For this assignment we had to combine two old retro games (games before the year 1983) into a new fun game. We were super elated that we could finally choose our own partners for this project. My partner was Kaya (You can find her at kayakepa.wordpress.com ) We combined the games ‘Frogger‘ and ‘Capture the Flag‘ into a new game called ‘Breakfast Run‘.
Breakfast Run is a two player game where the players have to capture an egg. As soon as one of the players has captured 5 eggs the game ends. To get to the egg, the players have to go through an obstacle course. (flying knifes, forks, milk with floating toast and chocolate that slows you down) If the player has gotten hold of the egg, the other player can bump into him to steal the egg. There are also two power-ups in this game. Invincibility for five seconds and super speed. Super speed can be a blessing or a curse, sometimes going too fast can mean you’re diving straight into an early grave.
We decided early on that we wanted a funny game. Thanks to the fact that we could choose our own partners, we didn’t really have any issues with different opinions. We both had very silly ideas and we were (very) willing to make them happen. This resulted in a dramatic cutscene when a player won the game or a small animation when the player was invincible.
Here’s a gif of that cutscene. (I apologize for the flashing. It’s less annoying in the game.)
We had three weeks to make this happen. Our teachers also limited us quite a bit. They told us that a 3d model couldn’t have more than 200 faces.That’s why we kept everything fairly simple. Also the most important part of this assignment was the feedback the player would receive during the game. There had to be at least 5 different feedback systems. We had an egg at the top that would change colour depending on who had the egg; the controllers started shaking when a player was close to earning a new point; a bar at the bottom showed how much time you had left when you picked up a power-up; players could keep track of their scores at the top; and a sound was played when you earned a point.
This project taught me quite a lot. I learned how to keep things simple and working with a strict set of rules. It taught me how to create a plan and stick to it. (But still be flexible enough to change the plan if it could be better) I also learned that all my games are based around food. When one of my friends pointed it out, I couldn’t help but laugh. I never noticed that I always involved food in a game.
Jasmien Coningx 