The IGB120 Experience

[kamorulz]

Crimson Reckoning Postmortem & GG!

And just like that, the semester is over, and the final version of Crimson Reckoning is complete.

Our team, PaperFrame Studios, combined four distinct skill sets to create a dark fantasy platformer influenced by Soulslike games. We spent the last few weeks designing wave-based combat, creating enemy AI, balancing player mobility, implementing perks, and even adding a full boss battle. It's been tough, challenging, and incredibly rewarding.

Throughout the project, my primary responsibilities were mechanics and narrative integration. I helped develop player mobility, collaborated closely with George on combat systems, and contributed to worldbuilding and narrative, all of which helped form the game's dismal tone. I also assisted in playtesting sessions and helped apply suggestions to improve clarity and tempo.

Looking back, our greatest success was our ability to respond to playtester input. Each session showed difficulties we hadn't considered: unfair adversary spawning, ambiguous UI, and small attack windows. We didn't see this feedback as criticism; instead, we regarded it as motivation to iterate. As Fullerton explains in Game Design Workshop, building games is constantly chasing delight through iterative playtesting and improvement cycles. During that process, our game genuinely evolved.

One of the final important changes was to improve the boss fight with Dwayne the Golem. Originally, it lacked visual feedback and attack cues, but after some tweaking, it now feels like a fitting challenge with weight, pattern recognition, and potential for player creativity. We also improved the perk system, provided audio cues, and ensured that dying didn't seem like a failure, it was simply part of the process.

If we had more time, we'd look at a comprehensive progression system, several venues, and advanced combat systems such as parrying or special attacks. Still, I'm proud of what we managed to create in such a short period of time: a responsive, evocative, and challenging prototype. It taught me not just how to create a game, but also how to operate as part of a team with changing objectives.

Overall, I've learnt that game development requires iteration, communication, and clarity. The best ideas do not necessarily come from a single individual; rather, they develop when everyone participates, tests, and adapts. I've also discovered that even with simple tools like GDevelop, you can express a great deal of creativity if your systems are focused and well-defined.

This is GG for Crimson Reckoning, but I'd like to continue working on it after the course maybe even turn it into a complete release eventually. For the time being, however, we have made it through the waves, defeated the golem, and crossed the finish line!

[kamorulz]

Iteration & Refinement in Crimson Reckoning

Following multiple playtesting iterations, this week was all about refinement and iteration. Our team at PaperFrame Studios worked to enhance the flow, readability, and feel of our dark fantasy platformer, Crimson Reckoning, based on user input. We made adjustments that affected clarity and playability, reaffirming that iteration is about improving the user experience rather than merely resolving issues.

Refining adversary pace was the biggest improvement. In previous iterations, the player would be overpowered by enemies that appeared all at once. We made the adjustment to a staggered spawn system so that players have time to prepare. Feedback stating that the game seemed unduly harsh rather than challenging directly influenced this adjustment. Combat now feels stressful yet doable, which is precisely the kind of experience we want in a structure similar to Souls.

Mobility was another topic we covered. In order to improve vertical movement, we rebalanced the air dash and added fall-through platforms after our testers complained that the platforms felt constricting. A glitch that allowed the player to dash into projectiles without understanding why they were hit has been repaired, and the dash function now has more distinct aural and visual indications.

Another key concern was combat clarity. Early playtests showed that it was difficult to read enemy hit reactions and that the attack range was too short. To increase the impact of each strike, we added a minor knockback effect, made hit flash animations, and significantly increased the melee range. The combat felt more satisfying and snappier because to these delicate polish layers.

On the basis of recommendations, we additionally enhanced UI components. Players now receive better feedback on their choices thanks to the perk system implemented following Wave 3. To make the selection feel like a genuine moment of pleasure, we included acoustic cues, icon modifications, and hover text. To make the system more interesting, we're even testing animated perk cards.

