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Overview | Picking a Topic | Tech Decisions | Design Decisions
Usability Testing | What Went Right | What Went Wrong | Conclusions


Summary: What Went Right

Third-Party Engine
Although it sounds obvious is retrospect, deciding on a third-party engine (as opposed to attempting the creation of my own) was probably the single most important decision that went right. In the early stages, Director 3D was actually a potential option and I do not regret discounting it. This project involved the creation of numerous art assets (textures, models, architecture) and a substantial amount of scripting. Not having to worry about gravity, weather, lighting systems, AI, animations or numerous other programming issues allowed me the relative luxury on focusing on the parts of the game that I wished to focus on: story and art.

3DS Max Learning Curve
Although I struggled for months trying to get my head around 3DS Max (modeling as well as UV texture mapping), once I completed my first model, the rest were (relatively) easier. Walking away from this project with a very strong confidence in low-polygon modeling and UV mapping was worth the months of pain it took to get there.

Scripting Intuitive
The gameplay and story in Colosseum (or any Quake III-based game) is ultimately driven by scripting. I left scripting until very late in the project and I was worried that creation of the scripts would involve another steep learning curve similar to that of gtkRadiant or 3DS Max. I was pleasantly surprised to find that ICARUS scripting was quite easy to grasp and very intuitive. Part of this comes from the fact that it is a very limited tool (which becomes frustrating when trying to accomplish complex tasks). However the ease of use more than made up for any shortcomings.

Quality Over Quantity
Although I regret that I was unable to create more characters or architecture for the levels, I took my time in the existing art assets and tried to ensure that the items I chose to do would look their best. Cutting corners was sometimes unavoidable, but I’m very satisfied with the level of quality of the assets that were completed.

Excellent Community Support
Lucasforums contains several online forums that cater to mappers and modders that build goodies for the Jedi Outcast engine. These men and women are from all over the world, and there is rarely a question they cannot answer. I tried to do as much reading and research before finally posting a particular question, but when I did, there was always someone (usually more than one) that would provide an answer. These forums are an excellent resource, and provide a great way to meet others who are trying to resolve similar problems and issues.

Personally, I found the more educated I became about the engine, the more I wanted to share my knowledge. Although I was still an amateur compared to the majority of the participants in these forums, I tried to make certain I answered at least one or two questions for every one I posted.

Rich Subject Matter
Given the nature of the project requirements (high–octane adventure with a heavy dose of history and contextual violence), I believe the choice of ancient Rome and the gladiatorial games as a themes made parts of the game write itself. The historical record is rich with books, websites, movies and documentaries. Although this had the inherent risk of making the final project tired and overly familiar (see “What Went Wrong: Tired Subject Matter”), it was still an incredibly enjoyable and rich body of knowledge to explore and attempt to recreate.


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