Monday, April 19, 2010

Yellow Lab A - Final Blog

Finished!

Last Thursday, all ENGG 253 students had their open houses in Macewan Hall. All of these presentations were greatly successful, and had a profound impact on those who attended. Due to the conflicting nature of the scheduling, many students had to miss out on class for this life changing event. These students demonstrated amazing commitment to the success of the group as a whole. In Yellow Lab A, these students consisted of Rabih, Davin, Graham, Mike G, Andrei, Lizzy, and Mike L to name a few. These students exemplify what a team is and what is needed for a successful project. Thank you all, sincerely, from the rest of Lab A

In preparation for the open house, the lab was focused on creating the design manual, group poster and game integration in the past week. Project Management focused on organizing the work distribution throughout the lab. They also completed the poster and design manual with help from various other members of the lab. Neeraj, Davin and Graham primarily did the integration of the game, and without their hard work, the entire project would have been a complete failure.

Possible Improvements
The last week proved to be very stressful and busy for the entire lab, as we had failed to plan much ahead and were forced to finish the design manual, poster and integration during the span of about 2 days. This made for an exiting finish, but we could have done without the added stress. If we were to do this again, we surely would try to understand the scope of the project first and then we would ensure we are finished the actual games with at least one or two weeks to spare. This would allow us to use the two weeks before the open house to finish the other components mentioned above.

Overall, this project taught us how to design a video game from an engineering perspective and commanded us to think outside of the box as an entire team.

MacQuire's Monster Performer of the YEAR:

Kogan and Allison for being such awesome lab coaches

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Yellow Lab D: Wrap-Up

Yellow Lab

Wow, this sure has been a fast-paced week! This week, we showed off our prototype to the world at the first year opening house and then handed our prototypes in for marking. I was told that the Mustard Seed wanted our prototype afterwards, which tells me that it reached a threshold of usable quality. On the whole though, what did we learn? What worked well? What didn't?

On the plus side, we learned the value of teamwork. In this project, it became clear that there was no alpha student. Rather, a group of motivated individuals took the helm and pushed the project in the directions they saw fit. Some people made the poster and brochures have the luster of professionalism and quality. Others brought teams together and unified software into a single product. What used to cause chaos and confusion became a matter of working together and keeping each other in the loop.

In summary, some of the lessons we learned were:

-assign specific deadlines and responsibilities for individuals to complete assignments or perform tasks.
-regularly talk to people, including those outside your group, to review the accomplishments of the week and identify what needs to be done next week.
-create an environment of trust and support, with minimal blaming.
-be socially constructive, not critical.
-keep members of Project Management accountable to the groups they represent, and to each other.
-check your phone and email regularly.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Final Blog Post for Lab C

After countless hours of work, we are finally done!
The lab came together really well to get everything done. The Design Transfer Package and the Poster were all completed on time a few days early. Thanks to Aimee for combining all the Design Manuals into one document, editing it and then printing. Thanks to David for taking the time to make an installer and collecting all the games into one package. Thanks to the rest of the PM team and their work on the poster and their excellent managing throughout the project. A huge thanks goes to our presenters - Suzanne, Carter, Amanda, Marie-Anne, Danielle and Renald (sorry if I spelled any of your names wrong).


The Open House went well, but there were a few unexpected points that were brought up. Our presenters were expecting to talk more about the design process rather than the integration of all six games into one package. We still got lots of positive feedback about design, ideas, implemetion, and graphics. The Mustard Seed representatives were impressed with how the games worked and functioned. They especially liked the graphics and sound that were included, and the scoring system that several teams incorporated. They felt like the two games they tested showed an excellent consideration for the user's needs and that the games offered a sense of encouragement to learn and improve.

There are a few things we would have done differently:

  • Some teams worked only with Game Maker Lite, instead of the Pro version which led to differences in how the games worked.
  • Our style of game was not very consistent between everyone (ie. it would have been better to make the control the same for each game).
  • Our Poster display could have used some improvement. We were done last Friday, and could have taken a little extra time to improve the impression it gave (ie bubble letter titles, different coloured backgrounds).
  • More time could have been devoted into the actual developing of the games. A lot of time at the beginning seemed to be devoted more to planning, so the project felt really rushed near the end.
  • Integration was a point the Professors brought up several times. We were told that we should have taken extra consideration in this area.
  • We could have included an introduction in the installation package to explain the content of the game before opening the file (ie. a one page intro giving a brief description about each game)

Overall, the project went quite smoothly. We experience no major difficulties and everyone fulfilled their tasks adequately and on time. We hope that the product we developed will greatly benefit the Mustard Seed and their clients.

