Making My First Game - Part 2


Playing Other Submissions

I played a lot of other submissions during the rating period. This was fun and a nice contrast to the 7 days of labor that proceeded it. It was also a learning experience. For example, I learned 99% of submissions took the theme more seriously than I did. My game was clearly not scary enough. So now I know what horror is.

Also, some of these entries are seriously impressive. I wasn’t expecting fully 3D games! I need to learn 3D sometime…


My Game’s Rating

Out of 555 entries Slime Kid was rated:

#67 in Enjoyment. I’m so glad people thought it was fun to play!

#70 in Sound Design. The sound effects when collecting coins and souls was praised. 

#195 in Story. Better than I expected. The story was incomplete and frankly nonsensical. But sometimes that’s what we need I guess.

#265 in Aesthetics. I’m surprised it did so well considering I wasn’t too pleased with it, but some people liked the fact it was original and not just assets downloaded online.

#455 in Horror. I honestly expected to come in dead last. Were there submissions less scary than mine?


I liked the feedback. Many users liked the originality. Many thought movement was difficult and awkward but some were addicted after getting a feel for it. I was tempted to adjust movement to make it easier but my wife recommended against it (more or less saying those who liked it wouldn’t like a change and those who didn’t like it probably didn’t like platformers to begin wit). I ended up agreeing. I can think of a few games I liked that made changes I didn’t like in an attempt to please everyone. The fact of the matter is I set out to make something creative and not everyone is going to enjoy that but the ones who do enjoy it won’t be able to find anything like it anywhere else. So it’s best not to disappoint those who do appreciate the quirky slime action.


Updating the game

Now comes the hard part. I had more plans for the game that couldn't be met due to the deadline but now that the game jam is over I made a promise myself to see it to completion. But I know the hardest part of any project is completing it.

The Code

The easy thing about the code is once it's set up you don't have to do much with it. I did try rewriting the ground interaction because what I was using seemed convoluted and inefficient but I could it get anything cleaner to work. Alas, in the end I undid that system and stuck with what I originally had for the game jam submission.

The Music

The game has a motif that plays throughout the entire game and in some of the sound effects. I kind of created it on accident. At first I was just trying to quickly make something to play in the background so the player isn't just listening to silence. But I ended up liking the chorus (for what would later become the beach level) and decided I would reuse it in other tracks. Reusing a motif helps to add some cohesiveness to the music and also helps me to be lazy because I just reuse the same musical idea instead of coming up with new ones for each level. It's very common in movies, shows, and video games. My hope is that whenever the motif plays the player thinks "this is Slime Kid".

The intro music sets the tone for the entire game. The bassoon plays the main motif 3 times (once normally, and two variations of it). It starts off dark, because this is a game about monsters and lost souls. But it ends on a lighter tone because it's also a game about an antisocial slime buying an overly expensive game console.

I had already created music for level 1. It was initially intended to be menu music but I never made a menu for the game jam entry so it was repurposed into level 1 music. The track features pleasant instruments such as string and wind instruments. The oboe is the main instrument and was chosen because of its somewhat angelic sound. It was ideal for making players feel comfortable. I chose the bassoon as a complementary instrument. It's the larger, deeper cousin to the oboe. It's warm sound adds to the at-home feel of the piece. Then a plain and straight version of the main motif is played during the chorus.

Level 2, music was already complete but never used. It was actually the first track I made. I had envision a beach level for some reason, even though there is no reason a slime would visit the beach. The track features instruments you'd find in Caribbean music, such as steel drums, trumpets, and percussion.  As with the first track, the chorus plays a variation of the main motif.

For level 3, I reused an old tune I made 18 years ago. It sort of just sprang up from the the back of my memory and I realized it would be a great tune.  It was originally scored as a duet for 2 ocarinas, but I decided to rescore it for 1 Recorder and 1 Ocarina for this arrangement. The instruments were chosen for their airy, ethereal quality which helped build the feeling of getting lost in the woods. Each instrument has separate (right and left) channels and quickly play back and forth to pull the listener's attention in different directions (headphones recommended). A string section plays pizzicato in the background for support. If you listen carefully, you can hear the game's main motif is quietly played by the bass clarinet but without its usual rhythm.

