A More Realized Project Process, and Timetable for the First Semester

Good day, readers, I hope this post finds you well! Before anyone asks, yes, I have applied a new colour design to the blog; I was finding it difficult to read the old one, and it was rather boring and drab, I thought.

Anyway, onto business!

During the course of searching for tutorials and other sources of C# knowledge, I've been mulling over the project process my dissertation will follow, and with some inspiration from the sources themselves, I've come to what I think is a well-rounded timetable for my dissertation to follow during the rest of the academic year.

As stated previously, I'll be undergoing multiple smaller, tutorial-led game projects, leading up to a larger, more cohesive game project at the end of each semester, one at the beginning of January, and another perhaps due around Easter.

3 - 7 Nov	FRIDAY 7th NOVEMBER 4:00 PM SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR PROJECT PROPOSAL
10 - 14 Nov	First Project – Tutorial Phase w/ progress updates on blog
17 - 21 Nov	First Project – Conversion Phase w/ progress updates and game breakdown on blog
24 - 28 Nov	Second Project – Tutorial Phase w/ progress updates on blog
1 - 5 Dec	Second Project – Conversion Phase w/ progress updates and game breakdown on blog
8 - 12 Dec	Third Project – Tutorial Phase w/ progress updates on blog
15 - 19 Dec	Third Project – Conversion Phase w/ progress updates and game breakdown on blog
22 - 26 Dec	First Semester Final Project
29 Dec - 2 Jan	First Semester Final Project
5 - 9 Jan	First Semester Final Project
12 - 16 Jan	First Semester Final Project – FRIDAY 16TH JAN 4:00 PM SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR FINAL PROJECT

I have decided that the first of these final projects (due after the Christmas vacation) will be a simple top-down shoot-'em-up game built in Unity with its integrated C# functionality.

In preparation for this, I will undergo three projects, each lasting two weeks, following online tutorials, and producing a game unlike the one the tutorial originally demonstrates.

I'm aware that this is unhelpfully subjective, and something that I could conceivably talk my way out of when breaking down each game at the end of the project, so I'll be asking my tutors to judge if the product is sufficiently different from the tutorial to effectively demonstrate my ability to use code to achieve my own designs. If it isn't, then I will aim to perform better in the next project.

After these three projects, the final project, lasting approximately four weeks, will use as many of the mechanics and techniques I have learnt from the tutorials as possible in a single game (subject to whether or not they are appropriate), to be completed and submitted at the end of the semester, on Friday the 16th of January. I will be using the same submission deadline time as the project proposal, to ensure that it can be handed in via the same methods. This will also be just in time for the Project Presentations, to take place in the following week.

The second semester is harder to predict, as much of my planning and intended goals will be based on what I learn during the course of the first semester. What I can say for sure now is that I don't intend to use Unity, preferring to broaden my range of knowledge to cover other platforms. Otherwise, it will likely take a similar structure of tutorial-led projects, concluded by a final project at the end of the semester.

Hopefully that sufficiently explains my plans for the coming semester, and doesn't leave you with more questions than you came here with. If you do have any questions, readers, leave a comment and I will be more than happy to answer them.

Until the next post, good readers, I wish you a very fond farewell.