This week I have been tweaking and changing the Flappy Bird (2013) mod in numerous ways (fig. 1). Firstly, I replaced the bird sprite with my own – aptly named ‘Eggy Egg’. More notable, however, is the fact that I have now changed the genre of the game to be more in line with Angry Birds (2009). Helped greatly by an extensive YouTube tutorial (Weimann, 2020), I was able to create a ‘slinging’ feature where you pull back on the sprite and release the mouse to send him flying. So far this is the only (very basic) level I have made, with the goal being to shoot the egg in-between the pipes in order to exit the screen and advance on to the next level. I like this idea, and I feel that it changes the gameplay a great amount, however it might be seen as deviating too much from the original stub given to us. I will keep adjusting it, however I am looking forward to the introduction of the 2D side-on game mod next week, as I feel that there is much more that I could modify with a game of that genre.

(Above) Figure 1: My Flappy Bird mod, Eggy Egg.

This week’s GAM150 lecture was interesting. I had not considered many of the difficulties of communicating game design with a team, but I can already see how essential clear communication is within a team. Miscommunication can cost great amounts of time and money – both of which are often limited within this industry. On a smaller scale, I have seen the negative effects of poor communication when working on the GAM110 Game of Ur group project – with people doing work on the same thing or not having full understanding of what is required of them. Furthermore, by writing up my Flappy Bird (2013) mod idea into a game design document, I was able to better conceptualise what the game will be – showing how this process can be helpful even on a personal level.

Next week, I would like to continue following Unity tutorials to help me to better understand the engine. I will also need to dedicate a lot of time to the Game of Ur project, as we will be showcasing the finished boards at the end of the week – exciting!

References:

Angry Birds. 2009. Rovio Entertainment.

Flappy Bird. 2013. dotGears.

WEIMANN, Jason. 2020. How to Make a Game – Unity Beginner Tutorial [YouTube user-generated content]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR0e-1UBEOU&t [accessed 8 October 2020].