Beta

I am now almost finished my game. I have a few bugs I want to fix and maybe add a few more improvements however I am very happy with how my game has progressed and what I have finished with. I am aware it is not the best game with a lot of detail however I think for a first game I did quite well.

As a recap, and a massive update from my initial plan from the start of the year, my game is a first player puzzle game. You have a light torch, a timer and collectable counter. As the timer ticks you must find your way around the four areas of the terrain and collect as many gems as you can. There are no enemies, only a countdown. 

Some new things I have included are the torch (as suggested from feedback! thank you!) and a fog around the area. 

I am quite happy with my game output and I hope that you all enjoy playing it. It has been difficult trying to make this game however I am very happy to be finished and am quite pleased with the outcome of the game even though it did not follow the initial plan fully. 

DeadSky by B00117691.

Alpha

I am currently doing quite well in completing my game. I have added all the assets I wanted and have styled the game to fit my chosen aesthetic. However I have come across some difficulties. While the game itself works perfectly and the terrain is set as planned - the gem scoring system is not working. I found a great tutorial on how to create a scoring system - this tutorial - however no matter what I did the system simply did not work.

I now have added a main menu screen, am creating my "Game Over" screen and have changed and finished my terrain. The area is now complete and fenced off. It is ready to play!

Current Terrain.

Game Over Screen.

I am now almost finished my game, however I have yet to add a countdown timer, add the end screen and add some music to my game. So far I think I am doing well aside from the bug for the scoreboard however I am determined to make it work!

First Playable

So far I am making good progress with my game. I have finished the forest area of my game which included several collectable gems that make a sound, rotate and disappear when walked over. I have finished the fenced off area in my game which include the same gems but in another color. So far my game is going according to my initial plan and I'm happy with how it's coming along.

Forest Area and Fenced Area.

I have also included a first person playable character. They begin the game in the middle of the four areas and choose themselves where to go first. Each of the four open areas has a gem placed in front of the entrance so the player can choose which path they wish to take. 

A difficulty I have found while designing this is the terrain size. As I did not make the terrain smaller when first creating the atmosphere it is now quite big. While editing I found it is difficult to place objects and create the surroundings with such a massive terrain. However, to solve this problem I have created a smaller terrain and fenced off the area that goes beyond where I want the player to go.

By doing so I have made the area smaller so the player won't get lost and will be able to walk around the area and explore more rather than have a big area of basic assets. I plan to finish the boulder and mountain area and then start on the timer as well as make a start on the night version.

Prototype

This week I have started to begin designing my prototype game. Following my GDD, I have started creating the terrain. Using Adobe XD I have created a map that somewhat represents what I hope to create. However, I am not entirely sure it will come out the exact same as my wireframe.

(G) Represents Gems around World.

I have begun with building a forest. This was not mentioned in my GDD but due to complications in trying to make a lake I have replaced it with a forest. I have been struggling to create a lake in my game because of the height of the terrain. I googled and searched videos however I was unsuccessful in making it work. In my forest I have included a blood red grass and several gems in the colour #62CDC1. I have created two paths - one having many gems in the road and one path with only a single gem. The player must choose which path they want to go through.

Forest Area with Hidden Gems.

So far I have found creating the trees, grass and gems very easy! On the downside, the game takes a lot of time and patience to make as my laptop becomes slow once more and more content is added to the game. I have added a 'Ding' sound to my gems, using audio from Jimmy Vegas' videos. 

I am meeting my targets by following the tutorials supplied by Jimmy Vegas. They have been simple tutorials yet they include all things I want in my game. I have come across some difficulties however in this moment in time my game is coming along quite well. I have added a first person character to my game also. Following my wireframe of my game I believe it will come to be something very similar, if not the same. I am quite disappointed in not being able to create my lake but I have found things to replace it!

I am also currently working on a logo for the game as well as graphics for the main menu and game over screen. I have been unsuccessful in finding music I thought suit the game however once I finish my game I'll have a better feel for what I would like. I think in this current moment it is difficult to find music as I am not sure how the game will turn out, by choosing music in the end I can adjust it carefully to match the atmosphere of the game.

I hope to create the mountains and fences/stone walls by next week and maybe some more things if I am able. I am unsure about adding a house to my game as I am afraid it will consume too much time, but if I have time I would really like to add it to the gameplay. Once I am finished with designing my terrain to how I want it to look I will work on adding a countdown timer and gem counter to the game. So far I am content with how my game is coming along and I feel confident in my idea and progress so far.

