Source of project's inspiration:
Inspired by classical arcade games and couch co-op gameplay we decided to revamp the twin-stick shooter genre with modern technology. Our inspiration came from the types of games and experiences we all loved growing up, such as asteroids and Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time.
Project Description:
Neon Collapse is a hectic co-op space shooter where you and your friends fight against overwhelming odds to defend your mothership from certain destruction in a chaotic universe. How many waves can you survive?
In Neon Collapse you and up to 3 friends take control of the last remaining fighter ships. Endless waves of enemies are attacking your mother ship and you must stop them! Using twin-stick controls and an array of weapons and abilities you must struggle to prevent the universe from collapsing. Giving the game part of its name “Collapse”, and of course “Neon” comes from our neon bright art style.
Materials and Creative Process:
Neon Collapse was made in Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) with the art done in Piskel Editor and Photoshop.
Our process started with us setting our completion goal pillars. We wanted to make each level complete, a fun couch co-op experience, and have lots of replay ability. With these goals in mind, we set a few key features:
With these rules set we were on our way to reach our goals. From here on out it was just hard work and time spent molding the game together.
This build is very similar to our prototype build with one major difference, it runs way better. You make your prototype quickly to try and prove the concept as fast as you can, then once you are satisfied you start from scratch and start to make the project with a higher quality, including programming, art, and content. However some major gameplay things did change, for example the mother ship (Purple) is now much larger and has 4 generators that enemies can target.
And here is a similar image from the finished game!
You can see our first boss “Wingman” (Red big guy), our basic enemy (Small red guy), Mothership (Large open area on right side), and player (Small orange ship). As well as improving these basic things we added 4 new bosses, 2 mega bosses, 4 more weapons, 5 movement abilities, and completely reworked how the level works.
How did the college or the program's professors help you develop this project?
The college helped group us together with people of all talents. Gathering Artist, programmers, producers and more!
The school’s professors were also a great help due to their great industry experience. All of them provided advice and feedback which was great for helping us push forward. They also restricted the scope enough that we were still doing the work and learning ourselves.
If you are interested in a career in video game design or programming please attend our Open House and Creative Workshops on September 8th. Register today!