Concept Doc vs. Release Build

For the most part, the top-down shooting mechanics described in the document were implemented for the final game. However, I originally wanted the game to automatically scroll from bottom to top, while keeping the up and down movements of my bike. I probably would've figured out how to implement it (with some help from Ian), but I didn't go route, with the levels' design (especially the last one) not made for automatic scrolling in mind. I actually had a larger concept in my mind, with cars as obstacles, and the levels being in different times of day, but I cut it down in the design doc as I felt I wasn't able to implement these features in time.

As for the graphics, I mostly did not stray away from the Arcade, large-pixel style I envisioned in the doc, nor the Western American imagery. The player's sprite sheet used in the doc did have two modifications:

• The jacket now moves, as per Ian's recommendation for the player movement to be more apparent in the animation
• The smoke coming from the exhaust has been removed, and replaced with a Unity particle system (the same went for the enemies)

Also, I ended up using the poster for the title screen, which I don't think I originally intended to.

Game testing feedback

I had already talked about this in my fifth devlog. I think it's worth updating to take to account new additions in my game.

 For the testing sheet I done a few weeks prior, I used a linear scale for the levels' difficulty, multiple choice questions for the quality of certain game aspects (namely graphics and controls), checkboxes for what can be added or improved, and some paragraphs for people to list bugs in the game, and in what way can the aspects be improved. Three people responded to my sheet (a Google Docs form), and here's a summary of how they found the levels:

• Two found the first level of moderate difficulty, one found it easy
• Two found the second level hard, one found it moderate
• Only one person reached level three; they found it easy
• No one reached, or at least beaten, level four

This can be partially attributed to the game lacking a respawn system then, so players would have to restart the whole game if they died. In addition to restarting the level (not the game) when the player dies, I also removed some enemies from the levels. This was before I added de-spawning bullets and changed the cops' speed, so this may have changed since then.

Regarding the graphics and movement:

• Two found the graphics great, one found them decent
• Regarding the movement, all three had different opinions: very good, decent, and bad, respectively

Although I haven't changed much of the graphics since then, I did change the movement, fixing an error in momentum (see below).

There were three bugs they found in the game:

• Two found the camera to stutter (go back and forth) when going opposite ends of the road
• The tilemap has odd, coloured lines going vertical on the screen
• If a player hits an object, they keep going in the direction they hit it

The movement bug was the one I fixed. Neither me or Ian were completely able to fix the tilemap lines, and as for the stuttering, I have experimented with the camera boundaries and the screen size, but I'm not able to completely fix it.

Here's what they felt needed improving:

• There was one response for graphics (they said that either the lines or the stuttering was the problem)
• Two responses for Level Design (one of them wanted less enemies in level two)
• Two wanted the camera to be improved, although only one was specific (wanting the camera to be zoomed out)
• One person wanted more variety in enemies and obstacles

I already mentioned the first two above. Regarding the camera, I could add more blank tiles into my game, but that would mean changing the camera resolution. I could've changed the size of the grid itself, so that the camera could see more. Either way, I didn't do this, largely due to time constraints. As for the obstacles, I did add the fence to my game, and made the already existing pothole a bigger obstacle (as in, killing the player).

Finally, they wished the following to be added in the game:

• Two votes for Sound Effects
• One vote for more enemy types (presumably the same person as above)
• Two votes for more obstacle types
• One vote for more variation in general

Sound was something that I wanted to be in the game. Not content with simply taking music from another game (although it was allowed so long as it was referenced), I was looking at using chiptune software to make suitably old-school tunes and sound effects. However, there was no mention of sound effects in the tutorials, so I had no idea of how to implement them. Also, I have no conception of music theory, so I could've made only basic sounds and tunes anyway. Ultimately, I wanted to focus more on bug-fixing and level design, so the release build has no sound implemented.

Asset list

Unless otherwise noted, the following assets that are in my game are made by me, in either Microsoft Paint or paint.net. One asset was made by UTAS for the unit's Unity tutorials, and another was originally by me, but altered by Ian Lewis to fix a drawing problem (the vertical lines mentioned above).

• Level Tilemap (altered by Ian Lewis) - Level design
• Decorations Tilemap - Level decorations
• Signs Tilemap - Level decorations
• Player Spritesheet - Player design & animations
• Badger Spritesheet - Badger enemy design & animations
• Cop Spritesheet - Cop enemy design & animations
• Bullet (originally made by UTAS, altered by me) - Bullet sprite
• Pothole - Obstacle sprite
• Fence - Obstacle sprite
• Road Rat Poster - For title screen
• End Screen Poster - For end screen

User Guide

Synopsis: 

You are a rat on a motorbike in the middle of the desert. You have a gun. Get to the end and shoot anything that moves.

Objective:

Well, the objective is a bit more than that. You have to drive to the top and reach the end of the level (indicated by a sign). Problem is, there are many hostiles on bikes, as well as obstacles on the road, that you'll have to deal with. Luckily, you have brought your pistol along for the ride. Unluckily, the enemies have as well.

You have three health points when you start. If an enemy bullet hits you, you'll lose one of your health. Lose them all and you'll restart the level. Touching a pothole results in instant death.

When you shoot down an enemy, you receive one point. Try getting the maximum amount in the game, but be careful! You'll lose all your points when you die.

There are five levels in the game, each with increasing difficulty, namely more enemies and more obstacles.

Controls: 

WASD for basic movement. W accelerates the player, while S decelerates and reverses. A and D move the player left and right, respectively.

The arrow keys are used to shoot in a certain direction. For example, pressing the left key makes the player shoot left, and the up key makes the player shoot up. You can shoot only a couple times per second, and you can't hold the key down to keep shooting.

Obstacles:

Scattered on the road are fences that block the player's path. Driving into them stops the player, forcing them to go around. These are a nuisance especially in the earlier levels.

Even worse are the potholes, which kill the player in contact. These become more prevalent later in the game.

Enemies:

The highways of the American deserts are not to be scoffed at, and when you're literal vermin, everything's out to get you.

Unfortunately, the members of Hell's Badgers don't take to kindly to rats. They will chase you, and try to shoot you down. Fortunately, they are not too bright, and you can avoid them if you're going fast enough.

The same can't be said of the highway cops, which you have also angered. These are smarter than the badgers, in that they predict where you're going, and try to block your path. Also, their bikes are faster, and so are their bullets.