About Me:
My name is Sean Coomansingh and I am a 24-year-old student attending the Game Design Masters Degree at Full Sail University. I am an extremely friendly, positive, enthusiastic , optimistic and self driven person, who once he puts his mind to something, nothing will stop him from achieving it ! Throughout my childhood I have been fascinated with video games, to the point whereby the majority of my happiest and most fond memories all revolved around video games. I decided to take this step in pursuit of a masters degree in game design, as I would hope to soak up all of the knowledge, principles, and expertise throughout my tenure at Full Sail University, with the hopeful end goal of opening my own game studio/company and creating my own games!
Here are the links to my social channels:
INTENTION STATEMENT:
Over the next 12 months throughout my gaming design degree, I would want to see my knowledge, experience and expertise develop to the point of where I can understand the most in-depth fundamentals of the field. I would like to place myself in the niche of hardworking, sacrificing and self-motivating individuals, that moulded their success stories from nothing.
With an open mind, opportunities, possibilities and avenues are not only endless, but fully attainable. With my dream of going into the field of game design and programming, I knew that I needed to find the best fit institution for myself, that would instil the most practice, knowledge and understanding in the most efficient and effective manner. Thus, through this masters degree at Full Sail University I would like to involve myself in learning all of the components that goes into creating a video game.
Over the next 12 months I will push and motivate myself to learn various complex coding languages that make up the foundation of a game, let my creativity, artistic ability and imagination flourish through learning 3D and 2D graphic design and animation, develop better writing as well as storytelling skills which would heavily impact the quality of work that I am to produce, become more efficient and effective in brainstorming and idea conceptualisation such that I can apply myself in different scenarios and lastly, developing a more positive and optimistic mindset that will allow me to push past frustration, self-doubt, mental blocks, stress and impatience, so that I can meet deadlines and produce a high quality of work, in order to make it in such a demanding industry.
The workload, time-management and quality of work is still becoming familiarised to me since coming from a bachelor's degree, however it should not become a deterrent to my success. If for my future career I would want to open my own game company and produce my own games, then through determination, hard work, self-motivation and belief in myself, I can make that future a reality.
INSPIRATION #1:
After performing a reading assignment for my "Mastery : Personal Development and Leadership" course, I came across a very inspiring and deep thought provoking quote: "In order to master a field, you must love the subject and feel a profound connection to it. Your interest must transcend the field itself and border on the religious." Greene, R. (2012). Mastery.
From this quote and following the premise of the book, it showcased the importance of paying attention to your interests and passions in your younger years, as that is where we begin forming our inclinations to paths in life. In order to thoroughly and wholeheartedly put your all into a subject or field of study, you must have a deep connection and admiration for it. Hence, if you are studying a subject for external factors such as money, fame, attention or novelty, then your effort will be completely dependant on those circumstances. As a result, you will never realise your true potential or prowess if you apply yourself to areas of temporary pleasure.
MY LINKEDIN PROFILE
INSPIRATION #2:
For this inspirational post I thought that I should showcase something that is very personal to me. Not only am I a spiritual and religious person, I am also a believer of universal powers. I am a full believer that if you believe in something as deeply as you can, engulf it with positive energy, then it can be manifested and brought to reality. Every single day I speak and manifest about me owning my dream car of a Subaru WRX STI Hatchback, and I know one day I shall turn that dream into a reality through hard work, determination, perseverance and belief!
MY MASTERY TIMELINE
This video highlights my mastery journey timeline, overarching career goal, goal upon graduation and finally the deconstructed steps that I shall take in order to achieve those goals.
- Overarching Career Goal- To open my own video game studio and produce my own games
- Goal upon graduation- To continue to improve my portfolio and involve myself in creating more projects, in order to seek employment in a game company.
Deconstructed Steps To Accomplish The Goals:
- Take a look at the projects that I've completed, seeing where I could improve and what new projects I can undertake
- Improve any of the projects that I've worked on while at Full Sail University
- Work on new projects and implementing novel ideas and creativity
- Create an astounding and indepth professional portfolio that details all of the work that I've done, and a synopsis of myself
- Reach out to companies in the gaming industry, send them my portfolio and apply for a position
- Work at the company for a few years and/or transfer to other companies for more experience and exposure
- Work on my own projects while at the company as an independent game developer and release them to close friends and social circles
- With my own funding or loan, I shall open my own video game studio
- Choose to go independent or as a child/subsidiary company for the business/one of the businesses I've worked for
- Produce my own games and grow my company to a triple A rating and quality
Through the use of LinkedIn I shall be able to reach out to various people in the game and entertainment media industry in order to gain valuable insight on what is required to sufficiently thrive in the industry, as well as what is required for a position. Additionally, I shall utilise Full Sail's clubs in order to involve myself more socially with others who possess similar interests as well as meet with some mentors and veterans in the industry, in order to gain their valuable knowledge and experience.
Due to me video games being a strong pillar of happiness, positivity, and keen memories, I've done some research into the effect of incorporating video games into a child's education at a very young age, how it can be used as a learning additive , as well as be used to observe the child's interests. FREDRICK, K. (2014). Play Along: Gaming in Education. School Library Monthly, 31(2), 24–26.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
For my area of research, I shall be diving into the medium of virtual reality, augmented reality, their applications, and how can they be beneficial to the educational field. My proposed observation was to determine how well can altered reality be integrated into the educational system, and how well would it be received by students.
As the gaming industry becomes more technologically advanced, efforts are being made to steer in a more inclusive direction, so despite any disability or inability an individual may possess, they can still share the same experiences as everyone else. Thus, the research I’ve done in month 2, highlights the adoption of virtual and augmented reality into various academic levels, subjects such as foreign language, and how the gaming studious can facilitate games being made for such applications. The generational stigma of schoolwork and video games being on opposite sides of the productivity scale, should be broken whereas video gamers can be used as an asset to schoolwork.
If my research of virtual and augmented reality proves to be substantial for the capstone managers, then its possible to grant games the ability to be seen in virtual and augmented reality as their foundation. Lastly, my career goal is to one day open my own game studio/company and produce my own games, therefore by researching on VR and AR applications I can adopt some of their principles or even create educational games.
References
MASTERY JOURNAL RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT- Waterfall Methodology
Within this assignment, I shall be covering the production ideation of “Waterfall Methodology”. This assignment shall serve as an insight into the production side of companies’ inner workings, not only in the gaming industry, but throughout any modern high output industry available. As a result, I shall be defining the Waterfall Methodology, determining who uses it and when it is the most applicable, uncovering the origins of the methodology, some risk factors that are associated when using the Waterfall Methodology, the benefits and negatives of utilizing the Waterfall Methodology and lastly, identifying which gaming companies utilize the Waterfall Methodology and their reasons.
The Waterfall Methodology can be seen as an intuitive developmental process, whereby the various phases of development are sequential and flow into one another, like the flow of water in a waterfall. This developmental process can also be referred to as the “Waterfall Model” whereby it goes through the various stages of the requirements, design, implementation, testing and deployment, fully through sequential progression (Waterfall methodology). In the requirements phase, it consists of gathering sufficient details to grasp a firm understanding of the project’s usage, goal, as well as what the client proposes. Moreover, the intricacies such as costs, assumptions, risks, dependencies and timelines are heavily contemplated on to ensure effective and efficient use of resources and time (Waterfall methodology).
The next phase of the waterfall model facilitates the design aspects of the project. This is where the requirements from the previous stage are summarized, and a technical solution is derived through the usage of layouts, scenarios and data models (Waterfall methodology). The project scope is also evaluated in this phase through logical design, ensuring it meets its foreseen needs, and how well each portion of the project would integrate into each other, to ensure a seamless execution. Moreover, this phase is all software and visual representation.
The third phase is showcased within the waterfall model, is the implementation phase. Within this phase, there is specific hardware and software technologies that are synthesized from the previous design phase. Due to most of the intense, strenuous processing and development being completed, this is where programmers analyze their applications on a measure of its efficacy and satisfaction of project requirements. Furthermore, this phase can be determined as the point of no return, due to any major changes to be made, results in going back to the design phase (Waterfall methodology).
The fourth phase involves verification or testing, whereby it can be seen as an extension of the implementation phase. This involves proofreading, fault testing every aspect of the hardware or software in order to determine future grievances and ensuring there is a reliable, intuitive and easy-to-use user interface. Test cases would be created in order to gauge how the target audience will feel about the product or service, as well as sometimes offering a trial run before the final public release to get some early experience and feedback (Waterfall methodology).
The final phase of the waterfall methodology is deployment and maintenance. This is a part of the post-production aspect of development, whereby once it has been released to the public, measures are put in place for close and continued observation, as well as releasing post-production additions, such as fixes, patches, balances, improvements and changes to the product/service (Waterfall methodology).
