Path To Prototype: Changing It Up

Hi again!

Welcome to the Cosmoids TD weekly update. Last week we talked about creating a game and how you should create a prototype to test out your ideas for the game.

This past week I've been chopping away at the different task I had set up for our first prototype and while I didn't get to finish the whole list I was happy with my progress.

It's been my experience when developing games that momentum is your biggest friend. Even if you can't spend that much time working on something just by getting even the simplest of task done can fuel you to complete the next one and then the next one.

Another thing I have learned is that you can't be hard on yourself when you don't complete all your task or when you don't even get any done at all. I believe you should be satisfied with what you could get done or couldn't get done, however, you should learn from your experiences.

Most of the task for the Prototype are done! Here is a 3D view of the game so far.

For example, if I'm not happy that I couldn't finish my task instead of being mad at myself or feeling guilty/disappointed I should look at what were the things that held me back. Did I end up playing video games or watching Twitch streams instead of working? If that is the case then you have to be conscious of your decisions and really ask yourself do I want to entertain myself or do I want to develop a game. So the next time you face the same decision you should go back and think of which outcome would make you happier.

The other case is you are doing something of equal value. So for example if I wasn't able to get the task done because I was spending time helping my wife around the house. Then I  should value that time with her and know that it was not a waste.

So back to Cosmoids TD. Some people have asked me if the game is going to be similar to the PTD series and the answer is yes! It will be very similar but as I have looked at the prototype I've been getting the new ideas for how to give the game an extra layer of gameplay/strategy.

The first of such ideas is that in PTD you can place and move your Tower Units instantly. This is of course a very convenient mechanic. In most Tower Defense game putting or moving a unit in the map often comes at a cost and that is something I wanted to explore in Cosmoids.

So  as you can see in the GIF below (kinda hard to see) there is a human avatar in the level and when you want to place a cosmoid on a spot your avatar has to move to that spot before your cosmoids will be active on the level.

New Mechanic: Adding/moving towers is no longer instant.

 The same thing will happen if you want to move a unit from one spot to another. This adds an extra layer of strategy that I can play with when designing levels. Also the speed of your avatar and the speed of your cosmoids will matter. For example some Cosmoids may be faster and so they can move from one spot to another quickly. While there may be some slow Cosmoids that take longer to move from spot to spot.

If I wanted to take it farther then the terrain in the map may affect the speed in which units can move, or even have terrain that only certain cosmoids can travel.

It really opens up some fun opportunities that I hope to explore.

So I only have a few more task left for the first prototype, after that I will start planning for the next one.

Prototype v1 Task:

• Be able to change a unit's spot on the map (100% Completed)
• Be able to swap two units from one spot to another (100% Completed)
• Be able to capture a weak enemy unit (100% Completed)

Prototype v2 Task:

• To be determined

As I work on the game I will update this page, on my next blog post I talk about more changes from PTD as well as what to do after your first Prototype.

As always, let me know what you think in the comments below!