Jump Jam (July 2014)
Following on from the experimental game workshop, Abertay Game lab held another game jam, with the theme "Jump" and also short again - at 12 hours. I teamed up with the pixel blimp guys again. The designer fired a number of ideas for the game all of which I shot down, until he suggested a local multiplayer game where players had to jump through separate gates. It sounded plausible, so I got started on on the player control. First I got it so that we could have 4 cubes bouncing about. Going on to add the functionality for players to move ontop of other players was about the time that I realised it wasn't quite a simple problem. I made it so that each player object would keep track of players that are stood on them and then tried to move the players. Unfortunately this didn't always work due to the order that the players are updated. I tackled it again, I'd have a script that overlooked the players and determined where to move them. While I was doing that, another coder was working on making the gates spawn. We also put the players on a platform so I made it so that if they fell off they died. This was extended to make it look like the platform was moving. The game was shaping up and was really fun to play and with 2 hours to go, the designer suggested putting faces on them. Usually I'd outright decline any last minute additions but this time I made an exception and I'm glad I did, the faces added a surprising amount to how fun it was to play and engage with the game. I used the information that I already had to make the boxes expressionate: Happy when they're jumping about, content while stood on the ground, annoyed when someone's stood on top of them and shocked when they fall off the edge. As well as gates specific to players, we put in a gate that blocks all the players as an obstacle. I also created a pickup that the players actually want to avoid, as it turns on the conveyor belt I made that they're stood on.
The game is fun as hell, and although you need all players to be able to keep going, there still felt like a need for competition, with people screwing each other over or just trying to get through their own gate. Fortunately we got to show off the game during Dare Protoplay's Indie fest 2014, and it was quite the crowd pleaser.
A vine shows that trying to coordinate each other makes the game quite vocal!
The game is fun as hell, and although you need all players to be able to keep going, there still felt like a need for competition, with people screwing each other over or just trying to get through their own gate. Fortunately we got to show off the game during Dare Protoplay's Indie fest 2014, and it was quite the crowd pleaser.
A vine shows that trying to coordinate each other makes the game quite vocal!
What Did I Actually Do?
I participated in a 12 hour game jam with the theme "jump" with another coder, two artists and a designer. We created a 4 player cooperative/competitive game where players have to stack on top of each other to match an on coming sequence to avoid being knocked off a platform. It received a great response from those who played it and it was a hit when we showed it off at Dare Protoplay's indie festival.