Inspiration
Our inspiration for this game stemmed from our own understanding of the theme. We also took inspiration from symbiotic relationships found in nature. Specifically, we took the relationship between the Colombian Lesserblack Tarantula and the Dotted Humming Frog. We chose to implement symbiotic relationships as our theme because it fits in with the overall theme of "Better Together".
What it does
Our program takes input from two players on one keyboard to control both the Tarantula as well as the Frog. Then, it spawns waves of "enemies" that the Frog or Tarantula have to shoot in order to complete a wave. Certain enemies are killed easier by being targeted by the respective animal. For example, the Tarantula has buffed damage against the lizard, which is its common prey.
How we built it
We first conceptualized the project using our understanding of the theme. Then, we came up with different ideas that we could use to create our program. We eventually decided on the symbiotic relationship between the frog and the tarantula, as stated above. Finally, we used Unity and C# to create the code required for the game.
Challenges we ran into
The first challenge that we ran into was coding with C#. Although all of our members know how to code in C++, none of the members in our group had any prior knowledge of C# and it took lots of determination and research to figure out how the code works. The next challenge that we ran into was navigating through Unity and figuring out how it and its assets can aid us in creating our game. Our final challenge was coming together as a team after creating our individual code and integrating it into one smooth program.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
One accomplishment that we're proud of is designing and drawing our own sprites for the program. We first visualized which animal would best fit our concept, and proceeded to reference the actual animals when recreating them in pixel form. Another accomplishment that we're proud of as a collective is picking up and learning C# on the fly, as that took a lot of effort to fully grasp.
What we learned
What we learned was the importance of teamwork when building code. As stated in our challenge portion, we found coming together as a team after creating all our different portions of code was extremely difficult. We also learned that it requires long hours of coding to create even the most seemingly simplistic games, which increased our respect for game developers for complex games such as Grand Theft Auto or Skyrim.
What's next for Symbiotic Survival
After the competition, we plan on continuing to develop the game. Specifically, we are looking to perfect certain game mechanics and make the user interface much smoother and efficient. We are also planning on adding multiple different game mechanics through the use of powerups. For example, as the wave progression gets to a certain point, we plan on adding multi-shot powerups or speed powerups.
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