Making a Game in Five Days – Part 3
We’re on Day 3 of the GMC Jam 57 and I’ve made LOTS of progress on my entry since yesterday’s post. The game is now coming together as an experience players can actually enjoy rather than a loose collection of mechanics.
So what’s changed in the last 24 hours? let’s dive in and take a look!
Pause Screen / World Map
I’ve now added a world map to the game. I took a zoomed out picture of the whole room in GameMaker’s room editor, and then traced over it in the sprite editor to make a more abstract version of the map. The map shows a little yellow marker where the player is and some markers for special objectives in the game.
The blank space below the map will eventually have the pause menu with the option to resume, save the game & quit.
Collisions
Yesterday I had placed all the scenery tiles for the whole world – but the collision system in the game is object-based! So I immediately set about covering all of the “solid” tiles with these lovely pink objects that prevent the player from walking where they shouldn’t.
New Items
I’ve been busy adding some items to the game too. In this video you can see that the player can even pick up and drive little cars! There will be lots of interactive objects in the game. Most of them won’t serve a purpose in the main quest, but instead serve as goofy little distractions that make the world feel more alive.
One of the new tools in the game is a shovel, which the player can use to dig holes on the map. Currently this is used for one very specific purpose, but I’m considering making it have effects in other places on the map.
The player can also find a desk fan and go around blowing things. Again this is specifically used for one quest at the moment, but I hope to make it interact with more things in the game world.
Finally, I’ve implemented a very basic ending for the game. The goal is to bring these little heart-shaped statues back to the temple where you start the game. Each one is locked behind a quest or a series of interactions using the objects you pick up in the game world.
At the moment the game ends without much fanfare, but having an ending at all allows me to just focus on sandwiching content in between the start and end of the game. I always make sure I get to this point in game jams, since if I run out of time there will still be a “full” game to play!
There’s still time to enter the GMC Jam yourself, if you’re making a smaller quicker entry. Find out more below:
