Video Game Design and Development | JM Mahoney
Current state of original code as of March 22: map layout loaded from file with custom player placement, mouseover showing the top symbol at that coordinate, and console output includes time-travel safety check
Game progress has been stalled for a while, resulting in the movement of some deadlines to catch up. However, with multiple group members are now working on different areas of the code, project completion is estimated to still be on schedule.
Stevie Longlegs has remained mostly unchanged from the original concept. As stated in the initial pitch, the game will be an infinite side-scrolling runner with obstacles to avoid and holes to jump over. A high score will be obtained by playing for the longest time with the game’s best high score being recorded.
A few changes from the original idea are being worked out. The first is the character sprite being used for testing. The original large green character had only one walking/running animation. In order to keep moving ahead with game mechanics, a robot sprite is temporarily being used because of its pre-designed running and jumping animation. No decisions have been made as to whether the little green hero will definitely remake his reappearance but the speculation is that the game would not be true to its nature without him.
Another change from the initial design is how the health of the character will be displayed. Initially, there was plans for a health bar that would fill and empty based on time from last powerup and obstacles hit. The current version does not have a health bar but rather the character slowly moves further to the left of the screen as the health decreases. This will eventually culminate in a large monster fixed on the left side of the screen devouring the character if his health degrades too far. Power ups will restore the runners health and help him get back to the center of the screen.
