Daring Diamond Defence

Week 5 of Development

This week has been a very busy one, making sure that we have enough done in time for the testing session this week! Several textures and sound effects have been added, as well as a whole bunch of gameplay functionality.

1. Models, Textures & Level Design

This week saw the addition of several new decorative and weapon models and textures. A collection of these can be seen below, as well as some lovely new vase textures which we are very proud of!

Probably the biggest jump in visual quality comes from the newly-added textures and reworking of the lighting, both of which are showcased below:

These are likely to be the last few changes made to the level design of our prototype, as we may not have enough time to radically change the layout or add an additional level (as much as we'd like to!)

We've compiled a series of textures which we found fitting for out museum and listed them below:

• https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/2d/textures-materials/wood/wood-pattern-ma...
• https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/2d/textures-materials/concrete/yughues-fre...
• https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-great-wave-off-kanagawa-the-starry-night...
• https://www.myfreetextures.com/pine-wood-knotty-wooden-background/
• https://www.myfreetextures.com/a-dark-and-deep-seamless-wood-texture/
• https://www.myfreetextures.com/great-silver-brushed-metal-texture-background/

2. Functionality

Much progress has been made in anticipation for the test session and in response to the feedback we received. We though that we had ironed out a particularly annoying movement bug, where enemies would grab the diamond, then start travelling BACK to where the diamond came from, rather than trying to escape the museum. Unfortunately during the test session, we observed many players encountering this bug, and it was a common piece of feedback we received - and so it became a top priority to fix. Having completely overhauled the movement system, we can now happily say that the bug is gone!

Below is a demonstration of the bug fix. The robber grabs the dropped diamond, then immediately turns back and runs for the exit:

On the subject of enemies, we've given them a total makeover - receiving both the long awaited humanoid models and their animations! Now they no longer float around the level as creepy pill-shaped beings. Take a look below:

A new weapon was added this week - the Fire Extinguisher. This is the first ranged weapon the player has gotten their hands on, and can take out most enemies with a single foam ball. The fire extinguisher is particularly handy for taking out the bigger tough guys.

To improve the feedback from weapons, we added some particles which appear when the player hits an enemy. This was a fairly simple addition, but it adds so much more to the gameplay - especially when accompanied by the newly-added sound effects.

What next?

We're almost into the last week of development! At this late stage, we're mainly focussing on polishing the prototype and addressing the most pressing issues which have been highlighted in the testing feedback. There's an entire summary which talks about the nature of this feedback and what we plan to do in response - so go check out that devlog!

We'll see you in the final week!