Postmortem

Intro:

  Mythological madness is an AR game where two players can fight together using different cultural deities and monsters to fight it out. Originally meant to be a game where you collected cards but that and many features were cut due to time constraints. I worked on this project with kamikazitaz1.itch.io and a-shadow45.itch.io, each of us did work on the coding kamikazitaz1 being our main coder and also made 3D assets(most were not used due to time) and some effects, a-shadow45 coded the UI and 2D assets(also mostly unused due to time), and I helped complete some of the codes(i.e. the turn based system) and the attack effects.

3 things that went right:

1. Assets: We were able to make the player assets fairly easily and make the transition from a 2d drawing to a 3d model very nicely. Sadly due to time we could only use and make a few.

2. Turn-based system: With some trouble at first I managed to help kamikazitaz1 complete the turn based battle system. At first he made two scripts for each player and if they hit a button it would hit the other player based on random chance, but it created a problem where one script wouldn't learn the other finished it's turn and the turn wouldn't be over until the player lands a hit. Later after getting some advice from a teacher I took both scripts, merged them into one, fixed the turn-based system so when a player clicked an attack button it would switch off properly and would do so even if you missed.

3. Effects: We were able to create some bare basic effects to use when a player gets hit and a different one is activated depending on the strength of the attack.

2 things that went wrong:

1. Prioritization: We made the mistake of focusing solely on the design and aesthetic, that it wasn't until a week before our first playtest that we realized we basically still didn't have a game to really show and during the confusion of trying to figure out what to do, we couldn't build something substantial to show for our second playtest.

2. Communication: When making our game we were not able to meet up together outside of class due to time conflicts and had trouble communicating, either some of us weren't available to reach or actively choose not to seek help when faced with a problem leading to late responses and our group being slow to take action.

What I learned: When making a game, no matter what role people have, get everyone, make the idea quick, and then code the game first. Don't worry about making and importing assets, just use place holders, waste no time starting with asset creation. Start coding by the end of the first meeting or start by the second. If there is an issue or a concern have team members say them immediately, don't try to deal with it alone reach out for help the moment something seems like an issue.

What’s next: 

• Characters: add more characters for players to choose from, as in finish creating the other 3D assets and add them in the game as playable characters.
• Animations and SFX: make the characters move when they attack, individualize it for each character, and give them more impact or attack effects, some that are unique to some characters.
• Cards: possibly return to old idea to have players collect digital cards in order to play characters.
• Better UI, menu options, and scenes: have a working pause menu, character select screen, and a win/lose screen
• Proper PvP: let players fight with their phones instead of having to rely on them passing one back and forth.