Production and Group Work Notes

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Here are both the first and second semester Production Notes and Group Work Notes

1st Semester

Meetings

The group met every week on Monday after the lecture to discuss progress and for new tasks to be assigned. In addition to these meetings, there were many small meetings between the leads, producer and various group members to check on progress and allocate new tasks specific to those group members. There were also meetings solely for planning the presentation and pitch, and one large meeting at the start of the project to gather ideas and for everyone to get to know each other. The notes for this meeting are under “Initial Meeting Notes” at the end of this document.

Ning

To enable the group to collaborate on the project, a Ning was created. This allowed the discussion of work in a forum, events to be advertised (such as meetings and deadlines), and files to be uploaded (making it easy to access group members’ work to provide feedback). The Ning can be accessed at http://warband.ning.com and contains all evidence of online collaboration.

Tasks

From week two onwards each person was assigned a task to complete every week, unless he was currently doing a task that spanned more than one week.

Week Two
Group Member Task
Sam Hayes (Producer) High concept document; teaser trailer design
Ashley Yetman (Tech Lead) Research into Unreal engine capabilities
Dean Rutter Research into Unreal engine capabilities
Damian Ellis (Design Lead) Initial level concept
Nick Kirkwood Weapon design
Jack Perkin Character for teaser trailer
Ian Griffiths (Art Lead) Weapon design
Rob Melville Armour orthographic images, background lore
Ray Forkan Typography
Rowan Moss Character for teaser trailer
Perry Gray Character for teaser trailer
Week Three
Group Member Task
Sam Hayes (Producer) High concept document; teaser trailer environment
Ashley Yetman (Tech Lead) Research into Unreal engine capabilities
Dean Rutter Research into Unreal engine capabilities
Damian Ellis (Design Lead) Initial level design
Nick Kirkwood Weapon model
Jack Perkin Greybox for initial level
Ian Griffiths (Art Lead) Weapon design
Rob Melville Background lore; sketches of environments
Ray Forkan Cityscape image for teaser trailer
Rowan Moss Character for teaser trailer
Perry Gray Character for teaser trailer

Teaser Trailer Feasibility
At this point another meeting was called between the producer, art lead and those involved in the creation of models for the teaser trailer. The trailer was scaled down, as the original plan wasn’t feasible (as an entire character model would take too long to create to a good enough standard).

The teaser trailer was changed so that instead of two Warbands fighting each other, there’s a single character fleeing from a troll. The trailer is entirely in first person, so no character had to be modelled and textured.

Week Four
Group Member Task
Sam Hayes (Producer) High concept document
Ashley Yetman (Tech Lead) Research into Unreal engine capabilities
Dean Rutter Research into Unreal engine capabilities
Damian Ellis (Design Lead) First and final level concepts
Nick Kirkwood Low poly weapon model
Jack Perkin First and final level concepts
Ian Griffiths (Art Lead) Weapon sketches
Rob Melville Background lore; music for teaser trailer
Ray Forkan Cityscape image for teaser trailer
Rowan Moss Weapon model
Perry Gray Weapon model

Additional Game Modes
At this point additional game modes were discussed, to help add diversity to the game. Conquest mode and Skirmish mode were suggested, and incorporated into the high concept.

Week Five
Group Member Task
Sam Hayes (Producer) Teaser trailer; weapon model texture
Ashley Yetman (Tech Lead) Technical analysis
Dean Rutter Technical analysis
Damian Ellis (Design Lead) Level design document for final level
Nick Kirkwood Level design document for first level
Jack Perkin Greybox for first and final levels
Ian Griffiths (Art Lead) HUD design; overall style
Rob Melville Sound effects for teaser trailer
Ray Forkan Cityscape image for teaser trailer
Rowan Moss Weapon model unwrap
Perry Gray Weapon model unwrap

Teaser Trailer Presentation
A meeting was held so that everyone could see the finished teaser trailer and suggest improvements. The presentation was also planned.

