YEAR 3 - BA3a - Self Evaluation

I don't often push my games past the early stages of development so this project has been quite difficult for the most part. Pushing myself was the point though and I feel It's made me a more rounded developer as a result. I've had to do more testing than I usually would and consider higher concept things like marketability and demographic. My design decisions have had to be more focused on what I think would sell, improve the game for a wide range of people, rather than just what I would want in a game. I've had to more carefully plan what I'm gong to do and when because I can't really afford to implement random new ideas any more without fully thinking them through first, as I'm focusing on finishing the game. Although admittedly I have done a bit of that in response to player feedback.

I'm happy with how my essay has turned out. I spent a lot of time reading relevant articles and books; watching videos on the topic and gathering research generally on the subject of meta-fiction. The essay itself went through a fair few revisions as I learned more about the subject. For example, I realized that ordering the essay into Meta-fiction for comedy vs meta-fiction for suspense was too limiting as there are games that use it for both and which use techniques from both. It was also a bit limiting since there are actually a fair few more avenues that I hadn't explored.

I feel like I've done some good analysis in my research report of both my game and other games. I've applied some techniques from specific popular games in the same genre that help to bring the game in the direction I want it to go. I've taken feedback on the game and determined whether it's beneficial to make those changes to the game or not.

YEAR 3 - BA3a - SpaceNinja - NEW menus

I'm  in the process of creating new menus that can be controlled with keyboard/ controller because when testing the game at the NIGD it was annoying to have to constantly stand up to use the mouse every time I wanted to manually make a change to the level (or change the debug options like changing the number of double jumps or hover time) (If you want to test this yourself, it's just the number keys on the right hand side of the keyboard when numlock is turned on)

It's proving more difficult than I originally thought but I've figured out a way to get it to work pretty well now.
Essentially, I make all the menu buttons into the same class (called 'menuButtons'), and place them into the room from top to bottom. I then have a piece of code that counts the number of menuButtons in the room, creates an array of that length and orders them in the array in the order that they were created. Then, I make the up down controller/keyboard buttons move forwards and backwards through the array and 'activate' which ever button is at the current part of the array. Then when the player presses 'A' (controller)/'Z' (keyboard) it 'uses' the currently activated button.

However, it's taking quite a while to do this for each room so I only have it fully working on the first room. It gets even more complicated when I want menus within menus because I have to change the array that is currently being edited by the player . Essentially though, this is the first thing I'm going to finish off once we start the new term.

YEAR 3 - BA3a - Reddit Secret Santa Gecko Fencing

I signed up for Reddit's yearly secret santa this year and my matched participant was into videogames so I decided to make them one.

2 of their main interests were their pet Gecko, and Fencing, which they'd been competing in for 5 years. So I made them a 2 player game about geckos fencing.

I used a different code structure to what I normally use in these kind of games because I wanted to test it out for use in my end of year project. I used a state machine which essentially locks the character to whatever action they're currently performing until it's finished. This allows me to get fluid animations in because I know exactly how long any action will take to complete. It does cause the game to feel a bit stiffer though because I have taken some of the control away from the player.


It was important that I got the proper fencing technique into the game since the person I was making for is such an expert in the sport. I used THIS video guide to fencing as a reference and tried to emulate the way they walk and lunge in the game. I programmed it into the game that the character should make a full step before they're allowed to stop moving so as to mirror the way fencers do it in real life.

I added a few more moves like the jump and roll to give the players a bit more variety in how to approach the enemy.

I used a few reference images when pixeling the character. The defining features of the crested gecko are the shape of the head, the eye and the lighter mouth as well as the webbed toes. I was going for a minimal atari style for the game but I tried to get as many of these features across as I could with the resources I had.

This project has been useful so far as testing the new programming style. I'll think I'll apply it partially to SpaceNinja for specific actions that I want the player to have to commit to; those actions will have nice animations.

YEAR 3 - BA3a - SpaceNinja - NIGD testing

I brought my game to the most recent NIGD meetup partially to see what everyone else had been working on since last we met but also to show off the game in its current form.

The feedback was... great.

