Developing Shroom'ter

Introduction

I'm a simple guy. I like basic and casual games with a little bit of spice. Tidbits of story elements, small moments of strategic thinking, and the sense that the environment gives due to the game's choice of music and art design.

As I discovered Godot through my friends and then through Brackeys, I found out that I can develop games using my phone. Although the Android version of Godot is still experimental, buggy and glitchy in its own way, I still decided to learn a tad bit of programming just so I can make the games I've always dreamed of making. And so, I decided to make games as a hobby starting three months ago.

Inspirations

Making Shroom'ter wasn't the most basic thing for me, someone who doesn't know anything about programming. After joining a school game jam with my friends, I found game development, especially the art part, to be really fun. And so, I continued on my own journey after graduating high school.

I first followed tutorials, specifically by Brackeys as he first uploaded his first Godot video right when I decided to try and make games. I lacked the money to buy a PC or Laptop, so I decided to use my phone instead and tried the Android Experimental version of Godot.

Following Brackeys, I made Shlime (which I plan on continuing after I have finished Shroomter). After following his tutorials, I searched for more to add more mechanics to the game. That's when it dawned on me.

Programming is hard, and I had too much of a high expectation for what I wanted to make. And so, I dropped Shlime halfway through developing it.

The Development Process

After letting go of Shlime and deciding to make it next time, I started on thinking what games should I make that I personally enjoyed. I know that at some point, I will get bored, and I wanted to play something that I know I'll enjoy. Being a fan of Bullet Hell and Touhou, I decided I'll make a Shmup.

Shroomter was originally supposed to have Mushroom-based enemies with the player as a slime. But, wanting lower graphics, I stayed with basic shapes, with the title staying as it is, even though there's nothing relating to mushrooms in the game.

I started developing it, using the most basics that I've mastered, and learning new things along the way such as InputEventDrag and Touch because I wanted to make a Mobile game. It became the main movement me chanic of the game and never changed.

Every few months, I would update my friends where they acted as my playtesters and gave me good feedback. And, by the end of it, I have developed a fairly easy and casual game that I can play when I'm bored. It's short and repetitive, can't really be played over and over, but it solved my boredom for quite a while.

I don't plan on updating the game anymore and I want to move onto newer projects, eith a bit more variety and uniqueness to stand out.

Conclusion

I know that Shroom'ter is not anything new or unique to the genre. But, being able to make a game in just 3 months on a phone made me be fond of it. I'm sure there's many ways to improve on it, adding more mechanics and improving on the visuals. But, for now, I'm leaving it as it is and go back to Shlime.

Thank you to Brackeys for inspiring me, and TipTopTomCat for their amazing music that I truly enjoyed. And if you played it, thank you for trying it!

This will stay as my hobby, and it will always be fun to make games, write stories and the others alike.