The waterfall methodology development process was conceived in 1970 by Dr.Winstorn W.Royce, thus making it the oldest methodology in the field of development (Waterfall method - what is it ?). It was created in the presence of manufacturing and construction industries, due to needing a form developmental organization that would be as accurate as possible to mitigate possible changes, as they would incur high costs (Asmo, Waterfall Project Management: An overview 2022).
Due to the waterfall methodology being a widely used and versatile form of project development and project management, it is utilized in a multitude of applications and work fields. Some projects that were conceived using the waterfall model are: a large energy management system (EMS) for Southern California Edison with roots in the early 1970s, Tren Urbano which is a heavy rail transportation system for San Juan Puerto Rico in the 1990s, and a large rail traffic control system for Canadian National Railway in the early 200s, to name a few (Michael Tipton, 2020).
Although the waterfall model is extremely beneficial to productivity as well as ensuring a seamless development process, there are some drawbacks or more importantly risks that accompany its usage. The greatest risk to the waterfall methodology is the inability to return to previous stages of work once they have been completed (The risks of waterfall methodology 2021). Due to its streamlined and sequential nature, once a phase has been completed, resources are now allocated to the next phase in the sequence, due to this, the implementation phase is the final phase whereby you can return to the design phase and make alterations. Another possible risk to be aware of when evaluating the waterfall methodology, is that consumer/target audience involvement is minimal. This refers to the fact that consumer interaction and feedback is limited to the first requirements whereby market research is prioritized, and once the product/service is available to the public. Due to this, there is a high chance that the product or service will have to go through many iterations in its post-production phase, which would result in heavy criticism.
In the field of game development, a great amount of time, effort, resource allocation and research management must be prioritized to ensure a smooth, structured production timeline, thus an effective and efficient project management method has to be utilized. As a result, the waterfall methodology is a great asset that is applicable for game development. Some benefits of using the waterfall methodology are: it is easy to manage due to the rigidity of the model, if the requirements are well understood and the project doesn’t have a large and intricate scale, then it can be used quite well, there are well understood milestones for completion due to its sequential phases and lastly, the timescales and period of testing are kept constant due to the process of having to fully complete one phase before moving onto another (SDLC - Waterfall Model). With everything, the waterfall model does possess its own negative characteristics, these are: no working software is produced until late during the life cycle thus not making it sustainable for complex projects (says et al., Home), there is little to no room for any changes or alterations in the project such as next developments due to its lack of flexibility (Kienitz, The Pros and cons of Waterfall Software Development 2022) and lastly, there is a longer delivery time as compared to other project management principles, due to if something is faulty or not to standard in the later stages, it has to be fully rebuilt from the first phase.
As stated previously, the waterfall model while it has its flaws, is a extremely beneficial project management principle that is not only universal, but showcases its efficacy and purpose quite well. As a result, multiple big, triple A game companies utilize the waterfall methodology as it has been tried, tested, examined its strengths and weaknesses for many years. A very prominent example of a game company utilizing the waterfall methodology, is the company” Blizzard”, who is responsible for popular games such as World of Warcraft and Overwatch. Furthermore, they utilize two forms of project planning methodology, whereby engineering teams use the agile methodology and the art team uses the waterfall methodology. However, they’ve done a great job of integrating each team/ departments timeline into each other, as the agile approach of the design team introduces the initial concept, story boards, document story, defining new mechanics, refining those mechanics and document design, into the waterfall approach of the art team through concept art, 3D models, level design and tuning pass (Blizzard's production methodology). The final pass is through the engineering team whereby they return to the agile approach to build, test, and release the final product. The reason for this, is that by having a mixed approach they can accommodate iterations and changes within more critical and detail heavy areas such as the design and engineering sections, and utilize the sequential, rigid nature of the waterfall methodology for the art team and bridging a gap between the two previous teams/departments. Due to this, the art team can draw its concepts and resources from the design team and allocate the finished art assets to the engineering team.
This showcases how effective that the waterfall model can be, in respects to the other project planning principles, its risks, origins, as well as its most applicable scenarios. In conclusion, the waterfall model should be mainly preferred for smaller scale projects to avoid many of its risks and disadvantages, and to ensure a constant and systematic development process.
REFERENCES
Asmo. (2022, June 3). Waterfall Project Management: An overview. Zenkit. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://zenkit.com/en/blog/waterfall-project-management-an-overview/
Blizzard's production methodology. Game Production. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://leonardperez.net/blizzards-production-methodology/
Kienitz, P. (2022, May 13). The Pros and cons of Waterfall Software Development. One Beyond. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.one-beyond.com/pros-cons-waterfall-software-development/
The risks of waterfall methodology. Hygger. (2021, March 16). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://hygger.io/blog/the-risks-of-waterfall-methodology/#:~:text=The%20greatest%20disadvantage%20of%20Waterfall,Waterfall%20projects%20is%20very%20low.
says, K. J., says, S., says, U., says, B., says, A. kothari, says, L., says, D. A., says, S., says, N. A. M. E. T. S. O. M. A. L. E. M. E., Says, S., says, C., Says, M. R., says, A., says, M. ghislain, Says, A., says, P. O., says, N. V., says, K. S., says, B., … Says, R. F. (n.d.). Home. Try QA. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from http://tryqa.com/what-is-waterfall-model-advantages-disadvantages-and-when-to-use-it/
SDLC - Waterfall Model. Tutorials Point. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/sdlc/sdlc_waterfall_model.htm
Waterfall method - what is it ? Toucan Toco. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.toucantoco.com/en/glossary/waterfall.html#:~:text=The%20Waterfall%20method%20is%20a,development%20cycle%2C%20like%20a%20waterfall.
Waterfall methodology. Waterfall Methodology - A Complete Guide | Adobe Workfront. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.workfront.com/project-management/methodologies/waterfall#:~:text=The%20waterfall%20methodology%20is%20a,detailed%20documentation%2C%20and%20consecutive%20execution.
MASTERY JOURNAL RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT- Agile Methodology
Within high output industries, there are many departments, resources, assets, time, delegation and most importantly, effort that needs to be allocated in an efficient and effective manner to ensure a quality product/service is the result. Hence, production planning is needed for managers and project directors to accurately correlate a proposed timeline, with the activities that need to be done, to ensure they are all completed on time and has all of its requirements met. Project planning may be facilitated into many different principles and methodologies including the waterfall methodology and the agile methodology, that shall be discussed. Within this assignment, the definition of the agile methodology, the origins of agile methodology, what application or project was developed using the agile methodology, some risk factors of using agile methodology, advantages and disadvantages of applying the agile methodology in game development and finally, what gaming companies incorporate this form of project planning, shall be discussed.
The agile approach to project planning can be seen as an iterative system whereby a project is continuously worked on and improved throughout its production life cycle (What is Agile Methodology in project management?). In contrast to its sibling principle, the waterfall methodology, changes can be made in a rapid fashion, as well as in response to some error or grievance in order to uphold the project timeline. Furthermore, while the waterfall methodology follows the SDLC (Systems Development Life Cycle) phases and has a defined build and testing phase, the agile methodology accommodates a testing sub-portion within each phase, which allows for thorough fault checking and making revisions in pieces rather than an entire unit (SDLC - Overview).
Within the agile approach to project management, there are four core values that helps ensure the efficacy and the requirements of the project are satisfied and upheld. The first value of the agile approach encompasses the importance of your resources over processes and tools. As learnt throughout the Game Production Tools course, people are the most valuable resource within project management and project execution. They are resources that have to be carefully overseen and utilized, in order to delegate hours to get as much work done in the timeline, their skillset has to be taken into consideration in order to ensure they are the best fit for the position, they have to be coordinated in a manner whereby full time and part time workers can both fairly contribute to the workload and lastly, by relying on the processes and tools would result in a lack of adaptability to changing circumstances (Agile project management software & tools | Adobe Workfront).
The second core value would be to prioritize having working software over deep documentation. The premise behind this, is while a product or service may sound amazing on paper, satisfying all requirements prove beneficial and would work with the project timeline, it is only deemed valuable if working software can be produced. This ties back with the previous value and the importance of people, as having extremely comprehensive documentation and grand expectation of the project, can cause extra load and overuse of developers’ abilities, which results in a loss of quality in the final product, or too many conflicts in getting working software (Agile project management software & tools | Adobe Workfront).
The third core value that exists within the agile methodology, is accommodating customer collaboration and feedback in every step of the project, over having an upfront contract of that to expect from the project at the beginning, and only allowing customer involvement once the project is fully complete (Agile project management software & tools | Adobe Workfront). This is a stark contrast to the waterfall methodology, as that was one of its biggest disadvantages. In the waterfall methodology, customers/target audience would only be involved in the requirements phase and after the product/service is publicly released. This would result in the opportunity for heavy criticism and iterations towards the project, in order to fix all the issues. As compared to the agile methodology, due to continuous customer/target audience collaboration within each step of the project, ensures a more polished, all-rounded final product/service to be released, that would more accurately meet the initial requirements (Agile project management software & tools | Adobe Workfront).
