Hallo! how are u?

Kate Warren || 12417882 Hello!

[katewrrn]

Assignment 3 Post Mortem

After we finished our playtesting, all we needed to do was update our Part B report as well as create a short demo video. So far during our last workshop together (so sad </3), we have completer majority of the report and the progress of part c (which was the external playtesting one of my team member's did).

[katewrrn]

Assignment 3 iteration + changes

Throughout our playtesting, we received a variety of feedback that can improve our game. What we have changed so far is:

The health system: We added a visible health bar above the character, making it easier for the player to react to damage

Dynamic difficulty: We increased the enemy speed and spawn rate over time to increase engagement, rather than repetitiveness

Resource management: We limited ammo drops as it was making it too easy for players, this induced players to use strategical thinking

Other improvements were suggested and can be implemented for future enhances if we decide to expand on 'Move'.

[katewrrn]

Assignment 3 Playtesting

Playtesting so far has been good, i like how each person is assigned different roles (makes the whole process a lot easier and quicker). My role is to take notes on important events that occur while the playtester goes through our protoype. One of us has created a pre and post survey for the playtester to fill out as an addition to our report. In week 12 we plan to go playtest at X block as they have given us the opportunity to, this helps us find naive playtesters much easier which is a plus.

So far our playtesters have told us certain issues and feedback to improve our game. Some of these will be fixed but overall will still be mentioned in the report as this will benefit us.

[katewrrn]

Assignment 3 Development Progress

Assignment 3 required us to join a group of 3-5 people for playtesting. I was luckily able to join a group since im not close with anyone but im happy with the people im with :D. We had to choose a game to continue our assignment so we chose one of the platformer games called "Move" where the concept is 'time only moves when you move'.

As a team we have assigned roles such as a programmer, level designer, artist or others to do with playtesting. To follow this, we completed assignment 3a and are now continuing part b where we have to write a report based off our playtesting.

[katewrrn]

Assignment 2 Final design

The image above is my final one sheet/sell sheet based off my platformer game "Childhood dreams". The idea behind the design is mostly inspired by the elevator pitch (candy land from dreams, the pig plush etc). The background was found on google and i used gimp to blend the two together. My initial design had too much text, but that was an easy fix. Overall i am happy with the one sheet.

The following image is my finalized one page. Each section breaks down the elements of the game as well as a brief elevator pitch and game mechanics.

These designs were quite easy and even fun to make. It helped me further express my ideas through my game which will most likely help for future creations as i do want to expand on this idea.

[katewrrn]

Racing Post Mortem

I haven't made any huge changes to tiny racers. I have changed the background to suit my elevator pitch of a living room or kitchen. For now i have added a wooden plank background that represents a ground floor and some "large" toys and books as obstacles. I was hoping to search up tutorials or anything to help create a drifting mechanics but some of the things i tried either didn't work or stopped the game from working. Overall, Tiny racers has become a decent prototype for any future projects i wish to invest on as i become a game developer.

[katewrrn]

Racing Development post

Since starting the development of my racing game, i've had a few troubles here and there. We were required to complete the rest based off what we have learnt so far rather than just following a step by step document. At first i was like "can i even do this?" (yes, i definitely could :D). I did have to go back to some old workshops to remember certain events but overall, i could create a playable racing game. It wasn't my best work, however for something i did on my own i was pretty proud of it. Again, i asked my dad to playtest my game for me. While playtesting, we ran into a problem where the car wouldn't go straight after turning, making the car drive off the road (aka crash). This issue was easily fixed by editing the cars orientation. Honestly I'm still confused but it works so im happy.

