Globe Trot
This game is from ldjam.com, which is currently unavailable.
You can try viewing the original page on Web Archive (may not load correctly).
You can try viewing the original page on Web Archive (may not load correctly).
I did it! My first ever Ludum Dare...and what a fantastic thrill it was!
You can download the game for Windows, Mac or Linux via the following links:
* Windows (32-bit build) - RAR file
* Windows (64-bit build) - RAR file
* Mac OS (Universal build) - ZIP file
* Linux (Universal build) - ZIP file
The Unity project files (including all source code) are available here:
* Unity Project Files shared via DropBox - RAR file
This game is best played using a controller. It was designed and tested (and it works) with an XBox 360 controller. If you have a different type of controller then you will probably need to remap the input using the Unity launch window. If you cannot get your controller to work then it's best to disconnect your controller and to play using keys (WASD for left stick, Arrows for right stick).
Without further ado, here's a video that shows the game being played (featuring the theme music for the game)...
The game is best played with a controller with 2 analog sticks. It was designed and tested using an XBox 360 controller. Since this is a "dual stick shooter" - use the left stick to move your ship and the right stick to fire in any direction. You can also play using keys: W,A,S,D are for movement and the arrow keys are for firing. You can press Escape at any time to quit out of the game.
Your aim is to kill the aliens, pick up the multipliers and get the highest score you can.
Like many others - I envisioned a small planet that you were tasked with protecting from an alien invasion. My greatest inspiration came from Geometry Wars 3. Originally I wanted you to protect the buildings on your planet however, this was dropped due to time constraints.
Getting the movement mechanics was the highest priority. I was able to get the ship moving over the surface of the globe with movement relative to the camera. One problem that I encountered was what to do when the ship is directly beneath the camera (looking down at the planet) - this is effectively a "gimbal lock" scenario. I implemented a solution but I am not happy with it. After all that, it was a mad rush to get the shooting mechanics in followed by multipliers dropped by the aliens. I created two pieces of music (using a Sample Collection DVD called "sound essentials vol. 4") and I created various sound effects using sfxr. All the artwork was created by me - and I am most happy with the way the sky box turned out. Initially I started using a NASA space image but quickly realised that this was not in keeping with the "create from scratch" ideal so I used Paint Shop Pro and various noise, blurs, resizing and repeating to create something I like!
For some reason I was very excited to make my first ever time-lapse video! I used "Chronolapse" capturing at 1 frame every 10 seconds. I then created a video at 10fps and am playing this video at four times normal speed, rendered at 60fps. Here's the result:
Sadly, I was not able to achieve all that I would have liked. Here's what was left on my wish-list:
* Have two types of enemy - one that hunts the player and the other that attacks the buildings. These would be differentiated by colour.
* Buildings would have a health bar and, once depleted, the building is razed to the ground
* 3 lives for the player?
* High Score table
* Power-ups (better firepower)
* Pause menu (with options to Resume, Restart, Volumes, Exit)
* Sound and music volume options (rather than just on/off)
* Animated water
Here are things that needed fixing/improving:
* Better texture on the world - with normal and/or displacement mapping?
* Better (more detailed) buildings - with variety
* Better player model
* Why no shadows from the second directional light?
* Handle the gimbal lock (when the player is directly below the camera) more smoothly
* Optimise the enemy model - need fewer polygons and fewer materials
I have thoroughly enjoyed trying to make a game in such a short period of time and I am looking forward to playing as many of the other submissions as I can. I will definitely be doing this again!
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy Globe Trot!
[Edit (25 April @ 16:17 GMT)]
I forgot to add a list of tools used, so here it is:
The following tools were used to make the entire game:
* Unity 5.6 (including the "Post Processing Stack" free from the Asset Store under "Unity Essentials")
* Visual Studio 2013
* 3DS Max 2012
* Paint Shop Pro X9
* Sony Acid Music Studio 10
* Magix "sound essentials vol. 4" - DVD collection of sample loops
* sfxr
* GoldWave v6.27
* "Ultimate Font Download" (http://www.ultimatefontdownload.com/)
oh yes, and:
* Notepad (for my ToDo list...you've gotta have a ToDo list :grinning:)
I also used the following:
* Chronolapse - for the timelapse recording
* ffmpeg - to compile the timelapse screen shots into a video
* Sony MovieStudio Platinum 13 (to make the videos you see on this page)
* WinRAR to compress the source and binary files
You can download the game for Windows, Mac or Linux via the following links:
* Windows (32-bit build) - RAR file
* Windows (64-bit build) - RAR file
* Mac OS (Universal build) - ZIP file
* Linux (Universal build) - ZIP file
The Unity project files (including all source code) are available here:
* Unity Project Files shared via DropBox - RAR file
!!!!!! Attention (10 May 2017) !!!!!!