The fourth and final core value of the agile methodology, encompasses the significance of implementing change, over being rigid and following the initial plan. This is a recall to the first core value, whereby having a versatile and adaptive approach can prove more beneficial than being rigid from start to finish. Within the agile methodology, change is a welcomed entity, and prioritizing a response to that change is why this project management model is more favored over others. Normally, change is seen as an incurring expense, loss of productivity, loss of time and may be the result of miscommunication between departments or a conflict, however, the agile methodology permits continuous change throughout the life of a project through in depth and targeted iterations, resulting in more passion, effort and quality of work being instilled into the project (Agile project management software & tools | Adobe Workfront).
The conceptualization of the agile methodology was a response to the creation of the waterfall methodology, and how well it was being implemented into projects at the time. The concept of the agile approach was founded in the field of rapid application development (RAD), by English I.T engineer James Martin in the 1990s era of software development (Agile project management software & tools | Adobe Workfront). The way that it gained capital within the market over the waterfall approach, is that is returned knowledge from the development process, into the design aspects of the project, whereby constant testing of problems takes place early in the lifecycle, as compared to only the end (Agile project management software & tools | Adobe Workfront).
Due to the agile methodology being such a widely accepted versatile and understanding concept, it is applicable in many fields and industries once effective and efficient project planning and allocation takes place. As a result, these are just some of the projects that have been developed utilizing the agile methodology: the British broadcaster and telecommunications company “Sky” or “Sky TV” utilizes the agile approach to project management in order to quickly launch products to compete with the likes of Apple’s TV Box, the XBOX Live service was built using one week sprints in Scrum, which is a lightweight subset of the agile approach with an emphasis on software development (What is Scrum?) , and lastly, systems for Netflix and Spotify streaming services were developed utilizing approached from the agile methodology (Real life examples of agile methodology 2022).
Although the agile methodology proves to be an extremely beneficial principle to efficiently and effectively manage all the characteristics of project development, there are some risk factors that need to be taken into consideration. These risk factors are: budget risks as due to the welcoming of change, constant iteration, as well as change of product or service, the expenses being accepted may become too much over the customer’s initial expenditure, another risk involves “scope creep” whereby the initial project timeline may be drastically affected by the changes of scope through iterations, there are circumstances whereby the agile approach may not be suitable for a project, whereby the waterfall approach may prove more advantageous and lastly, although the iterations and constant change is one of the key attributes of the agile methodology, there is less predictability and chance to form long term predictions for the project. While being able to respond to the change is a good thing, the shifting deadlines and possible losses to the client may be a deterrent to incorporating the agile methodology (Garbar, 2022).
Within game development, there are many assets, resources, teams and knowledge base that needs to be carefully managed in order to achieve a high quality of work. Thus, varying methodologies for project management are implemented to ensure productivity is prioritized. Some benefits of using the agile methodology in game development are: due to the constant revisions and iterations being made, there is a lowered chance of defects or faults being in the final product, with the revisions and how much attention is given in each portion of the project’s development, it results in a higher quality of work being created and lastly, having constant customer/target audience feedback within every portion of the development cycle would ensure that their opinions, thoughts, suggestions and ideas are taken into consideration, which would allow for a more positive reaction upon release (Gamecloud, 2021). Some negatives that exist for using the agile methodology in game development are: due to the iterative nature of the approach it makes it difficult to predict how the development cycle and sustaining the project long term would be, the final product is not released first but fragmented portions of the project leading up to the complete output and lastly, due to all of the changes and the unpredictability that comes along with using this agile principle, the final documentation is left for towards the end to be completed (Study.com,2022).
Due to the agile methodology allowing for more customer support and feedback to be incorporated into the project’s development, game studios have found it advantageous to adopt its principles into their project developments. Some game companies that utilize the agile methodologies are: LucasArts, ZeeGee Games and MeliorGames, to name a few. The reasons why a large company such as LucasArts would incorporate agile principles into the development of their products and services, are due to the faster delivery of their work, more range of motion when it comes to how flexible they can be with their timelines and resource allocation, and lastly, clearly defined goals and processes are adaptive so that even with the constant changes and revisions being made, they can still be upheld (Agile in game development 2020). In conclusion, once the agile methodology is implemented in smart, focused and systematic manner, then it can be a powerful tool in development.
REFERENCES
Agile in game development. Melior Games. (2020, February 13). Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://meliorgames.com/game-development/agile-in-game-development/#:~:text=The%20methodology%20is%20pretty%20popular,Scrum%20in%20their%20developing%20process.
Agile project management software & tools | Adobe Workfront. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2022, from https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/agile-software
Gamecloud. (2021, July 19). Agile model in the process of Game Development & QA. Game Testing Agency - Best Offshore & AR/VR Game Testing Company. Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://gamecloud-ltd.com/agile-model-in-the-process-of-game-development-qa/#:~:text=AGILE%20DEVELOPMENT%3A&text=It%20helps%20to%20lower%20down,to%20define%20complex%20adaptive%20problems.
Garbar, D. (2022, March 16). Common risks in agile projects and how to prevent them. Belitsoft. Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://belitsoft.com/custom-application-development-services/agile-methodology
Real life examples of agile methodology. Growth Acceleration Partners. (2022, April 20). Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://www.growthaccelerationpartners.com/blog/real-life-examples-of-agile-methodology
SDLC - Overview. Tutorials Point. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/sdlc/sdlc_overview.htm
Take online courses. earn college credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Study.com | Take Online Courses. Earn College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/agile-methodology-benefits-disadvantages.html#:~:text=The%20disadvantages%20of%20agile%20are,Games%20project%20as%20an%20example.
What is Agile Methodology in project management? Wrike. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://www.wrike.com/project-management-guide/faq/what-is-agile-methodology-in-project-management/
What is agile? - what is Scrum? - agile FAQ's. Cprime. (2022, January 17). Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://www.cprime.com/resources/what-is-agile-what-is-scrum/
What is Scrum? Scrum.org. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://www.scrum.org/resources/what-is-scrum/
Zalatni. (2022, April 18). What is Agile Methodology in project management? Zalatni.com - Your start page for 21st Century. Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://zalatni.com/business/757
MASTERY JOURNAL RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT - Waterfall and Agile Model Comparison
With both methodologies explained, they will now be compared with each other to see their benefits, faults, risks of using them compared to the other, and finally decide which methodology is more advantageous over the other. The first difference between the two methodologies comes in the form of customer/target audience collaboration. In a business or rather in a project nevertheless, people are the most important resources that can either contribute to the success or failure of the project. Moreover, people refer to both the people developing the project, and the people who shall receive it e.g., client, target audience. Thus, a project should place an emphasis on the receivers of the final product/service to not only ensure their satisfaction and getting valuable feedback but making sure that the project’s expectations match its result.
The waterfall methodology only facilitates customer/target audience incorporation in the first requirements phase, and then the final product is released. This results in the consumers being blind during the entire development process and only receiving the result. This can cause heavy criticism and a great amount of time spent on the postproduction/ maintenance phase, whereby fixes, updates, balances, improvements and overall changes be made to satisfy consumers. On the other hand, agile methodology allows for customer/ consumer feedback and intervention within every phase of the project, which while causing the initial timeline to shift due to changes and revisions, it produces a higher, passionate, polished and well-rounded final product/service.
The next major difference between these two methodologies, is the way change is accepted. Within the waterfall methodology, there are 5 phases as stated before: requirements, design, implementation, verification or testing, deployment and maintenance, however, when it comes to change or making any major revision there is a cutoff point. This refers to the 3rd phase “Implementation” whereby changes, and revisions need to be made here thus earning it the name “The point of no return”. As a result, any changes or revisions that are to be implemented would cause the project to go all the way back to its design phase. As compared to the agile methodology whereby change is a welcomed addition to the project’s development. Within this approach, change can be implemented anywhere, and revisions are done throughout all its phases, thus ensuring the most refined, fault and error free, passionate and overall best efforts instilled result.
The next difference that exists within the two methodologies, is due to the sequential foundation of the waterfall methodology, the timeline is very strict. What this depicts, is that due to its rigid composition, the timeline, ideas and processes are permanent since the conceptualization of the project. This is a major disadvantage to the waterfall approach, as innovation, new principles, feedback and improvements are not granted the opportunity to be taken into consideration over the lifecycle of the project’s development. On the other hand, the timeline of the agile methodology is more of a placeholder or expected to change, due to taking in possible changes and doing deep revisions that can stem throughout the project. While this may lengthen the expected delivery time of the product/service, it ensures that every bit of additional input is taken into consideration and a better-quality result is released.
