps are good to be considered a officially finished.For the past few days and the upcoming ones Samuel will be working on some details around the buildings; adding some artworks for the panels on the buildings, working on more VFX and making sure that the game’s FPS are not dropping, and Emma will be building the two remaining maps so we can complete the project soon before the deadline.
Dev Log n.16 - June 2020
Right now,Samuel is busy working on some trailer for the game with the help of one of his peers and Emma finished level 5 and we both tested it to make sure no mistakes were made during the process. In fact level 5 had no issues at all which allowed Emma to carry on and work on level 6 and finish all of the levels in time. We agreed that we wanted all of the maps cleaned and ready for the 16th of June so we have two days to take care of details and play-test the game as much as possible before handing our project in.
Dev Log n.17 - June 2020
Today is finally the day we see the game as completed. We are both really satisfied with the outcome of our work, taking into account the delay that we have been through back in March/April. We still have to take care of a few remaining details and Samuel still needs to finish the game's trailer before the deadline which is quite challenging. Overall our major project is now officially coming to an end.
Want to try the game ?
The game is available on our itch.io page ! Feel free to download it and give us any feedback.