The concepts discussed in Chapter 5 of Game Design Workshop (Fullerton) are reflected in all of these improvements, particularly the significance of playcentric design and quick feedback loops. By iterating with actual players, we were able to find emotional issues as well as technical ones, areas where the game didn't feel clear, enjoyable, or equitable.

We are concentrating on fixing the remaining problems as we approach the last week: the camera needs to be smoothed out more, the boss behaviour is being improved, and some enemies still become stuck. Crimson Reckoning is in a much stronger position overall, though, and it's amazing to see how far it's come.

[kamorulz]

Crimson Reckoning Development & Playtesting

Our team's Souls-like platformer, Crimson Reckoning, saw significant development this week. The majority of the essential systems- enemy kinds, player movement, dashing, health drops, a boss fight, and a post-wave upgrade system - have been built by the time we reach the playable prototype level. I believe we've established a solid basis by capturing a sense of suspense, skill-based fighting, and challenge.

The prototype has a wave-based arena with a variety of adversary types, including tanks, elevated wizards that hurl fireballs, melee fighters, and archers. The player has the ability to dash, hop between platforms, and fight with a sword. Before facing the boss, Dwayne the Golem, a massive monster with rock-slam strikes and projectile throws, the player chooses one of two randomly selected rewards after defeating an entire wave. The mood and intensity of the boss fight are beginning to gel, even if it is still a work in progress.

Over the course of three rounds, we managed playtesting with six users in shifts. During tests, I was responsible for communicating and helping to create player mechanics. The comments were really helpful. Although players found the challenge and graphics enjoyable, they quickly identified a number of important problems:

Because platforms prevented fall-through, projectiles were inevitable and movement was restricted.

The player was immediately overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of every enemy.

In early builds, archers lacked attack animations, while mages were unkillable.

Dashing required more lucid audio and visual clues.

The attack feedback (hit impact) was difficult to discern, and the melee range was too short.

Throughout the iterations, we addressed these. The testers adored the fall-through platforms, health drop mechanics, staggered monster spawn system, and air dash that we included. Players reported that it provided them with additional options to handle enemy pressure and resolved many of their platforming annoyances. Additionally, we added flash effects, enhanced enemy hit feedback, and began experimenting with concepts like attack chaining, parries, and wall-jumping.

The way that player feedback shaped polish was one very noteworthy aspect. Every time we cycled through playtesting, our game got better, which is consistent with Chapter 5 of Fullerton's Game Design Workshop, which talks about iteration and the importance of early feedback. Playtesters encouraged us to improve not only balance but also clarity by making the user interface easier to understand, the auditory cues stronger, and the goals more obvious.

There is still a long way to go. Pacing, boss behaviour, enemy collision, and user interface readability still want improvement. However, one of the most satisfying aspects of this endeavour has been witnessing players become irritated, adjust, and begin to appreciate the rhythm of battle.

[kamorulz]

Assignment 3 Group Formation

Assignment 3, our group project, officially began this week, and I teamed up with Cal, Krrish, and George to create PaperFrame Studios. We chose to explore George's idea - a gloomy, Souls-inspired platformer called Crimson Reckoning - after evaluating each of our earlier prototypes.

The player must battle through incessant waves of opponents and difficult bosses in this game, which takes place in a cursed Colosseum. Players gain upgrades that improve their fighting skills in between fights. Titles like Dark Souls, Blasphemous, and Salt and Sanctuary obviously influenced the gruesome and nasty ambience, which is exactly what I enjoy.

My main contributions to the team are in the areas of lore and game mechanics. In addition to developing attacks and adversary behaviour and incorporating story elements into the universe, I'll be assisting in honing the mobility and fighting feel. When necessary, I'm also helping with asset production, particularly to complement Krrish's level layout effort and George's enemy design vision.

Strong team roles have already been established:

In his capacity as project manager, George is concentrating on AI, user interface design, and the general tone of the story.

Krrish is in charge of sound implementation, Level Design, and basic mechanics.

Cal is helping with overall visual polish while working on environmental and user interface art.

