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Week 13 Assignment 3 Postmortem

Over the course of weeks 12 and 13, more work on the game was completed. A preliminary playtest was made for levels 1 and 2, though the game is expected to have four by the end. The plan is to have the two playtesters return when the game has all levels, and for me to get two more new playtesters. Another group member is also going to have 2 more playtesters for the game. The game runs well and I think it was well done for the time frame given

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Week 11 Assignment 3 and Readings

Assignment 3

For assignment 3 we worked more on refining the game to create the MVP. We did not go in person to the workshop, but instead had discussions outside of it to determine what needed to be removed and added.

Readings

The team structure chapter was useful for seeing how a job in the field may be like. While Australia has a lot of smaller indie studies, if I were to ever move overseas for a AAA studio I have a better understanding of how the hierarchy would work. Things are more fluid in studios with less people, and more set in stone with those who have more. I would probably prefer working for a larger studio so I can specialise in one aspect of design more than doing multiple parts, but both would be fun. I am also interested in QA and UX positions as trying to discern how people would react across different machines is interesting.

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Week 10 Assignment 3 Development and Readings

Assignment 3 Development Progress

For assignment 3, my group was formed over the discord during the midsem break. We all attend the Wednesday 1-3 workshop. In the workshop, we looked at each others one pages and one sheets. Three of the four were on platforming, so we decided to do platforming. Our plan is a game called Speed Runner's. The aim is to last as long as you can and to collect coins while the screen is slowly moving upwards and the timer is ticking down. Players can gain time back by collecting clocks scattered around, and can gain benefits from powerups to help them defeat enemies to progress. I did not participate in the part C playtest as other members of my group did it instead, so I cannot determine how that went until we have a later meeting. We uploaded part A once we had polished up the one page and wrote our MVP. I feel that the game has a lot of interesting aspects to have it stand out from other platformers, and I will enjoy working on it.

Readings

I found the decision scale really eye opening on breaking down how players approach games. While I understood there was a hierarchy of focus, it helped me think about games I enjoy and what they have me do. Balancing decisions and rewards is essential for invigorating gameplay.

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Week 9 Racing Post Mortem, Assignment 2 Final Design

Racing Post Mortem

Overall, I was not happy with the racing game. I did not spend enough effort into making it unique from the base game. I put more effort into assignment 2 and other assignments from other units. I needed to have more distinct aspects, like the two types of modes in the platformer and leaning heavily into the ocean theming in the asteroids. More thought was needed on the game mechanics itself.

Assignment 2 Final Design

Here are the final designs for assignment 2. I grouped the description and features using the boxes, and organised it to be read in distinct sections. The name, the description, the diagram, and the features are all shown apart from each other.

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Week 8 Racing Development, Assignment 2 Progress

Racing Development

The racing game was put together using the tutorial provided. I did not do a lot of work aside from the base as I was more focused on working on assignment 2. There were no major issues in the implementation.

Assignment 2 Progress

For the one sheet, I decided using a blue background provided by canva to represent the ocean theming of the game. I also renamed it to Ocean Cave Escape.

For the fonts, I used Horizon for the larger text and League Spartan for smaller text. I used white text as it worked better considering the blue gets darker further down the page.

For words on an image, I added a partially transparent black box to make the text easier to read. Next week, I want to polish off the one sheet and work on the one page.

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Week 7 Asteroids Postmortem, Racing Elevator Pitch

Asteroids Post Mortem

I enjoy where I took the asteroids game more than the platformer, and it is the one that I've been basing my assignment 2 on. One issue I had that I wish I fixed was that I could not get the score to show on the game over screen properly, making it rather useless. I enjoyed the balance of the speed and firerate for the various objects on the screen, causing a constant mild stress on the player.

Readings

The reading this week was focused on playtesting. It was useful as playtesting is a major part of developing a game. One part that stood out the most was getting people you don't know to play the game. It both can help with networking and gives a fresh view on what you've made.

Title of Game

Matchbox Racing

Elevator Pitch

Matchbox Racing is a classic racing game on a small scale. Racing around the floor of a bedroom, players will try their best to beat the other matchbox cars while avoiding taking damage or flying off the course.

Image

Control Diagram

Players will race around the track while avoiding other cars. The faster they complete a lap, the better score they get.

Selling Points

Matchbox car themed

Time based score

Smooth controls

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Week 6 Asteroids Development

Asteroid Development

I have implemented some graphics into the game. From the asset store, I have taken a pixel font to use for the game over and for the game itself

I have also made a scrolling background, which is just a waterfall asset taken from the store and expanded it in order for it to smoothly loop around

I have also made the asteroids brown, and have made a bubble asset to use as a healing option

On the programming end, I have made large asteroids turn into two medium ones when shot, and medium ones turn into two small ones when shot. The small asteroids disappear when shot. When the asteroids break, the smaller ones move in two random directions. The bubble moves slower than the asteroids and the ship, which makes it easy for the player to move to collect it. When they collide with the bubble, they gain 20 oxygen back. It is also set to not go over 100% oxygen. An additional feature is that the bullets destroy the bubbles, so players would need to be careful when firing to be able to collect the health.

Readings

Chapter 6 was the set reading for this week. I found the suggestion of having a journal on you at all times to write down game ideas. It is useful for documenting a stream of ideas, as inspiration usually hits when you are out and about. Further refining and research is also essential to investigate the possibilities of actually creating the game. Breaking down systems around you to discover possible games is a good way to create ideas.

