sagetgamedev

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Assignment 3 Group

Isaac, Miz, Nish

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Racing Post mortem - Final assignment 2

working

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Prototype 2 Playtest

working

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Prototype 2 Development and Assessment 2 work

The third project came together quite cohesively. As can be seen from the video below, you are a skateboarder who is bombing down a hill. As you go down the hill you gain more speed and all the obstacles on the road come at you faster. These obstacles consist of potholes, cars, fallen over logs, animals off the from the side etc.

The goal is to go as long as possible, that is why a timer begins at the very start, and also encourages players to try again to get a better time. It seemed a little difficult at first just swerving left and right, so to add a bit of player control and another layer of gameplay, the player can ollie over oncoming obstacles. While they have ollied and are in the air, they lose all ability to move (as would happen in real life).

Additionally I completed some of the work for Assignment 2, I have decided that my platformer was the strongest of my gamers that I have designed. I also think narratively it has the most legs (pun intended). I figured it was easy enough to convey my game as a platformer even if I drew it all myself, I also believe my one sheet explains the game fairly well and anyone who were to pick it up, would have a full understanding of the game.

I wont deny I took some strong inspiration from both shovel knight and slay the spire. To avoid taking too much from those games, I did all the drawing myself and the layouts. The title I used an AI generator, as I don't think I could consistently draw the text.

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Prototype 2

The Third project I will be making in IGB120 is a racing style game. I found this to be the most difficult idea to come up with, so I took inspiration from real world sports.

Similar to my previous Prototype, this will be more player-centric and cater to a wide audience. This will be designed with an emphasis on building to a higher score, with powerups to assist the player in surviving for as long as possible.

Thus the game will need to have tight controls that are easy to understand and can be picked up at any time. Aesthetically, I have learnt from previous prototypes that it is important that objects are easily identifiable to ensure the narrative is clear. For inspiration, I used games that were easy to pick up and function as endless runners i.e. temple run, subway surfers, doodle jump etc.

Title: Bombing Bandits Pitch: The game is a top-down racing game, where you are skateboards going down an increasingly dangerous hill. The game is an endless runner where you get increasingly faster as you race down the hill. Obstacles and powerups are randomly generated as the layout of the road changes and curves. Controls: Move around with W,A,S,D. Camera is top down over the player. Unique selling points: • Fast paced game where you try to get the best score. • Requires precision responses quick reactions • Taking a dangerous real-life sport and gamifying it.

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Prototype 2 - Postmortem

As per my playtesters comments I have refined the game further. I focused on the gameplay aspects and the narrative. I still am to refine the graphic facility however I believe the title screen assists me in this aspect.

Gameplay refinements are as follows:

updated spawn locations, it makes it feel fairer. Everything should have a better spread across the board so they player feels more enticed to move around.

updated special attack, so it is not overpowered. It now acts as a cannon, slower fire rate but shoots through all floating objects.

updated lives to read as health, so it is easier understood.

The intent is to refine the graphics of the game, specifically the crackers that are flying around as they are not reflective of actual crackers.

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Prototype 2 - Further Playtesting results

I had two other playtesters reach out to me Evie C & Acelin B. They provided feeback without the template.

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For Acelin: "The controls are easy to understand (I never read controls, they should be intuitive)

The level itself is a bit confusing, is it a bread board? A pizza? Felt like a pizza, but looked like a bread board, didnt really understand why it was either, maybe add some narative to this??

With everything spawning in random locations, it felt very chaotic & there was little reason to move. This kind of made it more feel like a tower defence game, but with nothing to defend.

Lives?? I assume this was meant to say "Health" or something like that

I like that the Olive goes for the Player, but it would often spawn right infront of the player & even when it spawned far away there did not seem to be a way to destroy it."

