16/05/2017 Progress Update

What's Working:

• Random objects spawning on the lanes
• Random pattern selection*
• Game now starts its self

What I Need To Work On:

• *Pattern selection fails once I add more lanes, so that needs to be fixed.
• Waves/Score systems
• System that defines whether patterns are selected randomly or specifically
• Modifier items
• Lives system

Other Things I'm Doing:

• Designing additional lane objects, enemy types, and pattern types to add more variation to the game.

Future Things:

• Boss fights
• Pausing
• Sound and Music
• Art assets
• Controller support
• Saving/Loading
• Difficulty levels
• Bonus stuff

A Few Other Words:

So development is coming along well. Some things are a little slow and generally a lot of the code is a mess. Over the next few weeks I'm likely going to be dedicating a lot of my time to improving the object generation code to allow for more elaborate patterns, which in turn should increase the challenge of the game.

As for right now, I'm working on the basic gameplay. Specifically the health and lives systems, and having the player take damage. Currently the player is taking damage, but there's not punishment or response for when it hits zero. So soon I'll have the player die and respawn, and probably get the lives system working.

And the last thing is the Waves. A wave is defined in the game as a level, and each wave will likely be anything from a different pattern of objects coming down the lane, to enemies, and even be a boss fight. It also increases the movement speed of the things coming down the lane. Currently I have it increasing as the score increases, but I'm probably doing to change that.

I'm still thinking about a lot of things in terms of the gameplay design, but for right now, I'm just focusing on the immediate gameplay issues.