Unity Development Part 9

This development session took place during week 10.

My aims for this session:

• Review the progress made so far in unity

• Plan how to implement the puzzles

• How to switch lanterns on at the end of each challenge?

Progress review

At this point in development I have all the puzzle pieces I need and there a just a few more changes I am waiting on for the other assets, including the clouds, the clear png's for the turbine animations and the png's for the lanterns when they are switched on.

Above is a complete checklist for all the elements I require for the game development and it is looking very promising. I am happy that I will have all of these features available to me in the next two weeks.

In the next few days I will be beginning to build the rest of the puzzles in the game, and speak to a consultant about the bridge puzzle that needs adapting to the design illustrated in the project scope. After that, as you can see in the checklist, all that will be left is the UI, lighting, sound and then making further checks through some play testing and run throughs.

Puzzle Planning

I have planned out these steps by using what I have learned from my unity development so far, whether that be independent learning or teaching from James. If my plans for the execution do not work or are changed, that will of course be documented when that process happens.

Bridge-Boulder Puzzle

The expectation: The player will come to the start of the bridge, and be prompted to use the bolder throw ability. If they do not use the ability, they will fall through the gap in the middle of the bridge.

The execution: Upon pressing the "e" key, a boulder will be spawned and will have a curved trajectory along the horizontal axis, being thrown in front of the player. This boulder will be able to fall into the gap and get lodged so it can be walked over by the player. Any boulder that is thrown and does not fall into the gap should be destroyed.

Cloud Blowing Puzzle

The expectation: The players path ahead is concealed by some cloud coverage. They will use the gust ability to blow the clouds away so from in front of the platforms, so they can see the platforms and pass on safely.

The execution: Make a collider with a trigger around the puzzle clouds. If the player is close enough to the clouds, they will be able to press the "r" key and a force will be applied to the clouds in the direction that the player is facing towards, as long as the clouds are in front of them.

Tree Restoration Puzzle

The expectation: The player comes across a dead tree and remembers that their objective is to restore beauty and light up the lanterns across the level. They need to use the gust ability to apply a force to some rain clouds that will move over the dying tree and restore its health.

The execution: The player enters a trigger box attached to the rain clouds, and by pressing the "e" key to use the gust ability, they trigger the transformation of the cloud position to above the dying tree. This in turn will cause the tree restoration animation to play.

Broken Windmill Puzzle

The expectation: The player will come across a turbine that is stuck stationary, its turbine not moving. The aim is to get it moving again using the gust ability.

The execution: Player enters a trigger box that is attached to the windmill. By using gust ability, by pressing the "e" key, within that trigger box, it will activate the animation for the turbine to start spinning.

Panpipe Puzzle

The expectation: The player is making their way across the platforms and finds their path blocked by an eagle. The aim is to use the gust ability to blow wind through the panpipes, in turn playing a tune that will cause the eagle to fly away, clearing the path.

The execution: Put a box collider on the eagle and resize it so that it blocks enough of the path. Put a trigger box on the panpipes. When the player is inside the trigger box and presses the "e" key, using the gust ability on the panpipes, an audio clip will be played. Then the box collider on the eagle will be turned off and the eagles take-off animation will be triggered as well as its position transformed to a location off screen, so that it makes a vertical incline.

The Lanterns

The lantern for each puzzle need to be switch on as soon as the respective puzzle is completed. I spoke to my consultant and he said the best way to achieve this is to create public variable on the puzzles script with the lanterns numbered one to five. And when a trigger takes place in each of the puzzles, as I have planned above, make the sprite renderer switch the assets from the off lanterns to the on lanterns.