Desert Defenders Trailer

Grand Finale

We have finally reached our deadline and the goals we have set for the project.  Desert Defenders is officially in a playable beta for our presentation at USG and University of Baltimore come May 4th & May 9th.

Cheers,

Jillian

Cutscene Update

I've finally completed all of the cutscenes for the game.  This is cutscene 3, which plays in between Level 2 (Desert Night) and Level 3 (Pyramids of the Forgotten).  The  Final cutscene is completed as well and it is a whopping 20 slides.  Since I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone, I will not be posting it.

Cheers,

Jillian

Screen Updates

I've completed the tutorial screens and an updated version of the control screen, which reflects the changes that we have made and includes the Xbox 360 control list. -- Jillian

Control Screen

Power Up Screen

Haroun Ability Screen

Rana Ability Screen

SFX & Music Update

• I've created and uploaded two different sound effects for the witch spell in order to compare which we like best.
• I've managed to complete the music for the introduction cut scene.

Jackal SFX

I've uploaded the sound effects for our jackal enemy using free sounds. I've tweak them by lowering the tone to make it sound more intimidating.

SFX Update

• I've uploaded two sound effects the one for the one up and the health grab. I created these sound effects in fl studio using different plugins such as nexus. I've used some of the effects inside of fl studio to tweak the sounds so they sound original.

Cutscene 2

Still plugging away at these cutscenes.  Here is the one that will play in between levels 1 & 2.

-Jillian

Loading & Game Over Screen Updates

I made a loading screen for in between cutscenes and levels as well as updated the art for the game over screen.  Both of these changes are currently implemented into the game.

--Jillian

Loading Screen

Game Over Screen (OLD)

Game Over Screen (NEW)

Intro Cutscene: Mae'o's Backstory

Drawing and writing this cutscene took much longer than anticipated and set me rather far behind schedule.  Although I have been keeping up with the animation and level extension portions, the rest of the cutscenes are pushed back.  With only a month left of production, it will be a major push to complete the remaining cutscenes, but it is certainly doable. 

--Jillian

Sand Witch Animations: Part I

Here is what the Evil Sand Witch Mae'o will look like in-game.  Her abilities will include:

• Levitation
• Summoning Mirages
• Shooting projectiles
• Teleportation
• Creating Mirage clones of herself

Floating/ Idle Animation

Shoot Animation

--Jillian

Milestones & Playtesting Sessions

We have reached the half-way point of the semester and are moving into the final stretch of production.  Here is what we have accomplished so far:

• Level 1 Extensions (implemented)
• Level 2 Extensions (implemented)
• Level 3 Extensions (implemented)
• Jackals (implemented)
• New HUD 
• Power-up assets
• Intro Cutscene
• Sound Effects
• Coins
• Level-up
• Power-ups
• Added X-box controller support

We have also conducted several playtests and received overall positive feedback.  The playtests also alerted us to some problems that we intend to remedy such as:

• more Checkpoints
• more Story elements (cutscenes)
• changes to the control scheme

--Jillian

SFX Update

I have completed sfx for coins and power ups. I used FL Studio to create the sounds using the piano with added effects to it.

Enemy Health HUD

I wrote another health HUD script that will be used for the Sand Witch. I imported the jackal image into the game for testing and applied the script into the game manager and the image. Following the same method I used for the player health HUD from last semester helped me to write this script.

Jackal Animation

Here is the running animation for the Jackal enemy

The Jackals are stronger enemies than the Ravens, needing multiple hits to take down.  They patrol back and forth between two colliders until the player gets close, then they focus on attacking the player.

-Jillian

Audio Update

This is a screenshot of the music for the introduction cut scène that I'm working on. I've also manage to finish the sound effects for the level up sound.