Monday
The meeting was mainly focused around organising the upcoming weeks and co-ordinating the tasks so that each member had roughly the same amount of work to do. The main task was to ensure the testing phase went smoothly this week as the team really needed to test as many people as possible , with the aim of hitting at least 50. This week also saw the transfer of the Milestone Manager role from Nick Rathbone to me. The plan for the next morning was to begin testing using Brian Morris’ class.
Tuesday
This morning was scheduled to have the class in b1-5 with around 20-30 subjects tested. Unfortunately without Brian being away, who was away attending the GDC, this resulted in a very poor turnout with around only 4 students turning up. However, during the morning we managed to speak to Karl Gregory, another lecturer which enabled us to obtain around 7 subjects. In the afternoon we continued testing in another lab and managed to again test around another 7 subjects. The group was very pleased with the amount of subjects we had already tested and it had really taken any worries we had previously had away about achieving the minimum 50.
Wednesday
This meeting was mainly focused on Amanda and Claire speaking to each group about their progress. For our team it involved a discussion of the testing we had done and the plans for the next weeks. It was also a good time for us to demonstrate our work to Claire and to make sure it was written in the correct style and was on the right path.
Thursday
The meeting with the supervisors in the morning went very well. As things were going very smoothly and well for us there was little for us to discuss (for further information refer to the team blog). The afternoon testing continued where the team managed to obtain another 16 subjects. It must be stated that this large number was really attributed to the help received by the lecturers who were willing to participate i.e. Steve Manning, Andrew Williams and two lecturers from the Intro to Synthesis and Midi module.
The plan for the weekend was to continue the refining of the write-ups. Overall my role as MM this week has been a fairly easy task because the focus is mainly on testing.
Monday, 25 February 2008
Friday, 15 February 2008
Project Journal Week 21
This week was mainly involved practising the presentation. It was decided that I would be helping Nick with the presentation, which was a result of me being given the task of completing the prototype lighting investigation. It was very difficult to condense my document into the presentation as it was around 3000 words once it was completed. My section on the presentation was eventually cut down to around 4 slides and I made sure that the text on screen gave enough information to the viewer as well as prompt me to discuss them further. The week was mainly involved with me and Nick extensively practising the milestone presentation. We felt this was a very important milestone presentation, perhaps more so that others, as it was a showcase of our artefact and research up to that point.
Wednesday
On the Wednesday we presented to Amanda and Claire and we thought the presentation went very well. Amanda and Claire gave us many compliments on our presentation and research up until this point. They also highlighted some areas of our presentation that needed changing. In particular amendments to the SAM form and some of the picture slides (for more information on this refer to the team blog).
Thursday
The presentation to the supervisors went very well and I thought as a team me and nick represented it very well. All major points were put across in a professional manner and the presentation ran smoothly. There were some points brought up by the supervisors which are explained in more detail in the team blog.
Overall this week has ran very smoothly and the hard work the group put into ensuring the presentation was as good as it could be really paid off. The plan for the weekend is to separate the team write-up so each member has certain section/s to do. The plan for the next week is to begin the testing phase, where I will be heading the Milestone Manager role.
Wednesday
On the Wednesday we presented to Amanda and Claire and we thought the presentation went very well. Amanda and Claire gave us many compliments on our presentation and research up until this point. They also highlighted some areas of our presentation that needed changing. In particular amendments to the SAM form and some of the picture slides (for more information on this refer to the team blog).
Thursday
The presentation to the supervisors went very well and I thought as a team me and nick represented it very well. All major points were put across in a professional manner and the presentation ran smoothly. There were some points brought up by the supervisors which are explained in more detail in the team blog.
Overall this week has ran very smoothly and the hard work the group put into ensuring the presentation was as good as it could be really paid off. The plan for the weekend is to separate the team write-up so each member has certain section/s to do. The plan for the next week is to begin the testing phase, where I will be heading the Milestone Manager role.
