Lost Hope

Project Overview

Lost Hope is a post-apocalyptic survival game developed by our team for the GameQode Game Jam. As our first venture into game development, this project represents a significant milestone in our journey as creators. Developed in just one week, Lost Hope showcases our ability to bring a unique vision to life under tight time constraints, relying solely on our creativity and determination.

Game Concept and Theme

The GameQode Game Jam provided us with the theme of “growth,” which became the central concept around which we built our game. We creatively interpreted this theme by developing an innovative weapon growth system, setting our game apart in the crowded survival genre.

In Lost Hope, players navigate a post-apocalyptic world where traditional weapons are scarce. Instead, they must grow their own weapons from seeds, nurturing them to create powerful tools for survival. This unique mechanic ties directly into the game’s core loop:

1. Plant weapon seeds in designated growing areas
2. Protect and nurture the growing weapons
3. Harvest mature weapons to fight hordes of monsters
4. Earn money by defeating enemies
5. Use earned money to buy more seeds and upgrade growing areas
6. Repeat the cycle, growing stronger with each iteration

This growth-centric gameplay not only adheres to the jam’s theme but also provides a fresh take on survival game mechanics, blending resource management, combat, and progression in a novel way.

Implementation

• Game Engine: Utilized Unity3D to build the core gameplay and weapon growth mechanics.
• Asset Creation: Combination of custom-made and modified free assets to create the game’s visual style, including unique designs for various stages of weapon growth.
• AI Programming: Implemented basic enemy AI for varied and challenging encounters, with increasing difficulty as players progress.
• Game Loop: Developed a fundamental game loop structure to manage updates, rendering, and the cyclical nature of the weapon growth and combat systems.
• Economy System: Created a balanced in-game economy to support the seed purchasing and upgrade mechanics.

Learning Outcomes

Some things I learned:

1. Fundamentals of game design and development
2. Implementing innovative gameplay mechanics (weapon growth system)
3. Balancing complex gameplay elements (economy, difficulty progression, weapon effectiveness)
4. Basic AI programming for enemy behavior and wave-based challenges
5. Asset integration and management in a game engine
6. Collaborative game development in a time-constrained environment

Challenges

• Time Management: Prioritized core features like the weapon growth system and used efficient development practices to meet the deadline.
• Technical Limitations: Overcame lack of experience through quick learning and problem-solving, particularly in implementing the unique weapon growth mechanics.
• Asset Creation: Leveraged free resources and quick modifications to create a cohesive visual style that represented different stages of weapon growth.
• Feature Scope: Scaled back ambitious ideas to focus on delivering a playable, engaging core experience centered around the weapon growth concept.

Reflection

This experience in 2021, now several years behind us, laid the foundation for my current interests and skills. Moving forward, I’m keen on exploring the world of 3D graphics and interactive web experiences. My plans include:

Learning Three.js to create immersive 3D graphics in web browsers. Mastering Blender for 3D modeling and animation. Combining these skills to bring my own unique, interactive experiences to life on the web, possibly expanding on the themes and mechanics we explored in Lost Hope.

I invite you to try Lost Hope and experience a young Hadi’s attempt at game development.