[katewrrn]

Racing Elevator Pitch

Title of Game: Tiny Racers

"Tiny Racers" is a fast-paced, birds-eye view racing game where toy-sized cars compete across household environments. Race through kitchens, gardens, and bedrooms in a world where pencils are road hazards and books are used as speed ramps. Race against your friends or even randoms to win top prize. Collect coins and abilities throughout each course to upgrade your vehicle. Players will use WASD keys to control the vehicle's movements, space-bar to activate a boost and their choice of key bind to activate power-ups. This speedy game will make you feel excited and drive for victory (get it...drive :D), giving off an arcade racing game; massive impact from a tiny game. The follow collage shows the inspiration for Tiny Racers:

please respond to this post or email [email protected] if you have any further inquiries :)

[katewrrn]

Asteroids Post Mortem

Ive gotten my asteroid game playtested by a parent and it went pretty well considering they were a bit new to gaming. A problem i came across were the speed of the asteroids spawning . Asteroids were spawning a bit too fast for the playtester to destroy in time before taking damage, therefor i had to slow down, resulting in making it easier for them.

Overall, after playtesting and fixing some things, "pebble panic" became an easy and very simple asteroid game that im quite happy with for a starter. Obviously some improvements id make is adding detail and special effects that most (more advanced/professional) asteroid games would have to give off that adrenaline and fiero.

[katewrrn]

Asteroid Development Post

I started working on adding the spaceship and asteroids which was quite simple as i thought i was getting the hang of using GDevelop. Once i tried added lives and all of its required events, my spaceship stopped following my mouse which confused me a little.

The following screenshot shows the asteroids and spaceship working perfectly fine and i thought my game was doing okay:

This next image shows when the asteroids completely stopped spawning and the spaceship no longer moved/followed my cursor (there is no video but the screenshot is basically what it looks like the whole time):

It took me a while to figure out how to fix this since I'm still not the best at using the software (unfortunately), but i got it working in the end and now I've got a working asteroid game (WOOO).

[katewrrn]

Asteroids Elevator Pitch

Title: Pebble Panic

In this fast-paced arcade game, you’ll dodge, blast, and outmaneuver an endless storm of rogue asteroids—affectionately known as “space pebbles.” With unpredictable asteroid patterns, power-ups to turn the tide, and increasingly frantic waves, every second counts. Where asteroids meet dodge ball, fast, frantic and full of surprises!

Pebble Panic uses simple WASD movements as well as other key binds that activate abilities and power-up. This fun and simple game will leave you feeling like you just came out of an arcade with your friends. An exciting, nostalgic game with friendly rivalry against friends to see who can chase the highest score.

Collage inspo:

please respond to this post or email [email protected] if you have any further question :D

references:

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/space/article/asteroids

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/abstract-image-ufo-spaceship-pixel-art-1317854288

https://www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/pixel-art-explosion

https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/149574327-pixel-art-space-animation-planet-stars-pixel-art-8-bit-vecto?dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

https://www.redbubble.com/i/art-board-print/Astronaut-Pixel-Art-Print-Cosmic-Explorer-Design-by-anycolorart/144629023.TR477

https://www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/pixel-space-characters-astronaut-and-aliens

[katewrrn]

Platformer Postmortem

I am actually surprised my game turned out pretty okay (mostly glad that it's playable). When i first came up with the prototype idea, i planned for it to be a simple yet enjoyable game that i could expand on in the future once i gained more skills from my uni course, but for a first time making/prototyping a game, it went better than i thought. As i mentioned, i love games that evoke powerful emotions such as happiness, sadness or even excitement. In the future i would love to incorporate that into my game idea, achieving the element of surprise we learnt in our IGB120 lecture 4.

Improvements i would make for the future would definitely be to work on my coding and understanding GDevelop's functions as i believe that hindered my ability to make the game the most. I also feel like i could get more playtesters and different perspectives; comparing the different experiences. Playtesters who have experience/ don't or those with different interests. Fullerton suggests "rules before you playtest" such as 'playtest before you think you are ready'. This suggests to playtest on the prototype in progress rather than a completed work, as this a better way to improve the game.

I'd love to create something more original for my future games. As cute as the free assets were, i believe there were details id like to add that could improve the overall visual design of the prototype, however, i would need to improve on my skills before achieving this. I’d also refine the level design. Even though this is just a prototype, it would be great to have a more polished layout. While the simplicity is intentional, I believe I can make it more engaging while still keeping it accessible.

