In this post, I will go into some more detail about the graphics in CodingGame.
In my opinion, the main purpose of the graphics is to make it as easy as possible to see what’s going on in the game. I want the graphics to be a one-to-one reflection of the game state. All game objects and their attributes have a graphical representation and all world state transitions are highlighted by an animation. The amount of graphical elements that do not serve a function in the game and convey no useful information is minimized.
At least in principle, this should make it possible to get a feel for the game and even infer all of the game mechanics just from watching the game, making it unnecessary to consult pages and pages of documentation. It should also make the game more fun to watch for people who don’t already have intricate knowledge of the game mechanics.
In accordance with this goal, I am using an abstract/minimalist design where all the game objects are composed from simple geometric shapes. This also allows me to generate all of the graphics programatically, which plays to my strengths and gives a lot of flexibility. In terms of the art style, I am aiming for a sci-fi/space theme that features mostly dark colors with a few very bright elements.
Anyway, I promised screenshots, so let’s get to it!
The game units come in different sizes, their body is simply represented by a regular polygon:
These are then filled with all the modules equipped by the unit.
Here are all current module graphics (all inside a size 1 unit):
Engines
Shield generator
Empty storage
Storage with mineral crystal
Storage with energy globes
Factory
Weapon
A larger unit with several modules:
Some additional objects:
Mineral crystals
Laser missiles
A screenshot with a larger scene (very large image, click through for zoom):
In other news, the collision detection and physics for CodingGame is now really solid, and I have made a lot of progress on integrating all the components and implementing the game mechanics and API. I can’t promise anything for sure, but if things keep going smoothly I should be able to release an alpha version in about a month. Before then, I plan to write another blogpost to describe my ideas for the game mechanics in some more detail.