SWOT analysis:
S: Research, Strong sense of imagination, Attention to detail
W: Drawing, Animation, 2D, 3D
O: By researching, watching tutorial videos
T: Frustration
Grading Matrix reference:
For context, I am working with a merit due to having the resources to research what the context is and inputting it into my work. This grade I feel is best for me to keep working on as long as I do what is explained.
For research, I am working with a merit due to knowing how to collect correct evidence and knowing when to reference it so it doesn`t lead to showing research without credits. This grade I feel is best for me to keep working on as long as I do what is explained.
For practical skills, I am working with a pass due to not being confident with my skills in animating, drawing and game development. I would like to work on a merit, to do that I will need to showcase my confidence in these skills by developing them better.
For evaluation and reflection, I am working with a pass due to not having a clear explanation of what went well and how I can do better on tasks. I would like to work on a merit, to do that I will need detailed extended explanations to show what I can improve on.
Theme – Innovation: Creating new ideas or methods/another way of thinking/thinking outside of the box
What comes up to mind for me is thinking creatively whether for jobs, entertainment, causes, solutions for problems, research and data.
Idea generation for FMP:
- My first idea is to make an animation to showcase innovations that has changed history and how it has impacted to modern world today. I can showcase innovations from different fields like art, science, music, technology etc. I could use adobe animate.
- My second idea is to make a game where a character is walking through portals to showcase their process of coming up with their own innovation. The game will have light bulb collectables which if the player does not collect the required amount they can`t go through each portal. This can represent failure and how innovation is thinking outside the box. I could use Piksel and Godot.
- My third idea is showcase an animated message on Innovation through the game super Mario. I will showcase it by giving each lesson a match to a visual animated example. I will show ten lessons taught. I could use adobe animate.
Survey 1 – My Ideas
For more research into my ideas, I made a survey to showcase the three ideas with questions on wanting to know which idea was interesting and which one fit the theme based on a person`s view. I managed to get ten responses.
Based on the feedback overall, my first idea was the most interesting and fitted the theme the best. However, in my view I like the idea number two instead but I can do it with a twist. Idea one to me is something I don`t want to let go of, I can combine both ideas into a game. To combine them, I was thinking of a character going through each portal to be transported into different innovations from different fields (probably two at most). It can still have the light bulbs as collectables and a scoring system. I feel this will be an easier option for me. With the opportunities I have with finding video tutorials, I can learn more about GODOT to fill in gaps in my knowledge.
Survey 2 – Understanding the theme
For the next survey, this time I focused only on the theme to get a deeper understanding of it in terms of its meaning and any examples.
Based from the feedback, people’s understanding of innovation is quite the same. It’s to generate ideas for the creation of new products or methods that will improve overtime for bettering our world. About examples, there were a bunch of different ones however, the ones that stood out (or was a popular example because of their benefits) were technology (AI, mobile phones etc) and science. With those in mind, an update for my game is to showcase what life was like before the creation of mobile phones and after. So I will be showing the innovation of technology. I will not combine idea 1 and 2 as well, idea 2 is my final idea.
I have created mood-boards on Pinterest for inspiration on what to include in my game. I made a before and after board.
Before:
After:
Tutorials:
This will be the starting tutorial, on how to make a game on GODOT which is what I will be using. This will be a useful as it covers all content in one video instead of a series of videos. It has timestamps for each part that is covered from the beginning to the end of the video. What I will get out of this video is how to make a game starting from getting set up on the software to exporting.
Additionally, as well as using GODOT I will be using Piskel. For a ten minute video it has a good amount of content covering from the basic tools, saving and exporting. This video also has timestamps as well for easy guidance. What I will get out of the video is knowing how use piskel (for the help to make my game) in the duration set.
As well as learning the basics, I would also know how to make a walking animation for my character. With this tutorial, it is separated into three parts to go through the step by step process.
The first GODOT tutorial didn`t cover scripting, so I will use a separate video. What I will learn out of this is to use scripting to create and put into my game for the overall life like feeling.
Just in case I run out of time, game assets would really help. This video gives on free asset websites that can be used for game development.
I would like to use AI in my game, especially for my enemy that can be allowed to kill its opponent and restart the game. This video will teach me how to add enemy AI in my game in five minutes which will help as it is like a quick recap.