George's One Page

Collaboration has been excellent thus far. We have decided to use Discord for cooperation and Github for file syncing. All of us have a strong interest in the genre and are eager to realise a high-polish prototype. We'll start locking in important gameplay loops and starting our first comprehensive round of internal playtesting next week.

[kamorulz]

Racer Postmortem

This week was the last week of work on Turbo Drift, my arcade racing prototype. This project's objective was to use GDevelop to top-downly reproduce the tight, high-stakes atmosphere of vintage arcade racers, such as OutRun and Micro Machines. Driving forward indefinitely, dodging traffic that appeared at random, and earning points for each vehicle you passed made up the basic loop.

I'm pleased with how the fundamental mechanics came together overall. After some fine-tuning, the automobile movement utilising GDevelop's Top-Down Behaviour felt responsive. I changed the turn speed, acceleration, and friction to enable rapid dodging and controlled drifting. The player must react fast because of the dynamic spacing created by the traffic automobiles that periodically spawn in random lanes and scroll downhill. The player's score rises with each car they pass, and the run ends when they collide and a crash sequence appears.

The Z-ordering mechanism, which guarantees appropriate layering between player and enemy vehicles, was one component of which I was really proud. In order to make the game more like a full arcade experience, I also added a score HUD and a powerup prototype (speed boost). I created a sense of mobility visually by using natural elements like sidewalks, trees, and cones. The game felt more alive thanks to these, a moving background, and a centred camera.

But there were difficulties with the project. It was difficult to balance traffic; occasionally the player had too much room, and other times not enough. I stopped short of including many powerups or a difficulty curve. Additionally, I did not include a leaderboard, restart loop, or entire start screen, which would have added structure to the game. Furthermore, player input on how to "recover" was lacking and impacts were a little harsh; these issues might be resolved with improved screen shake, sounds, and perhaps a last-second dodge mechanism.

One thing I learned from this project has a clear connection to Tracy Fullerton's Game Design Workshop Chapter 2, which examines the idea of meaningful play. According to Fullerton, meaningful play consists of both integrated consequences (those outcomes matter in the context of the game) and observable feedback (the player sees the impact of their action). By requiring frequent micro-decisions, such as whether to dodge left or right, Turbo Drift promotes this. Should I play it safe or go after that powerup? Every decision has a noticeable impact on survival and score, strengthening the close feedback loop. Despite its simplicity, the method produces tension, flow, and satisfaction - all characteristics of meaningful play as described in the text.

If I revisit this game in the future, I’d like to add AI competitors, weather conditions, and an actual finish line system for lap-based gameplay. But as it stands, Turbo Drift helped me understand how responsive mechanics and risk-reward loops form the backbone of an engaging arcade experience.

[kamorulz]

Racer Development

I kept working on Turbo Drift, my prototype arcade racer with a retro feel, this week. I completed the main loop, which involves the player automobile navigating a scrolling highway while avoiding randomly generating traffic cars using WASD or arrow key controls. The player receives a point each time a car is successfully past. The run finishes and a crash animation plays if they collide.

I included a powerup system with a speed boost as the first feature. Powerups appear at random and provide the player a momentary speed boost when they are gathered. This increased the level of danger and decision-making: should you stay in your lane and avoid chasing a powerup? In order to maintain consistent and understandable images during fast gaming, I additionally adjusted the camera, score counter, and Z-ordering. All things considered, the game appears to be a brief, replayable arcade experience with room for improvement in the form of sound effects, music, and a main menu.

[kamorulz]

Assignment 2 Progress

This week, I concentrated on creating the one-sheet pitch and one-page game design document for my dark fantasy platformer, Advent of the Fell God, as part of Assignment 2. The player takes control of an anonymous vagrant travelling across a destroyed planet plagued by heavenly relics in this side-scrolling, stamina-based Metroidvania game. The concept, which combines exploration and mythology with precise melee combat, is heavily influenced by games like Dark Souls, Blasphemous, and Hollow Knight.

