Friday, 18 April 2008

Bourbon: A Post Mortem

The following is a postmortem of Project Bourbon, a simple bulleted list of the good, the bad and the lessons we have learnt in the process of producing the level we have.


+

  • A general agreement and understanding of the targets we wanted to achiveve from day one.
  • Strong concepting and team planning for theme, look, layout and atmosphere.
  • Positive Influence from Art direction and Artstyle Guide
  • Paperwork which outlined and set out the project in a visible way. Art Style guides, Asset lists, and Pipeline ensured that everyone knew what they were doing, when, and how to make it look.
  • Good distribution of asset workload.
  • Strong work ethic awhich shone through in the adaptability and plyablity of team members. Particularly in the realms of picking up additional assets.
  • Good time management.
  • Fine interpretation and understanding of complex engine issues.

The above culminated in a level which lost nothing from the original plan, despite having an ambitious destination, all targets were met and exceeded.

-

  • Loss of team member.
  • Facilities and equipment did not allow for much lab-working, especially in terms of Tech.
  • Communication issues and lack of imediecy brought about by inability to work in tandem in the same location.
  • The UNREAL ENGINE, which is so buggy it is criminal.

Despite these negative aspects, we were able to overcome all obstacles as all team members had a clear understanding of the intended end product.

What would we do differently?

  • Different Enigine
  • Better equipment, far too many Network related issues which hindered progress.
  • More meetings and better communication.

What did we learn?

  • The use of tact and understanding in criticism, especially in relation to Technical based problems.
  • Perseverence
  • Working in the face of obstacles and uncontrollable variables: Working Against the Wall!
  • Leadership and Coordination
  • Artistic and Technical Judgement in relation to technical restrictions.

We also learnt that:

" Sometimes, when you shoot for the Stars Gentlemen, You land on the Moon!"

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