IDO Post-Mortem

IDO was by far the largest and most ambitious project I've worked on.  It was also the longest project with the largest team.  In fall we had 12 people, and in Spring we had 20.  When I came onto the team, I was simply a programmer.  The leadership quickly realized I was suited to be Tech Lead and I took over as that position.  IDO's Vertical Slice was a resounding success, and we won the overwhelming support of our peers.  I learned a lot that first semester, and was eager to help guide the game towards the ultimate vision.
Spring was a different beast.  The team expanded by 8 people, including 2 new programmers.  A large focus of the tech team in Spring was introducing more C++ code base to optimize the game.  We also worked to expand mechanics and the combat system.  
Despite my best efforts, the IDO team environment deteriorated throughout Spring.  We didn't accomplish what we wanted due to a lack of proper organization and focus on the most crucial aspects of the team.  With the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, UCF closed all campuses and we were forced to go remote to finish out the semester.  In the final week and a half we really pulled together and made a product that we could be proud of.  It wasn't what was dreamt of, but I was still proud of what we produced.  IDO will always be the game that I didn't sleep for 36 hours to complete.  I don't regret anything I did when it came to the project, I only wish I had been in a position to do more.