The purpose and functions of components of game engines
- 1. The Purpose And Functions Of Components Of Game Engines Introduction I was assigned the task of making a 2d space invaders replica which involves controlling a small spaceship, moving through a level and destroying enemies. The objective of the game is to progress through the level defeating enemies till you reach the end with a final score. Using W, A, S and D on the keyboard you move the ship up, left, down and right. Using the space bar you are able to shoot a projectile forwards at the enemy attempting to shoot back at you. The end is achieved once the enemies have destroyed you and a final score is displayed showing the amount of enemies you killed. Game Elements For the design of my game I chose a scrolling background of stars moving fast as to replicate moving through space at high speeds. I chose to make the enemies a red colour to make them easy to identify because red is energizing. It excites the emotions and motivates us to take action. For the player ship I chose the colour green because green contrasts with red making it easy to tell the difference between an enemy and the player. The sprites used for the enemy and the player were 64 bit textures I created by drawing inspiration from a game called FTL: faster than light. I specifically used softer more rounded shapes for the player because they seemed more friendly and I used harder more sharp shapes for the enemy because they seem more menacing. I was given a small pack of stock sounds to use for my game such as lazer sounds and thruster sounds. Game engine components Based on the above, the objectives, the elements and the control I set about developing my game on Game Maker: Studio. Game Maker: Studio allows us to create cross platform games. The following is a description of the components that were used. The Sprite Editor
- 2. The Sprite Editor allows us to create all the textures and animations attached to the objects. I used the Sprite Editor to create my player ship, enemy ship, projectiles, animations and the background starfield. The Objects Tab The Objects Tab allows us to create the assets within the game that we interact with such as the player, objects, projectiles environment and enemies as well as link textures and sounds to objects. I used the Objects tab to create the player ship, enemies and projectiles. The Level Creator The Level Creator allows us to place objects within the level to create a map. For my level I attached the starfield and assigned it to move across the screen at a certain speed and I placed my player object inside the level to move around freely. The Sounds Tab The Sounds Tab is where the sounds you use in the game are edited and stored. I stored the basic thruster and laser sounds for my game. Conclusion This report is intended to show the purpose and functions of components of game engines and specifically how I used those components in the creation of my game.