Monday 24/10 - So close, but still so far

Tomorrow at 16:00 is the deadline for the first module meaning that I have less than 24hrs left until submission. When put like that it sure sounds scary as hell!

Still, I'm not actually worried; at least not for myself. I have pretty much done all the art work that is needed (if there is anything left it will be very small and probably not so noticeable) and as such have decided to start looking for sounds effects and background music; it is for Steven and Varun that I am a little worried. Don't get me wrong they have done a wonderful job and we actually have a working game and it looks really good; but there are a few creases that still need ironing out within the code, as well as adding sound to the game.
Ah yes sound, often left to the end and added to games as more of an 'after-thought' but it is a lot more important than most people think. It's not until you actually start playing your game with sounds that were not so thoughfully chosen that you realise how important it is. Especially with a game such as this where there is a lot of 'firing' going on, meaning a lot of repetitive sounds which can get very irritating to the player if not chosen carefully. Also Background music has to match to the theme of the game, and not to forget those little sound effects such as 'clicks' when swtiching between options; something which goes unnoticed when done well, but is picked up straight away and becomes irritating if done badly.
I am trying to convince the guys that getting the sound to work in the game correctly is a lot more important than adding extra screens such as the 'instructions screen' (particularly for assessment, as this game will be not officially published), as that is something they have already shown they can do, and are more likely to lose marks for not implementing sounds than an extra screen with instructions.
Not all is lost, though, and I do remain hopeful that they will figure it all out in time and that we will have something that is a lot of fun to play; and this is why I will be spending all night looking for numerous sounds and using audio editors to try to get different sounds so that when it comes to adding them tomorrow we will have a good choice to pick from.

There are still a few bugs to be fixed and minor problems which would be difficult and probably quite long winded if I tried to explain them, but believe me when I say that I highly doubt that our game will be completely bug-free come 16:00 tomorrow.

Oh and I think I forgot to mention, we will be showcasing our game to everybody right after the deadline tomorrow.... so no pressure! Ah well, at least I know the art is pretty much done, although I am not very happy with the current look of the menu buttons and so may look at changing them (maybe I will polish it a little more if I get the time tonight... though it may mean not getting much sleep).


+++ Just to keep the main blog page looking interesting, I will show you a little screenshot+++