Animation in the Creative Industry – Week 1

Module introduction. This week we began the vertical slice group project. This module is divided between animation and game design components. I was excited about commencing this module as I have a keen interest in game design and feel my skills in animation would be enhanced. On reflection I was apprehensive about the group component of the module as I was weary communication skills between the group may differ. However we commenced an ice breaking game to get to know one another and improve communication. The module coordinator explained to us that an idea must be presented next week after the group met to brainstorm ideas. Elements of group work were also explained such as specific role, planning of research and development of acquired assets such as props environments coding etc. the task was designed to test the teams group work skills such as collaboration and communication before commencing the main component of the group work. On reflection I feel the ice breaking games were beneficial as it assisted in reducing not only my anxiety but those of the groups allowing me to feel confident to speak freely and express your creativity. Role s were assigned i was assigned 3d objects and environment design, I was happy with this choice as i have a keen interest in environment design, i also suggest i could help with user interface narrative (storyboard/level design elements) as i was able to transfer skills previously learned from my game design course at NRC. The group were thankful for the suggestion however as two others were already assigned that role it was best to focus on my assigned role of 3d objects and animation. Samantha’s establish communication platforms for us to communicate such as discord and GitHub. The purpose of this was to enhance lines of communication between the group. On reflection of these platforms I feel as they are not accessible for mobile phone use and are solely desktop based I was not aware of notifications to the chats as a result it made it difficult to interact with the group. I suggest to the group alternative methods of communication such as face to face or using mobile friendly communication apps. The group felt discord was fine and continued to use this. On reflection I feel the interface of discord made it difficult for me to engage with the group however discord was useful in laying out information however there were a lot of tabs which made the program confusing to me as there were lots of tabs which were of no relevance to the task. In preparation for next week (week 2) we as a group need to develop a team logo/design idea and a team name. Concepts of the game must also be confirmed and communication tools set up. On reflection of week one I felt it was positive as I was able to connect with the group as a result of the ice breakers, I feel my assigned role enhanced my positivity of the task at hand and I feel confident in my abilities going forward.