The Isle of Bot is a game about a match of ping-pong versus a robot who is very, very good at ping-pong.
It was created in a 60 hour time window, and I would say I spent a good 25-30 (basically, whenever I was awake) of those hours working on it. I learned a lot in the process and had a lot of fun making the music.
You can download the game here:
For anybody who cares, here's a quick breakdown of how the time was spent during creation.
Day 1:
I made the art for the table, the rest of the day was pretty much figuring out how to get the ball physics to feel good.
Day 2:
With the ball physics feeling good, I created the characters and improved the background a bit. I gave the robot a special attack that breaks up the game momentum by holding the ball for a second. I also added an intro screen providing a small backstory. Finally, I made two versions of a song that plays during the match. A light one for when the ball is not in play, and a heavier one for when it is.
Day 3:
For main features all I had left to do was create the scoring system and give the robot another special move. Once I had done those the game was essentially done. After I did these things I decided to add a couple ending screens based on if you lost or won the match. Finally, I quickly made songs for the main menu, game won screen and game loss screen.
Now that I've finally entered a game jam, I would say it's something I'd highly recommend anybody who wants to make games try. I've never finished a game before, but with a short time constraint and a set goal I was able to make something I'm pretty happy with.
Features I didn't have time for:
I guess a game is never truly done, there are a lot of things I'd like to add to this one while still keeping it small.
- A system where the bot taunts you after winning a point and makes excuses after losing a point.
- Facial expressions to go with those taunts
- A lighting system to make the game look less bright except where it is needed (the table)
- More special moves
- More exciting effects for hitting the ball and for special moves.
- Better art, etc. Maybe an animation for running left and right
Anyway, if you have any thoughts, tips, or feedback, I'd love to hear from you.