Saffron Animation and Dialogue

The main focus of this game project was for me was to try thing I hadn't before. This is why I wanted to make a 2D game and try and play around with the animation editor. But I didn't want the whole process to be completely new, so I decided to make it a point and click, puzzle game, reminiscent of Factory Of the Lost Soul (Second-year project), from the mechanics to the spooky theme. 

More about my work on Factory of the Lost Soul here:

http://dynamitewinterproject.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Jemila

I started by learning how to make a 2D walking script, that also worked with a sprit animation. I had done basic animation before, but never sprite work. This was one of the reasons I decided to make the art style so simplistic so the animations wouldn't be too complicated. It also gave me an opportunity to play around with Unity's animator and animation functions.

The code I made used the input manager to allow the player to move so they could use the keyboard or a controller. I then remembered I originally going to make a point and click game, which meant I would have to rework the movement scripts to work with a mouse and navmesh. But in the end, I decided to keep the controller, as I haven't make a game specifically for that kind of input before. So I saw this as a good opportunity to change my way of thinking when it comes to player interactivity.

I then want on to adding dialogue, as it is one of my favourite parts of the games I play, yet I had never added it sussefully to any of the games I have made. I used the tutorial below for the most part, then changed how the dialogue triggers, form mouse/ button UI input to a controller. 

https://www.youtube.com/watchv=_nRzoTzeyxU&t=0s&index=5&list=LLibLLmq190wPCI1q4nfc4uA

Host and Battler Visual Novel

I wanted to try making a visual novel for a while now, so I used some old characters of mine to test out Renpy. This mini project was more for experimenting with the programs scripting language and getting used to putting together a visual novel.

I enjoyed making the character art and thinking about their personalities, however, I found it quite difficult writing out all the dialogue. I've always enjoyed thinking about stories, characters and plot points, but trying to write that all in a creative or interesting way is tricky. I decided to cut this project shorter then I had planned, simply as I felt the writing was taking up more time than playing around with the program was, which was the original purpose of doing this. 

KittyKABOOM Level Design

To crate the environment for the level, I first took a birds eye view screen shot of the grey box and ternt it into a template for the modelling proses. I new I wanted the first level to be on the street where Margret lives, to show that the mice have taken over and the after math of that. When doing the concepts for this, I had a hard time trying to draw what this normal street would look like which aliens taking over. As environment art is my weakest aria, I really strugled with trying to produse something that I was happy with quality wise. I desied to simply finish the normal street, then work on modaling the other assets so tha tI could try dressing the street in Unity and Maya. 

To make sure the modled environment mached that of the gray box, I took a birds eye screen shot of it then drew a map over it in Photoshop. I then used this as the template for modeling the level. At first, I was going to make the maze part out of different things from the steeet that had been knocked over or crashed into to form the shape of the maze. I wanted to do this to show how the people had goten into panic once the mice invaded. However, after modeling the assets, I realized that making the maze in this way looked very disorganized and nonsensical. Specially as the player would be in a tank, so realistically they could just run over thses things. So insted I desdied to change it to a maze that the mice set up to stop people from running about freely. It would also reflect the motif of putting mice in to mazes.

To deside what the  walls for the maze should look like, I started with some quick sketchs, but then thought to be would easier and quicker to try modeling different versions as a way of consepting them insted. This really helped as I could see what they will look like all around as well as hopw meny polys each design will take. Once I had designed on a design, I used this to make the maze and other barrias that the Mice had put up.

When texering anything for this game, I made sure that the colors are a little duller then intened, as the toon shadier make everything much more saturated in game. I moved the round about to the boss aria as it made more sence for the larger space to be for the bigger fight. At first, I thoght I was going to put the boss at the center of the round about, but as I changed it to the cages I added the tern sight to the centr insted. The edges of this aria was also very bland, so I modled a tree and changed the scaling around to add some veried trees.

For the items that the player can pick up, I wanted them to be easily identifiable, but still relate to cats in some way. I went with the plus for the health as it had instant understanding as health, so I felt there was no resion to confuse that. I thought about using the heart, as a lot of the environment was green so I was worried tha the green plus would clash with this. But making it a heart when the UI was a slider I felt confused the conection, so I would have to change the health to hearts also. But this would mean I would have to re-code how  the health worked, which I didn't want to waist time with.

KittyKABOOM Alpha

For the alpha, I wanted to develop the codes I has previously made, and make game play with it. But before this, I desided t make a new game project folder and inport the working codes. I also needed to do this as ther last folder still had the tank tutorial that I used for refrance in it. This did mean some of the elaments like the partical effects and UI elaments I would have to leave behind and work on my own, but there where place holders in the first place. 

