theta – My entry into the 8th shmup-dev rapid prototype sessions

January 20, 2009 by Owen
Filed under: development, games, shmup 

For the last two weeks the 8th Rapid Prototype Session has been running.

My entry for this session is called “theta”.  I tried a few new things for this session:

  1. Use a restricted color palette from the start
  2. Design a mockup of how the game looks before coding

This differs from how I usually work.  I usually jump straight into the code and start moving things around.  I’ll create a new graphic and use it as I need to.  As a result, most of my small shmup projects tend to be disjointed and don’t really have a consistent theme.

Screenshot:

theta screenshot

Launch the game via java webstart.

Controls:

  • WASD to move your ship around
  • Mouse 1 to fire
  • Mouse to aim

The number in the bottom right of the screen is your health.  5 hits and it’s game over.

I’m very pleased with how this one turned out.  The graphics are still plain, but they are consistent so that adds something.  The music was created in Reason 4.

There are 10 levels.  Action really heats up around level 7 and I’m not sure level 10 is possible to beat!