IGB120 - Assignment 1 Blog

My name is Yixuan Tang, I'm a third year student of Computer Science with minor in Information of Things. I'm interested in game design and hope to have a nice experience in IGB120

[donnatang]

Assignment 3 Postmortem and Iterations

I did the event part for the Playtesting, our group did 9 playtesting and make notes about the users' actions when they playing the game.

Based on our 1.0 version, playtesting revealed both strengths and issues in the game. Players were confused about power-up functions and unclear game objectives, indicating a need for better guidance and UI cues. However, they found the gameplay challenging and engaging, with strong interest in the story and high replayability. While results suggest experienced players appreciated the narrative more, the small sample size limits broader conclusions. To improve, the game should clarify mechanics, enhance onboarding, and refine visual cues. Despite flaws, the game's strong core concept and narrative appeal provide a solid foundation for future development.

Playtesting of Game Version 1.1 shows improved clarity in game objectives and sustained strengths in challenge and story. However, players still struggle to understand power-up mechanics, all scoring them 3/5, indicating the need for clearer cues or tutorials. Objective clarity slightly improved, with most users rating it 4/5. Gameplay difficulty and narrative replayability remained well-received. Though the sample size was small, feedback suggests minor improvements were effective. Moving forward, the game should focus on better onboarding for new players and clearer communication of power-up functions to enhance the overall player experience.

[donnatang]

Assignment 3 – Playtesting Summary

For the playtesting of our Assignment 3 game, I invited two friends to try out the current version and provide feedback based on their gameplay experience. Overall, both players responded very positively to the game’s design and creative concept. They found the visual theme engaging and were particularly impressed by the highway setting combined with obstacles, which added a sense of tension and immersion during gameplay.

During the session, both players reported being quickly drawn into the experience. The intuitive controls made the game easy to pick up, and they were able to grasp the gameplay mechanics almost immediately. The one-enemy-car-at-a-time system was effective in maintaining focus and challenge without overwhelming new players. This simplicity in interaction allowed them to stay immersed in the gameplay flow.

However, one of the most notable pieces of feedback was a desire for increased variety and excitement in the form of additional obstacles. Players suggested that the experience could be even more thrilling if sudden surprises—such as wild animals or fast-moving hazards—were introduced. These elements could elevate the game’s intensity and make each round feel more unpredictable and exhilarating.

In terms of usability, there were no major issues encountered. Movement and collision detection worked smoothly, and the enemy car system functioned as intended. The players felt that the game was well-balanced and did not require a steep learning curve.

In conclusion, the playtesting session validated the core mechanics and confirmed that the game is both accessible and enjoyable. The feedback emphasized the strength of the current system while also inspiring ideas for future enhancements, such as dynamic obstacles or animated threats, to further enrich the player experience.

[donnatang]

Assignment3 Development Progress

As part of our group work for Assignment 3, I developed the logic for enemy car generation in the game. To improve gameplay clarity and user experience, apart from the original enemy car logic, I deployed to ensured that only one enemy car appears on the screen at a time. This avoids visual clutter and gives players enough time to react and avoid incoming traffic.

The system is controlled by a timer called TrafficTimer. A new enemy car is spawned only when the timer exceeds 0.35 seconds and there are no other enemy cars currently on the screen. This check ensures the game waits until the previous car has either exited the screen or been destroyed before creating the next one.

Each enemy car appears in a random lane. I used a variable called CarLane, which randomly picks a value from 1 to 4. Depending on the value, a corresponding car (Blue, Grey, Green, or Pink) is spawned in a predefined lane using stored X and Y positions. All enemy cars are added to a group called Traffic Group for easy management.

When the player’s car collides with an enemy car, an explosion is triggered at the collision point, and both cars are removed. The timer is then restarted to allow the next car to appear. Additionally, if the enemy car moves off-screen (Y-position ≥ 700), it is deleted automatically.

This system makes the game more structured, fair, and easier to play, as players only need to focus on avoiding one car at a time, enhancing both gameplay and performance.

[donnatang]

Assignment 2 Final Design

After completing Assignment 2, I now have a much clearer vision of my game Mythic Shards and how to communicate it effectively through professional design documentation. This puzzle-platformer revolves around mastering ancient shard powers to survive traps and uncover forgotten ruins. Designing the one-sheet and one-page documents helped me condense complex ideas into a visually engaging and development-ready format.

