Game Bash – What is wrong with this game?

When developing a game, at some points you need to face the truth why your idea is not working. Well, I’ve been developing a shooter game, based on a C64 game of which I don’t remember its name. I liked the game back then and the graphics in the original are somewhat simpler then my approach.

This is the result:

What is wrong with this game? Well, the movie demonstrates exactly what is wrong. The world is based on 3D coordinates, which are translated to 2D using perspective projection. And this is very hard to play. As the movie shows, when the player is to the right and shoots, the fire-balls do not go straight up to the horizon, the follow a perspective diagonal line, tilted to the left. When shooting at the left side of the screen, the problem is vice versa. Only when the player is at the middle of the screen, the bullets go straight up.

The game would be more playable when the player’s bullets would go up all the time, as like in the middle of the screen. The bullets would follow a path of parallel projection, where the position on the Z-axiz (into the screen) would be a factor of the Y-axis (vertical).

But do players buy this? The “ground” could be in perspective projection, like it is now, but bullets follow a parallel projection path? Gamers would probably buy it, because like television, games are lies.

There is more wrong with this game, things that fall in the category “not finished so don’t complain”.

It is these moments one could give up the whole idea and declare the invested energy as a waste of time. However, you can also look away from it, and get back to it again later with better ideas. I guess it is part of the creative process.