SPLATTERZ Development Log_01

SplatterZ is a 3-week Rapid Prototype project with themes "Arcade Game" and "Minimalism". This is a game prototype derived from an Arcade Game: Tapper. In this game, players will be able to move up and down and deliver the "Ammo" to the "Soldiers". Instead of what the player did in the original games where delivered the same beer to customers, in this game, the player needs to analyze the Lane Pressure and choose the correct ammo type to deliver, which blended with some strategic elements.

This game is currently under the Iteration 3. 

Iteration 1: August 20th, 2024 - August 27th, 2024

Iteration 1 (or Sprint 1) is during the first week when all the functionalities work. In this version, the four ammo types do the same thing, and whenever the player delivers the right ammo type to the solider, the solider will shoot one bullet and ask for the next ammo.  After a round of playtests, we find players will not pay attention to the left side of the screen and play this as a matching game. Besides, with the current mechanics build-in, players will play this game as a "Matching Game" instead of what we want the game to be. Hence, we decided to make the following modifications:

• 1. Let the Soldiers to auto Auto-shooting, and ask for ammo after a certain number of the bullet is shot.
• 2. Create a barbed wire at the center of the walkway to slow the game and give players more opportunities in the early game.
• 3. Enable the Power-Up for screen cleaning that resolves the wave pressure and lets the player use it wisely
• 4. Enable the Power-Up of energy drink that permanently increases the Soldiers' shooting rate, which enables players to play against the massive late-game wave and increases the difficulties of gaming as time goes by.
• 5. More Visual Effects on Screen.
• 6. More Game Feel elements involved.

Iteration 2: August 27th, 2024 - August 29th, 2024

Iteration 2 (or Sprint 2) is during the following two days when all the previously mentioned changes are updated. In this version, soldiers will auto-shoot and have a deck of ammo. When they run out of ammo, they will ask for the supply. This is a lot of progression and makes the early game relatively easy so that players won't die as fast as Tapper did. However, we still run into a dilemma the player is still not paying attention to the left-screen and playing this game as a "Matching Game" even though we have the Power-Up designed. Hence, we decided to make some further changes to resolve this problem:

• 1. Give three different weapons their unique power, and every time a player uses them, it will have a cooldown system applied.
• 2. More types of enemies to make complexity on the left side of the screen.
• 3. Have more visuals for the Power-Up
• 4. Remove the energy drink since we have different types of weapons right now.

Iteration 3: August 29th, 2024 - September 3rd, 2024

Ideally, by changing the weapon type and instead of the soldier asking for different weapons, we let the player try out these items and use them as they planned in the gameplay, and this will make the game more like a "strategy game" instead of a "matching game".

We are now in the stage of playtesting and hearing the feedback. If there are any suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment! We are willing to hear your thoughts and voice!