My original idea for making this game came to me when I was studying abroad in Japan. In the rural prefecture of Akita, I studied at Akita International University. This gathering of international minds gave me an brief and simple idea of how the international community was operated, how so many people from different places around the world could actually communicate and share connections. It was for this audience that my future would unfold as a Game Designer. Time to get the imagination to work!
Working with the local scenery, the game's original inspiration was the deep and serene japanese forests along with AIU's lovable mascot, One. My childhood returned to me, as I imagined exploring the woods with this giant green dog. To develop this fantasy as a game design concept, I envisioned obstacles, an overall goal, and a cast of imaginary friends to enact a story. This creative process is where the fun really got started!
After spending some time with Game Maker, I began to understand how the implementation of these core concepts could be possible. I used object oriented programming to make One, his friend Kappa, the villian Zero, and all the other NPC. They had simple actions and movement, and the core play mechanic was simply movement, collision detection, and dialogue.
Once I got started programming, I was able to construct the game relatively easy. Even still, I have to overcome a few hurdles. Using variables was difficult for me at first, but I eventually able to implement them correctly with Game Maker's tool-set. My graphics were difficult to import without the strange border, which shows up for the Trees. The most difficult challenge I overcame was a simple and overlooked issue; walls were animating too rapidly, and the player would get stuck in them.
Overall, I feel the game was a great first success. It plays simply so a casual or first time gamer could pick it up and finish it without excessive retries. The forest look and exploratory feel complement the intensity of dodging traps and finding the sushi in each level.
If I were to improve upon this game more, I would add more levels, add a few some extra items to interact with (a power-up item to defeat the Swamp Monsters?), and clean up the audio and visuals.
Playable link here:
Akita Adventure (need a Windows PC to play)
Feedback here or on the Game Maker site would be fantastic!
Also, check out Kim Gregson's blog. Our professor posted all the other cool games submitted by our Game Design and Development class.
