Tips for Game Production
On Monday, we had a guest talk from Canteen Game Studio, a small independent studio made up of just two developers. They shared their experience of working in game production and offered practical advice from the perspective of a small team. What stood out to me most was that they emphasised communication both at the beginning and at the end of the session. They explained that in a small studio, clear and constant communication is not optional. It is the foundation that keeps production moving, prevents misunderstandings, and helps manage scope effectively.
They shared twelve useful tips for game development. These points reinforced many of the production challenges we are currently facing in our own project, especially in terms of scope control, task planning, and keeping the player experience at the centre of our design decisions.
Tuesday Team Meeting
Latest work update:
During Tuesday’s team meeting, I shared the latest progress on my development work, including the 2.5D scene setup, camera configuration, 2.5D character movement, and character animation.
Coding Development: Scene & Camera
Coding Development: Player Character
I updated our PowerPoint slides with the current build and screenshots so we would be fully prepared for Thursday’s presentation. Keeping our progress documented visually made it much easier for the whole team to understand how the mechanics are evolving in the actual Unity scene.
Art style and assets:
I also noticed that Lettie and Swan, who are responsible for the art direction, were experimenting with copying the same reference image in order to unify their visual style. While this was a proactive way to align their aesthetics, Swan mentioned to me that she felt confused about how the final art production should be divided between the two of them. To help clarify this, I organised a comprehensive list of all the art assets the game will ultimately require, including environment assets, props, character sprites, UI elements, and structured it clearly so they could divide the tasks more efficiently.
Thursday Presentation
During Thursday’s presentation session, I noticed that many groups were struggling with communication issues. In several cases, team members with different roles did not seem to be on the same page regarding their vertical slice. This observation made me reflect on our own workflow and question whether we are truly communicating effectively, or simply assuming that everyone shares the same understanding.
I was particularly impressed by the group developing Developing Memories. They used Google Calendar to set clear goals and milestones within specific time slots for each team member. This method felt very visual and structured, making responsibilities and deadlines transparent. It seemed like an efficient way to align expectations and reduce ambiguity, and I am now considering suggesting a similar system for our team to improve clarity and accountability.
After our group’s presentation, Erik complimented our art style, which was encouraging and reassuring for the team. Yushan also asked about how we collaborate as a group. I explained that one of the key reasons we work well together is that we hold two dedicated team discussions each week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. These regular meetings ensure that everyone can report progress, raise concerns, and stay aligned with the overall direction of the project.
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