🎯 Project Overview
Zombie Shootout is a 2D top-down shooter built with Unreal Engine 5.5. Players step into the boots of Tim, a truck stop worker armed with an AK-47, battling relentless zombie hordes to protect a critical bridge. Tim’s goal? Hold the line until reinforcements arrive. This project was created for the 2D Game Jam #2, with the challenge of crafting a complete game in a short timeframe. 🕹️🧱
🛠️ Initial Project Goals
Our goal was simple yet ambitious:
- Build a 2D top-down shooter using Unreal Engine.
- Complete the game in time for the 2D Game Jam #2. ⏳
✅ How We Met Our Goals
We utilized Agile development with:
User Stories for clear, actionable features. 📝- A Kanban Board in GitHub Projects for task tracking. 📋
- Collaborative iterations to complete all the features.
🎉 Result: We delivered a polished, playable game within the deadline!
✨ What Went Well
Visual Cohesion: Seeing all the 2D assets, animations, and UI come together was incredibly rewarding. 🎨✨
Mechanics: All the game mechanics and core features worked flawlessly. No game-breaking bugs! 🛡️🕹️
⚠️ What Went Wrong
Level Design Challenge:
- We skipped using a tilemap or tileset for level creation in Unreal Engine. 🚧
- This added unnecessary complexity to the level design process.
🛠️ How We Addressed the Challenges
Instead of tilesets or tilemaps, we manually:
- Placed individual sprites to construct the level directly in the Unreal Editor. 🧩
- While this workaround worked, it wasn’t the most efficient method.
💡 Lessons Learned
Level Design Experience: I gained valuable hands-on experience with designing levels using 2D assets. 🎓
Planning Tools: Tilemaps/tilesets could have streamlined the process significantly and are worth the upfront investment. 🗺️
🔮 Future Recommendations
- Spend more time on level design and planning, especially with:
- Exploring 2D asset workflows. 🛠️
- Investing in learning tilesets and tilemaps. 🎨
🏆 Conclusion
Zombie Shootout was a thrilling project and a successful submission to the 2D Game Jam #2. 🎉 This journey taught me a lot about game development, and I’m excited to apply these lessons to future projects. 🚀
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