The one-sheet served as a pitch tool—highlighting the game’s core identity, target platform, genre, and three unique selling points. I focused on showcasing what sets Mythic Shards apart: mythical powers (like healing, reviving, freezing traps), skill-based survival, and strategic elemental switching. These features reflect the game’s high-stakes challenge and layered gameplay. Visuals of traps and shard icons were integrated to support the theme and tone.

The one-page served as a blueprint for actual development. I detailed trap interactions and shard powers using diagrams and callouts. For instance, each trap has clear player instructions (e.g., “Press ← to duck under bolts”), which helps future developers understand mechanics at a glance. I also refined the shard system to ensure each one added depth and utility, encouraging dynamic gameplay rather than linear puzzle-solving.

Through this process, I learned the importance of clear, focused communication—especially when translating ideas to visual and mechanical form. I also gained insight into iterative balancing, such as refining traps to be challenging but fair. The final design documents reflect not only the vision of Mythic Shards, but also a practical path forward for its future development.

[donnatang]

🧱 Assignment 2 Progress – Time Fragments

Over the course of Assignment 2, I iteratively developed and refined the core vision for my platformer game Time Fragments. Through three evolving versions of the one-sheet and one-page design documents, I focused on refining both gameplay clarity and presentation quality.

Version 1 focused on world-building and theme. I introduced the protagonist viewing ancient ruins with portals, setting up the game's mysterious tone and the idea of progressing through forgotten realms. However, it lacked gameplay clarity and interactive elements.

Version 2 and 3 shifted the focus toward gameplay systems. I introduced shard mechanics (time-based powers like gravity reversal, time freeze, and rewind) and trap types. Trap instructions were paired with key actions, helping illustrate how players would interact with the environment. These versions emphasized skill-based responses, such as dodging crossbow bolts or escaping poison gas.

By Version 5, the project rebranded into Mythic Shards, emphasizing beast-themed shard powers over time mechanics. This shift strengthened the fantasy theme and gameplay identity. Powers were redefined: healing, freezing traps, reviving after defeat, and weapon-swapping. Visuals were more cohesive, with clear callouts, ability icons, and refined trap interactions. These changes made the design more developer-friendly and aligned with puzzle-platformer expectations.

This design journey taught me how to iterate visually and narratively. Each version improved the clarity of mechanics, player objectives, and thematic consistency. The final documents now communicate both gameplay intent and player experience effectively, making them solid foundations for future development.

[donnatang]

Racing Post Mortem

For this workshop, I created a top-down infinite racer game using GDevelop. The player controls a car moving along a multi-lane highway, avoiding randomly spawned traffic while accumulating points. The project focused on smooth player control, responsive interaction, and a simple scoring system.

Lane-switching was implemented using left and right arrow keys, with added car rotation for visual feedback. Timers were used to control how often traffic cars appear, keeping the pacing steady. Each traffic car was spawned in a random lane using variables and arrays to define their positions, which kept the gameplay dynamic.

Object groups were used to manage traffic more efficiently, allowing all cars to be moved and deleted using shared rules. A collision between the player car and any traffic triggers an explosion animation and ends the game, providing clear visual feedback.

I also implemented a scoring system where 100 points are awarded each time a traffic car exits the screen. To enhance the visual experience, I added background trees that scroll to simulate movement, and the camera remains centered using screen expressions.

One challenge I faced was balancing spawn frequency and movement speed to keep the game fair yet engaging. Through testing, I adjusted timing and object cleanup to improve flow.

Overall, the project taught me valuable lessons in using timers, groups, and variables for gameplay logic. The result was a clean, playable prototype that can be further expanded with difficulty progression or power-ups.

[donnatang]

Fixed Elevator Pitch

Title: Mythic Shards

Mythic Shards is a 2D puzzle-platformer where players journey through ancient ruins, overcoming deadly traps and obstacles by collecting and mastering the powers of four mythical beast shards. Each shard grants a unique survival ability critical for progressing through the treacherous ruins.

The Genre

Adventure Puzzle-Platformer

Primary Mechanics or Mode of Gameplay

Shard Abilities:

Azure Dragon Shard: Restore 40% of maximum health before fatal defeat.

