Hello everyone!
I have an idea for a roguelike dungeon game and I'm trying to flesh out ideas for map generation. Unlike a lot of roguelikes where the entire map is procedurally generated per floor, I wanted to create a set of rooms that are selected from as you move through the game. Each room would essentially be a pre-generated layout, but randomly chosen as the player passes through a new door (think tabletop games like Betrayal with room tiles.) The edge of map space would be like your deck of room tiles. As you move, you flip a new tile onto the board, building the map as you go.
My plan was to design each room at the edges of the map space, and then sort of copy and paste them into the center of the map space as needed. Something like the diagram below:
0--2--4--1--?
the player would start in the room (0) and as they moved through the door, the next room (1 through 4) would be selected from the list of rooms and added in line for the player to enter. Basically, I'm just trying to figure out the best way to store a room (maybe as an array or string) and redraw it in a different location on the map.
I should add that I'm still pretty new to PICO development, so your ideas may go over my head a bit lol. But any input would still be appreciated!
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Bit Defender: The Game puts you at the controls of your PC's very own antivirus software. Your ship, The Bit Defender, patrols your computer's system data, blasting away any viruses, malware, or other nefarious computer invaders that it detects. But be careful, if the Bit Defender comes into direct contact with too many of these malicious files, it could spell disaster for your computer system!
I've always been a big fan of old arcade shooters, Galaga, Space Invaders, Xevious, etc. I decided that my first game would be in the same vein. Hopefully the bit defender company won't get too mad that I used them as my inspiration lol. I've been coding it for about a week or two now, but this is my first official alpha release. The game is playable, albeit simplified for now. I have a working title screen, working gameplay, sound effects, enemies, and scorekeeping. Much more will be added as I continue to better my LUA skills. Stay tuned for updates!
Build Log: |
v002: Your ship has full range of movement and weapon fire. The background is inspired by a tutorial I found online to make moving star fields. This ship can still move off the screen, which will be changes in the next update.
v003: Mostly aesthetic changes. Added the status bar at the bottom. Health, bombs, and score will be added here at some point. Added ship constraints to prevent it from flying off the screen. Updated firing logic to prevent rapid fire by holding the button down. This may change again as I further develop the gameplay style. The ( X% ) will track the players progress to the end of the game.
v004: Added enemy spawning, along with enemy collisions to the lasers and the player ship. Health also tracks correctly. There is a score, but it is not currently visible. The scan % works though, and tracks how many enemies you'd encountered, relative to the max amount that spawn before the scan completes.
v005: I changed the controls to be more Galaga in nature. There's now only left and right movement. I've also updated the data stream in the background to use fewer resources. Cleaned up some of the programming by separating some logic into unique functions.
v006/Alpha 1.0: The first official release! Tons of work the last few days getting the game running. There's now a working (though not final) title screen, win screen, and game over screen. The scan function now works as an area clear, for times when you get a bit overwhelmed. I've also added some touches using a camera shake function and particle function that I've found here on the forums (thank you Krystman and DocRobs!). This release allows for basic gameplay. Enemies can be killed, can score against you by hitting the bottom of the screen. Your scores are tracked on a second toolbar, which can be changed with the Up and Down keys, and are totaled on the win screen. The win screen appears after a 100% scan, the game over screen after you lose all 6 of your health (with a fun little reference some people may get lol).
To Be Added/Fun Ideas: |
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More enemies, and with varying AI logic. Some will continue straight down, others may attempt to hit the player directly. Some may have basic ranged attacks.
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Player powerups/temporary boosts. I've tested logic for a 'slow time' effect, which works very well. May also add things like temp invulnerability, temp wide field firing. As well as permanent multi gun upgrades. Health and Scan drops too!
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A nicer title screen lol
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Some more depth to the start of the game, maybe with some animated screens for storytelling purposes or small cutscenes before starting the game and after winning/losing.
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Different levels of difficulty as you progress through the scan cycle, maybe even different modes: Quick Scan, Full Scan (default gamemode), or Infinite Scan (where the enemies get faster and more difficult, but you don't stop until you die)
- Maybe a boss battle at the end?!?!
I'm also always open to new suggestions from anyone! I love hearing about what you think a game like this should have, or what fun concepts you'd like to see a new game try! I'm always open to new ideas, constructive criticisms, and programming tips.