People seem genuinely impressed with the state of the game. Here's some feedback I got:

1. One major thing I noticed was that I do have to explain how the game works in a fair bit of detail before people really start to get the hang of it.
2. People are hesitant to use the 'hover without jumping technique' (hold down the shift key/ left bumper).
3. I asked whether people considered the controls too complex and whether adding a second 2 block high character would be too much. Everyone said the game currently was easy enough to control.
4. People said it was ambiguous why the map was switching on its own.
5. "It feels like you should press down for shield. Down feels like a defensive button"
6. It's difficult to tell between the bullet tiers sometimes

Response:
1. I should definitely include some kind of quick tutorial that explains what all the UI means and what all the controls/ moves are. I could even bring back single player mode but make it far smaller in scope than the previous one. Interestingly, younger people (10 - 21; my target audience) tend to pick up the game quicker which is good because the game is already relatively difficult and having a skilled player base suits that demographic. Obviously I can't rely on everyone being immediately skilled though, hence the tutorial/ single player etc.

2. To be fair, it is not an essential technique for the majority of moves. I don't think people not using this is a problem as most testers are still getting the hang of the main set of controls. Some players go years with fighting games before learning all the techniques. I know I didn't use the shield in SSBM for a really long time and it took me even longer to learn to use more technical moves.

3. I suppose adding in this 2nd character potentially just acts as a higher skillcap for very technical players. I could possibly even make the 2 block high characters into a second game mode?... It does seem unnecessarily complex to do that though. The game was never built with lots of game modes etc in mind so adding lots of new ones now is quite difficult without revamping the whole system.

4. I need to make it clearer then what a round actually constitutes as. I could put player 'lives' at the top and exaggerate each kill so as to say 'look, you're closer to winning'. I should also extrinsically reward the winning player with a big 'player X wins' at least. This should make it feel better and also clearly seperate the rounds from one another. I think I should also give players the choice of player another round or not, although this does break the fluidity a bit.

5. I considered it but I think this is a really bad idea. Being able to constantly shield incentivizes defensive play which isn't really what I want as it's less exciting to watch. It also compromises the system of reflecting bullets as the bullets tier becomes less relevant. I suppose if I made the bullets just have 2 tier it could kind of work but again, this works in favor of the person not shooting; not engaging which is the opposite of what I want. It does help with issue 6 though.

6. Clearly the solution to this is to just make the different tiers more visually distinct. I could even add a different sound effect when a bullet turns into tier 3 just so as to warn players of the danger/ increase excitement.

YEAR 3 - BA3a - SpaceNinja - Scoring, Menus and Customisation

Using assets from the Metroidvania version of the game, I mocked up a world select in the same theme. The same way Nidhogg has a real world from which you chose the map. I think it helps to establish the game world as a fleshed out place by giving the player information about where different areas are relative to one another.

I changed the scoring so as to switch the level randomly after each round. I'm considering 2 kills on either player to count as a round.
I also included an 'All Switch button' which basically switches the array of maps it's using to randomly chose from. Either it'll pick from all the maps in the game. Or it'll just chose maps from the current 'area' in the game. This is significant because different areas are designed with different gimmicks/ special block types/ map difficulties and layouts in mind so this setting allows players to modulate that difficulty to some degree.

Within each world is a selection of specific maps in that particular worlds theme. I mocked up a few more from each theme for the purposes of testing out the new level switcher and to give testers a bit more variety too. I haven't gone all out on the visual flair for these new 'alternate' maps though because they're basically just mockups.

I also changed the colors of each player so as to more easily distinguish one from the other as in testing I found people did sometimes mistake their opponents character for their own. This gives the characters a bit more of a unique identity too which, despite minimal helps the players relate more closely to their favorite one, a bit like how professional SSBM players have specific character colors that they always use. Taking this concept further should hopefully increase players enjoyment of the game as well as the competitive scene around it.
I could even go so far as to include some kind of customization option, like headpieces or hats. Duck game is improved because of its inclusion of this. These would function as unlockables too; acting as a motivator to keep playing etc. Having certain ones as secret unlocks for very specific actions might be beneficial too as these kind of secrets help spread the word online about how to get specific items, which should help improve the community for the game.

YEAR 3 - BA3a - SpaceNinja - Game Research

Nidhogg

Towerfall, Nidhogg and Duckgame are 3 main influences of SpaceNinja.
I'm trying to strike a balance between the three.

Nidhogg is relatively slapstick but it's serious regarding the combat. The good thing about the game is how every playerstate is beneficial in some ways, yet bad in others. For example, holding the sword high protects the player from jumping attacks. In the middle gives the freedom to move more quickly to the other states, and at the bottom protects against rolling attacks. Jumping limits the players movement and attack options whilst in the air but opens up aerial attacks/ maneuvers.

