1. Amy Brockbank
1
Workflow
Here is my first sprite in progress, this is what will eventually become the player character. here; I
have tried to develop the look of the spaceship. I will need to add something the player will use to
shoot from to add to the look of the game.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
2. Amy Brockbank
Here is my final player sprite, I completely changed the shape of the spaceship from the last
screenshot, so the girl in the ship is kept inside a dome, but kept the design of the girl in the ship. I
changed the design of her uniform and changed the colour of her hair band to make the difference
between her hair and the hair band more distinct I also added a single pixel to the top of her ear to
make her look more unusual. I also added a gun to the ship to make firing weapons look like they are
actually coming from somewhere.
2
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
3. Amy Brockbank
Here, I edited the properties of the player sprite. The main thing I did was editing the collision
detection settings of the sprite, so the player can collide with objects such as bullets, terrain and
other features I may choose to add onto the game. I set the collision mask to ‘diamond’, as this is
what fit the sprite best, due to the triangular top of the sprite. I also set the origin point of the sprite
to the centre to make the sprite easier to deal with when coding other assets to add to it.
3
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
4. Amy Brockbank
Here, I typed the code to move the sprite around the game. I set the game around a basic ‘WASD’
control scheme, so ‘W’ moves the sprite up, ‘A’ moves the sprite left, ‘S’ moves the sprite down, and
‘D’ moves the sprite right.
4
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
5. Amy Brockbank
5
Here, I created a room for my game to take place in. This is where everything is put together to
create the level, such as backgrounds and sprites.
Here, I tested the gameplay of the game to see if the movement works. It does! I will have to set
some boundaries so the player isn’t able to move off screen.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
6. Amy Brockbank
Here I coded limits for the player character, so the player doesn’t accidently move off screen. I used
if statements here so the player character cannot go to a certain point without the game stopping it.
6
Here, I tested the limits for the game. They work! Now, the player character cannot move past the
edge of the screen, in the screenshot, that is as far as the player character is able to move.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
7. Amy Brockbank
7
Here, I created the background for the game. In my background, I am aiming to keep the colour
scheme purple and red to make the atmosphere look like a hostile alien planet.
Here, I added the background to the game, and adjusted the horizontal scrolling to make the
background scroll continuously to give the illusion of moving along a scene.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
8. Amy Brockbank
Although, I had some difficulty getting the background to scroll the first time, I soon discovered that
the background had to be a continuous loop, so no clouds could be cut off at the edge of the screen
if they weren’t completed on the other side.
8
I then edited the background by taking away clouds that were cut off by the edge of the screen,
which made the scrolling effect look far nicer.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
9. Amy Brockbank
Here, I added the second layer to the first level, and made the horizontal scrolling slightly faster than
the first layer to make movement appear more realistic.
9
Here, I created a second layer for the background. I made the clouds slightly darker and smaller so
they blend into the background better so a greater look of depth is created.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
10. Amy Brockbank
10
Here is my background in action. I intended for the smaller clouds to be underneath the larger
clouds, so I will have to fix this.
I edited layer one, and made the clouds smaller. I also edited the colours so the level looks
completely purple, rather than red and purple so the level doesn’t look odd.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
11. Amy Brockbank
Here is my background in the game. I think the colours match better, and the repositioning of the
clouds look far better. I also exchanged the city for mountain terrain, which I think looks far better.
11
On the second layer, I added larger clouds, as well as a city backdrop.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
12. Amy Brockbank
Here, I created a sprite for the thrusters of the ship. I will add this to the player sprite using particle
effects, to look like flares from the bottom of the ship
Here I have edited the properties of the sprite. Here, I have set the origin point to the middle, so the
sprite is easier to code with.
12
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
13. Amy Brockbank
13
Here, I have coded the particle effects, and what I want them to do. I have set the thrusters of the
sprite come out of the bottom of the ship. If this doesn’t work, I will have to edit the code or the
player sprite.
As I thought, this was coded incorrectly. The particle effects have the desired effect, but they are
facing the wrong way, they are shooting from the top of the sprite, instead of the bottom. I will
experiment further with the code to get the particle effects to face the correct way.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
14. Amy Brockbank
14
Here, I changed the position of the effects on the y axis to a positive, rather than a negative,
number. This will start the effects at the bottom of the sprite, rather than the top.
