Scratch Level 4 - Create Your Own Game

Space Breakout

Cedric Pulmano

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/192126679/#editor

1. One issue is how the ball bounced funny, like how sometimes it would go through the paddle. I was unsure what was wrong, so I went to another game that is similar to mine and looked at the code. I also looked at my older game, the Pong remix. This helped a lot, for it helped me solve my problem, by comparing codes. The problem was that I underestimated the usefulness of broadcasting. The way the ball bounced off enemies was incorrect too, but after a lot of experimenting, I managedto fix it as well.

2. I used two games for reference for my game.  Space Invaders - https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1979494/ Atari Breakout -  https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/11007566/

My game is essentially a mix of both. My game is different, for I created my own background and most characters on Photoshop. The paddle and ball idea comes from Breakout, and the enemies and shooting came from the idea of Space Invaders, but I tried to do most of the coding without looking at the other games. I did read over some of the other game's code to fix my game, but I did not copy things line for line, if it was not necessary. I made sure to understand what I was putting in my game, so I would not get confused later on.

3. Cameron told me that I should make the ball and paddle smaller, so the game could be a bit more difficult. It was an easy fix to resize objects, so I followed. Other than that, my other beta-testers Justin and Henry said the game was good, and gave suggestions that I had no time to do.

4. I think I would put powerups into my game, for that would make the game more interesting with the outcomes. The code for how the ball bounces, I believe could be improved as well, for the ball bounces at a definite angle no matter where it hits on an enemy. The ball bounces towards the paddle, no matter if the ball bounces from the top of the enemy, the side, or bottom. Overall, I think my game is okay.

Game Gameplan

Game Gameplan

Cedric Pulmano

           The basis of my game is that it will be a mix between "Space Invaders" and "Breakout". The game will be where there will be enemies who will slowly go towards the character, while the player has to bounce a ball, like in "Breakout" and hit the monsters for them to be go away. I will make the characters and the background on Photoshop, making Pixel Art. There will be the character controlled by the player, which will be a paddle, a ball, and some enemies. The enemies will look retro-style, like in "Space Invaders", I will try and add more detail in the enemies. My first thing I will code will be the movement of the paddle and ball, for I have experience with a paddle and a ball with the "Pong" project. Then, I will program the enemies, including their health, movement, and damage. After, I will add touches like power ups, starting screens, and finishing touches. For the first class, I will create the looks of all the characters, and background. Secondly, I will program the movements of all the characters onto Scratch, and the actions of the characters, like when the ball hits an enemy. I predict this will take two classes, so classes two and three are dedicated to this. Class four of four, I will add power ups and game essentials like a loading screen and ending screen. My inspirations will obviously include "Space Invaders" (http://www.pacxon4u.com/space-invaders), and "Breakout" (https://www.atari.com/arcade#!/arcade/superbreakout/play). I may look at tutorials or other games, and if this game is too easy or too hard I may adapt, but for sure I will use these two games for reference, and make a game like this.

Scratch Level 3 - Pong

Scratch Level 3 - Pong

Cedric Pulmano

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/189338191/

1. One problem was trying to make my game both one player and two players. However, I fixed it by a lot of experimenting, and fixing the errors slowly, and finally everything worked. Other than this, nothing was really hard for me to do, for it was really easy to follow the tutorial.

2. One idea I implemented into the game was the choice to play with one player or two players, for not everyone has the privilege of friends who would like to play my game. I did it, for if the one player button is pressed, a message is broadcasted, and a certain code is activated for one player controls. On the other hand, if the two player button is pressed, another message is broadcasted, therefore another block of code is activated instead. I made the theme of the game baseball, so it is more interesting than normal pong.