Thanks to all the Professors involved in 251/253 for their hard work and enthusiasm for our projects. Have a good Spring/Summer break!


After Math

Yellow Lab B - Final Blog April 15th 2010

So this week in lab, all the team really came together and got things in order. The design transfer package along with the poster and the prototype were all completed on time while still allowing time for improvements. Warren and Arthur took care of the presentation, while Felix and Abe worked at compiling all the games. Kelly helped compile the transfer package and the rest of the lab members worked hard at completing their final reports.

As far as the open house, the overall project really came together. The presenters were well prepared and in formal attire. As for the poster, we kept it simple and with only minimal data. The lab felt that since the drawing lecture professor (Dr. Macdonald) will be marking it, he'd really appreciate less writing and more images. So our poster was well thought out. Secondly, the posters and the design transfer manuals were printed at Staples so that they were of good quality. Kira took care of these out of class time jobs, with funding from all teams.

As all the PM members can agree, the entire Mustard Seed Project went fantastic. The presenters thought that the presentations were long, and they wished that more people would have contributed. Although, only having two people allowed for better organization. The presenters said that there was twelve Mustard Seed representatives there and they felt that the presentation was rushed based on the fact that there was so many projects to see within the two hour period. When the coach came around they had suggestions regarding further brainstorming of the integration of all the mini games.

If we were to have more time and or if we could redo this project there are a few things we would do differently. As a lab, the overall theme could have been a little bit more integrated. Also, when compiling all the games into a single game, it would have been better to have a room where a character can walk around and pick specific games rather than just a button or choose it. If time allowed, we would have liked to implement the board game idea.

Thanks to all the professors for the great semester. Enjoy the spring and summer.

Regards
- Yellow Banana Delight

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Lab D Status Blog #5

Tasks Accomplished

D1
•First edition of game completed.
•Gathered preliminary testing
•Developed plan for next week work package
•Completed and delivered design manual contribution


D2
·Completed design, implementation, and internal interfaces for both games.
·Divided Tasks for Final Report
·Divided and Began Lab Manual

Table D3 (hands-on):

•constructed game board, and all cards related to game

D5
·designed, implemented, and tested algorithms for leapfrog behavior
·set limit on number of crosshair objects as 1; if a ball is selected while crosshair already exists, the old crosshair is reverted back into a ball, and the selected ball turns into a crosshair. The crosshair is a marked ball that is about to be "leapfrogged".
·completed artwork for major icons (walls, crosshair, balls) that is relevant to theme (Antarctica). The ball and crosshair objects became a penguin and an annoyed penguin respectively. The Southern Lights may also be included.
·created submenu for Antarctic Level
·created an algorithm that checks each level for the victory condition. If there is only one ball on the screen, then the level is completed and the user goes to the next level.
·completed 8 levels to go along with the game.
·took on additional burden to integrate software games into a single game.


D9
·completed overall Design of board game
·completed several memory tests for Final Report purposes
·completed Design Manual contribution

D11
·completed the game cards that will be played at the junctions along the maze.
·created visual layout of maze and game cards.
·created unique game board
·Section for instructions manual was started and is almost near completion.
·Gameplay tests carried out and modifications initiated.

D12
Finished construction of our prototype
·Delegated tasks for the final testing report
·Started testing of our prototype with members from our lab
·Finished Design manual related to our prototype

To Be Completed Next Week:


General Notes for Lab:
·April 14th is a testing day to verify the quality of the prototypes. Prototypes should be completed in good faith by April 13th to ensure quality.
·Teams must continue to test their product and make changes where necessary and desirable.
·PM team will compile and finish the design manual
·OPEN HOUSE and PROTOTYPE Marking will occur next week.

D1
•Debug first edition
•Testing of our program with a broader demographics
•Compilation of these testing results
•Continued refinement of the program

D2
·Get feedback and testing results from multiple users
·Modify accordingly
·write design manual contribution

D3
-nothing submitted yet

D5
· create main interface for all software games. Create one main menu that allows the end user to select which continent they want to go to.
·the main menu consists of the image of the world map, which is actually several sprites on top of each other. Each sprite is linked to a particular project.
·not all continents are linked to a software component. Find a way around this.
·Complete artwork for main menu
·write design manual contribution

D9 Tasks to be Completed:
· Make adjustments to game based on testing results.

