Aoi

15 Jun (Monday) Aoi Engine (Trainer: Ito-san)
This afternoon, we got a short introduction to the Aoi Engine from lead programmer Ito-san. Since the Aoi Engine technology arose from the need to create graphical effects for the game Shikitei, it is essentially a collection of Shikitei effects. Ron and I have already been through the same material under Kawashima-san, but from the artists point of view. Ito-san was able to provide a more in-depth look at how the visuals were achieved, and answer some of my more technical questions.

While a lot of the graphical effects are by now quite standard in most AAA games, it is still a respectable achievement. A few of the more cool tricks, such as the sand simulation, are sadly still to inefficient to be used in a game.

16 Jun (Tuesday) Game Design - Specification Document (Trainer: Hattori-san)
Hattori-san briefly went through how to create a specification document, which is essentially a detailed blueprint for every aspect of the game. We were shown examples of documentation and design sheets for of their games in progress.

PA's project staff also uses a web-based tool called Sharepoint, which is similar to Wiki, to keep themselves updated on the progress of game projects. All the documents are accessible through Sharepoint as well, and the latest changes are reflected online for every team member to see. Sharepoint could also be setup to alert users of any changes or updates via email messages.

Mini-game Project 2
Due to time constraints, we are doing a shooting game, which is probably the simplest type of game to create. The game is called Wild Tactics Fighter, or WTF for short. Our approach is to create a prototype quickly, then add new gameplay elements once the game is up and running. As usual, we are short on staff and development time. We have less than two weeks to design and create the mini-game, and our single programmer Andrew can only work part-time due to afternoon lessons this week. Still it would be a challenge to try to follow a typical game development cycle in record time.