FMP Evaluation

Introduction:

The game I have tried to create is a top down shooter with a focus on weapons my design intention was to make a range of different weapons within the game that were enjoyable to use keeping that design focus in mind I had to make sure that they were fun to use without making the game to easy getting this power balance right was hard but I am proud of the result as I feel the main weapon is still fun to use that do not melt through enemies too quickly. to use and fair the design focus of the graphics was to make simple art that looked I to keep in mind that they looked good from a top down perspective I think I have done a good job at that as they look great another thing was making the animations which I think I did well as they look smooth and portray the actions of what I wanted them to be for example you can tell that the walking animation looks like walking.

Prortotype:

Strengths:

One strength of my game would be the weapons. whilst creating the weapons for my game I tried to make each one fun to use I believe I have done a good job at that as I believe that I have given each there own unique role within the game the machine gun is the main gun you will use through the game ammo is in good supply for it as it is dropped by the basic enemy and it deals a decent amount of damage the rocket launcher is more of a backup plan for when you are cornered by a large group of enemies that you can take out easily with one well placed rocket but ammo is in shorter supply and are dropped by the larger enemy than the machine gun so you will have to use it wisely. The third weapon is more of a reward for the player at the end of the level as they get to mow down enemies easily in the last room before they enter the portal at the end of the game. Another piece of feedback says “the game is fun and balanced” which shows that players find that the weapons in the game are balanced I am happy with this feedback as it means that the effort I put in to the game to make the weapons balanced has payed off.

Weaknesses:

One weakness would be there are a few bugs one would be once the game is completed if the player keeps hold of the left mouse button and moves pat the gun they have unlimited ammo to fix this I can put the gun in a place that the player cannot dodge it to get infinite bullets another bug that is a weakness would be that the player can trap some enemies in a door to fix this bug I could change the range of the enemies cone of vision so they do not walk to you whilst you are behind the door. One piece of player feedback said to “add instructions to the game” I found this useful as it tells me that my game may need control instructions to improve the player experience as it will help the player in knowing how to control the player I will add these instructions by editing my itch page for the game.

Improvements:

To improve I will move the starting gun into a place were it cannot be dodged so players are not able to exploit the infinite ammo bug another another improvement I will make is making the cone of vision for the enemies shorter they cannot be lured to be trapped in the door.

Graphics:

Introduction:

The design I was trying to achieve with the graphics was to have a consistent art style and graphics that made it clear to the player what things are and that looked good whilst fitting the theme and style of my game.

Strengths:

One strength of the graphics is they work well from a top down view and look clear to the player so it is easier for them to figure out what things are. Another strength would be the animation as they look good and fit the theme and style of my game. another strength of the graphics is that the animations are smooth and work well and work well for what they are supposed to be for example the walking animation of the player conveys walking well from a top down view. another strength is that the graphics are consistent because they are all in the same art style and fit together. One piece of player feedback I got said “some nice graphics” this shows that players of the game enjoy the graphics of the game some other responses that show strengths for the graphics I got were “cool looking graphics” which is another response that shows that the graphics are appealing to the player and help to create a better player experience.

Weaknesses:

One weakness would be the graphics for the background have some repetition that is easy to spot this was pointed out to me in a piece of player feedback I received to improve this I could make some sperate tiles with a different pattern that I could overlay randomly on the already existing tiles to break up the pattern another weakness would be that some of the graphics are stretched and fuzzy I received this criticism in the same piece of player feedback to fix this I could create a new texture for each door as I used the same texture for each door even though each door is a different size causing the texture to look fuzzy and stretched.

Improvements:

To improve my graphics I will add some new tiles to break up the repetition in the floor tiles as I think this will make the game look better and I will create new graphics for the doors to stop them being as blurry as this will make the game look better.

Sound:

Introduction:

For the design of my sound in the game I wanted to achieve sounds that sound good, that fit the feel and theme of my game but that also enhanced the player experience by reinforcing the actions of the player.

