CAGD 370 - Ghost Runners Blog

CAGD 370 - Ghost Runners Blog Post 5 (POSTMORTEM) [12/7/23]

• What went right was that the sprint five kickoff was the most successful yet for the team and we all were able to distinguish exactly what to work on specifically and have the prototype ready for playtest without any of us being blocked. Each sprint was huge for the team, it was to make sure everyone had a task without stopping any work to keep pushing forward to have a quality-made prototype. Towards the end, squashing most, if not all bugs was huge for the team and we felt really good about it during the final playtest. I'd like to note that the lead for the team did a very good job having cards ready and setting an equal and reasonable amount of work for each sprint kickoff. In my view as the level designer of the team, I was able to create a basic structure for many levels including the boss level and placements of enemies, health kits, battery charges, and even coding the big bad boss. With the structure in mind, I was able to transition each level smoothly without losing the main goal of the game to find the golden orb and escape the haunted building with all these enemy ghosts trying to kill you. It was really fun creating other levels like levels 1, 2 & 3 being placed into the prototype. I was able to express my creativity into a video game prototype and seeing it come to life felt really good. Once that was completed, I switched my role to the coding side of things since we wanted to make sure the boss level, basic enemies, and traps were strong for each level with no issues. Myself and the other coder of the team worked closely and made sure the enemies were not too easy and also not too hard. Balancing for sure was one key to play-test many times throughout the levels so that players could feel some sort of competition and interaction whilst playing the prototype. Level 1 was pretty much solidified as a good learner level to understand all the basics and was seen as completed as early as sprint 3. There were just a few minor changes to the UI I had to update over sprints 4 & 5. As well as making sure the timers and meters were added to the canvas so no issues would come up. What went well in particular was the code, there weren't any major errors for the most part. Although there were a few errors, they were easily fixable and it did not take up a lot of time. Overall, I am glad that the team had an overall successful 5 sprints for this prototype and were glad to see players enjoy the digital prototypes as time went on.

Final boss level with shooting projectiles and enemies all around!

• What went wrong during the development was the paper playtest during the early stages of development, I tried my best to place my designed levels into paper forms, but when playtest day came up it was just difficult to communicate the main goal for players through paper. The fact that we did not have extra things for the game like dice made it seem awkward for players to control the main character on the paper. The only way was to imagine yourself controlling the player and once you got up to an enemy, you were supposed to pretend you have eliminated them. Another issue we had was trying to push out the final build. I am glad it was not a major issue involving any code or missing items in the scene. The issue the team had pushing out a build was making sure the UI was popping up properly since a teammate had an issue on his side. While myself and the coder tested the build we were able to view the UI but my other teammate was not able to view the UI. We looked into the Unity hierarchy and inspector to see what the issue was, and it was that the canvas UI was accidentally moved back from the 0,0,0 spot. I just found it odd that the first build was working for me and the coder but not the lead. We ended up just fixing the minor error with the UI placement in the second run of the build and everything worked nicely in the end. It was a good thing to test the UI on different devices to make sure everything was working fine so the other computers could have a good playtest without any UI issues. Another thing that went wrong in terms of boss in the level 4 that I made, was that I had an issue having the shooting projectile shoot in a 360-degree angle, or at least shoot wherever the player last was on the map. It took a while to figure out in code, but I was able to fix the issues I had with the help of the coder. It was just a little frustrating at first since I had the projectiles shoot anywhere between the X and Z axis and not behind it. Thankfully, everything was fixed and the shooting in-game is working nicely with a nice speed to have something the players can try to dodge.

First paper prototype for Ghost Runners

• Something I would do differently in the future would be to make sure I have a certain amount of points for the 2 week sprint period. I noticed that in earlier sprints I had a lower amount of points completed compared to sprint 5. This was my first experience with this sprint-style system and now that I have the hang of it, I am now more aware of what to complete first. As well as keeping in mind to try my best to not block other players from completing their tasks and to stay in my lane. Luckily, throughout the sprint, I was not blocked nor did I block any of my teammate's cards. This system was a great way to break the team into three different parts and if we needed help with something, the team collocation was never broken and always available to keep the prototype progressing forward at all times. Another thing moving forward is that during playtests, I need to make sure I am in the shoes of a brand-new player who has never played the game before. That means not speedrunning through playtests and ultimately playing it thoroughly because that is how the casual playtesters will play after all. Overall, I am very grateful to be a part of a hard-working team and we were able to create a fun prototype for others to enjoy and receive great feedback from others to improve the game over time.

A view of Sprints 1-5 on Trello. The team had equal work throughout all sprints.

