What did I learn?

I learned a very basic and amateurish understanding of Unity’s UI, and even then I have a lot to learn if I want to make anything worthwhile with the program. My ambitions soared too high at the start of the project, and then once I realized how little I actually know about Unity, I gave up on myself and did exactly as I was instructed with little to no creative flourishes. I need to know when to curb my enthusiasm.

What was easy?

I was able to learn how to use terrain layers to use multiple textures without any assistance. That’s about it. Even learning how to properly move the editor’s camera was difficult.

What was challenging?

Most of the project was challenging. I had a hard time getting a grip on Unity’s toolset. Even the simplest functions were complicated to me. I feel very stupid.


How could your submission be improved?

I need to learn how to handle raising terrain without making a whole mess of the environment, also I need to be able to paint textures gently and carefully. What I have currently is a sloppy mess. I also need to signify to the player what their goal post in the maze is besides the large peak, which was meant to guide the player to it. The goal mountain is likely obstructed in several areas from the player’s POV.


How could your professor improve your assignment?

I don’t know!? It’s not like my professor can just appear behind my shoulder at home and suddenly turn this project into some kind of masterpiece. How am I supposed to know how my professor could help me besides giving me advice on navigating unity and pointing out obvious design flaws?


How might you apply your knowledge in future projects or work scenarios?

My early struggles and boost of wasted creativity taught me that I should really not get too ambitious with these kinds of projects when I have no real handling of the program I’m using. I don’t have anything close to the technical ability I need to make the kind of thing I want to make, nor do I have the time to make something special right now.


How did a video or something inspire you?

My initial overambitious plans were inspired by Unity creators such as Kitty Horrorshow who make fantastic and atmospheric games that they create for their small niche audiences. Of course that inspiration didn’t really yield anything in my final product here.

What did I learn?
I learned some aspects of site design, at least when it comes to setting up a basic layout and creating a somewhat visually appealing aesthetic.

What was easy?
It was easy putting together the basic layout on figma.

What was challenging?
Everything else. I agonized over every aesthetic choice (font, page color, header/footer color).

How could my submission be improved?
My intuition is telling me there’s something inherently wrong with my result, but my conscious mind can’t put a finger on what exactly that problem is.

How might I apply my knowledge in the future.
I’ll make up my mind on creative decisions faster so I can actually get a result out in a timely fashion.

How did a specific video or reading inspire you?
I had no direct inspiration or influence guiding me on this project.

Figma Link: https://www.figma.com/file/7db3VNaLyR4UNVyXLFaYJR/dma201-project2-starter-(Copy)?node-id=2%3A6

What did I learn?

Well, I suppose I have a somewhat better understanding of photoshop, though I still feel very clumsy when trying to navigate through its UI.

What was easy?

Anything we were guided through during the class meetings was easy enough to catch on to, though I did need some assistance on occasion when trying to figure out layer masks and typing along paths.

What was challenging?

I had a hard time coming up with an ideal composition for the valentines card. It took forever for me to come up with a design I actually liked, likely because of some perfectionism on my part.

How could your submission be improved?

I was very minimalist with the overall composition, I didn’t want it to look garish or overdone so I deliberately went for simplicity. The final design sort of tells a story about a heart shaped balloon getting caught on a tree. I like the result, but I’m not sure if its what the professor wants from the project.

How could the professor improve the assignment for the next class?

I have no clue.

How might you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?

I suppose I’ll slowly become more capable of using Photoshop’s tools and be able to make more ambitious projects without clogging my tabs with tutorials.

Images used on the design were posted to Unsplash by Emma Fabbri, Robert Greinacher and Mathias P.R. Reding.