Tool Creation &
Tools for Production Optimization
Why creating these ?
Throughout various academic productions, my rigor and organization have led me to proactively engage in project and team management. My programming skills allow me to create tools, whether on Excel or independently, to enhance the efficiency and quality of my productions.
Programmed Tools
Heatmap - Testing Framework
Currently, within the scope of Chroma, I am working on the development of a testing framework to maximize the value of playtests by retrieving a wealth of game data and directly applying it to my Game and Level Design. This begins with a Heatmap.
Initially, I created a C# script to retrieve the player's position at runtime at regular intervals. This allows tracking all player movements on all axes at any given moment. At the end of the gameplay phase, a TXT file is extracted and saved locally with this data.
This script then displays a Gizmo curve drawn from reading these points, automatically creating a list equal to the number of recorded positions. For Chroma's production, the initial observation of this curve proved to be particularly relevant, as it already reveals player intentions without the need to know the playtime.
Using the extracted text file, it is now possible to generate a visual heatmap, providing a clear visualization of player concentration points, displaying passage points through color changes.
After studying various possibilities, I chose to create a Python script that, when executed, automatically generates a locally saved PNG of the heatmap.
Within the Chroma production, we now have a testing environment conducive to collecting data from our players, interpreting it, and reusing it in the context of our production.
Tools for Production Optimization
As a Game and Level Designer, I regularly practice creating tools to facilitate more efficient production. This involves crafting documents, with or without programming, to automate certain tasks and significantly save time.
Game Situation Creator
For instance, thanks to a document developed as part of the Chroma production, I can generate an infinite variety of different game situations. The difficulty of these situations is automatically calculated based on several variables (the number of involved mechanics, whether enemies hinder progression, cognitive load on the player, etc.).
The estimation of the in-game placement is also automatically suggested by the table in a flexible manner.
This document enables the rapid design of diverse situations that can be arranged at will and modified very flexibly.
Enemy Creator
In the context of Chroma, I have also created an enemy creator. Despite the awareness that we didn't intend to have many enemies in this game and that such a tool might seem unnecessary, I decided to create it to hone my skills.
Being a big fan of RPGs or strategy games, I believe a tool of this nature can prove extremely useful.