Spacecraft Override

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  Intro Page

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  Gameplay (Exploration)

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  Gameplay (Bossfight)

Inspiration

The primary inspiration for my game is Undertale. It is a low-graphics RPG which is the same theme I was going for with my videogame. Undertale is known for prioritizing world-building and interactive gameplay over the graphics, and that was the same philosophy I wanted to carry into my game.

What it does

The player is an astronaut in a spaceship that just got hijacked by a group of aliens. You have a weapon to stop them, but unfortunately pieces of it are scattered around the spaceship. You have to explore the ship and complete puzzles to build the sword, and then slay the aliens to free the ship. The fighting gameplay is not like a normal RPG. You are expected to focus exclusively on dodging the enemy's attacks, and you will automatically attack them at the end of your dodges. The less damage you take, the stronger you hit back.

How I built it

The game was built in GameMaker Studio 2 using GML. I created custom scripts for character movement, dialogue sequences, and interactive elements. Using GML allowed me to build unique combat mechanics and dynamic dialogue that reacts to player choices. Most art and animations were designed in Game Maker studio and provided from their built in framework, but some other sprites were taken from this site linked below: link

Challenges I ran into

GML (Game Maker Language) does not explain errors very well, hiding it in the middle of the debugging statement. With a lot of interactive puzzle elements, it was very hard to test and deem if certain puzzles were going to work effectively in-game. However, after incorporating GML's built in debugging functions and using separate "rooms" to test the code, I was able to overcome this challenge of not being able to proeprly debug my code.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

It took me until very late in the night to truly understand how to debug the code, so I'm proud that I even have a successful program to display right now. This is my first time ever working with a game software like Game Maker Studio, so it was a heavy learning experience, but extremely rewarding once I was able to figure out and apply the knowledge I was gaining.

What we learned

As I just stated earlier, this is my first time ever using a game development software. I had to learn completely new syntax to work in GML, but I feel I most improved in handling player choices and building complex dialogue systems. I also improved my skills in game design and balancing, especially when creating engaging battles and interactions that drive the story forward.

What's next for Spacecraft Override

Future updates will add new character interactions, alternative endings based on player choices, and more complex puzzles. I want to add many more levels to the game, more complex bosses, and a co-op mode with exclusive bosses for it. Last thing I want to add is a character progression system, so people are not able to easily beat high level bosses early on in the game.

Built With

• c++
• frameworks
• gamemakerlanguage
• gamemakerstudio