Here is what I have so far. I finished the basic game mechanics a few weeks ago and now I'm starting to expand beyond a normal space invaders clone. I just finished adding the particle effects and screen shake effect. I've never done anything like this before so this game is full of firsts for me. I'm planning to refactor the code and make it more organized before I add more features. I'm sure that you all have some advice for ways to improve the code and make it more efficient. I'm open to any suggestions you may have. After I'm done reorganizing the program I have several decisions to make. I'm trying to decide if I should add a health mechanic for the basic aliens or reserve it for bosses only.
Completed:
. collisions
. bullets
. square formation enemies(like space invaders)
. particle effects
. basic sounds
. basic title screen
. screen shake effect
. sprites and visual stuff
TODO:
. sprite animations
. better menu
. weapon upgrades / multiple types
. powerups/health drops
. multiple enemy types
. waypoint/parametric equation based enemy movement(like Galaga)
. score system and level progression
. a boss battle
below is the beginnings of my new enemy movement system that will make use of parametric equations as well as lerp and waypoints probably to make transitions smoother. In the carts below, the enemies are moving along a Lissajous curves. I think it looks pretty good for a swarm of aliens.
second lissajous movement variation:
The enemy shots despite changing colors are tricky to see as they can shrink to a size of 1x1 matching the stars.
Suggest solid bright color for them and no change in size, perhaps a line or teardrop to differentiate them between the stars which are also falling in the same direction.
I don't have a hard time seeing them at all and I really like the color/size changing for the bullets. Are you sure that there isn't another reason you are having a hard time seeing them? Perhaps my computer display settings make them easier for me to see. They are only 1x1 pixels big for a very brief amount of time and I've never had a problem with it. I will try experimenting with size, color, and shape. I actually used to have a teardrop shape before I decided on the size-changing circle. Maybe I will try that again.
How about this? I made the bullets bigger and have a permanent line.
Oh yeah, that's a lot easier to see. Nice job ! Earns a STAR from me anyways. :)
Add some levels with increasing difficulty, high-scores, number of player ships, background music for the menu maybe, and I think you'll be all set.
@dw817, glad you like it :-)
Most of the things you mentioned are things I was already planning to add. I’m not sure yet if I will add player lives, I like the excitement(and frustration) of only having one ship. I might add several ship types with different guns to choose from at the beginning. The biggest thing I need to figure out is how I want to design the levels.
P.S. how do you feel about the game over message?
It was just meant as a placeholder until I could make a better one but I think it looks pretty good.
Game over message is fine. The color combination you are using reminds me of a problem POKEMON had with a coloring issue in one of their episodes.
Here is the actual clip in question. Be warned.
I briefly thought about that when I was choosing the colors. Do you think it would be a serious problem since its just a small portion of the screen? I want my bullets to have kind of a flashing effect and the high contrast is what makes it work.
No. It just reminded me of it. The coloring you chose as you can see is VERY close.
When I put out my Haunted House game for Pico-8 I realized there would be flashing lights. Indeed you could only see the walls in the house when the lightning flashed, forcing the player to focus on the flashes.
That kind of concentration led me to put a visual warning in the beginning of the game about my game being a possible trigger to epilepsy.
If you're curious, epilepsy can be caused by a great many things.
https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/triggers-seizures
Not to go too off topic, I remember watching a black-and-white movie where someone had jumped off a pier into a lake and the camera followed the swimmer before the water.
That very scene the way the water reflected the sunlight, the motion of it, caused me to have a partial seizure. Where I froze up and was unresponsive for several minutes. I didn't even remember the passage of time.
I don't think anyone is going to have a seizure playing your game, Firebird - it's just your color choice for shots and game over at least to me is very close to the ones that Pokemon episode did.
Dang, Firebird, you got spammed ! I flagged it.
They must see your cart as high traffic.
There's no higher honor you can receive. :)
The enemy movement mechanics are really something cool. I have never seen anything like that before in a shooter, you should keep at it!
Thanks guys! I’ve actually refined the code a lot since my last update and added some new features. However, I’ve been very busy with classes lately and haven’t had much time to finish it or upload my current progress.
this is great, love the randomized bullet clusters from the player, nice animation, cant wait to see it in a finished state
[Please log in to post a comment]
