Piggy-Back Dice [version 2] Devlog

Ryan's Piggy-Back Dice devlog:

• 07/15/2022 (Game Jam Day 1)
  • came up with idea, created game space and placeholder blocks.started scripts
• 07/16/2022 (Game Jam Day 2)
  • added in dice blocks and GUI and further refined scripts
• 07/17/2022 (Game Jam Day 3)
  •  added in colliders for success detection, added sounds & music, and released game per GMTK deadline
• 07/18/2022
  • first playtesters played game. got some feedback on difficulty settings, clarity of objective, etc.
  • Removed Windows build from itch.io
  • Added in quick functionality to toggle on no dice movement mode.
  • Fixed bug where D2 never spawned
  • Added a roll animation to player character
  • Added ability to reset dice and streak on PS4 controller
  • Modified splash screen to fit color scheme
  • Created application icon
  • Took a "real" game cover image and uploaded to itch.io
  • Increased sprint speed
  • Began linking scripts to "PlayerPreferencesScript" rather than using static bools
  • Added functionality to switch timer limits with a string (also added infinite timer option)
• 07/19/2022
  • changed rotation settings of blue dice on title screen
  • made AudioManager persist between scenes
  • made background dice persist between scenes
  • fixed issue where background dice overlapped
  • made background dice less opaque (to make them less distracting and more "backgroundy")
  • fixed issue where background dice circle pattern was uneven
  • prevented background dice block rotation from equalling camera rotation (which had made the background dice look like they were standing still
  • prevented background dice block rotation from equaling 1 after failure / reset
  • fixed bug where player could reset dice block without losing streak
  • fixed bug where the maximum timer time showing was always the timer's max minus one frame's worth of time
  • began working on moving dice block off-screen during dice swap-out
• 07/20/2022
  • finished moving dice off-screen during swap-out animation
  • separated the timer counter from "GameControllerScript"
  • separated the camera auto-rotate functionality from "GameControllerScript"
• 07/21/2022
  • made dice change color according to success/failure
• 07/22/2022
  • implemented main menu preference changes for timer difficulty and using mouse
• 08/03/2022
  • changed dice swap to be driven by Coroutines rather than strictly update functions
• 08/05/2022 
  • fixed bug which reverted settings button names to "preference" when backing out of the game
  •  removed mouse sensitivity slider and switched to a low-medium-high sensitivity toggle button
  • implemented levitation effect in dice on title screen
  • implemented animation where the player and terrain representation fly offscreen when starting a new game
  • implemented a simple number pop animation for the goal number and score number
  • fixed bug where jump can happen twice in a row (switched from force-based to velocity-based)
  • added circle with line through it for the D4 dice goal
  • fixed bug where button highlight sound would trigger when selecting a button and opening a new canvas with buttons(switched from on select to on deselect)
• 08/06/2022
  • fixed bug where the circle with line through would linger after D4 success
  • figured out how to remove misc.error messages about audio listeners, buttons, sound sources, event systems, etc.
  • added accessibility setting allowing player to disable camera auto - rotation
  • fixed bug where the timer starts as soon as the game starts(before player has control)
  • fixed bug where the max time was the time limit minus 1 frame's worth of time  
  • released version 2.0
  • added high score tracking capability
  • released version 2.1

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Future State:

I don't plan to add anything more to this game or improve upon any bugs (unless players call something gamebreaking to my attention). If I were to continue to add features, this is probably what I would add:

• Different dice skins
  • The dice asset pack that I bought for this came with several skins/textures for all the different dice. For the scope of this game jam, I wanted to keep the options and color palette simple, but I could totally have the dice change skins with each spawn. I could also make the other dice skins an unlockable for reaching a certain score, especially since some of the other textures were pretty badass.
• High score leaderboard
  • Self-explanatory. Would be cool to have a high-score leaderboard that saves in between plays or even after closing down the app and reopening to encourage repeated/competitive play.
• Gradual dice unlocking
  • One way of structuring the game that could've been cool would be to start out with a D6 dice and gradually "unlock" more dice as you get higher scores. Either permanently or re-unlocked during each attempt when a certain score is achieved.
• Windows/Mac support
  • For some reason, Unity refused to allow me to export a Windows version that wasn't completely broken (we're talking broken to the extent that the arrow keys didn't even register in-game and the platform continuously spun diagonally upon game startup). It would be nice to include a Windows version if I could be bothered with troubleshooting down that rabbit-hole.
  • I was able to build a Mac version which ran awesomely with graphics which were way better than what the WebGL version allowed me to output. However, MacOS's permission settings combined with the way Unity exports Mac apps locks other Mac users out of opening the game (I myself was locked out of the game after uploading and re-downloading from itch.io and Google Drive). I really do wish I could've got the Mac version working.