Team Name
Pixel Panic
Timeline
Fall 2023 – Spring 2024
Students
- Kierra Ashford
- Jose Jordan
- Minh Trinh
- Cail Keeling
- Benjamin Nguyen
Abstract
Camp Nightfall is a indie game developed by five students at UTA. It’s a 2D horror RPG developed in Godot. The game follows a camp counselor who is trying to save campers from a monster that invaded the camp. The core gameplay revolves around strengthening the player by exploring the camp, collecting items, and saving campers before the time runs out. Afterwards, a battle with the monster begins. We created this game with the hope of providing a concise and fun gaming experience to the player.
Background
Pixel Panic aimed to include elements that would liken it to financial successes such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Undertale with significantly less development time and budget. The response from the video game industry has been to persuade customers from expecting features included in those games while Pixel Panic aimed to provide those features in a more digestible and easier developed game. Although the Pixel Panic team members each had very different ideas from our senior design project, game design was something that excited us all. Pixel Panic allowed us to test new technologies such as the text-based character creator, to outlet our creative desires, and create something using the software development skills we have honed throughout our time at UTA. Pixel Panic is the culmination of the interests and talents of the team and was accomplished via compromise, collaboration, and the SCRUM methodology.
Project Requirements
- To be a fun video game with pixel art as the main artistic expression
- To be a top-down game as to make it easiest for the player to look for items and kids to save throughout the game
- To provide high playthrough variance and replay ability
- To integrate simple mechanics and strategies as not to overwhelm the player but still support different kinds of strategies
- To have a short, digestible playtime as to not ask too much of a commitment from the player
- To allow a high level of character customization as to support greater immersion for the player
- To create a lasting impact on the player by invoking feelings of discomfort and fear like other games in the horror genre but contrasted with the normally considered “childish” style that is pixel art
- To allow for story and in game dialogue that will allow for quality immersion
- To give the character interactions in the form of items and Non-Playable Characters (NPC) that alter the results of the game
- To provide a turn-based combat towards the final minutes of the game, influenced by a timer, items picked up, and NPCs “saved”
System Overview
The character creation layer is responsible for creating the player’s character and displaying the character creation menu. This layer will be separated into two subsystems to deal with character creation and displaying the menu. The primary functions will be processing text in order to design the character and choosing the appropriate graphics to show the player.
The gameplay layer is responsible for the overall functions and accessibilities that are available to the user/player during the duration of their current game state. This includes the following subsystems: the overworld display, cut scene, controls, save state, and timer. The overworld display handles what the user can and can’t see or interact with. The cut scene handles transitions between screens within the overworld. The controls handles the general movements of the user’s characters and interactions with assets. The save state handles saving the location, assets, and decisions of the current game state. Lastly, the timer handles the time required by the player to perform certain tasks in order to reduce consequences or improve rewards.
The main menu layer is responsible for ensuring user understanding and conveying all options available to the player. This includes presenting the option for : a “New” game, a Saved game, Quit, Settings, the functionality of the buttons themselves, (the UI subsystem). Additionally the Main Menu Layer is responsible for the Loading and Title Graphic subsystems. The Loading System is responsible for keeping track of saved game files, the time when each file is saved, and whether or not the file is empty or occupied. The Title Graphic system is responsible for concisely and clear conveying tone and meaning through the font and acknowledging that the mouse is within the Region of Interaction by enlarging the text.
Results
Pixel Panic maintained the playthrough variability and the character creation variety originally planned. Players will be able to experience hundreds of different exact playthroughs that are each their own puzzle and require unique solutions. That and the simple, compelling narrative were the core tenets of Pixel Panic. The Pixel Panic team learned that dividing labor based off interests, although more engaging and less stress inducing, prevented consistent code integration.
Demo Video
Future Work
For future work, the team would like to include polishing the sprite assets, fleshing out the character creation process, smoother animations, more accurate collision boxes, more minigames in the overworld, and publishing Camp Nightfall on to a game distribution service such as Steam.
Project Files
Project Charter (link)
System Requirements Specification (link)
Architectural Design Specification (link)
Detailed Design Specification (link)
Poster (link)
Source Code (link)
References
- Tutorials and resources — Godot Engine (stable) documentation in English – Godot Tutorial Root
- TileMap — Godot Engine (stable) documentation in English – Godot Tilemap Tutorial
- Inventory Tooltip | Godot Inventory Tutorial (youtube.com) – Godot Inventory Tutorial
- How to Save and Load Godot Game Data (gdscript.com) – Saving Game State in Godot Tutorial
- GDScript documentation comments — Godot Engine (stable) documentation in English – Script Documentation Tutorial
