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Assignment 3 Postmortem

Creating a game prototype and having it playtesting was a good experience to have when it comes to games development. One of the main things that was learned was it is hard to anticipate how intuitive a game's mechanics might be. Playtesting is crucial for this aspect as it helps give a general idea of how quickly players are able to grasp your game and if they can do so before becoming frustrated. It is also a good way to tell if your current game has anything unique or particularly interesting to players, so it becomes possible to determine what are the most important aspects of the game that seem to appeal to people. This also applies to difficulty, as if players are struggling with a part of the protoype, usually this means it is too hard.

When doing playtesting in the future, utilising a wider range of playtesters would be helpful for getting a wider range of opinions.

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Assignment 3 Iteration and Changes

After reviewing the state of the current prototype for the game, it was determined that more changes should be made. As it was, the game was platformer with simple mechanics that did not have anything quite unique. To make the game more unique, two new mechanics were added. The first was the ability for enemies to absorb collectables (coins). The current design of the game was for the enemies of the game to be characterised as greedy and money-loving. So, to depict this better within game, enemies would now absorb any coins they touch within the game, which then shows within their sprite. These coins are capable of being reclaimed by the player by jumping on their heads. The design in the enemy of the game was slime-like aliens. So, in a slime-like nature, another mechanic added was the ability for enemies to combine into a larger enemy. This should hopefully add some more unique identity to the game with these two new mechanics.

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Assignment 3 Playtesting

After conducting playtests on the current prototype of the game, there was some feedback that could be used for further improvement of the game. The main components of the game that play testers seemed to respond favourably too where the design of the characters in the game, as well game mechanics. With this in mind, it would be a good idea to keep the current style and look of the game, and continue and future designs for more characters further in that direction. The mechanics of the game - the ability for slimes to absorb coins and combine - where also generally well received. This shows that it would be a good idea for these mechanics to be the main design point to focus on when developing the game further. When it comes to things that could be improved on, feedback from play testers seemed to indicate that the main areas are story and game environment elements. This was expected, as due to the nature of designing the prototype, full implementation of these aspects was quite lacking. However, this even more proves that the game is not completely able to stand on its own with just the current gameplay and design. It will be necessary for these aspects to not be neglected when further developing the game.

During the playtesting, two bugs were discovered:

The “death” animation for the player seemed to not work and was displaying incorrectly

The player could exit the bounds of the level at on the right side of the screen

One main issue of the current prototype is with the big slime in the middle. While all play testers were able to complete the prototype level, the slime in the middle of the level seemed to be the main source of any problems. Even though none of the play testers negatively responded to it, upon viewing the playtests, it became clear that the gap was too large and was creating slightly more difficulty than was intended. It will be necessary to shorten the gap or something similar to achieve the experience that was intended. While play testers seemed to find the mechanics of the game (jumping on enemies, collecting coins) to be fairly intuitive, it still seems that adding in a short tutorial of some sort at the beginning of the game would be helpful, especially for those who are not as familiar with games.

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Assignment 3 Development Progress The game which has been chosen for further development and playtesting is Bankrupt Bob, the 2D platformer. This game was chosen because out of the 3 previous games created, it is the most simple and easiest game to iterate on. Currently, more game mechanics are planned to be added so that they can be playtested. If these mechanics are received favourably, then the development of them will continue. If however playtesters seem to respond to them negatively, it may be necessary to design some new mechanics to be tested instead.

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Racing Postmortem

Some of the more advanced aspects of GDevloped were utilised during the development of the racing protoype. This including things such as using arrays for , creating object groups for objects with shared behaviours, and for each loops. Fully grasping these tools will allow for more freedom in designing games in the future.

