Presentation

Action Racing Game - Gamemaker engine - 2009 ~ now XD

Intro

S'Witches Scramble (project name: ColorSWitch) is a racing game I'm developing in my spare time with the Game Maker engine (version 8, Studio and now Studio 2). It's an ongoing project that I use to learn programming.

Although the concept is quite simple, I took the time to learn, try and experiment to refine it. The current version is the third fourth fifth, and "should be the last", as a working prototype. I went from a mode 7 view (like on Super Nintendo) to a classic top-down view. As for the universe, I swapped medieval steampunk cars for little witches.

The Pitch

The main concept of the game is to change the colour of your witch to match the colour of the track (the character's colours can be selected cyclically from left to right or right to left). This keeps the witch's speed and mana at maximum. The game can be played locally (split-screen) by up to four players. I have several ideas for gameplay mechanics to give the concept a little more juice, all based on the main gameplay: players have to match their colour to the track.

Details

The first version was published on Game Maker 8. I used a bunch of third-party scripts to simulate a 3D third-person view, like Super Nintendo Mode 7. I tweaked it a bit to suit my needs. Visually, I wanted a kind of SNES/PlayStation rendering, with pixels well visible for the texture. I added a lot of visual feedback for the colour change mechanic, such as the Optim-Slow-Warn sliders, the car engine and the life gauge. I also wanted the HUD to be directly on the car, represented by the colour of the car's wheels.

This project taught me a lot, especially about programming. I was able to keep my motivation despite the time spent on it (since 2012) and the three changes of direction.

Version 2

The second version was made on Game Maker Studio. Because of changes in the engine and because I didn't really feel comfortable with 3D programming (I'm still new to it), I decided to change everything to 2D with a normal top-down view like Micro Machines. However, the view was closer to that of an RPG or adventure action game. I added a four-player split-screen mode and character selection. With this version, I changed the universe to that of the Touhou project, because it is free to use and known all over the world. This allowed me to concentrate on the gameplay and mechanics, rather than finding characters, objects or stories that would fit the atmosphere of the game. I also had access to a lot of visual material.

I had to rethink the HUD because of the UX problems caused by the new view, but I didn't find any interesting options.

Version 3

The third version started in Game Maker Studio and then moved to Game Maker Studio 2, thanks to the more efficient tile management system in this new version of the engine.

With this version, and because it's been a long time since I started this project, I changed the camera system again to improve my workflow and to solve the HUD problem that had arisen since I switched to a top-down view.

In fact, with a three-quarter top-down view and a fixed camera, in order to have a fluid rotation of the characters, I had to create far too many frames of animation for the 16 directions planned, multiplied by each type of animation (gain, loss, crash, etc.) and the number of characters. Far too much work for one person to do in their spare time. So I rotated the camera in relation to the direction of the character. That way, the character's sprite is always the same, head up, and I drastically reduce the number of assets to produce. It also allowed me to display my hud directly on the character.

I also decided to reduce the size of a tile from 32x32px to 16x16px, as well as the size of the character's sprite, to further reduce the production time.

This version will be the last in 2D. Then I'd like to do a 3D version in Unity or Unreal, with a small team to add ideas that I couldn't add in the 2D version.

Version 4

I decided to go back to the Zelda like top down view I started with version 2. as I found a way to resolve the issues I stated at that time : just have to work harder. It was also way more cute to properly see the characters and the environment like that.

Version 5

This version is the current version and is "just" a complete rewrite of the code as the Gamemaker Studio communityexpended a lot those past years and I could learn even more tricks and concept that I want to try.

See you on version 6 (lol)