I had let some people test out the prototype, and one of the biggest complats was that the movement controls where tricky and took time to get the hag of. To help with this, I made the beging of the level a maze and put some  keys that the player will have to collect. I found by doing this, it alows the player to used the movement controls without worrying about the shooting at the same time. However, a problem that arised was that the tank's pysics will make it bump around when it hits any of the walls. I desided to tern the phisicis off, as previosly they where on as the bullet shell had the ability to push things bast of the force of the blast. But as I wasen't using this feature, it was fine to take out the forses. But this corsed the tank ingnore all the colliders on the walls, and simply passed throgh everything. To fix this, I simply added a nav mesh agent to the tank, which was simple as the nav msh was alrady set up for the enamies.

 I then made a second section which has the sporning enaies. I had problems with this at first, as the spawning code didn't like being terned off and on, and often didnt work. So I mad a level ganiger type code that terns all the objects in the section on and off, insted of the spasific scripts which seemed to work better. However, the spawning scrip still didn't want to stop, even after I had terned the object off, so I added a eneamie cap to it, so after a certen amount of enemies have been spawned, it stops.

I felt like the ending of the level needed a boss like characters, but I didn't have eanouth time to make one. So I used a turret as a place holder. Though a boss is  something a really want to add, I feel like the coding to make one well/ interesting may be too deficalt for me, or at least take up too much time. I still put some time into my scesul for text term to make one, but if it becomes to troublesome, I will have to find another way to make the difficulty progression interesting.

I made some new basic assets as by this point, I had pladed to make some masic models in Maya, but scripting too much longer then planed. I put in some colours as well so players can see the diffrence between the different elements. I also added some lights and partical effects to things, just to make them more intresting. I also wanted to play around the the partial as I will have to make quite a few next term once I made the sprits.

 

KittyKABOOM Prototype

Before I started working on the prototype for the game, I followed the Unity Tank tutorial I found so that I could understand the codes  and have a better understanding of what kind of game |I wanted to make. Using these elements, I then boxed out a more simple/ basic tank game so that I could start putting in the elements I anted. I used the health, camera, movement and shooting codes from the tutorial to make the prototype and I also used some of the sound effects and partial effects form the tu, so that those parts of the codes would still work.

As I wanted the game to be single player, I then needed to add some enimies. I desided to used the same health script as the tank, as it was layer dependent. This means, the bullets would only effect objects in the enemy layer. I then used a look at/ transform script to make them chase the player, and a damage code so that they slowly take away the player's health. I has to make my own turret controls as the tutorial only had the tanks world movement. I used a simpler method as the point and click game, in that I make a code that follows the mouse position. I attached that to a invisible game object, the make the turret look at that object. This alows it to pivot and aim separably from the tank.

I desided to make the enemies to attack like this insetd of shooting as that would require much more complex coding, which would take much more time. I then found I spawn code that uses an aray of spawn points and instantiates enemies randomly. I then made a code simler to this to make an item drop code, which drops power ups when a enaey dies.

For the power ups, I did a health pack and different weapons/ammunition. The first one I made was a bomb weapon. I used the same shell code, but changed the virables so that the bomb would  be more powerful and have a wider exploitation range. I then wanted to make a fast shooting power up that was more like a machen gun then a tank shell. This ment I had to make a new shell movement script, as the original one gose further based on how long the fire button is pressed, and is also effected by gravity. So I made one that makes the shell just fire straight, but this  ment I also had to make a second fire transform as the first one is slanted up so the shells arc.

I also wanted to make a second kind of enemy, so I used the tank turret codes to make a enemy turret as well.

New Eden Mobile: Finished Screen Shots

I think one of the biggest things I've lernt from doing this project is time manigment. Trying to deside what was worth more time and what could be cut was defintly importent with this as there where so many elements that needed to be done. It also made me practice environment art more which I still need to work on. 

 

New Eden Mobile Level Design

I thought about the macanics of the game, I desided to incorporate stelf into the game, as that one of the main macanics of the PC version. This would also make for a much more interesting platform game. I needed to know what elements I need to make for the level, so I sketched out the level design in photoshop.

The player has to avoid all the animles and make there way to the top, where the treasure is. I thought of using a flying enamy as it would work like the one in the pc game, which is to scan for threts and attack if the player enters there sight. So the player would have to time their moments so is to not be seen. I also thought of adding items that the player could use to get through the level. I desided on stones, as this matched the pc version, and bait, as it could be used to destact the animals. The stones could be used to make the vines drop or agitate enemies, and the bait can be used as a detracted or to lear them to other places.

