My first game is about to be released into the wild, and I’m more than nervous. It is a small doodle jump-esque game featuring the beloved Nintendo character Kirby.
He jumps across clouds fighting Waddle-Doos as he climbs higher and higher. Its small, but I’m very proud of it.
All the assets were made by me, including the music. Never thought I’d put my music degree to use, but here we are.
If there is one thing this experience taught me, is that I have a long way to go before I can confidently make my dream game. I had to look a lot of things up, including asking ChatGPT for help a few times.
Although I don’t condone the use of AI for art or full projects, asking ChatGPT for advice and help throughout this project has proven to be useful. However, in the future, I would like to limit my use or ask other Game Developers for help.
It was fun seeing the game come from nothing to fully-fledged though. From blocks that move simply, to kirby that animates complexly. He even idles if you leave it for long enough.
My favourite part about making the game was probably when all my sprites were implemented and finished. It looked so clean and nice to see, even at early stages. I have shared a few screen grabs of the process during this time.
My least favourite part was fighting with the code often. I have a lot to learn, as I said, including asking Gamemaker nicely. The section of code I struggled the most with was implementing a high score system. It took me several attempts to get it functional and even more to put into effect.
Final thoughts: Its a long road ahead, but we’re making it, step by step.