Week 2 Update (Indie Game Challenge)
Hey there! This post is part of an indie game project I made in August 2022. There’s a lot more ground to cover other than what’s covered in this post. So when you’re done reading, check out the full project here.
For the second week of the project, I decided to make a game where you wait tables. I have fond memories of playing games like these when I was taking my first steps on the internet as a kid, so I thought it would be fun to work on!
So, without further ado, here is how the development of Galaxy’s Edge Diner progressed.
The desired game elements
- NPC customers who place their orders
- Several different traps for the player to avoid
- A game over screen with a paycheck showing the player’s score
How it went
This past week of development went off fairly simply. Technically speaking of course, this week wasn’t the only week of development.
Anyone who read the week 2 sub-update will know that the initial build of Galaxy’s Edge Diner was lost due to a computer failure. In short, the motherboard on my original computer shorted out and was unable to be repaired. This resulted in a loss of all data and forced me to order a new laptop.
So I essentially had a redo of week 2. Fortunately, I came up with enough new ideas for the game to make it different from its predecessor and stay in line with the one game a week rule for this project.
Having learned my lesson from Dough Boy Delivery I kept things fairly small in terms of scale. This resulted in a lot smoother progress. It also prevented me from biting off more than I could chew.
I also decided to employ a new methodology I learned recently: The Waterfall Methodology. It breaks down a project into separate phases and places them in chronological order (planning phase, programming phase, etc). I felt it worked really well for a project of this scale and showed me game design flaws early on in development.
Even so, I did have to cut a few planned elements due to time constraints. I had initially planned to have customers walk up to the serving tables and walk away after being served. Sadly, I ran out of time at the end of the week and had to settle for just the serving tables alone.
With the initial build done, it was just a matter of creating and adding new sprites to the game and then tweaking the gameplay. This proved to be easier said than done, however.
As you saw from the initial build, the game uses an overhead view. This resulted in quite a few more character animations then a simple left to right view would. Character animations aren’t my strong suit, and when your dimensions are 16x16 pixels, it can get pretty tricky.
I also had some difficulty creating the tile set for the floors and walls. I wanted to have a space aesthetic but couldn’t find the right colors for it. With time running out, I had to settle for something a little less galaxy’s edge and a little more small-town diner’s edge.
What I learned
- Getting the game into a functional state ASAP helps show flaws in the gameplay before too much work is put into it.
- The Waterfall methodology works well for small projects like this with tight deadlines as it divides all required work into bite sized phases.
The game plan for next week
- Continue to experiment with the waterfall methodology
- Try to come up with a simpler (yet charming) art style
Galaxy’s Edge Diner was easier to create than Dough Boy Delivery but had a much rockier development due to malfunctioning equipment. I’m not quite as satisfied with the visuals as the previous week, but mechanically speaking, I think it’s a solid game.
