Presentation and Graphics

This is the fourth dev diary for my game Flappy Animals, and it's about presentation and graphics.

One significant enhancement deployed in this iteration revolves around player animations, which were instrumental in augmenting the visual feedback to players. Previously, the direction of movement of our flappy animal was somewhat ambiguous, so to mitigate this, I perused the Unity Asset Store and discovered some striking animation samples. Implementing these, the player’s directionality now emanates clarity and charm, thus enhancing not only the aesthetic dimension but also the usability by providing clear visual feedback to the player.

Pipeline Optimization and Obstacle Introduction

Earlier in development, I navigated the path of crafting the pipelines and obstacles through an extended, static scene, meticulously placing each environmental piece and hurdle. However, this approach proved to be labor-intensive and sporadically injected uncertainty into the level design. Realizing the inefficiency, I pivoted towards a scripted approach.

The script dynamically generates obstacles, orchestrating their appearance and determining the distances between each block with algorithmic precision. This shift not only ensures a more reliable and consistent player experience—minimizing bugs and unexpected interactions—but it also dramatically slashes production time, allowing for more focus on polishing other aspects of the game.

The transformations in Flappy Animals, especially in this stage, underline the profound impact of streamlined processes and the inclusion of engaging visual elements in game development. Going forward, the intention is to further refine our graphical assets, aiming to achieve a delightful and visually coherent gaming environment.