[SA Game Jam 2019] GunZ: A Deal with the Devil

Jam Name: SA Game Jam 2019
Theme: Crafting
Project Name: GunZ: A Deal with the Devil
Entry Type: Student
72hr entry

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Core team of 4 (2 programmers, who had to relearn GameMaker, and 2 artists).

We made everything in the game (apart from the music and one gun sound).
(My family members regularly popped in to see why my friend and I were scrunching papers, banging lamps and screeching into a mic. Had a lot of fun doing it tho)

GunZ

Please double check the controls section to make sure you don't miss something :)

Download links
(We posted these as replies to the main thread too)

72h SUBMISSION VERSION:

Executable in file with help:

Executable in zipped file

Unzipped Executable without file

post-jam versions
Submission version with end-game bugfix:
[Monday, 23 September, 21:00]
- Fixed bug that crashed game the moment you blow up mars.
- Lowered volume of music in game.
Download 1.1

v1.2 HOUSE UPDATE
[Tuesday, 24 September, 20:00]
- Improved lighting (for that spooky mood)
- The map is no longer just grass and trees: introducing House, our first post-jam map.
- Tweaked enemy scaling a little bit.
- Added pathfinding to enemies (I think) so they can navigate the new map (which might also cause new bugs).
Download 1.2

1.2.2 Players can now use arrow keys to move and shift to reload :)
1.2.3 Game no longer crashes the moment you finish (third time's the charm?)
1.2.4 Fixed a very rare bug that caused the gun name to cause the game to crash? Added auto-restart to the death screen.

v1.3 NARRATIVE UPDATE
[Friday, 27 September, 11:00]
- Improved intro scenes.
- Added music to narrative sections and crafting screen (will be adding a credits file soon).
- Clearer explanation of crafting and end goal.
- All intro scenes can now be skipped by pressing ENTER.
- Players can skip the entire intro section by pressing ENTER on the main menu rather than pressing PLAY.
Download 1.3

1.3.2 Volume settings! No more timed dialogue! Also, you can pause during game by pressing ESCAPE (WIP).
1.3.3 Added blood effects when projectiles hit an enemy
1.3.4 Added new gun effects! We now have over 9 million guns >:D
Download 1.3.4 (untested)

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Controls
WASD to move (or arrow keys)
Aim with mouse
Left-click to shoot
R to reload (or shift)
ENTER to skip intro scenes.
Press ENTER when on the main menu to skip the intro section completely.

CRAFTING
Crafting takes place on the pentagram screen (not the menu) where resources are displayed on the right.
You craft by placing materials in the 10 circles inside and on the points of the pentagram.
To place materials, click on a circle. Click again to go to the next (available) material type. Right-click to go back.
Once all 10 slots have been filled, press DEAL WITH DEVIL to craft your gun!

Story
Aelon Muske (might have) secretly started a zombie apocalypse to convince people to leave Earth and colonize Mars. You missed the ship (because you were too busy fixing a bug in your SA Game Jam 2019 submission).
The only way you'll survive is by reaching out to your pal, the devil. With his gun-crafting power and your zombie blasting ability, you can get revenge!

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You'll start the game with an awful wooden gun. Once you've collected resources and blasted all the zombies, you'll be able to craft a new, and possibly stronger, gun!

(Oh, and if we did the math correctly - you can craft a few million guns)

Once you craft a gun with 10 souls you'll be able to DESTROY MARS and GET REVENGE!

Right now, crafting is all about exploring random combinations of guns, so don't worry, there's nothing you're missing. Crafting isn't a careful puzzle that you need to figure out (although I'm sure you could with enough plays!)

