Tech

This week, we have made significant progress on our core game. We have implemented a life and health system in which the player starts with three lives. When a life is lost, we send an event so that other code can utilize it.

We have also added new functionality to the enemies, allowing them to damage the player. We can easily adjust the amount of damage done to balance the game. We have experimented with various camera angles, but we have yet to determine which one works best.

As for the player who assumes the role of god, we have implemented a new feature that allows them to summon enemies. When the player presses the summon button, a specified number of enemies will spawn at the location of their cursor. We can adjust the number of enemies spawned and the radius in which they appear to maintain balance.

Although we attempted to implement a swap mechanic, we encountered some problems, and we ran out of time for this week. However, we may use a different approach to address this issue in the next week.

Art

Mood and Theme

We found our Theme!

We are locating ourselves in Greece, but a long time ago. An impressive Greek arena stands in front of us. There is a God that has been feeling kind of bored lately. HADES! He rises up from the underworld and takes over the beloved Greek arena. Spikes are coming out of the ground, breaking the arena. There are we now, placed in this Greek arena taken over by the underworld, to fight for Hades.

Environment Blockout

We have been playing with some different environments. Since our theme is Greek arena taken over by the underworld, we added a lot of spikes and broken parts. It’s a fun idea to have Hades stand on his platform watching over us while the Fighters fight off His wrath. 

So far the playable area is almost half of a normal arena with the option to walk up the first set of stairs to the left.

Playtesting is being done to see what needs to change for the environment to make it as fun as possible.

Material Shader

We have been testing out a material shader as well this week. The material shader is supposed to add life and readability to the scene, so we made some choices regarding the specularity and shadows that allowed for the materials to look good without becoming too distracting to the actual gameplay. Most of the arena consists of stone/rock materials, so the material shader prototype is focused on this as well. The texture used was not handpainted by us, and in the future, we will be doing more testing with our handpainted textures.

Particle Effects

We see the need for satisfying effects when hitting other players and enemies to make the experience reach new heights. We could also use these systems to create atmosphere in the environment. The mood is mainly built up by the fog and lighting.

What's next?

We are excited to move forward into the game design phase of our project. In this phase, we will be working out the elements of our game, deciding on what features to add, and answering important questions that will shape the game's direction.

We will also be working on defining the game mechanics, such as combat and movement, and creating a rough outline of the story and characters.

As for the technical aspect, we will continue to work on the swap mechanic that we encountered issues with, as well as refining the camera angle to ensure the best player experience possible.

In the art department, we will be expanding on the Greek arena environment blockout, adding more details and refining the look and feel of the game. We will also be hand painting textures and incorporating them into the material shader to further enhance the overall aesthetic of the game.

Overall, we are excited to move into the game design phase and can't wait to see how our ideas will shape the game into a fun and engaging experience for players.