Publish prototype to itch.io

ogallagher commented 3 years ago

To publish a project page on itch.io there's some content that'll need to be created:

Short description

local & remote asynchronous multiplayer action shooter

Long description

Controls

WASD or arrow keys to run up, left, down, and right.

Point and left-click to point and shoot.

The bar at the top of the game window shows a combination of remaining ammunition and remaining shots in the current clip. The clip limits shot frequency (has a capacity and continuous reload speed), and ammunition limits total shots per round.

Your player is marked with a black X. Teams are denoted by colors (blue, orange, green, magenta).

Below the game window is a switch to toggle local vs online mode. In online mode, you pick a username and pass turns between your and other usernames.

System requirements

Just a computer browser with a keyboard and mouse. Mobile devices are not yet supported (the UI would first need some major improvements, and the game window would need touch control support). Most browsers should work (I've done cursory testing in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari).

Gameplay

Your objective is to get as many of your players to the opposite base as possible, while at the same time allowing as few of the players from the other team get to your base as possible. You get one point for each player that reaches the opposing base within the time limit.

The game can be played with 2,3, or 4 teams. The arena is a square, and each base is a corner. Let's assume the game is just 2 teams, blue vs orange, and run an example.

The first turn, blue moves their player to the opposite corner, which seems easy enough.

$refraction_playthrough_local_1_1$

On orange's turn, they then run the opposite direction, and takes out blue's first player on the way.

$refraction_playthrough_local_1_2$

...

$refraction_playthrough_local_1_3$

...

$refraction_playthrough_local_1_4$

...

$refraction_playthrough_local_1_5$

...

$refraction_playthrough_local_1_6$

...

$refraction_playthrough_local_1_7$

...

$refraction_playthrough_local_1_8$

Eventually, the game is over (default is 8 turns). The winning team has the most points total. The game then enters playback mode, and we can review how it went!

$refraction_playthrough_local_1_9$

Screenshots

I'll include around five screenshots.

Customization

I added a game configuration section where some basic game settings can be set prior to playing the first turn.

You can currently customize:

number of teams
number of rounds
player run speed
player radius
bullet tracer length
frame limit (round time limit, in frames)

Development

Refraction is a pretty early prototype, so I'll be updating it frequently and am looking forward to suggestions.

It's also open source and shared on GitHub at ogallagher/refraction. Check it out!

Planned improvements

pick a design theme and replace the placeholder graphics with something cooler
redesign the page interface so the layout is not so sparse
expand the arena by adding some camera panning
extend game mechanics with player abilities, secondary attack, items (details unknown)
add passwords to prevent account sabotage
add mobile support
...?

Credits

Author: Owen Gallagher Graphics library: paperjs Web design library: bootstrap Server hosting: Amazon Web Services

ogallagher commented 3 years ago

Article on gif creation, explaining how to control the colorspace and playback duration.

ogallagher commented 3 years ago

I made this repository public, and added a link to the itch page.

ogallagher / refraction