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These were some very insightful comments from Acelin. I intend to go back and fix the lives to say health or even a health bar. I will need to increase the distance of the olive from the player as it is intended to make the player run away. As to the overaching narrative, I agree the visuals need further refinement, I think a title screen could assist with this process! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Evie: "the game was fun the fast paced nature was v enjoyable the olive rolling towards the player was a nice addition, I liked that difficulty

the only bug I found was that the special could spawn outside of the level bounds, and thus be inaccessible. The special could also be toned down a bit It is just completely broken"

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Again this is a great insight! It appears that the special ability is way too powerful and needs a more central spawn location. I think I will place it in a central location - to entice more movement from the player!

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Prototype 2 - Char-Shoot-Arie

Ok so kinda combining two elements here. First the development and the playtest! So development, I decided to see my prototype through and have a focus on progression instead more than anything else. This was achieved through the player getting 100 points respectively by destroying the objects on screen. These included cracker variants, cabonosi and the olive. They each gave different points with relation to the difficulty they caused i.e. large crackers are worth 1 point because they are simple, slow and easy targets while the olive, chases the player causing the player to flee while shooting and is worth 5 points. Additionally if they player gets the olive to half health it speeds up - if the player gets hit by it before its destroyed, it will damage the player and result in no additional score.

The other flying objects also inflict damage to the player. To make this simpler for the player I gave them 25 hit points and again the different objects/enemies resulted in different amounts of health lost.

Aside from a graphical overhaul (was a bit rushed, could definitely use more work), the other element that can be seen are the different scenes. There are 3 levels in this demo plus a victory screen/death screen. I felt this was necessary to ensure the player was aware of a goal.

Now for the playtest... My playtester again was my girlfriend Holly. It should be noted that she went into the game with an understanding of the elevator pitch.

The following can be found from her time playtesting.

My takeaways from her playtest comments are: 1. Obviously make barriers! 2. Create a more consistent style graphically! 3. Clearer instructions!

Now from watching the playtest I found that it was not clear that the player was taking damage, let alone building a score. This is emphasised with the Olive! The Score and Lives need to have an audio cue to make the player aware, or possibly some text i.e. 5+ points when destroying a cracker. I also noted that the lack of control explanation and boundaries in the game is a bit of a problem. Someone can fly off the map, ruining the experience and they can be blissfully unaware when they get a power up with a time limit. This will need to be fixed!

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Prototype 2

The second project I will be making in IGB120 is a asteroid style game. This was difficult to come up with an idea...

Again it is a bit of a ridiculous concept but I again have leaned into the readings to have some inspiration and guidance.

My game this time will be more player-centric and ideally cater to all, regardless of skill level. I want this game to be more fun and cozy, have an emphasis on getting to the end rather than slogging through a difficult mechanic. This design will be catered to those who just want switch their brain off and relax.

Thus the design and style of the game will be the most important aspect of my game, which will revolve around a cute art style and relaxing music. For inspiration, I was trying to think of a goofy game - I kept going to Binding of Isaac, which was the wrong kind of goofy... So ultimately I cam up with this.

Title: Char-Shoot-Arie

Pitch: The game is a top down survival shooter game, where you are a sentient piece of cheese. Your goal is to be as inedible as possible while defending edible combinations of food that make you more likely to be eaten. You will let flies land on you to power you up, while avoiding and destroying pieces of crackers, jams, meats etc. As you progress you will move to larger and more complex charcuterie boards.

Controls: Move around with W,S,A,D. Shoot with left click, special attack with right click. Space to dodge roll.

Unique selling points: • Cozy/silly game style for easy engagement with both younger and older people. • Progression through levels, to more difficult and exciting challenges. • Quick and fun gameplay like ‘Binding of Isaac’.

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Platformer Postmortem

After having the playtesters play, there are definite attributes to improve upon when taking this game further.

The most glaring elements I see, are the lack of indication when it comes to the parry mechanic, the limitation regarding verticality and variety when taking the game further.

Thankfully, I have some ideas for how I will tackle these.

