Adam Parker
Curtain Call (2023)
While studying Game Enterprise at the University of South Wales, we were given a brief by a guest from SEGA. Our brief was to design and create an arcade game in two weeks, and the game length had to last a few minutes.
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We were randomly selected into teams, and I oversaw programming. I worked closely with the artist to implement the pixel character sprites moving and dancing. Initially, the game would have functioned like House of the Dead mixed with Guitar Hero, but the gameplay changed to a shoot-em-up instead. The team decided to change from the feedback we were given.
Final Gameplay Video
The game Idea is that the player takes the role of a musician who is playing a trombone and needs to keep the crowd dancing by sending musical notes their way. The player needs to carefully watch the characters as they fade to grey to signal that they are about to leave.
Players who leave the character fade to grey the longest and click on the character will receive more points due to the risk of them walking out. Also, the score is multiplied by the number of dancers within the club.
Prototype Rhythm Bar
Due to the short game span, I experimented with the rhythm bar where the player has to time their clicks on characters depending on the icon, right-click for a double note or left-click for a single note.
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I showcased this mechanic to the SEGA guest, and he recommended scrapping the mechanic due to players' need to concentrate on different areas of the screen, making it challenging to focus on characters. Keep it simple and have it that the player needs to click on characters since arcade games need to be essential and that the player understands the rules within the first few seconds.