How did the project change from the initial vision and stories? Did it work out as predicted?
For the most part, the C.S. Experience turned out as we hoped. All of the essential (i.e. high priority) features that were planned made it into the current version of the game. However, not everything was implemented as originally envisioned. Other, less essential features, such as music, an end-game summary, and player customization were pushed to a nebulous "future" release.
The slice-of-life aspect of the game worked out perfectly. Players can choose from a variety of activities including working part time jobs to earn money, studying specific courses to prepare for their exams, and diverse set of methods for maintaining player energy, hunger, and happiness.
The game's save and load features helps support the bite-sized play sessions that are the norm amongst mobile games.
Of all the features, combat may have been the hardest to implement. It is also the one that changed the most. Originally, we planned to incorporate a turn-based combat system where each exam fought back and had its own distinct set of behaviours and abilities. The player would also have his/her own abilities that they would have learned through studying. However, developing all of these aspects of combat alongside the slice of life features proved to be too ambitious.
Our first iteration was a mix of combat and slice-of-life. We ended up delaying combat to a future release to focus on implementing the slice of life features. After getting a better handle on android studio, we added combat. Currently, combat does not follow a strict turn-based style as exams don't fight back. However, the combat menu retains the spirit of turn-based games visually. In place of a turn-based style, we opted to include a "remaining time" bar to combat, weighing more heavily into the simulation aspect of the game. Combat skills made the final cut as well. As the player studies in the slice-of-life portion of the game, they earn skills which they can use to get higher grades.
The game is playable from start to finish. Try it out for yourself!
