Reflective Journal
Project Name: Slime Slasher
Team: Lewis, Aiden and Jude
Date: 24/04/23
I did some research on slime sprites and player walk animations, then added them to the Trello Workspace to help Adien with their artwork for the game development process. I also began preparing the Enemy and Player scripts and incorporated some functions from previous game projects to improve the game’s functionality. I designed the main game logo and a ‘You Died’ logo for the game’s User Interface.
To divide up the workload, I asked Aiden to create slime sprites and animations, player sprites and animations, handle User Interface design, and develop a Tile set template. I updated the Trello Workspace with my contributions to ensure Aiden has access to all the relevant information and resources for the project.
Our team agreed on a 32×32 sprite size constraint to guarantee consistency in size for all sprites, including characters and tile sets, making for a visually consistent game.
Research, Planning, Design, Programming, Iteration, and Documentation were key steps that contributed to the project’s overall success.
We encountered some challenges when designing the slime sprite, but ultimately decided on a softer, rounder design. We also carefully considered the sprite’s size to ensure it could be easily imported into GameMaker without any setbacks.
Overall, we made steady progress towards our goal of creating an engaging and visually appealing game.
Researched Terraria’s slime sprite for reference.
Date: 25/04/23
Today I researched tile sets from RPG games and found a few I liked to remake for the environment concept. I also created the intro sequence animation when the game starts and started the start menu and later menus for the game.
I applied techniques in animation, UI design, and tile set creation.
Today’s progress was good, and I am on track with achieving my weekly plan.
I faced the challenge of creating the environment, which required making a tile set and placing the tiles. I was able to solve this by researching existing tile sets and remaking them for our game.
Today, I conducted research on tile sets from RPG games. In the future, I may need to research how to optimize the animation sequence for better performance.
Overall, today was productive and I made good progress towards our game development goals.
Tomorrow, we need to focus on sorting through the code and fixing any bugs, as well as polishing up the game. Additionally, we need to change the style of the UI to match the game’s theme.
Date: 26/04/23
Today I sorted through the code I worked on yesterday and fixed a few broken variables. I also made changes to the UI by adding a button sprite for the main menu buttons and aligned them in the centre of the screen.
I applied techniques in coding and UI design. I utilised debugging to find problems in the code of the game and inform my decisions on how to fix them. I used psychology techniques such as semiotics UI design
Today’s progress was good, and I am on track with achieving my weekly plan.
While applying the button sprite to the button, I encountered that the button was too large and covered the screen. To solve this, I divided the size by the width of the sprite.
I did not conduct any specific research today, but I may need to research how to optimize button sprites in the future.
Overall, today was productive and I made good progress towards our game development goals.
Date: 28/04/23
Today, I researched Rush Royale for the background of our game. I also started work on the programming and UI design, specifically the scrolling background.
Used my knowledge of GML/C++ and Game Maker to develop the game.
I applied techniques in coding and UI design. I utilised debugging to find problems in the code of the game and inform my decisions on how to fix them. I used psychology techniques such as semiotics UI design
I faced the challenge of implementing the scrolling background into the game because there were so many variables to consider, such as the scroll speed, direction, start position, loop points, image scale, and image gap. I was able to solve this by experimenting with different values for these variables and adjusting them until the background looked good and moved smoothly.
Today, I conducted research on Rush Royale to inform the design of our game’s background. In the future, I may need to research other games for inspiration on other game elements.
Overall, today was productive and I made good progress towards our game development goals.
Tomorrow, we need to continue working on programming and UI design and focus on creating more game elements such as User Interface transitions and a main object for the game.
Date: 03/05/23
Continued work on the code, adding slime and tower objects and coded them, made the oMain game object to control parts of the game, included oTransition object for transitions between rooms.
Applied coding techniques for adding game objects and implementing game mechanics.
I found a problem with the oTransition object and fixed it by trying different solutions. Encountered a problem with oTransition object not redirecting to the target room. Solved it by finding and fixing a viewport problem. I don’t know what I did, but it was fixed after messing with the viewport settings.
Researched original IP for the game document. No other research was conducted today.
Date: 05/05/23
Implemented the slimes and towers and created the tower defence part of the game.
Experimented with coding the towers and slimes into the game.
Used my knowledge of GML/C++ and Game Maker to develop the game.
Identified an unexpected game issue caused by an unintended function name in the code. I must have auto-tabbed the name and that caused the function name to be incorrect.
Identified the issue with the game and fixed it by correcting the code.
Conducted research on the game mechanics and features needed for tower defence games.
Overall, the day was focused on implementing the tower defence aspect of the game and experimenting with the code. There was an unexpected issue with the game that was fixed through problem-solving. Research was conducted on game mechanics. The progress made was on track towards achieving the weekly plan.
Date: 10/05/23
Added a new level layout to give space for the platforming section development
Used my knowledge of GML/C++ and Game Maker to develop the game.
No problems occurred today.