Like the timeline being a rigid element of the waterfall methodology, the cost is also an affected factor during the project development. In the waterfall methodology, the cost and estimate for development remains the same throughout the entire project’s development process leading up to release. This is a positive effect of the waterfall approach’s rigidity, as cost is a make-or-break element when it comes to intensive projects. In contrast, the cost of the project development within the agile methodology is a variable whereby it is not fully derived until close to completion and free from any incoming change. This is a deterrent to adopting the agile methodology as a client/consumer may agree on the initial expense, but as the development lifetime evolves and more changes and alterations are made, the cost may end up being out of the client’s expenditure.
The final difference between the waterfall and the agile approach, is the prioritization of testing the product/service incrementally as compared to singularly. What this depicts is that within the agile approach, testing is a continuous part of each phase of development, while testing only occurs after the build phase in the waterfall model. This is another disadvantage of the waterfall methodology and having dedicated phases for each juncture of the development process. The downfall that occurs is that the project is continued with faults and errors unnoticed all the way to the testing phase, just for them to now become a larger issue which not only takes resources, time and effort to resolve, but if it is a major error/fault, then the project may need to revert to the design phase.
With all, in my opinion I believe that the agile methodology is more beneficial to use over the waterfall methodology however, this does not mean that the waterfall methodology isn’t a viable option. While the advantages of flexibility and welcoming of change in the agile methodology may outweigh the features in that of the waterfall methodology, there are situational applications that may prove the waterfall model’s value. If the project outcomes are clearly grasped at the beginning, then if a project is required to meet strict regulations that specifically require documentation for each phase, then the waterfall methodology will work effortlessly. In conclusion, both models of project development deserve to share a place in means of managing a project from concept to release, and depending on the team, circumstances and the intensity/scope of the project, can both be efficient and effective tools to help get the job done.
REFERENCES
Agile project management software & tools | Adobe Workfront. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2022, from https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/agile-software
Garbar, D. (2022, March 16). Common risks in agile projects and how to prevent them. Belitsoft. Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://belitsoft.com/custom-application-development-services/agile-methodology
SDLC - Overview. Tutorials Point. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/sdlc/sdlc_overview.htm
Take online courses. earn college credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Study.com | Take Online Courses. Earn College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/agile-methodology-benefits-disadvantages.html#:~:text=The%20disadvantages%20of%20agile%20are,Games%20project%20as%20an%20example.
What is Agile Methodology in project management? Wrike. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://www.wrike.com/project-management-guide/faq/what-is-agile-methodology-in-project-management/
Zalatni. (2022, April 18). What is Agile Methodology in project management? Zalatni.com - Your start page for 21st Century. Retrieved September 9, 2022, from https://zalatni.com/business/757
Asmo. (2022, June 3). Waterfall Project Management: An overview. Zenkit. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://zenkit.com/en/blog/waterfall-project-management-an-overview/
Kienitz, P. (2022, May 13). The Pros and cons of Waterfall Software Development. One Beyond. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.one-beyond.com/pros-cons-waterfall-software-development/
The risks of waterfall methodology. Hygger. (2021, March 16). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://hygger.io/blog/the-risks-of-waterfall-methodology/#:~:text=The%20greatest%20disadvantage%20of%20Waterfall,Waterfall%20projects%20is%20very%20low.
says, K. J., says, S., says, U., says, B., says, A. kothari, says, L., says, D. A., says, S., says, N. A. M. E. T. S. O. M. A. L. E. M. E., Says, S., says, C., Says, M. R., says, A., says, M. ghislain, Says, A., says, P. O., says, N. V., says, K. S., says, B., … Says, R. F. (n.d.). Home. Try QA. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from http://tryqa.com/what-is-waterfall-model-advantages-disadvantages-and-when-to-use-it/
SDLC - Waterfall Model. Tutorials Point. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/sdlc/sdlc_waterfall_model.htm
Waterfall method - what is it ? Toucan Toco. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.toucantoco.com/en/glossary/waterfall.html#:~:text=The%20Waterfall%20method%20is%20a,development%20cycle%2C%20like%20a%20waterfall.
Waterfall methodology. Waterfall Methodology - A Complete Guide | Adobe Workfront. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://www.workfront.com/project-management/methodologies/waterfall#:~:text=The%20waterfall%20methodology%20is%20a,detailed%20documentation%2C%20and%20consecutive%20execution.
Mastery Journal Article Analysis #1: Digital Games for Down Syndrome Children's Language and Cognitive Development
This research paper titled “Digital Games for Down Syndrome Children’s Language and Cognitive Development” (Karagianni & Drigas, 2022) shall serve as the focus of my mastery journal article analysis. Throughout this research literature analysis, the foundation behind its hypotheses, its level of research and information manipulation, its relevance to the topic and lastly, the foreseeable impact of this article on readers and higher associations that can utilize and apply this study. The reason why this topic was chosen was not only does it showcase the inclusivity of children with down syndrome and the adoption of video games, but it draws relevance to my research topic, which is “Effect of Video Games on the Mental Development of Children”. In terms of video game design, it is within my belief that more articles such as this should be publicized to showcase the need for inclusivity within the world of video games. Moreover, in reference to video game design, there should be accommodations made whilst in the game’s conceptualization phase, to ensure not only can everyone play the game, but everyone can also enjoy the game.
Method
After reading through the article and acquiring a firmer understanding of the concept and its premise, the structure of the article could be concluded as an “Empirical” piece of research. This conclusion was derived through the article’s prominent use of real, tangible, scientific constructs, whereby it explained the origins of down syndrome, how it transpires within fertilization, as well as the differences and characteristics of a child with down syndrome.
However, there were some hypotheses expounded upon such as children with intellectual disabilities have reduced motivation in information processing tasks, compared to typically developing children of similar mental age (Karagianni & Drigas, 2022). This showcases a causal relationship existing throughout the hypothesis, as with a cause of intellectual disabilities, leads to the effect of reduced motivation in information processing tasks.
This article showcases the prominence of comparing children with intellectual disabilities such as down syndrome, with children without intellectual disabilities, through utilizing a constant of mental age and variables such as cognition, problem solving, vocational skills, language articulation and development, and communication modes whether verbal or nonverbal. These come together to be utilized as a medium for measurement between the two groups for comparative data, as well as formulating research questions/ hypotheses, through distinguishing learning capabilities.
Results
With the comparative data being utilized to describe the differences in learning capabilities of children with learning disabilities against children without learning disabilities, additional variables such as video games adopted and altered education were adopted in order to accommodate for these differences. Through the introduction of digital games, the plasticity of the brains of down syndrome children were shown to improve, whilst also having a positive effect on their memory and learning.
A conclusion was reached that, “digital games can compensate for many of these challenges in the learning process including cognitive functioning, short-term memory, difficulty in processing information, when they provide the optimal level of challenge and pace, adopting the mastery to the dynamics and needs of this specific population” (Karagianni & Drigas, 2022). Furthermore, it was found that the use of virtual reality games would appear even more advantageous than regular digital games, through their interactive simulations, having customizable learning and practice environments, and allowed children to move and indulge in full expression.
These hypotheses and conclusions were further supported through witnessing these changes in actual games, The virtual reality game “PRADIA: Mystery in the City” facilitated the use of voice and audio involvement, thus allowing the improvement of speech and apart of speech-language therapy, as well as the interactive game “Magic Stone” facilitated learning to distinguish sentences, targeting communication situations and patterns, and perception activities through puzzle-solving. These showcased the construct validity of the research, as these scientific observations of behavior and hypothetical testing, were paired with real world video game applications that matched the expected results of their impact, to the actual impact they had in breaking the educational stigma of learning disabilities.
Strengths
The first strength that was showcased within this article, was the depth of research alongside the implementation of real-world scenarios. The concept of external validity was observed during this study, as different groups of children with not only various learning disabilities, but varying afflictions from down syndrome, were seen to benefit from having games target their weakest area of learning i.e., video games to enhance literacy and fine motor skills, video games to stimulate sensorimotor functionality etc.
The second strength that was showcased within this article, was the showcase of a constant variable such as mental age being used to enforce validity. Mental age was one of the primary denominators used to understand the effects of down syndrome on a child’s learning ability. It was demonstrated that the language development of down syndrome children- mainly with mild retardation- was found to be qualitatively like younger children of typical development. This immediately denies the possibility of maturity as a single group threat to internal validity, as the mental age of both children with down syndrome and children without down syndrome, begin evenly.
Limitations
The first limitation that was showcased within the article, was “The researchers’ interest focused on the qualitative differences they show in the learning process, such as the high individual variation in performance and the avoidance strategies they develop, such as their distraction and lack of motivation” (Karagianni & Drigas, 2022). The type of validity that depicts this limitation is construct validity, the specific threat for this limitation involves experimenter expectancies, this encompasses the possible bias that the researcher may exhibit whereby in their research, or showcasing their expectations of a specified answer, which all lead to inaccurate results. Within this instance, there exists a bias nature towards only qualitative data acquisition, thus limiting the various quantitative data from being utilized within the study to further map the demographic, number of children affected by learning disabilities, and developing graphical chart representatives to highlight the data upon a scale.
