"A Thoughtful Post"

            This semester is what we Simulation and Digital Entertainment majors have been preparing for throughout our college experience. The Capstone courses take all of our knowledge, gathered in previous classes, and puts it to the “test.” Now that we have come to the close of Game Development Project I, I have realized just how important and necessary the Capstone experience is. This past semester has been an extremely vital learning experience for me, as well as the other individuals within my game development team. As a team, we experienced ever single aspect of the beginning stages of video game development together.

            Challenges arise inevitably during the course of any development process. This is especially true with the development of video games. As a team, my team members and I were faced with a few challenges along the path of development. One aspect of this past semester I believe to be a challenge was working with an external team member. Do not get me wrong, there was no doubt in my mind that Mike would be able to keep up with the tasks that we gave him. It was just the thought of not meeting with him directly that kind of scared me a little. However, throughout the semester, Mike has dedicated time out of his busy schedule to get our game exactly where we planned as far as development. We are satisfied and appreciative of the effort he has put into the project.

            Another challenge we faced during this past semester was with decision making. We believe, as a team, that we should not move forward until a mutual agreement is made; this is where problems arose. During our concept phase, many ideas for final asset appearances were being thrown around, and the problem was that opinions became conflictions. There was a point where agreement on concepts became arguments; this is not uncommon in the world of video game development. It escalated to a point where we just could not move forward. Enthusiasm for the video game began to dwindle, and it almost seemed like our team was falling apart. However, where there is a trough, there will eventually be a peak. The issues were addressed, agreements were made, and that original enthusiasm was restored.

            Our team was originally set up like this: Edwin (Team Leader/Story Engineer), Patrick(Artist/3D Modeler), Bryan(3D Modeler), Paul(Artist), and Mike(Programmer). This division did not become a “Bible.” Everybody in our team did their own parts, but did not stop when their parts were finished. Where there were open opportunities to work on other parts, no one hesitated to help (unless one did not have knowledge of how to complete the task at hand). So, our team is made up of individuals dedicated to picking up excess slack in order to keep the whole team on tempo with our development process.

            I, Bryan Beasman, have been put in charge of part of the 3D modeling within our game. The 3D assets included within the finished prototype of our game include: the main character, enemy robots, weapons, and buildings. Of those 3D assets, I produced all of the enemy robot models including the Maverick robot, the Tank robot, the Flying robot, and the Exploding robot. I also produced the “flash gun” the main character is holding, as well as some of the town buildings and houses. Since I am aspiring to become a professional 3D modeler, these models will make great additions to my file.

            

          Overall, this has been an amazing semester! It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with my team members on such a great game. We have been through the ups and downs, but nothing can take down the Fleet! 

Bryan Beasman (3D Modeler)