Space Bubby
- Three person project
- Top-down bullet hell boss rush
- Made in GameMaker Studio
- ~3.5 months in development (2018)
- Role: Project lead
- Contributions: Programming, all art assets, production schedule management
Overview
Space Bubby was made for my first game development class at ASU as a spiritual successor to Kuri, and iterated on much of that game's production process.
My project partner and I started by developing our initial plan for gameplay structure and content goals, then broke it down into a number of deadlines along the way.
Each week, we developed specific goals as to what we would accomplish by the end of the week, and we'd get together for a few hours after class to work.
While Space Bubby is structurally similar to Kuri, I'm pleased with its distinct tone and mechanical focus. The game went for a more simplified control system with sillier enemy designs, taking more influence from games like Binding of Isaac and Enter the Gungeon, and each boss had attacks that fully embraced their individual wackiness.
While Space Bubby is structurally similar to Kuri, I'm pleased with its distinct tone and mechanical focus. The game went for a more simplified control system with sillier enemy designs, taking more influence from games like Binding of Isaac and Enter the Gungeon, and each boss had attacks that fully embraced their individual wackiness.
Lessons Learned
Organize your work in a motivating way.
Art and sound effects are what makes a game feel alive, but for Space Bubby I put off working on these for too long. Once I finally got to them, I realized how much more satisfying it feels to work on a game that's made of more than just abstract rectangles and programmer art. Project planning isn't just about getting the work done, but also organizing the work in a way that feels motivating.
Recognize when to ask for help.
I had originally wanted to create all of the music for the game on my own in addition to my art and programming, but as we progressed it became apparent that this would not be feasible. We decided to reach out to another friend to compose music for us, which allowed us to have a fantastic soundtrack without detracting from the quality of other areas of the game.
Art and sound effects are what makes a game feel alive, but for Space Bubby I put off working on these for too long. Once I finally got to them, I realized how much more satisfying it feels to work on a game that's made of more than just abstract rectangles and programmer art. Project planning isn't just about getting the work done, but also organizing the work in a way that feels motivating.
Recognize when to ask for help.
I had originally wanted to create all of the music for the game on my own in addition to my art and programming, but as we progressed it became apparent that this would not be feasible. We decided to reach out to another friend to compose music for us, which allowed us to have a fantastic soundtrack without detracting from the quality of other areas of the game.