Games Development - Task 3 : Game Prototype

27.5.2024 - 9.7.2024 (Week 8 - Week 11)
Tan Yi-Tyng (0353327)
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Games Development 
Task 3: Game Prototype

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INSTRUCTIONS

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TASK 3 - GAME PROTOTYPE

Instruction

Students given the task to create the prototype of their game. The prototype doesn’t need to have the final art asset and the use of grey boxing is allowed. The focus here is to quickly test out the game mechanics and to troubleshoot any technical difficulties discovered during the development. The focus should be the MVP of your game.

This includes :

• Coding movements and actions

• Coding obstacles and enemies’ interactions

• Coding game levels (Logic of the game)

Game Assets

Previous Game Assets

When I started working on the prototype in Unity, I soon realized that the previous game assets and gameplay I had proposed were difficult for me to implement. In the previous tasks, I planned to have three different game backgrounds with different objectives and layouts. It was time-consuming to continue building that in Unity, especially since some game mechanics, such as CCTV detection and the player throwing smoke and using stun gun for a quick getaway to avoid being noticed, took me quite some time to figure out.

Current Game Assets

I decided to switch to focusing on just one game background with one game objective. In the game, the main character is imprisoned in a jail, and his main objective is to collect the key and find the exit door to escape. Throughout the jailbreak journey, the player will face many challenges, such as spikes and sharp blades, moving platforms, and fire traps. The difficulty increases as the levels progress.

Main Character 

As soon as I started creating the animation for the player movement, I realized that the previous assets I had created were not sufficient. More frames in the player movement animation would make the animation look smoother. So, I went online and searched again, and luckily, I found a template that provided full and detailed animations for different types of character movements that suited the game theme. The character movement animations include idle, run, jump, dead, throw, and attack.

Fig. 2.1 - Player Idle

Fig. 2.2 - Player Running

Fig. 2.3 - Player Jumping

Fig. 2.4 - Player Throwing Knife (attack)

Fig. 2.5 - Player Death

Enemy - Police

In the game, the police are the enemies. The player must navigate carefully as the police patrol throughout the game. If the player is caught by the police (collides with them), they lose the game. The number of police will vary for each level.

Fig. 3.1 - Police Death 

Fig. 3.2 - Police Patrol

Game Environments / Background

I found a tutorial on YouTube that shows how using tilesets to create the game background is easier and more manageable, as it allows for changing the layout at any time. Previously, I used images to create the background, which was time-consuming and inefficient, especially when working in Unity. So, I found a complete set of game tilesets that suit the jail game theme. With these assets ready, I can directly build the game levels with the background and ground platforms smoothly.

Fig.4.1 - Tutorial on how to create Tile Palette in Unity

Fig. 4.2 - Tilesets

Fig. 4.3 - Process of creating tilesets palette in Unity

Level 1

In Level 1, there will be a total of two floors, one enemy, two checkpoints, spikes, and blades.

Main Character Animation

After creating the layout of the entire level 1 scene with the ground platform all placed accordingly, I then started to animate the main character's movement. This process took me quite a long time to figure out, as I had to ensure that when the player presses the back or next button, the character would have a running animation and flip left or right. Additionally, the player can control the character's jump by pressing the spacebar and attack by clicking the mouse. I watched several YouTube tutorials and modified the script to ensure the player can perform all movements with smooth animation.

Fig. 5.1 - Tutorial on how to create animation for the character 

Fig. 5.2 - Tutorial on how to create animation for the character 

In the process, I faced challenges where the main character could not switch to the running animation and remained idle when I pressed the back and next buttons. So, I looked for YouTube tutorials and also asked ChatGPT to check my script for any errors. Finally, I solved this issue by modifying the script and double-checking the settings in the Animator (parameters).

Fig. 5.3 - Process of creating animation for the character

Fig. 5.4 - Screen Recording of the player animation

Obstacles (Spike & Blade)

Next, I continued to create the obstacles such as spikes and blades in the game. The placement of the spikes and blades is important and purposeful, as this will create challenges for the player, making the game more exciting and engaging. For example, the blade will be placed near a spot where the player is required to jump, so the player needs to be cautious to avoid being hurt by the blade.

To make each spike and blade a hurtful item, I used a script named PlayerHealth. Inside the script, I used the if statement to link with the tag. This script will be attached to the player component, and I have to make sure all the spike and blade objects are set with the correct tag.