The second limitation that was showcased within this article, is where “the hypothesis that children with intellectual disabilities have reduced motivation in information processing tasks, compared to typically developing children of similar mental age” (Karagianni & Drigas, 2022) was mentioned. The type of validity that was threatened by this limitation, is external validity, the specific threat for this limitation would concern itself with people, and this came about through an error in thinking.
As depicted within external validity, people are one of the most critical points when it comes to evaluating the quality of data and authenticity within your research. More specifically, this limitation highlights an ecological fallacy formulated by the external threat of people, whereby a child with a learning disability is generalized through the belief that all children with learning disabilities have reduced motivation in information processing tasks, thus disapproving the chance of the child not having reduced motivation.
Conclusion
Throughout this article, there was a constant public attitude within the topic, as well as the way the researcher carried out their observations and comparisons. With the continuous advancement of technology and constant competition within the gaming environment, developers should not focus on having the best graphics, or the best and most complex gameplay, but focus on their player base and user interaction as without the players, there would be no game. As mentioned within the article, learning disabilities may be seen as challenging, however they are not permanent challenges. With more articles such as this being publicized and developers creating more detailed, feature-filled, customizable digital games that target the various parts of learning and mental capability, children with learning disabilities particularly down syndrome, will eventually be on par with children without learning disabilities, be offered the same educational opportunities, and acquire their successful and deserved inclusion into society.
References
Karagianni, E., & Drigas, A. (2022). Digital Games for down syndrome children’s language and cognitive development. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 35, 162–185. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v35i1.7241
Methods and the User Experience Conclusion
During my time within the "Methods and The User Experience" course, there were an abundance of information that brought new understanding to the gaming industry, and how game mechanics are more well designed than previously thought. The course taught about the various quality control elements such as the different types of validity, as well as their threat to control them, the various principles and relationships within research, and why taking more time to authenticate your data is so crucial. Through carrying out the assignments that requested play testing, whereby I applied the knowledge from the course in terms of examining the usability of the game from the viewpoint of several variables that either directly interact with the user or play some role in affecting the user experience of the game. The showcase of human sensation and the manner that we interact with our environment was another point of interest, as it is also utilized by game designers to ensure the game is not too visually overwhelming and should be perceived the way they intended. Lastly, through doing the "Mastery Journal Article" research assignments, I was able to find valuable insights from other researchers and convey many of their ideologies into my own mastery journal topic, " Effect of Video Games on The Mental Development of Children". Overall, this was a very influential course that gave a greater, more pronounced lock at inside a game studio and how they handle their resources.
User Research Data Analysis Conclusion
Throughout my time in the user research data analysis course, there were many principles and new knowledge that I gained. Within this course, I was revised on the concepts of validity and shown more depth to why validity should be at the forefront of an experiment, and how to identify the various forms of validity in an effective and efficient manner. Next, the importance of using statistics in data was taught whereby I learnt that if statistics are used to showcase significance before and after an experiment, it allows for solid, calculated conclusions to be drawn. When it comes to class content, I was able to network with the other students and learn their valuable insight when it came to their own user experiences and what research methods appear more advantageous than another. Next, the labs that were orchestrated by Dr. Andrew Hudson were beneficial in learning what a client expects from keen data analysis and how to present data in a professional manner. Moreover, I learnt how to use excel shortcuts and functions to clean data and get rid of erroneous responses whether too high/too low/or absent. I used my observational skills to find trends in the data, and then formulated conclusions from those trends from the perspective of a game designer, in order to hand it off to a client. Overall, this course was a learning experience and I closely paid attention to all the feedback gained from Dr. Rob Kennedy, and why user research is a crucial step of project development and management.
Sean Coomansingh Post Partum Document (Telekinesis)- Prototyping and Content Creation
1. Title: Telekinesis
2. Description of Project- This project as founded and developed by “Team Campus 01-23” consisting of Evan Cacchione, Samuel Nwoga, Jeffrey Starlin, and myself Sean Coomansingh. The game “Telekinesis” was a project we collaborated on within the “Prototyping and Content Creation Class” whereby we had to quickly identify a concept, create a game hook that would be encouraging for players, but most importantly, have progressive updates every week until a playable demo is ready.
The concept was determined as being puzzle-oriented with a way to use some form of ability, or interesting factor for navigating and solving the puzzles. Thus, we used a reference to the game “Portal”, whereby the player has a portal gun to not only navigate, but solve complex puzzles. Henceforth, we agreed on implementing the power of Telekinesis, whereby the player can manipulate objects and in cases even their surroundings, to traverse puzzles and make progress through the game.
3. What Went Right- The game began as a fun project that not only would be used to complete the class, build a concept that would serve as a learning experience for everyone, but be a team building exercise that facilitates collaboration and ability for everyone to learn from one another. In the beginning we were all assigned tasks that would tailor our past experiences and strong points. JJ (Jeffrey) worked on the Telekinesis ability including hit scan and HUD, Samuel was responsible for creating a laser/turret mechanic for the telekinesis ability, Evan was in charge of obstacle/mechanic for the telekinesis ability, and I was in charge of designs/mock-ups and puzzle creation.
We worked together to complete objectives and meet deadlines, but mostly ensuring that no member was being left behind. Through my objectives, I had to create the actual designs and puzzles, which mainly highlights the core gameplay present in the game. As a result, I did research into games that had telekinetic abilities or object manipulation like features, to develop a greater understanding of how such an ability may be implemented.
I ended up on differentiating the telekinetic ability into three mechanics: Push, Pull, Rotate/Twist. These would be introduced to the player gradually, whereby the player learns of their various applications and controls. Hence, I created three puzzles for each of the telekinetic mechanics that would encourage the player to act strategically to proceed. For the pushing mechanic set of puzzles, they involved the player pushing an object off a ledge to block up a gap that was obstructing the exit, a domino-oriented puzzle whereby they push down one obstacle to tumble into other obstacles in order to hit a button and unlock the exit, and lastly a “Simon Says” memory game whereby the player has to correctly repeat a color sequence three times to unlock three locks that would open the exit.
For the pulling mechanic set of puzzles, they involved the player pulling a drawbridge off a wall that would cause it to fall and make a path over a body of water, the second task would involve the player taking control of a catapult like device whereby they would need to pull an elastic band backwards, to launch a projectile into a button that would open the exit, and lastly, the player would need to defeat an AI in a game of Jenga, whereby the must carefully remove blocks from a tower and not make it fall before the AI.
The final set of puzzles included the use of the twist/rotation mechanic of the player’s telekinetic ability, whereby they must orient objects in a variety of situations to progress. The first puzzle involved orienting segments of a track in order to make a path for a ball to travel, hit a button and open the exit. The second puzzle resembled the dial on a safe, whereby the player had to rotate a dial to the correct number three times, in order to open the lock. The final puzzle involved the player rotating a panel of tiles in a way that a legible picture would be formed, thus again opening the exit.
These puzzles were all contemplated on by the entire team in order to highlight which puzzles possess the most potential, can be done in the month timespan, and most importantly, which levels would be the most fun to the player. Those were all that went right for the project and allowed for us to acquire success.
4. Challenges- The main challenge that was experienced, was quite personal whereby I felt severely underestimated by the team. This stems from the fact that the majority of students currently enrolled in the game design masters degree, have gained a foundation in the basic premises of game design, as they completed their undergraduate bachelors degree in it. Therefore, due to me completing my bachelors degree in Information Technology, I lack these basic foundations and the premises including anything with games, thus making me disadvantaged in both the knowledge and expertise of game creation. Therefore, the other team members underestimated me due to having that inexperience. However, I told them that I am ready to take on any challenge or any task that they have for me. I showcased eagerness and wanting to take initiative to the team and guaranteed them that I am a quick learner and shall do my best to get it done.
Due to this and feeling underestimated, I researched multiple tutorials and did practice utilizing the Unreal Engine, as not only was this my first time using the Unreal Engine but knowing that this project is on a strict one-month deadline made it imperative that I learn the interface as effectively and efficiently as possible.
5. Audience- The audience of this game is mainly highlighted for players that enjoy puzzle and adventure games, with hints of strategy intertwined. Moreover, it is gauged for players who are either fans of the portal series of games and the game “Control”, however, it is not limited to that demographic. Due to the game being more casual, it can be played and understood by everyone, but most importantly, allows for everyone to acquire the same fun and enjoyable gaming experience.
6. Risks- The first risk that was brought up was by Professor Manns, whereby he let us know that in the past, 2 or 3 classes that he’s taught have pitched projects that revolve around portal and even the use of telekinesis. Thus, this risk designated the game having no unique identity, and not having enough of a grasp on a player to continue playing.
