Let me play!
Windows version
Linux demo
The Windows and Linux versions can be downloaded via itch.io:
http://ched80.itch.io/trapped-in-the-sky
Android demo
The Android version can be grabbed via the Amazon App Store:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ched80-Trapped-in-the-Sky/dp/B013XG7VFE/ref=sr_1_1?s=mobile-apps&ie=UTF8&qid=1439622843&sr=1-1&keywords=trapped+in+the+sky
What is this all about?
You are a prisoner on a crippled spacecraft. You have 30 minutes to find the last escape pod, repair it and save yourself.
You have been sentenced to 8 years service in the Helium-3 mines on the Lunar surface. As the prison transfer craft approached the Moon, the Ion drive exploded, knocking you out and sending the craft into an escape trajectory away from Earth.
You wake up in your cell with all prisoners released from their cells and the craft’s systems failing around you. You need to find a way off the failing vessel before the guards find you or the oxygen runs out.
It's a spiritual incarnation of the board game
Forbidden Island only single player. And set in space. But fundamentally the elements are the same i.e. the game area decays over time, the player needs to collect various items to escape and the player has a special ability chosen at the start that will help them in specific areas.
Here is a short video showing the current version of the game in operation.
and the current state of Beta-3 and the latest build running on an Android tablet:
Where did the idea come from?
The game was originally an idea for short story that I thought up when I was 18 and has evolved over the years to become “Trapped in the Sky”.
The key mechanics are:
Character Specialisation: At the start of the game you pick a “crime” that grants you a unique ability that can help you make it through the game. For example pleading guilty to “murder” grants you with improved weapon accuracy while admitting to “smuggling” grants you increased loot when searching objects. Only "Not Guilty" and "Murder" are playable in the current version.
Random Map Generation: The game world is randomised each time the game is played by creating a grid of sections. The sections are pre-designed, but also contain random elements that vary with each play through. Each section represents a specific area of the craft such as Prison Cells, Cargo Bay, Escape Pods, Guard Accommodation, Engineering, Bridge, etc. The player moves between each of these sections.
Map Decay: As the game progresses the individual sections begin to fail. First to emergency power, but if the section is not repaired in time, the section fails completely and becomes inaccessible. If the section fails completely when the player is in the section; death follows. The player can restore the health of a failing section by using the items they have collected to repair it.
Item Collection and Use: As the player moves around the map they can search objects and collect objects to help them complete their goal. Some objects are purely functional, such as Guns, Pain Pills, Keys, Datapads, etc. while others are required to repair the failing sections and ultimately the escape pod needed to complete the game.
Item Crafting: The player can collect recipes to make items with special powers by combining the items they have found. Only two recipes are in the current version, but many more, including modified weapons, for the final version.
Talk technical to me
The game is a top-down 2D shooter built using tier 1 of AppGameKit v2. The plan is to release it on Windows, Linux and Android. The game can be played with Mouse+Keyboard, A Dual-Stick Controller or Touch-Screen.
Here's me waffling through the touch-control implementation:
The dynamic shadows with normal maps are implemented using full-screen shaders. A lower quality shader is also provided to improve the frame-rate on lower performance machines. The game automatically detects a low frame rate and will automatically switch to the alternative shader.
What’s in the current version?
The current beta is fully playable and contains all the core mechanics that are destined for the final game:
Character Selection: Only two character type can be played. The final game will offer the player the option to play through as one of six crimes.
Random Map Generator: The map is randomly generated.
NPC A.I.: The A.I. is currently very crude. So while they will navigate their way around the map and react to the player’s movement, there is a lot of improvement needed.
NPCs: Only one NPC is in the demo; prisoners. The final version plans to have six types such as Guards, Crew and Cargo Bay Drones.
Weapons: Three weapons are in beta-two; the hand gun, the automatic rifle and the shotgun. The final version plans to have at least six.
Section Decay and Repairing: Sections randomly fail over time and players can repair them by using the items they collect during the game.
I have used SpriteMe to create the character animations and I have taken a lot of media from FPSC-Classic.
