codenameJess

>_ Implementing the boat physics system

An early development milestone demonstrating the first successful implementation of water physics and buoyancy on the player-controlled boat.
This marked the beginning of testing and refining the boat's movement behavior.

>_ Developing enemy AI and targeting behaviour

I coded our enemies to follow and attack the player position when entering a designated area. Player was positioned within that area for testing and adjustments to cannon fire power and trajectory was carried out.

>_ Final vertical slice and gameplay demonstration

This video was used for our VSD (vertical slice demo). It shows the final complete game and the player (me) doing a complete lap around the track.

>_ First concept sketch

I came up with the idea to place the player on a moving object that would circle 3 islands with targets to shoot at.

>_ Blocking out the level

Moving on with my initial concept idea, I blocked out a simple cannon platform and some target capsules. Blue targets would give the player points and green targets would award the player more shots.

>_ Full development demonstration video

This video demonstrates and explains all implemented game mechanics and systems used during production.

>_ Low-fidelity creation stage

I began with drawing ideas for different interfaces in a notebook. Several different layouts were considered before finalising an initial concept and submitting for further development.

>_ Using AI to assist with design

The use of AI was encouraged during this stage to help support the vision I had for the UI. I generated a tablet image to use for the background of my in-game menu system, and I used AI to alter the image of a free asset modular ship.

>_ High-fidelity creation stage

I used Canva to create detailed mock-ups of my chosen UI designs. Several scenario images were created to show how hovering over buttons would change their state, and how different actions react visually.

>_ Implementing the assets in Unity

This video demonstrates and explains all research, theory connections, and design decisions as well as a full demonstration of the UI built in Unity version 2023.

>_ Designed and created player character

I designed and refined the main playable character using a sketch and AI to help get the details wanted. I then imported the image to Adobe Photoshop and started making the first character and weapon sprites.

>_ Creating a level block out

I created a basic block out of the level, using some models used in a previous project to map out some locations and work with scaling.

>_ Inventory Management

A basic inventory system was created allowing items to be added, stacked and moved by dragging and dropping.

>_ Picking up and dropping items

The inventory system was edited with the ability to pick up targeted items and then dragging and dropping those items back into the level. A colour change on hover was added to reflect interaction.

>_ Adding Navmesh

I added a player navmesh. I then configured mouse inputs to allow character movement to where the player clicks.

>_ debugging navmesh and inventory

Character movement was now fully responsive and collisions stabilised. Ray casting still had some issues when placing objects but have since been rectified. Items can now be fully picked up, added to the inventory, stacked, and dropped back into the world.