Hello,
my name is Scott Wooton and I’m a student enrolled in Camden County
College’s Game Design and Development program. I’m one of two game
designers on a team of 10 students. Our name is Team Committed and we
are currently working on an exciting new project called Scorn. Scorn
is an intense survival horror game that delivers a truly unforgettable
experience. It is being developed using the powerful and versatile
Torque Game Engine to ensure smooth game play with non-stop action.
This is the first 3D game I have ever worked on so I’m hoping that we
can create a great sense of immersion for players.
My
main goal in life is to become a game designer for a well-respected
development team. In my spare time I enjoy writing and refining my own
game ideas for future projects. It takes dedication, time, and the will
to see your idea go from a few sentences on a piece of paper to an
exciting interactive experience on a TV screen, This passion is one of
the only things that gets you through the hard work and long hours.
Scott Wooton
10:30 AM
I
wake up at 10:30 AM; all of my classes this semester are at night so I
work late and usually sleep late. It’s Tuesday so I have Game Design 3
class at 6 o’clock. I’m pretty excited and anxious to get to it. Game
design class is the core of my degree and is where I learn the most
about the industry. Until then though, I try to get some work done from
my other classes.
6:00 PM
I
arrive on campus and walk into my Game Design 3 class where some
members of my team have already arrived. After several minutes the rest
of the class shows up and Jose Rodriguez, the team’s producer, makes
everyone sign off on this week’s producer’s report. These reports
document our team’s weekly accomplishments, current state, and future
plans. When the report has been signed by every team member, it is
handed over to our professor, Ryan Morrison, who acts as publisher.
6:15 PM
Professor Morrison gives a brief lecture to the entire class updating
everyone on the current situation and what’s coming up next in the
class schedule. He asks to speak to me in the hallway, which I think
can only mean bad news.
The
team is having some issues and will be undergoing some changes. Many
parts of the game design document had not been started and there was
around two weeks left before it was due. Jesse Neukirich, one of the
game designers, was tirelessly writing the game’s story, while the
other game designer had the responsibility of writing the levels.
Unfortunately, there had been a breakdown in the team and problems had
arisen. I was offered the job to become Jesse’s new co-game designer.
I accepted the job since writing is one of my passions. I had already
written the background information for the game’s characters and some
of the back-story as well, so I had a good understanding of where we
were going with the project. I was also a game designer last semester
so I knew the job and what it required.
6:30 PM
Professor Morrison requests a meeting with Jesse and me in an empty
room across the hall. We sit down and assess the current situation
concerning the status of the game design document. Jesse had been
writing the story for several weeks. I knew from experience that
writing an exciting story in a limited amount of time is one of the
hardest parts of the game design document so I’m eager to help out in
any way I can.
However, the biggest issue now is that no levels have been written for the game.
The previous semester’s game project was 2D and had only three levels, which were very linear. Since Scorn
is a fully 3D game, levels will be expansive and much more complicated.
We also need to have a minimum of seven levels for the final version of
the game. All of this has to be done along with the other sections of
the game design document within two weeks, so crunch time has begun.
Crunch
time is a strange thing for me because I both enjoy and loathe it. I
feel motivated and ready to take on the job, but for the next two
weeks, I know I’m going to feel stressed out. You sometimes have to put
your other class work on hold to get things done. When you’re working
on a team, you make a commitment to every member to do your best work
and help out whenever you can because in the end, your potential
failures become their failures.
Team Committed
7:00 PM
Jesse and I return to the class room and discuss our ideas for the
levels. I take out note paper and write down all the basic details. In
one hour we have a clear direction for the look and feel of each level.
We’re now ready to move on to the next step. Each level needs a brief
description, a map, and a detailed walkthrough. Jesse takes on the
level maps, and I will handle the descriptions and walkthroughs. We
speak with one of our programmers Mike Bristow, and ask him about doing
an outdoors landscape for the final level in the game. The game engine
should have no problem with it.
8:30 PM
I leave campus and head over to my friend Pete’s apartment, where he,
my other friend James, and myself play at least 30 matches of Super Smash Brothers Melee.
While the game may be somewhat cartoonish, we take it so seriously that
it’s practically our religion. We hurl insults at each other when we
lose, and gloat when we win, so it’s a fun time. This is also the last
time I will probably be able to play a game for awhile.
12:00 - 3:30 AM
I
arrive at home, where I drink some soda to wake myself up and I
immediately start working at my computer. I begin to type the level
descriptions which I will use as a starting idea for the larger and
more detailed level walkthroughs. After about 45 minutes I receive an
instant message from Jesse; he has the level one map completed and
sends it to me. I send him the description of level 1. AOL Instant
Messenger can actually be a very valuable tool when trying to
coordinate work. In a half hour Jesse sends me the level 2 and 3 maps
and I send him the descriptions. This process went on until around 3:30
AM. When my caffeine rush wears off, I have to go to bed, or collapse
at the computer. Caffeine is your life blood when working late, but it
can only get you so far. I go to sleep with a sense of accomplishment
as I got a fair amount of work done for the day.
