METEORNAUT – A game development diary

Follow me in the creation of my latest game METEORNAUT, a simple variant of the all time classic Asteroids.

This post documents the development milestones of the game, beginning with the first beta to the release of version 1.0.

Play the current version:
METEORNAUT

The current milestones:

v0.01 – davidochmann.de/swf/assets/projects/games/btshooter_v0_01/

Version 0.01 is an early mock-up to test the core framework, performance and animation. The game freezes as soon as a meteor hits the ship and as for now the level has no clear end.

v0.10 – davidochmann.de/swf/assets/projects/games/btshooter_v0_10/

The second version deviates a little from the asteroids concept. I implemented a new gamplay mechanic that rewarded players for destroying meteors of the same size (circled) by multiplying the score (pending score x destroyed meteors of the same size within two seconds).

v0.12 – davidochmann.de/swf/assets/projects/games/btshooter_v0_12/

This version has a new combo mechanic. The size of the meteors is now irrelevant for increasing the multiplier. Gaining a 10x and 20x combo will give you a power up (two, than three missles per shot).

Also new in this version:

Locked Levels, reduced user interface, new animations.

v0.13 – davidochmann.de/swf/assets/projects/games/btshooter_v0_13/

More of a re refinement than anything else this version features, a new name, new graphics, new levels, a title screen, screen transitions, button animations and a few gameplay tweaks.

Powerups are now given after multiplier 10 and 100 instead of 10 and 20.
The ship is no longer able to fly through one end of a level to end up on the opposite side.

v0.14 – davidochmann.de/swf/assets/projects/games/btshooter_v0_14/

Version 0.14 adds a stats screen to the game that displays your current level-completion time, the highest level combo and your high score. It also fixes a bug that used to show a wrong max-score in certain levels (e.g. 15).

I also updated the graphics a little, by overhauling the title screen and improving buttons and the background (with dirt :D).

Release.
After version 0.14 I released the game on kongregate.com and newground.com.
You can check it out by clicking one of the the following URLs:

http://www.kongregate.com/games/mrwut4/meteornaut

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/561058