Monday, 11 February 2008
Project Journal Week 20
Team Meeting Tuesday 5th Feb 08
During this meeting a variety of things were discussed and planned. The main point concerning me was how my lighting investigation could be implemented into the presentation. After many changes and discussions it was decided that I should present my findings in the presentation as I would represent my work the best.
Team Meeting with supervisors
The first part of this meeting was spent discussing the recent handouts for the final group write-up and the individual write-up. It was noted that it had caught the team and many others in the final year by surprise as the final hand in dates for both of these were much earlier than expected. We also highlighted the fact that it would conflict with our final milestone so something had to be done about this.
The second part of this investigation was to show our artifact off to the supervisors and give them a full walkthrough of it. We discussed some of the issues that had been affecting the construction e.g. lighting issues.
Control Group Testing Thursday 7th Feb 08
This date was scheduled for the group test in which we tested 6 people on the artifact. It was mainly to make sure everything ran smoothly and see if the results obtained were similar to what we expected.
The plan for next week is to practice the Milestone Presentation and begin the testing.
During this meeting a variety of things were discussed and planned. The main point concerning me was how my lighting investigation could be implemented into the presentation. After many changes and discussions it was decided that I should present my findings in the presentation as I would represent my work the best.
Team Meeting with supervisors
The first part of this meeting was spent discussing the recent handouts for the final group write-up and the individual write-up. It was noted that it had caught the team and many others in the final year by surprise as the final hand in dates for both of these were much earlier than expected. We also highlighted the fact that it would conflict with our final milestone so something had to be done about this.
The second part of this investigation was to show our artifact off to the supervisors and give them a full walkthrough of it. We discussed some of the issues that had been affecting the construction e.g. lighting issues.
Control Group Testing Thursday 7th Feb 08
This date was scheduled for the group test in which we tested 6 people on the artifact. It was mainly to make sure everything ran smoothly and see if the results obtained were similar to what we expected.
The plan for next week is to practice the Milestone Presentation and begin the testing.
Monday, 4 February 2008
Project Journal Week 14 to 19
Project Journal Week 14 and 15
Weeks 14 and 15 were spent revising for the exam in Games Design Theory and no group work was undertaken.
These were the weeks over the Christmas period which were spent developing the level and doing the appropriate research so that the lights and fear elements in the game could be referenced.
Project Journal Week 16
7th to the 13th of December
This week was spent initialising the first steps of the artefact with each member undertaking various roles in development. I, with the group’s approval, was allowed to stay home for another week in East Anglia. I felt I needed some time to relax before I began work. The team agreed with this decision and stated themselves that this week was going to be fairly slow paced so that each team member could do a good amount of work but also enjoy their time off. As I was home it would have been difficult for me to work on the map so the team decided it was a good idea for me to do the write-up of the lighting investigation. My deadline for this was the Friday, and was given three questions to answer. The team decided that this document should initially be around 1500 words in draft form, and then around 3000 once various other parts were inputted into the document e.g. picture descriptions , conclusion. The three questions that were chosen for me to investigate were;
1.Write a short piece on how films elicit fear through lighting Roughly 300-400 words.
2. Then write the next section on how games create fear/tension using lighting. Roughly 300-400
3. Then write how we can use the lighting systems or types (static/dynamic) in HL2 can be used in our level to elicit fear based on the last two paragraphs.
I managed to finish the draft copy of the document on time and the weekend was spent amending the document for errors or highlighting parts that needed changing. The plan was for me to come back the next Monday to help with the level construction and also refine the document that I had written.
Project Journal Week 17
14th to the 20th of December
This week was spent finalising the light prototype write-up and the work on the artefact shifted from primarily being worked on by Phil and Nick to me and Matt. The first few days the team sat down and discussed the changes that needed to be made to the lighting document. The rest of the week the time was split between me and Matt working the level. The main focus for when I had the map was to implement objects in the corridors and apply decals where I felt they were needed. Additionally to this me and Matt prototyped the first lighting system.