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CAGD 370 - Ghost Runners Blog Post 4 (11/16/23)

• The sprint four kickoff went very well and we managed to stay on track to finish the game in time. Everyone was able to assign each other an equal amount of points and it was very fair between all of us. We all have work to complete equally and the cards are tailored towards our roles very well. I am the level designer for Ghost Runners and during sprint four I was in charge of placement for enemies, making sure there was enough action, activating new traps, and well as having them damage the player thanks to team member Elmer. My experience to date has been improving and becoming smoother as each sprint goes on. Now that we are entering Sprint 5 we all have an end goal to make and will work very hard to complete it and have it tested for the upcoming playtest. From here on will be the quick things to add and will be solely on quality of life changes, bug fixes to encounter, as well as making sure the playtests are as smooth as possible for players to use mechanics and such.

Enemy placement and tweaking speed and radius of each enemy

• As far as issues went for the team this sprint was getting the lives to correlate with the respawning. The scene management started to break but we were able to get it fixed before the system playtest thankfully. The thing that needs to be worked on would be the checkpoints since the scene management has a complete overhaul. The issues I encountered on my side were most definitely the trap doors I implemented. There was an issue I had where it would freeze the player entirely when the trap door closed on the player which is not supposed to happen. I ended up tweaking my code up and was able to fix the issue I had as well as colliders so when the trap door disappeared, it allowed the player to walk in through smoothly.

Timed trap doors that block players to go through when red.

• The work I am currently working on for this sprint five would be to start working on the boss level of the game and have it ultimately ready with polished mechanics before the playtest. First, I would have to work on the annotated map and have a basic block out to view if it is enough for a boss level. I will then be working on the enemies spawning in, as well as having it so the player is accessible to health and battery charges so they do not die very quickly right off the bat. It is indeed a boss level and is more difficult than previous levels but it cannot be overexcessive or else players will feel overwhelmed. The main point I was able to complete last sprint was being able to implement a quick brain puzzle for the levels. What I was thinking of implementing was collecting a certain amount of coins dropped from the enemies to unlock the next level door to force players to attack enemies and not skip passed them. Another puzzle we had in mind was a simple three-number combination that would be given during the level that players would have to find.

Timed spike traps that will hurt players if they collide with them.

• Lastly, the team is working very hard on this prototype and was able to complete the most work during this sprint being our most successful yet. Thanks to our team leader for assigning new cards when needed and verifying new things being added as soon as possible. We were all not blocked this sprint thanks to the organized system were are following and working solely on our levels as well as pushing accordingly. We are on a good pace to complete the prototype on time.

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CAGD 370 - Ghost Runners Blog Post 3 (11/2/23)

• The sprint three kickoff went very well once again since our group was ready to assign cards to each other thanks to our lead creating cards before sprint three began. We were all able to assign ourselves a good amount of points at the start of sprint three for two weeks of work. We were able to successfully create a build for the playtest. The playtest went very well and did not have errors from different playtesters. It was a struggle fixing our unique flying movement because sometimes the player would infinitely continue to fly up forever. We were able to fix the issue in time for the players to enjoy the feature. What players felt that could be improved was for the unique feature to have directional movement while in the air instead of moving up and down at a slow rate of speed. After the sprint, that was the first thing we decided to work on since it was made by popular demand to add directional keys for the unique movement. We were able to successfully add it into the game and can not wait for the players to try out the feature for the next playtest.
• Another thing that playtesters said was that Level 1 of the game felt short and could use some UI additions. I was in charge of the design of level 1 and I was able to give it an extension and add more jumps as well as voids. My partner was able to add the UI feature to teach players how to play the game and remember what buttons to use during the levels. We will definitely add in more UI for levels two and three in case some players forget as well as a button to bring up controls.



Level 3 Annotated Map



• After the playtest, I was able to work more on the design aspect, which was creating an annotated map of level three. I looked at the design I did for level two and tried to one-up the level, creating harder challenges and enemies for level three overall. I was able to block out the scene for level 3 and play through it a few times to see if the map ran smoothly. The map turned out great, based on feedback from both of my teammates and we were excited to add in enemies right away. As far as adding enemies and their abilities, we felt as a team to focus on having a polished movement and UI during Sprint 3 and then focus on enemies in Sprint 4. 

Level 3 Full Block Out Scene



• The work I was not able to complete was to add in some brain puzzles for level 1/3. I kind of wanted to go a different route and implement a maze into level 3 and use that as a brain puzzle for level 3. I will have to add some type of extra puzzle feature to keep players engaged. The team was thinking of adding some sort of puzzle that involves eliminating enemies and dropping coins to be used on little game puzzles toward the end of the map or so. The work that I am currently working on this Sprint is more on the timed traps that are placed around the map, have correctly placed enemies around so the player has constant action, and add in more UI to level 3. There will definitely be more work done after that, for example, working on a health limit and door traps. The team is just about on track to finish the prototype on time, we just have to make sure we have good time management and continue to communicate well on what we are working on currently.

