Below is my final project so far.

After meeting with my group I feel fairly confident I am on the right track. Listening to my group members I realize I am definitely doing something quite different from them in terms of final product, but have similar roadblocks, issues, or features as well. For example, many of my group members discussed the idea of struggling to figure out what in their project could be turned into a class. This was a similar sentiment for me, so while I wish them the best in figuring it out, I am glad I am not alone. Also, my data and their data was greatly different, but pulling it in, manipulating the files, etc. all sounded like we were working with similar circumstances.

As for milestone roadblocks, I could see creating the visual data for location or map could be difficult. This is one of the first ideas for one of my projects in this class that I can’t even begin to envision how to do this. Every other requirement or idea, even if it didn’t turn out perfect, I could at least create an original mental image of what needed to be done. However, with this one I can’t. I think my milestones are ambitious enough. The idea of creating data visualization in addition to player stats, as well as the level of detail my narrative will have, as well as the idea of saving a game and being able to play over multiple sessions, I think this will take me a great deal of time and will test me. I do think that it is the perfect balance though and is not too ambitious. I see the map being very very challenging, but I don’t think any of my milestones are too broad, or too time consuming to finish in the allotted timeframe. So far I have been actually really impressed with how my plan has gone. I had a dream about this idea and when I woke up I realized the dream was actually fairly accurate and realistic. The ideas that started coming to me that morning eventually played out really well when I sat down to code that evening. Everything from the dictionaires for the missions to the character dictionary, etc. all was how I dreamed it. So I am satisfied with the plan so far, and am excited to keep the plan going forward!

My very next step will be continuing the brain storming process for additional visual display. I struggle to add on to this because if I said any other plan I think I would be getting ahead of myself. I can’t quite discuss how I will start programming it when I don’t even know what it is. Therefore, the most accurate description of my next step is simply sleeping on it, and thinking about it tomorrow. Once my brainstorming is further along, I will update this with a better explanation of my immediate next steps.

Milestones

• the user can select from 4 different characters, or select to see a list or details of the characters (2 for the beta)
• the program to include 21 different regions loaded with bosses, ecosystems, and backstories (2 for the beta)
• the user can decide between different methods of approaching the mission, and select different narratives within the mission
• the program can keep track of their stats, like kills, deaths, etc, and display them graphically
• the user can keep track of where they are in the game by listing the regions they haven’t played vs. those they have
• the program can determine when the player has completed enough of the game to access the final boss
• the program displays a final narrative once the final boss is beat and the program quits
• the program can display some form of visual data to show the players location or where he has been
• the user can save their game to be able to return and pick up from where they left off