Successes

The most important success I have had with this game is that it is fun. I have been told by my playtesters that it is fun, and that it looks fun. I attribute this to the gameplay mechanics, which were constantly being tested and modified, and the creative look of the characters, such as an orange alien with a giant nose being the player. I also succeeded in creating my first form of random level generation, which I am happy to have been able to do.

Challenges

Level generation had some unforeseen issues once I added the background. I had spent a lot of time developing a diagonal section of the level so that the player would elevate or lower. I spent a lot of time getting the placement of the camera just right in order to keep everything smooth. However, when adding a background that needed to be procedurally added to, I found that the diagonal placement was not working, and I had to take out the diagonal portions of level generation. Another challenge I had was getting the combo mechanic just right. There is a lot that goes into getting a combo, between the placement and movement of the enemies, the amount the player needs to move, and the incentive of having a running combo in the first place. As my game stands now, I believe that the movement of the enemies is not conducive to getting a good combo. I also believe that the player’s vertical movement should be changed in order to make it easier to get a running combo. However, a combo is possible to maintain as of now, and filling the snot meter provides an incentive to have it. Developing sprites, adding sounds and animations in final stretch bad

What I’ve learned

During the development of this game, I spent a lot of time workshopping the mechanics of my game. The gameplay and controls went through substantial changes, from swiping to move left and right to using a joystick to move while tapping to jump and swiping to slam to changing gravity in a runner by scrolling. This project showed me how important it is to play through the game as I develop to see what I like, what’s fun, and what aligns with what I want for my game. This provided a solid foundation for game mechanics which I believe is one of the greatest strengths of my game. Along with this, the feedback I have received shows that the gameplay workshopping has played off: people find it enjoyable. In my game development, I started developing sprites, adding sounds, and animating in the final stretch of my game development–this was not a good idea. As I developed these parts, especially sprites and story, I was inspired to come up with mechanics and abilities relating to the characters, such as the snot meter, and adding stalactites and stalagmites as obstacles. This is to say, I learned that the development of story and sprites is important in prototyping a game, even if the gameplay mechanics should be the main focus at the start.

Future Improvements

There are a number of things that I wish to add to my game which I have not had the chance to do yet. Among these are a working tutorial, additional sprite development, more stages and backgrounds, increased options in level generation, and ability-altering collectibles. I also want to improve the ability for a player to get combos. This includes working on the enemy movement, player combos, and additional movement and enemy placement needed to make combos possible and useful. Finally, I was not able to include the sneeze launch in my game as of the time I am writing this. The intention of the sneeze launch is to have the player increase their distance drastically as they are plunged through the cave.