The concept of "shutterbuds" was developed bottom up, creating the game loop around the simple idea of taking photographs. Within the first sprint, I prototyped a handheld camera item with base functionality that proved the fun and feasibility of the concept.

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I followed the iteration of the camera throughout the entirety of the project and handled all in-engine implementation. Additionally, I handled all bug fixing related to the camera.

Prototyping & Iteration

To prove functionality for the idea of taking pictures, I drafted up a systems list and a UI sketch for a proposed camera item. When it got team approval, I headed into engine to prototype a camera item the player could pick up and aim to frame their shot, adjust properties such as zoom, flash, & photo timer, and ability to snap a picture and save it to their computer. Using a placeholder camera model made by our prop artist, this was done all within the two weeks.

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Testing feedback showed the camera handling to be pretty smooth, however there were some issues with how the final photograph turned out which I later identified and fixed.

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As the game developed, we wanted to play into the social and self expression aspect of game design. This was already supported by the camera, but one suggestion we kept seeing through testing is that testers really wanted to take fun selfies. Because of this, I made the camera able to be flipped in the player's hands. However this created a new problem: the player's couldn't tell what was in frame. With our intended experience falling into the "Easy Fun" category of Lazzaro's 4 Keys to Fun, we wanted to eliminate any potential frustration with the core mechanic. My solution was a pop-up view port that would enable when the camera is flipped so that players can frame their picture accordingly.​​

Initial Camera UI Sketch

Initial Selfie Mode