Devlogs
How it started!
Posted July 21, 2024 by tavo3d
Hey!
We would like to share a bit of the brainstorming for our game! It was designed and developed during Kenney's Game Jam 2024, from scratch.
Gameplay Loop:
- You start in a planet with no satellite
Initial objective it's to cover the whole planet enough for everyone having internet connection- You'll notice there are other planets, moons, etc, that you can attempt to "hijack"
- But you have limited resources, so gotta be good in aiming, you won't be able to keep trying indefinitely, the game would end and you'll have a score
- (Arcade High Score)
- You can hit other satellites on the path, then you lose your attempt and the satellite that was already there
- All planets have a sweet spot: it can be a perfect orbit, far orbit or too close orbit. Something like that.
- When attempting to hijack another planet
- Will you be able to launch from another planet?
- You can choose to launch from another planet, but it costs you more money, or maybe it's more difficult
- If it's a moon, we could make it harder to "stick" but maybe give more points
- The goal it's have the biggest amount of planets and the best covered area
- As you progress into other planets, the game view will expand, so you can see other planets but then it's harder to aim.
- At some point, your resources will end, and the game is over. You get a score.
- You have points per planet + coverage + successful launches (orbits)
- Start again!
Planets:
- After successfully “connecting” a planet with satellites the camera pulls out and a new planet spawns in
- Planets also rotate around the starting Planet
- Each Planet has its own gravity
- Each Planet has its own rotation speed around starting planet
- Each Planet has their own size
- Planets need Random planet generator
The idea is the planet surface is covered with "censors" (we can experiment with the amount of them) and from the 3 efficiency levels, the satellite could light more/less depending on its distance from the planet. Using rays to cast each satellite coverage.
So we can calculate the connection coverage by knowing how many sensors are activated/deactivated. This way, the ideal coverage consists in:
- Evenly spread satellites
- And good efficiency levels
The player needs to strategically combine those two measurements in order to achieve 100% coverage.
Satellites:
- Each satellite has a collider, when they hit one another they will break apart into 2-3 pieces that will float in orbit
- Satellites have a distance from the planet where they are most efficient
- When enter planet trigger slows down