D11 To Do:
·Implement changes based on testing results from this week.
·Painted to fit our previously established visual scheme and theme.
·finish final report.

D12
·Finalize testing
·Make final modifications based on test results and common sense.
·Continue write-up of our final testing report

Progress Monitoring and Control



This has been a very interesting week for Yellow Lab. The first edition of all three games have been completed. However, each software team has something more to do before they can be integrated into a single product. D5 must make finishing touches to artwork and create new levels. D1 must improve the graphical interface, the interactivity of their design, and make their game more challenging. D3 has not sent their project in, but we have often seen them play their own game in Physics 259 so we are confident that it is near completion.

In general, the hands-on component groups have completed their game boards and game cards. Their main line of improvement will be seen in the testing of their games. Unlike software, game boards are tested after they are constructed. In terms of the open house, the only improvement they must make is to work on the artwork. Testing will be their major focus next week.

In summary, many groups are comfortably arriving at the end of their project. However, there are some groups that have underperformed quite regrettably, and we shall have to engage them in order to make sure that the lab is not penalized due to their underperformance.


Additional Information

·Introduction package has been included to the overall D9 program to increase integration between groups.
·Everyone must use/apply the adventurer sprite into their activity.
·Lab prototype name: "The Cogniventures of Xavier Stone"
·We are testing each others devices on Wednesday lab (max. 15 minutes each)
·Design Manuals are due by midnight Sunday night.
·Printing Company Chosen (4'x3' poster =$42.00 (GST included) = $1.50/member)

Friday, April 9, 2010

Accomplishments
  • Everyone did their prototype presentation
  • We tested each others games and filled out a basic survey of deliverables to make sure everyone had included all the elements initially decided upon

Individually

C2
  • Completed game
  • Tested game
C3
  • Completed our game
  • Completed our portion of the Design Manual
  • Prepared Poster
  • Tested game

C5

  • Completed game and tested in lab
  • Worked on our Design Manual

C6

  • Finished majority of game (lacks closing...)
  • Tested game in lab
  • Did our portion of the Design Manual

C7

  • Completed the game
  • Compiled the four seperate levels into one game

C9

  • Worked on increasing game sophistication
  • Added sound and animation
  • Finished general programming so that game works at a basic level

Next Weeks Goal's

  • Complete poster
  • Finalize package
  • Prepare pagkage for delivery

Individually

C2

  • Final Report
  • Fix issues raised by testing

C3

  • Prepare presentation for presenter
  • Final Report
  • Integrate testable results

C5

  • Start Final Report
  • Compile four seperate levels into one game
  • Add some sound and finishing touches to game

C6

  • Fix some of the minor issues brought up in testing
  • Polish up game and streamline better
  • Prepare for Open House
  • Final Report

C7

  • Work on Final Report
  • Prepare for Open House

C9

  • Need to integrate all the levels into one game
  • Need to change each level so that they are all using the same player object. Will have to re-size the player and landscapes so they are all the same size

Yellow Lab A Blog 5

Green - completed, Blue -Planned, Red - Ongoing

Accomplished this week

Entire Lab

This week each group presented their game prototypes to the lab coach and Dr. Ningxu Cai. Each team also contributed to the poster.

A1

Merged the two levels of the game together. Finished the testing section of the final report. Completed the game.

A2

Completed the majority of the game. Made the testing table for the final report. Completed the bulk of the final report.

A4

Made a list of the tasks for the game. Worked on improving visual appearance of the game. Recorded intermediate testing. Worked on final report.

A5

Almost finished second level of the game. Almost finished design manual. Worked on the final report.

A6

Finished the scoring system. Finished the game. Continued work on the final report.

A7

Worked on design manual. Finished the game except for minor details.

To be Accomplished Next Week

Entire Lab

Integrate the game into one program. We will have the open house where every team’s game is presented.

A1

Complete the final report and design manual.

A2

Complete game. Finish design manual. Continue working on final report. Test completed game for glitches.

A4

Finish final report. Finish design manual. Prepare for presentation.

A5

Finish final report. Finish design manual. Finish game.

A6

Finish final report. Finish poster and design manual.

A7

Finish, present and integrate the game to be presented at the open house.

Optional

McGuire's Monster Performer of the Week

Spencer for his 2 minute engineer on the boot and Andrei for sacrificing his perfect attendance record to attend the open house.