This Week’s Goals
In Week 4, we focused on:
- Prototyping and testing core welding mechanics in Unity
- Refining narrative structure and story flow
- 3D asset iterations
- Visiting Mill 19 to deepen our industrial context
Mechanic Prototyping in Unity
This week, we began testing more detailed interaction mechanics inside Unity. Our focus was to ensure that the welding experience feels both believable and engaging.
We explored two primary interaction directions:
1. Snapping-Based Interaction
We tested a snapping system to support placing and aligning materials before welding, and also ensuring the mechanic feels satisfying.
2. Drawing-Based Welding Interaction
We also experimented with two different approaches to drawing the weld seam. Both methods simulate torch movement but differ in how they interpret player motion and feedback.
We plan to visit the Industrial Arts Workshop (IAW) to evaluate which method better reflects authentic welding practices and feels intuitive for beginners.
Narrative Development
This week, we further structured the game’s narrative by defining the characters, spaceship, and storyline, with concept art helping visualize these elements.
Art Production Begins
Our art pipeline officially moved into 3D production. Current assets in development include:
- A welding gun
- A welding machine
- Environmental spaceship components
These assets will continue to evolve as mechanics are refined and scale is tested in VR.
Mill 19 Visit — Robotic Arm Testbed
This week, we visited Mill 19 to observe the robotic arm welding testbed and learn more about advanced manufacturing environments. Seeing real industrial robotics in action provided valuable reference for both our visual direction and narrative framing.
We are grateful to Christopher Adams for guiding us through the visit and sharing insights into robotic welding systems.
