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“Day 092/366 – To Do List” by Great Beyond is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Your toughest work is defining what your work is! –  Peter Drucker

PRACTICE ROOM (TUTORIALS)

In this ‘room’ you are going to try Getting Things Done (GTD).

STEP 1: MAKE A LIST

• Math homework
• Band Practice/Homework
• History assignments
• Feed Pets
• Walk dog
• Do chores

STEP 2: NOTICE WHAT YOU NOTICED

• Feed Pets
• Walk dog
• Do chores
• History assignments
• Band Practice/Homework
• Math homework

STEP 3: SET A TIMER

1. Set a timer for your first task
   1. Decide how long you think it will take before you start
2. Start working
3. Repeat this process for 45 minutes for as many tasks as you can complete, then take a 15-minute break
   • Get up and get a drink of water
   • Get up and go for a walk
   • Every 20 minute blink your eyes 20 times while looking at least 20 feet away
     • This is good for your eyes

Start steps 1 through 3 again, repeat for your school day

OUTSIDE (PRODUCTIVITY & THE BRAIN)

• Set a timer
• Spend up to 20 minutes in this ‘room’
• Watch the first 30 seconds of this Oct. 2020 interview with David Allen

• Reflect on GTD and getting to the top of the colorful list above for a minute
  • How can the GTD process help you tame the crazy-busy dragon of modern life?

• Then, go for a 15-minute walk, if it is safe to do so
• Write a few sentence reflection
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

OPTIONAL EXERCISE – Literally, read the article and go for another walk

“I coach C-suite executives and rising stars from the earliest startups to Fortune 100 companies. My passion is to help ambitious leaders achieve their full human potential.”  – Read more about Katia…

• Set a timer
• Spend up to 15 minutes reading…
  • FastCompany Magazine article about Katia Verresen’s techniques and GTD, https://www.fastcompany.com/3026827/the-brain-hacks-top-founders-use-to-get-the-job-done
• Then, go for another 15-minute walk, if it is safe to do so
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED

• Write only a few sentences of WHAT YOU LEARNED
• In one or two sentences, describe a PROBLEM YOU SOLVED
• DELETE ALL OF MR. LE DUC’s INSTRUCTIONS, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

WEEKLY ACTIVITY EVALUATION

• Give feedback on this week’s class Content and Process
  • Fill in the Weekly Activity Evaluation
• DELETE THIS WHOLE SECTION, AFTER YOU ARE DONE

Role: Lead Programmer

The core intention of the programmer is to create the basic mechanics of the game.

Intention (SMART Goal)

By March 25th, as a part of our game production team, I will have completed learning how to generate random objects using code, to be able to create more interesting and cohesive mechanics for our infinite dungeon crawler game.

Leader(s) in the Field / Exemplary Work(s)

This game is exceptional in the fact that the entire game is randomly generated. Mob spawn, terrain, item drops, just about every level mechanic. It is extremely difficult to have so many different randomly spawning events that all can coexist and not get in the way of each other in a cohesive and fun game.

Training Source(s)

• Consists of an array of objects, a random number, and a spawn point
• Create a random number by using a random.range function
• Then instantiate a random object out of the array on the spawn point

Project Timeline

1. Search Youtube for tutorials
2. Ask a friend if they have experience if you cannot find video
3. Watch the video, take notes
4. Attempt to recreate the code/modify it to your game

Trevor Santanicola

Period 5

Creative Commons Image “1992 Super Mario World Yoshi & Mario” by NintendoPassion on Flickr

Summary: My goal was to create the skeleton of an infinite dungeon crawler.

21st Century Skills: I used creativity to come up with a way of infinitely generating rooms. I utilized my problem-solving expertise by using my code bank to make dynamic and intuitive code. Using time management, I was able to come up with a list of things that needed to get done during a 3-day duration of when I was sick.

The Game Creation:

Reactions to Final Version: 

“Infinite generation is hard to work with, … good job,” -Sam George

“Excellent Job,” -Brian Favorite

Evaluation of Final Version: The mechanics that I needed were laid out before I started. Movement, Infinite Rooms, and transitions between rooms. The demo that I provided included all three, making it a good base to start with.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved: I learned that infinitely generating rooms is a pain in the neck. However, I was able to fix all the extensive issues and have a comprehensible final version.

Trevor Santanicola

Period 5

Creative Commons Image “1992 Super Mario World Yoshi & Mario” by NintendoPassion on Flickr

Summary: My goal was to insert art and create cohesive UI’s that fit with the game’s overall theme.

21st Century Skills: I utilized creativity with my knowledge of color theory to make UI’s that were comprehensible and fitting. Problem-solving was fairly simple, as there are many animation and UI tutorials to view on Youtube and Unity forums. Time management was a hard task, but I used critical thinking to assess which tasks needed to be completed first. I also had the challenge of being a solo team, as one person only has a limited amount of experience. Luckily, I have been the artist of a team and the coder of a team before this so I was able to do both.

The Game Creation:

Reactions to Final Version: 

“Excellent work in all fields,” -Sam George

“Can this guy be on my team,” -Sam LaViollette.

