Schedule
Early on in the project we were shown all of the tasks that each role would be required to carry out. This was so we would have an idea as to the amount of work we would need to carry out, but also so we could create a schedule, with the aims of being able to complete to project (all the tasks within the project) within the supplied time.
For this task, the members from each department got together and discussed with each other while creating the schedule. For me, I got together with the other groups writer.
The schedule created is shown below:
The schedule shown above was the first schedule that was created alongside the other writer (from the other group in my class).
However, while carrying out the tasks listed on the schedule, I realised how there were some problems. This problem mainly being that a lot of the tasks were listed in the wrong section (this being as some pre-production tasks are shown after the pre-production deadline, and some production tasks are listed as being carried out during production).
Because of this I felt that it was necessary to create a new schedule with the tasks being shown in a more accurate and relevant order.
Hopefully this will be a more effective schedule to follow from now on (as of the end of pre-production), and changes won't be needed. However, as for the last schedule, if changes are once again made they will be shown and further explained.
I continued to follow my schedule to the best of my abilities and was able to complete most of the tasks in the time I had given myself. However, upon starting the production phase of the project, I started to fall behind on certain tasks and realised I would once again need to make a change to my schedule to make it more feasible for me to complete the listed tasks in the time I allocated for the given tasks.
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Thankfully when creating my previous schedules I had given myself two weeks free towards the end of the project as the time I could use to improve tasks or complete any outstanding/yet to be completed tasks. Because of this, when creating my third, and hopefully final, schedule I made use of the space weeks I had left on my previous schedule and allocated that time for a few of my (current) remaining tasks. Additionally, I also changed the schedule to reflect the order of the current tasks I have carried out, as I ended up doing some tasks in a different order and ended up taking longer on some tasks than originally planned (which therefore impacted the order/time of the tasks).
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My current schedule is shown below:
The current tasks I have left to carry out are as follows:
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Script editing/improvement
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Marketing materials (if needed)
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Side story/side quest research and writing
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Item descriptions
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Journal entries
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Voice acting dialogue (if needed)
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Exhibition materials
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Two of the tasks are tasks that I don't believe I will need to carry out, as I have spoken with my marketing team and sound team, and have been informed that the game/event will not have marketing material where I will be needed, and will also not have voice acting.
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This means that the tasks I have left are script editing, side quest research and writing, item descriptions, and journal entries. However there are some additional tasks that I plan to carry out, such as possible NPC dialogue. Additionally, another task that's on my list is 'Bonus Material' which consists of unlockable levels and an alternative ending. I believe that I will not need to do this task, as our game will not make use of an alternative ending and I don't plan to have unlockable levels. However, if this is needed, I could outline some smaller additional islands to have in the game as unlockables.
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Currently, I would say that I am on track of completing my tasks as I have been trying to follow my schedule as much as possible. However, I need to make sure I am updating my blog while carrying out at the tasks, but I also want to have some time before the production deadline to go over my tasks and my blog.
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Additional Planning
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In addition to the schedules that I created throughout the project, I also created some on-paper week/weekend schedules with production and research tasks included on the list of tasks.
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I decided that creating these could prove helpful throughout the project, as my actual schedule only really lists (at least at this point of the project) the production tasks that I need to complete, but doesn't list the research I intend to carry out. Because of this I decided to use my actual schedule as a basis, but then show the additional tasks I was hoping to complete.
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I found this rather useful, as I was able to see the tasks I wanted to have completed
by the next week (which most of the time ended up being more tasks then I had originally though), and so I was able to pick out the main/most important tasks for the relevant period of time (shown in the image with the asterisks), and so I was able to prioritize my work and manage my time more efficiently.
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Daily Scheduling
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Towards the end of the project (end of the production phase), I began to create daily schedule cards that I could carry around with me. My main intention with these were just to remind myself of the remaining tasks, but to also keep myself motivated, and adding to my current work.
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Creating these daily cards did in fact end up motivating me, as they listed the daily tasks (at minimum) I wanted to complete on the relevant days before stopping college/project related work for the day. By doing this I had more motivation to complete the tasks I had set, as I could, once the tasks had been completed, take a break and relax, which I wouldn't be able to do if I just left the tasks til the last minute of the project.
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I plan to continue to write these on a daily basis until the project (or at least the production phase of the project) is over.
Reflection of schedules
I believe that by carrying out these schedules, I was able to effectively manage my time, which allowed me to Almost carry out and complete all of the tasks of the writer. However, there were a number of tasks that I ended up rushing, but I feel as though this wasn't due to bad time management, but more due to the reason of there being too many tasks for me to of handled alone.
Although, I can still say that I tried my best, and I would say that it was due to my schedules that I was able to do as much as I did.