The second risk involves ensuring the game is appropriately balanced in terms of its difficulty of puzzles for the target player audience. When the game was in its conceptualization phase, we made the decision for the target audience to be teens, and expanded to players who are fans of games such as Portal and Control. Moreover, due to the tutorials and explanations of the player’s telekinetic abilities, we can make the game “E” for everyone, however that would further increase the risk of finding an appropriate balance between puzzle difficulty and player skill level.
The final risk involved the game having limited replay value. This encompasses the puzzles having a set order/progression, meaning that there is no variance in how you can play the game and what order you play it in, thus unfortunately meaning that once you’ve completed all of the levels, that is it. Therefore, players would not have a reason to continue playing once the levels are completed, which would unfortunately make the game not have a lasting impact on players.
7. The “Telekinesis” Rules, Amendments & Addenda
Gameplay will rely on a variety of telekinetic abilities.
• Pushing mechanic
• Pulling mechanic
• Rotating/Twisting mechanic
The overall mood and tone will be clear and consistent.
• Eagerness to make progress.
• Intrigue
• Problem Solving
• Relief from solving puzzles.
8. What were the Goals (In the Beginning)
When we began the conceptualization phase of this project, I first recommended a reference to the magnesis ability from the game “Legend of Zelda- Breath of the Wild”. This would be used to reference how a telekinesis like mechanic would work in a game. Then we utilized the puzzle-based rooms concept from “Portal”, and the way Telekinesis works in the game “Control”, to get our source material.
Then we planned to have the game be completed gradually over the course of 4 weeks, with each week showcasing a new part of the build. Additionally, the feedback given by Professor Manns was utilized to refine certain aspects of the game, and allow for new additions to be made, in order to see improvement.
9. Delivery Date- For this game, progress updates had to be given every Tuesday in the period of lecture, and the actual build was submitted every Sunday. Due to the goal being to complete the game in 4 weeks, the PowerPoint document, video demonstration and the actual finalized build was delivered at the end of the 4th week.
10. Genre- The genre of the game can be represented as a puzzle-oriented strategic game.
11. Category- The category that this game may fall into, is games that require you to think about the dilemma, observe your surroundings and determine the best possible conclusion . Furthermore, it may be categorized by games that are easy to pick up and learn, as well as provides an enjoyable yet linear experience.
12. Similar Titles- This game is similar to titles such as Portal for inspiration of room-based puzzles, Control for the implementation of its telekinetic abilities, and the Legend of Zelda- Breath of the Wild, solely for its use of magnesis that depict object manipulation.
13. Setting- The game would essentially be set in a futuristic/advanced lab facility, in which the player goes through an assortment of mazes with puzzles of varying difficulty, that would require the usage of one or multiple of the player’s telekinetic abilities to solve.
14. Look- The look of the game can be visually similar to that of “Portal”, whereby it is a rather white/neutral toned facility that is customized to depict the puzzles.
15. Plot Concept- The concept of the game that we first contemplated on would be that you awake with strange telekinetic powers that you can’t quite control. You are then brought to this experimental testing facility to solve a variety of puzzles to both gauge and become familiar with your new found powers.
16. Competitive Analysis- This game utilizes mechanics that have been attempted before in previous games that facilitate puzzles, escape mechanics, power actualization etc., and from the source material such as Portal and Control. However, it was given in feedback from Professor Manns that what sets this game apart, is the rotation/twisting mechanic of the player’s telekinetic ability. Due to this, it allows for more lonely and complex puzzles to be created that can make use of the twisting/rotating mechanic, alongside the pushing and pulling mechanics, resulting in more challenge to the player.
17. Technology- This game utilizes the Unreal Engine as its foundation of game creation.
18. System Requirements- The requirements for this game would be the recommended hardware for Unreal Engine, being Windows 10 64-bit version, quad core Intel or AMD 2.5GHZ or faster, 8GB ram and DirectX 11 or 12 compatible graphics card.
REFERENCES
Remedy Entertainment [Developer]. Control [Video Game]. 505 Games.
Valve [Developer]. Portal 2 [Video Game]. Valve.
Nintendo [Developer]. Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild [Video Game]. Nintendo
LINKS TO VIDEO DEMONSTRATIONS
Week 2- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7rnBkI3rj0
Week 3-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVt4p2zJFv4
Week 4-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzQegVy0j_I
Sean Coomansingh First Mastery Journal Research Assignment - Advanced Production Techniques
My name is Sean Coomansingh, and this assignment shall be the first showcase of work within the mastery journal for the “Advanced Production Techniques” class. Within this assignment, the agile methodology “ Extreme Programming” shall be evaluated, whereby it shall be defined, assessing the origin and originator of this methodology, what products were conceived while utilizing this methodology, highlighting the risk factors that accompany the usage of this methodology and lastly, investigate any game companies that utilize the Extreme Programming methodology, their reasons for using it and on the other hand, determining the reason why companies do not use this methodology.
Extreme Programming is a subset of the agile methodology whereby it uses frequent releases in short development cycles, which are successful in improving software quality and gives the flexibility to developers to respond to customer change (What is Extreme Programming? an overview of XP rules and values 2018). Furthermore, the principles of extreme programming justify its usage within a high demanding development environment, these principles include simplicity whereby the steps of the development process are broken down into smaller and more methodical goals that are attainable, showcasing streamlined communication whereby all teams collaborate in a synchronous manner to exchange information and get tasks done in an efficient and effective manner (What is Extreme Programming? an overview of XP rules and values 2018).
Next principle encompasses having consistent and constructive feedback whereby due to the significance of frequent production cycles, customer feedback is quintessential in order to highlight satisfaction and address necessary changes, next principle encompasses respect whereby all contributions from the team despite any existing hierarchy are welcomed as well as the unpredictable nature of changes in customer requirements (What is Extreme Programming? an overview of XP rules and values 2018). The final principle is courage, whereby having the ability to make difficult production decisions through taking full responsibility, and emphasizing the best intentions for the team (What is Extreme Programming? an overview of XP rules and values 2018).
The origins of extreme programing stems back to the 1990’s with its founder Kent Beck, with the ideal of getting greater efficiency out of software development while working at “DaimlerChrysler”, now known as “Mercedes Benz Group” (Extreme programming). He sought to prioritize adaptability over the premise of predictability, as removing the rigidity of a structured development cycle that can be greatly impacted by change e.g., Waterfall methodology, will promote development fluidity and customer satisfaction (Extreme programming).
From the 1990’s, extreme programming has grown to the point where many modern infrastructures we use today had extreme programming as its development framework. The first example and one that is heavily used would be Google’s search engine, Amazon Web Services (AWS) made use of extreme programming for its scalability for their cloud services requirements, and lastly, Airbnb utilized extreme programming for its scalability yet again in order to deliver their products and services in an effective and efficient manner (Anshul, 2022).
While there are many advantages that employ the usage of extreme programming, there are some risk factors that a producer needs to be considerate about. The first risk is assessing whether the project shall require a code focused development strategy or a design focused strategy due to design being given less priority, the second risk is determining the landscape of team collaboration as remote teams tend to be disadvantaged through the use of extreme programming and lastly, the methodology does not accurately portray code quality assurance (Reynolds, 2020).
The benefits of adopting extreme programming into your development timeline includes the ability to save time and resources whereby through the usage of extreme programming, it provides project developers with an avenue to reduce project costs and present timely deliverables, it adds simplicity to the project whereby an emphasis on the creation of simple code is made which encompasses not only quickening the development process, but allow resources to be familiarized upon implementation (Reynolds, 2020). The last benefit of extreme programming involves the significance of flexibility to make changes, due to being able to adapt to feedback from customers which may mean adding, removing or changing aspects of the project, in order to meet their requirements (Reynolds, 2020).
On the other hand, the negatives of employing the use of extreme programming includes possessing difficulty with coordinating larger teams, if not managed properly can result in feature creep whereby there is seemingly no end to the project, and exists a possibility to noy have thorough documentation due to the uncertain frequency of changes that occur throughout the project’s lifespan (Extreme programming).
While exploring the premise of extreme programming may sound like it being advantageous to a project’s development, a real-life showcase of extreme programming in gaming companies would validate its effectiveness. After performing research, the company “Titus Interactive Studio” situated in France utilized extreme game development (XGD), which was based on extreme programming (XP) (Thomas DemachyBloggerJuly 16, 2003). They were an extremely prominent publisher of video games on several platforms and was founded in 1985. Titus Interactive and its subsidiary Interplay Entertainment developed and published many games from 1988-2004, including Superman 64 which was notoriously known for having unresponsive controls, technical flaws, repetitive gameplay and poor graphics (Fielder, 1999).
Due to the many advantages of extreme programming, its usage within the game industry may be greatly warranted. These would include constant collaboration between all departments of the project e.g., design, art, programming, seamless and quick feedback being exchanged from the project’s development team to the customers/clients and breaking down difficult tasks into manageable and achievable goals (What is Extreme Programming? an overview of XP rules and values 2018).