Date: 10/05/23
Asked Aiden to simplify the path tile set and I worked on adding 1 new bomb tower and working on adding in 3 more slime objects with walk and jumping animations.
Used programming languages and software tools to develop the game. Debugging techniques.
When testing the animations, they would not play, so I did some debugging and found that the slime sprite was being drawn in the draw event and the sub image was always set to 0.
To fix this i worked out how many images were in each animation for all the sprites and wrote a script to change the animation based on the direction the slime was travelling in. I also accounted for if the slime was jumping or walking, so the animations are consistent and facing the correct direction.
During this, I had the idea to randomise if the slime was jumping or walking and created a quick random variable assignment after each animation was finished.
No research was done today.
Date: 10/05/23
Refactored the enemy shield effect incorporating sprite particles instead of pixels. The benefit to this is that the particles made by Game Maker are just small squares, but by using sprites instead allows for more customisability when it comes to the shape and colour.
Used programming techniques in Game Maker by using the particle system to create the shield effect.
No problems occurred during this process.
No research was conducted today.
Date: 10/05/23
Updated Documentation and submitted
No problems occurred during this process.
Research:
Dark and Light (PC) já tem magia, sobrevivência e RPG de primeira, com … by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
A game I have found related to Light and Dark is called ‘Dark and Light‘, which is a Fantasy RPG / Sandbox hybrid on steam: steampowered.com/Dark_and_Light. This game features ‘elemental forces’ which represent the dark and evil while the player is the light. In this game, the broken pieces of the main planet Gaia are floating in the sky above Archos, a nearby satellite planet. This shows that there are bad forces around the world. As an explorer alone in the wild, you need to learn about the land, things in nature, and how to tame the local animals and make a home. You must use and control the magical energy on the planet, or else you might be taken over by the dark power that is everywhere.
Remnant: From the Ashes Wiki by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
The game that I researched for this theme is called ‘Remnant: From the Ashes’ on steam: steampowered.com/Remnant_From_the_Ashes. It is a third-person survival action shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by monstrous creatures, which represent the corruption. In this game, the world is in chaos because of an old evil from another place. People are trying hard to survive, but they have a way to open portals to different worlds and realities. They need to go through these doors to find out where the evil came from, find things to survive, and fight to make a safe place for humans to start over.
Skul: The Hero Slayer (Multi) será lançado para PC em 21 de janeiro de … by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
The last game I researched related to the Heroism and Villainy theme is ‘Skul: The Hero Slayer’ on steam: steampowered.com/Skul_The_Hero_Slayer. In this game, the Imperial Army and the ‘Hero of Caerleon,’ joined forces to launch a massive attack. Their goal was to eliminate the Demons once and for all. They overwhelmed the Demon stronghold with a large army and managed to destroy it completely. All the demons in the castle were captured, except for a single skeleton named ‘Skul.’
Date: 19/05/23
Started adding sound into the game, converted the files into gamemaker and need to code the sounds in
Used programming languages to implement the sounds and play them when something happens.
No problems occurred today.
I researched into the Game Maker documentation to find what code functions I needed to use to play, pause, and slowdown/speed up the sounds.
Harvard Reference List
App Store. (n.d.). Bloons TD 6. [online] Available at:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bloons-td-6/id1118115766.
App Store. (n.d.). Terraria. [online] Available at: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/terraria/id640364616.
Bloons Wiki. (n.d.). Bloons TD 6. [online] Available at: https://bloons.fandom.com/wiki/Bloons_TD_6.
Fandom.com. (2016). Terraria Wiki. [online] Available at: https://terraria.fandom.com/wiki/Terraria_Wiki.
Game Art 2D. (n.d.). Royalty Free 2D Game Assets. [online] Available at: https://www.gameart2d.com [Accessed 25 Apr. 2023].
neonabyss.fandom.com. (n.d.). Neon Abyss Wiki. [online] Available at: https://neonabyss.fandom.com/wiki/Neon_Abyss_Wiki.
Similar Web (2023). Similarweb.com – Digital World Market Intelligence Platform. [online] SimilarWeb.com. Available at: https://www.similarweb.com/.store.
steampowered.com. (n.d.). Neon Abyss on Steam. [online] Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/788100/Neon_Abyss/.
Wikipedia Contributors (2019). Terraria. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraria.
Wikipedia. (2021). Bloons Tower Defence. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloons_Tower_Defense.
Wikipedia. (2022). Neon Abyss. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_Abyss.
rushroyale.fandom.com. (n.d.). Rush Royale Wiki. [online] Available at: https://rushroyale.fandom.com/wiki/RushRoyale_Wiki [Accessed 1 May 2023].
play.google.com. (n.d.). Rush Royale: Tower Defence TD – Apps on Google Play. [online] Available at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.my.defense&hl=en_US [Accessed 1 May 2023].
Statista. (n.d.). Global console & PC gaming market value worldwide by format 2024. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/292460/video-game-consumer-market-value-worldwide-platform/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20total%20console%20gaming [Accessed 28 Apr. 2023].
Lewis' Games Development Portfolio 