WAIT!

OK, I've been told you WANT a meeting? What!? You got nothing better to do?... OK, the meeting will be at midday for Andy, Yeap, Darren and the Execs. Everyone else, just keep on rockin on.

B

Meeting on Thursday...

Hey all!

We'd like to have a 10 minute meeting with every member of the team, individually to discuss how you think the project is going. I have also written up a team evaluation and time sheet which everyone will need to fill out every day for the remainder of the project...

HA! Just kidding. There are no meetings on Thursday. Nice work on the sound recording... Keep up the OUTSTANDING work crew.

B

Updates

Hi all. I'm looking forward to seeing the Terra Nulius. I hope you're all actually enjoying this project, too. It will all be worth the blood sweat and tears you put into it when you see it all come together in the end.

Sometime on tuesday morning, we would like a short show and tell from each team. Yeap, Darren and Andy have been telling us that you're a bunch of slackers. Prove them WRONG!

Seriously though... As time is of the essence, we don't want a minute by minute run down of everything you've done, we just want you to show us the coolest thing your team has done to date, what you're doing now and what you're going to be doing next. 10 minutes at the most! Impress they who shall be assessing ye...

Cheers crew. B.

Looking good!

And now a word from last year's producer, who STILL has the occasional nightmare about the HOP project :)

Our (Justin's, Darren's and my own) observations at this point are that you are doing an aweome job. There is absolutely no lack of creative energy and enthusiasm in the crew and for that you should be congratulated. But before you pat yourselves on the back too much, I'd like to switch into broken record mode for a moment...

KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!! YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME ALREADY!!!!
KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!! YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME ALREADY!!!!
KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!! YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME ALREADY!!!!
KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!! YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME ALREADY!!!!
KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!! YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME ALREADY!!!!

The concept and the map of Paledia look fantastic but refer to the previous comment for my opinion on it's creation. There's nothing wrong with shooting for the stars, but you need to make sure you're aiming properly. It's FAR better to construct something that works and then dress it up than it is to construct something complex and run the risk of having it look average because it takes so long to make and test it.

You are in the second week of production. By THURSDAY the co-producers and the director need to have in their hands...

a) a COMPLETE list of assets to be made/modelled/included/implemented within the city (ART TEAM)
b) an accurately measured schematic of the city including all buildings, paths, hallways, traintracks etc etc (DESIGN TEAM) that the engine team can begin to plan and build as much as possible.
c) a FINAL FINAL FINAL script/narrative walkthrough of the game (NARRATIVE TEAM) I can't stress this one enough

A few notes...

PRODUCERS/DIRECTOR - You need to organise file naming conventions and set aside one of the macs in the lab as a spot for saving all the files to. This mac will need to be in contact with the PC's once the engine team are looking for assets. You should also make backups of your work as you go. Files get corrupted and lost etc etc... Don't think it can't happen, just ask Justin about his minor project! Murphy's law of animation... Anything that CAN fuck up, WILL, when there's about 20 minutes until your deadline.

NARRATIVE TEAM - Sound sound sound... Ever watched TV with the sound off? Notice how it loses a lot of it's impact? There is a box of CDs in the studio with many many sounds on them which if you decide to use you will have to PAINSTAKINGLY search through and source everything from footsteps to creaking doors to wind blowing to running water. IT TAKES A LONG TIME!!!! Plus the engine team needs to implement every sound into the city one at a time.

You're having voice over!?! That's AWESOME but get onto it NOW! Take it from me, IT TAKES A LONG TIME. I spent 3 weeks in the sound booth recording and sampling all the voice work for my major production. That does not include any of the foley (Sound effects) or music which took about another 2 weeks to finalise. That's FIVE weeks. How long is this project again?

DESIGN AND ART - Please talk to your team leaders and your producing/directing team or myself or Justin or any of the lecturers if there is ANY confusion about your roles. Working together will inevitably mean tasks will get passed around but make sure you're not doing someone else's work for them as well as your own.

ENGINE TEAM - Get some sleep this week. You'll be getting less and less over the next few weeks and whether you like it or not it will ALL come down on your shoulders in the last week!

OK. That's enough from me for now. Remember...

COMMUNICATION... and... KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!! YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME ALREADY!!!!

Time Tracking

As discussed with the director, co-producers and team leaders yesterday, Yeap will be printing out timesheets for everyone of you to keep track of the amount of time you guys take to do your tasks (Research, EPOCS, writing, doodling etc). Again, this is not to keep track of how much work you're NOT doing so don't worry. It's just to serve as a guideline later on down the track as to what can be accomplished and what can't.

We liked the way the story was heading but work still needs to be done to trim it down to fit into our ridiculously short timeline. We're anxious to see what you guys come up with!

Progress tracking

Hi guys, had a conversation with Ben yesterday night and we've decided to allocate 2 meeting sessions a week with the director, co-producers and team leaders just to track the progress of the Invisible City project. We will definitely be here on Thursdays and Mondays (Monday still to be confirmed). Nothing too long, probably an hour or so on each day just to talk about stuff. Starting.....tomorrow. Shall we make it about 1.30pm? Just reply to this post to confirm. Thanks.

Also, there's a section on my website www.geocities.com/justinfoo (check under 'work in progress' - 'The house of peep' - 'Project Overview') that displays what the previous director, producer and team leaders had to say about their experience in the 2004 House of Peep project. The HOP weblog can be found at www.efesbeer.com/hop.

Justin

My two cents...

Hi all. One thing I forgot to mention is to think outside the square. Is there even any reason why the invisible city has to be a 'CITY'? Why not....

• a series of tunnels or caves that can't be seen from above ground?
• an underwater city as seen from the POV of a fish? (ie- Atlantis) The character might only be able to breathe UNDERwater?
• a character who can fly or levitate, allowing access to doors in the ceiling or high on a wall.

Anyhoo... I'll be back in at AIM on Thursday. Good luck and enjoy!

Ben