{"id":945,"date":"2026-02-05T22:28:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T22:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/sz3c23\/?p=945"},"modified":"2026-03-05T15:44:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T15:44:25","slug":"week-1-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/sz3c23\/week-1-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Vertical Slice<\/h4>

During the Monday lecture of the first week, I was introduced to the concept of a vertical slice<\/strong> in game development. Before this, I had mostly thought about game development in terms of isolated components such as mechanics, art, or narrative. The idea of a vertical slice helped me understand how these individual elements are meant to be connected and experienced together<\/strong>.<\/p>

A vertical slice is essentially a small but complete and playable portion of the game. It takes the core ideas described in the GDD, <\/strong>including gameplay mechanics, visual direction, and intended player experience and brings them together into a functional build. Rather than focusing on the quantity of content, the goal is to demonstrate the essence<\/em> of the game in a playable form. This lecture helped clarify what we should be aiming for throughout the semester and how our design decisions should always support playability and coherence.<\/p>

Project Overview<\/h4>

During the Thursday session that week, we were informed of our team allocations. I was assigned to Elina\u2019s project, Soul Keeper<\/em><\/strong>, where I served as Mechanic Designer<\/strong>. The project is centred around themes of compassion, trust, and responsibility towards wildlife, and places the player in the role of a forest keeper who interacts with animals and their environment.<\/p>

Based on Elina\u2019s GDD, we worked together as a group to organise and clarify the game loop<\/strong>. This process involved breaking down the intended player actions\u2014exploration, resource collection, animal interaction, puzzle solving, and understanding how these systems feed back into each other. Elina\u2019s game pillars<\/strong> became an important guiding framework for us, ensuring that all mechanics and features aligned with the emotional and experiential goals of the game.<\/p>

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Defining the Game Loop<\/h4>

From the GDD and our discussions, we established a clear core loop:<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

This loop reinforces the game\u2019s themes by encouraging patience, observation, and thoughtful decision-making rather than rushing or optimising purely for efficiency.<\/p>

GDD Unpack<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/h4>

Team Structure and Workflow<\/h4>

To ensure efficient collaboration, I suggested dividing the team into two main sub-groups:<\/p>