Project development is a daunting task, especially taking into consideration the amount of resources that need to be managed, delegation of tasks to team members, preparing an adequate project timeline that accounts for all development phases and most important, ensuring team collaboration and communication is promoting productivity. As a result, I would suggest using a framework that stems from the agile methodology due to its flexibility, focus on human resources over processes and tools, involving customers/clients at every step of the project’s development, and the most distinguishing advantage of being adaptive to changes and respond appropriately with the project’s best interest in mind.
REFERENCES
Anshul. (2022, June 1). What is Extreme Programming & its key practices? Glossary. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://chisellabs.com/glossary/what-is-extreme-programming/#:~:text=Airbnb%20is%20another%20real%20life,products%20and%20services%20at%20scale.
Extreme programming. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2023, from http://www.umsl.edu/~sauterv/analysis/f06Papers/Hutagalung/#:~:text=The%20origin%20of%20extreme%20programming,to%20be%20a%20successful%20method.
Fielder, J. (1999, June 8). Superman Review. GameSpot. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/superman-review/1900-2545277/
Reynolds, I. J. H. (2020, November 10). What is extreme programming methodology: Is it worth it? Custom Software Development Insights | Zibtek Blog. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://www.zibtek.com/blog/is-extreme-programming-methodology-worth-it/
Thomas DemachyBloggerJuly 16, 2003. (2003, July 16). Extreme game development: Right on time, every time. Game Developer. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://www.gamedeveloper.com/production/extreme-game-development-right-on-time-every-time
What is Agile Methodology in project management? Wrike. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.wrike.com/project-management-guide/faq/what-is-agile-methodology-in-project-management/
What is Extreme Programming? an overview of XP rules and values. Lucidchart. (2018, August 10). Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/what-is-extreme-programming
Sean Coomansingh Second Mastery Journal Research Assignment for Advanced Production Techniques Class
My name is Sean Coomansingh, and this assignment shall be the second contribution to my mastery journal for the “Advanced Production Techniques” class. This assignment shall encompass various facets of the “Jira” production software, whereby an overview of its functionality shall be explained, the origin of the Jira production software, any success stories that incorporated the use of Jira, the advantages and disadvantages, any game companies that have adopted the Jira software and lastly, deducing the reasoning for using it, and why others may not use it.
Jira is a production platform that is catered towards the usage of the agile methodology of project development. Through the usage of Jira, it allows organization and structure to be incorporated into the production of the project. Jira facilitates collaboration and delegation of tasks through its various planning, tracking, reporting and managing systems, that all work cohesively to get a project completed in an efficient and effective manner (Atlassian, Jira overview: Products, projects and hosting). Additionally, Jira offers four frameworks that can be customized to fit the user requirements, these frameworks include “Jira Software” which encompasses the main project management and team collaboration tools, “Jira Service-Management” which encompasses customer prioritized communication and more efficient agent response, “Jira Work Management” which prioritizes the marketing, advertising and legal portion of the project and lastly, “Jira Align” which encompasses the strategic combination of enterprise level product, program and portfolio execution (Atlassian, Jira overview: Products, projects and hosting).
Jira begins with its startup company, “Atlassian”, which had its beginnings as a tech support company (Jira 2022). In 2002, the Atlassian developers were experiencing financial issues and sold the “Atlassian Support System” now known as Jira (Jira 2022). Henceforth, Jira was targeted mainly towards software developers, but have since grown into an essential asset for a variety of companies and project applications (Jira 2022).
Due to the sheer versatility and the features offered by the Jira software, from its launch in 2002 with the primary goals of issue tracking and project management, there has been as estimated 65,000 upwards of companies that rely on Jira for their project management duties (Atlassian, Who uses jira?). A few examples derived from over 65,000 users include the car manufacturer “Audi”, whereby they create a workflow channel between engineers, designers, software developers and QA teams, to ensure issues can be tracked and information is easily accessible (Atlassian, Audi engineers accelerate innovation with Atlassian).
The next company is Canva, whereby they are able to funnel their requests for designs into a central location, and optimizing their workflow through effective and efficient information organization (Atlassian, How Atlassian's cloud products help CANVA empower and scale). The final example company that utilizes Jira, is the U.S Department of Defense, whereby a subset called the Defense Media Activity (DMA), used Jira to optimize their communication channels, improve collaborative efforts, and establish a customer and performance focused operation (Atlassian, Transforming the Department of Defense Public).
Some advantages of utilizing the Jira platform include the incorporation of both Scrum and Kanban templates whereby a Scrum Team can dismantle complex projects into manageable tasks, and a Kanban team can create visual models of their workflow, the next advantage is the implementation of roadmaps whereby tracking system goals through effective task planning and lastly, easy integration of Jira into their projects through its multitude of tools and features for all kinds of users (designers, developers), without needing external applications (Santos, 2023).
The negatives of using Jira include experiencing some difficulty with its initial setup as well as often overwhelming users due to its variations and feature packages, there is no incorporated communication interface within Jira, thus prompting users to communicate through email or an external integration and lastly, there is an absence of cost management and risk assessment which are crucial components that can determine the success of the project (Santos, 2023).
After some research, the gaming company “Zynga” who are responsible for the products within the social gaming scene such as Farmville, Mafia Wars, Café World etc. on Facebook, are prominent users of the Jira Software (Friberg, 2012). Through Jira’s usage of its bug tracking features, heavy customization, roadmaps for managing the progression of tasks, and its implementation of the “Crucible” code review tool that can not only write comments in directly in the code, but track real-time code activity, it is a great asset to companies within the game industry (Team, 2021).
Project management differs in many ways such as applications, scope, timeline, amount of team members etc., thus there is not a definite “best project management tool” to be utilized. However, their best case uses, advantages and disadvantages can all be taken into account to not only allow a project manager to choose, but give the project its greatest chance of success through effective and efficient management. In conclusion, the Jira platform can be a great tool that offers numerous functionality and promotes fruitful team collaboration.
REFERENCES
Atlassian. (n.d.). Audi engineers accelerate innovation with Atlassian. Atlassian. Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://www.atlassian.com/customers/audi
Atlassian. (n.d.). How Atlassian's cloud products help CANVA empower and scale. Atlassian. Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://www.atlassian.com/customers/canva
Atlassian. (n.d.). Jira overview: Products, projects and hosting. Atlassian. Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/guides/getting-started/overview#jira-software-hosting-options
Atlassian. (n.d.). Transforming the Department of Defense Public. Atlassian. Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://www.atlassian.com/customers/department-of-defense
Atlassian. (n.d.). Who uses jira? Atlassian. Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/guides/use-cases/who-uses-jira
Friberg, M. (2012, January 19). (case study) zynga on game development tools. Work Life by Atlassian. Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://www.atlassian.com/blog/archives/zynga_on_game_development_tools$
Jira. What is Jira? | Definition and Overview. (2022, November 30). Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://www.productplan.com/glossary/jira/#:~:text=Jira%20is%20a%20software%20application,manage%20projects%2C%20and%20automate%20workflows.
Santos, J. M. D. (2023, February 9). Pros and cons of Jira Software for Project Management (2022). Project. Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://project-management.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-using-jira-software/#pros
Team, 8B. (2021, July 8). Harness the chaos in the game development - jira 101. Jira game development - for game dev project management. Retrieved February 13, 2023, from https://8bitplay.com/blog/harness-the-chaos-in-the-game-development-jira-101#:~:text=Jira%20is%20a%20game%20dev,easily%20adapt%20your%20Jira%20software.
Sean Coomansingh- Asset Management- Post Mortem Document
1. Title: Telescape
2. Description of Project- This project was founded and developed by the Asset Management team both online and campus, consisting of Evan Cacchione, Samuel Nwoga, Jeffrey Starlin, Sean Coomansingh, Jaysson Kearney, Andy Sizemore, Austin Cordle, Ben Clark, Christopher Buckner, and Evan Wilcher. The game “Telescape” was an idea that stemmed through the combination of the campus class’s project we collaborated on within the “Prototyping and Content Creation Class” known as “Telekinesis”, and the online class’s project known as “Wanna Go Outside.
The concept was determined as being puzzle-oriented with a way to use some form of ability, or interesting factor for navigating and solving the puzzles, to earn keys to leave a mansion. Henceforth, we agreed on implementing the power of Telekinesis, whereby the player can manipulate objects and in cases even their surroundings, to traverse puzzles and make progress through the game, and having every member of the team design a themed level of the mansion with a respective puzzle that prioritizes the player’s telekinetic ability.
3. What Went Right- The game began as a fun project that not only would be used to complete the class, build a concept that would serve as a learning experience for everyone, but be a team building exercise that facilitates collaboration and ability for everyone to learn from one another. In the beginning we were all assigned levels that would tailor the puzzle functionalities and overall creativeness, as well as essential system additions such as UI and interfaces. JJ(Jeffrey) Starlin was responsible for the pause and credits menu, Evan Cacchione was responsible for the Library level and the Central Hub, Andy Sizemore was responsible for the entrance Graveyard level, Observatory level, as well as the Greenhouse level, Jaysson Kearney was responsible for the Music Room Level, Evan Wilcher was responsible for the key and door assets, Samuel Nwoga was responsible for the Art Gallery Level, Austin Cordle was responsible for the Laboratory level, I (Sean Coomansingh) was responsible for the Armory level, Ben Clark was responsible for the Ballroom level and lastly, Christopher Buckner was responsible for the narrative systems within the game.