Once this was done, I worked on the concept art for the environment assats that would need to be made. I used the same kind of platforms that are in the oc version to make the world more cohisive, but I was worried that they might be overly complex for a smaller game. In the end, I made both and put them in the layout to see what worked better. As this is more of a puzzle game and the player would need to be able to see everything clearly, I went with the simplier design.

  

As I finished more assets, I put them together in photoshop so I can get an idea of how the layout should be and how everything looks together. I tried to make sure the vines stood out so the player knows they're intractable, and I changed the width of the platforms to fill up the space and make them look sturdier. I also moved platforms around so that the character could actually move around the environment logically. I felt like the tree tops and the platforms didn't stand out eanouth, so I tried adding some light to the tops of all the walkable surfaces. This just made everything look messy and it started to blend together, so I desided to focus on getting everything looking more crisp and defined.

Once all assets where done, I put them into unity and layed it out like the image. I made the lighting more cooler as I wanted the environment to look more like a jungle then a forest. This also made the platforms more gray, which works well as now they stand out more from the rest of the environment.

New Eden Mobile: Sketch Book Studies

To understand what assets I have to make, I started by drawing out some level designs for the game. At first I thought about making an endless runner, but that seemed quite boring, and I wanted the stelf element of the PC version to included in the mobile one. I then tried out some normal side stroller ideas, but this still felt too far different and ganeric I then thought of a platformer that works more like a puzzle game, in that the player would have to try and avoid enamys and use the environment to reach the goal. I also did some skeches of diffrent cartoony styles for the character. I wanted it to be much smaller and more simple the the PC version so it would take less polys and be easier to model.

Once I had modeled the character, I did some sketches of the kind of poses I wanted to her to be in. This helped me to see where the joints needed to be when posing it in Maya.
I also started designing the enamies. I wanted one to be some form of big cat or wolf, and the other be a flying animal. I wanted all the animles to look alien, so show the game isn't based on earth, so I tried to mash different animals together.

I wanted there to be somthing for Tarrin to colect at the end of each stange as the goal, so I drew up some madalian designs as this fit the Aztec theme of the world. I thought it would be boring to colecty the same thing each level, so i thoght of braking it apart and having the player collect all the peases. This give the game more of a goal and naritive.

New Eden One Sheet

I desided to do the Jack of all Trades for this project as I enjoy the different parts of game designing. I also wanted to use this as a way to practice my consent art as well as my modelling. I wanted to do a simpler look for the game as it would allow for a lower poly count and I wanted to do something different from the more realistic concepts I would be making for the grope project.

I realized that doing both projects might be too much, so to save time I desided that I would make a mobile tie in to the game we were making in the gruope project. This way, once I had finished the consept art for that, I could redo the stylizing without having to come up with totally new consepts.

I made a draft one sheet so I had an idea of what I wanted to do for this game. As the PC version would take place mostly underground, I wanted this one to take place on the surface so I could show more of the world. I still wasn't sure if I wanted it to be a endless runner or a plat former, but I wanted the player to have to avoid the enemies like in the PC version. 

Once I had a more solid idea for the game macanics, I worked on the themes that would work around it. At firts I wanted the player to just gather random treasure like things, but I changed it to an impotent emblem from her tibe to make the tasks seem more dramatic. I also changed the stone enamies to animal ones as I thoght the stone ones only really make sence in the caves as they where protecting the core. Using animals also alows me to make weird alain creatures to show New Eden isn't Earth. Even though for the scren shots I will only me making on level, I wanted the game to have different arias to add variety to the landscapes, as well as lets players see more of New Eden.

I also made the target range be similer to the PC verson as players of that game would be interested in the law of this world. I also don't think a yonger adance would enjoy this game as its puzzle based and it may be too hard for them. But the look of the game would probably tern off much older players, so this game would be best suted for more casual gamers.

Lights Out! Prototype 2

For the second prototype I worked on getting the power ups to work. We wanted there to be two power ups; a shield and immunity, a one up and a enemy that slows you down. I also needed to code a one up for the health. The one up way simple, but the others took some time to do. I knew they needed to changed the verables of the player so that it moves and fires as diffrent speeds but I wasen't sure how to go about it. I first used a coruteen that starts when the player collider totches the yellow cube. This woekd with changing the verables, but it woden't stop and the player kept going slowly. I tryed fixing this is many diffrent ways, but they didn't work. We then lernt how to use enumerations to make different cases. I then switched the player controller code for a player state controller code. This changed the state the player needed to be in depending what what power up it torched and how long they last. This then acsesed the different states, which where all the same but with diffrent verables.

Lights Out One sheet and Story bourd