[5SD033]Blog 6 – Level Design
By: Martin Carlsson Group: 10
This week I worked on the wave spawning part of our level design. The spawning of our enemies had long been a problem we had. But due to having to prioritize other things, it ended up on the shelf for too long. To keep track of the spawn points of each enemy I use a std::vector. This vector contains sf::Vector2f for position and an enum for the enemy type. When the spawn point is close to the game view, the spawn point activates and spawns an enemy. For the first few waves, the focus is to introduce the mechanics to the player. So each wave has between 1-3 enemies. If a new enemy is introduced, it is introduced alone. When that enemy has been introduced it will be combined with others who have also been introduced. Due to sever lack of time, the spawn points are pretty bad and not at all as I had planned. The plan was to define a few different patterns which the enemies could use to spawn. This pattern would then serve a specific role in the game. For example A triangle formation of blow fish which would force the player to dodge them or risk setting of a chain reaction when they explode. Spread out formations of blow fish which would give the player an incentive to kill the blow fishes as quickly as possible to avoid chain reactions. Large clusters of jellyfish to protect the more glass cannon enemies of the game. Small formations of jellyfish which the player could choose avoid or kill. Limiting the choice of paths for the player to take. A stream of swordfish to constantly keep the player on his toes. Formations of swordfish for more short time intensive experiences. Bird attacks which would force the player from the top of the screen. Bird swarms which would only be dodge-able at the bottom of the screen. These would follow after some distinctive sound alerts, so that the player had to manage their air level properly. As well as making the bubble power up more valuable if the player was lucky to get one at the same time. The idea was that each of these formations would vary in size and density. The enemies also lack quite a few mechanics which would’ve made the game a lot more varied and enjoyable. At the later stages of the game, the game would be increasingly hard. By increasing the size and the density of the spawns, this would be easy to solve. Thanks for reading!  |
