AZ 2: Electric Boogaloo

Inspiration

The inspiration for this project came from the departure of Adobe Flash, causing a plethora of treasured Flash games to leave web forever. We wanted to recreate the same experience we had with one particular Flash game, AZ, while adding our own twists to it.

What it does

AZ 2: Electric Boogaloo is a local multiplayer game where two players take control of two tanks. Players either control the forward and backwards movement of the tank, or the orientation of the tank and its turret. Players aim to destroy the other tank in a series of rounds, each having a procedurally generated map, by firing a plethora of projectiles, each of which has a unique behavior. Basic Projectile: Bounces off of walls. Rocket: Flies fast in a straight line, and can go through walls. Multi-Shot: Fires a blast of 3 bouncing projectiles in a cone. Big Bomb: Fires a bomb which bounces off of walls. Can be reactivated to explode where its at. Machine Gun: Holding down the fire button gradually ramps up the firing speed of this upgrade. But players must be careful! Their own bullets could hit themselves, resulting in a loss of that round.

How we built it

AZ 2: Electric Boogaloo is build on the Ubisoft API provided for this hackathon. It was coded in C++, using the SFML library for graphics and media.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges of this hackathon was learning the API itself. Many of the problems with implementation often came from a misunderstanding of how the game engine's system works, where it often left us scratching our heads. Team members were also unfamiliar with the difficulties of C++, which were gradually discovered and overcome over the course of the hackathon.

Accomplishments that we are proud of

Originally, our minimum viable product was to only have two players in a blank arena shoot at each other with the basic projectile. We've come a long way from that! We are particular proud of the procedural generation in the game! It adds uniqueness to each round, allowing re-playability. The addition of 4 powerups, each adding a unique twist to the players' attacks, is also a feature we were all proud of. And finally, we were glad that we were able to replicate the feels of the movement of the original AZ game.

What We learned

For technical skills, some of us learned how to use Git for the first time, and its applications in managing projects. It's importance was emphasized given that this was an online event too! Some other technical concepts that were brushed up on include:

Handling Circular Dependencies
Software Design
Documentation

What's next for AZ 2: Electric Boogaloo

We might add a few more extra features for fun, but I think we're satisfied with what we've accomplished!

Built With

c++
sfml
ubisoft

Submitted to

Hack the North 2020++

Created by

Using the Ubisoft API, I coded primarily with C++ on collision systems, core gameplay with powerups, movement and controls, and overall software design.

Jing Hao Yao
I worked on map generation. It was my first time using C++, so that took some getting used to. But, with my experience in C, I was able to pick it up pretty quickly.

jackpark071801
I worked on creating and implementing procedural generation of walls and removing entities. It took some time for me to get used to modern C++ and using git hub for the first time, but I felt fairly comfortable using both in conjunction by the end of the project.

Lucas Choi
Used C++ paired with the Ubisoft API to develop the game. Worked on creating procedural map generation as well as procedural player and projectile spawning. Implemented score systems, map changes and local multiplayer.

Karthik Prasad