Project Manager
As project manager I was responsible for ensuring that my team stayed on task, met our bi-weekly sprints, and we got the work done that we wanted to. I accomplished this task by using Trello and making sure that it was kept updated. Trello was organized accordingly:
- Backlog: Things that needed to be done, but weren't a priority.
- Sprint: The end date of the current sprint, and anything that needed to be done by then.
- Now: Anything that's currently being worked on.
- Finished: Everything we finished and were happy with the result of.
Systems Designer
I was responsible for the majority of the major systems that were implemented in the game. This included systems that were generalized for the entire game, systems that were VR-only, and adding new features to existing scripts downloaded from the VRTK Unity asset. Some of the systems I designed include, but are not limited to:
- Enemy Manager: Enemy health and movement, specials (on certain enemies), and correct behaviour in-game.
- Tower Manager: Building new towers from a list, upgrade system, and tower behaviour towards enemies.
- Wave Manager: Spawning enemies in waves and sub-waves, keeping tally of current enemies and current wave, and current health.
- VR Inventory: Inventory system for VR player so they can choose their weapon, as well as their element.
- Game Modes: New modes for each level, such as random waves and unlimited waves (all made through randomization).
I also worked closely with the level designers when making my systems to ensure I could make tools that would be easy for them to use. For example, the wave manager had a custom editor than made it easy for them to add new waves, subwaves, and enemies.
Cinematics Designer
My main responsibility on this project was taking on the role of the cinematics designer. For the game, I created an opening cinematic that was able to tell the story of the game, as well as give background information on what was going on. Some of the things I did include:
- Designed a storyboard for the cinematic, which I then got feedback on before continuing forward.
- Used the final level to set up the initial shots and character placement for the cinematic.
- Also used game assets to build an entirely different area that was used for the indoor shots.
- Made a first version of the cinematic and got feedback on it before polishing it.
- Added in the voice acting, music, SFX, and a few VFX.
The cinematic was originally going to be in the style of a 2D motion graphic, but the images that Unity were taking were far too small and low resolution to be used. In the end, we decided as a team to make the cinematic 3D, which required me to change much of my original planning.