The player needs to use all these abilities, accounting for the different terrain and the position/ state of their opponent. This is the level of depth I want in my game. The downside to this is that it's easy to scare off new players so a level of 'pick up and play' simplicity is requires. By trying to make the game humorous, ridiculous I can hold new players attention spans longer too with the hope that they stay interested long enough for the depth to shine through.

DuckGame

DuckGame is an example of a game which takes the humorous approach. DuckGame has relatively high skill maneuvers but by being slapstick it manages to stay enjoyable for players who don't have that level of skill. The weapon pickups help make the gameplay varied and give less skilled players more of a chance with lucky drops etc. The vertical level design helps to make the game playable with four players, where as Nidhogg would only be possible with 2 due to it's lack of. The 4 player option increases marketability as a party game I think and helps to highlight the wackiness of the game.

Towerfall

Towerfall is another example of a game which uses vertical level design to allow for more than 2 players. Like Duck Game it has pickups, but it takes a slightly more serious approach to themeing. The gameplay is more consistent than duck game too because the players always start off with the same loadout. I would argue that Towerfall has less strategic depth than Nidhogg but it makes up for that with mechanical aiming skill. Out of the 3 games I think this is the most similar to SpaceNinja, gameplay wise and theme wise.

I think I'm going to have to test different game styles for SpaceNinja because it's still ambiguous whether or not I should include pickups or not. Pickups add an element of randomness to the game which lowers the mechanical depth to the game but improves the marketability and 'new player experience'...

YEAR 3 - BA3a - SpaceNinja - Menu Research

Lethal League

I'm looking at a few other games menus to get a feel for how to do them well.

The most obvious thing to me is the visual juice every time the player even hovers over a button with their cursor.

Nidhogg

It's a good way of indicating to the player that it's an interactive thing and a good way to make the player feel good just by the menus. It also functions as a way controller players to know what interactive thing they're interacting with (since they have no mouse it's more ambiguous)

The games also both use audio as an indicator of intractable buttons too. Nidhogg more subtely than Lethal League.

The menus reflect the type of game too. Lethal League, being a game about excitement and speed has very punchy menus that can be navigated quickly with both mouse and controller. The audio ramps up in intensity as the player gets closer to the actual game, with loud announcer sfx when the player chooses a character to make them feel really good and pumped for the game to begin/

Nidhogg on the other hand; a game about strategy, mind games and technical skill, has much more chilled out music and menus to match. The themeing of the game is established with the visuals and the menu navigation is not overplayed as the focus is intended to be on the game itself and the zen like mind set it requires of the player.

I want to go for more Nighogg so far as sound effects and juice because I want the players to get into a more thoughtful mindset and it suits the underground mysterious planet theme of my game.

Layout wise though I'm going to go for more Lethal League because I like how easy it is to find where you want to be and if I want players to play my game a lot, I have to make sure the UX doesn't limit their enjoyment of the game.

Developing menus with controller in mind is trickier because making a system where the game knows what comes next in a sequence (when moving down through a list of options for example) can be difficult when I'm constantly going to be shifting things around. So initially I'm going to develop the menus with mouse in mind and then add controller support once the layout/UX is established.

YEAR 3 - BA3a - SpaceNinja - Some New content

It's not a lot but I've added a new themed area to the game, The Molten Core. This is still placeholder art for the most part but it gives an idea of what I'd like the feel to be. The goo down the walls is functionally the same as the green goo showed in the other gifs but recolored so as to fit the theme.

The lava is a bit more forgiving than spikes in that it deals damage incrementally rather than killing the player outright. This suits the style of level because it allows me to place it all over the map without it being a frustrating way to die. I use it a lot in this design and the player is constantly at risk of being damaged by it. This map has safer areas but only for short periods of time so the players must always be on their toes.

I like the design of this map because the shape of it, and positions the players might want to exploit move around a lot during a single round. The players both have areas behind the goo (which reflects bullets) that they can use to hide, but only for very short periods of time as their hover meter is only half a second and they risk damaging themselves in the lava. The cracked blocks in the middle fall down when stood on which opens up the X-wing shaped section to be shot through (but not moved through), which in turn, causes the lowest platform level to come under pressure because bullets can now reach it from the opponents side. This makes the personal 'hiding place' much less safe as a result.