Pitch feedback: A five minute presentation
You have a good grasp of them and what you need to create for your project.
Your first and second idea are strong and link into the theme well. Your final idea is a little confusing and I think it will not allow you to show your originality and creativity.
You have justified your chosen idea and have identified the different tasks and skills that you need to complete the project.
You have used a mix of primary and secondary research to help support your decisions.
You have considered your audience and justified your decisions. This may need narrowing down as you have 2 conflicting age groups in there.
You have looked at potential barriers. Please make sure you add how you could get around these barriers.
Your next steps are to plan a game design document. As well as this try to break down the different tasks that you need to complete to make the game and then make sure it is manageable in your time frame. You may want to think of some contingencies in case you run out of time. For example could you download some assets that you do not have time to make ETC. Now would be a good opportunity to research some of those tutorials that you may want to use.
Based from feedback:
WWW:
- Had strong ideas that linked to the theme
- Have a final idea that was justified and recognised the tasks and skills
- Have both primary and secondary research
- I considered my target audience
EBI:
- I could’ve went into more detail about my time management, so which tasks I will do in order and how long I would think it would take me to do them
- For my audience, I could’ve made it less conflicting as there is a difference in terms of age gap and generation
- I could’ve went into more detail on how I would overcome the barriers I described in my pitch
What was suggested and how I will complete them:
- Plan a game design document – I will use the GDD template and fill in each section accordingly
- Break down different tasks to make my game – I will research on the production side of game development and will consider the steps that go into it.
- Download assets if needed – If possible I could run of of time, so I could look up tutorials on how to access assets and how to import them into my game just in case
The steps I need to do to create my game:
- Graphics and design: Firstly, I will need to create my characters, environment, collectables, and the visual elements on Piskel.
- Importing: Secondly, I will need to import my designs onto GODOT so I can use them in my game.
- Programming: Thirdly, I will to create a GODOT code/script to bring my game to life.
- Testing: Lastly, I will test the game-play to check for bugs and errors.
More research after pitch:
This research is to look more in depth about the innovation of mobile phones and the most popular apps globally
- The first ever phone was invented in April 3rd 1973 by a engineer Marty Cooper.
- It use was only to call other people, no texting, face-time, social media, and camera use.
- Mobile phones were mainly used by business workers who was in need to calling clients and colleagues. These people were the first generation to use mobile phones.
- The second generation made mobile phones be seen more often than the first generation. These phones had a new 2G signal and this was the time more teenagers became mobile phone users, this was in the 1900s.
- In January of 2007, was the start of the peak of mobile phone innovation, as a man named Steve Jobs announced the iPhone to his audience. This iPhone was describes to have the combining of a music player, iPod’s, internet capabilities and a touch screen. There was now a new signal of 3G (3rd Generation) that allowed users to download apps from an online app store.
- With updating, users can now stream live TV, films and sporting events from just with one screen.
The timeline of mobile phones:
Before mobile phones, there were different ways that people use to communicate, find entertainment, listen to music.
Communication before phones:
- Written letters
- Face to face interaction
- Messengers (On foot, horseback or carrier pigeons)
Entertainment before phones:
- Social gatherings and events
- Radios
- Black and white screen TVS
Listening to music before phones:
- Cassette players
- CDS/CD players
- Mini disk players
Then to now, we can compare how people do these activities on mobile phones, by showing the most popular apps.
Most popular apps:
Communication apps:
- #3 Facebook – Connecting with friends, families, and people with similar interests
- #4 WhatsApp – Communicating using internet data
- #5 Telegram – Messaging
- #6 Zoom – Video conferencing, chatting and phone meetings
- #8 Facebook Messenger – Making voice or video calls to friends, family and people you know
Music apps:
- 1. Spotify – The best music streaming service for most people
- 2. Tidal – The best music streaming service for audiophiles
- 3. Qobuz – The best music streaming service for hi-res audio
- 4. Apple Music – The best music streaming service for Apple fans
- 5. Amazon Music – The best music streaming service for Prime members
- 6. Deezer – The best streaming service for features
Entertainment apps:
- 1. Netflix
- 2. YouTube
- 3. Disney+
- 4. Amazon Prime Video
- 5. HBO Max
- 6. Hulu
- 7. Tubi
- 8. Peacock TV
- 9. Pluto TV
- 10. Paramount
Experimenting with Piskel:
I have started experimenting on Piskel by creating a character with animation. I am planning to experiment more by making more characters as I get more confident with animation too.
