Nearly there

And so our second week of Sprint 2 came and went - and we made significant progress to try and make enough space for the final weeks of polishing. As we tackled all of our challenges one by one we saw our game slowly come to life. 

This week we focused on finishing as many features as we could. We had to put some above the others and ended up scrapping a few of them for the sake of timing. It's most important that the final product is nuanced and polished, and that we don't rush too many elements for complexity's sake.

The UI

The original plan was to make an almost seamless dynamic main menu with minimal HUD elements and a few interesting animations. That, of course, turned out to be too much for the amount of time we were given for this project. Therefore we turned to the tried and true classic simple menu with buttons.

During polish we will refine this layout we settled for and hopefully we'll end up with a proper artwork/render of our finished scene to serve both as the title screen and the promotional image here on Itch.

As for the HUD elements during gameplay, once again some plans had to be scrapped and the GUI turned out to be even more minimalistic than we originally planned. We decided this would be for the best as the clarity should go before complexity.

Sounds

This week we added sound effect to a lot of events in our game. The buttons make a sound when pressed, the payer has footsteps, the different platforms have their own sounds when activated, and we even have some ambient noises.

Platform

This week, we implemented an exciting update to our game by enhancing the functionality of the slippery platform. Now, when the platform is activated, it spawns a layer of ice, providing a visually clear indication to the players that it is active. This addition not only adds a visually appealing element to the gameplay, but also improves the overall user experience by making it easier for players to distinguish between the active and inactive states of the platform.

Players

We have now implemented individual player skins that are determined on the order the players spawn into the game. This exciting addition allows players to easily identify and distinguish their controlled character from others, enhancing both immersion and personalization within the game world.

To further improve the gameplay experience, we have implemented a new spawning mechanism. Players now spawn upon their first input. This change ensures that players have an easy time determining which character they control.

Of course, a game isn't complete without adorable animations, so here is a list of the most important ones. 

Finally, we have introduced a timer feature that kicks in when all players indicate they are ready. This timer serves to create a fair and synchronized start for everyone involved. Once all players have confirmed their readiness, the countdown begins, ensuring that each participant begins the game simultaneously, creating a level playing field for all.

In conclusion, this week has been a real speedrun to get as many features in as we could in this short amount of time. With that we are more or less done with implementation of all the necessary elements and are ready to take things into the polishing phase.