The particles are positioned correctly, but still shoot upwards. I will need to mess with the gravity
code so they fall down.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
15. Amy Brockbank
Here, I’m close to getting it right. I just need to change the angle of the particle effects again to 270
to bring the particles down.
15
Changed some part_type_gravity code from 90 to 180.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
16. Amy Brockbank
The particles finally face downwards, after some experimentation, and look quite nice coupled with
the drawn on fire.
16
Changed the part_type_gravity code from 180 to 270.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
17. Amy Brockbank
Here, I edited the properties of the sprite, to make sure the sprite collides with enemies correctly. I
changed the shape of the collision mask to rectangle, which fit the sprite perfectly. I also changed
what part of the sprite the collision mask connects to, so only enemies who get directly hit get
damaged.
17
Here is my laser sprite, which will be used with the player sprite.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
18. Amy Brockbank
Here, I created code so that bullets that leave the level get destroyed, so they don’t build up as the
game goes on. If I didn’t create this code, the game would start to lag over time and then eventually
crash.
18
Here, I added an hspeed variable, which changes how fast the laser travels across the screen.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
19. Amy Brockbank
Here, I added a shoot command to the player object, which makes the laser fire when the enter key
is pressed.
19
The last piece of code came back with an error. I will have to identify the problem.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
20. Amy Brockbank
20
Here, I identified the problem. I forgot to add brackets to the laser destruction code; I will have to
remember to end each process when I’m done with them.
Now, the game works again and compiles successfully. The player sprite can now shoot lasers.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
21. Amy Brockbank
Here, I created an enemy sprite. To experiment with different programs to see which program is
easiest to create sprites with. I created this sprite using Paint originally, although, I found it easier to
add in sprites using Game Maker itself, as it is easier to make the background transparent.
Here, I created the animation for my enemy sprite. I made the eyes of the sprite glow from pink to
dark red, which looks quite nice when put together, however, I’m not entirely sure about the overall
flying mutated sheep design, and may change it at the end of the project.
21
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
22. Amy Brockbank
Here, I edited the properties of the sprite. I edited the collision mask so the sprite can get hit. I also
changed the shape of the mask to a diamond, so the sprite doesn’t act weirdly, and centred the
origin.
22
Here, I created the code that will spawn the enemies on screen. This code will create three sprites
on the screen at once, in a triangle formation.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
23. Amy Brockbank
23
Here, I created the code that will set off the alarm. This will make sure that enemies constantly
respawn, and don’t just spawn once and never again.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
24. Amy Brockbank
Here, I added the system to the room. Putting this in the room will add everything in the room that
isn’t visible; such as spawn alarms.
24
Here, I edited the speed of the enemies and the speed of the animation.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
25. Amy Brockbank
Here, I added the code to make the enemy sprite destroy itself when it has left the room. Much like
the laser, if enemies build up off screen, the game will eventually start to lag, and then crash.
Here, I tested my game, and the enemies spawn fine, they don’t cause damage yet, but they spawn
correctly.
25
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
26. Amy Brockbank
26
Here, I added sound to the laser, so now the laser should make a noise when it is fired.
Here, I tested the game, and the sound works every time a laser is fired, and sounds quite nice.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
27. Amy Brockbank
27
Here is my explosion sprite. It is animated. I did this in Paint again due to computer access
constraints, so I may edit it later to make it look better and more circular.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
28. Amy Brockbank
Here, I wrote the code to destroy the particles; this code destroys the particles so they don’t stay on
screen too long, so enemy explosions don’t last ages.
28
Here is my code for the particle effect for the enemy explosion, it is quite similar to the particle
effect system used on the ship.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
29. Amy Brockbank
Here, I added a sound to the explosion, so the overall game sounds better, rather than just missing
sound effects.
29
This code sets the alarm, so the particles get destroyed after a certain amount of time.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
30. Amy Brockbank
30
Here, I linked the sound using code, so the sound should now play in game.
Here, I created a collision between the laser and the enemy, so lasers can now hit enemies and
destroy them.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
31. Amy Brockbank
I tested the game, and the explosion works, it destroys the enemy. The sprite for the particle effect
doesn’t look as bad as I originally thought it was going to, so I’ve decided not to edit it, for now at
least.
