EPTPart Two
This Week
Hello again Teamliquid!
Welcome back to my blog about the development of The Adventures of Sam the Pirate, the 2D platformer I'm creating as the final game project for my Bachelor of Software Engineering degree. Last week I covered some of the technical foundations Sam the Pirate is being built on. This week I'll be talking about some of the game design around Sam the Pirate, including some thoughts on the game design, planned mechanics, and levels.
Game Design
Sam the Pirate is designed as a simple 2D platformer. Given the short time frame (aiming for a finished product by the end of May 2014), the game doesn't contain anything special or unique. There's literally no time for anything like that. The core focus of the game is on the platforming elements, enemies are present but combat with them isn't focused on, and is incredibly basic. We're talking one hit kills on everything, including the player here. No fancy shmancy combos or weapons etc. I had thought of including a parrot as a sidekick, but I could never quite figure out where to use it. Would have been cool to have a parrot following you around, maybe it could help kill enemies by dropping things on them, or help in other ways, but would it have fit in with how I want the rest of the game to play? Still not really sure but decided to leave it out to save time. Maybe if things go really well and I'm able to do a sequel I'll figure something out.
Levels themselves all have a score, with your highest score on each level being recorded. Score is accumulated through killing enemies, collecting coins, of which there are plenty, and collecting barrels of rum, of which there are very few. Barrels of rum are going to be fairly rare, 2-4 per level, and since I'm targeting a Steam release there'll likely be achievements related to getting all of them. Levels are also timed, with a faster time contributing more to your score at the end of the level. I've considered setting up a global leaderboard, both for score and time, but don't think I'll have time to implement it. Could be something I look at patching in after release if the game does well enough though.
Navigating through each level involves running and jumping from platform to platform, dispatching enemies with Sam's sword, and dodging environmental hazards. Possible environmental hazards include:
- Water. Sam drowns in water because he's a terrible pirate that never learnt how to swim.
- Quicksand. Slowly pulls you down and kills you if you don't get out. Slow movement.
- Spikes. Pretty obvious, don't fall on them if you want to live.
- Potential others include carnivorous plants, unstable platforms, fire.
Levels
Current plan is for the finished game to contain 40 levels total, with different areas having different themes. You start out with a nautical/beach theme, explore a jungle, before reaching the pirate fort, and then moving into a cave system under the fort, where you face Captain Bwains, leader of the pirate zombies. Not actually 100% sure how these boss encounters will play out yet. With the game being more focused on platforming rather than combat, I don't really feel like it makes sense to have to actually fight a boss. Currently, I'm thinking of doing boss encounters as a race type level, where the player is chasing Captain Bwains, and can't fall behind or else they fail the level. Have also looked at having to defeat a boss through environmental hazards, ie: dropping barrels on the boss. I feel like the first option lines up better with the focus on platforming over combat though.
Enemies
There are a few different enemy types, that appear as you progress through the game.
- Basic pirate zombie, equipped with a cutlass.
- Musket pirate zombie, armed with a musket to shoot at the player. Bullets are pretty slow and can be avoided.
- Shield pirate zombie, armed with a cutlass and carries a shield which blocks attacks.
- Cannon pirate zombie, mans a cannon! Cannonballs are also slow enough that they can be avoided if you're quick!
Planning for all of these, but we'll have to see how things go time wise. I'm working with a limited number of artists, and there's a fair bit of work that needs to be done, with backgrounds, platforms, characters, interface art etc.
What's next?
Next week will be another more technical focused post, going over input and getting a sprite to move around the screen. Might look at going over some of my initial thoughts on how I'll be handling the physics.
Keep up to date!
Be sure to follow me on Twitter, and like the Facebook page to stay up to date on future content and blog posts when they happen. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, either through Twitter or Facebook!