For level 4, I wanted something more serious. Initially the track was fast paced with a lot of percussion to try to capture the feel of sliding around that I had planned for the level. But I found it didn't sound like it belonged in a Slime Kid game, so I scrapped it. I replaced it with something slower, using instruments like the harp and glockenspiel because their bright, sharp, penetrating sounds are what I'd imagine ice to sound like. I also experimented with harsh synthetic sounds (I've never composed with synth before) to add some intensity and seriousness to the track. The icy cave is meant to be an uninviting place. A minor scale variation of the game's main motif is played, which makes it sound sadder and lonelier, but still familiar.

For level 5, I took it a step further with the synthetic sounds, which was appropriate because the level is meant to take place in a high-tech facility. I also experimented with composing primarily using the mixolydian mode, which is bright but slightly darker than the usual major scale. This track is different than anything I've ever composed before, but I ended up having the most fun with this one as a result. A mixolydian version of the main motif plays, which I think worked really well to add to the tech sound. Level 5 music turned out to be my favorite. 

For the part where the player's score is calculated, I went with something that sounds similar to the level 1 track, focusing on the main motif. For the ACTUAL menu music (I added the menu last), I went with the main motif again, played slowly on glockenspiel.

The Art

If I’m being completely honest, I procrastinated on the art for almost a week. It was the most difficult part during the game jam. But I eventually forced myself to work and I’m glad I did. I feel like my art improved significantly throughout the project. 

For level 2, I worked on making it cleaner and adding more detail to the environment. My art style shifted to a heavier focus on outlines. I think it makes it easier to tell what objects are supposed to be.

For level 3, I experimented with adding some depth to the actual platforms, instead of making them flat. Halfway through level 3 I obtained a knockoff Apple Pencil from insignia. I actually got it for taking notes for my day job but the thought occurred to me I could use it for drawing the environment in my game. It made things significantly better. I also experimented with adding multiple layers of parallax motion and "fog" to further enhance the illusion of depth. I also simulated blur for objects that are meant to be further away. I've learned from my studies in vision science that blur, fog, size, and parallax are all 3D cues our brain use to understand depth. I'm pleased to see that the combination of all those effects are surprisingly effective. Level 3 is my favorite level art.

For level 4, I experimented some more with adding depth and shading to the platforms, which was much easier with an “Apple Pencil”. I also experimented with nine-slice, which is a way to programmatically adjust the shape of images without repeating unwanted details (like edges) or stretching. I also abandoned using tiles for platforms. This removed the restriction of snapping platforms onto a grid and let me freely place and rotate them wherever I want. 

For level 5, I  added animations to the platforms and the environment. They’re nothing dramatic, but should add just a tiny bit more life. I also added some text to the environment to help tell a story as a reward to players who managed to make it this far. You're not going to get spoilers here. Play the game!

The Level Design

Designing levels is surprisingly difficult. You can spend hours coding, creating artwork, and composing sound and music but if it isn't all put together in a fun and cohesive way then it's just a waste of time. So the challenge is to make jumping from A to B engaging for 5 levels. So how did I decide to go about doing that?

First, I made sure that each level introduced a new mechanic - a gimmick. Level 1 introduced the core movements (jumping and mid-air boost). Level 2 introduced a new mechanic (swimming). Level 3 introduced the idea of darkness and needing to use light and judgement to find your way. Level 4 introduced friction and the concept of slippery platforms. And level 5 introduced switches and puzzles that needed to be solved using them. Also, each new level has some small part of the "gimmicks" from previous levels, with level 5 being a gauntlet testing your ability to effectively interact with each of these mechanics. This  naturally adds progression of difficulty.

Second, I added collectibles to make the game re-playable. The more collectibles you find the higher your score and the better your ending. Each level has the same number of coins and same distribution of souls to collect, with the 5th level being different in that all treasure chests and souls are hard to reach but high reward (so that players feel better about the spike in difficulty).

Lastly, each level flows in a different direction to add variety in the feel. The first level starts at the top right and ends at the bottom right. The third level starts at the top and is a straight descent down. The last level starts at the end but you need to leave and come back to complete it. 

Based on the limited pool of testers I had, players seem to have fun discovering the new levels and findings the collectibles.

Cover Art

I noticed during game jam that everyone has much better cover art for their game. The cover art is the first thing people see and it informs them what type of game they’ll be playing. My cover art was just a blow up of my 64x64 slime kid Sprite. It’s a miracle anyone actually clicked on my game at all.  After having practice making art by drawing a bunch of tiles and sprites I finally felt confident enough to try to make something more interesting.


This game took 59 days to complete. Please, enjoy it!

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