First character: 12/3/25
Before I uploaded the GIFS I had issues with their quality for the first and second characters. But when it got resized to 500 x 500 the quality is much better than previous versions. This was a potential barrier that stopped me from uploaded the GIFS onto WordPress, but I now it is resolved.
I created it by just playing around with the colours until I made a character. I wanted to add an animation on it to make it look like it was flying. I created a second layer and adjusted the wings so they are in a downwards direction. The tools I used were vertical mirror pen to create the full body, pen tool to add the colours I wanted, the onion skin tool to see the previous frame, and the centre tool to make the character body move up and down. I learnt about the tools by watching the “PISKEL FOR DUMMIES” video that is embed on this post and creating notes which is kept in a drafts post.
*I will be updating this as a start to watch more tutorials*
Second character: 13/3/25
I just finished creating a second character which is based on a water fountain but if that object was a human. I got inspired by this picture to pick out the right colours:
I also added animation onto this to give the character a water fountain likeness. I created it by firstly creating a blue body with the vertical mirror pen tool. Then I created its mouth and eyes with the pen tool. Then I duplicated the first frame seven times and as I went along I used the pen tool again to add an increasing amount of white square pixels for the animation.
I also practised making a portal that took me 78 frames to finish for the animation. I used the vertical pen tool to draw the black outline and different shades of purple. In each frame I added an increasing amount of colour to make the portal have an opening animation. *This is also a part of my planning.*
UAL proposal document:
Game planning:
To start my game planning, I filled out a GDD (Game Design Document) which is a structured document gives details about the concept, design and developments of a video game.
For floor planning I have made three different floors, all of them have the same purple colours at the top, but different grounds. To create these I firstly made the top of the first frame have different shades of purple, than I coloured the bottom black. I duplicated the first frame twice for the second frame to have a brown ground and the third to have a darker purple ground. The tools I used were the pen tool to add colours to the frames, the paint bucket tool to colour the bottom areas, and additionally I added lighting on the purple tops using the lighten tool. I personally like these as they match my portals colour scheme.
I decided to add more into my primary research by making a survey simply asking which design is people`s favourite to see which will look good in my game.
Bases on these results, the first and second floor was neck to neck from what people chose as their favourite. For me, I also liked floor one the best so my decision is to use that as my main floor.
Another update into my idea is to have stands to show the timeline of different phones which was inspired by the screenshot I made in on this WordPress post during my research.
The GIF:
I created this by firstly making the stand using the vertical pen tool adding a black outline and filling in the middle with grey. I thought I would add in an animation to make the stand to have a spotlight effect. I duplicated the first frame to make nine frames in total, each having an increase in yellow coloured pixels. I also used the lighten tool to add light into my sprite.
The only problem is players might mistake this to be a torch, but the phones will be floating on top of them so it will make them understand that it is a stand.
Using Piksel, I will go down the exact timeline order of each phone inventions and remake their designs in pixel designs. Additionally, I will be giving the dates and the inventors following up with my inspiration pictures and going into how I made them with the tools used and screenshots.
Going back to the beginning, the first phone invented was the Motorola`s Dynatac 8000x that was announced in 1984 by Martin Cooper the inventor.
The inspiration vs my sprite:
The next release after the Motorola’s Dynatac 8000x was the Hagenuk MT-2000 that was released in 1994 and made by a development centre in Stovring, Denmark.
The inspiration vs my sprite:
The next release after the Hagenuk MT-2000 was the BlackBerry phone that was released in 1999 by a Canadian company called RIM.
The inspiration vs my sprite:
The next release after the blackberry phone was the first ever phone invented to have a camera capable of sending picture messages, the J-SH04. It was released in 2000 by sharp that was only available to Japan.
The inspiration vs my sprite:
The next release after the J-SH04 was the first iPhone which was released in 2007 by Steve Jobs who was the co-founder, chief executive, and chairman of Apple.
The inspiration vs my sprite:
The next release after the iPhone was the first android phone, the T-Mobile G1. It was released in 2008 by Google Inc and was run by the company Ericom.
The inspiration vs my sprite:
The next release after T-Mobile G1 was the Acer Liquid S2 which was the first phone to include a 4K camera for high definition images. This was released in 2013 by a Taiwanese manufacturer Acer.