Week Six
Group Member Task
Sam Hayes (Producer) Game mechanics
Ashley Yetman (Tech Lead) Tech demo
Dean Rutter Tech demo
Damian Ellis (Design Lead) Level design document for final level
Nick Kirkwood Presentation powerpoint
Jack Perkin Level design document for demo level
Ian Griffiths (Art Lead) Animatic storyboard; character background
Rob Melville Background lore
Ray Forkan Concept art
Rowan Moss Asset list
Perry Gray Market analysis
Week Seven (and onwards)
Group Member Task
Sam Hayes (Producer) Game mechanics
Ashley Yetman (Tech Lead) Tech demo
Dean Rutter Tech demo
Damian Ellis (Design Lead) Level design document for final level
Nick Kirkwood Level design document for first level
Jack Perkin Animatic animation
Ian Griffiths (Art Lead) Character background
Rob Melville Background lore
Ray Forkan Concept art
Rowan Moss Interface and menus
Perry Gray Market Analysis; blob diagram
Week Ten
Group Member Task
Sam Hayes (Producer) Animatic
Ashley Yetman (Tech Lead) Tech demo
Dean Rutter Tech demo
Damian Ellis (Design Lead) Level design document for final level
Nick Kirkwood Level design document for first level
Jack Perkin Level design document for demo level
Ian Griffiths (Art Lead) Blob diagram
Rob Melville Background lore; audio style
Ray Forkan Concept art
Rowan Moss Market analysis
Perry Gray None (recovering from operation)

Final Pitch
Another meeting was held so that everyone could see the finished animatic and tech demo, and suggest improvements. The pitch was also planned in this meeting.

Initial Meeting Notes

Gameplay

• Primarily a shooter with RPG elements
• First person (possibly third person when wielding mêlée weapons)
• Level up system on both the character and the weapon: character levels up
• Every time you start a mission it loads up into a different location (means you don’t have walk to the area of that mission)
• You level up by killing enemies and completing side quests
• Levelling up can help make the main quest mission a little easier though it is not necessary
• The more player in the game the more enemies spawn or the stronger the enemy
• Four people can play the campaign mode
• When you lose too much health you fall to the ground and can only use light weapons until a teammate revives you (either player teammate or AI teammate). If no teammates or left to long you die and are sent back to your last checkpoint
• You regain health while walking around (don’t regain health if collapsed due to health loss)

Setting

• Large fantasy world
• There are two great forces working in the world: there is the rift energy which corrupt and mutates life and the crystals which absorb the power of the rift
• The crystals in the city protect against the corruption and influence of the rift
• The rift however is not evil – it’s possible for most races to harness the rift (magic)
• Centre of this world is a large city where the player character starts
• The technology of the world is slightly more advanced than our own in some areas
• The city is made up of older building and structure and new world technology and structures
• In the centre of the city is the heart of the rift with smaller rifts throughout the world
• The city is ruled by the great houses that each control parts of the city
• These houses stand atop floating islands which are connected to the ground via massive chains
• The houses have degrees of corruption but most act with the interests of the city in mind
• The parts of the city not in control of the great houses (the slums for example) have created bands called Warbands
• These Warbands are constantly fighting each other and occasionally the great houses that controls the city
• The world is inhabited by many species including humans, trolls, and lizard men
• Some are mutated by the rift while others are normal inhabitants of the planet
• Some species are more or less resistance to the rift

Weapons

• The demo will include two light weapons
• There will also be two heavy weapons in the demo
• There are weapons that can attack players or bring fallen comrade back to life
• Weapon examples are: machine gun; pistol; flamethrower which can shot ahead and around corners; SMG with a shield to protect against oncoming fire
• Enemies have weapons that can be picked up
• Each weapon will have a primary and secondary attack. The primary will be a basic attack but the secondary will be more powerful
• There are also mêlée weapon such as swords with a primary attack and a secondary block which can deflect some attack back on the attacker

RPG Element

• Stats will be (subject to change): Speed (how fast you character moves and attack with mêlée weapons); Agility (how fast your character dodges attacks); Accuracy (damage with guns); Strength (damage with mêlée weapons and possibly health) and Willpower (strength of rift powers)
• Levelling up unlocks more rift powers

Scripting

• Enemy random spawn points
• Player checkpoint where they start over should they be killed
• Level up and stats system
• Save point (safe house or zone) which remember all character information and abilities
• Drop in drop out point (co-op play)

