Finally, we had reached our final week before the submission, and there was a ton to catch up on. We had to create the flight paths, add assets, and do our first runs - all in one week. Knowing this, our team was quite stressed, but we managed to encourage each other to keep working efficiently and cooperatively through multiple team calls. Our team split into four main groups: sound, texture mapping (on the A6M3), and Unity coders. I mainly worked on Unity, sorting out the AR component (testing), while Aanchal focused on flight paths + the scene.
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I did mobile testing throughout several stages in development: first with only the naked plane model, then with the plane on the flight path, with clouds, with new loops, and with the sound. Testing earlier on helped us ensure that our made components were working before we built further. This also gave us more certainty about our game throughout the week, rather than only testing last minute, which could cause more unexpected errors. Continuous app testing also helped us improve the appearance/usability of the experience since these are aspects that cannot be observed through the Unity software. Unity was still a struggle, but working on team calls to try different things and learn from each other was extremely helpful. Our teamwork would have been even more effective if we were out of lockdown- sitting side by side with our Unity open and having greater awareness of where others are.

We managed to get most of our AR experience sorted by the end of the week (textured plane on flying on multiple loops, with sound and clouds). The result turned out quite well (smoother and more realistic than we expected).  This was quite rewarding; however, realising that we did all of this in a week made me wonder; What could we have achieved if we used the whole semester wisely? Our scope could have been significantly extended and added more features for even more "wow factor." This is something that I will keep in mind for my next project - always start building early to get a head start to help expand your opportunities.

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Now, it was time to tie everything together. I filmed the demo video in my backyard (resulting in me spinning around 100 times), and I edited the presentation video on Final Cut Pro. Since we had 10 minutes for the video, we decided to add a unique touch to it. Our AR experience is now only focused on the plane, so we added some history about the A6M3 and its significance, and put it in the video as a little "backstory" segment.

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Overall, I am quite happy with what we have achieved! The team atmosphere was always positive and it was great working in a group of people with a unique blend of talents. It makes me miss the days in studio and our chill team meetings, but I guess I'll have to wait till next year to for that again!

#TEAMMIMO22
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