Week 13 - Extension
- maguire-r28
- May 19, 2022
- 3 min read
I was granted a week extra extension on my project. This time was spent hammering out the last few details to bring the game together. Quite a lot of the time was also spent making the game more presentable.
Needs Some Music
Sound has remained a back burner item for pretty much all of the project. I have been much more focused on the visual aspects of the game. The mechanical and visual parts of the game are just a higher priority in my mind What I did manage to implement was some basic background music for each of the levels.
I used some music that I found on this website:
I was also lucky enough to have a long time friend compose a short looping piece that serves as the menu music in Isles of Magicka. Thank you very much, Jordie!
You can listen to that here:
Speaking of the menu...
A Long Time Coming
Since I implemented the level streaming system, I have had very few problems with it. When it came to getting the music to work, it joust wouldn't play ball. The problem lay in the fact that the menu and the persistent level use different controllers. The handoff between them had issues and finally, I had to absorb the main menu into the Persistent family tree.
In hindsight, I probably should have done this when I first introduced the level streaming. Setting up the main menu the way I did was based on a successful system I had used last semester. That system didn't have to deal with level streaming, however.
I didn't get away scot-free either. During packaging, the main menu buckled and would display the HUD even when in the menus. I tweaked and repackaged it a few times but in the end, I didn't have time to find a solution to this problem.
Colours of the Wind
A lot of the objects that I have been using as placeholders were still a dull grey colour. I had already made my piece with white walls and bare stripped away arenas, I wanted a bit more colour in the scene.
This meant getting some materials going. After a bit of work, I implemented a Construction script that would change all of the colours of the various materials of the mesh. This was set to an elemental type Enumerator.
I then expanded on this system to create a brute version of the enemy that could easily be changed from light or heavy enemy instantly. This meant that going in and tweaking different combat encounters was much easier.
I implemented a resistance system that halved incoming damage if the spell was the same type as the enemy. This resistance also stops Fire-type enemies from taking damage over time from the burn effect. I also wanted to implement a weak system to counter the resistance but I did not have time.
Regardless, I am now able to create quite a sizable variety of enemy subtypes, from a single blueprint.
Fireworks
The Fire Particle Effect that I had made was doing well and I was finding plenty of uses for it. There was one effect, I knew, I would have to make. Right now, the only real combination in the game is the Steam Explosion. So there needs to be a big sign.
I went back to youtube and found a great tutorial that helped me get started with an emitter that could be turned into a big steam cloud.
After creating the Steam Particle Effect, I realised I could reuse it to make little magic bursts for my spells.
Dear Diary
At the extended end of this project, I am very tired, and very proud of what I've been able to produce. Isles of Magicka is now officially prototyped.
I think that the biggest thing I've learned is that time management is essential. Many times during the semester, I have felt completely lost and unsure of what to do. To sit and write a list of things that needed to be done, made me feel worse because it highlighted the increasing load.
I think in future, I will put a lot more effort into managing the time that I can apply to the project and using that time more efficiently.
I was probably at my most productive towards the end of the project. I think that can be put down to fear. I wish that I had been able to work this hard just once a week for the whole semester.
I also learned how much I enjoy building mechanics and systems. I think that in future, I would be interested in taking that sort of role in Game Jams, University projects, or personal projects.
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