Key information such as the game's genre, tone, platform, unique selling factors, and visual mockups were included in the one-sheet, which was made as a pitch document in the style of a promotional campaign. The game is a tough but fair experience where players maintain stamina, traverse perilous ruins, and battle a variety of monsters like skeletons, paladins, and demons. I wanted to convey the game's aesthetic and gameplay loop right away. Writing the phrase "Enter the ruin" and the razor. I was able to make the game's identity more clear both thematically and mechanically by using "Defy the divine."

The one-page GDD acted as a guide for how the game would actually work. I described how abilities would be acquired through advancement, deconstructed the stamina and health systems, and sketched out the fundamental opponent behaviour. Additionally, I provided callouts, control schemes, and interface samples that illustrate how each mechanic relates to the overall player experience. Small passages like "Know Your Enemy" provided a sense of how fighting would change depending on the sort of enemy, while the scroll-text introduction helped establish the mood and lore.

The act of writing both documents made me clearly describe my ideas, which is what I found most useful. Having a cool idea in your head is easy, but explaining it in a way that another developer could use is far more difficult. My perspective on pacing, lucidity, and the player's journey through the game has changed as a result of this encounter. The one-sheet's visual component also pleased me; it offered an opportunity to create a sense of identity and atmosphere through layout, colour, and type.

[kamorulz]

Racer Elevator Pitch

Turbo Drift is a top-down, fast-paced arcade racing. The game, which takes its cues from classic racing games like Micro Machines, OutRun, and Rad Racer, requires players to manoeuvre through heavy highway traffic while earning points for each vehicle they pass. With a score-based loop that incentivizes fast responses and accurate movement, the gameplay is made to be initially accessible but progressively more challenging.

Using WASD or the arrow keys, the user steers a vibrant sports automobile whose movement is controlled by GDevelop's top-down behaviour system. Traffic vehicles appear in random lanes and at random intervals, resulting in erratic patterns that require ongoing monitoring. While every collision results in a catastrophic crash and ends the run, the player gains points for each car they safely pass. As the environment scrolls beneath the player, the camera stays stationary on their vehicle, giving them a sense of forward velocity.

Visually, Turbo Drift has a neon-infused retro design, fusing vibrant colours and a vaporwave-inspired look with low-poly vehicle sprites. The HUD is kept simple, showing the score as of right now and providing space for future optional powerups like point multipliers or momentary speed enhancements. High-score chasers will find the game engaging, while casual gamers will find it friendly due to its basic gameplay and graphics.

This prototype aims to improve the "feel" of driving, including the player's speed, the car's responsiveness, and the thrill of narrowly avoiding an accident. Additionally, by raising traffic speed, constricting lanes, or introducing weather modifiers like rain, fog, or night driving, I intend to investigate methods of gradually increasing the level of difficulty. The goal of Turbo Drift is to offer a brief, replayable arcade game that honours the simplicity and exuberance of vintage racing.

[kamorulz]

Asteroids Post Mortem

As I reflect on the creation of Void Breaker, I'm rather pleased with how well the game preserves the essence of vintage arcade shooters while incorporating contemporary elements. Asteroid splitting, screen wrapping, and thrust-based movement are the main mechanics that seem realistic and responsive. The game truly came to life as an endless survival experience after I added wave scaling and random asteroid spawns.

Powerups such as the Shield, Rapid Fire, and 1-Up provided players with significant risk/reward opportunities and brief moments of empowerment. When asteroids are destroyed, I made them emerge seldom and at random, creating thrilling choices like whether to chase that shield across the screen or stay safe. What could have been a rather straightforward loop was given some contemporary life with the inclusion of screen shake, a hit-flash effect, and a combo scoring system.

Nevertheless, there is certainly plenty I could do better. I was unable to add enemy ships or a proper "game over" flow with menus and restarts. Even though the visuals were passable, they could use more fluid effects, music, and a more stylised user interface. The asteroid impacts occasionally felt a little janky at fast speeds.