Game Design Document

Thoughts and Ideas:

I am quite confident in my game so far. I have decided to remove the 'enemies attacking' aspect from the game as I have begun to make my game and the enemies do not fit well. However I still believe I have a good idea on the game itself. It will stay a first person game however now it will not includes enemies only a timer.

Here is my link to my GDD which includes more details about my game.

I am still working on some details for the game but they are minor details such as the home screen graphics, end screen graphics and music. As mentioned in my GDD, I have a simple idea for the opening home screen. I am not fully set on this idea but I do want to keep it simple and include some low, eerie music in the background along with a ticking sound.

Opening Screen Idea. (Source)

Game Vision Statement

Introduction: DeadSky is a first person game in which you must collect all hidden items while defeating enemies, but don't run out of time or you start from scratch! It is a PC game designed using Unity that appeals to all audiences above the age of 16. It is a face-paced puzzle game.

Description: You land in an unknown area with timing slowly ticking away. As you race through the unknown world in search of hidden items you are faced with a dilemma - you are being attacked. You must face the enemies and continue on your quest to find each item but there's another catch... If you fail to do so it's back to square one. Collect all items and you pass, be killed by an enemy and it's back to the beginning or run out of time and game over. Be careful on how you play.

Key Features:

• First person game.
• Exploration.
• Timed gameplay.

Genre: The game is a first person survival puzzle game. The game focuses on a timed countdown, defeating enemies and collecting all items while exploring the gameplay world.

Resources Required: Some resources that would be required are: tutorials on creating this specific gameplay, textures for the world and characters/enemies. All these can be obtained and/or made! Resources that will need to be made are the objects in the game which the player needs to collect, the surrounding landscape and any walls/ponds that will hide the objects, enemies the player must defeat, and the character which the player is currently playing with.

Target Market: This game is targeted towards players who enjoying puzzles, exploration and fast paced games. It is only for players 16+ dues to the violence contained in the game.

Gameplay: The gameplay will be fast-paced as the player will be faced with a timer and obstacles throughout the gameplay. The player must explore all areas of the generated world in order to obtain the items in the world before the timer has run out. While doing so they will be faced with enemies that they will have to defeat in order to continue playing the game and finding items.

Gameplay Idea. (Source)

Links:

• Survival Shooter Tutorial
• Collecting Objects Tutorial
• Landscape Tutorial 1 / 2

Game Idea Research

Super Mario 3D Land (Source)

Based off my research from the last project post, I would like to stick to basing my game off Super Mario Bros but in 3D, like Super Mario Bros 3D Land. As we are making 3D based games I believe making something simple yet exciting could be very interesting.

The player structure I would use is solitaire. Some ideas I have for the game include:

1. A race, instant death and collecting items - The player would be in a race with time. A simple countdown will begin and the player must run and find hidden objects around the area. If the player fails to collect all items there is instant death and the player is brought back to the beginning of the game.
2. Hidden items and timed race - The player must search the area and find items that are hidden. Once an item is found, time will be added to the countdown until all items are found. If all are not found the player dies and the game repeats.
3. Enemies attack and collecting items - The player is walking around in order to find items hidden around while enemies are appearing and attacking the player.

Although these ideas are more or less similar in order to make the game most enjoyable I need to combine these ideas and create something that will include all these ideas such as: A timed race to find items while killing enemies. This may be difficult to code but I believe it could be a simple game that will be enjoyed. For this game, I hope to use graphics that are more on the 'bad' side.

'Bad' Video Game Graphics (Source)

I would like to focus more on the gameplay of the game and by using this 'bad' style of graphics I believe it will give my game a 'funny' style which will make it more enjoyable to play because you will be laughing at the not so amazing graphics while being entertained by the game itself. 

Winner! (Source)

Game Brainstorm

Game One.

