Project BridgeHop
I'm showing off a very rough draft of "Project BridgeHop", a little web game I've been designing and creating for the last couple of days. I'm making it with ActionScript 3.0 in Flex. I'm using ActionScript Physics Engine (APE) as the physics module.
The goal is to get the matching colored ball from the cannon to the matching colored goal by building bridges. Each level will have different moving goals, enemies, obstacles, and gravity effects. Enemies range from stationary cannons that shoot bullets to unhinge bridges, to enemies that shoot laser beams that destroy any passing balls. Goals will move, teleport, or switch to a different color depending on the level.
As for the Heads Up Display, the left panel will show a tool box of available tools. Some of the tools are: the hammer, a tool that can destroy previously created bridges; the pincher, a tool that can pinch the middle of the bridge and launch balls into the air; and of course the bridge builder, a tool that builds bridges that help move along balls. The right panel will show the time limit, the number of balls available, and the number of balls required to get to the goal in order to progress.
So again, this is a very rough draft but there were a couple of things I wanted to test out before moving along. One of the on going risks for this project will be the physics. ActionScript is inherently slow (Compared to other OOP languages). If the physics is slow then the game is no fun. So I built this prototype in order to stress test the engine. After changing around a couple of things in the API and structuring the tech around the physics, I have it running at 30 frames per second. It'll be a constant balance between gameplay and physics here. Another on going risk is the playability. Again, this revolves around the physics. If some of the game objects don't behave the way I want them too, can I change them by working with the physics? The answer, so far, is yes. I found APE to be very flexible and I've made it bend to my needs.
The overall goal for this project is to create a unique, fun, and interesting game. Building a multi-layered puzzle game based on 2D physics will be challenging. After building this prototype I believe I can achieve this goal.
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