NanoSharkGames

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Using GameMaker, I created a procedural dungeon generator with rooms connected by corridors. The rules on how rooms and corridors are formed are:

• The width and height of each room are between a minimum and maximum value
• Each room after the first one created connect to a previous room from a random cardinal direction with a hallway with a length and width between a min and max value
• Rooms and corridors cannot leave the bounds of the game room
• Each room cannot touch nor overlap any other room
• Corridors cannot touch a room that is not the two connecting rooms

This project’s GameMaker version is 2024.13.1

I made a Unity prototype of a turn-based strategy survival game for my final project in Scripting for Games I at UT Dallas.

As shown above, the goal of each map is to destroy all enemy units. Once you do, you enter a new level with more enemies and the player’s stats reset. Since this is also a survival game, it is a matter of finishing as many levels as possible, not winning. Player characters can also pass control to their allies during the player’s turn. Enemies also have basic movement and attack AI to give the players a challenge without an additional player.

In my Level Design I course at UT Dallas, I designed a 2D sidescroller level using the 2DGameKit in Unity.

Name of Level: What Goes Down Must Come Up

Setting: A dark, damp, and quiet cave in which the hero wants to escape and return above ground.

Design Goals

• Feelings to evoke on player: easy going at the beginning, but feeling a sense of challenge as the player progresses. I also want the player to feel accomplished at the end of the level.
• Theme of level: Trapped
• What is special about this level is that the player interacts with two types of crates: normal and acid crates. Acid crates are immune to acid, while normal crates dissolve and re-spawn.

Mechanics: The primary mechanic in this level is to push and stack crates on top of other objects (such as pressure pads, other crates, or acid). Crate stacking is crucial in this level as the level cannot be completed without pushing crates on top of other objects.

As seen above, I designed the level to teach players that pushing crates is crucial in progressing from one area to the next. Pressure pads open doors, but the 2D Game Kit allows the player to interact with pressure pads. I found this freedom problematic for my level, so I designed around this problem by making the ceiling above the pressure pad and the corresponding crate significantly low to where it would be impossible for the player to jump over the crate and skip the mechanic. After the player takes advantage of what it learned and completes the two hardest platforming challenges involving stacking crates and the acid pool, I reward the player for its efforts by ending the level with a simple review of the box-pushing mechanic.

I previously made a tabletop dice game back in 2015 and expanded on the rules in 2019. I made these changes to give the players more choices beyond dice rolls and to enhance the overall experience. The rule sheet for my game is below:

REQUIREMENTS

Players: 3-8

Targeted Age: 6+

Materials: 1 d8, 1 d12, 1 d20, bank of tokens

OBJECTIVE

To be the last participant with at Play Points remaining.

SETTING UP

Each participant starts out with 5 Play Points. Play Points are tokens to keep participants in the game. Each participant must roll the Player Dice. The participant who rolls the highest number will be Player 1. If there is a tie for the Player 1 spot, then the participants involved in the tie must re-roll to determine Player 1. Players go clockwise.

TYPES OF PARTICIPANTS

Participant: any person involved in the entirety of game play.

Player: the participant in the game that has the current turn.

Challenger: a participant that is selected to challenge the player for keeping their Play Points.

OBJECTS

The Player Dice: a d20 that the player uses during its turn.

The Major Challenge Dice: a d12 that an opponent uses during a Challenge.

The Minor Challenge Dice: a d8 that an opponent uses during a Challenge.

Play Points: tokens that allow participants to continue their participation in the game. If all are lost, the participant is eliminated.

GAMEPLAY

If any participant loses all their Play Points at any point during play, that participant is eliminated from the game.

THE PLAYER’S TURN: The current player can perform 2 actions each turn. The types of actions that a player can perform are:

Challenge: costs one or two actions, which is up to the player. The player can challenge a participant of its choice. If the player wishes to The opponent must roll both the Major Challenger Dice and the Minor Challenger Dice. The opponent will use the dice with the lowest number rolled. Both the player and challenger roll their dice and each add their total number of Play Points to their roll. If the player rolls a lower number, the player puts 1 Play Point back in the bank times the number of actions used. If the opponent rolls a lower number during the challenge, the opponent has the option to Rematch the player or accept loss by putting a Play Point times actions the player used back in the bank. However, if the player rolls a natural 1 on the Player Dice, the player must give the opponent one of its Play Points and the challenge is over. If the player rolls a natural 20 on the Player Dice, the opponent must give the player one of its Play Points regardless of the opponent’s roll. Natural 20 rolls void the option for the challenger to Rematch. When a opponent can and chooses to Rematch, both the player and opponent must re-roll and add their Play Point count to their rolls. If the opponent rolls a lower number again, the number of Play Points lost will double (2 if the player used one action and 4 if the player used two actions). If the opponent rolls a higher number, then the player loses a Play Point times the number of actions used. When the player rolls a natural 1, the player gives the opponent 1 Play Point. When the player rolls a natural 20, the opponent gives the player 1 Play Point. In the event of a tie in and outside of a Rematch, both the player and challenger re-rolls until they no longer get the same roll. No opponent can Rematch more than once in the same challenge. Every participant is allowed a maximum of 3 Rematches per game. The player does not have the option to Rematch in any Challenge.

Extra Play Point: costs one action. The player can roll the Player Dice for a chance to gain an extra Play Point. The number of Play Points that the player has is added to the player’s roll. If the player has a roll of 10 or higher, they successfully earn an extra Play Point. If the player has a roll below 10, the player does not earn an extra Play Point. Regardless of the outcome, it counts as one action used. Only one action can be used this type of action per turn.

KO: costs two actions. The player can roll the Player Dice for a chance to eliminate any opponent instantly. Also, the opponent rolls both the Major and Minor Challenger Dice. The number of Play Points that the player has is added to the player’s roll and the number of Play Points that the opponent has is added to the opponent’s roll. If the player’s roll is higher, the opponent loses all of its Play Points and is eliminated. If the player’s roll is lower, the player gives half of its Play Points to the opponent. In the event of a tie, no Play Points are lost. Each player can use this action once per game.

PASS: if the player still has actions left, the player has the option to pass its turn to the next player.

After the player runs out of actions or passes its turn, The Player Dice will then be passed on to the participant to the player’s left, where he/she will be the next player. If there are 3-5 participants at the start of the game, play continues until there is only 1 participant with Play Points remaining. If there are 6 or more participants at the start of the game, play continues until there are 3 participants with Play Points remaining, in which case they will advance to the Finals.

THE FINALS: This event only takes place if the game began with 6-8 players and 3 participants remain. The current player can either Challenge the remaining opponents or attempt to KO one opponent if the player has not already performed the KO action. If there are two opponents still in the game, the player gets to choose who gets the Major Challenge Dice. The other opponent will receive the Minor Challenge Dice. If there is only one opponent, that opponent will use the Major Challenge Dice. The highest roller keeps its Play Points while the other participants lose 1 Play Point. If all participants tie, then they must re-roll. If there are three participants and the player as well as one opponent tie for the highest number rolled, then only the lower roller loses 1 Play Point. If the player rolls a natural 1 on the Player Dice, the player gives both opponents one Play Point each. If the player rolls a natural 20 on the Player Dice, then each opponents must give the player 1 Play Point. Please note that Rematches are not valid during the Finals. After each Challenge or KO, the player passes its turn to the participant on the player’s left.