Devlog Blog Post #1


Brainstorming:

The theme of this project was to take a project someone else made and put our own spin on it. It took me a while to select a project that I could improve, but when I finally found the project I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to show great jumping mechanics!

Development:

Starting out the project I talked to the original developer and got their source files. I started by exploring their character controller and pawn scripts. I then took a look at their art assets and decided what else the game needed to appear more polished. I added my own tile map into the game a worked on adding UI elements to display a lives count. I played the game for a bit to find what was fun about it and decided that it really needed something exciting to do. I created a level that required the player to bounce around and avoid hitting the edges. I think this mechanic really helps to showcase the focus I put into the gravity and jumping mechanics I built. It was entertaining, but it wasn't enough to really give the player a goal beyond pressing space every couple of seconds. I thought that local multiplayer would really help sell the mechanics. I added in a stunning mechanic when the players collide with one another and a dashing mechanic to allow players to charge into one another. This really sold the game mechanics and made it a lot of fun to play. For the final touches I added some UI to indicate the different players and a platform that players spawn on, so new players didn't fall to their death as soon as the game began.

Testing:

When I started testing this game I had a few friends come in to fight against me. They all laughed and had a good time, so I knew I had something fun. I wasn't sure what else the game was missing and decided that I needed some animation and indication of where the level ended. I also needed a delay for when the player died and when the game was over.

Polish:

To polish I went to Itch.io and got some assets for spikes to surround the play space with. I also programmed in some animations and drew inspiration from Super Mario. When Mario dies he pops back up briefly before falling down again. I added a similar effect into this game and delayed the respawn by a couple seconds to give players the chance to return to their proverbial "home". 

Files

BattleBeesBuild.zip 15 MB
Aug 13, 2019

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