There are many things that I, as a member of the Bean Team, have come to learn from my experience with the game Floppy Frog. As it is now the end of the semester, and the end of a chapter for Floppy Frog, I’ve realized how great of an experience this has been.

As an individual, I have been able to strengthen a lot of my skills. Some of the skills that I improved upon were 3D modeling, 3D rigging and animation, 2D art, and video editing. From the beginning of the game, artists on the team have been busy creating art assets to be used within the game. I was able to develop my skills creating UI art assets, create more organic 3D models, learn how to rig and animate different organic species, and compile scenes to make an interesting video. I have learned how to be a better team member through team critiques as well as self evaluation. Soon the members of Floppy Frog will become professional game developers. Throughout this experience, each member has grown as an individual, as well as a team member. Personally, I’ve always had issues speaking up and giving my opinion when in self-directed meetings. With this project, came a lot of growth within this area. Myself, as well as the rest of the Bean Team, have gained more social skills that are important to develop before entering the professional world.

UI Elements within “Floppy Frog”

Amongst any team, there are always some degree of negative aspects that the team reflects on later. As for the Bean Team, many members had personal issues outside of class that conflicted with the progression of Floppy Frog. Now that this chapter is over and we have self reflected on these matters, we have come to realize that going forward, communication is the key to a successful game developer team. If we had communicated better towards the middle of the semester, team members wouldn’t have had to stop what they were doing or wait for answers to come from indisposed members. About 3/4 of the way through the game, we were able to develop better communication skills that allowed us to progress Floppy Frog more than we thought we were going to get done. In the future, we will be more aware of this issue and we will be able to tackle it when it comes.

Throughout this semester, I have dealt with a lot of stress regarding my personal life, my professional life, and my academic life. From sick family members, to many car tired popping, and even to the inevitable burnout that occurs, it is important to stick with it and get through things. No matter what’s going on in life it is important to figure out your priorities. For myself, when I started to feel a little burnt out, I knew it was important to still get work done within a timely matter for members of the Bean Team due to the fact that other people are relying on me. This type of mindset (figuring out my priorities) is what helped me get through this semester with a good amount of success.

Overall, I’m really proud of myself this semester. Remote learning has never been super easy for me, and staying motivated has been an issue throughout some semesters. This semester, I was able to focus and prioritize my academic life, which is something that is difficult to do with raising a family, having a part time job, and owning a home. Although this semester didn’t go 100% and there are some things that I have had to change for my future plans, I’m still content with how everything turned out, and am happy with the work I have produced for Floppy Frog.