Devlog 4

Devlog 4: Presentation/Graphics 

This week, in the development of "Tumbleweed Troubles," my focus was primarily on adding to the user interface (UI) and enhancing the game's graphics, alongside addressing a few bugs.

Notable visual enhancements introduced this week include the implementation of a title screen featuring interactive buttons, as well as a death screen displayed upon the player's demise. These screens were crafted using AI-generated art available through OpenAI's OpenArt platform.

Currently, the Title menu offers only a "Play Game" option, though I intend to expand it with a "How to Play" feature. Upon encountering defeat, players are presented with the Game Over screen, providing options to return to the main menu or initiate another playthrough. This addition of the Game Over scene addresses a previously highlighted issue from the peer review session, where players would become stuck upon death, necessitating a window refresh for a restart.

Furthermore, I integrated a crosshair that dynamically follows the player's mouse movement, enhancing aiming precision and gameplay fluidity. This addition not only improves the overall user experience but also contributes to the game's immersive feel.

This week also saw the integration of a background track during gameplay, marking my first foray into implementing audio in Unity. Given the straightforward nature of this process, I am optimistic about incorporating additional audio elements such as shooting sounds, damage effects for both player and enemies, and a game over sound. The background track utilized was sourced from an asset pack, akin to the assets used for the player character and environmental elements.

Peer reviews:

Peer feedback proved invaluable, particularly in addressing the aforementioned freezing issue and suggestions for visual cues indicating enemy damage. To address this, I plan to incorporate health bars for enemies, enhancing the game's overall polish.

What was hard/easy:

In terms of challenges encountered, I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of integrating audio elements into the game, fostering my enthusiasm to experiment further, including the addition of self-recorded audio. However, as is often the case, troubleshooting code remained a significant obstacle, particularly in resolving issues related to the display of the Game Over scene.

What is planned next:

The next part of the game I plan to work on is adding more UI, in the forms of a scoring system and health indicators. Along with this, i will implement more audio once the game is in a playable state.