White Tiger Shard: Temporarily freeze mechanical traps to bypass them safely.

Vermilion Bird Shard: Automatically revive upon death, restoring 20% health.

Black Tortoise Shard: Swap between defensive weapons (swords, shields, spears) to block or counter incoming hazards.

Survival and Exploration: Players must skillfully use these shard abilities to avoid death, solve environmental challenges, and survive increasingly dangerous ruins.

Setting/Style

The world is built around ancient, decaying ruins where remnants of once-great civilizations are hidden beneath layers of danger. The art style blends mythical fantasy with light, hand-painted textures, evoking a mysterious and grandiose atmosphere.

Audience or Demographics

Designed for casual to mid-core gamers who enjoy strategic platforming challenges, survival puzzles, and mythological themes. Especially appeals to players who enjoy combining character abilities creatively to overcome obstacles and uncover ancient secrets.

[donnatang]

Playtesting of Racing Game

After finishing the Racing Game design, I also asked Tamsyn and Nathan to play around the game and did the playtesting.

[donnatang]

Racing Development

For this workshop, I developed a top-down infinite racer game using GDevelop. The player controls a car driving along a multi-lane highway, avoiding randomly spawned traffic while accumulating points.

I implemented smooth lane-switching using left/right key presses and added slight car rotation for visual feedback. Top-down movement behavior provided acceleration, while timers controlled the regular spawning of traffic cars.

To manage car spawning, I used scene variables and arrays to define lane positions. Traffic cars were grouped using object groups for streamlined movement and control.

A collision with traffic triggers an explosion animation and removes both the player car and the traffic object, ending the game. I also added a scoring system—each time a traffic car exits the screen, 100 points are added, and the car is deleted to save memory.

To enhance the environment, scrolling trees simulate background motion. The camera remains centred using screen width expressions, and player movement is restricted within road boundaries using force-based conditions.

[donnatang]

Racing Elevator Pitch

Name and Brief Description: Racer is a fast-paced, infinite highway driving game where players dodge incoming traffic to survive as long as possible and rack up points. It combines simple controls with increasing difficulty to keep players engaged.

Genre: Arcade-style Top-Down Endless Racer

Primary Mechanics or Mode of Gameplay: Players control a car using left and right arrow keys to switch lanes, avoiding randomly spawning traffic. The game includes smooth movement, car rotation, collision-based game over, and a score system based on survival.

Setting/Style: A modern highway scene with scrolling background trees, multiple vehicle types, and a top-down camera perspective. The visuals are clean and minimalist, suitable for arcade gameplay.

Audience or Demographics: Designed for casual gamers of all ages who enjoy quick reflex challenges, simple controls, and endless-style games. Ideal for mobile or web-based platforms.

[donnatang]

Asteroids Post Mortem

🚀 Asteroids Game – Postmortem

This week, I recreated an Asteroids-style shooter using GDevelop. The game features a controllable spaceship, bullet firing toward the mouse, asteroid spawning, and a life tracking system.

✅ What Went Well

Implemented smooth shooting mechanics and bullet direction control.

Used timers to spawn asteroids of different sizes with random movement.

Added working collision detection between bullets, asteroids, and the player.

Set up a basic life system and a “Game Over” screen when lives hit zero.

⚠️ Improvements Needed

No visual or sound effects on collision—adding them would improve feedback.

Difficulty stays constant; progressive scaling would keep it engaging.

The game lacks score tracking or any reward system.

🔧 Next Steps

Add explosion effects and sound.

Implement score display and increasing difficulty.

Improve UI and polish gameplay balance.

[donnatang]

Asteroids Development

For this week's workshop, I followed the guided tutorial to recreate a functional Asteroids-style space shooter using GDevelop. The process involved implementing core gameplay mechanics, customising object interactions, and polishing the user experience.

Gameplay Scene Setup:

Event Sheet Logic:

Live Game with Asteroids and Life Display:

Game Over:

[donnatang]

Elevator Pitch – Asteroid

Name and Brief Description: Asteroid Blitz is a modern take on the classic Asteroids game. Players control a spaceship navigating deep space, tasked with destroying incoming asteroids while avoiding collisions. With fast-paced action and responsive controls, the game challenges players’ accuracy, timing, and survival instincts.

