The Booty Bandit
The Game
The Booty Bandit is a 3D casual action game wherein users pilot an anthropomorphic cannonball around a globe. Players must dodge obstacles, collect booty in the air, and hit point multipliers. The core gameplay lies in managing the planet's force of gravity; players can stay aloft with unconventional trajectory paths.
It was created as a school project with 7 other students after about a month of development.
*** The Booty Bandit was a 2008 ELAN award nominee - Best Student Video Game ***
My Role
I was a Java programmer/designer on the game. As a programmer, I worked on the game's UI, audio triggers, scoring system, and modal behaviour. I also worked on the game's camera behaviour, and tweaked its control scheme.
On the design side, I had a fundamental role in developing the gameplay concept, its controls, and how the game feels and is played. I advocated that the core gameplay mechanic should involve strafing out of the gravitational field to manage altitude.
What I Learned
The project taught me the usefulness of quickly developing prototypes. I learned that fun gameplay mechanics emerge during development. We had not anticipated how fun it was to manage altitude using simple strafing controls. I also learned how crucial it was to design a simple, but clear concept during the game's planning phase, both for scoping reasons, and to adhere to the technology we were using.
I had never programmed in Java before, and while the month-long development cycle was merely a taste, I learned more about the language, and was able to make significant contributions to the code within the game.
I also learned how to work closely with a multidisciplinary team.
