Rocket Frood: A game-jam prototype

This is an old prototype that I made in 2012 at TIGJam, a two day game jam.

Game Instructions

• The goal is to save all the astronauts by picking them up with your rocket.
• But the rocket can't pass through the debris that blocks the way (grey blocks).
• You can destroy the dirt blocks with explosives.

Click here to play Rocket Frood in your browser now!

Prototype Goals

I wanted to try out some ideas with simulating a few different systems that tie together to make interesting gameplay.  Specifically I came up with:

• Resources (fuel, health, air and coolant) which combined interestingly with
• Environmental elements (air, water, lava) and also...
• Level design (dirt blocks, debris barriers) and...
• Physics gameplay (flying around, bumping the astronauts around the level).

Future Thoughts

It's pretty rough around the edges, and the level design was rushed in the last few hours of the game jam!

I'd like to come back to this idea some time and bring in all my other ideas that I've had since!  I think I'd make this in Unity if I were to come back to it again.

It would be a cool game for Android TV with a gamepad, perhaps!




Here's a bunch of photos from that weekend...  :D

Looking back now, I realise this was a sort of launching point into becoming part of the local Melbourne indie community, and it felt great to go and work amongst a whole bunch of people who are still strong members of the Melbourne scene today.

Gathering up all the junk to take to the jam!

Packed!

Everything strapped on, and riding to the jam!

Arriving at Inspire 9 in Richmond for the jam.

I'd been listening to the glorious Looking Glass Podcasts by Matthew Weise at MIT Gambit, and I took inspiration from these, wanting to make a systems based game.

This was the end of the jam when people could volunteer to show off their stuff!