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Developer's comment
What an awesome opportunity! Huge thanks to the organisers <3
We started watching GameMaker tutorials earlier last week (with some past experience from a year+ ago. Still had tests late Friday afternoon. Had class today (and started quite late on Saturday), but we made it!
Very proud of our game :)!
Probably has some bugs... but we still love it ;)
Enjoy!
Thanked by 1ersatz_albatros

Comments

  • A nice straightforward game, the shooting mechanic also looks interesting. Super keen to see the 9 million unique guns so I'm definitely keeping an eye on this game. Really like the screen colour change when taking damage
  • edited
    72h SUBMISSION VERSION:

    Executable in file with help:

    Executable in zipped file

    Unzipped Executable without file

    (still had a few bugs and an applied math test to complete between 18:00 and now...)
  • edited
    So the only game-breaking bug we could find is the moment you win...
    I guess the final gun was just so strong it even broke the game?

    (we 100% understand that we'll still be judged on the original)

    THIS version (probably) won't crash the moment you win (it was a quick fix, but went for dinner firs ;] )
    AND this version has the in-game sound adjust a bit so the music doesn't overpower the rest of the sounds
  • Pretty neat game, didn't get to have 10 souls, but the guns were cool so congrats on making 2D borderlands in 3 days :P
    Thanked by 1GiGGa
  • Pretty neat game, didn't get to have 10 souls, but the guns were cool so congrats on making 2D borderlands in 3 days :P
    Thank you!

    Who needs Borderlands 3 when you can just make your own ;)

  • I came back to this game and I must say, definitely not disappointed. I Really like the different bullets and configurations you can do to improve your gun, and the sound feedback, screen shake and the explosions really do make the game. A time constraint thing I imagine but I never really was able to test out the other half of the materials you can use to build your gun since I kept running out of ammo in the early levels but otherwise, it's really enjoyable.

    (Hope the AP test went well)
  • edited
    After getting some feedback from our friends, I made a few changes to the game :)

    New Features!
    version 1.2 - house update
    - Improved lighting (for that spooky mood)
    - The map is no longer just grass and trees: introducing House, our first post-jam map.
    - Tweaked enemy scaling a little bit.
    - Added pathfinding to enemies (I think) so they can navigate the new map (which might also cause new bugs).

    You can download the new version with google drive zipped / unzipped).

    Here's a low quality video of the lighting and a glimpse of the map:
    Thanked by 1watman
  • This was great. I played v1.2.

    - Arrow keys please! (With Shift to reload.)
    - I love the sound effects.
    - I love the character designs/pixel art.
    - I hit a bug(?) in my first game at the start of the second level in which it wouldn't let me mix and match resources in the pentagram. I had to make them all one resource even though I had others. (It is also possible that I was doing something wrong and didn't know how to apply resources correctly. I can't remember because it was my first game and this hasn't happened since.)
    - In my second game I hit a bug where my mags and ammo counts would suddenly drop to 0. So I died.
    - I'd like the value of the health indicator to be more visible.
    - The pathfinding seems to work really well. Dangerously well.
    - When you get further in the game the sheer number of zombies + dying zombies + grass makes it difficult to see if there are still zombies heading towards you in the midst of the graphics pile on.
    - I really like how noticeable the difference is in the weapon's performance and characteristics, depending on what materials you use in each slot to craft it. It's a great motivator, too, to play multiple games and experiment.

    I've played a bit bit I haven't reached the end yet but I will come back to play a bit more (got work to do).
    Thanked by 1GiGGa
  • edited
    watman said:
    This was great. I played v1.2.
    ...
    Thank you for the great feedback!

    Arrow keys: On it ;)

    Not mixing resources on second level: This might be a silly question, but you did click the circles more than once correct? I just noticed we never specified... I'll take a look at it regardless, haven't found this bug yet. Will also include a note that multiple clicks cycle resources.

    Second game ammo counts: Is it possible you had a gold trigger? The golden trigger sets the gun fire mode to bolt, which means it fires the entire mag at once (applies to each instance of split shot). I'm probably going to change it since it just confuses players and causes too much trouble... Did the round start on 0 ammo and mags or, in the case of the golden trigger, did your shots use an entire mag (constantly setting ammo to 0).

    Health being more visible: Will definitely improve this in the next version! I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with GameMaker text...

