GDevelop - Asteroid Development #1
The goal of the Asteroid game I'm working on is to capture the essence of the classic 'Space Invaders' game from the 1970s. While it shares similarities with Space Invaders, such as dodging meteorites, shooting down enemy spacecraft, and dealing with obstacles, it brings a fresh twist to the nostalgic gaming experience.
Here's how my asteroid game is coming along:
The introduction to my game is designed with subtle animations to build excitement and give players a taste of what the game is all about before they even start playing.
In the intro, we've set up a few key elements:
A catchy intro theme song to set the mood.
An animation of the player ship entering the frame, adds a dynamic touch.
Floating animations of the game title and descriptive text to grab attention.
Meteorites spawn in the background, giving players a taste of the game's main challenge.
Pressing any key will propel the player ship forward into the portal, seamlessly transitioning into the game scene.
This is what the event sheet for the intro scene looked like:
The game scene follows the typical setup of a space shooter game. It features straightforward movement mechanics, and the objective is to destroy as many enemies and meteorites as possible before running out of life.
Each bullet does a total of 10 damage and every kind of object has its own health point. Here is a breakdown of all the health of the objects:
Grey Meteorite: Unbreakable
Here is a breakdown of all the scores obtainable after destroying it
Brown Meteorite: 10 points
Grey Meteorite: Unbreakable
Here's the list of events required to make this game scene possible:
Border Limits: to prevent players from going out of the camera frame
Player: Controls and Bullet
Spawns: Meteorites and Enemies spawn
Collision: Including points system
Health: How much damage the player will take upon collision of the meteorite or enemies
Game Over: Transition to game over scene when health reaches 0
The 'Game Over' scene mirrors the intro scene, with the "Game Over" text transitioning into the center of the frame. Additionally, instructions prompt the player to return to the main menu if they wish to restart the game.
After being defeated, a themed song plays, setting the tone for the moment. Meanwhile, meteorites continue to spawn in the background, encouraging players to come back and destroy them. Players can press the 'Space' key to return to the main menu and try again.
In summary, I believe there's ample room for improvement in my game, and my plan is to bring it to the workshop and have my classmates playtest it. Their feedback will be invaluable in making necessary changes. As emphasized in the Game Design Workshop readings, creating a game without player feedback is futile, as the ultimate goal is to create a game that players will enjoy. This has inspired me to share my game with my friends and classmates to gather insights and continue refining it based on their preferences (Fullerton, 2018).
Fullerton, T. (2018). Game design workshop : A playcentric approach to creating innovative games, fourth edition. CRC Press LLC.