After doing some work on some Line art for my level designs, I decided to start working on my prototype. I had done earlier testing work for this in the summer with a key and door system, as well as a collectible to pick up. The levels were vastly different as the character did not jump but I did learn some handy information in this process. Once I booted up Unity I made a simple white block out for the Mesa Wasteland level. I started with this level first as it had a very simple design and could be tweaked easily. The ridges of the Mesa mountains were first made with 3 cuboids varying in shape. There was a long beam for the player and a ridge in the middle to separate the top layers.
I somehow managed to get this cool isometric view of the unity space which is quite cool and you can see that below this piece of text. I then added some colour once I got my view back to normal as well as added some steps at the end and a lift platform at the start to not only mark the spawn but also some future work for the minecart.
first initial TD.DUA prototype layout
mesa level update 2
The start of visual studio code that was originally used to make the character swap mechanic
Movement script that works
After finally implementing a camera script to follow the player that works, this happened...
I worked over 2 or so days to get this video running to show some gameplay as the days I did work on coding were tough but also a learning opportunity. I started to work on mechanics that I did not need to do just yet and so I overstressed myself. When I managed to get a movement script to work with my game, a very humorous event happened. When I tested this I was so tired that I started laughing when things went wrong.
The wrong thing was that the player moved forward only to tip over and fall off the edge of the level, forever spiraling and falling 360 degrees around with the camera doing this also. It reminded me of a scene from the hit films Interstellar and Gravity. When I showed this to a colleague in class they suggested it should be a permanent mechanic where you skydive and fall, having to aim yourself through hoops and the falling structures around you.
This was a different game idea overall however so I took this idea, wrote it down, and continued with my main plan, who knows I could do this in the future in another little game.
This problem was easily solved however later in class some other classmates showed me that all I had to do was freeze the X, Y, and Z positions in unity.
flatter shapes in level. more efficient
One of the first scripts I was working on was the two-player script to change characters. I did have in mind whether my game was suitable for two players to play together but that is a feature that can be added later down the line as it is not part of my main pipeline.
Then later on with the level making, I re-added ProBuilder to make some more space-efficient shapes and make the level design look more fluid and natural without using so many different objects. I made some actual stairs for the end of the level as well as some squashed spheres for a thin cactus. Furthermore, I used the stair shape, squished them flat, and turned them in different directions to make more convincing-looking mesa mountain hills.
After finally getting the code to work and the player on a less awkward movement pattern, the player still speeds off the stairs at the end but this just means I need more land for the player to traverse on. I took a break to work on my presentation, after some feedback I used this week of time to make some nice adjustments to my mini-level. I added some stalagmites and stalactites to my cave area as well as a watch tower structure in the sandy area.
Updated even further mesa level
extra slide on presentation.
Updated Mesa Level gameplay with newly added structures and environment detail.