Evaluation of Final Version: The game was simple, the objective being that you had to get to the end. The mechanics were unexpectedly original and puzzling. The actual concept and feeling of the game is concrete and not too quirky or weird.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved: I learned that polishing a game is a long and slow process. The actual mechanics of the game took about 1.5 weeks to make, while the art and UI took around 4 weeks. You may think this was due to laziness, however, I have the burn-down charts to prove that I was doing more in the polishing weeks than the initial mechanics weeks.

Trevor Santanicola

Period 5

Creative Commons Image “1992 Super Mario World Yoshi & Mario” by NintendoPassion on Flickr

Summary: My goal was to create the main components of a puzzle game to submit in a Game Design contest in December.

21st Century Skills: I used creativity to come up with puzzle levels that felt original and incorporated new kinds of mechanics. Whenever I encountered a problem, I used online tools like Unity Forums and Youtube tutorials to help me get over the challenge. Critical thinking was also a necessity that I had to utilize in order to guesstimate which mechanics should be dealt with first and how to deal with them. I also had the challenge of communicating with a team outside of the classroom, but I have many periods shared with my team mate, making the issue very small.

The Game Creation:

Reactions to Final (Not Really Final) Version: Brian Favorite said that he enjoyed the color scheme, and Sam George noted that my “Code is efficient” and I had a “Clear understanding of EC’s and Components”.

“Nice job presenting,” -Jack G.

Evaluation of Final Version: My game was very simple, comprised of spheres, cubes, and tiles. The game was very concrete in its purpose and gameplay, and was unexpected in the new type of mechanic that I based the game around.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved: At the start of the year, I wasn’t very confident in my coding skills, and wanted to be a level designer. With this project, I have proven to myself that I can make original and efficient code over the course of a normal cycle. I also learned how to make an XML Script in my code, using /// instead of //.

Trevor Santanicola

Period 5

Creative Commons Image “From Nibaq with Love” by Mark on Flickr

Summary: 3 weeks of time is all I had with a team of two other classmates to make a simple platform-jumping game.

21st Century Skills: The task at hand required a surplus of problem solving and creativity, as our simple concept still needed to be limited in the least amount of ways possible in order to get the most out of our two weeks. We applied our problem solving and creativity to come up with the best possible ways to approach making the codes in order to maximize work in the minimal amount of time. We also were innovative in our mechanics, as our game was the only game that had more than one function with only one button. We communicated our problems to each other, and were able to collaborate efficiently to finish what we needed to get done.

The Game Creation:

Reactions to Final Version: Sam enjoyed our presentation, and stated that I “clearly understood the assignment and documented effectively”. However, I also “looked at the screen a lot,” said Kaytee, which is a skill that I need to improve upon and practice when presenting.

Evaluation of Final Version: Our game was very simple, with only a few mechanics, thus fulfilling the “simple” section. Our game was also very concrete, with a controlled being navigating a course of normal-looking walls.

What I learned and Problems I Solved: Throughout the 3 week cycle experience, I learned very quickly that time management is key. You cannot do anything if you do not have enough time or know what to do with it. Some problems I solved included coding without Unity whilst it was broken, as I researched the components I needed and wrote them on paper.

 

Overall, Caden is great all around the board. I’ve worked with him on a couple projects in our Game Design class over the course of a year. Caden is easily able to organize and manage any large scale project that comes his way. No matter what problem you give him, he is easily able to find a solution in a timely manner. I would recommend Caden for anyone’s group or team.

Rotate’s main goal is to be a game simple enough to be created by a solo developer, (me), while it also maintains originality and entertainment value.

In Rotate, you play as a ball, and have to travel to the end finish line. The game plays similarly to novelty wooden ball labyrinths. The main ‘quest’ is to complete all the levels.

1. The main character is a sphere, that can be rolled into the finish line.
2. The goal initiates the end of the level and teleports the player to a menu where they can continue into the next level.
3. The controls are WASD, and these buttons will shift the entire level a certain direction in order to gravitationally move the ball towards the goal.
4. The scenery is simple and modern.
5. The sounds in the levels are 5a, a wall hit sound on every wall and obstacle, and 5b, the ‘level complete’ jingle.

The main enemy of the game is platforms that are colored red that start appearing in level 2. Touching these will reset the player.

The UI includes a level complete screen after completing a level, and the main menu at the start which still needs to be built.

Properties:

– Clear Flags:

Skybox: If you want the sky to not interact game objects, then with skybox the camera draws a skybox.

https://youtu.be/9ll6UP-kG40?t=726

 

Solid Color: Sky is just a solid color.

https://youtu.be/9ll6UP-kG40?t=786

 

Depth only: If the rays collide with a game objects, then it doesn’t draw anything.

https://youtu.be/9ll6UP-kG40?t=812

 

Don’t Clear: Doesn’t update camera to new thing, keeps old thing, causing “Streak”

https://youtu.be/9ll6UP-kG40?t=835

 

– Culling Mask:

Turn things on and off.

https://youtu.be/9ll6UP-kG40?t=907

 

 – Depth:

Controls what order cameras are drawn into the scene.

First camera drawn is on the bottom.

Second camera is always drawn onto the first, third onto second, etc.

– Two Cameras at once:

Make one depth only while the other is skybox. Both must have the same depth.