Story and Demo

• Player character’s ambition is to become a Warband leader
• Player starts in truck and can walk about on the back of truck whilst going to mission location
• There’s a brief by the squad leader what the mission is which is to steal an item of value held by an enemy Warband and get out
• There is a small battle once you get out of the truck in front of a massive gate (you can try run away but your team mates will kill you for been a coward)
• You then have to open the gate by climbing the tower on one side of the gate and solving the physic puzzles
• Go through the gate fighting your way to the end of the road using cover to help
• Enter main square at end of road where a troll smashes through the wall to your right along with enemy Warband trying to control the beast (boss fight – kill by hitting in weak points)
• You can’t enter the hanger without triggering the alarm so you jump down into the sewer (sewer will be creepy)
• Make your way through sewer and into the hanger where you fight more enemies and collect the item (your captain who can’t die carries the crate with the item in)
• Once have the crate you have to hijack a flying ship
• Rail shooter on the ship fighting enemies on the side in the launch tunnel (there is a ship behind trying to catch up and destroy you).
• At some points you have leave the ship via the quad bike on ship to open the next gate to continue the launch (there be a moving kill zone which acts as a time limit)

Modelling, Animations and Sound

• Sound for the teaser trailer
• Weapon modelling and character modelling
• Storyboard of in-game cut scenes
• Google SketchUp greybox for each level

Teaser Trailer

• Start with background concept art
• Needs music
• Battle over a hill
• Model weapons and characters
• No need show RPG element
• Using Unreal Engine to play trailer and record using Fraps

2nd Semester

Risk Assessment and Schedule

Schedule:

Task Employees Involved Allocated time per Employee and week due Allocated Risk Time
Modelling the truck Assistant Artist 3 weeks, due in on Thursday week 3 1 week
Modelling the Hammer Assistant Artist 2 weeks, due in on Thursday week 5 3 days
Modelling the Pistol Assistant Artist 2 weeks, due in on Thursday week 3 1 week
Modelling the SMG Lead Artist 1 week, due in on Thursday week 4 4 days
Modelling the Sniper Rifle Lead Artist 1 week, due in on Thursday week 5 4 days
Modelling the Shotgun Lead Artist 1 week, due in on Thursday week 6 4 days
Modelling the skyship Assistant Artist 2 weeks, due in on Thursday week 6 10 days
Modelling the Troll Assistant Artist 3 weeks, due in on Thursday week 5 10 days
Modelling miscellaneous assets (this to be undertaken during anytime the artists are free from any major modelling tasks) Lead and Assistant Artists 9 weeks due in on Thursday week 9 2 weeks
Texturing the Truck Assistant Artist 4 days due in on Thursday week 4 2 days
Texturing the Hammer Assistant Artist 1 day, due in Thursday week 6 1 day
Texturing the Pistol Assistant Artist 2 days, due in Thursday week 4 1 day
Texturing the SMG Assistant Artist 3 days, due in Thursday week 5 2 days
Texturing the Sniper Rifle Assistant Artist 2 days, due in Thursday week 6 2 days
Texturing the Skyship Lead Artist 4 days, due in Thursday week 7 3 days
Texturing the Troll Lead Artist 1 week, due in Thursday week 6 1 week
Texturing Miscellaneous Assets Lead and Assistant Artists 9 weeks, due in Thursday week 10 2 weeks
Create the level layout Lead and Assistant Level Designers 2 weeks, due in Thursday week 2 1 week
Update the games design document Assistant Level Designer 1 week, due in Thursday week 12 (constant updates throughout development) 3 days
Update the level design document Assistant Level Designer 1 week, due in Thursday week 12 (constant updates throughout development) 3 days
Fully Texture the level layout (buildings, bsp’s, terrain, environment) Lead and Assistant Level Designers 2 weeks, due in Thursday week 4 5 days
Incorporate Modelled Assets into the level Lead and Assistant Level Designers 1 week, due in Thursday week 5 2 days
Place lighting within the level to set atmosphere Lead Level Designer 2 weeks due in Thursday week 8 1 week
Include all particle effects needed for the level Lead and Assistant Level Designers 1 week, due in Thursday week 8 4 days
Create matinee sequences for all things required, and kismet in the basics of the level mechanics Lead and Assistant Level Designers 2 weeks, due in Thursday week 9 1 week
Animate the Weapons Lead Level Designer and Produce 1 week, due in Thursday week 8 5 days
Animate the Troll Producer and Assistant Level Designer 10 days, due in Thursday week 9 4 days
Create RPG Script Lead and Assistant Programmer 3 weeks, due in Thursday week 6 1 week
Create Skill system Script Lead and Assistant Programmer 2 weeks, due in Thursday week 9 1 week
Create Weapons script Lead and Assistant Programmer 2 weeks, due in Thursday week 8 1 week
Create Gametype script Lead and Assistant Programmer 2 weeks, due in Thursday week 4 1 week
Create Inventory script Lead and Assistant Programmer 1 week, due in Thursday week 3 3 days
Audio Sound Effects Audio Technicial 7 weeks, due in Thursday week 7 1 week
Ambient Sounds Audio Technician 2 weeks, due in Thursday week 6 5 days
Music Audio Technician 3 weeks, due in Thursday week 9 8 days
Risk Assessment document Junior Producer 1 week, due in Thursday week 1 0 days
Advances and Royalties Document Junior Producer 1 week, due in Thursday week 1 0 days
Development Management Lead and Junior Producer 14 weeks, due in Thursday week 14 (ongoing task) 0 days
Prepare for Final Presentation Junior Producer 3 days, due in Thursday week 14 0 days
Project completion and presentation to Executive producers and publishers Lead and Junior Producer April 19th 0 days

