As a capstone project at Austin Community College, Friendly Fire was developed in Unity by a team of developers working together for the first time. Some recognized this wasn't their path, and others walked the gauntlet solidly in the daunting face of a new career.
As the creative lead and only programmer on the team, I took on responsibilities I wasn't fully prepared for. Communicating and managing a team of 10+ proved difficult, but by the second milestone, we had completed 80% of the original aim-trainer design. However, a massive redesign and scope expansion occurred at the beginning of milestone 3.
This was a difficult time to navigate as a leader, but within two weeks, production fully resumed with a solid new direction. Still, the team was shaken by all the uncertainty. I was not immune; I was terrified. We had a new design; was it good enough? How big was this setback? Could we even complete it in time? But I had to restore the conviction of my team, and cowering with worries was not an option. I stepped into my role as creative lead and reached a confident guiding hand towards each teammate's duties.
As the sole programmer , I quickly adapted the level generation code to an expanded version, allowing for a mobile player and hand-placed target locations. Changing the player from static to moving was another challenge, as I had never written a proper character controller. The character controller became an ongoing struggle as I added jumping, crouching, and, most frustratingly, a dash. Creating an impactful dash that also didn't send the player to the moon took several revisions of the forces, gravity, and effects of player inputs.
Friendly Fire's development was unique, but at the 11th hour, it came together beautifully. There's still plenty of room for growth, but I'm no longer stumbling over responsibilities; rather, I am marching ahead with my team at my side.
