Navigator

-- Navigator -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello everyone!

My name is Andrew Lewis and for the "New Year New Skills Game Jam",  I have created the path building puzzle game, Navigator. The object of this game is to guide a character from the starting point to the end goal of each level without falling prey to obstacles.

The player accomplishes this by building a collection of tiles given to them into a functioning pathway. This was the main idea that I came up with when accessing the theme for this game jam. 

Note that this game is still in development and as a result, only the tutorial mode is available to play. 

-- Controls -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Left Click : Set Tile
• Right Click : Remove Tile
• Scroll wheel / Spacebar : Switch Between Tile Options

-- My Team ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I ended up making this game myself, but I would've liked to work on a team. Again, this was my first game jam and I just wanted to test myself to see what I could do. I understand how important is for me to work within the community, so I will be making sure to find a team during my next game jam.

-- My Vision -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For this game, I was aiming to create a single-player experience with 2 main modes:

• Adventure Mode : A roguelike game where the player tries to optimally use their tiles to get as far as they can before losing. Their tiles from previous levels in this mode carry over which, in my opinion, would equip the game with a more engaging and strategic experience.
• Puzzle Mode : A laid-back brain game where the player completes separate levels. 

-- My Accomplishments --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to put in all the time I would've liked into this game jam. I would say that I put in work in the span of about 4 out of the 7 days given. Even so, I'm happy to say that I have done the biggest part which was taking care of the backend. All of my scripts and prefabs are functioning as I want them too, allowing me to create levels within minutes.

For my submission, I was able to create a tutorial mode which explains how to play in-game and gives the player a feel of what kind of game I am working towards making.

All of the sprites and pixel art was created by me using Aesprite. Given how much time I had , I elected not to incorporate any animations at this time as well as have a proper character sprite. I wanted the gameplay to be at the forefront.

-- Plans For The Future ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I definitely see potential in this game and want to fully realize what I set out to do. Aside from creating challenging levels, I still have to create the sound clips, sprites, and animations to give it that polish.

I also wanted to incorporate enemies, traps, and interactable objects so that there are actual obstacles to overcome aside from simply falling. (Nothing wrong with being simple, but I do like having the option to stress myself in challenges.)

-- Thank You  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you enjoyed what I was able to develop for this game jam and appreciate any feedback  that you might have.

Also, a big thank you to Bitter Sails Games for hosting this game jam.