MAX KENNEDY
A ROVER'S JOURNEY
A Rover's Journey is a narrative exploration game currently being developed in partnership with MAXART. Play as Roo-ver the Australian rover and help your human companion Alex discover ways to support humanity's long-term sustainability in the final frontier.
TEAM MEMBERS
Acelin Berthelot (Designer)
Audrey Dai (Artist)
Benjamin Worton (Programmer)
Eva Haraguchi (Programmer, Artist)
Lachlan Taylor (Designer)
Max Kennedy (Designer, Producer)
Piper Jarvinen (Artist)
Takuma Aoki (Designer)
Tris Rose (Programmer)
DURATION
6 weeks of pre-production
12 weeks of development (current)
6 weeks refinement (upcoming)
ENGINE
Unity
CONTRIBUTIONS
UI Design
Playtesting
World Design
VFX
Producer
PRE-PRODUCTION
Pre-production for A Rover's Journey began with the group coming together and discussing our goals for the project, which was to deliver a piece of work that was portfolio-standard. Working with our industry partner MAXART, the brief handed to the team requested the creation of a game that brings to light the contribution Australia has made to the global space industry.
I presented myself as an applicant for the team's producer role as it needed filling and was confident in my skills as a communicator and leader within the team. I was voted into the role and the team then began brainstorming concepts for our game. The prominent concept that arose was Roo-ver and the Red Giant by one of the artists on our team, Piper. The team also agreed as a collective that ideas from other projects could be included into the game where suited.
Continued meetings with MAXART helped us to narrow the focus and scope of our game. During this time, as producer I was organising the team through a project management spreadsheet and beginning the works on a back-log for tasks once we began development.
DEVELOPMENT
While my main role on the project was that of producer, I also wanted to explore further into level and world design. I was fortunate enough that Lachlan, another designer on the team, was also interested in working on the level design for the project. We built an efficient task pipeline where Lachlan would work on the flow and layout and I would come through and set dress the finished areas. Both of us were also extensively testing the level in this time alongside the team behind the driving systems of our rover. With the set dressing of the terrain, I wanted to create a postcard-esque aesthetic to create a version of the Moon's landscape that feels fantastical.
Additionally I have taken on the responsibility of particle systems and VFX for the project. The piece that I am most proud of so far is a stencil mask shader that creates a 3D effect when placed in front of objects to look like a trading card. Additionally I have enjoyed learning to layer particle systems and effects to create more depth to the VFX being added to the game
As producer I am always looking to keep in contact with members of the team on a regular basis and help construct work plans that best suit the individual's work flow and pacing. Office hours are a common occurrence in our team channels to encourage others to jump in and work together or to bounce ideas around a group of people. Weekly stand-ups also give an idea into what a person in another discipline might be working on. I have found that as a result of implementing these strategies, the quality of work from the team has been significantly improving as the project progresses.
REFINEMENT
The project is still currently under development. Once the project has concluded, this section will be updated accordingly