Tutor Feedback and Notes - 4/4/16

Tutorial Feedback from Doros, on the first Demo:

1. Start page – too dark / black text on dark bg –text is unreadable.
2.  Camera – too far out – needs to be zoomed in more. Needs to be decided before you design/fine tune your level
3. Character animation – Needs more frames / more fluent change between idle / walk / jump
4. Tree animations – interesting effect but maybe it have been better if the tree trunks don’t move and only the upper part of the trees/leaves?
5. Level navigation/jumping. Controls are not accurate enough for this type of level design. The character jumps way to far and the blocks are too small making the level frustratingly difficult to navigate (Maybe its me, but I did not manage to climb the tree – and I did try more than 20 times!) 
6. Character clings on platforms on the way down.
7. I want to see an example of the dialogue and how it will be implemented.
8. Examples of enemies / fight mechanics? How are the enemies going to be moving around the space? Will each type of enemy have a unique moveset?

Notes:

1.  Start Page was an after thought to inform that the art assets were temporary and that all placements were subject to some change.
2. Agreed, The Camera is too far out. This shall be rectified first.
3. Temporary Sprite, All finished sprites are still being drawn.
4. Tree Trunks move by mistake, Product of the sprite being cut afew pixels short. Shall be rectified imediatly.
5. Jump needs to be fine tuned. Will also experiment with stone placement to try and find the best layout.
6. Hadn't thought of that.
7. Dialogue is currently being written, I should recieve it later today. Ready for implementation.
8. Yes, Each type of enemy will have its own style of movement. Mock sprites are being created.

"The Big Tree" - Design Decision and Mythology

During Nikki's earlier design for the first level, the idea of a big tree was brought up. The concept of using an enlarged Ash Tree, originally seemed to be a bit of a stretch. However, upon further research, it was discovered that Yggdrasil (pronounced "IG-druh-sill) , The Tree of Life in Norse Mythology, is described as an "an eternal Ash tree". Leading to the Ash tree motif continuing through out the level.

The inclusion of Yggdrasil, depending on weather or not we choose to play on the mythological angle, provides a wealth of possible influences and sources of inspiration in regards to world building and character design. With stories such as the "Nine Realms", "Ratatosk" and "Sleipnir".


http://norse-mythology.org/cosmology/yggdrasil-and-the-well-of-urd/
http://www.viking-mythology.com/animals.php#ratatosk
http://www.viking-mythology.com/img/Yggdrasil_The_Tree_of_Life_Ratatosk_Nidhug.jpg