We worked together to complete objectives and meet deadlines, but mostly ensuring that no member was being left behind. Through my objectives, I had to create the Armory level, which mainly encompassed the entire design of the level, adding the telekinetic ability and implementing an intriguing puzzle whereby utilizing that telekinetic ability to be rewarded with a key. As a result, I did research into level designing within the Unreal Engine, utilized AI art to get a good understanding of what an “Armory” should resemble, and did some concept work on what possible puzzles would work in this scene.
I ended up creating a puzzle whereby the player would utilize their telekinetic ability to place 4 candles on 4 pillars which would result in the key being made available to the player. Hence, I began looking at pictures of what an Armory would resemble, refreshed my memory on designing levels and lighting within Unreal, and got to work with the design of the level and utilizing assets from the Quixel Bridge plugin that would be appropriate for the environment.
For the candles I added a lava material to preface the usage of the player having a telekinetic ability instead of simply picking it up with their hands, as well as using colliders, having backend checks to ensure the correct candle is placed on the correct pillar, which results in that pillar being set on fire. Upon correctly placing the four candles on their respective pillars, a secret door would open which would then allow the player to grab the key and leave the level. Additionally, I added a teleportation or scene change collider at the back of the hallway of the level, which allows a connection between the Armory level and the Hub of the game.
Through everyone working in an efficient and effective manner, we were all able to create level blockouts, begin designing, adding telekinetic functionalities, adding visual and sound effects/assets, creating puzzles and final passes on our respective level designs in the span of 1 month, while prioritizing production documentation and addressing feedback from Professor Papp during project showcases. These were all that went right for the project and allowed us to be successful and have a well-maintained and presentable final product.
FIG.1: Image showcasing the AI imagery that was utilized for the design concept of the armory level
FIG.2: Image showcasing the first look of the design of the Armory level
FIG.3: This was the first video I created showcasing the design of the level towards the team. I added in assets that were appropriate for an armory, however, there were issues concerning the lighting going dark when you walk up to a corner, there were no collisions so the player would walk through all objects, and there was no puzzle or telekinetic functionality.
FIG.4: This was the second video I made, whereby I created a hallway and door that had a collision box which would allow it to open and close in respects to the player’s distance to the door. No fixes or functionalities were made.
FIG.5: This was the third video I made, whereby I fixed the collisions so the player no longer can pass through objects, I fixed the lighting issue, so the screen no longer goes dark when the player approaches the corners of walls and began preliminary testing of adding in the telekinetic ability.
FIG.6: This was the fourth video I created, whereby I added in the puzzle functionality that makes the player use Telekinesis to place four candles on four specific pillars in order for the key to spawn.
FIG.7: This was the fifth video I made, whereby I changed the materials of the door and walls, added in the ability for the player to travel back to the HUB of the game, added visual and audio effects into the puzzle, added rotating secret door that would reveal the downstairs key room once the puzzle is complete, and overall polish. Materials need to be fixed in certain regions and make the puzzle easier to see with particles.
FIG.8: This was the sixth and final video I made, whereby I did a final pass on the overall polish of the visual aspects of the game, fixed the materials that were glitching ontop of each other, fixed the particle effects, added in a lava material on the candles to prompt a usage of the telekinetic ability, added in the fire particle system and sounds that would only occur if the correct candle is placed on the correct pillar. No more fixes need to be done and the level on April 21st,2023 was deemed complete.
4. Challenges- The main challenge that was experienced was quite personal whereby did not have prior experience in designing a level of this capacity to be used in a professional manner alongside a team. However, obstacles and adversity are meant to be overcome and I had to be sure that I was not the weakest member or become a burden to the team’s grades or productivity. Due to this and wanting to ensure I won’t hold the team back, I researched multiple tutorials and did practice utilizing the Unreal Engine, as not only was this my first time using the Unreal Engine to create a level or even learning how to do lighting and collision etc., I had to be sure to learn how to properly do production documentation such as ensuring my data within the capacity plan, test plan, schedule, feature list, and learning the operations of burnup and burndown charts were prioritized.
5. Audience- The audience of this game is mainly highlighted for players that enjoy puzzle and adventure games, with hints of strategy intertwined. Moreover, it is gauged for players who are either fans of the portal series of games, the game “Control” due to its telekinetic functionality, but moreover games that possess a horror or thriller theme whereby having to solve a mystery, escape an area, or complete sub tasks to earn keys etc. Due to the game being more casual, it can be played and understood by everyone, but most importantly, allows for everyone to acquire the same fun and enjoyable gaming experience.
6. Risks- The first risk that was brought up was by Professor Papp, whereby he let us know that there must be a reason for the telekinetic ability, whereby within our puzzles there needs to be a strict purpose for the use of telekinesis that can not be done simply by using your hands.
The second risk involves ensuring the game is completed in the manner that we would like it to be completed. This encompasses that while the player can visit the rooms in any order they please, the result should be that they will earn 8 keys, which allows for them to leave the mansion and complete the game. However, there have been occurrences whereby if the player leaves and reenters a room, then the key will respawn and allows for an exploit that takes away from the entire premise of having multiple levels and replay ability.
The final risk involved the game a definite theme or a purpose, whereby through narrative there must be lore or some form of storytelling that will allow a player to grasp the reason they are investigating this mansion, the reason for using their telekinetic abilities to traverse the mansion and various levels/rooms, and what is the reason they need to gather the keys.
7. The “Telescape” Rules, Amendments & Addenda
Gameplay will rely on the players problem-solving skills and telekinetic ability.
• Pushing mechanic
• Pulling mechanic
The overall mood and tone will be clear and consistent.
• Eagerness to make progress.
• Intrigue
• Problem Solving
• Relief from solving puzzles.
8. What were the Goals (In the Beginning)
When we began the conceptualization phase of this project, we had the idea of somewhat combining both the campus and the online class’s project from the “Prototyping and Content Creation” course. Due to this, we had to find some manner of common ground whereby most characteristics of both games can be equally represented. Henceforth by implemented puzzles that would require the telekinetic ability from “Telekinesis”, combined with the escape essence of “Wanna Go Outside”, was tastefully combined to form “Telescape”.
9. Delivery Date- For this game, progress updates had to be given every Tuesday in the period of lecture, and the actual build/progress was submitted at the end of each week. Due to the goal being to complete the game in 4 weeks, the PowerPoint document, video demonstration, production documentation and the actual finalized build was delivered at the end of the 4th week.
10. Genre- The genre of the game can be represented as a puzzle-oriented strategic game.
11. Category- The category that this game may fall into, is games that require you to think about the dilemma, observe your surroundings and determine the best possible conclusion. Furthermore, it may be categorized by games that are easy to pick up and learn, as well as provide an enjoyable yet linear experience.
12. Similar Titles- This game is similar to titles such as Portal for inspiration of room-based puzzles, Control for the implementation of its telekinetic abilities, and some horror/ thriller themed games that would prompt some form of escape or haste to leave an area through narrative and essential storytelling.
13. Setting- The game would essentially be set in an abandoned mansion, in which the player goes through an assortment of themed rooms with puzzles of varying difficulty, that would require the usage of the player’s telekinetic ability and problem-solving abilities.
14. Look- The look of the game can be represented as being a dark, eerie and suspense driven environment through the abandoned village, the graveyard, and the abandoned mansion with its diverse set of rooms.
15. Plot Concept- The concept of the game that we first contemplated would be that you must explore the mystery of an abandoned mansion found deep within an abandoned village. You then enter the mansion, it locks behind you, thus prompting your only way to escape is through critical thinking, your telekinetic ability and unraveling the mystery behind the mansion.
16. Competitive Analysis- This game does encompass mechanics that have been showcased in previous games as referenced in both Control and the Portal series, however through storytelling and having keys we were able to add some more diversity into the game. Moreover, having multiple themed rooms with their own puzzles gives not only each level, but the entire game more individuality.
17. Technology- This game utilizes the Unreal Engine as its foundation of game creation.
18. System Requirements- The requirements for this game would be the recommended hardware for Unreal Engine, being Windows 10 64-bit version, quad core Intel or AMD 2.5GHZ or faster, 8GB ram and DirectX 11 or 12 compatible graphics card.
REFERENCES
Remedy Entertainment [Developer]. Control [Video Game]. 505 Games.
Valve [Developer]. Portal 2 [Video Game]. Valve.
Mastery Journal Link: https://express.adobe.com/page/j4ySkZ8J9yOKN/