Nevertheless, I learned a lot about enemy design, timing, and providing the player with just enough control to feel strong without taking away the difficulty from this project. After the semester, I'd love to continue improving Void Breaker and perhaps include new powerups, a complete soundtrack, and local leaderboards.

[kamorulz]

Asteroids Development & Mechanic Reflection

This week, I focused on the creation of Void Breaker, my Asteroids-inspired arcade shooter. The emphasis was on building gaming systems that enable infinite progression and meaningful feedback. The asteroid wave system was a huge addition: once all of the asteroids on screen have been destroyed, a short delay activates a new wave that produces more asteroids at higher speeds. This mechanic steadily increases difficulty, requiring the player to adapt and develop while aiming for a high score.

I have included three powerups to change up the gameplay loop: Shield (temporary invincibility), Rapid Fire (shorter laser cooldown), and 1-Up (restores a lost life). These were designed to provide the player with rare but satisfying benefits while maintaining the game's primary tension. I utilised randomised drop chances for asteroid destruction, so the player is rewarded for being aggressive. Implementing these also taught me how to manage game balance and power creep in a minimalist arcade environment.

1up powerup, after a player destroyed an asteroid.

Rapid Fire Powerup in action

Shield Powerup in action

Another significant innovation was screen shake and damage feedback. When the player is hit, the screen shakes, the ship lights red, and an invincibility window prevents immediate multi-hit kills. These basic features significantly boosted the sense of being in the present moment. I also improved the HUD; it now shows score and lives, which change dynamically as the player goes.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this approach was thinking about how powerups influence player behaviour. Inspired by our readings from Fullerton's Game Design Workshop, I considered how rewards promote emergent strategy. For example, as players understand that aggressive asteroid destruction might result in powerups, they begin to take more risks, such as chasing fragments, weaving between hazards, and managing space more tactically. That wasn't something I programmed directly; it came spontaneously from the interaction of mechanisms, as Fullerton emphasises in her examination of player-centered design.

Going ahead, I intend to fine-tune the wave difficulty curve and potentially include enemy ships or environmental hazards. I'd also like to improve the visuals with additional refinement, such as floating UI text as you score points or distinct visual effects for each powerup pickup.

[kamorulz]

Asteroids Elevator Pitch

Void Breaker is a contemporary remake of the vintage arcade game Asteroids. This game will be a homage to the classic space shooters from the early 1980s, like Space Invaders, Galaga, and Asteroids. With its straightforward controls, never-ending waves, and building suspense, I aimed to recreate the unadulterated, fast-paced arcade feeling of old games while incorporating a new visual aesthetic and contemporary feedback systems. I wanted to capture the pure, fast-paced arcade feel of old games, with simple controls, limitless waves, and rising tension. I also wanted to add a new visual style and feedback systems that feel modern.

The game revolves around a 360-degree controllable spaceship that the player can turn and propel ahead via thrust-based movement. A cooldown limits shooting to emphasise timing rather than direct button mashing. Asteroids drift in from all directions and, when touched, shatter into tiny shards, emulating the distinctive chain-reaction gameplay of their origin. As players survive, additional asteroids spawn at higher speeds, creating a more chaotic challenge. To enhance the experience, I want powerups that appear randomly when asteroids are destroyed to add variety to the experience.

This game is intended for arcade shooter lovers and casual players searching for a short but intense gameplay cycle. It rewards spatial awareness, timing, and the ability to stay calm under duress. Each destroyed asteroid increases your score, increasing replayability and self-improvement between runs.

[kamorulz]

Platformer PostMortem

When I think back on my platformer project, I'm pleased with how the main combat loop turned out. I used collision-based damage, state variables, and animation timers to create a three-stage melee combo system. After adjusting the timing and adding effects like screen shake and flashing red tint for damage, the end result was a surprisingly responsive and pleasant mechanic.

