Photo Fighter

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Photo Fighter LLC is a software company located in the United States, Michigan. The company needed help in creating an interactive game with a non-standard solution regarding the gameplay. After discussions and negotiations, all-important agreements were reached. Development was carried out according to the requirements and wishes of the customer, who was also involved in the process. The result of the interaction was the animation based fighter game.

Main feature of the current game is the opportunity to make or select from archive photo for the character and use it as a mask (life). When a player loses 4 masks he also loses his “real” face and correspondently loses the game. Main target: Changing Face and personalized characters and fight with friends.

Game support bot (if there is no internet connection) and local multiplayer. It is available on desktop and mobile (iOS, Android). Monetization of the game: Patent income.

Outcome

Work on the project took place according to a carefully created algorithm in compliance with the agreed requirements. Thanks to the coordinated work of Computools experts the developed application met all the client’s expectations. Careful checks by the customer also confirmed the high quality of the finished product. Since the launch of the application, customer’s profit has increased by 30%, moreover, he managed to get a lot of grateful and positive feedback from users.

Several key options we solved:

Build interacting 3D gaming environment.
Applied cross-platform technology to make the app available on different gadgets.
Implemented support bot (if there is no internet connection) and local multiplayer.

+ 126%

Throughput, Users

+ 39%

Average Order

+38%

Increasing the number of clients

+ 32%

Increasing Revenue

- 38%

Reducing Costs

22%

Business Process Automation

Digital Platform & Technology

The stack of necessary technologies is determined by future application functions, necessary capabilities and tasks. To select the best technologies, programming languages and frameworks, we study ready-made solutions to similar problems and existing technologies. Also, we are always ready to offer something original and suitable exclusively for a specific project. The current game uses web interaction and has cartoon graphics. Based on these arguments we use Unity3D engine to show high interaction and have wider control on native environment affecting.

Unity3D

It is a comprehensive game development tool that provides fast development speeds. It follows agile game creation and facilitates quick prototyping and continuous releases. Easy and quick import process of resource subsystem leading to an optimized unified Assets pipeline and supports most image, audio, video and text formats band 3D packages. It also has excellent Integrated Level editor with supporting JavaScript and C# for scripting.

It is an object-oriented, general-purpose language. It is highly versatile and is used to create a ton of projects, including but not limited to mobile apps, cloud-based services, enterprise software, and games. It was specially created to make it easier for engineers to build apps quicker at the expense of a loss in overall performance (on modern hardware this is negligible).

PHP

It is widely spread, easy to use and flexible programming language, that can be embedded in any code or system. It is relative fast since it uses much system resource. Moreover, it has strong community support and powerful library support.

Social SDK

SDKs are a spectrum of software intended to make apps and other digital platforms more dynamic. Social SDKs make it easy for developers to create apps that are integrated into larger social media landscapes. They include such functionalities as streamlined user login, app data and analytics, and various gaming features like leaderboards, in-app achievements, and more.

MySQL

MySQL is a free open source database that facilitates the effective management of the databases by connecting them to the software. It is a stable, reliable, secure and powerful solution with the advanced features. MySQL offers unmatched scalability in order to facilitate the management of deeply embedded apps. The star feature of MySQL is the on-demand flexibility, it allows the complete customization to e-commerce businesses with the unique database server requirements.

uNet

The U-net architecture is synonymous with an encoder-decoder architecture. Essentially, it is a deep-learning framework based on FCNs; it comprises two parts: a contracting path similar to an encoder, to capture context via a compact feature map and a symmetric expanding path similar to a decoder, which allows precise localisation. This step is done to retain boundary information (spatial information) despite downsampling and max-pooling performed in the encoder stage.

Communication Framework

Communication with the customer is one of the key organizational issues that is addressed in the first place. We strive to build a comfortable interconnection system in order to quickly find a solution to urgent issues, exchange opinions and discuss working questions. Communication in this project began through the UpWork service, then for the convenience of the entire team, we moved to Skype. Video conferencing and discussions were held there. In the future, for emergency communications, PM exchanged phone numbers with the responsible representative of the customer.

Communication:

Skype

Trello

Email

Specification

The project specification is created at the design stage, when the main actions and sequences of tasks are prescribed. This creates an algorithm for further application development. The final specification is made after the completion of the project and contains goals, the main flow, alternative flow and other points.

Goal - Changing Face and personalized characters and fight with your friend.

Precondition Download application from links

Main Flow Choose Single Player or Multiplayer Setup character gender Setup character color Setup character face image Setup background image Play the game

Postconditions Win or lose to your opponent

Alternative Flows 1. If you play offline you play with bot 2. If you play online you can play locally with your friend

TEAM

For the project, all the necessary specialists are selected. Experts with sufficient experience and necessary skills are carefully selected from the company's employees. A well-coordinated professional team is a key to the successful completion of all tasks at a high level and on time.