Here, I used an instance destroy command to destroy the bullet, so the laser doesn’t continue once
it has hit an enemy
31
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
32. Amy Brockbank
Here, I decided to change how fast the enemy animation plays out as I thought it was going too fast,
so the glow in the enemy’s eyes wasn’t very visible.
32
Here, I tested the game again; the bullet now disappears when an enemy has been hit.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
33. Amy Brockbank
Here is my enemy projectile sprite, because of computer access constraints again, I originally created
this sprite in Paint, and so I will have to take away the white background.
33
The glow on their eyes is now more noticeable and looks better, in my opinion.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
34. Amy Brockbank
Here, I Edited the collision mask of the sprite, so when the player collides with the bullet, it can take
damage.
34
Here, I created code to move projectiles towards the player, so the enemy’s projectiles will now
home in on the player.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
35. Amy Brockbank
Here, I added a command that destroys the projectile when it leaves the room, so the game doesn’t
crash or lag.
35
Here, I used an instance destroy command to destroy the projectiles when they come into contact
with the player.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
36. Amy Brockbank
36
Here, I created code to create the bullets that the enemies will use.
Here, I forgot to add the zap2 sound, the game crashed. If the game expects a certain asset to be
there, and it isn’t, the game will crash.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
37. Amy Brockbank
37
Here, I added the sound to the library, so the game shouldn’t crash.
I tested the game again; enemy projectiles now work now that I’ve added sound.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
38. Amy Brockbank
38
This piece of code creates the shield, or health, for the player, so the player isn’t destroyed
straightaway when a bullet hits the sprite.
Here is the code that draws the rectangle for the shield, so health is now visualised in the game. I
chose to have the bar in two colours, blue and aqua.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
39. Amy Brockbank
39
Here is the game with the shield bar now added. The two colours have an interesting effect on the
bar.
Here, I created the code that will cause damage to the player when hit by reducing the shield bar.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
40. Amy Brockbank
40
Here is damage in the game, when the player sprite is hit by enemy bullets, the bar decreases
Here is the sprite I will use when my player sprite gets destroyed, it has two frames, the other is
similar except the outside is pink, and the inside is blue.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
41. Amy Brockbank
41
Here, I wrote the code to create a particle effect explosion for when the player is destroyed.
Here, I tested the explosion. It looks quite nice.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
42. Amy Brockbank
42
Here, I created the code to prevent bullets lingering on screen after player is dead.
I tested my game again, they now disappear when the player is destroyed.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
43. Amy Brockbank
43
Here, I created a font. I chose Prestige Elite Std for the font in game.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
44. Amy Brockbank
Here I created a score system. The score should count up every time the player hits an enemy with a
laser now.
44
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
45. Amy Brockbank
The score now counts up when an enemy is hit; the score displays itself in the font I created earlier.
45
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
47. Amy Brockbank
47
Here, I created a second enemy for the game. This time, only one enemy should appear on the
screen at once, and move in a random direction. The time in which the enemy spawns is also
randomised, meaning the second enemy could appear at any time.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
48. Amy Brockbank
Here is my second enemy sprite. It is a recoloured version of my player sprite, only designed to look
more sinister, the ship is completely grey, and the flames are red rather than blue. The eyes are red,
too, and her skin is green with wild blonde hair. The flames on this sprite animate, to replace the
particle effect that the player sprite uses.
48
This is my new updated enemy sprite, which replaces the mutant flying sheep. The eyes on this
sprite change colour. I think this sprite looks better, as the other looked a bit too odd.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
49. Amy Brockbank
Here, I created a title screen. I kept to the same colour palette as the rest of the game here. I also
drew the planet that the game is set on. I also used the same font here that I use for the score in
game. If I were to expand the game, I could change the planet to correspond with how far the player
is in the game, each time they start the game up.
49
Here, I created a game over screen. Again, with this game over screen, I kept the colour scheme
fairly similar, using only different shades of blue, purple, red and pink. I also drew out the main
BTEC Level 3 Games Design
50. Amy Brockbank
50
character from the player sprite, defeated, as I wanted to feature her more within the game. I also
keep the font consistent with the title screen.
BTEC Level 3 Games Design