The time for midmortem was upon us and eight developers, two from each team, had to decide which prototypes were going forward into production. Four games were presented but only two could go forward. We had to decide based on the game's feasibility and viability, meaning could the game's vision be developed within the scope of the class, does the class have the expertise to develop such a game, does the game provide a unique idea that can be built upon, and many other criteria. This would frame the most difficult decision of the semester thus far.
  Each member was to look at each project objectively and weigh the positives and negatives of each. Two games were selected very quickly. Gaze of the Abyss, my team's project, was selected to go forward, and Seize the Cheese, a platforming fighting game, was eliminated. The potential scope of Gaze of the Abyss is very large and the game would rely heavily on art to provide a convincing aesthetic, but the mechanic is interesting and people enjoyed the unique perspective of the diver and drone so the game was selected to move forward. Seize the Cheese was eliminated on the basis that it was a fighting game which are notoriously hard to balance and would pose a monumental task for designers.
  This left two games; Potion Seller, a tycoon style game about crafting potions and discovering new areas of the shop, and Snowball Showdown, a virtual reality snowball fighting game that was meant to be multiplayer. Potion Sellers pro's were that the game could expand in various different directions, it had a solid aesthetic already, and their idea was unconventional. The con's were that the game seemed to lack direction, it would also rely heavily on art, and would require a lot of work to flesh out all of its core systems; exploration, crafting, and store management. Snowball showdown's pro's were that it was a simple concept that could be expanded upon, is not reliant on artists, and allows for fun and creative gameplay. The con's being the scope being potentially too small, and the big one, networking. Currently none of the programmers knew how to do networking and researching it would take a lot of development time away from the project.
  The teams took a vote for which would go forward and the vote tied. We deliberated on why we chose what we did and made arguments for it, and voted again. Tied. We opened the question to the studio as a whole. Tied. Every argument made could not sway the other side to tip the vote and it came down to one factor; artists. The studio was very short on artists and both Gaze of the Abyss and Potion Seller would require a lot of artwork. It was because of the artist shortage that Snowball Showdown was selected to move forward.
  If it were entirely my decision I would be on the side of Potion Seller. I believed the game had a lot of potential and I liked that it was shop management game which isn't the type of game the Champlain Games Studio normally produces. I thought that Snowball Showdown's concept was very limiting and had a lot of technical risk associated with it due to networking. The concept was interesting but I didn't think the idea could be carried very far. I was also very surprised to see that after a week of development the team showed off the game's functional networked multiplayer. Not all features were networked but it was a very crucial first step. I am pleasantly surprised to have misjudged the project and am excited to see their progress continue.
  The first thing I learned through this experience is that selecting which projects to go forward is extremely difficult. While each team tries to be as objective as they can, its always sad to see an X through your game title. Everyone conducted themselves professionally and tried not to be attached to their projects. The second thing I learned is that the resources of the studio must also be considered. If a game has a great concept, but the studio doesn't have the resources to build it, the project can't be feasible. Both Potion Seller and Snowball Showdown were great games, but only one could move forward and we didn't have the artists to comfortably meet the demands of Gaze of the Abyss and Potion Seller. No matter how the deliberations went we could not get around that fact. Lastly I learned that even though some games didn't go forward, the studio is still a team. We're all on the same side, and not dedicated to our own projects. We are excited about the other games in the studio just as we are about our own. Our passion and dedication is attributed to what we do, not just what we are making.