    Graphics pile on: Going to try and play around with the depth of the dying zombies and grass colour to address this issue.

    Again, the feedback is appreciated :D
    I'll try adding the changes as soon as possible.

    EDIT: Download link 1.2 now has arrow keys and won't crash when mars blows up (yes, again).

    Thanked by 1watman
  • I don't know what I did with the resource mixing since it was my first time playing and the circle click thing wasn't clear at that point but I somehow managed to get full stone in every circle and I had wood, but what I was wanting to do was add a few gold and green bars and I couldn't get it to work. As I said, it wasn't clear to me at that point as to how it worked so I may have done something incorrectly but I did manage to get it all stone so I knew it was possible to go beyond wood. I haven't had a problem since so it may have been me.

    I think I had the gold trigger. I will now not use the gold trigger. :)

  • This was cool, I played v1.

    Initially shooting felt a bit awkward as the bullet drops so quickly. Kiting and destroying zombies was pretty satisfying, especially as your gun keeps improving.

    There is a rewarding level of challenge in the game. I was playing with a friend and we both wanted to keep retrying to see who could get further.

    Overall, this felt like a top down shooter where each round has upgrades and they're somewhat random.
    I did wish I had more control / clarity of which characteristics of my gun were upgraded. Maybe I do but I'm not understanding it?
    Thanked by 1GiGGa
  • ashashza said:
    This was cool, I played v1.

    Initially shooting felt a bit awkward as the bullet drops so quickly. Kiting and destroying zombies was pretty satisfying, especially as your gun keeps improving.

    There is a rewarding level of challenge in the game. I was playing with a friend and we both wanted to keep retrying to see who could get further.

    Overall, this felt like a top down shooter where each round has upgrades and they're somewhat random.
    I did wish I had more control / clarity of which characteristics of my gun were upgraded. Maybe I do but I'm not understanding it?
    Thanks for the feedback! :)

    Yeah... the starter gun is VERY bad and the bullets don't actually fly in a straight line (wooden bullets don't make very good bullets).

    Don't worry, you aren't missing something. Gun crafting right now is just about exploring what wacky guns you can create with whatever you found. I would like to add some control in the next version though. I was thinking about possibly displaying gun stats so players could see how different parts influenced it, during the crafting screen?

    It's very hard for me to test how the crafting system feels to the player, because I know exactly what everything does xD So your feedback really helps!
  • You could start with explaining what each slot is for, even if you don't explain what a resource will do to that slot once applied. For example, what do "Stock", "Ammo Casing", "Trigger", and "Barrel" do? (The rest most people can probably guess but it's still better to explain.)

    BTW you need to allow for clicking or key presses to skip the into and instructions for people who have played before.

  • ___________________________________________
    ############################################################################################
    FATAL ERROR in
    action number 1
    of Alarm Event for alarm 2
    for object obj_gun:

    Unable to find any instance for object index '8' name 'obj_view'
    at gml_Script_scr_shoot
    ############################################################################################
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    stack frame is
    gml_Script_scr_shoot (line -1)
    gml_Object_obj_gun_Alarm_2

  • ___________________________________________
    ############################################################################################
    FATAL ERROR in
    action number 1
    of Alarm Event for alarm 0
    for object obj_waves:

    Unable to find any instance for object index '70' name 'obj_spawner1'
    at gml_Object_obj_waves_Alarm_0
    ############################################################################################
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    stack frame is
    gml_Object_obj_waves_Alarm_0 (line -1)


    [This one happened when I got to Mars so I'm really disappointed because I was having a great game and was presumably close to the end!]

    The more I play this, more I think you guys did a really, really great job with the crafting theme. Well done!
    Thanked by 1GiGGa
  • edited
    @watman

    Shucks! This bug has been sneaking into every few builds... If it makes you feel any better, the game actually crashes right before displaying the "End" text, so you did beat the game :)
    We'll be adding the Mars level soon though!

