Minutes 24 Jan

Meeting points

1.     Went through items outstanding

2.     Planned the rest of the build schedule as best could, we still do not have a submission date.

3.     CWH gave BS the articles she had created for the build.

To do/ outstanding

1.     Apply colour scheme to snaps logo (BS)

2.     Find chosen font (BS)

3.     Get all components ready for build (BS)

4.     Install Flash (BS)

5.     Start building the Countryside game (CWH)

6.     Update self Gantt chart (BS and CWH)

7.     Update self and group Gannt chart for this week (CWH)

8.     List all tasks individually completed - written as speech for working presentation (BS and CWH)

A.O.B

1) BS laptop booked in for Flash installation next week

2) Other assignment due in 14/02 so may need to focus on that for the next week or two.

All kinds of software

To display a knowledge of a variety of software I have been using a number of packages to put together the 3D tutorial animation.

I created the 3D model in sketch up and recorded scenes which I then exported as quicktime movies.  I imported these scenes into Premiere Pro to stitch the scenes together and give a visual transition between each one.

The project has been exported to After Effects where I am going to give it some graphics.

Have not decided on the audio yet, that is one of my next tasks, plan the voiceover, music and graphics.

Sound effects

I played Becky the sound effects that I had selected and we chose our favourite.  These are from Audio Network.

BEACH - S_033133	2:04	Medium - Ocean Side, Many Seagulls, Low Background Waves On Shore, Occasional Splash In Water, Like Rock Or Bird Lands In Water
COUNTRYSIDE S_023592	2:31	Exterior - Early Morning, Various Steady Distant and Medium Bird Calls, Light Wind In Trees
SHUTTER S_321836_028	0:01	Close Up - Single Shot, Fast Shutter Speed

                  

Flash build, resolution/ size

I have started the Flash build.  Becky is the whizz but as yet she doesn't have Flash on her laptop so I have set up the working file.

I have done this as 600 x 800 after seeking advice on preferred sizes.

This was the most frequently used size amongst the developers who were asked, although there are many who have varying preferences

The most used game sizes:

	Width	Height
Average	617	469
Max	1280	900
Min	300	207
Most used	550 (23%) 600 (15%) 640 (13%)	400 (31%) 480 (12%) 600 (10%)

And this is the top 5 chart of the most used resolutions:

1. 550×400 (18%) 
2. 640×480 (11%) 
3. 600×400 (6%) 
4. 800×600 (5%) 
5. 750×530 (2%)

Source http://www.emanueleferonato.com/2009/04/20/the-perfect-size-for-a-flash-game/

Instructions for the game

I wrote the instructions and ran them by Becky, she liked the idea but suggested they were a little 'wordy' for kids, so I have simplified them.

To ensure I had covered all bases, to try and explain what the game was about, I made a list of the key components and purpose of the game, as well as the parts that link the game together.  I then made sure these particulars were put into the introduction.

The introduction and instructions will appear over the island, I layered Becky's image of the island in Illustrator, with a vignette and added a fine stroke and shadow to the text to make it pop out.

  

Buttons for navigation screen

Here are the buttons for the navigation screen.

Collating resources for Tuesday's build

We start the build on Tuesday before the tutorial session so Becky and I are collating our resources.

I completed the beach and updated the winning screen with the colours from the chosen scheme 'school fete' as well as adding a drop shadow (my favourite!)  I have not used the correct font for the winning screen as I don't know yet what the outcome was from the research, our shortlist font examples were put to the public to choose their favourites.  This can be changed quite easily in the psd. file.

I have not made any changes to the Countryside Game as this was completed last year.