Undertale is a game that interests me because it doesn’t have any complicated graphics that make you lost. The game is played in a top-down perspective, a style I’m interested in using for my own game. I would like to design a game like this as I like the freedom you are given. You are able to walk and explore the areas, talk to different ‘monsters’ and are able to make the choices you want. It makes the game more interesting to play because you believe you have freedom when there are certain rules in place limiting choices (even though you believe otherwise). I would like to learn how to create a role-playing game similar to this. I like the graphics and the storyline. It is simple and easy to play which is something I like in games, but it’s not to everyone’s taste. On the website we learn more about the game itself and how to play. The game itself, and even the website about page, are filled with witty comments rather than serious dialogue making the game far more enjoyable than a serious role-play game. If I choose to create something similar to this game, I would prefer to make a different plot, maybe even less dialogue more gameplay, but keep the style of the game somewhat similar. The simple 2-D graphics, easy characters and a gripping storyline. I would like to try and attempt making my very own top-down game. There are quite a few videos on making a 2-D role-play game on YouTube and after some searching, I found Brackeys (YouTube) to be the most liked and best YouTuber for these tutorial videos. And here is another set of useful playlist filled with tutorials. I believe these will be extremely beneficial to me when creating my own game as they are tutorials on how to create a game similar to Undertale.

Undertale Character. (Source)

Game Two: 

Another game that is to my liking is Animal Crossing. Although it is played on Nintendo, the idea of creating a game similar to this but on PC/Mac is very appealing. The game itself is simple and very easy to learn to play. I prefer games like this as I’ve never been a fan of violent war games etc. This is a game I am able to play freely with no rush and it’s a game that helps me relax.The gameplay is open-ended. Players have no defined objectives, but are instead encouraged to spend their time in the village performing any number of activities, which include collecting items, planting plants or other items, and socializing with the village's residents. There is a high level of customization available in the game, some of which may affect the outcome of the game itself. This is something I’d like to learn – how to add levels of customization into my game. I would also like to make a game that is open-ended, much like Animal Crossing. This tutorial is very helpful in showing how to create a game as close to Animal Crossing as possible. The pixel art may be more like Undertale nevertheless the idea of the game itself is similar to both. This blog post is helpful when learning how to use unity in order to create the retro-8-bits game, I imagine I will be using this post a lot when learning how to set unity for the game. Along with these tutorials and blog posts another post that is helpful is this post, as it will help to create the pixel art into better quality. Although quite similar to Undertale, this would be a far more advanced pixel game rather than like Undertale which is very pixelated. 

Animal Crossing Gameplay. (Source)

Game Three:

A genre of game I have an interest in is Platform games (or platformers), much like Super Mario Bros or Donkey Kong. In a platformer, the player controls the character who must jump and climb between suspended platforms avoiding obstacles. Unlike the two games above this would be more action than role-play. Platform games are frequently classified as a sub-genre of action games. When researching idea's for platform games I found out that a Single Screen Platformers would be the best type of game play to try and create. I learnt more about "What is a Platform Game?" from this blog post and decided on trying to create a Single Screen Platformers game, much like in Donkey Kong. By using this platformer I have the advantage to choose whether or not I wish to have a new screen or the same screen once a level is passed. This is a great advantage as you have control over what you want done. This can also be easier if you are stressed about using Unity and have only completed one scene, giving you the advantage to keep one screen and develop the game itself more than a new scene each level. Brackeys again has many useful videos, such as this one, in helping you create games similar to Super Mario Bros or Donkey Kong. I am a big fan of this idea and being able to combine retro-8-bits into this Single Screen Platformers is an appealing idea.

Super Mario Bros Home Screen. (Source)

Game Four:

Lastly, I would be interested in creating a Life Simulation game much like Sims. Even though this is a far more difficult game design it is something I find intriguing. My bigger interest is towards RPG nevertheless I do still adore playing life simulation games. The games in the Sims series are largely sandbox games, in that they lack any defines goals giving you free will to do as you please. You can create, destroy and build as you wish. Upon trying to find tutorials on how to create such games, the only results I obtained were all paid courses in making life simulation games. It was incredibly difficult to learn how to make such games without having to pay and take online courses and unlock paid tutorials. This made me lose interest in the idea of making a life simulation game as I would like to learn for free, rather than pay for courses and find them useless and uninformative. Life simulation games prove to be problematic as it requires more time and effort to create storylines, characters, scenery and such. Provided you have the time this would be fascinating to create. Another advantage to creating such games would be the customisable context you are able to add and subtract in the game when designing. With no end to the game and the endless possibilities, the game design almost seems impossible to make in the short spam of time we have during this module and therefore it is not an idea I will likely go forth with. Needless to say, I will continue to play and enjoy the Sims as a game itself but I am not appealed to the idea of creating a game like this myself!

Free will being used to construct an obscure house in Sims gameplay. (Source)