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During the past year, I had been contemplating on different game concepts and pondered on many game mechanics that I thought were interesting for an indie project I could work on on the side. Whenever an idea sparked and stuck to me, I would write it down on a list and flesh it out as much as I could.
One of those ideas led to me begin development on Echolite. Although I started this project a long while back and had only added small iterations from time to time, I have lately begun to put more focus into it, given that the current COVID-19 lockdown has given me more time for it. I am determined to make this the first of many projects that I want to make as an indie game developer, just so I could get to show off my skills to any recruiters in the industry.
Regrettably, I should have began on making devblog entries when I began this project so that it would be less work for me down the track. Nevertheless, I will try my best to recollect and catch up on what I have done so far, what I am planning to do in the future, and the impediments I ran into along the way.
Back when I was in my third and final year at uni last year, I caught wind of a game jam that revolved around the idea and implementation of audio. At the time I first heard about this, I immediately began brainstorming what could be a cool concept of a game that would make use of the audio. Unfortunately, I did not intend on entering the game jam itself, due to assessment overload at the time. However, the main premise would be the use of an audio input that would create bright, echo-like emissions that would guide the player around a dark environment. The duration and speed of each echo would be determined by the volume and pitch of the audio input. Thus, I began researching how I would be able to implement an echo effect within Unity, and it turns out it would be a lot harder than anticipated.
Basing off examples that I found through other developers devblogs and video demos, their echo effects require a lot of computations and systems to replicate what an echo wave would look like in a 2D environment. Then, I had a go on trying to replicate a similar effect through Unity using the particle system, but I almost immediately abandoned the idea as I realised that it would take quite a lot of time and effort. Then I thought, I could simplify this down to just one expanding white circle to create the echo, followed by another expanding but dark-coloured circle to indicate the echo fading. It wouldn't replicate the effect of an echo bouncing off a wall, like what I initially intended, but it would definitely be a lot easier to do.
Since I worked on 2D environments in Unity quite often (just look at the projects I did during uni!), implementing basic movement was no hitch. I did initially intend to make it a 2D platformer, but based on how it would feel in conjunction with the echo mechanic I had already established, I thought having a top-down instead would make the game experience less awkward. I did also think that it would work well if the echo emission came from the player, while restricting the movement. However, I decided against it, and just have the echo effect emit from a projectile when it comes into contact with a wall. This projectile will be shot by the player. Also, the player can only shoot one projectile at a time, and cannot shoot until the first echo has vanished completely.
I implemented a slowly regenerating mana bar, which would encourage the player to use the echo ability wisely when completing a level. More mana is reduced the longer the player charges up the projectile. A longer charge means a longer-lasting echo effect, but it is more costly. I also added a timer as well so it can be used for a scoring system later, as well as a great tool for speedrunning enthusiasts.
At this point, I had totally ditched the idea of having an audio input as the main focus of the game, and had solely stuck to my guns in making it a viable indie game. I have guided the project into a completely new direction. I will be planning to add enemies and obstacles to add challenges for players, as well as boosts and upgrades to help them. I am aiming to design 5 levels at the moment, as it would be suitable for a demo.
I think this covers everything up to my current progress for the project. I apologise for a hefty first devblog, but I will try my best to post more often.. I will keep updating on the progress I am making, and will mention all the changes and decisions I will make along the way. Thanks for reading!
