Dev Log 7 - Team 5

02 / 07 / 2024

Michael Poulos, Theo Huang, Nehchal Kalsi, Kevin Le, June Oh, Noah S Henry Bezerra, Ethan Micallef, Griffin Hook, Zachary Taylor, Tan

What have we done so far?

The team has now implemented all intended features into the build, and all are functional but not completed. The first significant task we've completed this week is the refined animations and their implementation. There is now an idle animation, and the player slithers when they move. Additionally, we refined the jumping animation curve to make it feel smoother, and we added camera rotation back in. The dust bunny (enemy) model is now implemented and is looking great. The team has also pulled off additional level components incorporating generators. 

As for bug fixes, we've fixed controller inputs for the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, Xbox, and Playstation Controllers. All now have button mapping that makes sense for each device. For example, on an Xbox controller, the 'A'  button is the typical button players would press to activate a jump, and that's now the case for Sock Quest. Additionally, we've developed a checkpoint system so players won't have to restart the game when they die. 

Here's a list of additional changes this week:

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• Changed the way we do ground checks to make the jumps onto each platform more fluid (the player no longer sticks to the side of walls near the top ). 

• Added floor and wall textures 

• Added dynamic shock radius 

• Finally fixed the climbing bug where pressing W or the "forward" movement command will slow down the sock's climbing speed, as if it's being pressed into the wall. This issue has been finally resolved. 

What are our next steps?

The most obvious next step is to complete our game's Alpha presentation and record all necessary feedback. However, the final environment must begin its development. The existing level is only a testing ground for our mechanics and is intended to be thrown away. A new level is to be started in scale akin to a real house. Furthermore, the tutorial needs to be worked on. The player must be shown the controls whenever they're needed. For example, when players jump for the first time or use a carpet for the first time, they need to be conveniently informed that A is to jump and climb (for Xbox exclusively).  

Private playtesting sessions are encouraged as the more feedback we collect, the better.

Lastly, we need to start implementing sound effects and alternate soundtracks other than the one we currently have.

What are important discoveries we've made along the way?

There are many bugs. Some of our members are still having trouble finding work, but that's improving. Every member of the team (especially the U of T students) will need to wear many hats throughout development but specialize in one area. Now that our codebase is larger (because the game is getting bigger), it's harder to add new features and work on existing ones because there's more potential for bugs to occur. This means that people will need each other's help often.