Completed
Although it wasn't 100% of what I have originally imagined and it's not 100% complete, I am pretty happy with the outcome. I tried to make it as lively as possible, but I was really lacking in the animation department, so I had to rely on the U.I. (but even that is a cluster). I guess I got a good part of the idea I was going for. I implemented the major key 🔑elements and got as far as I could. The past few days of coding made the resource a lot more messier. It's due to constantly adding quick fixes rather than thinking in the long run. But it's hard to think in the long run if the due date is a few days away. The libGDX Jam helped me get a better idea of my own framework and game loop. I witnessed a lot of flaws in my design. I could definitely see players have a hard time seeing the point of the game. I was way too focused on the simulator part. All in all I am alright with what I got and how I got here, even though it's a big pile of bugs. I wouldn't have seen the most of the flaws if I didn't make a lot of mistakes, which in turn, gave me a bit of life experiences.
You can find the incomplete development videos here.
You can find the resource files here.
Travelling
The travelling in the game isn't as grand as it should be, and it's pretty basic. You can only travel to 2 systems at the moment. I was hoping I was going to get to 5 at least, but in the end they were all going to be the same anyway. But there is no doubt that the game is lacking in graphics and art.
As you can see that the ship is a indeed a box. So I hope the players have a big imagination (it is a simulator game after all).
Notification Box
Since the game does not really have a lot of animations, I used a notification box so that it would feel that something has happened everytime a player picks an action/option. It's possible that it is one of the most important part of the game.
Calculations and Stats
This was probably the hardest part. I had several ideas I had in mind on how I would implement this. Basically I implemented a "turn per action" kinda thing. But it would be possible that some actions wouldn't cost a turn. I tried to tied ENERGY of the Hero to each turn as much as possible but it's more tied to the action itself. The game would be a lot harder if it was. Anyway, each action has an outcome or effect to the player or ship. The skills will give benefits to the player (e.g. HUNTER will allow the player to gain food on each action "HUNT" after it has reached level 15+). The ship level ended up being nothing since I could not implement the space battles. But the rest definitely have a part in the game.
Music
I was making a game with friends a few years ago, and I decided to take on music making so that I could make music for the game we were making. It kinda branched off and became a hobby it self. So I used my below average hip-hop making skills to quickly develop the music for the game, although the quality isn't really good. If you are interested, they can be found at: https://soundcloud.com/dekobe/sets/space-hunter/s-...
Final Thoughts
This is my first jam ever and I enjoyed it. I'm pretty new to game development so I learned a lot. There's a good chance I will continue to work on the game after the whole jam is done. I got really hooked on developing it and it was probably the best dopamine I had in months. I do want to mention that I am open to feedback and criticisms so shoot away. Finally, I would like to thank badlogic and the sponsors for organizing the libGDX Jam.