The inspiration vs my sprite:
Now onto the last, the next release after the Acer Liquid S2 was the iPhone 6S which was the first iPhones able to record 4K video. The videos were crisp and recorded high rates. This was released in 2015 and announced by Apple`s CEO Tim Cook.
The inspiration vs my sprite:
The tools I used summary:
To create the phone sprites I used:
- The pen tool (The pen icon) = This enabled me to draw the sprites.
- The vertical mirror pen tool ( The line with two pens icon) = This enabled me to mirror my drawing movement to make equal sides.
- Eraser tool (The rubber icon) = This enabled me to erase out mistakes. Similarly, I also used the Ctrl + Z shortcut to undo mistakes.
- Circle tool (The circle icon) = This enabled me to create a circle shape to create cameras on specific sprites.
- The lighten tool ( The circle + – icon) = This enabled me to add light onto my sprites for extra detail. I also used the darken option too by pressing the CTRL shortcut.
- Duplicating the frames for animations.
- Transform + button which centres a sprite, I used this to make the phones float.
An evaluation:
WWW: I came prepared by watching a tutorial on the basics of piskel which gave me the knowledge that was put into my work. Including, the notes that I took which helped me create my objects like the stand and phones. Also, being on track with my own working pace and using my free time after classes to work extra hard on creating my sprites and blogging on WordPress.
EBI: As I have planned to create a 2D game, piskel has a limitation of only 2D art. So my art is not as detailed than the original pictures, additionally with the little details. It would be better, if I tried to mix in some 3D art into my game to show a different range and skills and also get out of my comfort zone.
Next, I am planning to create my main character, enemy and collectables which will still be made by Piskel. I will be looking into more tutorials on how to create characters plus animations. By then I should hopefully start importing everything into my game for the production stage, additionally, watching more tutorials on GODOT because I will be using that to create my game. As I am writing this I have five weeks left (Plus two weeks of Easter break), realistically I will have time to do what I have planned because luckily I am allowed to work from home in Easter. I was thinking then to look into more tutorials if I needed to which can help my time management.
Character inspiration:
I used Pinterest to look for inspiration for my main character, I was thinking of a business man who has a basic suit with a tie and a hat. I created a mood board which helped me find the inspiration I was looking for.
For clarification, I couldn`t embed the mood board as it wouldn`t let me. I tried collecting different links of the board but none of them worked. So I just had to take a screenshot.
I also made a pixel version for inspiration in terms of how my character will look like in pixel form. I used Pureref and dragged and dropped pictures from google onto a tab.
Main character final design:
I ended up using one of the mood boards pictures to draw my characters face and body structure. Then I used my own thinking coming up with the colours used and the facial features. The photo I used was the one with the blue and red suit on the bottom row as it was quite easy to draw a remake.
The animated GIF:
Process frame by frame:
This was quite a quick character to make, due to it being a basic character design. With the research beforehand, that wasn`t a long process either because I knew what I was dealing with. The tools was simply the pen tool which allowed me to draw the body`s structure and adding colour.
An evaluation:
WWW: It didn`t take me long to create this character, having done the research beforehand by making mood boards for inspiration. It also helped me in terms of time management as I can start creating other things that are planned to be in my game. I even made a simple walking animation which in my previous game I never did, so it gave me a challenge.
EBI: I would have liked to create the character from a side point view, especially since I have a walking animation it would have looked better. Because it is from the front the movement might look odd and unrealistic. There are sadly, no tutorials or resources on how to do that so I couldn`t even do any research based on that.
Why are people afraid of innovation?
- Fear of making a mistake
- Failure
- Disappointment
- Imperfection
- The first step
- Risks
- No rewards
- Rejection
- Overthinking creativeness
- Change
I decided for my innovative game is to link it to another theme which is stress. This will be represented through my enemy, showing the message on how innovation is not all about the finished product but how the hard work behind it destroys people mentally. The enemy will be chasing the main character, trying to stop him going through the portals. However, the stress is his own well-being acting like a barrier.