This game is best played using a controller. It was designed and tested (and it works) with an XBox 360 controller. If you have a different type of controller then you will probably need to remap the input using the Unity launch window. If you cannot get your controller to work then it's best to disconnect your controller and to play using keys (WASD for left stick, Arrows for right stick).
Gameplay Video
Without further ado, here's a video that shows the game being played (featuring the theme music for the game)...
The Main Menu
Instructions
The game is best played with a controller with 2 analog sticks. It was designed and tested using an XBox 360 controller. Since this is a "dual stick shooter" - use the left stick to move your ship and the right stick to fire in any direction. You can also play using keys: W,A,S,D are for movement and the arrow keys are for firing. You can press Escape at any time to quit out of the game.
Your aim is to kill the aliens, pick up the multipliers and get the highest score you can.
The Idea
Like many others - I envisioned a small planet that you were tasked with protecting from an alien invasion. My greatest inspiration came from Geometry Wars 3. Originally I wanted you to protect the buildings on your planet however, this was dropped due to time constraints.
The implementation
Getting the movement mechanics was the highest priority. I was able to get the ship moving over the surface of the globe with movement relative to the camera. One problem that I encountered was what to do when the ship is directly beneath the camera (looking down at the planet) - this is effectively a "gimbal lock" scenario. I implemented a solution but I am not happy with it. After all that, it was a mad rush to get the shooting mechanics in followed by multipliers dropped by the aliens. I created two pieces of music (using a Sample Collection DVD called "sound essentials vol. 4") and I created various sound effects using sfxr. All the artwork was created by me - and I am most happy with the way the sky box turned out. Initially I started using a NASA space image but quickly realised that this was not in keeping with the "create from scratch" ideal so I used Paint Shop Pro and various noise, blurs, resizing and repeating to create something I like!
Time-lapse Video
For some reason I was very excited to make my first ever time-lapse video! I used "Chronolapse" capturing at 1 frame every 10 seconds. I then created a video at 10fps and am playing this video at four times normal speed, rendered at 60fps. Here's the result:
The Wish-List
Sadly, I was not able to achieve all that I would have liked. Here's what was left on my wish-list:
* Have two types of enemy - one that hunts the player and the other that attacks the buildings. These would be differentiated by colour.
* Buildings would have a health bar and, once depleted, the building is razed to the ground
* 3 lives for the player?
* High Score table
* Power-ups (better firepower)
* Pause menu (with options to Resume, Restart, Volumes, Exit)
* Sound and music volume options (rather than just on/off)
* Animated water
The fix list
Here are things that needed fixing/improving:
* Better texture on the world - with normal and/or displacement mapping?
* Better (more detailed) buildings - with variety
* Better player model
* Why no shadows from the second directional light?
* Handle the gimbal lock (when the player is directly below the camera) more smoothly
* Optimise the enemy model - need fewer polygons and fewer materials
Final thoughts
I have thoroughly enjoyed trying to make a game in such a short period of time and I am looking forward to playing as many of the other submissions as I can. I will definitely be doing this again!
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy Globe Trot!
[Edit (25 April @ 16:17 GMT)]
I forgot to add a list of tools used, so here it is:
Tools
The following tools were used to make the entire game:
* Unity 5.6 (including the "Post Processing Stack" free from the Asset Store under "Unity Essentials")
* Visual Studio 2013
* 3DS Max 2012
* Paint Shop Pro X9
* Sony Acid Music Studio 10
* Magix "sound essentials vol. 4" - DVD collection of sample loops
* sfxr
* GoldWave v6.27
* "Ultimate Font Download" (http://www.ultimatefontdownload.com/)
oh yes, and:
* Notepad (for my ToDo list...you've gotta have a ToDo list :grinning:)
I also used the following:
* Chronolapse - for the timelapse recording
* ffmpeg - to compile the timelapse screen shots into a video
* Sony MovieStudio Platinum 13 (to make the videos you see on this page)
* WinRAR to compress the source and binary files