ChimaeraMechs
Update 1/12/2015
The design document for ChimaeraMechs has been completed and added to the documents page. This document includes a brief story line, the mechanics of the game, and all initial thoughts on how the game is intended to be played and who it is targeted towards. There are also some initial drawings of both character design and game layout.
Update 1/19/2015
The first video has been uploaded to show the initial progress. I implemented Microsoft's "Platformer Starter Kit" as an engine for the level design and the basic physics of the game level. The assets are not final although the main character is the first draft while most of the other assets will be scrapped. Most of the code will be expanded to include shooting/killing enemies, the jump must be reworked and the levels will have scrolling involved. The actual video itself shows the basic movement and ability to pick up items. Then I show the simple changing of the first level by editing the text file for the level itself. There are still a few mechanics that are buggy (namely jumping) and will be one of the first things I fix so I can work on level design sooner. I will also be adding scrolling levels and the ability to shoot the enemies by using the mouse.
Update 1/26/2015
Version 1.1 - I have fixed the infinite jumping so that it is now a preset amount and you must touch the ground before being able to jump again. Bunny hopping is available but may be removed if needed for balance. ALso horizontal scrolling is implemented, and there will not likely be any vertical scrolling. There has been a graphic update on the coins and there are also red coins that are currently an invincibility powerup, but will be modified later to be the weapon system. After looking a bit at mouse shooting vs shooting straight, I have decided to go with shooting straight to make testing easier on a laptop without using an external mouse. This also allows the difficulty to be more easily balanced. I intend to add weapons and killing of the enemies as well as finish replacing the graphics of the enemies and player. I also intend to revisit the current coin system to see what, if any of it I wish to implement. The enemies will also need to be divided into a few different types to provide variety.
Update 2/2/2015
Version 1.2 - Shooting is now in and interacts properly with screen boundaries, enemies and correctly dissapears. There are multiple bullet types implemented in code, but not usable that alter the bullet's speed, damage, special properties and fire rate. Weapons still need to be implemented which will encompass the current bullet class as an object. Enemies can be killed and display a holder sprite to display the 'dead body' that can also have an animation to begin. Bullets populate and depopulate correctly and can travel only a certain time before dissapearing to provide another balance for bullet types. Next there will need to be more graphics updates (although not as high priority as programming). Weapons will be included and able to be picked up/swapped out. Enemies already have health, but will be implemented as visible in the game. More options need to be provided in the map editor to allow these special tiles to exist. Enemies dropping weapons may be implemented if intended in final design. Sound still needs to be resolved as well.
Update 2/16/2015
Version 1.3 - Weapons have been implemented with both a default and machine gun being 100% usable and a rocket launcher awaiting art and small tweaks. You can now change weapons by running into them on the ground and will automatically, and instantly, be given the new weapon. There are differences in performance of the weapons as well that will be even further expanded upon. Health is also implemented and visible above an enemy's sprite. The default is set to 3 hp (3 shots from either implemented gun) and is displayed as decreasing when a hit is dealt. On death the health bar dissapears for that enemy. In the next version, weapons will able to be picked up and interchanged as opposed to forced permanent swap. The rocket launcher will also be implemented and available as a choice of weapons. Finally I intend to rework the enemy AI to have them attack the player which will also include placing hp and death conditions on the player. More graphics to be replaced as well (enemies, rocket launcher art and jump animations primarily).
Version 2.0 - Health and ability to die from enemies is now implemented and visible. The health is currently set at 5 and deteriorates 1 per hit from enemy. Enemies currently stop and shoot towards you when in range, but otherwise continue their patrolling. There is also the ability to swap weapons with one on the ground repetadly so any weapon can be chosen as they appear. Weapons are reset upon level completion. The rocket launcher is also completely implemented and currently is a 1 hit kill on enemies. I intend to give it a splash damage, but will look at level design before deciding. For the next version I intend to focus heavily on graphics and level design since the game is technically playable now. I will start replacing art and adding art for the enemies which may lead to more enemy implementations.I will also create at least 1 tutorial level that will have pop-ups and button explanations in the future. Finally I will replace art for the platforms and enviornment.
Update 2/23/2015
Version 2.0.1 - This is only a half update due to dpring break and therfore the 3 things from last week will be completed upon the next version. As of now, the tutorial level is designed and has helpful text overlays to teach the player the controls and mechanics. As seen in the video there are a few bugs that need to be addressed at some point one of which being a repeated weapon swap the first time it is done on a level. The other (not seen in the video) is some of the enemy bullets not dying after the enemy does (likely the list is tied to a null enemy). I intend to have the bullet bug if not both bugs solved by next update as well as the finishing of the tutorial level and art replacement.
