The First Game

The first game is a simple, top down, vertical scrolling, 2D space shooter. The game currently has a name, but it may change as I develop the narrative and so I’m not giving this away too early. I’ll just refer to the game as “the first game” given it’s going to be the first one that Cabin Orange releases.

The first game is going to contain what most people expect from this style of game: enemies, power ups and boss battles. I’m trying to include some sort of narrative along the way just to make it a little more interesting. I’m expecting people to want to play this game when they have a few minutes to spare. If they can make it to the end of a level, then the game will save at the beginning of the next level allowing the player to close the app and come back later without losing too much progress.

Below are a select few features I’m developing and exploring for the first game.

Power Ups

You can’t really have a space shooter without power ups to enhance your ships abilities and survivability. Some of them will time out and some with stay with the player until the end of the game.

Triple Shot

What’s better than shooting your enemy once? Shooting them three times. Triple shot allows the player to take out enemies faster. The power up is also stackable with other power ups such as Speed Boost.

Health Refill

You reach the end of a wave of enemies by the skin of your teeth and now you’ve got face a boss with minimal health. Just in time, the health refill power up arrives not only refilling your health but making you invulnerable to a short period of time. Now, where the end of level boss?

Speed Boost

Can’t get to that enemy across the other side of the game space quickly enough? Not enough time to hit the enemy before they make their escape? The speed boost helps the player move quickly and fire at a faster rate.

Slow Time

The battle has really heated up and you can barely keep up with the onslaught when something starts to rip apart space-time and anything in its path. It’s a black hole! However, you ship’s Tachyon Motivator and use the energy of a black hole to slow down time allowing you to be in the right place at the right time.

Enemies

Enemies are many and varied in this game. They arrive in waves and are generated randomly. No two play throughs of the game will happen in the same sequence. Each enemy has its own abilities and weaknesses.

Gorilla

Slow but brutal, the Gorilla will take a few hits to send it off to the void. The arrive in small formations and pack a powerful punch.

Viper

Vipers are fast and have reasonable armour and they tend to arrive in sizeable formations. Taking out the leader only makes you a target for its wingmen.

TBC

Information incoming….please wait

Crab

Crabs arrive in small formations but are extremely agile. Luckily, their armour isn’t worth a damn so any strikes will undoubtably finish them off.

Capital Ships

What’s a space shooter without boss battles? This game is going to be no different. There are going to be mid-level and end level capital ships to tackle. Each with their own abilities to tackle and weaknesses to exploit.

TBC

Information incoming….please wait

Organo

Well shielded and with four powerful plasma cannons that need to be taken out before you can tackle the rest of the capital ship, the Organo is an early force to be reckoned with

TBC

Information incoming….please wait

TBC

Information incoming….please wait

Environments

The environment is one of the ways to express the narrative of the game. The player will progress through empty space, into asteroid fields, past nebulas, through the rings of gas giants and eventually through the heart of the enemy’s main base. Each level will have its own challenges and associated environments to help describe the journey of the player.

Asteroid Field

Battling enemies was difficult but dodging rocks the size of your ship is even harder. The trouble is the enemy is ahead of you, this region is their space and they’ve also prepared static defences to help make your time a whole lot more difficult.

Nebula

The nebula missions are a beautiful backdrop to the chaos of the battle you’re in.

heart of the enemy

You’ve found the enemy base. You’ve got one chance, breach its defences and progress though it to destroy everything critical within. You are humanities only hope.

Gas giant rings

The rings of gas giants are wonderful to look at from a distance but are precarious to fly through. The icy objects aren’t as destructive as asteroids, but they’ll make a dent. The enemy isn’t afraid to follow you here either.