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CAGD 370 - Ghost Runners Blog Post 2 (10/19/23)

• The sprint two kickoff went very well yet again because our team had a game plan and we have stuck with it to stay on track as best as possible. We were able to balance our workloads perfectly and have it so we are not blocked through the process. We were able to continue to build on our previous sprint and continue development further. The unity setup went well and we ran into no issues whatsoever. As far as my work went as a level designer, I had to revamp the level one and two annotated maps at the beginning of the sprint so I could have a better view of how to build the block-out map in Unity. Having myself revamp the top-down view of levels 1 and 2 has allowed me to add in more things such as traps and enemies because the original levels from Sprint 1 seemed a little too 'zoomed in', so enchanting it this way (image below) was a huge bonus towards building the block out map in Unity.

  

  Level 1 & 2 Map Revamped

• I was able to successfully get a nice block-out level placed into Unity to introduce the players to how to start the game and dive into their journey as a ghost. As we continue through the Sprints it is nice to know how the work is getting completed and getting closer to the prototype our group is aiming for. I am personally starting to get used to the Sprint data system to give our team an estimated data range if we are able to complete a working prototype before a playtest. The playtests are an extremely useful way to gain new information where things need to be tweaked around since the players are brand new to the game system and we are more familiar than they are. The players would be able to spot new bugs or points that need more strength to improve the game. Once we find those holes needed to improve the game, it will help us create new cards on Trello during a current or future sprint.

  

  Level 1 Block Out

• The blockout was a nice way to place trap holders, enemies, spots for healing packs, etc. Since I have made new maps for levels 1 and 2, I was able to work on the first level while my partner was able to have time for himself to block out level 2. We were both able to complete blockouts and test the player using its kinesthetics. The step we were not able to reach before Sprint 2 ended, was to fit the levels together where once you reach the end of level one, it will teleport you to the start of level 2. My partner was able to set up the scene management so it will be plug-and-play once we feel we are ready to place the levels together. I have also assisted my team in the addition of adding an enemy script so the enemies can chase you around once you are within their radius. We also added a damage count that decreases your player's health over time during a collision. So far the team is very pleased with the work we have so far and we have a good feeling of being on track for completing the prototype of Ghost Runners. Something we could improve on would definitely just keep on breaking down user stories to focus on cards that may need to be worked on more thoroughly. What I am working on currently is tidying up the level before the first playtest which would be adding in a quick brain puzzle to challenge the player before going onto the next level. We have a good standing point with the player's kinesthetics and will be ready for the first playtest.

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CAGD 370 - Ghost Runners Blog Post 1 (10/8/23)

• The sprint one kickoff went very well. The team was able to manage each task correctly and be able to very smoothly. Each member was able to figure out the tasks they were given due to the leader doing an amazing job setting it up. We were able to give ourselves a good amount of work during the sprint and were able to get the early stages of the game off the ground. For most of the sprint, we were not blocked from continuing to do our assigned tasks. There were a couple of cards that would go from completed to in progress so I could adjust them to improve the quality. I found it useful having to switch cards to complete once done so we do not have to worry about it and move it to the next card assigned. We were all able to continue moving forward and complete good progress for the first sprint. As long as we keep this steady pace going, we will do just fine for the rest of the sprints and keep the quality level up at all times. As well as just following the assignment guidelines and not getting too far ahead of ourselves so we can all stay together as a team. Being the level designer, I am learning new things on the way and I am definitely responsible for the design of the map. I must make sure that the player has sufficient tools to learn the game from scratch and knows how to play through the basics. I was able to create a prototype of the full map and each level alone to break down the mechanics and such of each enemy ghost.

First prototype visual of the annotated map

• The main issue I had during the playtest, was that the rules were not sufficient enough for some players to understand how to eliminate enemies. The main feature of the game was the flashlight and players were supposed to use the flashlight to eliminate the enemies and some players were confused if it was supposed to be used for something else. The playtests were definitely a huge help to pinpoint the issues as a level designer to fill in the holes to improve the game. It is always best to have people playtest your game because it gives another point of view instead of the actual creator because the creators know what to do, but the players do not. I learned to be as clear as possible in the rules so players know exactly what things are at the beginning and have a smoother time playing with no issues.

First paper prototype with rules and cards included

• The work that did not get completed but was in the assigned section was trying to have a block out ready to place in unity for the tutorial/level 1. Since I had to rework the map design for the first two levels I will take priority to get that done and ready for the Sprint 2 test. My coder was not blocked by the block-out map in Sprint 1 since we were testing the movement mechanics first and adding the map will give a general layout of how it will move around. We were successfully able to have the player have a ghost translucent state, sprint, and the basic player controller. Something I am trying to adjust would be the enemy script. I got the enemies to chase you around with a radius but we have to tweak it around more so the ghosts can actually damage you. Once we have that working we will be able to have an official playtest two ready to go to test out any issues that the player will encounter so we can adjust accordingly.