Firstly the parry mechanic indicator. I think this can be resolved with a background/subtle tells through heights of objects. I would not want to explicitly tell the player how and when to parry but if I can subconsciously tell them, I think that will be a great improvement. To add to this - I think an animation in the character for the window when the parry is actioned. That way again it teaches the player without expressly telling them.

Secondly verticality. I actually think this will be the hardest but the most rewarding update. My idea is to have the character be able to parry in 360 degrees. How will this be achieved? Well, the intent will be that the mouse will act as a directional tool while the player is in the air, and so they will be able to rotate the character and deflect in any direction. I think this will also assist in improving the movement system i.e. a well timed parry will direct the character.

Thirdly variety. I think this is best solved with the introduction of environmental effects. I am using swords and objects in the game will either be sharp or blunt or soft etc. This could have different effects for the player i.e. a soft object the player may cut through instead of parry and bounce away.

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Playtesting

After implementing my tutorial section, and some audio, I got two playtesters to play through the game.

One was a classmate (Gabe Falconieri) and the other my girlfriend (Holly Dorsett). Unfortunately due to how the playtesting was done, I was unable to review Gabes experience first hand, but based on his scores I would say he enjoyed his experience and came away with some great insights for me and how to develop my game further.

Gabe - Playtest

He easily understood the main mechanic of the game and enjoyed the concept as a whole. I agree that to improve elements of my game is probably the timing window of the parrying mechanic (this is also something I witnessed first hand with Hollys experience). Additionally I agree with the inclusion of some vertical hazards and potential for vertical mobility - I haven't yet figured out how to code this in. It is something Ideally would like to incorporate, similar to the game "Getting over it".

Holly - Playtest

Holly had a bit more difficulty with the game overall, and I did have to tweak the timing window for the parry mechanic. I think she still enjoyed the experience overall, but did have some trouble leaving personal bias at the door.

As per her comments, she understood all the mechanics as the tutorial was clear and concise. I did note that one of the text notes can be easily missed, so in future I will extend the timer so the player can read it for longer (in case they miss it).

I agree with her comments of elements to improve. It appears mainly to revolve around level design that revolves around the momentum gained by the parry mechanic. I again concur with her thoughts on overall aesthetics being overhauled and more story driven elements. I have ideas for how to incorporate the story beats and as per the "Game Design Workshop" book, have more dramatic elements to involve the player.

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Week 4/Post Cyclone

Ok so some bigger updates plus a minor play test in class which I intend to explore further with more playtests before going into huge detail.

Firstly I have read through chapters 3,4, & 5 of Game Design Workshop book. There is quiet a lot to touch on so I will try and make this as cohesive and concise as possible.

The larger elements I have covered in this update that is referenced by the book is the objective based game design. Providing clearer instructions to the player in regards to rules, systems and mechanics within the game. This is in the form of a tutorial section - enclosing the player in a space until they fulfill a certain amount of tasks. This is so they get a basic understanding of the game with the boundaries that are built into it i.e. movement, obstacles, enemies etc.

Regarding chapters 4 & 5, I feel like my game will come to explore these elements as the design progresses. Dramatic elements for example, I figure would best be told with character back story and the drive of their character.

As the game is a bit bare on that front, how I would like to show it thus far is the challenges presented, so the player can fill in the blanks. I.e. you are a knight that has swords for legs and no arms, yet he is crusading around as an adventurer. Where they take it from there is truly up to them.

Chapter 5 went more into system dynamics. This is an element I excited to work on further! At the moment, the changes in environment is purely from different obstacle variants and added complexity.

Eventually I would like to incorporate different materials that effect the character and alternative pathing for them to get from the start to the finish.

Something this project needs is audio to help with the dramatic elements and a background to provide a story to the character!

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Thoughts and experimentation

Just wanted to jot this down before the thought leaves. I have been considering the playability of my game, an item of note is that the parry window when falling onto the spikes feels somewhat unfair/hard to determine.

