The Garden Above is a relaxed sandbox exploration game developed for the year 3 Integrated Project at Glasgow Caledonian University. The objective of the project was to work with a client to client specifications, in a simulation of projects undertaken in the industry.
Adaptive Guidance System
In order to facilitate immediate exploration and interaction within the open sandbox, I aimed to eliminate any rigid tutorial segments. To achieve this, I devised an innovative approach: an adaptive guidance tutorial NPC. This NPC dynamically directs players towards interactive systems, encouraging them to learn through hands-on experience by highlighting various elements in the environment that can be interacted with. By doing so, players are seamlessly guided towards engaging with the game’s mechanics and features.
Game Production
As the producer of the team, my primary responsibility was to ensure effective communication and coordination among designers, programmers, and artists, all while maintaining a streamlined workflow within an agile-based system. Acting as a facilitator, I fostered a collaborative environment where ideas flowed freely and everyone had a clear understanding of their roles and objectives. I organized regular meetings, encouraging open discussions and feedback exchanges to address any challenges or roadblocks that arose. By actively listening to the team members’ perspectives and aligning their efforts, I ensured that everyone remained focused and on track towards achieving project milestones. Embracing the principles of agility, I adeptly adjusted project priorities, timelines, and tasks based on evolving requirements and roadblocks, ensuring a flexible and efficient development process. Through my leadership and effective communication, I empowered the team to collaborate harmoniously, resulting in the successful delivery of a high-quality game product.
Flower Generation and Propagation
The initial concept for the flower generation system aimed to replicate Lindenmeyer systems, representing each component of the plant as an independent node with attachment points, mirroring real-life plants. However, due to time limitations, this approach was simplified to include only stem, leaf, and flower nodes. When two plants are merged in the plant crossbreeding machine, their distinct node elements are selected and inherited by the offspring plant, akin to allele inheritance in organisms. This results in a dynamic and creative plant breeding system, empowering players to actively engage and design their ideal garden plants. In addition, the captivating nature of this plant breeding system captures players’ attention, evoking a sense of excitement and anticipation similar to the allure of opening loot boxes.