Matthew Napolillo | Week 5: A Large Scream (or The Terrifying Realizations about Missing Communication)

Matthew Napolillo | Week 5: A Large Scream (or The Terrifying Realizations about Missing Communication)

WEEKLY NARRATIVE

So there's been this disconnect throughout the team since the very beginning. The scary part is that we didn't really see it until last week, and it's become more an more apparent this week. It's mainly been about the decisions made during design meetings, and the lack of a method for communicating many of the various and subtle changes that were decided upon within the first 3 weeks of the quarter. I say lack of a method, but I guess the more accurate description would be the lack of a realization of a method. Maybe it was because it was our first time on such a large team. Maybe it was because certain people weren't at these meetings. Maybe it was because other teams were distracted with bug fixes and getting project management tools figured out. Maybe we should have had more full team meetings. There are a lot of reasons that contributed to this disconnect. These compiled with the fluidity and deliberation that surrounded a lot of these changes, meant that while many things were being discussed, there were many subtleties that didn't get thoroughly described or were perhaps left up in the air. Now we've reached the point where we're trying to implement the new design changes, while also struggling with the communication issues that come with having multiple departments and compartmentalization of tasks across a large team. It's been stressful to say the least, and I feel like I'm partially to blame for not realizing this problem sooner.

That being said, there's been some organization on the challenge design team's front. I (mostly) finalized the Challenge Design Workflow. I say mostly because some kinks are still being figured out as we try out the new workflow. I worked on creating the layout for modelers of the Dash Tutorial, as well as implementing key components for the level in game. I created a layout and modeled the Lobby. Unfortunately, there are still mechanics (particularly the mementos unlocking abilities, and the gating and transporting of the player) that haven't been implemented fully, and therefore the Lobby is not finished in game.

CONTENT WITH HOURS

• Design Layout Creation (8 hours)
• Design Workflow Documentation (1 hour)
• Answering Design Questions (.5 hours)
• Modeling Lobby (3 hours)
• Setting up Dash Tutorial (6 hours)

WORKFLOW EXAMPLES

POSITIVE OUTCOMES

• Found necessary changes in the Challenge Design Workflow
• Learned how to implement scenes
• Modeled the Lobby
• Created Layout for the Dash Tutorial

NEGATIVE OUTCOMES

• Previous communication issues becoming more and more apparent
• Some tasks were assigned a bit hastily late in the week
• Discovered difficulties communicating vertical elements of levels for modelers

NEXT TASKS

Creating more challenges for the Library Area. Design the Hero Room for the Library. Clarify mechanics

TOTAL HOURS LOGGED THIS WEEK: 18.5  hours