But I didn't account for how difficult it is to chain strikes cleanly. Getting the player's input time to feel natural without interfering with the animation sync was my biggest issue.

What worked well:

The rationale for combo chaining was solid and expandable.

Combat felt more dynamic because of enemy damage and knockback.

What could be made better:

The enemy's AI was overly basic (static targets).

Hitboxes should be more accurate because some of the attacks were floaty.

No actual level layout or progression system

I would add monster kinds, health pickups, and a simple level progression system to the game loop if I had more time. To enhance movement fluidity, I would also look at wall sliding and jump buffering.

[kamorulz]

Platformer Development & Playtesting

I spent this week working on my platformer prototype's fundamental mechanics. I intended to create a simple melee combo attack system that allowed the player to chain attacks together, drawing inspiration from titles like Hollow Knight and Blasphemous. I wanted a familiar control moveset so I incorporated the classic "WASD" for movement and Mouse1 acting as the Attack. Using GDevelop, I created a system where pressing the attack key an attack from a range of animations being a slash, inverted slash and a thrust. I feel it would be a lot better than just a monotonous, single sword attack. To do this, I created a variable called "Attack" in which the moment an attack is requested, it changes the variable status to equal at random a number between 1 and 3.

This required managing animation states and timing windows using Attack() to prevent accidental re-inputs or skipping steps. One challenge I encountered was the fact that when I would initiate an attack, my character would teleport a few feet into the air!

I was stumped on this issue for a while but it turned out my sprites were vastly various in size, so I ended up matching them as well as re-editing all collision masks and points for them. So now it looks like this!

One thing I must mention is that I am using royalty free assets rather than making my own. Most prominently, the Player and enemies were all made with Universal LPC Spritesheet Generator (https://liberatedpixelcup.github.io/Universal-LPC-Spritesheet-Character-Generator/#?body=Body_color_light&head=Human_male_light)

In order to add knockback and reduce health from foes, I used collision with the player's weapon and added a health variable. This increased the fight's tempo and provided the gamer a sense of impact. I intend to incorporate enemy AI with patrol movement and damage response in the future.

The next steps will be improving level design, testing out a powerup system (maybe influenced by roguelikes), and introducing new enemy types. In addition, I would like to add health bars and a more aesthetically pleasing combo indicator to the user interface, which currently only has text variables displayed on the screen.

[kamorulz]

Platformer Elevator Pitch

For the first game being a platformer, I want to create a Metroidvania. The subgenre Metroidvania are based on the 2 iconic series Castlevania and Metroid and incorporate a large interconnected level with fun exploration and dynamic combat. If im being honest, I haven't played that many platformers but the ones I have played and come to mind when it comes to a good game are Hollow Knight and Blasphemous. I wish to incorporate some elements from those games especially Blasphemous since I immediately fell in love with the artstyle and world of that game. I will like to implement a dark fantasy artstyle and want to use pixel art sprites for all elements of the game. The main character will be a knight with a big greatsword and a distinct attack moveset and eventually I want to be able to eventually add unique weapons that the player can choose to wield. There will be a variety of different enemies some that come to mind right now are a basic cannon fodder archetype, a ranged enemy that will pester you from afar, a an aggressive bruiser type and a slow tanky enemy. I also want to implement some bosses that are unique and memorable so they too will likely have a distinct attackset. But that's all I have for now I appreciate you taking time to read all this!

[kamorulz]

Hello World!

Hello my name is Kyle (n11507489), as of writing this I am in my 2nd year of my Degree being the Bachelor of Information Technology. I am currently enrolled into IGB120 Intro to Game Design as I would like to learn the process for Game Development and possibly the Industry as a whole if I choose to go down that path. I have been into videogames for most of my life from when i first got Gran Turismo 4 on the Playstation 2 to Minecraft on my old Family PC and on to nowadays where I enjoy the Souls genre including all the FromSoft greats! I intend to use this blog to cover my Game Dev Journey throughout this unit and see if this Industry is for me!