Double Pendulum Pachinko—Final Project
WEEK 5
At the end of class, the teacher selected several good games as future game development projects, and groups of 6-8 people could be formed.
I've chosen to keep the previous game project—Double Pendulum Pachinko. Our group members are Xinli, Shaiba, Obata, Xiacheng, and Zifeng.
WEEK 6
This week we began the next phase of game development. I did some thinking this week about whether our game should be developed in 3D or 2D and how to do it. Ultimately, we decided to develop the game in 3D.
WEEK 7
This week, each group needed to present their work. We created a document about the game's blueprint, and also made a groove in Blender with a ball inside, adding some small floating effects to the ball.
The teacher gave some feedback regarding our group's progress：
Very good progress by getting started with planning out the steps before scripting. The current model mesh needs to be simplified.
After class, we had a small group discussion and assigned our tasks.
Blueprint of our game
I chose to be in charge of the sound part.
A week after the seventh week of lessons, I found the sound of the section I was responsible for.
Source of sound：
WEEK 8
We don't have classes this week. I propose a group discussion on Friday morning of week eight, after our other classes, to discuss what we've accomplished this week.
Xinli shared the 3D modeling he did in this state.
Xia Cheng and Zi Feng created the animation effects.
I shared the sound I found; there's some music that I think I should do some additional editing in AU.
Opata looked at the sound I made, and we discussed it.
- He felt the win loss sound was too long; this sound effect could be shorter.
- The background audio could combine the start, main, and end scenes into one audio file.
- The hit sound could be made louder.
- The start and restart buttons could each use the first 3 seconds of the audio.
My task from this week to week nine is to resolve the issues we discussed regarding the sound.
WEEK 9
This week is consultation week, and we will share our game progress with the teacher.
This week, 28.05% of our team members completed the entire game.
The teacher gave feedback to our group
The instructor first affirmed the overall progress of our project, noting the significant advancements we'd made in 3D modeling, background creation, and game asset preparation. The basic 3D model was complete, and background textures and game scenes were under development—a great start.
The instructor specifically mentioned that our system logic was beginning to take shape, including physics simulation, the coin-dropping mechanism, and the pendulum's motion scripts, all showing initial results. However, the instructor cautioned that further refinement was needed to make the movements more natural; for example, the pendulum could swing with smaller amplitude but more realistic movements, and the parameters still required adjustment.
He also mentioned that sound design is an important part of the later stages, but the most crucial thing at this stage is to stabilize the core game mechanics.
The instructor also emphasized that the game's current gameplay is relatively simple. Therefore, besides completing the basic functions, the later stages must focus on enhancing the UI/UX, digital effects, and overall presentation to enrich the experience. These aspects should be addressed after the core system is stable.
Regarding time planning, the instructor reminded us:
• We are currently around week 11.
• Submission and presentation are due in week 14.
• Therefore, approximately 2-3 weeks remain for a final push.
• The next two weeks should focus on completing the game logic, physics system, and main interactions.
• The final week should focus on visual presentation, UI animations, and overall polish.
The instructor also confirmed whether we had any further questions and encouraged us to maintain our current pace. He stated that as long as the core mechanics are stabilized quickly, the subsequent art and interactive effects can be improved within a manageable timeframe.
The sound improvement section I'm responsible for hasn't been completed yet because I've been very busy this week. I will finish the sound improvement section this week, before the start of week 10 classes.
WEEK 10
This week I completed the changes to the sound section I was responsible for.
[Change Process]
BGM Sound
I imported the sounds from the main scene and the ending scene into Adobe Audition and combined them together.
Before
After
<SFX>-Coin Hit
Based on our previous discussion, I made the sound of the coin striking louder.
Before
After
<SFX>-Win
Based on the previous discussion, the sound I found for Win was too long, so I looked for a shorter sound effect. I found one on the Pixabay website and imported it into Adobe Audition for post-processing.
I adjusted the volume and added a fade-out effect in Adobe Audition.
Before
After
<SFX>-Lose
Based on previous discussions, the conclusion is that for long audio tracks, a shorter audio effect can be used. I found audio effects on Pixabay and imported them into Adobe Audition for post-processing.
I adjusted the volume in Adobe Audition.
Before
After
<SFX>-Start Button
I cut the long sound effect before the start button into three seconds using Adobe Audition.
Before
After
<SFX>-Restart Button
I cut the long sound effect before the restart button into three seconds using Adobe Audition.
Before
Before
I've made all the previous changes. Below is the documentation for all the sounds we use in our game.
Sound document
This week we were planning to have group discussions in class, but the teacher is absent today, so we decided that whoever did what will post it in the group chat to discuss and report what they did this week.
WEEK 11-13
Over the past few weeks, we have each completed our respective tasks. On week 13, we held an online group meeting to share our individual tasks.
WEEK 14-17
Continue creating game development prototype files.
Each group needs to complete 4 reports.
Google drive document
Game demo video
PRE PPT
Self-reflection
In the final Double Pendulum Pachinko project, I systematically participated in the game design and production process, primarily undertaking sound design and related implementation work. Through this project, I not only deepened my understanding of the overall structure of game development but also reflected deeply on interdisciplinary collaboration, the rationality of design decisions, and the limitations of my individual professional abilities.
In the early stages of the project, the team discussed the game's presentation format (2D or 3D) and ultimately chose to develop it in 3D. This decision had significant advantages in enhancing spatial expressiveness and interactive immersion, but it also significantly increased technical complexity and development costs. During actual execution, this choice placed higher demands on the team's time management and technical coordination. Reflecting on this decision-making process, I realized that in the early stages of design, a more systematic assessment of the relationship between technical feasibility, resource allocation, and project timeline is crucial to reduce the uncertainty brought about by later adjustments.
Regarding my personal responsibilities, I was primarily responsible for the collection, editing, integration, and optimization of game sound effects. This process further made me realize the critical role of sound design in interactive experiences; it not only serves to create atmosphere but is also an important component of the feedback mechanism. By continuously testing and adjusting the triggering methods, volume levels, and rhythmic variations of sound effects in different game scenarios, I attempted to improve the clarity of players' perception of game events and their overall immersion. However, during the project integration phase, insufficient anticipation of the coordination between sound effects and visual rhythm led to multiple modifications and adjustments, reflecting room for improvement in my multimodal interaction integration and systematic design thinking.
From a team collaboration perspective, project progress relies on continuous communication and task coordination among team members. Although we maintained regular discussions during development, shortcomings remained in anticipating cross-module collaboration and functional dependencies, affecting the integration efficiency of some content. Combining project experience with relevant design management theories, I believe that introducing clearer phased goals, iteration mechanisms, and task tracking methods in future team projects will help improve collaboration efficiency and overall project quality.
Overall, this project not only enhanced my practical abilities in game sound effect design and interactive experience construction but also prompted me to examine the relationship between design decisions, technology choices, and teamwork from a more critical perspective. In future creative endeavors and research, I will further strengthen the systematic thinking in the early planning stages and deepen the theoretical understanding and practical application of the relationship between sound design and interaction mechanisms, so as to achieve higher quality and more academically profound design results.
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