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Racing Development

To complete the prototype for the game it was necessary to create basic functionality that could be testing and iterated on. This includes things such as UI, basic game mechanics, and graphics. Player character

First it was necessary to add the player character, which is in this game a car. The ability for the player to move the car left and right was added, along with making the car rotate appropriately. Obstacles

The next element was to add traffic that would appear that the player has to avoid. Different Cars were made to spawn from the top of the screen on each lane in the road, with each car appearing at different intervals. These cars were then made to move downward, simulating the appearance of the player moving forward.

Another type of obstacle that was added was trees. Trees would spawn on either side of the road, similarly to the cars, except more frequently. Finally, collision between obstacles and the player was added, so the player would explode and lose the game upon contact with another car or a tree.

UI The final aspect added was the UI, which displays the player's score. The score would increase the longer the player stays alive in the game.

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Asteroids Postmortem

Creating the asteroids protoype has familiarised me more aspects of GDevlop past the basics such as use of timers, variables, and custom behaviours. Knowledge of these systems is helpful in being able to create more dynamic systems when creating future games.

Racing Elevator Pitch

Elevator Pitch:

The third prototype that I will be making is a racing game. It will be a 2D game where the player controls a car and must avoid obstacles while progressing along the race track.

The aim of the game will be to get to the end of the course will avoiding obstacles. The player will take on the role of Bob the alien, as they complete racing tracks. The art style of the game will be simple and cartoony, and the game will be aimed towards everyone.

Bankrupt Bob 3: Repo Rally is a chaotic combat racer where Bob, the galaxy’s most unlucky alien, is once again fighting to stay afloat—this time on the track. After escaping the Intergalactic Revenue Federation, Bob finds himself forced into the Repo Rally Circuit, a dangerous underground racing league run by corrupt collectors and cosmic loan sharks.

With his ship impounded and his credits frozen, Bob must race across hostile alien worlds to reclaim his assets and outrun the debt closing in fast. Players will drift through asteroid tunnels, dodge traps, and upgrade their ride with salvaged parts in a high-speed scramble for survival. For Bob, crossing the finish line might be his last shot at financial freedom.

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Asteroids Development

To complete the prototype for the game it was necessary to create basic functionality that could be testing and iterated on. This includes things such as UI, basic game mechanics, and graphics.

Player character

The first thing to add to the game was the player character. In this game, the player would be represented by a ship that the player moves around the screen. This was made possible by making the ship follow the movement of the player's mouse cursor on the screen. The next step was to add the ability for the ship to shoot at the asteroids when the player clicks the mouse. Asteroids

After the player came the asteroids. Three different variations of asteroids were added to spawn in random locations on the screen. Each type of asteroid was then set to have a different spawning intervals, as well as speed. Then the interaction between player and asteroids was added, so that asteroids are destroyed when hit by the player's weapons, and the player is destroyed upon contact with an asteroid. A lose condition was added, with a lives counter added to the UI and a game over screen that appears when all lives are lost.

Finally, the speed and spawn rate of the asteroids was then modified to gradually increase over time, to add an increasing level of difficulty as the game goes on.

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Platformer Postmortem Designing the platformer prototype was a good way to get familiar with using GDevelop to create a game. Knowing the possibilities and limitations of GDevelop will help with creating future games.

Asteroids Elevator Pitch

The second prototype that I will be making is an asteroids style game. Similarly to the original asteroids game, it will be a 2D game where the player controls a ship and must avoid and destroy enemies that spawn on the screen.

The aim of the game will be destroy approaching enemies while collecting pickups. The player will take on the role of Bob the alien, as they travel through space avoiding debt collectors. The art style of the game will be simple and cartoony, and the game will be aimed towards everyone.

Bankrupt Bob 2: Cosmic Collection Agency is a fast-paced arcade shooter starring Bob, the galaxy’s most unlucky alien. After reclaiming his fortune from the Blob overlords, Bob thought he was in the clear—until the Intergalactic Revenue Federation flagged his income as “suspicious” and sent debt collectors armed to the teeth.

