More Music Research

Like in my last post, I will be sharing several music creation or download websites that I have found that I may be able to use for my game. The first for this week is http://famitracker.com. This application allows you to create music on the hardware used for Nintendo's first console, the NES/Famicom. It even allows you to export the music to actual NES/Famicom. This is handy for people who want to make Homebrew games, or fanmade games on actual cartridges. The next music maker is called http://www.beepbox.co. This application is similar to the format of Pulse Boy from the last post, but unfortunately I am not sure if I can export the music to my game because it seems to be made to be used for fun and it only talks about sharing by using the URL. I will try to decide which of these programs I should use.

Here's a music note enemy!

Music Research

Recently, I have looked into multiple possible websites that I could either get music from or make my own on. The first I looked into is indiegamemusic.com. It was created by Roald Strauss, who has worked on video games and music for them since the 80's. He created the website to allow game developers with low budgets to get music for their games from himself or other musicians who can upload their songs to the website. Another website I looked into was premiumbeat.com. This is not really a video game music website, but it has tons of stock tracks and sound effects to choose from. This next website is called http://www.pulseboy.com. This application allows one to create 8-bit tracks from scratch and it is honestly very cool. The only problem is it looks very complex and it might take some time to learn how to operate it. I will look into more websites and share what I learn about them soon.

Here's a bouncing music note!

Level Designs

In an effort to make a good and enjoyable level, I have done a lot of research on level design. In this post I will talk about the different elements of making a good level that I wish to include in my own game. A good level should function almost like a course in school. Certain parts of a level are designed to teach the player about new mechanics in a controlled environment. For example, one element I wish to include in my level are conveyer belts, which will move the player while on top of them. First, I would want to introduce the concept with little to no consequences for failing, so I might make it so you have to jump on a couple of conveyer belts to get to a certain room. If you fall off the conveyer belt there will be solid ground and all you have to do is jump back up to where you were to continue. Next, I will put some conveyer belts in a more dangerous place, where you might fall into a pit and die. Then I might introduce a different mechanic like a mini-boss that the player will have to fight. This will teach the player what the enemy is capable of and how to deal with them. Afterwards, I would want to throw in a "quiz" on the two "lessons," the conveyer belt and the mini-boss. In the quiz, I would want to combine the two elements. You might have to fight the mini-boss while jumping from conveyer belt to conveyer belt. This might prove to be a bit of a challenge, but because I have introduced both concepts individually and in controlled environments, the player should know exactly what to do and should not get too frustrated.

Conveyor Belt moving to the right

Conveyor Belt moving to the left

Mini-Boss Idle

Mini-Boss Firing Gumballs

Creating Animations for the Game

In the past I have talked about the different characters and animations I have done in Piskel. I have not really talked about my process for creating sprites, so today, I wanted to talk you through my way of creating the sprites I need for my game. First, I brainstorm ideas on what I want to create. In this example I want to create a basic enemy for my candy-themed level, so I thought to create a piñata that will attack the player. I start with a basic outline:

Next, I start to add color and a personality to my creation:

I know that I want it to resemble a piñata, so I add lots of flamboyant colors that change between each other suddenly at different layers to give it this effect. Finally, I add a few minor details, like shading:

I know that these sprites may not look the best, but I am very proud of how most of these turn out because I am no where near being an artist and the fact that these even just resemble what I want them to be is enough for me.

Changing Concepts

I wanted to take this week's blog entry to talk about some many idea phases my project went through.  The concept of my game went through several different phases. At first I considered making a sci-fi themed game in which you play as a crash-landed astronaut on a foreign planet. The game play and visuals would have been an homage to the Nintendo game, Metroid. Another idea was for a 2-D stealth game, in which the player assumes the role of a secret agent, ninja, or something to that effect, trying to infiltrate an enemy base. Eventually, I settled on the idea of making a superhero themed game reminiscent of Megaman. Unfortunately, there are many aspects to this idea that will not be fully realized by the end of this school year. I will most likely only have one completed level to serve as a playable demo, but I will try to flesh it out as much as I can. This is actually not so bad, as game design is a rather lengthy process. Some games take over a year just to conceptualize the concept of a game.

I didn't really have a picture that related to what I talked about, so here's an animation for my medieval-themed villain that probably will not be used in the demo for the end of the year presentation. His name is Night Knight.

Coding in C#

One of the most difficult aspects of this project so far has been the coding. I had no prior knowledge on how to do it, so I have been watching tutorials and reading instructions on how to do what I want to achieve with my game. It is a very strange process and it seems almost like speaking a different language because you need to know what the terminology and phrases mean and do. So far, I have only really worked on one script, which is basically the programming for one aspect, which is the character controller. This allows the player to input buttons to make characters move and what not. Honestly, doing this by far is my least favorite aspect of the project. I have all of these ideas and goals for the game, but coding is such a long, tedious process and it is difficult to know what to type in to get the results that I want. I will continue to work hard in order to hone my coding skills.

My character script

Work on Level Design and Character Programming

Along with slowly working through the coding issues in creating my character, I have also been working on the aesthetic and game-play design of the level I hope to have complete in time for the presentations, a candy factory that houses a sweet themed villain, The Jaw-Breaker (changed from the old name, The Candy Man). I have created a small portion of the level below where you can see the work I have been doing. Nothing is animated yet, but the basic designs are there. Once I am finished, the Hot Cocoa will be churning in the vats to the left and be flowing out at the bottom, the machine in the background will have a moving meter and flashing lights, and, of course, the Chameleon will walk, jump, shoot, and slice his way through the level. Next, I plan on implementing enemies, mini-bosses, and bosses. After that, I will finish the level and add the animations, the music, and the sound effects. Hopefully I will have it ready to play soon so that I can have people try it out.

Here are some pictures of my work in Unity:

The level so far as seen in Unity

More of the level in Full Screen