DevLog Week 1 - Character Movement and Camera Dynamics

DevLog: Week 1 - Character Movement and Camera Dynamics

This week’s development focus has been on creating the character’s movement mechanics and updating our camera system to improve the game’s dynamics and player immersion. Below, you’ll find a detailed breakdown of our progress and future objectives.

Team’s Goals for the Past Week:

• Create a new character movement script.
• Implement a responsive and dynamic camera system.
• Integrate the Cinemachine Free Look Camera component for enhanced camera dynamics.

Goals Accomplished:

• Basic character movement script created.(Not completed).
• Implementation of the dynamic camera system succesfuly integrated.(Ready)
• Cinemachine Free Look Camera component successfully integrated, achieving desired dynamic camera behavior.(Ready)

Team’s Goals for Next Week:

• Address compatibility issues between the character movement script and the new camera setup.
• Conduct testing on the new camera and movement integration to ensure smooth gameplay.
• Start refining character animations to align with the new movement mechanics.

My Accomplishments This Week:

• Rewrote the character movement script several times to perfect its responsiveness.
• Adapted the camera script to the Cinemachine Free Look Camera, realizing the envisioned dynamic camera interaction.

Goals for Next Week:

• Fix the movement script and camera system compatibility issue.
• Ensure character movements are fluid and responsive with the updated camera dynamics.
• Initiate preliminary character animation tests with the new movement system.
• Create and test the Quantum Tunneling mechanic script.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore the advanced functionalities of the Cinemachine Free Look Camera to maximize its potential.
• Study and apply script optimization for seamless character and camera interaction.

Playtesting Report:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10bo_Ltd8IPJbtpOdFJxU5Cpp0QK70fm3/view?usp=sharing

What were you playtesting?

The focus was on testing the revamped character movement and the newly implemented camera system.

Goal:

The aim was to assess the smoothness and intuitiveness of the character movement alongside the newly integrated camera dynamics.

Playtesters:

This time, the playtesting was conducted solely by myself, taking on the role of both developer and tester to get an initial feel for the adjustments made.

Observations:

The dynamic camera addition was promising, but it also brought some inconsistencies in the character’s movement script when paired with the new camera functionality.

Playtester Questions & Responses:

• How does the character movement feel with the new camera system?
  As the sole tester, I felt that the character camera system was generally good, though it clashed with the character movement behavior, especially during quick directional changes or any complex maneuvers. Needs fix.

• Did you experience any discomfort or disorientation with the camera movements?
  Personally, I barely notice any discomfort with the camera movement, however decreasing the sensitivity a little on the X axis may be beneficial for the player comfort.

Feedback Received:

Given that I was the only playtester, my primary feedback revolves around the need to smooth out the interaction between the character’s movement and the camera’s new capabilities. The dynamic camera is a significant improvement but requires adjustments to the movement script to ensure a cohesive gameplay experience.

End of DevLog. Week 1.