1. Computools team 2. Photo Fighter LLC

Team Lead

Nikolay Smorgun

Project Manager

Nikita Abelmasov

Business Development Manager

Dubinskiy Denis

Designer

Panchenko Valerii

Software Engineering Team

Co-Founder

Product Owner

BACKSTAGE

Maintaining the productivity of the entire team is the core of the successful interaction of all its members. Besides, it stimulates the development of each involved employee and contributes to his professional growth.
To do this, we use a variety of methods and tools.

Dev Meeting

Developer's meetings help the team interact better and share experience and acquired knowledge. Moreover, this allows identifying errors or bugs in the code that are easily fixed at the development stage.

Team Brainstorming

Brainstorming is recognized as one of the most effective ways to find innovative solutions. At such meetings, developers can offer any idea, even the most incredible. In the discussion of ideas, original solutions are created.

Feedback

An important component of work on a project is getting feedback. This applies not only to interaction with the customer but also between team members. So everyone gets the opportunity to learn about their strengths and weaknesses and become even better as a professional.

Project Management Methodology

The methodology is selected individually for each project. A Scrum was selected for this project.

Using Scrum, new features are developed incrementally in Sprints. At the end of each Sprint, a potentially releasable Increment of Software/Product is available. This enables the product to potentially be released much earlier. Maintaining quality is a key principle of development with Scrum. Testing occurs every Sprint, enabling regular inspection of the working product as it develops. This allows the Scrum team early visibility of any quality issues and allows them to make adjustments if necessary.

Scrum development encourage active Product Owner and Stakeholder involvement throughout the Products development. Transparency is therefore much higher for key stakeholders, both of the project’s progress and of the product itself, which in turn helps to ensure that expectations are effectively managed. In agile development, change is accepted and expected. Often the time scale is fixed and detailed requirements emerge and evolve as the product is developed.

PROJECT TIMELINE

CONSULTING

Defining Goals

Identifying high-level project goals

Analysis & Exploration

Researching the existing and ready-made solutions
Defining possible restrictions and providing solutions for them
Identifying risks

Product DESIGN

High-Level Architecture

Selecting basic architectural patterns and tools
Forming an application stack, work processes with VCS
Forming the main development guidelines

Interactive Prototypes & Specification

Development of an interactive prototype

Build Development Process

Calculating the number of project teams
Configuring the technological processes and interactions between roles

Product Engineering

Build The Team

Making the initial scope based on the specification and estimate, calculating the optimal number of specialists for each role
Adding executors to the team's core
Conducting an intro meeting

Development

Distribution and execution of project tasks
Integration of the necessary options
Implementing the design of the finished page

Testing & Stabilization

Developing a testing plan
UI & Unit testing
Applying improvements
Code stabilization/refactoring, increasing system stability, reducing the probability of bug emergency

Implementation On Client’s Side

Launch

The launch of the game application was completed on time. Previously, several checks were carried out, including automatic and compliance with the requirements of application markets.

Transfer

Transfer to the customer’s server is carried out in compliance with all security requirements. All data is transferred in accordance with the agreed conditions and upon completion, an additional check is necessarily carried out.

Education

No additional tutorials or training seminars were needed for this project. However, we are always ready to provide the necessary training materials.

16 reasons why
computools

1.

TURNKEY SOLUTIONS

Access to niche expertise and solutions that focus on quality, efficiency, and saving time.

2.

INNOVATION

Trusted innovation management and performance valued by world experts at the IMP³rove Academy.

3.

ISO 9001:2015

Certified processes according to international standards and backed by experience.

4.

A WIDE RANGE OF TECHNOLOGY STACK

Access to a multi-technology environment that enhances product development.

5.

TRANSPARENCY

Security in knowing that you never have to question where you're at or what's happening in the development process.

6.

LONG TERM PARTNERSHIP

Gain stability with a partner who believes in long-term relationships and views it as a fundamental value.

7.

ON THE SAME PAGE

Work with teams that have your business goals in mind. Each step is a step towards improving your overall business processes.

8.

ESTABLISHED POSITION ON LOCAL JOB MARKET

Low staff turnover due to geographical location and leadership in the region.

9.

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

A number of International association memberships allow us to understand your needs no matter where you're located in the world.

10.

IT CLUSTERS

Collaboration with IT professional associations and the knowledge exchange that come with it keep us as an industry leader in IT development.

11.

AWARD-WINNING

Confidence in the fact that we are respected as global IT-experts with awards and recognitions to prove it.

12.

CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT

Regular internal seminars, training, and workshops contribute to the continuous improvement of Computools's engineers and analysts.

13.

INSTANT SCALING of
in house teams

Meet project deadlines through the instant scaling of an in-house digital team or adding professionals as needed.

14.

Instant access to expertise and solutions

Gain instant access to expertise and niche solutions that provide fast and measurable results.

15.

Professional engineers with niche skills

Utilize experienced engineers with the skills to deliver quality results on time and on budget.

16.

Full control over
team management

Get a dedicated team fully integrated into your company's processes, involved in your project, and under your management.

A software company located in the United States

Solution:

Industry:

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

weaknesses

strengths