Super Drillboy Graphics
Thought it would be fun to highlight some of the approaches I took to create the graphics for the post-compo version of my entry, Super Drillboy!
Color Palette
I chose to use a limited color palette that was heavily inspired by the indie game Zero Ranger. The limited choice of colors made it way easier for me to create pixel art and backgrounds. Knowing what color to use was made pretty obvious and I didn't get paralyzed by having way too many colors to choose from when making the art. This also lent itself to having a very consistent and cohesive look.
Parallax Backgrounds
I spent a decent amount of time creating these infinitely scrolling background layers. Each one scrolls at a specified speed proportional to the player's vertical velocity. I think they add some real depth, motion, complexity, and life to the scenes while playing.
Decorative Objects
Decorative Objects are objects that are instantiated when the player reaches a multiple of a specified depth and scroll upwards in relation to the player's downward velocity similar to the backgrounds. They are spawned on top of the background and not actually part of the backgrounds themselves. This allowed for more randomness and variation.
Level Generation
My approach for procedurally generated content was to hand-create a bunch of mapSections of varying lengths. Each mapSection contained a certain configuration of blocks. The level generator randomly selects a piece and strings it underneath the previous one. Hitting a checkpoint triggers generation of a new section and deletion of an old one.
Blocks
In Super Drillboy, there are 4 types of blocks:
Solid: Only breakable when you have a boost.
Destructible: Breakable by drilling.
Damage: Deal damage to the player if they land on them. Breakable with a boost.
Walls: Never breakable. Dynamically generated when the map section is created. Distance between walls changes during play.
I used Unity's ScriptableObject class to create a LevelTheme for each level. The LevelTheme contains the level name, all three parallax background layers, a reference to the music, and all the sprite variants for the four block types. When a section of the map is generated, the current level's LevelTheme is applied to the blocks and backgrounds, swapping out the aesthetic.
Conclusion
I had an absolute blast working on this game and continue to develop it further. With that in mind, I would love to hear any more feedback that anyone has to offer about the game. Please give it a play if you haven't already and I'd appreciate any and all comments. Thanks for reading and playing, and see you in April for LD55!