Development Log - Alpha Build

When I upload the first versions of this game's prototype, I was looking to have a complete game loop with the core mechanic functional for users to test and give feedback on. One of the things that was important to me was having a complete game loop, so that anyone could pick it up and understand what they are looking at. Having the shark and fish sprite in the game also gave context to what was goin on in the build. 

Uploading this first build to itch.io allowed me to get valuable feedback. I value  getting meaningful feedback early on in the process, so that I am not scrambling to make up for lost time later on in the project. One example of this feedback was adding some "narrative" to the game. Even though this is not a 'story game' the feedback I received recommend I put fiction before and after the gameplay. This opened up a new avenue for me to explore.

Coming up with context for the game influenced my level design. Asking the question; "why are we in this tank?" opened my mind to the possibilities. In fact this lead me to another question; "what type of experience did I want the player to have?" I considered the experience of swimming through a vast endless ocean; another idea was a power fantasy of eating all the other fish in the aquarium. But I eventually landed on this petting zoo type of environment. It allowed me to keep the 'box' the player was in, and gave context to why fish kept spawning into the level. I'm still working on answering "how does the shark feel about all of this?"

One thing I'd like to change for the final version is adding this quote "I'm going to get so big, I eat you!" I think this adds a lot of drive to the Character, and motivates the player to get big. One thing I have to ask myself is "should there be a win condition?" meaning that the player can in fact get big enough to "escape" or are they doomed to swim in this cycle for ever?

NEW VERSION

For those returning, here's what you will notice is new!

1) I expanded the level to give the player more space to swim around and feel like a shark.

2) The Camera follows the player, so they feels like they are the shark, and  take up more of the screen to feel bigger.

3) I made the fish swim around the level. Making it feel like he is alive. 

4) I added narrative to the game loop in the form of a story slide, and new game over text. 

My goal with this "Alpha" build was to release a version that will mark the end of adding "content." This means what I have here resembles what the finish product will look like. Why did I do this?  I made a version of the game that was finished in terms of content, so that I could start focusing on finishing the game completely.  Instead of spending all my time adding a bunch of new fish and abilities, I can focus making sure I have a finished product. Maybe someday we can explore all of our ideas for new content in another game; but there's no way we do that for this game given the amount of time that we have left.