Journal #3

24.4.2021 - Finishing Implementation - 3 hours

This final week my main focus was on finishing the details. I've adjusted the decorations imported some new assets and the thing I am most happy with is the confetti prefab I've used when reaching the ending statue. The prefab is from the very first tutorial we have been doing on this course, and I've loved the 3D-ness of it even in 2D game that I had to use it. I have in mind that this would be a level from a bigger game, so alongside the confetti effect you would be teleported to another scene, the next level.

In the secret room, a health pack was added to replenish what has been lost on the way there. Other than that, in a bigger game there could be a collectible, in-game currency or an achievement.

At some point, I've realized that 2D games usually go in one specific direction. In this level, you spawn in the center and there are many possible paths, making it hard for new player to choose. So I've added an arrow at the spawn leading to the end. But there is a catch. The arrow points in the direction of an impossible jump (for now). I like the idea that the player knows where he wants to go from the start, but has to learn for himself that the jump is indeed impossible and he needs to go elsewhere first in order to change it.

Copntrols-wise, I've tried to bind an action (e.g. Ranged attack) to multiple buttons. From what I found, it seems like there is an Input Manager integrated in Unity, but the developers of 2DGameKit have decided to ignore it and use scripts that have written themselves. In those, I've learned that every action has 2 buttons to trigger it, one from keyboard, the other from a X-Box Controller. Due to this, I haven't been able to bind an action on two different keyboard.

Overall, I am happy with the final product and look forward to feedback from any player! Till next game!

Gameplay video: