Weekly Devlog #4

Another weekly update for the game. This time we have more models to share. First we'll start with the two new pickup models; a gas canister collectable that will provide the player with points, and a lightning bolt powerup that will give the player a boost during gameplay.

There are also two new weapon models; a laser gun for ranged attacks, and a phase staff for melee attacks.

Finally, we have a new and improved platform model for the platforms the robots hold, stylized after a solar panel.

As well as these models there have been many changes related to the game mechanics implemented. One of these changes is the addition of in-game UI showing the player how much ammunition they have remaining for their laser gun and also which weapon is currently selected so the player knows exactly what is going on. These are shown below:

Other changes made were to implement the functionality for all the level collectibles. This includes the ammo pickup which grants the player additional ammunition for their laser gun, the gas cannister pickup which grants the player extra score, and the power-up pickup which grants the player double movement speed and jumping force for ten seconds so they can move through the level extremely quickly, avoiding the robots as they go.

The lasers shot by both the robot and the player have also had their functionality implemented which is for the player's laser to instantly kill a robot when they are hit and for the robot's laser to remove a portion of the player's health upon a hit.

As well as this a short story scene has been added, showing the player what situation their character is in and informing them of the game's context.

An aspirational goal of the game is to implement a larger variety of power-ups and robots to vary the gameplay for the user and provide them with a larger variety of challenges to overcome within each level and a larger variety of ways to accomplish this. This would also allow for the difficulty of the gameplay to be slowly increased as the player's skill level increased so the game was always the correct difficulty for the player, ensuring they were always challenged and the game never got too easy. Another feature this would allow implementation of is a larger variety of level designs which showcased each of the different power-ups and different types of robot. Unfortunately due to time constraints this will not be implemented into the game prototype.