Devlog 2 - Postmortem

Successes:

One main aspect our game was able to successfully achieve was the creation of the game world. To ensure the player was fully immersed in the game's snowy environment, we made sure the UI elements matched the game world. For example, we included a snow particle system and winter background music that enhanced the sensation of being on a snowy island. To represent a winter aesthetic, we ensured that all the sprites in our game were designed accordingly. This involved dressing the player character in winter clothing, creating enemies that are of animals found in cold climates, and using tile maps with icicle designs to represent the snowy island setting.

Challenges:

One of the main challenges we faced was the player getting stuck while walking on the ground and interacting with platforms due to issues with colliders and working with tilemaps. 

Examples:

We resolved the issue with tilemap colliders by adding a composite collider component to each tilemap. We also created different tilemaps for each grid to differentiate which tiles needed platform effectors and which tiles had ice or mud tags. We fixed the issue of the player sticking to the sides of moving platforms by decreasing the surface arcs of the platform effectors from 180 to 152.2.

What you learned:

After reflecting on our game development process, we realized just how important it was to create a solid game concept and design mockups before building a working prototype. As we progressed in the game development process, we discovered that any changes made to the storyline would require us to modify each scene in the build to reflect those changes. This included adjusting the UI buttons, sprites, and overall visual design of the game. We learned that having a well-defined game concept in the planning phase will allow us to establish clear goals and objectives for the game early on. 

Another key takeaway from our process is the value of playtesting and gathering feedback as it allows us to identify and address previously overlooked issues in the game. 

We also polished our technical skills by learning how to animate the player and enemies, use tilemaps, and create different types of platforms. We gained a better understanding of game design by watching other people play our game. This allowed us to determine how to improve our game by using better visual aids (e.g. particle effects and warning signs) and ensuring a smooth gameplay experience by improving colliders.

Possible future revisions:

One area we can improve on is incorporating the storyline to the gameplay in the beginning. For example, as of right now, without reading the description of the game, players may be confused as to why they are collecting wood sprites or why they are on a snowy island. To improve this, we can include a small dialogue before Level 1 to alert players that they are shipwrecked. Incorporating the dialogue in a RPG text style will help the player be more connected to the game world and storyline. 

We could also increase the number of wood that needs to be collected in each level, so that the player can thoroughly explore the maps of each level. In the future, we would like to include falling icicles from the ceiling to further contribute to the snowy setting and add another element of suspense and method of receiving damage to the player. An additional feature would be allowing the player to duck when the down button is pressed, so that they can avoid incoming projectiles better.

Another possible future revision could be expanding the map so that the player has the option to go right or left. Right now, the maps for each level are designed so that the player has to go to the right to further advance in the story and if they go left, they end up falling off the platform and dying immediately. The addition of more extensive maps may introduce an extra level of discovery/exploration to the game, which aligns with the storyline of an expedition on a snowy island.