Update 3/1/2015
Version 2.1 - The finishing of the last half update and 3 tasks were completed. This part of the half update included a graphics overhaul. The enviornment art (both foreground platforms as well as background parralax layers) have been replaced with a cityscape type design. There is also one graphic-replaced enemy that is seen as a wolf/dog that has cannons attached at the sides. The video for this week is a recap of the last few updates (since 1.3) due to the inability to present for the last few weeks. The video includes a complete run of the tutorial to show all the implemented changes and also shows both current bugs that are to be fixed in the next update. For the next week's update, my three goals are to fix the enemy bugs (both the graphical glitch near edges and bullets not dissapearing), fix the sound implementation and try to get both music and sound effects in, and finally I intend to start the implementation of the menu and other GUIs for actually making a 'complete' game.
Update 3/9/2015
Version 3.0 - The various bugs in previous versions have been solved and the gamestates are completely implemented. The enemy's bullets correctly dissapear if they are killed and weapons no longer infinite loop the first time they are picked up. Also, all sound issues have been resolved and both background music(s) and sound effects are currently working. The video recording software I used did not record sound, but all sounds can be provided on request. For the next update, I intend to return to art and functional changes. I will resume replacing enemy sprites and will also start implementing a "special ability" for the main hero. The three things to be done by next week will be the ability to eat enemy bodies (which stores power for your ability), graphics changed for the hero/enemy to feature the body eating. And finally, I will be implementing the ability itself which is (so far) a stun of all enemies on the screen by doing a lion roar.
Update 3/16/2015
Version 3.1 - Lion Roar has been fully implemented as a 2-second stun of all enemies nearby. The roar is acheived by feasting on 3 enemies to fill the LION ROAR bar in the bottom right. An enemy can only be feasted on once (when over the corpse you press F) and upon 3 charges, the roar will be usable by pressing R. The graphics for the first enemy being killed and then a post-feasted are implemented as well. For the next update, I will be focusing primarily on graphics and design work with little to no programming. The first graphics to start being implemented will be another enemy to be used for some variation (it will likely be used the same as the first enemy for now, but I intend to branch it out soon). Secondly i will be touching up the main character since he is still the prototype design from the start. Finally I intend to complete out the Menu by implementing the 'how to play' screen with full controls as well as general game play ideas.
Update 3/23/2015
Update 3/30/2015
Version 3.2 - The graphics for the main character have been reworked for moving, jumping and roaring with all weapons. The flames produced from the jumping have been replaced with a particle system to produce a better looking jump animation. The roar has also been aesthetically updated by adding an animation to the character and adding a 'shakescreen effect' that randomly shakes the screen to show that the roar has been used. As I continue into the next week, I will continue to do graphic updates and hope to have most if not all the graphics done to spend the last few weeks on final touches, polish and level design. My three things for the next week will be completing all Menu graphics, completing the missing character graphics and finishing the current enemy and the one in progress completely to allow for 2 enemies. As I continue forward, I intend to invest some time in the particle effects to see how they can be implemented to improve the graphics.
Update 4/6/2015
Version 4.0 - Finishing the majority of the graphics overhaul, all of the menu screens have been reworked and the how to screen has been implemented. The main character now has all animations completed including the celebtration (end of level) and the death animation. There have also been a few UI additions (namely two blocks in the upper corners). On the left the time and score have been centered and on the right, a notification has been placed so the user always knows how to pause. For the next week I intend to finish and implement the second enemy (the graphics are mostly done, but the enemy is intended to act differently in implementation). Secondly I will start completing the first few levels to be actually complete and ready for release. Finally I intend to start design on a boss enemy that will be implemented if time allows as a completion point.
Version 4.1 - Due to some bugs and other errors (such as a hard to find infinite loop), not as much got done as was originally expected this week. I was able to replace to dust graphic from the sprite sheet with a particle effect to produce a much better hero sprite. I was also able to fully implement the first level which includes a jump puzzle to get a gun that persists through levels. Finally I was able to finish some graphics up that haven't yet made it into the game. For next week I intend to have the second enemy in a level and completed. I also intend to have some boss AI starting to be implemented and some balance testing. Finally I will have the entire first world (intended point for this class) all designed.
Update 4/13/2015
Version 4.2 - Added the second enemy graphics into the game but the attacking mechanic is slightly buggy still and has not been including in this video. I also cleaned up some graphical errors in a couple of the graphics that I had including the first enemy's death animation. The boss design is mostly done and both it and the final 4 levels should be included in the final build if everything works together. For the next week I will implement the final few levels and implement the deisng for the boss. Some balance testing has been done but I will finalize it with the boss in place. Finally the issues with the second enemy will be resolved and he will be the melee based enemy.