    To skip cutscenes (apart from the one where the devil smites a tree, I was a bit scared of stuff breaking), press ENTER.
    We'll be adding quick-restart after death soon though!

    And thanks for the kind feedback <3

    EDIT: The Latest Download Link has a version which SHOULD fix the crash :)
    Thanked by 1watman
  • edited
    Hi, I played the post-jam version and the game is pretty solid, having all the zombies chase you when I only had that flimsy gun was tense. The sprite work is also awesome. I couldn't figure out how to use other resources in crafting though and my second time playing I got this error when crafting the first gun, not too sure what I pressed but it happened.

    ___________________________________________
    ############################################################################################
    FATAL ERROR in
    action number 1
    of Step Event0
    for object obj_icon_gunname:

    Variable obj_gun_left.<unknown variable>(100015, -2147483648) not set before reading it.
    at gml_Object_obj_icon_gunname_Step_0
    ############################################################################################
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    stack frame is
    gml_Object_obj_icon_gunname_Step_0 (line -1)
    Thanked by 1GiGGa
  • edited
    Hey @Trian

    Did you use the download link that was updated this morning? I'm in class for the start of today but will try to fix the issue (first time seeing that error D:).

    To use other materials, once you have them, you can click on a slot again (or right-click to go back).

    I'll try recreate the error and get a fix posted as soon as possible!
    Thank you very much for the feedback :)

    EDIT: I've added an explanation of crafting in the main post
    EDIT 2: Version 1.2.4 has now been uploaded which will probably prevent that bug from ever showing (I couldn't actually recreate the bug so I just put some safety code in place to prevent what might have happened...
    Thanked by 1Trian
  • Please let me know if you're based in CT, JHB or where?
  • Fengol said:
    Please let me know if you're based in CT, JHB or where?
    Our nearest hub is CT. The entire team stays in/around Stellenbosch.

    Couldn't make it to Vega this year, but definitely planning on joining next year!
  • really liked the concept behind the game( who doesn't love guns and making your own ones) there were a few issues when I played( can't remember which version) like things being tied to framerate(movement speed, fire rate etc) which suffered when lots of zombies were spawning, my game also seemed to crash after the third round but that could also just be my side. overall like the little sprites and the sound effects were pretty funny as well
    Thanked by 1GiGGa
  • edited
    @Dudewholikespie

    Thanks for the feedback!
    I'll be spending some time on the game again today and will try to address the issues you mentioned. My team and I (one other friend) are GameMaker newbies, and as far as we know, we can't actually unlink most of what happened from the "room speed" GameMaker sets. Were you playing on a "slower" pc?

    Still very new to game making so optimisation wasn't on our radar, but I'll try to see what I can do anyway :)

    In other news... I'll be updating the "Download Latest Version" link to include:

    New Features!
    version 1.3 - narrative update
    - Improved intro scenes.
    - Added music to narrative sections and crafting screen (will be adding a credits file soon).
    - Clearer explanation of crafting and end goal.
    - All intro scenes can now be skipped by pressing ENTER.
    - Players can skip the entire intro section by pressing ENTER on the main menu rather than pressing PLAY.
    Thanked by 1watman
  • I loved the idea of this. The crafting seems like it can really be expanded into something with a crazy amount of combinations. I would have liked to see which slots of the weapon do what, since using materials properly is obviously of importance.

    Crafting spots in-level could also be a nice addition? Or maybe power-ups or secondary fire modes of some sort? But the important part is that the potential is there and that the idea translates super well. I had fun with this one :)
  • V1.3 feedback:

