Completing an Alpha version of Space Shooter

Now that all features of the game have been completed, the waves and levels have to be considered and I’ve found using arrays to be the easiest way to set them in C# within Unity.

The game supports several enemies, several power ups and a few different weapons. But each wave and level needs to be designed so that the earlier waves have fewer enemies and the game doesn’t become too difficult too quickly. In fact, there are a whole host of variables that need to be adjusted to “balance” the game.

Additionally, there are other details like the speed of the player, the speed of lasers, the enemy’s lasers and types and speed for each of those.

Then, the frequency that the game should spawn power ups, which in all but one case, benefit the player, need to be adjusted.

If the game is not “balanced” properly for any of the waves and levels, the game will become unappealing for gamers to continue play.

My goal this week is to properly complete the settings for each wave and level and then balance its play-ability.

Some games require more time balancing play-ability to create the most fun, and this could become the most difficult part of completing the game. For now, I’m working to create settings for 3 waves through each of 7 levels.

Special thank you to Jonathan at GameDevHQ and the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii for making this learning program available for those of us impacted by Covid-19.