2D Game Workflow

1. 2D Game Workflow
Player 1 sprite
This is the player sprite. I made the main colour of the ship white so that it
would stand out in the black space background. The blue ‘arms’ near the front
were supposed to be the weapons, but are difficult to see during gameplay. I
also had 2 engines at the back but the particle system was coded to be in
between them. I kept it that way because it looked fine during gameplay.

2. Coding keyboard controls
I chose the W, A, S and D keys for moving the player because they are the
standard movement controls for PC games.

3. Level limit coding
I created a level limit, so that the player is always within the room and can’t fly
offscreen.
Background designing
I made a black background to be space, and all of the white dots are distant
stars. It made the background like this to suit the rest of the game.

4. I also have a second background of only white dots that move at a different
speed than the first one, so that the game has a better effect of movement.
Jet sprite and coding particle system
I created the particle system to make the ship look more alive, and not just an
image sliding around on the screen. I coded it so the jet sprite appears at the
back of the ship, then gets smaller as it moves away, and then repeat.
Testing the game so far
This screenshot shows the earliest version of my game. It only includes the
background, the player ship and its particle system.

5. Creating the player laser sprite
The player laser is green because I wanted it to really stand out from
everything else on the screen, and to add a sort of toxic/acid feel to it.
Coding player projectile movement and removing once off the screen
I made it so that the player laser is removed from the game once it leaves the
screen. This is because if I didn’t do that, and enough lasers continue to exist, it
may eventually crash the game.

6. Adding code to make the player able to fire the projectile
I added code so that the player laser can actually be fired. I decided to make
the ‘enter’ button into the fire button.
Adding a projectile sound and adding code to have it play when a projectile is
fired.
I added a sound to the player laser so that the player feels like they are actually
shooting lasers out of their ship.

7. Creating an enemy sprite
I decided to make the first enemy a dark grey, but that made it difficult to see
it because of the dark background. I made the ‘eye’ red, and added a red glow
surrounding the enemy so it is easier to see, and looks more evil.
Coding enemy spawn and formation
I made it so that enemy 1 spawns in groups of 3 in a specific formation, but at
different parts of the y axis. This makes the enemy seem more like an
organised force against the player, but also makes the gameplay easier.

8. Creating enemy explosions
I chose to have some of the explosion to be green because the player laser is
green, and thought it would look better during gameplay.
Coding enemy explosion
This is the coding for the enemy to turn into the explosion when hit by the
player laser. Ingame it looks like the enemy has actually blown up.

9. Testing the game so far (screenshot taken from a later version where the
enemy can shoot)
This screenshot shows the player laser being fired (near the middle of the
screen) and an enemy blowing up from being hit. The lasers near the player are
from a later version of the game.
Creating enemy laser
I made the enemy laser as a glowing orb of energy that moves towards the
player. I chose to make the lasers round to match the shape of the enemy that
shoots them.
Coding enemy shooting the player
Here I added code to make the enemy able to fire its laser at the player. I made
it so that the laser moves straight towards where the player was when it
shoots.

10. Coding health/shield bar
This coding makes it so that a red shield bar is shown in the top left of the
screen.
Coding shield damage
This code makes it so the shield gets lower (damaged) when hit by an
enemy/laser.
Coding player destruction
This code changes the player ship into a different explosion animation when
the shield is lowered to 0 (around 4 hits from an enemy.

11. Coding point system
The code on the right puts a score up on the screen just below the shield bar.
The code on the left makes it so points can be gained.
Coding point gain when enemy is killed
This code adds 1 point to the score when an enemy is destroyed by the player.
Testing the game so far
The left screenshot shows the player being destroyed and the right screenshot
shows the shield bar and score in the top left.

12. Creating the second enemy sprite and laser
I made the second enemy look, move, and shoot differently than the first
enemy, to make them diverse. The second enemy is a yellow colour, but with a
black outline around it. Both enemies have an ‘eye’ on them, but this one’s eye
looks more like a real one. I changed the laser for the second enemy too.
Coding Enemy and Laser 2
I coded enemy 2 pretty much the same, but I made it so it shoots straight
ahead instead of at the player.

13. Creating player shield visual
I wanted to make the player feel like their ship has actually been hit by a laser,
so I added a second player frame to show a shield on the front of the ship and
coded it to only appear when an enemy laser hits the player.
Coding player and enemy collision (extra damage) and adding shield deflect
sound for enemy and enemy laser
I added a sound for when the player is hit that sounds like a shield deflecting a
shot. I also added code so that when the player and an enemy come into
contact with each other, the enemy blows up and the player takes extra
damage.

14. Adding music to play in the background
I added music to the game so that it would be more entertaining and make the
game feel more complete. Without the music the only sounds are laser shots
and explosions, which makes the game feel empty.
Testing the game (final version)
This is the ‘final’ version of the game (end of the tutorial videos). More
features such as a game over screen may be added in the future, but for now
this is it.