It's Gonna Take Time -- Week Ending 10 Sep

...A whole lotta precious time. Creating games is no walk in the park. Even once I understand a particular process in and out, I still typically have to do it several (if not dozens) of times for the various components and assets that make the game special. Thus, even if the tasks are at times individually simple, they are definitely not easy when combined.

This is especially the case when I have created dozens of art or text assets in one format only to discover later that I need them in another. I then have to go through a series of steps to convert each one properly. Rar. Can you tell that I've had to do that a few times this week?

Correcting piles of work aside, I was also genuinely productive this week:

- Managed the sprint documents and burndown charts, tracking the work on individual backlog items and doing my best to keep all team members on schedule with their assigned tasks
 - Solidified the name of our prototype and our development team with the help of Dan (one of the engineers)
- Created the title menu, based on the layout of the default PGF menu screen--simple, but actually has our title, team name, and some original artwork now
- Helped design the layout of objects and enemies in the level, then tweaked and polished all aspects of the level so that the platforming and action are as fun as possible

- Created several more art assets:

star (for level rankings),
hazardous waste barrel,
pollution cloud,
more text art and popups,
earth in cupped hands (for title menu--I know it's cliché, but it looks nice, okay?)

Other than that, I did my best to apply any techniques or practices in my role as producer that I've been reading about in our text books. I doubt there's been anything earth-shattering about my behavior toward my team, but I feel like we're all getting along and working well together. Let's hope all our effort pays off next week when we present our first "complete" prototype!

- Troy