๐ 1. Project Overview
Galactic Empire is a 4X strategy game where players lead their own galactic empire in a quest to dominate the stars. The gameplay revolves around mastering the four pillars of 4X strategy:
- Explore ๐: Discover new planets.
- Expand ๐๏ธ: Grow your empire through negotiation or conquest.
- Exploit โ๏ธ: Harness planetary resources to fuel your ambitions.
- Exterminate ๐ฅ: Wipe out hostile forces to secure dominance. Players choose from three unique racesโHumans, Aliens, and Androidsโeach with their own leaders and bonuses, creating a dynamic and strategic playstyle. This project was created for the Foundry Jam - Found Your Own Indie Studio! with collaboration from nathonkepley.
๐ฏ 2. Initial Project Goals
The main goal was to build a working prototype of a 4X game that emphasizes resource management and showcases how gameplay progresses across the four phases of 4X strategy.
Our user stories were centered around:
- Implementing the Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate phases ๐.
- Designing a resource manager to reflect actions taken in each phase ๐พ.
- Providing a clear and engaging experience of a 4X gameโs core mechanics ๐ ๏ธ.
๐ ๏ธ 3. How Were the Goals Met?
We utilized the Agile development process to keep our project on track. Key methods included:
- Breaking down the project into user stories โ .
- Organizing and tracking progress via a GitHub Kanban board ๐.
- Completing all core features, ensuring a functional prototype of the game. ๐ฎ
๐ 4. What Went Well
- Gameplay Integration ๐ฎ: The core phasesโExplore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminateโworked cohesively, creating a seamless and enjoyable turn-based experience. Watching the empire grow and resources update dynamically was a major milestone.
- Aesthetics ๐ถ๐ผ๏ธ: The combination of visuals and music created an immersive experience, enhancing the overall gameplay.
โ ๏ธ 5. What Went Wrong
- Asset Collection ๐จ๐ง: Finding assets that fit the space theme was difficult. This limitation forced us to use default or placeholder elements.
- State Management ๐งฉโ: When designing the planetary phases, I mistakenly implemented separate singletons for each phase, leading to a bloated and inefficient system.
๐ก 6. How Were the Challenges Addressed?
- UI/UX Assets ๐๏ธ: I used Unreal Engineโs default UI components to create a clean and functional interface.
- Refactoring State Management ๐: While individual singletons were a temporary solution, I plan to consolidate them into a single unified singleton in the future for cleaner and more efficient code .
๐ 7. Lessons Learned
This project provided valuable insights and skills:
- UI/UX Design ๐จ: Learned to use Unreal Motion Graphics (UMG) and Blueprint Visual Scripting to create interactive elements.
- Agile Development ๐: Effectively applied Agile principles, including user stories and Kanban boards, for project organization.
- Code Optimization ๐งโ๐ป: Gained experience implementing and troubleshooting design patterns, particularly the Singleton Pattern.
๐ฎ 8. Future Recommendations
- Enhanced Assets ๐๐จ: Invest time in finding high-quality space-themed UI/UX assets or design a new 4X game that aligns with the available assets.
- Code Refactoring ๐ง: Refactor the game to use a single, unified singleton for better phase management and scalability.
โจ 9. Conclusion
Galactic Empire is a promising prototype that serves as the foundation for a larger, more polished project. Participating in the Foundry Jam provided an incredible opportunity to kickstart my dream of creating a full-fledged 4X strategy game.
This experience was invaluable, and I look forward to applying the lessons learned in future game development projects. ๐ Thank you for joining me on this journeyโletโs conquer the stars together! ๐
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