The Design Document, and working with Unreal

I have never enjoyed working on documentation, I have always tried to impliment a more "hands on" approach. while I have read a few famous five books, and made notes on them, have come up with some game idea's that would tie directly into the stories, I have avoided writing up a design document as much as possible. however, time now grows short, and I have made a concerted effort to complete the document to a high standard, though I fear it may fall far short of expectations, a fear that manages to creep in and around all my work, I will confess.

I realise of course that my lack of previous experience with programming, and games design to go with it, do hamper my ability to complete some work to a satisfactory level, however experience cannot be blamed. During the first year I took too much of my time playing games, instead of making them. I did not manage my time well, and fear I am on the verge of repeating that pattern again this year. However I have begun to manage my time more readily, and am learning from my mistakes.

Unreal Editor is something I have worked with in the past, though not for any real purpose, mainly just for my own amusement, as such it took my attention more readily than the famous five books did, I have worked through most of the 3D buzz tutorials, and continue to work on improving my editor skills. As I have stated, the hands-on approach is my preference, as such the editor holds far more interest for me, but after johns lecture on friday, I realise that I should spend less time with it, and more on my documentation, and more academic learnings.

Specifics
I have learned how to use subtraction and addition in combination with builder brushes in the unreal editor to make more interesting level landscapes.
I have learned how to create and manage movers.
I have learned how to create windows using a panel builder brush, a transparent texture and a blocking volume.
I have learned how to place and manipulate static meshes.
I have learned the basics of lighting and texturing (aswell as how to place weapons pick ups, health and ammo pickups, and how to modify existing terrain. these things will all be useful when creating my famous five level)
I have done some research into the creation of a third person point and click interface for UT2004, which has yielded some results, but still needs much more research.


TODO
My design document (as of this time) has Not been finalised, though most of the elements of it are in place.
I have yet to create my 2d level design, but this is of high priority.