Capstone
Game Post Mortem: Jettisoned
Game
Summary:
Author
Brandon
Jones
Title
Jettisoned
Genre
Sci-fi
Dungeon Explorer/Builder
Platform(s)
Android
devices
Revenue model
The
game is using the Freemium model. My monetization model was supposed to be to
sell in-game currency which unlocked skin packs for dungeons as well as for
traps/obstacles. However that didn’t quite make it into the game due to limited
assets. In order to quickly add in monetization I can integrate Google’s AdMob
service.
Development tools/Language
I am
using the Unity2D engine in C# for this project. I have used Unity Tools for
Unit and Integration Testing. If I use AdMob I will also be using Google’s
Google Services API acquired through the Android SDK Manager.
Game audience
My
target demographic is a 20-30 year old male who would be considered to be a
Killer according to the Bartle Player Type model. Since the game primarily
focuses on competition this target demographic makes sense although there will
be game elements that might also appeal to an Explorer by the Bartle Player
Type model.
Team
I
worked with 3 other people on this project: Anna Di Masi, Seth Jones, and Nick
DeMarc.
Anna
was the Lead Artist for this project. Her work includes: All obstacles and
traps in the game, the safe and teleporter objects, and the player assets
including animations.
Seth
Jones composed the music for the game including the music for the menu, fortification
phase, and infiltration phase.
Nick
DeMarc did all of the audio effects in the game including: Player Walking, Menu
Sounds, Player Actions, Mini-game sounds, selection sounds, and
activation/deactivation sounds.
Copyright/Reference
© 2014 by Brandon Jones. All rights reserved
Backstory:
Sound Bite
Two
sworn enemies are stranded on an uninhabited planet and are forced to outwit,
deceive, and steal from one another in order to escape.
Executive Summary
Jettisoned is a Sci-Fi themed strategy game where players are forced to outwit, deceive, and steal from each other in order to escape the planet on which they have been stranded. In Jettisoned players fortify their crashed space craft with various traps and obstacles before setting out to steal the opposing player's Fuel Cell. Players must use whatever tactics they can to make it off the planet.
Inspiration
With Jettisoned I wanted to prove that it was
possible to have an intense competitive multiplayer experience on the mobile
platform. I wanted players to strategically place their traps and obstacles
around their dungeon in creative ways that challenged their opponents. During
the Infiltration Phase of the game I wanted players to feel a sense of urgency.
I wanted these players to each be racing through the play area not knowing what
would or wouldn't be around the next corner. It is this feeling that I love in
competitive games and I wanted to capture that in a clean and simplified way on
the mobile platform.
Ideal
If
everything had worked out perfectly I would have at least 4 mini-game types
with 5 different obstacles and 5 different types of traps for the player to
play with. Also the player would have all of its animation ironed out and I
would have my brief opening intro still shot “cinematic”. I would also have a
tutorial mode and a bit more polish on the game overall.
The Critique: What went right…
Design & Aesthetics
The
mechanics in the game were designed to be meaningful and simplistic. That way a
player was able to quickly understand the game and focus on competing against
his/her opponent rather than the game itself. This worked out well with some
tweaks to the UI to reinforce the game controls.
Project Management
The
project was very well scoped in my opinion from the beginning. This worked in
my favor since I wasn't in over my head from the start and was able to work at
a comfortable pace. This allowed me to work overtime to catch up if I was
behind without missing any additional deadlines.
Development
Using
the Unity2D engine worked very well for my project. It allowed me to quickly
add game-play features to my project including: game objects, player actions,
map creation, and networking. Using C# as my primary language was also good
since I have a strong background in C style programming languages. I structured
my code so that it was easily expandable which allowed me to quickly iterate on
systems that weren't working optimally as far as the player experience was concerned.
Testing
Unity’s
testing tools were extremely useful. I consistently play tested myself to be
sure that the game was bug-free and flowing properly. I also did some third
party play testing to make sure that the game was readable and intuitive.
Through this process I was able to pinpoint issues in the game and address them
quickly.
The Critique: What went wrong…
Design & Aesthetics
The
UI in the game has undergone the most drastic changes within the game and is
still not perfect. The UI within the Fortification Phase in particular has
caused some of the most issues. There were several actions that needed to be
given to the player within this phase which was challenging. There are still a
few visual and audio assets missing from the game that didn't quite make it in
including final animations, cinematic still images, and game music.
Project Management
While
the project was well scoped for a three month project, I was not remarkably
successful at managing my time while also working a full-time job. As a result
at fell behind on a few tasks that I should not have and as a result I did not
fully make some of the features I had hoped to get into the game. I also did
not do an amazing job at managing those within my team and as a result I am
also missing some final assets.
Development
I was
not very effective with keeping up with my documentation and as a result I did
not update my Technical Documentation or development schedule. This caused my
issues later on which led to my inefficient time management.
Testing
Unfortunately
I only started using Unity Tools towards the end of my project. If I were using
Unit Testing and Integration Tests from the start of my project I could have
discovered issues earlier on and saved some development time. In the future I
am going to be sure to use these tools from the start of my projects.
Business Model/Plan
I did
not properly manage my time for game-play features behind my monetization plan and
as a result was unable to integrate the in-game currency. I also was unable to
get the assets necessary to sell different asset packs for dungeons/game
objects.
Summary:
The
final version of the project was a little less expanded than my ideal. Although
I am glad that I sacrificed an expanded version of the game rather than the quality
of the core game concept. I would personally rather have a smaller complete
product rather than a large project with holes in it. As a result I completed
my A-List features and had to partially cut down some of my B-List Features. I
intend to take this project and expand on it in the near future. Since I have a
solid foundation for the game I feel like I can definitely make it happen
without any reworks. With the core of the game complete, all that’s left is to
expand on the current game objects, add more mini-game types, and clean up the
game interface. Other than that a game can always use polish. Perhaps I’ll add
in some visual effects. I was excited about this project because I wanted to
see what I could create on my own and I am not disappointed with the results.
However I have learned that when I am working alone I might need to create more
formal deadlines and schedules for myself. That way I can hold myself
accountable and keep myself on track. If I could go back I think that I would
have created a day-to-day schedule for myself so I understood just how much
time I had left. I would also have created a prototype of my UI a bit more so that I
wouldn't have to rework it later on. As a high-point, I really enjoyed working
on the player mechanics and the tile-based room structure. I was a lot of fun
and I learned a lot about how to build and expand complicated data structures.
As a low point it was finding out just how much more time I had to work on the
project towards the end. I felt kind of demoralized and as a result my work
faltered a bit. I don’t think I’ll release the game just yet, but I plan on
expanding the game and eventually making something out of it.
References
Jones, B. (2014). Jettisoned [Android Game].
Lead Artist: Anna Di
Masi
Lead Music Engineer:
Seth Jones
Lead Audio Effects
Engineer: Nick DeMarc
Kyatric, (Feb 18,
2013). Bartle’s Taxonomy of Player Types.