Colours that represent stress:
- Red (A potential use) Anxiety, tension and anger
- Orange (A potential use) Anxiety and restlessness
- Black (Leaning towards using this colour) Overwhelm, despair and hopelessness
- Yellow (Won`t use) Anxiety, nervousness and aggression
- Brown (Won`t use) Dullness, boredom and anxiety
For my enemy’s colour scheme, it has got to be colour the blends with the games other colours but also has got to be the most representative for the message. I am leaning towards using black as it has both of those things. The other colours won`t be suited as they are more bold and bright colours which won`t look right in my game.
Enemy`s design inspiration:
For clarification, I couldn`t embed the mood board as it wouldn`t let me. I tried collecting different links of the board but none of them worked. So I just had to take a screenshot.
Enemy final design:
The animated GIF:
Process frame by frame:
This was also a basic design, which was easy to follow drawing it. Taking inspiration made it easy to put that into creating the character. I again used the pen tool which allowed me to draw the body`s structure and adding colour.
An evaluation:
WWW: I did what I could based on what Piskel allows me to do. For a 2D image it is not a bad design. It came to me quickly. It depicts a negative character for the enemy I was after (the stress that is following the innovator which is my main character).
EBI: Piskel doesn`t have the smoothest animations, so it would have been better if the cloak was moving in a flow rather than being on one side. Also, I would have liked for the cloak to have smaller details like lighter shadings just to make it the overall character design more realistic.
Light bulb design inspiration:
For clarification, I couldn`t embed the mood board as it wouldn`t let me. I tried collecting different links of the board but none of them worked. So I just had to take a screenshot.
Collectable final design:
The animated GIF:
Process frame by frame:
Another basic design that took me a second to make. I used the pen tool which allowed me to draw the light bulbs shape and the lighten tool (also pressed CTRL for darken version) for extra detailing.
An evaluation:
WWW: It looks exactly like a light bulb which is what I wanted. I did it to my best ability with it being 2D on a 2D pixel art software. It looks good as a collectable to represent the process of idea generation.
EBI: It would be better if the light bulb had an actual circular shape. I did try to use the circle tool but it didn`t make circle so I had draw with a free hand.
Production – the making of my game:
I will be recording videos to show each bit of the process:
The recording didn`t go according to plan straight away as I had the tutorial page on one side, on GODOT on the other thinking it would record both. But however, it only recorded me watching the tutorial.
What I plan to do instead if you not have both tabs separated, I will watch a bit of the tutorial first, then I will open up GODOT to then follow those exact steps. It might feel repetitive but I cannot sort out the problem further.
That plan ended up not working either, I couldn`t seem to record when I was on GODOT. I might as well showcase my process by taking screenshots.
Firstly, I learned how to create a folder for my game and to find a file location. I named it “FMP PRODUCTION” which was in documents. I then dragged and dropped the file to my FMP folder on onedrive which hopefully should save my game so I can access it where ever I am.
I skipped over the timeline of the video to go to the section called “Player 1.0” which is where I will learn to import my main character. Here, I created my 2D scene called “Game”. I did this by heading over to 2D scene, clicked on it to create a scene, double clicked “Node2D” to rename my scene to “Game”. It is a must to save the scenes, I used the shortcuts CTRL & S.
I now need a character to add in my game. I pressed the + on the top to add a new scene. I then pressed the other + button above create root node to add a child node. I searched up CharacterBody2D and hit create.
The game needed a visible player, so I used the shortcuts CTRL + A to add another child node and searched up AnimatedSprite2D instead of Sprite2D as my character as animated. I then hit create.
I could now use the inspectors tab on the right side, which shows the properties of a node. I went to the tab, and under animation where it says empty, I clicked on it for it to come up with new sprite-frames. This was for me to import my sprite sheet for my main character. It then came up with a tab at the bottom for animations. Before I went to the next step, I had to export my main characters sprite-sheet. I simply went to piskel, clicked on the picture icon which is export, clicked on PNG to find Sprite-sheet file export and downloaded it.
Back on GODOT on the animation tab, I pressed the waffle icon which opened me up to my save sprite-sheet so I clicked on it and hit open. The sprite-sheet was open, however the frames were all jumbled. It was an easy problem to fix, as I changed the horizontal and vertical numbers (which were on the right hand side) from 4 and 4, to 2 and 3. I then needed to select all the frames in chronological order so they could be uploaded. I then hit add 5 Frames. Now they are uploaded to the animations tab, I pressed the right triangle icon to play my animation. I wanted to slow the FPS down a bit, so next to the looping arrows, I decreased the FPS to three. Below filter animations, the animation name wad “default”, I double clicked on it to rename it to “idle.” I also made sure I pressed autoplay so that the animation plays when the game starts.
