Devlog 3: Enemies and Puzzles

DevLog 3 

This is the third development log for Slick Shifter. This devlog provides a brief update on game progress, details on new environmental obstacles and puzzles that have been added to the level and some visual improvements that have been made. Lastly, player feedback and future improvements will be listed.

As there are no typical enemies in Slick Shifter the focus for this week was to add environment-based obstacles and puzzles for the player to complete.  The obstacles use placeholder graphics which will be updated next week. A parallax background effect has been added to the camera to improve overall visuals of the game.

Game Obstacles:

The first new obstacle the player encounters is an oil slick layer across the road surface. The oil removes grip and makes it harder for the player to get up a large hill. There is also a deep puddle of oil for the player to drive through. The reduction in friction is achieved by using a different physics material for the sprite shape where the oil slick is applied. The oil puddle is created using a buoyancy effector 2D. Applied to a simple sprite.

Other obstacles include a moving platform for the player to traverse a gap in the road and also a rotating platform for the player to drive onto and jump off of. The platform is moved using script logic, so its Rigidody2D component is set to kinematic. To make it past the rotating platform the boost mechanic must be utilised at the right time. The rotating platform uses a hinge joint that can rotate between [-45,45] degrees.

Visual Effects:

A parallax effect was added to the main camera in game to replace the default blue background. The parallax effect is comprised off four different images, representing the foreground, midgrounds and background. All images are attached to the camera as child objects such that they follow the camera movement. A custom script was written that causes each different image to slide across the screen at as the player moves, each image moves at a different speed. This creates the illusion of depth in the scene and improves overall visual style. The parallax images were taken from [1].

Player Feedback:

Obstacle Collision Detection Error:

A play tester noticed that if the boost button is pressed at the right time, the player is able to jump into the loop-de-loop at the wrong point, this may cause the sprite shape collider to activate at the wrong point, allowing the player to get stuck in the loop.

User Interface:

A player mentioned that having a visible timer/indicator displaying when the boost was available to be used would make the game easier to play. Furthermore, including a level competition timer in the game would make it more fun, as you can challenge yourself to get a better time. This encourages replaying levels too.

Future Improvements:

The issues with loop collision detection will be fixed such that the player cannot accidentally trigger the sprite shape collider at the wrong time. This will be done by using an invisible wall in game.

The in-game UI will be improved so the user is able to see a boost timer. Ideally the timer will be represented by an entertaining graphic. A countdown timer will play before the level begins and the user will be timed until level completion. The high score will be saved using PlayerPrefs.

More obstacles will be added to the level to add some difficulty as the level is reasonably easy and quick currently.

References:

[1] ansimuz, “Industrial Parallax Background,” OpenGameArt.org, Feb. 24, 2015. https://opengameart.org/content/industrial-parallax-background (accessed May 04, 2023).