Overview
Sky Strike is a hybridcasual game, blending bullet-hell and shooter genres, incorporating a "gacha" system that offers diverse missile types and rarities. The game's fundamental loop revolves around demolishing enemy bases, and upgrading missiles and aircraft.
As the players’ progress through the main campaign, additional features, such as Ranking, Tournaments, and Boss Fights, are gradually introduced, enhancing the overall gaming experience.
The inclusion of gacha elements not only enhances variety, but also encourages players to experiment with different missiles on each level.
Development Process
The start of the Sky Strike project began on December 15, 2023, with a meticulous planning phase spanning the first two days. I carefully outlined the game design and project scope. Within a week, a fully functional prototype materialized, encapsulating the core mechanics of the game.
Unity served as my chosen game engine, complemented by C# for coding and Visual Studio as the IDE. Back-end management was facilitated through Unity Gaming Services and JavaScript. GitHub was necessary in maintaining the code structure and providing essential project backups.
Efficient time management was a priority, monitored through Toggl to ensure optimal utilization of development hours. Acquiring sound effects, music, and 3D assets from the Asset Store became necessary, as these aspects fell outside my primary skill set. Photoshop was utilized for crafting icons and certain UI elements. The lack of a 2D art background prompted resourcefulness, with many game icons being pre-rendered 3D models subsequently edited in Photoshop.
Unity's native features, alongside DoTween for UI, were employed for animation, particle effects, and UI elements. Notably, the Collapse Wave Function algorithm was chosen for procedural map generation, contributing to the game's dynamic environment.
The game is currently in early access, with the testing phase set to conclude on January 20, 2024.
Features simplicity in core mechanics
In-depth mechanics are slowly introduced to player
To keep them engaged for hours
Challenges and Key Learnings
Creating a polished game within a tight timeframe necessitated strategic simplification and prioritization. Rigorous feature assessment, minimizing the task duration, and leveraging tools, including AI, were necessary in overcoming this challenge. Future endeavors will involve refining this process further and exploring innovative solutions to streamline development without compromising quality.
Home screen
Visual effect: Structure will "spawn" debris