The CharacterBody2D still had a warning saying there is no shape for a collision. So I needed to add another child node by pressing the + button in the left corner and searched for Collsionshape2D then hit create. It opened up the inspectors tab, and went to shape then empty so I could pick any shape that would act as a collision. I went ahead and picked the Capsuleshape2D and used the red dots to expand the shape to my size of choice. The video I watched gave me information on actually making the shape smaller than the sprite is a good rule of thumb because it would look frustrating when playing. I then double clicked on the Characterbody2D node and renamed it to “player”. I again hit CTRL & S on keyboard to save my scene.
I then went back to game scene, and from the FileSystem I looked for my saved player and simply dragged and dropped it onto the scene. I learnt that I needed a camera so it can control what is being shown. I hit CTRL & A to add another node and searched for Camera2D node, then hit create. A purple rectangle came up, with also its properties on the inspectors tab but I didn`t need to change anything. I centred the camera to be on top of my player using the little red plus. I then needed to add a script onto my player so it could move around. So I went back into my player scene, and on the top left corner is a scroll with a green plus on it, that is the script button. I pressed that and I kept the basic movement template made by GODOT because I wasn`t familiar (and still not) with programming. Because even following a separate tutorial might mess up my time management as my main focus was to create my game. So I left it as it was and hit create.
(After the two week Easter break, I am back on track with work, I am ahead within the project as I am focusing the production of the game)
I tested out the game-play by pressing the rectangle with a triangle in the middle icon, but the character just fell. To fix it, I need a collider to act is if it was solid ground for my character to walk on. I pressed the plus on the scene area and searched StaticBody2D, then searched CollisionShape2D. Then I headed over to the inspector tab on the right hand side, went to shape, beside to empty, and pressed the New-WorldBoundaryShape2D. A long horizontal line with on top a short vertical line appeared. I needed to move the shape so that it could touch the bottom of my sprite horizontally, so I clicked the StaticBody2D node on the scene tab, went to the top near my game tab and clicked the move button which was the icon that has a dot and four different directional arrows, then used my mouse to move it. Then when I pressed play again, the character could now move like it was walking on ground. Now the player and its movement mechanics is done, next is world-building.
Before following the next step of the tutorial, I had to go piskel and open my saved floor plan file from onedrive. I then went to the side and pressed the mountain icon which is where you can export you sprites with different formats options. I chose the PNG option, then Spritesheet file export (which was a mistake that I will talk about later), then the download button next to it, then saved it into file explorer. I then opened up GODOT, went to the scene tab and deleted the StaticBody2D and replaced it by searching TileMap which I would import my sprite into. On the inspectors tab, where the tilemap section was, I pressed the empty arrow to the side of tileset and added a new tileset. This enabled me to edit the tileset, including its size. I changed the size to 32 by 32 to match the sprites sizing.
The bottom section added two new tabs which were tilemap and tileset. Tileset is where I would import by sprite into and tilemap would be where I could paint my sprite onto my game. I opened up file explorer to find my saved piskel PNG to drag and drop into the filesystem and then into the blank rectangle in the tileset tab. I used the rubber icon to erase all the pixels and held the shift key to for the piskel to be one big tile. I switched the tileset tab to tilemap tab to start painting, I had to make sure I was on the select tool before pressing the pen icon. But as I was starting to paint, the problem was that my floor was very massive then what it needed to be. I thought what caused this was when I changed the sizing in GODOT and the resolution in Piskel so I changed them back into the original settings, deleted the original saved PNG to download a new version and dragged and dropped it back into GODOT.
That didn`t work either, I wasn`t aware that in Piskel there was a selected frame export which is essentially exporting a single sprite. So I deleted my tilemap node and started again, with downloading the single sprite and saving it into file explorer.
I followed the exact same steps I did earlier, but with no mistakes this time.
I needed to add a physics layer onto my tiles so that my player could walk onto the ground without falling. I went to the inspectors tab, near the tilemap section, pressed tileset so the editing settings appeared, went down to physics layers and add element. I then went to the bottom tab, pressing the tileset tab, pressing paint then property editor and chose physics layer 0. Additionally, when I was playing the scene the camera wasn`t following the player, so I simply had to drag the camera node underneath the player node to fix the problem. I also adjusted the smoothness of the camera by going to the inspectors tab to find position smoothing and pressing enabled.
