So I made a new game for the GMTK game jam this weekend, and it was alot of fun. Our design went very well, and we were settled on a general idea and mechanics after about a hour. The concept of the game was simple : feed a sheep so it becomes bigger, until you need to build platforms to get to its head.

Even though the idea was simple, some design choices posed some technical challenges. Here’s a list of technical challenges I had to overcome this gamejam.

• draw the trajectory of an item

This one required the most math. I had to go back to my classical mechanic classes and use trajectory equations. it would have been easy if we didn’t have a height limit constraint. I had to derive equations from existing ones in order to get the rendering just right.

• soft body physics

This one was a little messy. Even though I did less maths, it took me a while to get the desired effect. I wanted the sheep to feel blobby and bouncy. I first tried to use a spring-mass system, but it was not performing well enough. I then used Unity’s sprite skinning system to put bones in my sheep’s sprite and deform it when it hit the ground, but I didn’t manage to get it just as well as I wanted. I finally decided to use an asset from the asset store, and it did exactly what I wanted.

• the sheep indicator

this one was touchy because I had to put the indicator at the edge of the screen in the direction of the sheeps head. I had to go back and forth in world space and screen space in order to put the indicator exactly where it was supposed to go. It was quite a headache, and I’m still wondering if what I did will fit every screen aspect ratio, but good enough.

• balancing the game

Even though I wasn’t alone in this task, it made me and my friend realise how tightly related balance and economy were. We did manage to pull off a progression that felt good enough.

I might have had other challenges here and there, but those are the ones I remember and that I am the most happy to have pulled off.