Week 9 (3/17 – 3/21)

Previous Week

The week before spring break the team focused on implementing a subset of the social features: allowing users to find, add, and visit friends as well as interact with their bookshelf.  Also, the team created a detailed specification for the interface and interactions of this feature subset.  The team was able to get everything in place for a successful playtest at the end of the week at Bower Hill Elementary.

Week Overview

This week the two members of the team were out at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) and learning a lot about the different aspects of game creation.  The other members of the team focused on polishing the system, design specifications for small features, adding sound and additional animations and art assets.   Our goal was to really polish the existing system for a playtest scheduled at the end of the week, as well as our upcoming half semester presentation.  The team also dedicated effort to creating and rehearsing the presentation.

Progress

With the new art and sound in place, Questyinz Social is really starting to come together and the team can see the game’s potential.  Friday’s playtest was canceled, but we were able to test with a smaller group Saturday morning and collected some helpful information.  With game’s groundwork in place the team is ready to flesh out the game with further features and adjustments in the upcoming week.

Prospect

Following our halves presentation the team will assign the tasks needed to implement the game’s next big feature set: Quests and Experience Points.   This feature will have a lot tied into it, as we also plan to introduce the game’s collection of decorations as well as new sounds, UI,  and possibly animations.