Mr Trampoline's Dance Mix
As the culminating project for my undergraduate degree at Goldsmiths University, I conceived and developed this mobile game. The initial spark for the game originated from a personal challenge I set for myself—creating game concepts based on randomly generated game names. The concept I generated captivated me to such an extent that I enthusiastically chose to pursue its development further.
For the second challenge I set for myself in this project, I aimed to create a mobile game—an endeavor that proved more demanding than initially anticipated. Overcoming this challenge involved not only acquainting myself with Apple computers and XCode but also necessitated a fundamental shift in design thinking for the mobile platform.
Early considerations, such as contemplating the addition of buttons on the screen to control the trampoline's lateral movement, were reevaluated. Through exploration, I discovered that a more effective approach involved tracking the touch position on the screen. My initial lack of familiarity with mobile game development prompted extensive research and hands-on exploration of various mobile games, allowing me to refine and enhance my design principles significantly.
Furthermore, I intended to leverage this project as an opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration. The goal was to gain practical experience in working with artists, refining designs through iterative processes. Fortunately, I connected with a talented junior artist, Chloe Motley, who graciously contributed her skills to enhance the visuals. Additionally, I enlisted the support of one of my closest friends, Sacha Ewen, who brought his expertise in audio to enrich the overall experience. The collaboration with these creative individuals not only enhanced the project but also provided valuable insights into the collaborative aspects of game development.
The Game
"Mr. Trampoline's Dance Mix" is a captivating mobile arcade game that challenges players to showcase their skills and achieve the highest score possible. In this game, players take control of the trampoline, strategically bouncing Mr. Trampoline to prevent him from hitting the floor. A skilled player can manipulate the trampoline's power, launching Mr. Trampoline higher into the air. Once reaching a specific height, players can engage in dance moves, executed with swipes on the screen. Successful swipes matching the indicated direction result in score increments.
Continuous bouncing enables players to build a multiplier, reset only upon incorrect swipes. The game intensifies as additional directions are added to the dance moves, introducing collectibles and obstacles during bouncing to enhance skill expression. "Mr. Trampoline's Dance Mix" presents a dynamic and progressively challenging gaming experience.
This project showcases various techniques employed in its creation.
Trampoline
The player wields control over the trampoline through intuitive touch controls. The positioning of the trampoline along the X-axis is dynamically calculated from screen coordinates, ensuring its constant alignment with the player's position. Charging the trampoline involves evaluating the Y-axis distance between the initial touch contact and the current touch position. The player's skill comes into play as they strategically manipulate the trampoline's position to catch Mr. Trampoline while concurrently charging power for a higher launch.
The charging mechanism further enhances skill expression: the player pulls down their finger to increase the charging speed. Upon releasing the touch, the charged power is briefly exposed. If Mr. Trampoline collides with the trampoline during this time window, he is propelled into the air with the charged power, surpassing the standard bounce power. This introduces an additional layer of skill, as the player must precisely time the release of the finger to coincide with the character's contact with the trampoline.
Colliders of the Character and Trampoline
Mr Trampoline
The character, Mr. Trampoline, is governed by physics through a rigid body system, experiencing gravitational effects along the Y-axis while constrained to a maximum velocity. Impact with the left and right walls—positioned at the screen edges for universal device compatibility—results in a 10% reduction of velocity on the X-axis. This adjustment curtails overly aggressive horizontal bouncing, a refinement implemented after initial testing revealed challenges in catching the character.
To heighten player skill expression, I introduced a system allowing indirect control over Mr. Trampoline's bounce trajectory. This involves calculating the horizontal distance to the center of the trampoline's collider. A new vector is then created, forming a steeper angle the further away the impact point is from the center. Consequently, on the left or right sides of the collider, the character is bounced at a 60-degree angle to the left or right, respectively. Meanwhile, impacts near the center result in a straight upward bounce. The force of the bounce is determined by either the charged power, as previously described, or a standard power range for a more modest bounce effect.
The angles Mr Trampoline will be bounce to, depending on where the collision happens.
Dancing
To facilitate the dance mechanics, I introduced a specific Arrow Class, equipped with an Enum that encapsulates directional information. This class offers two construction methods. The first involves specifying a game difficulty level as an integer. As scores increase, the difficulty level rises, expanding the options available to the constructor. Starting with only up and down, it progressively incorporates more directions, reaching up to eight at the highest level.
The second construction method relies on an angle parameter. When a swipe is detected, the angle of the swipe is calculated, and a new Arrow instance is generated. This instance categorizes the swipe angle into one of the eight possible directions. For instance, a swipe between 22.5 and -22.5 degrees corresponds to a swipe to the right.
Upon creating a new arrow, it is compared to the first arrow in the queue. If the arrows match, the player scores; otherwise, the dancing phase concludes. This dual construction approach enhances gameplay flexibility, allowing for both dynamic difficulty adjustment and precise angle-based recognition.
The arrows displayed during the dancing phase
Visual
To enhance the game's visual appeal, I've employed several tricks. Firstly, I leverage Unity's 2D lights to clearly distinguish between the dance and trampoline phases. During the dance phase, five lights of different colors dynamically illuminate and dim in a random pattern, simulating the lively atmosphere of a club. In the trampoline phase, a spotlight follows the character, evoking the image of a circus performer captivating the audience with a daring act.
Additionally, the parallax effect is utilized to craft a shadow. This shadow mirrors the character's pose, adopting the same sprite but with all colors removed and a level of transparency. This creative approach creates the illusion of an accurate shadow without employing conventional shadow techniques, contributing to the game's overall aesthetic appeal.
All 2D lights used in the game to increase game feel