Challenges and Successes:

Working in a group of 4 members from varying backgrounds on an open-ended project like ‘Save Hamtaro’ came with its various pros and cons. Some of the main challenges we faced were:

• Merge conflicts due to rushed pushes and lack of communication

• Uncertainty over purposes of created objects and code scripts (team members would implement the same code functionality but in different objects)

• At some points, progress was bottlenecked by the need for a script/texture/object that was another member’s responsibility to implement

However, there were also many positives in this collaborative process:

• All team members would give consistent, real time updates of their work during a work session

• Often had in-person collaboration sessions which allowed for quicker communication and resolution of errors

• Making sure to divide tasks systematically in order of dependencies; for example, adding in power ups before the power up duration upgrade 

• Playtested with people outside of group to get outsider’s perspective of game and where improvements could be made

• Reduces bias when members play-test the game themselves as well as provides new perspectives

• Implemented feedback we gained from playtests to improve game

• Making our own art gave more control over visual cohesion

• Randomized environment adds replayability