Gadfly - Development Pitch

Hello!

This is my first update following my game development projects. I currently have only one project featured here - Home Sweet Home - which I made in my freshman year of college. It's been a while since I've seriously tackled a game project on my own, so I'm excited to see how much I've learned in the development of a similar project! If you're interested in following the development of this new project, I'll be posting updates here every few days. This will help me better track my project's development, as well as demonstrate my design process more clearly.

But what exactly am I developing? That's what I'll be getting into in this first post! I'll be pitching my game concept here, as well as detailing my schedule for game development. Let's get right into it!

The Pitch

Gadfly is a vertical shooter that takes design elements from other classic arcade titles, such as Gradius, Galaga, and Galaxian. Many such games featured fighter pilots in sleek spaceships taking down hordes of insectoid enemies. But what if the roles were reversed? This idea (along with a convenient name starting with 'G') eventually led to my concept for Gadfly, in which the player takes the role of a lone alien invader conquering planets across the galaxy.

Gadfly's gameplay would mostly adhere to the standards set by its predecessors - auto-fire with weak projectiles, the ability to upgrade weapons with pickups, and bombs that clear the screen of enemies. Each short level culminates in an intense boss fight, after which the player can proceed to the next level. All very simple mechanically, but I wanted to start with a simple base to build on.

What makes Gadfly mechanically distinct is the fusion of the weapon and bomb systems. Players can absorb cores dropped by enemies to increase the rank of their attack power. Each rank carries a specific upgrade, such as more powerful bullets, higher fire rate, or greater bullet range and spread. These cores also function as "bombs" allowing the player can unleash a powerful attack at the cost of losing an upgrade rank. The specific type of attack would be determined by the core consumed - it could be brief invincibility that deals immense contact damage, a black hole that consumes enemy projectiles and fires them back, or a reliable screen-clearing explosion.

I'm considering incorporating a lives system into this mechanic as well - ranking up exclusively with one type of core could grant an additional life. I haven't decided yet if I'll be including this mechanic however.

Gadfly is planned to be fairly short - only 5 levels long - so the creation of a solid prototype is my primary goal at this stage of development. If time allows, I would like to include a 2-Player option as well.

The Process

So now that you have the general idea of my end goal, I'll lay out my expected development schedule:

• Apr 28 - Brainstorm level concepts and gameplay mechanics.

• Apr 29-30 - Create moodboards and concept art.

• May 1 - Complete the Design Document for Gadfly.

• May 2-4 - Create the essential art assets and gameplay prototype.

• May 5-8 - Create the alpha version, containing a complete level and the foundation for all enemy patterns. The game should contain all gameplay mechanics by this point.

• May 9-12 - Complete the beta build, with all levels completed. The game should be playable from start to finish by this point.

• May 13-14 - Bug test the finished game and get feedback from users (aka my family and roommates).

• May 15 - Release the finished game!

I currently have some concerns that this design schedule may be too optimistic, but if I limit the scope of my project I think it is possible. The primary reason it's so short is I'm planning to participate in a game jam that starts on the 15th (to give you an idea of my next project!). My following project will be much more involved, so I'm intentionally keeping this project simple.

A few mechanics have already hit the cutting room floor. For example, I initially planned to have a branching path system similar to StarFox 64, but that would require having enough levels to branch through! My primary goal for this project is the creation of a simple, but polished, player experience. This includes eliminating as many bugs as possible, creating satisfying sound effects and music, and creating a complete game that can be replayed from start to finish several times. Add in a simple scores system, and I think there will be enough incentive to replay the game a few times.

That concludes this first update! Hopefully later posts will be a little more concise, and I'll have work to show over time. Wish me luck!