Now, piloting his retrofitted space cruiser, Bob must blast through asteroid fields, bounty bots, and repo drones, collecting scattered assets while staying one step ahead of galactic repossession. With frantic pixel-style chaos and endless debt on his tail, Bob’s fight for financial freedom is far from over.

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Platformer development and playtesting

To complete the prototype for the game it was necessary to create basic functionality that could be testing and iterated on. This includes things such as UI, basic game mechanics, and graphics.

The mechanics that had to be created for the game to function as a platformer were:

Player movement

This involves allowing the player to control the character on screen, so that the character can move left, right, and jump. Then it was necessary to add matching animations for the different moving states of the character. The character also needed to be able to interact with platforms. With this step added, the player can now interact with the game.

Enemy behaviour

Once the player had been added, the enemies were next. Unlike the player character however, movement for the enemies had to be added in manually, as they were not player controlled. This allows the enemies to move around the game environment properly and create a more dynamic experience for the player.

Adding collectables

The next step was to add in collectables within the level, as well to track their acquisition. Coins were added to the level, and an appropriate sound effect was played upon touching them, as additional game feedback. A coin tracker was added to the UI, which displayed the current number of coins the player had acquired. With these coins and enemies added, the game now has dynamic interactive elements to it.

Game Mechanics

The prototype now has the player, enemies and collectibles, but has little in ways of interacting with the environment. It was now necessary to add in game mechanics that would form the basic game loop.

Currently, nothing happened when the player character and enemies collided. So, it was necessary to add two interactions – one if the player “jumped” on an enemy, “killing” the enemy and making the player character jump again. This forms the fundamental mechanic of this platformer game. The second was if the player character collided with an enemy while not jumping - resulting in a death.

Another collision aspect that had to be added was for enemies. Instead of enemy movement being set before the game, at set locations, I wanted the enemies to simply move forward until hitting an obstacle, then turn around. To do this, I had to add events when an enemy collided with a wall or another enemy, then flip the sprite to be the opposite direction it was currently facing.  

Accomplishing this was not as simply as expected. When two enemies collided with each other and flipped direction, their collision masks would still be touching, causing an endless loop of both enemies flipping back and forth in place. To fix this, I had to add in a separate variable that would determine whether an enemy would change direction upon contact with another. Upon collision with an enemy, for a short period of time (.1 second) the enemy’s variable would be set to disable flipping, allowing both enemies in contact to move out of collision range.

Finally, I added in a death mechanic when the player leaves the bottom bounds of the game area.

With these fundamental pieces in place, it was now possible to test the games basic systems for any potential major issues.

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Platformer Design and Concept

The first game prototype that we will be making in IGB220 is for a platformer. The platformer I have decided to make will be much like many platformer games out there – the gameplay will focus on the player character moving and jumping in 2D environment to avoid hazards, gather collectibles and navigate the levels.

The aim of the game will be to navigate to the end of each level, while acquiring collectibles, defeating enemies and avoiding hazards. The player will take on the role of Bob the alien, and will traverse the planet Capital, defeating Blob enemies and collecting coins along the way. The art style of the game will be simple and cartoony, and the game will be aimed towards everyone.

Elevator Pitch

Bankrupt Bob: The Blob-Bouncing Odyssey is an action-adventure platformer where you play as the alien Bob, our fallen hero who couldn’t pay off his loan and was forced into bankruptcy. With nothing else to lose, Bob decides to take action and reclaim his lost finances from the Blob overlords who took it from him and save himself from “indentured servitude”. Players will traverse the landscape of the Blob’s capital planet Capital, jumping on as many Blob - heads? – as he can find, reclaiming his financial – and alien -  freedom one cent at a time.

This is the basic concept of what the game will be about. Now that the general ideas for the game have been established, next is to start working on a prototype to being testing these ideas.

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About this blog

My name is Matthew and I am currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Games and Interactive Environments at QUT. Posts in this blog will mainly feature progress on projects developed throughout the course.