LITTLE REFLECTION 28/04: Earlier, I was having trouble with opening my game on a different computer, which was wasting my time as I could`ve carried on with my game production. I went on to the first computer I saved my work on, with that I exported the file then imported it into the different computer. I managed to carry on working afterwards.
Now I wanted to import my stands into the game, so I pressed the plus on the top left corner to search a new node, I searched up animatedsprite2D. Went to the inspectors tab and under animation I went to empty which was next to spriteframes and clicked on it to add new spriteframes.
I just opened GODOT, and it seems that stands wasn`t saved onto this computer equally than the computer I saved it on yesterday. So I will have to import it again using my notes above.
The animation still doesn`t work, but I don`t want to make it a massive problem. The stands are still fine just the way they are. I am planning distributing a total of eight stands to make each level having four each. I am using the shortcut CTRL + D to duplicate the stands.
I now wanted to import my phones with referencing the timeline order. To get a phone imported, I went over to Piskel to find a saved piskel file to drag and drop it from onedrive. I then went to the export button and pressed download under the Spritesheet file export. Once downloaded, I dragged and dropped the same file onto GODOT. Now in GODOT, I hit the plus button in the top left corner to search a new node, the node was again animatedsprite2D. In the inspectors tab, I went under animation next to spriteframes, clicked on empty to add new spriteframes. Renaming nodes is a much easier way of knowing what your working with, so under scene where all the nodes are located, I double clicked on the new node and named it first phone. On the bottom tab, where spriteframes is, I clicked the waffle icon to access my spriteframes and adjusted the frames horizontally and vertically. I then selected the frames in number order and added them.
I carried ahead, repeating the same steps for the other phones to get the ending result of the last screenshot. I also made sure to keep using the shortcut CTRL + S to save my scene during the process.
LITTLE REFLECTION: I again had a bit of trouble with there being different versions of my game on different computers and having to export it each time. But I managed to sort the problem which hasn`t affected my work negatively.
I now needed to import my collectables, so I pressed the plus on the top to create a new scene. Then I pressed the other plus at the top left corner to add the new nodes area2D and animatedsprite2D. I made sure the animatedsprite2D was on, and went to the inspectors tab, then animation, and under at empty to add new spriteframes. The bottom tab turned on the animation tab, and where there were little buttons I pressed the waffle icon and selected my already imported spritesheet. I then edited the frames horizontally and vertically and selected the two frames in number order. I then needed to add collision onto my collectables so my character can collect them. So I searched up the collisionshape2D node and went to the inspectors tab, then underneath collisionshape2D was shape and pressed the down arrow next to it to add any shape of my choice. I saved my collectables scene with the shortcut CTRL + S, then went back to my main game scene and dragged and dropped my collectables scene onto the scene. I started to layout my collectables and used the shortcut CTRL + D to duplicating the number of them.
I needed a script for my collectables so they could disappear when the player collects them. So I went to my collectables scene and where a little scroll with a green plus icon was I pressed it to create a script. I deleted the default codes because I didn`t need them. It needed to connect to a signal which are found on the right hand side like the inspectors tab. I selected body_entered signal by double clicking it then pressing connect. It was working as it was showing a green arrow. I then added another code which was print(“+1 coin!”). I then headed over to my player scene to tweak the collision layers by going to the inspectors tab under collision to layer and pressed the number two. I then went back to my collectables script and added another code queue_free(). Bare in mind, I wasn`t really sure what the codes meant as I was following a tutorial, but at the end of finishing the script my collectables was starting to disappear which meant it was working.
LITTLE REFLECTION 7/5: My game is almost complete which shows the amount of effort I have put into my game from start to finish. All I have to do is add my enemy and try to input AI into the character. I am way ahead on track with there being enough time for me to finish it off for this week, then doing my main evaluation next week. I should be able to hand in my FMP without being late.
EVALUATION:
For this project, I have created a 2D game following the theme innovation. The concept is having time travel elements with showing the innovation of mobile phones. The game has portals, light bulb collectables, a main character and a enemy character. The main character (the one wearing the suit) is travelling through portals to look at phones (from different decades) displayed on stands whilst trying not to be caught by the enemy (the character in the cloak).
