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EDIT: Sorry if you got a version where the Ratbots were messed up. They should be fixed now in the new version, just re-download it!
 

Gameplay Trailer

A Doozie

Doozie would be putting it lightly. This one took a lot of work, and it’s far from perfect, but I’m proud of it and I’m sharing it with you! This week’s game is called ZTR: Zap That Robot! and it’s a game about zapping robots while running around a randomly-generated arena. There are two enemies in the game, Ratbots and the Core. The Core is the most vital part of the game. It wanders around the level and is non-aggressive, however it will hurt you if touched. “Zapping” the Core steals its energy, sapping it of electrical power and charging your own power. Once your energy reserves are full, the Core deactivates, unlocking the door to the next level. Ratbots wander around and eventually find you, make a beeline towards you, and begin to zap you with electricity. You can zap the Ratbots for a few seconds to destroy them, but be careful: this uses up some of your energy reserves. The idea is to see how many levels you can get through without dying, while each level gets increasingly more difficult.

The Good, the Bad, etc.

I have to admit, the level generation is pretty cool. It’s not always perfect, but it creates a wide variety of maps from a very limited selection of pieces. I’ve spent probably too much time simply generating new maps and running around in them, which is very fun, but running isn’t all you’ll be doing in ZTR. The gameplay is, as far as I know, fairly unique/experimental, and for what it is I think it came out pretty well. I wish I had more time for playtesting, but I’ve played enough of my own game to tell you that it’s pretty fun. I am aware that it gets grindy and tedious after a few levels, so maybe if I decide to flesh this game out in the future, I can alter the gameplay. And now on to the bad: it’s kind of buggy. For being built in a week it works surprisingly well, but the Ratbots get stuck inside geometry, the Core wanders into corners and gets himself trapped, sometimes parts of levels might generate a bit funky… however problems like these are to be expected when dealing with a procedurally generated world; Things are often highly unpredictable and you can only try your best to minimize the chaos. That said, check out the game (it’s free!) and come back soon! I’ll post a “development update” later in the week when I’m a bit less sleep deprived. Thanks!

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Source (Unity Project)

About the game

A screenshot of a typical game of Dots!

I’m starting this thing off with a small puzzle game, the idea for which has been brewing in my head for a few days. It’s called “Dots!” and the goal of the game is to get the 4 dots of each color to sit in their respective colored square. There are 16 dots, 4 of each color, set up in a 4×4 grid. Clicking the buttons along the side of the game board will rotate the 8 dots in front of the button in a clockwise loop. That might sound confusing, but the basic idea is easy enough to get a hang of. I should note that this game, while simple, is extremely difficult. I am thinking about making a 3×3 version, as this one might turn some people off with its difficulty. I should also note that I’m not 100% certain that every round is solvable, as the location of the dots are completely randomized for each round (Note: This is not the case anymore. See edit at bottom).

Development

Development was simple enough, as far as game-development goes. All of the work was done in one day, including graphics and sound.

An early concept of the game

I created a pixelized mockup of the puzzle, and intended it to be the final version, but I abandoned that idea and am pleased with my current choice in visual style. Not much else to say regarding the development process other than Unity’s Lerp function is mega-handy.

-Terry

EDIT: I have updated the files linked with a better version. Each round of the game is now solvable, the logo screen now automatically changes, and the New Game/Exit Game buttons now work on the victory screen.

DOUBLE EDIT: Oops, I uploaded the old files last time. New ones are up for real now. Also I added the source files!