Project Journal Week 18
21st to 27th of December
This week the shift again swapped to Nick and Phil. It was primarily spent optimising the map, adding audio effects and refining the level. It was decided that some extra research was needed in order to create a map that was showcasing the best of our abilities. This meant for me researching some academic papers I had previously read, in particular Zammitto’s Colour Emotion. The team also discussed the next stages of what was needed in the prototype lighting system and how they could be documented in the write-up. This meant detailing all the parameters of all the lights available in Half Life 2. Additionally to this, it was decided to take a section of the artefact, the top floor, and showcase the differences between having white, static lighting, and coloured, dynamic lighting. This was then shown in the document in the form of pictures showcasing the differences in each room of the top floor.
To show that each light/ room had been thought about, it was decided that each light be recorded into a table into the document. Overall the lighting document took a vast amount of time to complete, but as nick has stated on his blog, it was done so that each member had equal amounts of work to do. Although I did not have as much input into the level as other members, I made up for this with my lighting write-up. It should also be noted that Matt was given the task of assisting me in prototyping the lighting system and I found his help to be very useful.
Project Journal Week 19
28th of December to the 3rd of February
This past week saw the finalising of my document, the prototype lighting system that I had created and also the refining of the level. The time spent was mainly used to make sure that each light was placed in the correct place and had the appropriate object placed near it e.g. a lamp. The aim was to have the map completed for the Friday so that Nick could render the Maps on a full compile which would be a very lengthy progress. We were thinking of the maps taking around 24 hours to complete but thankfully they only took around an hour to fully compile. That weekend nick spent capturing the two different lighting prototypes and also placing the level recordings side by side to show the differences. On a personal note it must be stated that I had proposed to the team that I be able to go back home this weekend as it was my Aunties birthday 40th Birthday. My reasoning behind this was the fact that during the next semester break it would be unlikely for me to return home as I would be undertaking the Milestone Manger role and the testing phase would be quite lengthy. So my thinking was that it would be nice to see my family at least once until I finish University.
Overall I felt the progress made during our time off and the first week of semester two has been fantastic. I believe the level has been constructed to a professional quality and all members have worked extremely hard. This next week plan is having the preliminary tests done on a select few individuals.
Weeks 14 and 15 were spent revising for the exam in Games Design Theory and no group work was undertaken.
These were the weeks over the Christmas period which were spent developing the level and doing the appropriate research so that the lights and fear elements in the game could be referenced.
Project Journal Week 16
7th to the 13th of December
This week was spent initialising the first steps of the artefact with each member undertaking various roles in development. I, with the group’s approval, was allowed to stay home for another week in East Anglia. I felt I needed some time to relax before I began work. The team agreed with this decision and stated themselves that this week was going to be fairly slow paced so that each team member could do a good amount of work but also enjoy their time off. As I was home it would have been difficult for me to work on the map so the team decided it was a good idea for me to do the write-up of the lighting investigation. My deadline for this was the Friday, and was given three questions to answer. The team decided that this document should initially be around 1500 words in draft form, and then around 3000 once various other parts were inputted into the document e.g. picture descriptions , conclusion. The three questions that were chosen for me to investigate were;
1.Write a short piece on how films elicit fear through lighting Roughly 300-400 words.
2. Then write the next section on how games create fear/tension using lighting. Roughly 300-400
3. Then write how we can use the lighting systems or types (static/dynamic) in HL2 can be used in our level to elicit fear based on the last two paragraphs.
I managed to finish the draft copy of the document on time and the weekend was spent amending the document for errors or highlighting parts that needed changing. The plan was for me to come back the next Monday to help with the level construction and also refine the document that I had written.
Project Journal Week 17
14th to the 20th of December
This week was spent finalising the light prototype write-up and the work on the artefact shifted from primarily being worked on by Phil and Nick to me and Matt. The first few days the team sat down and discussed the changes that needed to be made to the lighting document. The rest of the week the time was split between me and Matt working the level. The main focus for when I had the map was to implement objects in the corridors and apply decals where I felt they were needed. Additionally to this me and Matt prototyped the first lighting system.
