Project Postmortem

What went well

I programmed a pick-up mechanic, allowing the player to pick up certain objects, hold it, and then throw it, and pick it up again. This was my first attempt at programming such a mechanic, and I am happy with the way it turned out. The spatial audio worked well too, this took some playtesting and tweaking to get right.

What to improve

I would have liked to have created more appealing and engaging menus, however I was somewhat restricted by time, so this was a lower priority. Had the project been slightly smaller in scope, perhaps this wouldn't have been an issue.

Bugs and issues

One bug I came across was the noise meter increasing and decreasing at different speeds on different machines. As expected, the issue was that the logic for the noise meter was linked to the computer's frames per second. To fix this, I simply made the code run on delta time instead of frames. 

I also experience a few bugs during the process of programming the grabbing mechanic. Some of these included not being able to pick up and object after throwing one, being unable to pick up certain objects, and incorrect physics interactions when throwing objects. Fixing these bugs were more challenging, but were all fixed in the end. To do this, I spent hours researching documentation and watching tutorials. For example, I learned how to use blueprint interfaces to help solve issues with pick up objects.

Design choices and iterations

Level design: Even though the game is a small one, I wanted to create a level with some variety instead of a boring plane or box. To do this, I added verticality by adding a balcony accessible by stairs. After play testing, I found that some areas were not being explored as much, to address this, I added a way to climb on top of the bookshelves. This not only adds variety to the level, but it also rewards the player for exploring the level by giving them access to places that appeared inaccessible at first. I also wanted to make sure the props had more purpose than just being there for decoration, I wanted the player to be able to interact with them. The decision to make props that are part of the game's diegesis is intended to increase immersion.

Noise meter: I experimented with how quickly it increases/decreases. Initially, the player didn't have much time to find the source of the noise before it filled up. The fact that there are no visual cues is intentional as the theme was "Voice", so I wanted the player to have to solely rely on the voices in the game. With this is mind after multiple playtests, I found an increase/decrease amount that felt fair, giving the player time to locate the source of the noise. but challenging.