Feedback and Development

After hearing some feedback for the first two levels, there are a few things to take into consideration and develop:

The collision points on some of the monsters are a little too spread out, meaning even the slightest graze will result in the player being destroyed. Although the player must avoid these monsters, it was deemed to be frustrating than sometimes it felt like the player narrowly avoided the monster but was destroyed anyway. We can rectify this by allowing some leeway with the collision points of the monsters so the player has more chance of getting past.

Collision points of the "fish" enemy.

Currently, the sound in the game is lacking and will significantly add to the experience and immersion once added.

Some animations need to be added to make the game more fluid. These can include a jumping animation for the player, and a bounce animation for the "bouncing jellyfish" in level one. The collision points on the player's animations must also be altered to try and prevent the "walk" animation from playing when you come to a stop on occasion. This occurs due to the collision points not being aligned with the collision points of the ground, causing the game to think the character is moving even when stood still.

Although we have material for 4 levels, it is in our best interests to focus on the first two levels and refine them to completion, for them to be released as a demo. Images of the full version can be shown on an ending screen once the player has completed the demo.

Level Two Initial Screenshots

Level Two - Area 1

Level Two - Area 2

Level Two - Area 2 (2)

Level Two - Area 3

Level One Initial Screenshots

Level One - Area 1

Level One - Area 2

Level One - Area 3

Changes In Development - Fixed!

Our last blog post was how we didn't think we were able to use a fixed camera perspective due to the limitations on window size. However, we have since found a way round this predicament!

Event Sheet

As we know, Construct works using events sheets. Using an event called "System" you can make it so as soon as your layer begins, the canvas size is changed to whatever dimensions you enter. Despite the fixed window size, using the event sheet allows you to set each layer to whatever size you wish it to be as soon as it appears on screen.

Because of this development, we can use a fixed camera perspective as originally planned!

Changes in Development

Originally, we had plans to create a level which used a "fixed camera" perspective. This perspective would allow the player to see the entire level on screen, instead of the camera scrolling through the level as the player advanced.

In Donkey Kong (1981) the camera has a fixed perspective.

We wished to create a fixed camera level to add to the variety of our game as a whole, and to provide the player with something different as they advanced through the levels. However, the software we are using only allows for a single camera angle for all of the design layers for your game.

Window Size (Click to zoom)

As you can see above, there is a set window size for the entire project instead of each individual design layer. You can set the window size to whatever you desire, but it will remain that size for every layer. As this is the case, we will now be creating the level with the normal camera angle that will scroll along with the player.

The Unique Element

For our project, we don't just want to leave our game as a bog standard 2D platformer. There are hundreds of platforming games in the market, so we have thought of a way to make ours unique and bring something new to the genre. We wish to use the rotation element of smartphones and tablets to add a new dimension to our game.

Here is the view you would see when you hold your tablet or smartphone vertically. We want this view to change depending on which angle you are holding the device. So when you look at your device horizontally, the view would change to...

This! Depending on how you position your device, it changes what you can see on your screen. We believe this will add an exciting element to the game, as it can help the player decide how they will progress. The rotation of view could also be used to solve certain puzzles, by having to see things in both views to understand the situation.

This is a concept we wish to develop, however due to time constraints and skill limitations this is unrealistic to create at this moment in time. We wish to create the game as a regular 2D platformer, and then develop that further to add the unique elements, including the rotation for particular devices.

Software

As stated previously, we are using the software "Construct 2" by Scirra to create the game. Construct focuses a lot more on the design aspects of the game rather than the actual coding which is more ideal for us as we are stepping into new territory. We now have plenty of designs to play with and can begin to properly construct the levels. First off however, here is a quick run down of the software.

Layout

Here is the layout of the software. It is simple to import your own designs and you can drag & drop items where you want them to be and resize them. Here is a small scene of two of our characters and a block I drew in Paint.

Behaviours

You give anything you import characteristics through giving them "behaviours". This includes how the item moves, if it has line of sight, and if it is a solid object that the player can stand on.

Animation

The animation is doing by importing numerous frames of the character. You set "collision points" on each frame which tells the software at which point you want the character to collide with over objects, for instance so the character stops moving when it hits a wall.

Events Sheet

The events sheet is used to add more characteristics. For example this image on the left shows that we have set the characters "walk" animation to occur when the character moves left or right, and the stationery animation occurs when the character stops moving.