Strengths:

Strengths of the sound design would be that the sounds work well to aid the player experience for example one thing that helps the player to know that they have shot an enemy is that the enemy makes a noise when shot. More strengths of the sound design would be that the audio fits the theme and feel of my game quite well as most sounds sound similar and none feel out of place in the game. Another strength of the sound design is that It is enjoyed by players show in my feedback through answers like “good sound design” and “nice sound” I am quite happy with this feedback as it allows me to see that my effort to try and make the sound sound good and fit the theme and feel of my game whilst also enhancing the player experience has worked well as players seem to enjoy the sound.

Weaknesses:

Weaknesses of the audio design would be the lack of any music or ambiance which makes the game feel empty and leads to the environment not feeling as developed as it could to combat this problem I could create or source suitable audio for the ambiance and/or music as this would make the environment feel more developed. Another weakness of the sound design is if any sound is playing when you complete the game it still plays on the end screen of the game which I think makes the game seem unpolished in that aspect to fix this I could fix this by changing the code so all sound is stopped when you get to the end screen. One of the pieces of player feedback said “add better damage detection” I found this useful as it tells me that a way I could improve my game is by adding a more obvious visual/audio que for when the player is hit I will take this into account and add an audio que to the game for when the player is hit this could have been put in the section for graphics as well but I felt it would fit better here as I will probably use an audio to fill this need rather than a graphical one.

Improvements:

Improvements I could make to the audio are is sourcing/ creating some ambiance and/or music as it will improve the game by giving more depth to the environment another way I could make an improvement is by adding a sound for when the player is hit as this will improve the player experience as it will make it more obvious when they have been hit so they will not have to pay constant attention to their health bar.

Reflection:

I think the progress of this project has gone well as each part of production for my game has been relatively smooth with minimal problems for example I think the production of the graphics went well as I managed to create some great assets that all fit the theme and feel of my game and help to make things clear to the player as to what things in the game are for example it is easy to tell wheat items you are able to pick up as they have an animation that males them look like they are shining and the enemies are all red so it is easy to tell that they are enemies. Another part of the production that I think went well was the creation and balancing of the weapons as all weapons are fair and have there own roles within the game.

What I found more difficult about the project was trying to create/gather sounds that all fit together as it was difficult to get all of the sounds to be in the same style with the realistic gun sounds with other sounds that were more cartoonish and sci fi nonetheless although I found it difficult I still feel that I did a good job at sourcing and creating sounds that all fit together in the style and theme of my game that still sound good and still work to aid the experience of the player.

I overcame these difficulties by creating some of my own sounds so they would be rather similar which I think worked well another way I overcame this difficulty if I was sourcing sounds and couldn’t find one that sounded right I would out it into audacity and overcame the problem of the sound being to different by experimenting and changing it by editing it until it sounded right to make it fit better with the rest of the sounds in my game. Another problem I overcame was when creating the weapon switching in the game I came across a lot of bugs I overcame this by changing the way different weapons are used for example to fire rockets right click is used, for the supergun spacebar is used to fire and the machine gun is left mouse button. Another problem I had to overcome was creating a level that was fun to play and challenging I overcame this problem by creating a plan for the level design and changing and experimenting it once I had the enemies and rooms in place. another problem I overcame was trying to figure out the right amount of ammo to have the enemies drop as I wanted the player to actively be trying to pick up ammo I overcame this problem by experimenting and changing the amount of ammo the enemies dropped so that the player has enough ammo to fight enemies but not too much that they don’t have to bother trying to pick up the ammo that enemies drop.

If I got another chance to do this project again things I would do differently would be I would try adding more weapons as I think it would make the gameplay more engaging as the player would have to manage more ammo types and figure out which gun is best for which situation rather than just choose from 3 weapons another thing I would change is I would make the level longer and add checkpoints as I think it would allow for more variety in encounters and let the player experiment more wthout being punished too harshly for dying.