Linked Together

Inspiration

The main theme/topic of the Hackathon was the general idea of "link," with definitions ranging from cuff links to URLs. We were inspired with the idea to have the two players be linked together via a chain and eventually decided to make the chain the only method to defeat enemies to stand out from similar ideas through brainstorming.

What it does

The project is split into three levels, each containing a unique lay out of enemies and obstacles the players must overcome. The player's themselves are linked together via a chain that must be used to defeat enemies. There are three levels total and a final victory screen when the player wins the final level.

How we built it

Our project was made using Godot; a video game engine using it's own programming language. We started by brainstorming ideas before creating a functioning prototype of each mechanic in the game. In particular, each member would focus on learning and creating one aspect of the game:

Roman: Collisions, level creation, movable objects,
Shervin: Level transitions, level creation,
Nelson: Chain link, player controls,
Josh: Enemy ai, damage mechanics.

After these aspects were designed, we collaborated in designing levels and put the final product together by combining our prototypes into one cohesive game and adding sprites.

Challenges we ran into

None of our members had ever extensively used Godot. As a result, we all had to quickly learn and adapt to Godot's language and tools as we were unfamiliar with them. Standout challenges included:

Creating the chain between the two players
Implementing enemy and chain damage,
Creating level transitions,
Object physics and collision. In the end, we were able to either ask for assistance or learn enough about Godot's tools to create a functional final project.

Another challenge we encountered is utilizing GitHub repositories. The Godot engine created a branch called "master" in our repository while our terminals were attempting to push commits towards the "main" branch in the GitHub repository. This resulted in errors in difficulties pulling and pushing content towards our repository, resulting in the creation of an entirely new repository and assistance from mentors present on the Hackathon grounds.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Overall, we're quite proud of our ability to adopt to and create our first Godot project with an idea and mechanic which would have been difficult to create. In particular, we're quite proud of how the chain looks overall and the three levels we developed given we had no experience in developing games using the Godot engine.

What we learned

Throughout the Hackathon, we learned various components of using Godot, both it's coding language and the tools the engine provides to create various games. The experience has also further developed our adaptability to new and unknown tools and collaborative/teamwork skills.

What's next for Us

As of writing, we are unsure what we will do pursue next beyond our educations. It may be possible for us to attend another Hackathon in the future however.