Progress Report:
Since my last blog post, I have added numerous new game mechanics to my game. Firstly, projectile weapons have been introduced to the game. Secondly, I have implemented an HP system to both the player, and the enemies. They now have health bars that float above their heads to show the players how much damage they have taken. With these two techniques under my belt, I can now add an infinite number of different weapons, to add a lot of complexity into the game. The health bars is a common UI feature that has been used in numerous games throughout the ages, from the first street fighter games to some of the newest releases.
Next week, I will create a new type of enemy that wields guns, forcing the player to adapt their strategy from simply running away and shooting. Unfortunately, I do not think I will have enough time to add as many features as I originally planned without severely compromising the polish and playability of the game. Instead of making a randomly generated rogue-like, I think I’ll have to make it an arcade-style endless game, where the only goal is the survive as long as possible. This will save me the time of trying to learn and implement random world generation, leaving that time for adding different weapons and enemies into the game. In my opinion, it is better to have a simpler game type that is filled with content, rather than a more complex game type that is completely lifeless.
What kinds of learning opportunities does the mentor provide to expose you to new learning?
My mentor is an experience software engineer, and his knowledge and experience in isolating bugs in the code and fixing them has aided me greatly. Without him, I doubt I could’ve progressed half as far as I have as quickly as I have. He has introduced me to a great online resource for unity beginners, which is the Brackeys channel on YouTube. This channel has a multitude of excellent tutorials on almost any game mechanic you an aspiring beginner could dream of, and the information is all presented in a simple but comprehensive fashion, making it a great resource for beginners to use.
He also directed me towards a Unity tutorial project that fit my game more or less. This tutorial project would help give me the ground experience for using unity, and has given me the basic skills to navigate around Unity, and also how to utilize the base features of Unity. The tutorial project is a pre-made project with instructions that guide the person through the process of building the game. It shows how to implement a variety of features and game mechanics, and provides a good base for any future endeavors.
What kinds of learning opportunities exist to reinforce new learning?
The online resources he has given me have built the basic framework upon which I will build my knowledge throughout the duration of the project. Without the fundamental knowledge gained from the original unity tutorial project, I would have been dumped cold-turkey into a large project, in which I would be very intimidated by the apparent grandeur of my aspirations and the process of undertaking them.
What kinds of opportunities exist that might accelerate learning?
The Brackeys channel is a quick and easy way to get ideas on how to add a feature that I, with my extremely limited experience, would have no idea how to even start. It shows me the process of how one would normally undertake the task, and ultimately adds that task to my repertoire. This allows me to learn, and assimilate new techniques into my game quickly, using the experience of experts instead of toiling away, trying to figure it all out myself.
When you get together what do you talk about?
We always start off by discussing what we I need help with and what I would like to add next. Usually we start a task by having me try to create it. When a problem arises in the code, and I cannot figure it out, then he steps in, and shows me how to fix it. He walks me through every step, and why we do that step.
What is going particularly well in your mentoring relationship right now?
We have fallen into our student-mentor rhythm, where we can easily discuss and learn. I no longer repress my questions for the sake of not bothering him. We freely discuss any new mechanics I like to add, and there is no aversion to any questions I might have.
What are you learning about one another?
As my mentor is my Dad, there is not much to learn on a personal level. But, I have found that because my mentor specializes in the scripting/coding aspect of game design, we both struggle to get the sprite animations working.