I have thought of two potential solutions:

have an animation play when space bar is pressed. this will be representative of a parry, when the connection to the spike happens a secondary animation plays to show a successful parry

having an indicator of when to hit parry (this can be removed later when players get a feel for the game). Say for example you can time it with a bacground texture.

I will probably have a combination of the two, so it feels fair to the player.

Additionally there is another element of the game which I think is unfair to the player, and as the textbook says - the player needs to come first - I do not need the game to be DOA...

when the player falls onto the spikes, it; firstly doesnt feel like the connection is there (there needs to be a minor bit of overlap), secondly if the player falls from higher up, the recoil needs to be relevant with the inclusion of gravity i.e. you fall 3 meters, you bounce back 2.5m. You fall 10m, you bounce back 9m. It needs to be relevant and not a fixed number as it currently is...

More to come as I continue tinkering in the background

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Updated mechanics

Ok so there are still a bunch of things wrong with the prototype, but I am still working through them. Otherwise I have made some updates:

it so the player can only press space once in the air, if they mistime it they will hit the spikes.

There is a new obstacle, it is positioned to shoot at the player and the player can parry off of them

The player must also time their parry/attacks to defeat enemies.

This will hopefully open up a bucnh of level design creative options. However the biggest difficulty I am facing at the moment is that the player can hold down space bar when over the spikes... Kinda defeats the purpose of timing anything.

Anyway that is a future problem to resolve, in general sense, majority of the game is functioning correctly, it just feels very 'proof of concept' phase.

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A character model

It has been about a week, and I been learning Aesprite to make a character model. It has been tough learning to animate, especially when your character does not have conventional moving methods. Having no arms and stiff legs made it difficult to convey the movement so I ultimately decided upon the inclusion of a cape as well as a feather in the helmet to give the appearance of moving clothes in the wind.

I also added an idle animation for when the character is still, it is subtle but I prefer characters doing something other than standing in a T-pose.

I additionally have added a swipe of the sword while in air, this will function so that when the character bounces off spikes, it will give the illusions that they are (for a lack of a better term) parrying.

I have been fiddling with the code so currently the jump mechanic is not working. Ideally I want it so that the player cannot hold the space bar, instead they need to rely on their own timing. This is a work in progress, so my next update will ideally fix that and will have some level design implemented.

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Minor update

Very minor thing but it took a while to resolve and I am still not even close to completely fixing the issue.

Unfortunatley I am finding this software limiting. It is not like Unity/C# where I can write out what I want to happen.

Anyway, I have managed to add force to my player so that when they hit the spikes while facing a direction, they will have to continue moving in that direction.

There are multiple problems with that I need to trouble shoot... one major one is the fact that if I angle the spikes (like I want to) it will not add more force. Not sure how to solve this yet...

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Work in progress/Prototyping

Minor update to yesterdays post. We have worked in Gdevelop for a basic platformer project. The IGB120 unit modules page provides some assets to give us a starting point, so we can create basic rules and layout of how we want our game to play.

As per the Game Design Workshop book, it recommends doing physical prototyping.Physical prototyping doesn't feel super applicable in this scenario, as it is just myself and not with a team of people to coordinate with. If I were to, I would mock up a basic level on paper and use a green army man, pretending he can platform around and 'parry' off the spikes. Ultimately though I will use the vices provided to me digitally to tweak the code, to see if it is possible to bring my prototype to life.

Instead I will do some digital prototyping. As my game is focused around player control and mechanics i.e. the ability to bounce of spikes with a well timed parry.

As can be seen by the video below, I have been able to have spikes be an obstacle to overcome, make it so the player can "bounce off them" with well timed jump/parry and also cause the player to restart if they miss time it.

Needs further tweaking:

amount of time for jumping off spikes

understanding what is in the foreground/background

restart screen

overhaul of the design

Music

Key element that needs to be added to the prototype is feedback to the player, I think this can be achieved with a visual component - as the Game Design Workshop book says, sometimes we can break the rule of worrying about visual components if it is to benefit the prototype.