Overall, i enjoyed the prototyping and playtesting experience of my first game and I can't wait to improve my skills to make better games.

references: Fullerton, T. (2019) Game design workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games. AK Peters/CRC Press/Taylor&Francis Group, LLC. (pg.294)

[katewrrn]

Playtesting

I got two play-testers to test my prototype. Both playtesters are very new to PC games however, they do love playing mobile games that are simple and easy which made them the perfect candidates. One of the problems commonly experienced was jumping on the slime to kill them. The playtesters believed it was a bit of a challenge as the slime may have been too fast compared to the jumping. This is an issue that can and will be easily fixed to improve future experiences. Without playtesting, i wouldn't have noticed this would be an issue.

Tracy Fullerton said that player feedback is important when prototyping, without it, games are unable to reach their 'full potential' (Chapter 1: a playcentric design process). I do believe that feedback can help improve everything and ensure the result reaches its peak performance, in the real life world, as well as online.

References: Fullerton, T. (2019) Game design workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games. AK Peters/CRC Press/Taylor&Francis Group, LLC. (pg.12)

[katewrrn]

Platformer Development post

This is my first time developing a game or even a prototype as a beginner game developer. Even going through the workshop and tutorials, i have struggled a little due to my lack of experience. However, in Tracy Fullerton's Games Design Workshop, it gave me tips to engage players through objectives. She mentioned in chapter 3 that objectives are important by giving the "player something to strive for". This helped me create my game idea and realise the importance of having a goal while playing games.

While creating my prototype, i had a lot of troubles with variables as i am very new to this. Even though i follow tutorials, it somehow doesn't go right and I'm not sure why so I'll show the best i can do and ask for help in my workshops. Other than that, i have managed to create a prototype that represents my idea well.

Beginning:

I attempted to make the candy cane as a checkpoint/ re-spawn point, however, this was one of the variables that i struggled to figure out so unfortunately my character will not re-spawn if she dies so far.

End:

Unfortunately i could not find a pig character to use to represent Evie's pig plush and the sprite i intended to replace it with also didn't work for some reason. So while i figure it out, i have put a temporary heart to represent Snuggles.

references: Fullerton, T. (2019) Game design workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games. AK Peters/CRC Press/Taylor&Francis Group, LLC. (pg.68)

https://kenney.nl/assets

https://www.gameart2d.com/freebies.html

[katewrrn]

Elevator Pitch

As a beginner game developer, i will be creating a platformer prototype in IGB120 using GDevelop.

My elevator pitch:

'Childhood Dreams' takes you on a magical journey through the dreams of a little girl named Evie. Through a sugary wonderland, she must overcome challenges and obstacles to find her missing best friend, Snuffles, the pig plush she sleeps with. This single-player adventure navigates a dreamscape full of surprises and mystery. With simple controls, arrow keys to move and space to jump, the adventure begins in a world where anything is possible.

Mood board/inspiration:

Childhood dreams is an easy and fun game that has a candy land-like setting to create a nostalgic and childhood feels. This will be for ages 7+ due to the games lighthearted and playful exploration.

please respond to this blog or email [email protected] if you have any further inquiries.

references:

google image: https://www.backdrops.com.au/backdrops/candyland-5c/

https://salesbetov.best/product_tag/112336706_.html

https://pikbest.com/png-images/qianku-cute-princess-pixel-art_2242432.html

https://www.megavoxels.com/learn/how-to-make-pixel-art-candy/

https://www.reddit.com/r/PixelArt/comments/1ce9oup/some_simple_bubble_sprites/

[katewrrn]

About Me

Hello my name is Kate Warren and i am a first year QUT student studying a Bachelor in Games and Interactive Environments. I love story and indie games that evoke strong emotions, leaving a memorable experience. Games such as Sheepy: A Short Adventure was my inspiration to wanting to become a game developer. I aim to create games like the ones i love; games that leave a lasting impression through powerful emotions.

My blogs will be showing my game development throughout the semester for my IGB120: intro to games design class. These will show my progress and hopefully my achievements of new skills as a new game developer. Hope you enjoy my journey!