Instead of adding the box collider for each spike and setting the tag individually, I created prefabs for the spikes and blades. This saves time by allowing me to duplicate the objects easily.

Fig. 5.5 - Adding obstacles in the game 

Fig. 5.6 - Player Health script 

Fig. 5.7 - Screen Recording of How the Spike & Blade Work

Checkpoints

In the game, there will be checkpoints in all levels. These checkpoints serve the purpose of allowing the player to resume from the checkpoint instead of the starting point upon death. Once the player reaches a checkpoint, it becomes activated, changing color from red to green. The placement of the checkpoints is usually in areas with more obstacles and difficulties for the player to pass through. To create this needed a script and attached it to the checkpoint game object. 

Fig. 5.7 - Checkpoints in the game

Fig. 5.9 - Script for the checkpoints

Fig. 5.10 - Screen Recording of How the Checkpoints Work

Level 2

In Level 2, there will be a total of three floors, two enemies, two checkpoints, a moving platform, spikes, and blades.

Moving Platform

The moving platform appears in Levels 2 and 3 to increase the game's difficulty. The platform can move vertically and horizontally, and as the player progresses to the third level, the speed of the moving platform will increase, requiring the player to move precisely.

Creating this moving platform took me almost the whole day, as I faced issues when the player jumped on the platform. When the player wanted to move, it would jitter, and sometimes it couldn't continue to jump. I tried many methods and asked for help from ChatGPT, but the issue remained. Eventually, while scrolling through the comments on a YouTube tutorial, I found out that the scale of the moving platform object must be the same as the player's, which is 1. This prevents the player from jittering while moving. To solve the issue of the player not being able to jump, someone suggested modifying the script to add an if statement and set the player as the child of the moving platform when the player jumps on it.

Fig. 5.11 - To solve the issue of player can't jump

Fig. 5.12 - Screen recording of the Moving platform

Level 3

In Level 3, the game environment will be larger compared to Levels 1 and 2. There will be 3 enemies, four checkpoints, two moving platforms, spikes, blades, boxes that need to be activated to fall off, fire traps, and swinging blades.

Falling Boxes Activation

In this level, there will have a spot where have a long spike on the ground, in order to let the player pass through, the player need to find the switch to activate in order to let the boxes fall off so the player can pass through the obstacles. 

Fig. 5.13 - Process of creating the falling boxes activation

Fig. 5.14 - Screen Recording of the Falling Boxes Activation

Summary

What has been done: 

• Level 1 map layout
• Level 2 map layout
• Level 3 map layout (semi-complete)
• Player control (includes run, jump, attack)
• Enemy patrol between certain areas (waypoints, attacked)
• Traps (spikes, blades, moving platforms, falling boxes activation)
• Item collectibles (only collect the key to open the exit door)
• Checkpoints

What has yet to be done:

• Level 3 (map layout, fire traps, swinging blades)
• Player sound effects (run, jump, attack, death)
• Sound effects (collect key, activate falling boxes, checkpoints)
• Background music
• Animate the characters (police and player death)
• Start menu page
• Instruction page
• Level unlock page
• Game over and level success pages
• Replace the blue background color
• Camera zoom

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FINAL SUBMISSION

**Apologies for the Zoom screen recording causing a delay or lag in showing the gameplay. Please refer to the video (Fig. 6.2) for a clearer view.

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/kxwVhx9aPn4

Fig. 6.1 - Video Presentation of Task 3 Game Prototype

Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/YjtmgdBtlIc

Fig. 6.2 - Video Walkthrough of All Levels

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REFLECTION

When I started building the prototype in Unity, I struggled because the previous game mechanics I proposed were hard to implement, and there weren't many tutorials available. After consulting with Mr. Razif, I realized that some parts of the game didn't make sense. For example, it was difficult to determine how the police could notice the player within a certain distance, and the gameplay was too easy, lacking challenge and excitement. Although changing almost the entire gameplay and game environment felt wasteful since the previous work wasn't used, I'm glad that with the new idea, I now have a better and smoother workflow in Unity. I was pleasantly surprised to feel so motivated while working on the game in Unity. Finding various ways to solve errors felt like quite an accomplishment. I am very excited and can't wait to keep working on the game until the final task and try out the final outcome!