Project Risks

Task Risk Resource Impact Plan New Impact
Modelling the truck Inexperienced modeller Assistant Artist 1 week Have lead artist help, leave out some detail if not completed within 3 days into the impact zone. 3 days
Modelling the Hammer Inexperienced modeller Assistant Artist 3 days Have lead artist help, leave out some detail if not completed within 1 days into the impact zone. 1 day
Modelling the Pistol Inexperienced modeller Assistant Artist 1 week Have lead artist help, leave out some detail if not completed within 3 days into the impact zone. 3 days
Modelling the SMG Possible time wasted, due to inability to script into engine. Lead Artist 4 days Leave out some detail if not completed within 3 days into the impact zone. 3 days
Modelling the Sniper Rifle Possible time wasted, due to inability to script into engine. Lead Artist 4 days Leave out some detail if not completed within 3 days into the impact zone. 3 days
Modelling the Shotgun Possible time wasted, due to inability to script into engine. Lead Artist 4 days Leave out some detail if not completed within 3 days into the impact zone. 3 days
Modelling the skyship Needs lots of detail, may take longer than expected Assistant Artist 10 days Leave out some detail if not completed within 5 days into the impact zone. 5 days
Modelling the Troll Needs lots of detail, may take longer than expected Assistant Artist 10 days Leave out some detail if not completed within 7 days into the impact zone. 7 days
Modelling miscellaneous assets (this to be undertaken during anytime the artists are free from any major modelling tasks) Time consuming, artists may have other main assets to deal with, some might not be used in the final product. Lead and Assistant Artists 2 weeks Leave out some of the least significant models after a week into the impact zone. 1 week
Texturing the Truck Lack of training using zBrush Assistant Artist 2 days No Plan 2 days
Texturing the Hammer Lack of training using zBrush Assistant Artist 1 day No Plan 1 day
Texturing the Pistol Lack of training using zBrush Assistant Artist 1 day No Plan 1 day
Texturing the SMG Lack of training using zBrush, wepoan may still not be able to be scripted into the engine Assistant Artist 2 days No Plan 2 days
Texturing the Sniper Rifle Lack of training using zBrush, wepoan may still not be able to be scripted into the engine Assistant Artist 2 days No Plan 2 days
Texturing the Skyship Lack of training using zBrush, wepoan may still not be able to be scripted into the engine Lead Artist 3 days No Plan, detail is needed for this model 3 days
Texturing the Troll Complex model, artist will need to study character texturing to adequately do the job Lead Artist 1 week No Plan, detail is needed for this model 1 week
Texturing Miscellaneous Assets Artists may have more pressing issues to deal with, certain textured assets may not be used in the final product. Lead and Assistant Artists 2 weeks Use basic textures after 1 week into the impact zone to save time 1 week
Create the level layout Need to brush up on terrain use, and ensure scale is used correctly to avoid loss of time Lead and Assistant Level Designers 1 week No Plan 1 week
Update the games design document Must be updated regularly to avoid time spent later going over game changes Assistant Level Designer 3 days No Plan 3 days
Update the level design document Must be updated regularly to avoid time spent later going over level changes Assistant Level Designer 3 days No Plan 3 days
Fully Texture the level layout (buildings, bsp’s, terrain, environment) Not being able to find adequate textures, and having to make new ones Lead and Assistant Level Designers 5 days Have assistant artists help after 2 days into the impact zone 2 days
Incorporate Modelled Assets into the level Potential for more models than expected, time spent getting them scaled and looking right Lead and Assistant Level Designers 2 days No Plan 2 days
Place lighting within the level to set atmosphere Getting the right atmosphere while keeping it optimized Lead Level Designer 1 week No Plan 1 week
