Project Grinch

Controls: Always run forward. Use the A or Left Arrow Key to move left and D or Right Arrow Key to move right in an infinitely generated straight line. Press the Spacebar to jump. Click the Left Mouse Button to fire. Press the Escape Key to pause while in-game.

Devlog

• 9/23/2022
  • Basic player and map created
  • Player automatically runs forward, can move left and right, and jump
  • Player can collide with the ground they're running on and walls
    • Collision issues noticed with player and walls which will be looked at in future version
• 9/30/2022
  • Collision issues between the player and walls have been fixed; player no longer jumps over the walkable area
  • Chaser object created that moves towards player
    • If chase touches player, the game is over and will reset
  • Player can now fire projectiles in the direction of their mouse with a crosshair
  • Player can collide with obstacles that slow them down
  • Added scoring system that increases over time the longer you stay alive
• 10/6/2022 (Prototype Build)
  • Bug Fixes
    • Player can no longer jump infinitely and go through map if falling from too high a distance
    • Improved spawning of map "chunks" to prevent the player from falling off the map due to slow map generation after enough time has elapsed
      
  • Map Changes
    • Map size and width increased to cover entire screen
    • Objects now frequently spawn over time as obstacles
  • Player Shooting
    • Obstacles disappear when shot at. Updated the speed at which chaser catches up to player for a better game feel.
    • Player aiming is now locked to 180 degrees in front of them (can no longer shoot behind yourself)
    • Player projectiles now disappear after a set time has elapsed to prevent projectiles from hitting far away obstacles
  • UI
    • Game now has a start screen to begin game 
    • Game now has a game over screen if the chaser catches up to you where you can hit retry to replay
  • Chaser
    • Increased speed of chaser for improved game fee
• 10/14/2022
  • Map Visual Update
    • Map now has a yellow dotted line to make it seem like you are running on a road
  • Player Shooting
    • Player can no longer repeatedly press the LMB to fire too many projectiles on-screen. Now, the player can still press the LMB frequently but now you have a fixed fire rate
    • Player can now fire projectiles at a downward angle when firing while jumping. Projectile crosshair visually reflects this addition.
• 10/21/2022
  • Gifts are randomly spawned, and obtaining 3 gifts makes player go faster for a short period to create distance with Santa.
  • Fixed a bug where santa does not get closer when player collides with obstacles.
  • Added reindeer spawning on track. 
    • Getting 6 reindeer ends the game. 
    • Shooting reindeers makes them disappear. 
  • Shooting obstacles does not cause them to destroy
  • Implemented "aiming laser" that helps visualize to player where their projectile will travel. The length of the laser changes based on how far the mouse is from the player
    
• 10/28/2022
  • Made obstacles spawn faster as time goes on to make the game harder over time.
  • Updated obstacle spawning so that obstacles are spawned more than gifts, and gifts more than reindeer
  • Fixed the distance of how long the aiming reticle can become within a set range so that there is no long red line possibly distracting you
  • Replaced Santa chaser visually to be a model of Santa who is animated to run at you
• 11/4/2022
  • Visual Update
    • Player is now replaced by the Grinch who is also animated with various running animations depending on his speed, a fire and jump animation
    • Objects will now spawn as part of the scenery in the background as you keep progressing forward such as trees, igloos, and snowman
    • The projectile the player throws has been replaced with a christmas ornament
  • Aiming Update
    • Since the player is now animated to throw as the reason for the projectile being fired, player projectiles now spawn closer to the Grinch's hand 
    • Aiming has been updated to feel more smooth and accurate
      • Removed the aiming reticle because of it being more of a visual distraction to the player than being helpful
  • Better User Experience
    • There is now a "How to Play the Game" section at the start and game over screen to remind or teach players about how to play the game and what the controls are
    • On the game over screen, the player is now told how many reindeer Santa had collected as a way to left them know how they died: whether Santa caught up to them or he got too many reindeers
  • Gift Update
    • There is now a gift counter on the top left side of the screen showing how many gifts are needed until the player receives a speed boost.
      • The player will speed up when the counter reaches 3 at which point it resets to 0
  • Bug Fixes
    • After a certain point, objects will not spawn so fast that it causes the game to become unwinnable
    • Obstacles now despawn properly after being offscreen
• 11/11/2022
  • Visual replacements were made for obstacles and gifts
    • More obstacles were created to allow for more obstacles
    • The number of gifts is now visualized with images instead of text
  • Basic music and sound effects have been implemented for the title screen, level, and player actions
  • User's high score is now tracked
• 11/18/2022
  • Bug Fixes
    • Jump animation plays more consistently now
    • Player can no longer jump at the right moment to gain abnormal amounts of altitude
    • Sound effects no longer become silent if too many happen at once
  • Visual Update
    • Title and Game Over screen now have updated visuals and UI
      • Added Options menu to allow changing of audio levels and music tracks
    • Road and snowy background now have updated textures
    • Reindeer now have their own model
  • Added Gameplay
    • Checkpoints will now occasionally spawn on the map. Passing through a checkpoint will reset the number of reindeer Santa has gotten.
    • Reindeer now slow the player on collision.
• Quality of Life
• Player can now pause the game and choose to resume playing or restart if they feel like starting over
• 11/29/2022
  • Reindeer count is now visualized with images instead of text
  • Pausing the game now pauses audio
  • Pause Menu now has option to return to main menu
  • Elves are not shootable
  • There is now an added sound effect for moving faster
  • Tutorial instructions have been simplified to be more user friendly