Lessons Learned
I learned a lot about deadlines. There were a lot of ideas we tossed around, and most of them made it in. There were a few, like the template system, that didn't get in until after release. And then there are things that still aren't in, like alternative outfits for the other characters. We just didn't have time and had to prioritize what would benefit the game the most.
I already knew the planning phase was very important, but I got a chance to experience that first hand. Spending weeks working on a project full time without touching the code much was something I had never done before as I usually work on small experiments for fun, whereas this was a full game that needed to be released to a public audience. Seeing how rapidly the game changed was interesting and exciting to say the least.
I also got the chance to learn things on the fly. While I knew how to work Unity's interface quite well, I knew very little about programming in it. Every time I needed to do something I had to start scouring through the Unity documentation. This was made a lot easier by the fact that we were mainly working with text and static images. Regardless, I learned a lot about Unity and it is now my engine of choice for various other projects.
Development
Clinic Ninja was an educational game developed for Horizon Health Care to help reinforce meaningful use standards in their students educational courses. It was developed over the course of 3 months by a team of 4 people, though we would continue to support it until the end of the year. I was the primary programmer for the project, setting up databases for the events as well as a random generation system for key words and answers. It is a multi-purpose system that could be use for a multitude of text based adventures.
Notes
Sadly, shortly after our support period had ended, support for the Unity Web Player was dropped from most browsers. This lead to the project being unplayable, as internet explorer is currently the only modern browser that will run it.
Clinic Ninja
In Clinic Ninja you play, naturally, as Clinic Ninja! Join them in this educational text based adventure as they learn the benefits of meaningful use standards. Experience the day to day happenings of work at the clinic, and get to know the ins and outs of being a ninja. Can you become a black belt of meaningful use?
Release Date:
09/03/2014
Roles:
Programmer
UI Designer
Client:
Dakota Games Factory
Work Dates:
06/01/2014 - 12/31/2014
Play Online
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