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Frothy Bird: My Flappy Jam Entry


On 02/24/2014 at 12:53 AM by Travis Hawks

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Hello, all! I have been completely MIA from PixlBit the entire weekend so I could finish up a project I've been working on. I'm going to keep this brief, since I am completely exhausted from working on the ridiculous thing.

If you haven't heard of Flappy Jam, it's a neat little game jam inspired by Flappy Bird to get people to create games in a similar vein. Well, in the jam's own words, the goals are:  

Make a hard, almost unplayable game.

Use assets inspired (not ripped) from classics.

FLAPPY word or gameplay not mandatory.

Have fun, be supportive.

Hate must not win.

Since I had only been dabbling in Unity for a little while, and solely in the 3D stuff, I wasn't sure if this was something I should even try. I decided I work and learn best with a deadline, even if it is somewhat contrived, and so I went for it. I learned a lot about Unity's new built-in 2D systems and dipped my toe into many other waters within Unity I didn't have reason to look at in my other project yet. 

So, anyway, the night before it's due, I have completed the game and it is sort of what I envisioned. There are several glaring things that bug me about the way it is right now, and many many things I would improve on if this were a "real game." So, knowing full well that I am fumbling around with Unity, that I did this in my spare hours over the course of about a week and a half, and that this was as an entry to a rather specific game jam, please give my game a try

Frothy Bird plays in your browser, and doesn't take long. Let me know what you think. Be honest. I can take it. As you can already tell, I'm not an artist/graphic designer. 


 

Comments

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/24/2014 at 12:57 AM

It sounds fun, and changing colors in order to get high reminds me of Catholic school football games spent under the bleachers in high school, but I am too tired to install Unity right this moment. I want to try it, though.

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

02/24/2014 at 12:59 AM

You don't have to install anything. Just let the browser use the plugin. Simple!

I just want someone to try my game :D

KnightDriver

02/24/2014 at 01:39 AM

I think I got up to a score of 30 but it's hard to say when pushing the space bar also resets the game immediately after you miss one. It took me a few minutes to figure out just what to do. I thought changing the bird's color was just an aesthetic thing and not a gameplay mechanic. I tried to flap it's wings with arrow keys, AWSD and the mouse. Then I got it.

What's Frothy about it, I wonder?

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

02/24/2014 at 08:42 PM

Yeah, the score clearing at the end is one of th etop three things I want to change in this thing. Sorry you were confused, but I'm glad you got it. Just like Flappy!

He has frothing demand!!

KnightDriver

02/26/2014 at 04:20 PM

I was surprised to hear how hard Flappy Bird is. You would think that would turn off a lot of people, but no, people are addicted to it already.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/24/2014 at 04:04 AM

wow Travis, this is great, I didn't know u did stuff like this!  I've messed around with Unity myself and it's a lot of fun, but I've never accomplished anything. 

This game is tricky though with the different speeds of the dots.  Laughing

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

02/24/2014 at 09:11 PM

I've been trying. It's been hard to fit it in, but I'm trying to scale it up a bit. I really enjoyed seeing you do some development stuff a while back. You probably forgot, but I mentioned before that I had used one of your Pattern Rider songs in the main 3D project I've been working on. Those are some great tracks! Thanks for playing! 

Nick DiMola Director

02/24/2014 at 08:49 AM

Ha, awesome! I just played a little bit (at work, so couldn't play too much), but it kind of reminds me of a Bit.Trip game - sweet work, man!

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

02/24/2014 at 09:11 PM

Thanks!

Joaquim Mira Media Manager

02/24/2014 at 04:55 PM

Ikaruga with a bird... hahaha it's simple, but given your level of expertise I would say to keep at it. That means it's fine, not as in "oh gawd what a piece of shit" fine. Why is the sound in mono?

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

02/24/2014 at 09:12 PM

Thanks, Joa! The sounds are mono because they are 8-bit, and more importantly free! I think they fit with the style I had to go with to get things done on time. 

BrokenH

02/24/2014 at 05:03 PM

I thought about doing this but then feared I'd simply populate the internet with another Flappy-clone in a sky already swarming with thousands! 

Still, I imagine it's a good way to keep your skills sharp as a game-maker. Wink

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

02/24/2014 at 09:16 PM

Well, since there are nearly 800 entries in that jam right now, your restraint is unusual! Thanks for playing!

Michael117

02/24/2014 at 05:51 PM

I like the mechanic you used Travis, neat Flappy Jam idea. It's interesting you're able to do something like this in Unity, its reputation for flexibility precedes it. In the game programming degree I'm planning to sign up for this year at university, they use the Unity engine a lot so I'd be getting a lot of experience with it I'd assume.

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

02/24/2014 at 09:20 PM

Thanks, Mikey! Although I'm a total Unity noob, I can definitely see everything it's capable of and it is impressive. I'm looking forward to starting another small project soon... after I clean up my top three irritants with this one, most likely. I just had to get it out by today so I went with it as-is.

I read your blog about game school and haven't commented yet. I will just tell you that you should definitely feel confident about getting started. You have the passion and have put in time on your own to teach yourself a lot already. I wouldn't worry about the school's prestige or reputation much either. I have worked side-by-side with people from Ivy League and local universities... and we all got the same job and the reputations of the schools we went to didn't mean anything about what kind of work we could do. Just prove yourself through your work and you'll do great.

Michael117

02/26/2014 at 11:21 AM

Thank you for the encouragment Travis Smile

What are the top three issues you have with your game at the moment? What kind of idea are you kicking around for your next project?

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

02/26/2014 at 01:06 PM

1. Title screen - which I have since made less bad, but might make better.

2. Show your final score at the "start screen" since it's very easy to hit space one last time after you die and clear to start. Also might as well show your high score -- like Flappy Bird.

3. Make in-game font match everywhere. I almost got this resolved but got stuck and ran out of time. An anal thing, but I want it all to have the same oversized pixel look.

4. Add solution to case where pellets are nearly on top of each other near the bird's beak. Would rather not have an impossible situation crop up like that, but maybe that's not too bad... So it's number four.

 

Not sure what I'm going to do next. Something else small and simple probably.I have too many ideas and need to narrow it down.

NSonic79

04/17/2014 at 01:49 PM

oh no! the Flappy got you too! When will this madness end! *runs screaming in terror*

Glad I don't tablet game.....much..

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