    - Really cool narrative addition. I laughed at the "gun devil".
    - Add a button press/mouse click forward skip, don't rely on a timer. People read at different speeds or they might become distracted and miss something that scrolls by.
    - A thought, now that I'm really thinking about it - why do you want to blow up Mars (and the innocent people on it)? I can understand wanting to blow up Muske. Maybe adjust the narrative to a gun that can blow up his super-safe solar-radiation-resistant underground-bunker compound on Mars?
    - Laughed at the new crafting music.
    - You need audio controls. Music on/off and sound effects on/off.
    - Yay on the key updates (arrows and shift). Next it needs a pause key.
    - The game works smoothly on my computer so I didn't notice it was tied to frame rate but, yes, if you can figure out how to overcome that it's a good idea.
    - I didn't say this before but I like that you can go into the houses and that there are secret health pickups.
    - I also like that you start a level exactly where you ended previously.
    - I like that it's not too hard to play but you can stuff up your game badly if you make certain crafting decisions and it's really about learning what to put where and when based on how you want to play.
    - When I have a majority stone (steel?) gun or a mix of stone and gold and I put gold in the mag I only have a mag of 20. Should it not be more?

    Future requests, since you seem to want to continue (I am glad):
    - A little radar in the corner (maybe an upgrade?) to see where zombies are as you can sometimes have levels where you're running around for a while trying to find the last few stragglers or waiting endlessly in one place for them to get to you.
    - More zombie designs.
    - More tree designs.
    - Jazz up the house designs a bit.
    Thanked by 1GiGGa
  • edited
    Wow! So much great feedback :o
    Huge thanks @FlyinGerbiL and @watman
    Hearing other's perspectives on the game is incredibly interesting and useful as I feel like I can't properly judge the game anymore (played it waayyyy too many times).
    I loved the idea of this. The crafting seems like it can really be expanded into something with a crazy amount of combinations. I would have liked to see which slots of the weapon do what, since using materials properly is obviously of importance.

    Crafting spots in-level could also be a nice addition? Or maybe power-ups or secondary fire modes of some sort? But the important part is that the potential is there and that the idea translates super well. I had fun with this one :)
    Aww thank you! I agree, crafting spots and powerups are definitely being added to the list of possible future features.
    watman said:
    V1.3 feedback:
    ...
    The positive feedback is incredibly encouraging, thank you :)

    Now onto some of the other notes:
    - I can't believe I didn't think of just letting people click through the dialogue (this is what happens when you code updates before class). Will be changing that this afternoon.
    - I'm terrified of GameMaker's audio system but will give audio settings a shot this weekend (I also want them tbh).
    - Pause button. Yes.
    - We didn't spend a lot of time checking that everything is balanced... so I'll probably bump the gold mag up a bit. We didn't, however, want gun part upgrades to be linear. The benefit of the golden mag is its incredibly fast reload speed. Unfortunately, all the reload speeds seem fast. So I'll be buffing it to balance ;)

    - Radar sounds cool, will definitely try and implement it! (I can relate to the frustration of having to search for that one zombie).
    - More zombie designs: We might be adding more levels with new enemies soon. The initial idea was to have the player fight zombies on Earth, Demons in hell and robots in space (then kill Aelon in an epic boss fight). We very quickly realised that time was going to be an issue... but its all still part of our vision for the game ;)
    - More trees: I'll have to find some way to motivate our artists, but yes.
    - House designs: I'll see what I can do...

    Hopefully, I'll be able to deliver a few of these suggestions by the end of today :D

    PS. Almost forgot... The only behind the scenes reason you blow up mars, is because we didn't finish the art of Aelon being sniped in time. The narrative reason, is that your character is just incredibly angry and being deceived by the devil (who does want to blow up lots of people). Now that our devil talks, I should be able to change it though. He'll probably say "a gun that can snipe Muske" in future.
    Thanked by 1watman
  • Those are really cool ideas for different level types and I'm glad you have a vision for the game beyond the jam. I'm looking forward to seeing what you implement.
  • I think you should submit this to Playtopia. Even though it's single player it will probably be fun to watch other people playing and discuss upgrades as a group.
  • watman said:
    I think you should submit this to Playtopia. Even though it's single player it will probably be fun to watch other people playing and discuss upgrades as a group.
    My co-coder and I were discussing this... I'm assuming we'll have to be at Playtopia if it gets accepted?
    At the moment we do have plans for that weekend, that are going to clash with the event (unfortunately, I'd love to attend and was a helper last year).

