After publishing Eloquently on iOS, I decided to challenge myself to make a mobile game. Using a great game creation engine called GameSalad, I published a simple balloon popping game called Balloon Master, available for iOS (coming soon) and Android, in about one month.
Ideas
I knew that I could only create very simple game since I have very limited time and skills that is needed to create a large scale game. Also, I wanted to make sure that I get something out to the market rather earlier than later so that I can learn what it takes to publish the game app, as well as, learn the know-hows needed to possibly publishing a successful game app. Initially, idea started with more complex game but then came close to a puzzle game that feature a polar bear. But after sharing this idea with my close kins, they suggest that I should stick to simpler game like a balloon popping game. So the idea was born. Here is the in-depth account of the features built into the game:
Background
- Optimized for iPhone 5 Portrait size since this is most popular size for both iOS and Android.
- Background size of 1136×640 (twice the size used in GameSalad) and used resolution independence setting so that it scales down to smaller non retina displays.
- Add clouds and move them with different speed to give parallax effect
Balloons
- Optimum balloon size of height 194 with 196 canvas size
- Make the balloon generate from bottom and gets destroyed once it disappears to top of the screen
- Animate the balloon so that it shows moving from left and right
- Add swerving effect so that the balloon moves randomly but naturally as it moves up
- Pop when touched with animation and sound
- Show points earned when popped
- When balloons disappears to top, trigger game over
- Add wall to left and right side of the off screen and when hit, balloons would bounce
- Resize initial animals to 10%
- Add purple balloon that is 100 point, when popped, shows smaller balloon that needs to be popped again. (Balloon size is 154px width)
- Add green balloon as a bonus balloon that gives 250 points after 5 hits, that shows animal characters when popped
- Add blue balloon that takes 3 hits but each hit moves the balloon randomly so that it is difficult to pop
- Add boss balloons that takes a lot of pops (height 671 with canvas 675).
- Boss balloon gives out smoke as it takes the hits
Balloon Factories
- Each levels (scenes) has factories that generate/spawn different balloons of different speeds based on the time table, including the boss balloon.
Game Interface
- Show and track score and high score
- Make score numbers graphic based since GameSalad does not allow custom fonts
- Implement sound on/off
Game/Level Setting
- Add music per each level, including when boss balloon comes out
- Create a table for each levels that has timed frequency of different balloon (of type and speed) spawning to control difficulty of the game
- Create Main Menu and Game Over scenes
Publishing
- Purchased GameSalad PRO subscription so that “Publish”, “Generating APK”, and “Signing APK” that exports the game into appropriate APK that is used to upload to Google Play.
- For Android, you must create a keystore that requires signing of the APK file using JDK 1.6 instead of JDK 1.7 to make it compatible with older Android versions.
- Make sure to publish to Amazon AppStore using unsigned APK so that you can push the app to another channel/market.
Possible Enhancements
Here are possible updates and features that can be built further to existing game:
- Put farm background bottom, and show animals in the farm as they get rescued
- Fix so that when you try to exit, it warns you or brings you back
- Intermediate, score earned, press to continue, or level chooser screen
- Allow three lives
- Imitate explosion using either particle or actors
- Yellow can give special power: freeze, one hit each balloon
- One balloon becomes two balloons
- Introduce obstacles or hinderance that will allow balloon to go faster
- Collect all animals and game is over
- Special animals have special power like freeze, bomb, swipe, etc that show up at the bottom that can be tapped and activated
- Show the animal collection screen with collected animals
- Mom earning enough score to unlock abc alphabet game for their kid
- Interact with background or more physics like bird is flying
- Randomize background
- Swipe to pop all balloons
- Trap balloons so that player can use bomb or swipe to get all points
- Double pop or simultaneous pop earns more scoreweather
- Introduce weather elements such as wind, rain, snow, falling leaves
