The game I’m going to make is one that I’ve been fooling with for a while now. I was originally using Panda3D before the performance issue revealed themselves, so I’m starting over with C++ and (hopefully!) Irrlicht.
The game’s (tentative) title is “Mini-Type” but that might change as I go.
I’d like to declare what I’m starting with. I’m going to be making a couple of models before the compo starts, and will probably have a small, basic Irrlicht app to start with if things go well. I may also code up a Rect class, but I’m not sure about that. (I’m liking the Jam right now, to be honest)
An overview of the design comes after the break, for the curious.
The game will feature 2 or 3 playable ships, maybe 3 main guns and 3 secondary weapons. It will also give the player a choice between 3 “Options”. (For those who aren’t familiar with shmup lingo, an option is a thing like the “pod” in R-Type. A (usually invincible) little gadget that flies with your ship and helps you fight baddies)
The premise is that the player is an elite space fighter pilot fighting against an evil navy’s battleships. Levels will come in sets of 3, with the first level in each set being the approach to the ship, the second being a cruise over the top deck, and the final being a strike against the ship’s internal systems. (IE: The first will begin with open space, the second will have terrain beneath the whole way and maybe an enclosed area, as well as a miniboss, and the third will be mostly enclosed with a big “wall of death” boss at the end)
The main weapons would be typical plasma-ish guns with different characteristics. (Rapid-fire, splash damage, etc.) and the secondary weapons would have different purposes (Homing missiles or a continuous laser beam, for example). The options would have weapons that the player could not otherwise have (Possible an energy blade, maybe a type of gun the player can’t otherwise equip).
Bosses would, again, be in a “wall of death” format. They would consist of a core piece and defense guns above and below it. This format would be justified with the core piece being a stabilizer for the battleship’s power plant or something like that.
A post-compo version would likely incorporate minibosses. Minibosses will probably just be really big baddies made out of multiple pieces. (“Multiple pieces” meaning a top, a bottom, and possibly a center piece) They would probably come in the second level in each set.
I’m not sure how the options would interact with the player other than by flying near them. Possibly some kind of commands. (IE: “Stay Near Me” or “Attack Weak Targets”) Possibly something novel like in R-Type. (IE: Something along the lines of the option being able to attach to the player’s ship. I probably wouldn’t use that specifically, though, as R-Type’s already doing it))
The player would choose their equipment at the beginning of each set of levels, and then would have to stick with them until they either got to the next set or ran out of lives.
If the player runs out of lives, they will probably be able to continue. The level generator will probably cache the layout of each level, so the player can restart with different equipment on the same set of levels.
I’m not sure what the levels will look like, though. That’s something I’m probably going to solve when I get to the point of making baddies or terrain.