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Week 5 Platformer Postmortem, Asteroids Elevator Pitch, and Asteroids Development

Platformer Postmortem

The platformer elevator pitch contained too large of a scope to complete as a one man team in such a short period of time. Deciding to cut it down to 2 different outfits instead of one allowed me to spend less time balancing the levels for several powerups, as 3 of the 4 planned ones were movement based. I also needed to have had more of a game completed when presenting it for playtesting, and not a lot of insight was able to be given to improve it. If I were to spend more time on it, I would have found assets to better reflect the Barbie theming, and would have made a second level. A lives system as opposed to teleporting the player to the beginning would have also been a good addition. Additionally, with the code, I could have refined it better. When changing from one outfit to another, half of the code is for when the button is pressed, while the other is after a variable connected to the player character is changed (through pressing the button). This would have made it easier to change more if there were future updates.

Title of Game

Deep Sea Escape

Elevator Pitch

After an earthquake has hit near the cave you have been exploring, you are trying to escape before it all caves in on you. Through destroying and avoiding debris, you get closer to your escape.

Image

Control Diagram

The controls are the same as a standard asteroids game. Shooting larger asteroids (cave debris) causes them to break up into smaller ones. The larger the object that hits the player, the more damage they take. The player also gets points for every asteroid destroyed, for replay ability after death.

Selling Points

Ocean themed instead of space themed, uses a collapsing cave to explain the asteroid-like objects

Points system for players to be able to play again for a higher score

Simple controls for new players to jump right into the game

Asteroid Development

I followed the workshop to have the base game. I have implemented a basic points system, with 10 points for every asteroid destroyed. It does not currently display when the player wins. I want to have the larger sized debris break into smaller ones on impact. I also want to spawn healing objects randomly for players to be able to play for longer. Instead of lives, I have named it "oxygen levels" with 100 points instead of 10. Touching oxygen bubbles will heal players once implemented. I need to balance player speed, debris speed, and bullet speed, which will be done following a playtest later this week.

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Week 4 Platformer Development

I have made a few changes to the game. To change what outfit is equipped, instead of having it be 1 and 2, is now x and c, as it is right next to z and the spacebar, where other controls are mapped. This allows players to swap between states faster. I also added some text at the beginning to tell the player what the controls are.

For the level, I extended it upwards with a few more enemies. There is also a platform at the end that takes players to a win screen, which sends them back to the start of the level again after a few seconds.

This is the last update for the platformer, as next week focuses more on the asteroid game.

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Week 3 Platformer Development

I have completed a few small changes for the game for playtesting. First, I changed the level layout to utilise the low gravity more, with the first jump needing low gravity.

Second, I removed the bullet for low gravity mode, as it will force the player to swap between them instead of just staying on one mode. I made the bullets destroy when they hit platforms, and they destroy the slime on contact. I also fixed the base sprites a little, making the walking animation not off the ground. There are a few scaling issues with it, so the walking animation looks a little janky. Finally, I hue shifted the player sprite to have a distinct difference in the different modes.

As I am not an artist, I could not make Barbie themed sprites. If given time, I would have made the game fully Barbie themed. Instead, I am just using the basic sprites, with the coin being used as a bullet.

Playtesting

After some playtesting, several pieces of advice were given. First, they needed some direction at the start saying how to activate the powers, as the keys are mapped to 1 and 2. Second, they needed to know they had bullets, mapped to z. They also thought the level was too short. To resolve these problems, I am going to expand the level for a longer experience, and will perhaps add text with the controls at the start.

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Week 2 Elevator Pitch & Development

This week we started working on a platforming game in GDevelop5. I had asked my friends if they had any idea on what they wanted me to make for a platformer, and once of them suggested Barbie. Finding the concept interesting, I decided I would make a Barbie themed platformer.

Title of Game

Barbie Mountain

Elevator Pitch

Barbie has been invited to a party with all the other Barbies at the top of Barbieland mountain. Her journey ahead is dangerous, with scissors, markers, storage containers, and paint in between her and the party. Using her range of clothing to help her navigate, she is determined to make it on time to dance the night away!

Image Inspiration

Control Diagram

Barbie has to slowly move upwards through the level, with her being able to equip different outfits when she is stationary on a safe platform. These outfits have different power ups, such as a double jump, dash, a stronger attack, or slow fall. The player must decide which is best to progress through the level, as they cannot access all abilities at the same time.

Selling Points

The game will have a cutesy pink artstyle, and, if music were to be added, it would be upbeat. Being able to swap in and out of costumes allows players to remember what they have equipped and use different abilities to solve problems The key audience for the game is 8-18 year old girls and anyone with nostalgia for Barbie

Development

After a few days working with the concept, I have created a few things First, I made a platform for the game. It is meant to resemble plastic. Slow fire rate

By having the left and right be distinct, it allows for rounded platform edges I have also implemented two of the powerups. The player can choose between less gravity or a faster firerate, with the player having to stand on the ground to change between them. There is no visual update yet, but I plan to implement it. To create a better scope for the short time frame given, I have decided to use only the two powers instead of four, and implementing the others will take time and later will take a lot of level planning for one power up to not be better than others.

Fast fire rate

Slow fire rate

Low gravity

High gravity

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Week 1

Hello!

I'm Hannah, and I'm currently studying physics and game design at QUT. This blog will be a collection of posts for IGB220 as I work on games in GDevelop.

My goals for this unit is getting a better understanding of scope for games considering the time allocated, and deepening my understanding of design principles behind games in order to improve my knowledge.

I am a big fan of puzzle games, with my passion for game design stemming from when I played Thomas Was Alone in 2012 or 2013. I hope to be able to create games that contain interesting stories with simple mechanics for people who are not experienced in games to be able to play and enjoy them.