Include all particle effects needed for the level Keeping the level optimized while incorporating all necessary particle effects Lead and Assistant Level Designers 4 days Focus on most important effects first and leave out less important ones after 2 days into impact zone 2 days
Create matinee sequences for all things required, and kismet in the basics of the level mechanics More sequences and kismet needed than originally planned, complications creating what is needed Lead and Assistant Level Designers 1 week No Plan 1 week
Animate the Weapons May waste time if unable to be incorporated into engine, little experience in creating custom animations Lead Level Designer and Producer 5 days No Plan 5 days
Animate the Troll In experience in creating custom animations, Many more animations than initially thought may appear Producer and Assistant Level Designer 4 days No Plan 4 days
Create RPG Script Clash with script written by assistant and lead programmers causing game crashes when put together, unable to fully script it into the engine, Lead and Assistant Programmer 1 week If unfinished after 4 days into impact zone, change code so the need for this script is redundant 4 days
Create Skill system Script Clash with script written by assistant and lead programmers causing game crashes when put together, unable to fully script it into the engine, complications in cross referencing the script between classes Lead and Assistant Programmer 1 week If unfinished after 4 days into impact zone, change code so the need for this script is redundant 4 days
Create Weapons script Clash with script written by assistant and lead programmers causing game crashes when put together, unable to fully script it into the engine Lead and Assistant Programmer 1 week If unfinished after 4 days into impact zone, change code so the need for this script is redundant 4 days
Create Gametype script Clash with script written by assistant and lead programmers causing game crashes when put together, unable to fully script it into the engine Lead and Assistant Programmer 1 week If unfinished after 4 days into impact zone, change code so the need for this script is redundant 4 days
Create Inventory script Clash with script written by assistant and lead programmers causing game crashes when put together, unable to fully script it into the engine Lead and Assistant Programmer 3 days If unfinished after 4 days into impact zone, change code so the need for this script is redundant 4 days
Audio Sound Effects May take longer to record than planned, and master, difficulties putting into the engine Audio Technician 1 week Focus on most important audio first and only incorporate key audio if 5 days into the impact zone and not finished 5 days
Ambient Sounds Unable to record all needed sounds due to geographical location Audio Technician 5 days Focus on most important ambience first and only incorporate key ambience if 3 days into the impact zone and not finished 4 days
Music Mastering all audio to import into engine Audio Technician 8 days No Plan 8 days
Risk Assessment document Short term- Time wasted that could be used on more important matters Long Term- Carpal Tunnel for the junior producer Junior Producer 0 days No Plan 0 days
Advances and Royalties Document Short term- Time wasted that could be used on more important matters Long Term- Carpal Tunnel for the junior producer Junior Producer 0 days No Plan 0 days
Development Management Stress related disorders leading to more complications and lack of efficiency in the project managment Lead and Junior Producer 0 days Take 15 minute breaks during work when stress builds up 0 days
Prepare for Final Presentation No Risk Junior Producer 0 days No Plan 0 days
Project completion and presentation to Executive producers and publishers No Risk Lead and Junior Producer 0 days No Plan 0 days

On top of these task related risks, it should be noted that as with all projects requiring many hours spent at a computer, there is risk to the employees eyesight, as well as a risk of Carpal Tunnel syndrome. It has been advised to all employees to get up and move about for at least 10 minutes for every 2 hours of work they do, as well as exercising their eyes by looking at objects at a great distance to prevent any damage to their eyesight.

