First off, I must apologize for not writing an updated post last week. Presentation and Demo nights made for an extremely hectic week and so, when there was a week off from work, I made use of that time to decompress. That said, I'm back for two more posts this semester. This first one is going to be an update on all that has happened and is ongoing. The next post will be a postmortem of the overall project and team.
To begin with, presentation night went smoothly enough, though I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest before we were called up to present. Oddly enough, talking in front of classes doesn't bother me too much but that auditorium, filled with people, sets my nervousness scale through the roof. But, we presented really well and got out all we needed to say with some time to spare.
Demo night was another beast. I wasn't nervous but my artist and programmer, who were in the room helping the faculty play the game and answering their questions, were very nervous. It was clear when they emerged from their demo time slot that they were worn down and fairly worried about our game. Professors generally struggled to play it (something about controllers and using both sticks really seemed to be problematic for many of them) so they weren't as confident as when they entered. Apparently, most teams experienced similar concerns as professors and faculty were generally very critical as they played each game. We all waited with anticipation for the news of which games would be picked after the demoing process for the next 2 hours or so.
To be honest, I was actually torn between what I hoped for. In one sense, I really wanted our game to move forward - not because of the game itself, but because of the team. I have not worked on such a well oiled or functional team before. I felt it would be a shame to disband such a positive force. The other part of me, a more selfish part, wanted our game to be cut. This part of me purely wanted the extra portfolio piece, and the chance to jump into a project part way and see how I could contribute. This part of me also wanted to know if other teams even wanted me to join them. This would help me determine if I was marketable as a producer or not.
When the faculty finished, we all hushed and listened for our game title to be called out in the list of games that moved forward. I heard it... Tales from Space made the cut. I didn't notice any other game on that list. My mind and heart were relieved. Our work had payed off but then, suddenly, I began to panic. I've never led a large team, nor have I ever on-boarded more than two people. With only 7 games going through, that means each team would be receiving at least 6 to 7 new members; more than our original team size. The night, and time, calmed my nerves about this.
Regardless of all that, the next week and a half ended up with the usual drama that is associated with disappointed teams and 'less than desirable' candidates for team selection. Of the 7 teams, one lost their designer during that week (I'm unsure why they chose to leave their own project and team) and questions rose of that team disbanding. Sure enough, the day before the team selection, that team chose to cut themselves from next semesters production. We were down to six teams and even more additions to the teams moving forward in terms of personnel. To those who weren't on a team moving forward yet, this news came as a relief (no one I had talked to, wished to join that project team), but for us who needed to on-board, this only complicated the matter.
I'll skip the details of who we selected to our team but we gained 7 new member. Of course, some are concerning but the goal is to give everyone on the team an equal shot to do well, and support them as best as we can. I think we gained really great team members that will help push our project far beyond our earliest scope. Time will tell if I'm correct though. This week we also gained an additional member who needed to be transferred from another team for personal reasons. We also are contacting one more person who may choose to join us moving forward.
Well, that's the gist of what's been going on the past 2 weeks. My lead team and I are currently ironing out the details of our first, full-team meeting coming up next week and the important points to address. We also are planning to utilize specific "Articles of Expectations" for each and every member of the team. These are sort of like contracts that define what each member of the team is expected to contribute to the project. They will be tailor made to fit each member's role, as well as acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses. It's been quite a ride so far. Next semester should prove interesting.