Sprint 2

For this sprint, I was tasked with primarily "modeling" (creating sprites) for our game. This was actually a significant amount of work, as I typically do not work with pixel art, but I found a decent amount of fun in it.

Trello Board, Sprint 2

I was tasked with a handful of sprite drawings, which included: creating torches, enemies and obstacles, ropes and ladders, floor sprites, and the player sprite. In addition to these sprites, I was tasked with figuring out the consequences of the game - what would be considered "losing" when being left in the dark? Do they have an HP bar? 

I was able to complete several sprites during this sprite, but due to my tendency of being a perfectionist when it comes to art, it definitely took longer than expected. I referenced similarly-styled games like Terraria and Minecraft, and utilized their styles in my own sprites. 

Enemy sprite - while derpy, was inspired by a couple Minecraft mods 

Some other sprites I had to come up with on my own and did not reference much to create. One of those was the Pitfall obstacle. While I had a few ideas of what a pitfall might look like (i.e. pitfall seed Super Smash Bros style), I decided to go the hole-trap route with spikes at the bottom. I decided to go for a damp jungle/mossy cave vibe and used vines and other similar foliage in this obstacle as well as in some other sprites I created during this sprint. I was pleasantly surprised with what I came up with, and will build off of this style for future iterations of the sprites/new sprites.

Foliage Obstacle!

Pitfall Obstacle!

Currently the only cards I have left in progress are the player sprite, and the task of fine tuning the rules. I was unable to get myself out of a creativity block when it came specifically to the player, so I moved onto the obstacles and such instead. This is the only task assigned to me that I was unable to complete during this sprint.

 As for the rules task, it is an ongoing task that I will continue to have as we playtest. For now, I think we will play around with a few times, and use a health bar for running into hazards and enemies. Additionally, we will have a lives system that relies on the HP bar.

My main issues were always creativity blocks, as well as finding time in between other classes to focus my energy into making sprites. I was able to catch a break during this second week and really get into my tasks to complete this sprint, and was struck with some inspiration after browsing Google image search results.

Working with my team members was very beneficial, not only to our team's overall productivity and communication, but being able to form a single cohesive idea through these visualizations. Even though we already had rough sketches, and a basic idea of the game, it wasn't until now that we were able to fully realize what the game might look like in its final form.

I think this week I was able to complete a good chunk of work needed to reach a final product during this semester. While not essential to the core function of the game, these sprites are an extremely vital part of the visualization and playability of the game, and I am proud of what I was able to create during this sprint and look forward to the ways I can improve and build on the sprites, as well as flushing out all the little details of the game.