Advances and Royalties Documentation

Budget, Schedule and Advances:

The project Modern Warband 2 has been granted a budget of £1,850,000.00 for development purposes. This is to include the purchasing of hardware, software licenses, employee wages, outsourcing wages, and any miscellaneous expenditures that may be required throughout the 27 week development phase.

Budgeting Schedule:

Milestone Date Completed Cost Reason for Cost
Level layout completed. 28/01/2010 1,634.00 Lead Level Designer salary for two weeks work.
Game Type scripted into Unreal Engine. 04/02/2010 1,157.00 Lead Programmer and Junior Programmer’s salary for one weeks work.
Truck modelled and textured 11/02/2010 1,384.00 Junior Artists salary for four weeks work.
All Weapons Modelled and Textured 11/03/2010 5,681.00 Lead Artists Salary for 7 weeks and junior artists salary for 3 weeks.
RPG Code implemented into level. 11/03/2010 3,471.00 Lead and Junior Programmers salary for 3 weeks (would have been completed sooner, first attempt failed and added 1 weeks worth of salary cost)
Troll Modelled, Textured, and ready for implementation into the engine. 14/03/2010 1,730 Artists salary for 5 weeks.
Level Design Completed (level fully built, but lacking AI, scripted sequences, and any unique modifications) 13/03/2010 3,200.00 Lead level Designer salary for 5 weeks
Skill system Implemented into game code 08/04/2010 3,965.00 Lead Programmer salary for 5 weeks
Weapon Scripts implemented into game code 08/04/2010 1,820.00 Junior Programmer salary for 5 weeks
Game Trailer Completed lacking sound (to be put in when audio is fully mastered) 09/04/2010 4,302.00 Lead Level Designer Salary for 3 weeks, Junior Designer salary for 3 weeks, Lead Producers Salary for 1 week
Audio Recording and Mastering fully completed 12/04/2010 6,000.00 Outsourced Lead Audio, 24 days work at 250 pounds per day.
Game Fully completed (audio implemented into the level, scripted sequences and custom scenes, triggers, lighting, custome weapons imported all cutscenes finished) 15/04/2010 76,146.00 All employees salaries for the 14 weeks of development. 1 Lead producer, 1 junior producer for 5 weeks, 1 assistant artist for 9 weeks, 1 lead games designer, 3 games designers, 1 Lead Programmer, 1 assistant programmer, 1 Lead Artist, 2 Assistant artists and 1 outsourced Audio Technician (24 days work)

The budget amount was finalised and presented to the development group at the start of the development phase. This was based off of our project pitch towards the executive producers at the end of the pre production phase.

Royalties:

As we are using the UT3 engine, which falls under the UDK license agreements, we are not charged any royalities for the first $5000 (3,288.66 as of the 14th of April 2010) but must pay 25% royalties on revenue earned over that amount. Upon release of the game we are also required to pay a $99 (63.93 as of the 14th of April 2010) royalty license fee for use of the UDK (however there is no fee for it’s use in the development phase). The 25% royalty fee is applied to any UDK related revenue.

Warranties and Indemnities

The developers promise that the game ‘Modern Warband 2’ will be completed and presented to the Publisher in full on the presentation date of Monday the 19th of April 2010. We accept the Indemnities that we will be forced to pay, failing to meet the target deadline.
Rights to Sequels, Port and Derivative works
The developers are willing to allow the publisher the Rights to all sequels, port and derivative works, on the basis that the development team are granted a 3% royalty on all subsequent developments.

Ownership of Codes and Tools

The Developers have requested the ownership of all custom assets, and code used for the creation of ‘Modern Warband 2’ for use in future productions, however will grant the Publisher the right to use them in the release of ‘Modern Warband 2’.

Termination Conditions

The Publisher retains the right to reject material at any given milestone, however only if they have a valid reason for doing so. They also retain the right to cancel the project for no reason at anytime. The developers have requested the right, if that situation arises, to take the project elsewhere and will return 80% of the original advance to the original Publisher, but require full legal immunity from original publish, and request the Intellectual Property of ‘Modern Warband 2’ remain within the development team.

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