    Might try to shift some of my own plans anyway... :)
  • No, although that's ideal, I think it will just be installed on a computer in a room with other games and there will be someone around to oversee it if you can't. Submit! Worry about that stuff later if you are accepted. Don't talk yourself out of it before you've even tried.
  • edited
    Today wasn't as productive as planned, BUT I did add an options screen that lets you set music and sound effects volume.
    1.3.2

    Also, you can pause during the game screen by pressing ESCAPE. It's not great right now, but GameMaker has been giving us some trouble with pausing and the way it keeps track of object instances.

    Last but not least, the dialogue is no longer set to a timer. You now move to the next dialogue line by pressing SPACE.

    EDIT: Uploaded 1.3.3's download link, added BLOOD particles as feedback for hits on enemies.

    PS. We will be submitting the game to Playtopia :)
    I just need to make a trailer and get some nice screenshots (tomorrow) then I'll send it in!
    Thanked by 1watman
  • edited
    I know the game jam dust has settled... but there was one more thing we HAD to do.
    1.3.4 - Added some additional (very cool) effects to guns (specifically the payload slot, that previously had a very small impact on the gun.

    I'm also proud to announce that our gun crafting system should now allow the creation of...
    over 9.7 million guns :D
    (if we math'd correctly).

    As mentioned before, we'll probably continue working on this game from time to time (still need to make that hell level ;]).
    Thanked by 1watman
  • I can't say that I can tell the difference but I still had fun playing again (except I died on what was likely my last level (based on my soul count) because I kept walking on spawn points).

    How do you do that maths?
    Thanked by 1GiGGa
  • edited
    watman said:
    I can't say that I can tell the difference but I still had fun playing again (except I died on what was likely my last level (based on my soul count) because I kept walking on spawn points).

    How do you do that maths?
    Crafting has 10 slots with 5 possible materials, so the number of combinations should be 5^10.
    Which is 9 765 625.

    A fair amount of slots only result in stat changes though, which may make it feel like less.

    Also, players currently don't want to use souls in their guns. Planning on changing the game in future so they'll feel free to do so (soul guns are pretty cool).

    Here's the cheat sheet:

    Barrel: Multishot, gun appearance.
    Scope: Range, accuracy, cursor appearance
    Stock: Recoil and something else that I'll edit in later.
    Magazine Mag size, reload speed, something
    Trigger: Firing mode (single, burst, bolt, auto, demonic)

    The above 5 gun parts also determine the name

    Prop Changes the way the bullet moves
    Casing Bullet piercing
    Payload On-hit effects (explosion, chain lightning, slowing gas, lifesteal)
    Speed Speed of projectiles
    Type Influences damage and bullet appearance.


    The original version's type and payload did less so we didn't feel like we could count their permutations yet.

    Still a few parts I want to make more interesting in future ;)
    Thanked by 1watman
  • How do you know it's not 10^5? (I'm not a maths person - these are genuine questions of curiosity.)

    BTW I did notice a difference with the magazine that gets emptied at once .Whatever change you made it felt more playable.
  • watman said:
    How do you know it's not 10^5? (I'm not a maths person - these are genuine questions of curiosity.)

    BTW I did notice a difference with the magazine that gets emptied at once .Whatever change you made it felt more playable.
    I can't remember what the change was, but very glad it worked! :)

    I haven't had stats in a while but as far as I understand:
    I'll be using coin flips as my example.
    - Flipping one coin has 2 possible outcomes: H; T (if it was n^x, this case would be 1^2 - which is just 1)
    - Flipping two coins has 4 possible outcomes: HH; HT; TH; TT
    - Flipping three coins has 8 possible outcomes: HHH; HHT; HTT; HTH; TTT; TTH; THH; THT
    x = number of possible outcomes from one experiment (2 for the coin, 5 for our slots)
    n = number of experiments (10 for our slots)
    x^n is the total number of possible outcomes (5^10)
    Thanked by 1watman
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