Amy Johnsons’ Flight follows the adventures of Amy Johnson from London to Darwin. It is a casual arcade game for Windows and Android and is designed to appeal to all markets. Its simple control scheme, accessible platforms and clear style ensure that it has large market appeal. Gameplay is designed to be pick up and go, with the user able to complete a level in a maximum of a few minutes. Progress is saved, allowing the user to continue where they left off. This prototype implements all features and requires only that levels are added to mark each landmark location visited by Amy Johnson during her journey.
This project was made as part of a group project for the Commercial Games Development module at the University of Hull. The module focused upon using market research to propose and make a commercially viable game. We were provided with a specification from a client and presented a proposed and prototype that met the specification. The client for this project was Hull City council, and they asked for a game that celebrated Hull city of culture and heritage. This game was made over a number of weeks by a group of 6 3rd year students. I came up with the idea that was used following market analysis and evaluation against the specification.
My main role within the team was as lead programmer. This role was assigned following a group discussion and unanimous agreement. My responsibilities were to manage the project; plan and direct meetings, ensure work was completed, keep the project moving as well as performing my programming responsibilities. During the project I spent most of my time working with the UI, this involved making the menus, implementing the UI systems as well as creating the save data structure used throughout the project. My work can be found throughout, and as such I also worked closely on implementing the UI and debugging specific bugs. I also instigated the port of the game from windows to android as well as debugging and fixing any bugs I found during this process.
My specific contributions were to the level over scene; creating the animation and loading in the stars, as well as creating the game loop from start to finish. I created the settings menu, creating a global audio manager to ensure scalability for the future. Creating the menu including the functionality and the design, implementing an infinitely scrolling background and plane animation. In addition to my programming tasks I was also involved in ensuring the weekly design documents were completed, and ensuring each member of the team contributed where required.
My responsibilities as lead programmer also meant that I was required to be familiar with all aspects of the project, and ultimately assisted in most of these areas at some stage.
This project went very smoothly, with work being completed on time and with very few issues. The group dynamic worked well, with work being equally distributed among three of the six members. Three of the members of the team did not get involved with the coding aspects of the project at all, preferring to perform tasks that supported the projects success. The marks are yet to be confirmed, however, following the presentation performed by myself, the feedback we received was very positive with people being particularly impressed with the level of polish achieved.