Overall, I have achieved on what I had planned my final product would look like as I created and imported everything. However, my game is limited as it is a 2D game, for example, my character move sideways rather than showing full body movement. I wasn`t fully achieving with the portals as it didn`t have the effect of allowing the character to go through them but instead behind them. The collectables (the lightbulbs) was also suppose to disappear as the character collides but the script was not working. The enemy was also suppose to be chasing the main character but I could only control the main character. I didn`t quite know how to make the enemy move.
Idea generation: I started researching more about the word innovation, then looked at innovation in different fields. I decided to focus my FMP on a game about mobile phones because my target audience was the younger generation who enjoy games and mobile phones that would enjoy the game. I think it was successful because I did detailed research and used my strong creative skills.
Planning: I made a table with the dates (which was based on the weeks in the term) and I put down tasks I would be doing each week. I think it was successful as I managed to follow my timetable and sometimes would work even ahead of schedule. I managed to finish my final product in time.
Pitch: I finished creating my pitch PowerPoint and presented it early on in the term. I was nervous about pitching in front of my teacher but once I got it done it was fine. My teacher gave me clear feedback and the approval of going ahead with my project. I think it was successful because I didn`t leave it still last minute and got it done straight away.
Production: It started well, but I got hit with a major barrier which was when I would save my game on one computer, but when I logged onto a different computer I either couldn`t find the file or some parts would be missing and would have to import some stuff again. This made me frustrated but luckily I managed to save everything properly (with the help of my teacher) so I could easily find it. I think it was mostly successful its just the saving problem that got in the way but I manged to finish my final production.
Around my planning stage, I had to create my time plan by filling in the dates and each of their tasks. I managed to follow through it as I gave myself simple instructions.
I regularly reflected on my work on WordPress and also got some peers to review my work (from pre-production to final production). I appreciated the positive feedback I got but also reflected on the things that need improvement.
The skills I learnt during the FMP was creating pixel art, game development using GODOT, creative thinking skills and researching YouTube tutorials. I would like to upskill and learn how to create 3D games with 3D characters.
Overall, I am happy with my game as it was my first attempt. However, what I would do differently is to create a game in 3D instead of 2D because 2D games have their limitations, for example I would have liked to add more detail to the characters and the environment. I also would have liked for the characters to move more realistically rather than sideways.
Using Neil`s toolbox
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Peer reviews:
From Henda:
Good: There was good links to the definition well structured, well organised, good idea generating I liked your animation of the bird.
Improvement: You can maybe try creating the water In 2D or 3D
Notable: Your pixel animation was vey creative I liked how you have turned mobile phones into objects in Piskel the walking man animation is also pretty good and I particularly liked how you were able to get lots of images on Piskel men and create your own your portfolio is also very nice filled with amazing images.
Based on this feedback, I have managed to a well structured and organised blog. I am also good at generating good ideas. My improvements are when experimenting, try to challenge myself by mixing 3D and 2D into my work. My notables were executing my sprites creatively.
From Xanthe:
Good: I like how the pixel art is detailed.
Improvement: N/A
Notable: I like how the pixel art is detailed.
Based on this feedback, I have been reassured that my pixel art is executed in a detailed way which showcased my strength in attention to detail. Unfortunately, I wasn`t given any feedback on how to improve my work.
For final product:
I sent a screenshot and a gameplay video to my peers to get their review:
From Xanthe:
things i liked: i like the main characters design, i like the design of the objects the pixelated art is detailed, i like how you can see the evolution of the phone, the npc (i think) it well designed
improvement: the path is small maybe add some more blocks to make it a bit bigger
Based on this feedback, due to time constraints I couldn`t make my path bigger. I also did not do a detailed level plan so I wasn`t sure whether to make it long or short.
From Marcia:
I like how you made your characters and the objects move. It would have been nice if the character would collect the lightbulbs instead of walking and jumping pass. Also, It was unclear what job the black character was doing. Overall, I like how you designed the stairs. Good Job
Based on this feedback, I did try making scripts so the collectables could disappear when colliding with the main character and for the enemy to move. But, none of them were working properly so it does look unclear. However, I did try to watch some tutorials but that didn`t work either. I plan to learn how to do this as I progress on my course.
Ruby`s Blog 