The platforms that fall down also serve a second purpose. Whilst making the top section more dangerous, the bottom section becomes less dangerous as there's now more area to stand on. but due to the lower resting point (inside the lava), the platforms also serve as a way to get to the same level as and destroy the 2 rubble blocks on either side which from here can be shot and destroyed to trap players down there. Due to the arrangement though, it's only possible to trap yourself, not your opponent, which allows for some interesting mind games between players.

Also, the fallen platforms make the map much more vertically oriented, which increases the viability of jumping on players heads over shooting them. Overall, the map has a lot of dynamics which I think make it a relatively high skill map to play on.

I made this map to test out a new block design; the brown one in the middle. The gif actually doesn't capture it particularly well but the blocks are ones which, require both the skill to hover and shoot at the same time since a bullet is required to flip the spikes from one side to the other. I think they're particularly interesting regarding player vs player because they allow players to shoot eachother from different heights (which cannot normally be done). They also allow for some sneaky tactics, which will result in a wider degree of playstyles. This is a good thing if I want a healthy player base as it let's players express themselves through their play styles. I also have an alternate version of this block with a timer that causes it to reset automatically but I think that works better in PvE rather than PvP to be honest.

YEAR 3 - BA3a - SpaceNinja Initial Testing

It's been some time since I've tested the game. The last major round of testing I did was whilst the game was still a single player metroidvania. That's not to say that some of that research can't go into the current game, since it is still essentially the same movement and basic combat. I do need to test the new balancing though, that is that no one approach feels too powerful relative to another. That would be a problem as it would condition the players into a particular optimal play style that would limit the overall diversity of approaches the game gives the players.

The main feedback I got from a round of testing with friends:
1.Players using the controller don't slide on ice
2.When you can just jump on the enemies head it makes the sword feel a little bit useless as a weapon
3.There needs to be an easier way to switch between levels

For the most part people seem to really enjoy the game and it seems to go down well as a 'spectator sport' as the response from observers is positive too.

Response:
1. This is just a bug that needs fixing. I've noticed it before but it's actually more difficult to fix than it would seem due to the way I've programed left and right movement with the controller. At some point I might 'standardize' movement so that there are different set speeds to walk, run and sprint/ dash. This would allow me to give the keyboard players the same degree of movement as well as make it easier to fix the 'ice bug'.

2. I think it's very important that the game keeps the ability to jump on the opponents head as a way of dealing damage because it makes height advantage and actual advantage. The struggle of trying to dodge your opponents shots whilst navigating above them whilst gravity is trying to pull you back down is one of the interesting things about the game. It incentivizes moving into close range and getting the 'sneak attack' on your opponent and just generally promotes healthy movement around the stage. That's the reason it kills in 1 hit too (rather that 3 hits); because I want to promote movement and offense as opposed to turtleing/ defense.

I think the reason people feel like they should be able to deal damage with the sword is because it's thematically a weapon but mechanically a shield on cool-down and that causes a disconnect for the players. I think it would be smart at some point to re-design the sword as some kind of magic shield or something so as to more closely fit the theme and function.

3. This is a good point and one that I've neglected to some degree in order to focus on the mechanics. I'll look into implementing some kind of system that allows the player to switch levels after a round or possibly different game types that do their own things with level select (loses picks for example). Before that I need to develop a proper level select though.

YEAR 3 - BA3a - SpaceNinja current state

This is SpaceNinja in its current alpha state. It's the game I've been working on, on and off for about a year and a half now. The game has gone through a LOT of different iterations and genres. Arcade, Arcade 2 2 player arcade, 2 player brawler, single player platformer, co-op platformer, metroidvania, and finally it's back to being a 2 player brawler but with the artstyle/ theme of the metroidvania.

I should note that the music I'm using in the game is placeholder music from Super Metroid and not music that I made. I use it mostly for keeping a consistent 'feel' to the games theme/ art whilst I'm developing. You can mute it with the 'M' key.

 For my project I'm going to finish off the game to a state where I can release it as a commercial product. I'm going to market the game and test it at meetups with NIGD and at events like NGF and EGX. I'll also develop promotional videos and advertisements for the game.

The game currently has almost all art assets and movement in place and basic scoring that tracks how many deaths each player has. I'm going to work on changing the scoring to allow for more variety in levels as currently the same one is just repeated. Generally I'm happy with where the game is at though. The movement is the result of hundreds of hours of iteration. I might also consider re-adding the 2 block high character to the game since it adds more strategic depth to the game. The only downside is how much more difficult to control it is. I might have to do some testing regarding that...