Project Journal Week 18
21st to 27th of December
This week the shift again swapped to Nick and Phil. It was primarily spent optimising the map, adding audio effects and refining the level. It was decided that some extra research was needed in order to create a map that was showcasing the best of our abilities. This meant for me researching some academic papers I had previously read, in particular Zammitto’s Colour Emotion. The team also discussed the next stages of what was needed in the prototype lighting system and how they could be documented in the write-up. This meant detailing all the parameters of all the lights available in Half Life 2. Additionally to this, it was decided to take a section of the artefact, the top floor, and showcase the differences between having white, static lighting, and coloured, dynamic lighting. This was then shown in the document in the form of pictures showcasing the differences in each room of the top floor.
To show that each light/ room had been thought about, it was decided that each light be recorded into a table into the document. Overall the lighting document took a vast amount of time to complete, but as nick has stated on his blog, it was done so that each member had equal amounts of work to do. Although I did not have as much input into the level as other members, I made up for this with my lighting write-up. It should also be noted that Matt was given the task of assisting me in prototyping the lighting system and I found his help to be very useful.
Project Journal Week 19
28th of December to the 3rd of February
This past week saw the finalising of my document, the prototype lighting system that I had created and also the refining of the level. The time spent was mainly used to make sure that each light was placed in the correct place and had the appropriate object placed near it e.g. a lamp. The aim was to have the map completed for the Friday so that Nick could render the Maps on a full compile which would be a very lengthy progress. We were thinking of the maps taking around 24 hours to complete but thankfully they only took around an hour to fully compile. That weekend nick spent capturing the two different lighting prototypes and also placing the level recordings side by side to show the differences. On a personal note it must be stated that I had proposed to the team that I be able to go back home this weekend as it was my Aunties birthday 40th Birthday. My reasoning behind this was the fact that during the next semester break it would be unlikely for me to return home as I would be undertaking the Milestone Manger role and the testing phase would be quite lengthy. So my thinking was that it would be nice to see my family at least once until I finish University.
Overall I felt the progress made during our time off and the first week of semester two has been fantastic. I believe the level has been constructed to a professional quality and all members have worked extremely hard. This next week plan is having the preliminary tests done on a select few individuals.
Project Journal Week 13
Week 13
Milestone Help
This week was focused on helping Nick and Matt deliver the final presentation. This was particularly difficult due to the fact that other modules had deadlines this week. The idea for this presentation was to go with a visual theme, something that the team had concluded after receiving a B grade and deciding where there might be some room for improvements. After watching a small presentation of another groups work, we noted that it was presented with the highlight being on a more visual style e.g. graphs and pictures, so subsequently it was decided for us to do something similar.
Milestone Two Presentation
The milestone presentation we thought went very well. Both Nick and Matt represented the team very well and I felt they handled themselves in a very professional manner. Hopefully the supervisors were able to see the work and preparation that went into making this milestone presentation as professional as possible and showcasing the best of our abilities.
Conclusion
This concludes the end of semester one where the team have worked extremely hard. There were many times during semester one that the team were put under considerable pressure but thankfully due to having a strong commitment we thankfully delivered all of our deadlines on time and I believe to the best of our abilities.
Milestone Help
This week was focused on helping Nick and Matt deliver the final presentation. This was particularly difficult due to the fact that other modules had deadlines this week. The idea for this presentation was to go with a visual theme, something that the team had concluded after receiving a B grade and deciding where there might be some room for improvements. After watching a small presentation of another groups work, we noted that it was presented with the highlight being on a more visual style e.g. graphs and pictures, so subsequently it was decided for us to do something similar.
Milestone Two Presentation
The milestone presentation we thought went very well. Both Nick and Matt represented the team very well and I felt they handled themselves in a very professional manner. Hopefully the supervisors were able to see the work and preparation that went into making this milestone presentation as professional as possible and showcasing the best of our abilities.
Conclusion
This concludes the end of semester one where the team have worked extremely hard. There were many times during semester one that the team were put under considerable pressure but thankfully due to having a strong commitment we thankfully delivered all of our deadlines on time and I believe to the best of our abilities.
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