Genre: Arcade-style Top-Down Space Shooter

Primary Mechanics or Mode of Gameplay: The spaceship rotates to face the mouse cursor, allowing precise aiming. Players shoot bullets from a designated cannon point, with fire-rate limited by a cooldown timer. Asteroids of various sizes spawn randomly and move in unpredictable directions. Collisions with asteroids reduce player lives, and the game ends when all lives are lost.

Setting/Style: Set in outer space, the game features a minimal, dark backdrop to emphasize movement and visibility. The visual style is inspired by retro arcade games, enhanced with simple animations like explosions and asteroid variations for visual diversity.

Audience or Demographics: Targeted at casual and nostalgic gamers who enjoy quick, skill-based challenges. It also appeals to students and hobbyists exploring classic mechanics in game design. The simple controls and engaging gameplay make it suitable for all age groups.

[donnatang]

Week 5

This week 5 lecture revealed key insights about GDevelop’s strengths and limitations for game development. I learned that it’s ideal for small-scale, 2D projects like platformers or puzzles but struggles with complex genres (RPGs, FPS). The emphasis on iterative design stood out—focusing on a core mechanic (e.g., randomized attacks using variables) and refining it through playtesting is more effective than overambitious scopes.

Technically, I discovered three variable types:

Object variables (e.g., enemy health),

Scene/global variables (e.g., score),

Arrays (for dynamic lists like difficulty settings).

The lecture also covered clever 2D tricks, like parallax scrolling for depth and isometric faux-3D using layered sprites. For combat, hitbox/hurtbox systems ensure responsive melee mechanics, while Physics 2.0 (experimental) allows tweaking friction, bounce, and gravity.

A key takeaway was design discipline: use GDevelop’s simplicity to prototype quickly, but transition to engines like Unity/Unreal for advanced projects. The lecture’s examples—like randomizing attack animations or camera-follow systems—showed how small details elevate gameplay without complex code.

[donnatang]

Platformer Postmortem

🕹️ Platformer Development – Postmortem

This week, I developed a basic platformer game using GDevelop. I implemented keyboard controls, platforms, enemies, and core mechanics like jumping, walking, and collisions. Using the Event Editor, I learned how to trigger animations (Jump, Walk, Idle) and set up enemy movement logic with direction flipping and collision handling.

✅ What Went Well

Built a functioning game loop with player movement and enemy interaction.

Applied conditions and events effectively to manage animations and collisions.

Learned to manipulate game logic visually without coding.

Integrated responsive sprite behaviors such as enemy flipping and animation changes.

⚠️ What Could Be Improved

Enemy movement is too basic—only flipping direction at borders. It could be enhanced with more dynamic behaviour.

Collision consequences feel abrupt; visual/audio feedback would improve the experience.

Platform layout is simple. Adding power-ups, hazards, or moving platforms would make gameplay more engaging.

[donnatang]

Platformer Development

This week I developed a start up game using key board to control, I learnt how to add the platform, edit the player, have the enemy to obstruct the player. In the Event editor, I learnt to add conditions and events to manipulate the underlying logic and rule setting of the game. This is a pretty good experience and I prepare to add more conditions and event to make the game better and more fun.

[donnatang]

Platformer Game: Elevator Pitch

TITLE: Time Fragments

Name & Brief Description: Time Fragments is a 2D puzzle-platformer where players navigate a time-warped world, collecting mythical beast shards to unlock the secrets of an ancient civilization.

Genre: Adventure

Primary Mechanics:

Time Manipulation – Slow down, freeze, or reverse time to solve puzzles and navigate obstacles.

Shard Abilities – Unlock and use four Mythic Beast powers, like gravity control and time echoes.

Exploration & Progression – Collect all shards to reveal the final treasure map and enter the ultimate challenge.

Setting/Style: A visually mystical and ancient ruin-inspired world where different areas exist in distorted time zones (frozen cities, collapsing temples, reversed gravity zones). The art style blends fantasy with soft pixel or hand-painted aesthetics.

Audience/Demographic: Casual to mid-core gamers who enjoy puzzle-solving, time manipulation mechanics, and exploration. Ideal for players who appreciate strategic thinking and adventure-driven gameplay, with a focus on unique time-based challenges.