arplatformer

[arplatformer]

I have finished my 2D platformer game.

I have finished my 2D platformer game and have uploaded the gameplay on to youtube via a new account here.

I have also uploaded my game onto itch.io here.

[arplatformer]

Research - HUD 2 electric boogaloo

Chrono Trigger:

Chrono Trigger's main HUD element is the bars showing their character's HP and MP as well as options for them to attack and use items.

Cuphead:

The game states in Cuphead mock the player for dying in a playful way. They are unique to each phase of a boss, having a different quip for every phase. The game screens also show how close the player is to the end relative to the bosses' health as well as how close they were to beginning a new phase of the fight.

Paper Mario: The thousand year door:

There is a lot to the HUD in Paper Mario: The thousand year door. Along the top of the screen; there is a health bar for Mario and his follower, a flower counter, and a coins counter. Above Mario and his follower, there are different icons relating to the actions he or his follower can make in combat.

[arplatformer]

Creating Win / Lose Screens

Here's how I altered the font text to better suit my game over screen:

And here's the finished game over and win screens:

[arplatformer]

Research - Fonts

Here are some fonts I have considered using:

I have decided to use Alagrad for my 2D platformer as it fits the medieval theme I have going on.

[arplatformer]

Research - Game Over Screens

Game win screens are supposed to make the player feel good about beating the game, often by praise; and are usually quite vibrant in colour - like in Mario Kart and Mega man X:

Other games will have one of the characters talk to the player about their accomplishments, like Zelda 2:

Whereas most game over screens are dark and will usually say something like: "You Died!" or "GAME OVER" just like in Dark Souls, Resident Evil and Friday the 13th:

[arplatformer]

Where to get fonts?

https://www.fontspace.com/

https://www.dafont.com/

https://fonts.google.com/

[arplatformer]

What is a widget?

A widget is an application, or a component of an interface, that enables a user to perform a function or access a service.

[arplatformer]

Research - Artwork

Risk Of Rain

Risk Of Rain's artwork is simplistic yet still looks good when put together. The fact that all the designs are quite simplistic mixed with the chaos of all the collectable items somehow make the game more chaotic. Having the background correspond to the level your currently in is something I will add to my game.

Celeste

Celeste also has pretty simplistic designs but what stands out to me is how detailed the background is. Celeste's backgrounds are often more detailed than the foreground. Another thing I quite like is how they'll have random tiles on the foreground that contrast to the rest of the level while still looking natural, which is something I'd like to add.

Undertale

Undertale's designs are extremely simplistic, which is what I think Toby Fox was going for, adds a certain level of charm to the game; as its not trying to be flashy with its designs. Undertale makes more with less when it comes to the designs as the player can clearly depict what certain items are supposed to be. The colour palettes change dramatically between each level (Going from a pinkish colour to cool white to dark blue to dark red), this is something I would somewhat like to mimic with my game.

[arplatformer]

Research - Pedro Medieros

Similar to Paul Robertson, Pedro uses a lot of pixels to add more detail to his work, like shading. In most of his art, he uses dark colours.

[arplatformer]

Research - Paul Robertson

Paul Robertson's art is usually made with many pixels - improving the quality - and is quite vibrant. The themes are quite bizarre and most of his pieces contain nudity.

[arplatformer]

Creating UI

So far I have made a UI health number for my game, although it has froze unreal :(

I have fixed it with this blueprint

Now I have added a health bar aswell, using this blueprint

This is what it looks like all together

[arplatformer]

Creating Enemies

I spent today completing some blogs and creating some enemies for my 2D platformer. Most of my enemies will by hidden as part of the level, then will reveal themselves and attack the player.

Heres an example, the flower I have many off in my level will become a flower/wasp (flasp). I have yet to complete the other enemy animation, like the truid and the mrawler.

I have also made a flying animation for the flasp.

EDIT: I have made both animations for the Mrawler now

[arplatformer]

Game HUD pt2

In Dead Space, the player's health is displayed on the characters back; along their spine. I like this idea as having less HUD around the screen can provide a better immersion, which is important for a horror game.

In Persona 5, most of the HUD is found at the bottom of the screen whilst all the actions the player can make are shooting out of the player. I like this design as it fits with the bizarre nature of the games design and story.

In Mirrors edge, the only bit of HUD is when the locations and time appears on the screen. The game itself is a first person platformer so HUD isn't really necessary. I like the minimalistic design that adds immersion to the player, just like Dead Space.

CrisTales' HUD consists of a bar at the top indicating who's move it is and a some bars in the bottom left with character's health, etc. I like this as once again it's simple but effective.

Dead Cells' HUD is pretty generic; you have a health bar, your items, your coins and cells, a minimap and your skill attributes. Although Dead Cells has alot more HUD than any other game on this list, it's not overwhelming and it is all at the bottom of the screen which I quite like.

[arplatformer]

Game HUD

In Owlboy, the HUD displays a health bar and the amount of coins collected by the player.

In Hollow Knight, the HUD displays the amount of hits the player can take before death (in the form of masks), the amount of SOUL the player has collected by defeating foes and the amount of geo (money) the player has.#

Kirby's HUD displays how lives Kirby has, the player's score and the player's health (in form of red bars).

[arplatformer]

A level should teach the player features of the game

A level should move in multiple directions

A level should stick to a theme

[arplatformer]

Research - World design

Sword and Sworcery has a detailed world design with a limited colour palette consisting of mostly browns, greens and blues. However, the colours used do present a feeling of coldness and vintage.

Next, Terraria is not as detailed, but has a vibrant colour palette and each biome will change how the player will traverse them; due to having different world generations.

In Dave The Diver, the colour palette is very vibrant and the underwater exploration is fleshed out. As you go deeper into the ocean, the light becomes scarcer and there are more valuable fish to catch. The player should proceed with caution though, as there is an oxygen meter you need to keep filled.

Eternal Castle has vibrant colours despite it being very pixelated and having an average of 4 different colours on screen at any given time.

[arplatformer]

Tilemaps in Unreal Engine UPDATE

I have map an additional tileset to make the level better.

And here's the first level!