Swaptroid

Swaptroid Overview

Swaptroid was a game that I created for the MiniLD #59 event.  The theme was Swapshop, where the objective was to create a game using the provided spritesheet.  Also, you could make your own sprite sheet and submit it to the website.  Then you could swap-in any of the uploaded sprite sheets into you game to give it an entirely new look.

Swaptroid Post Mortem

I had never created a game using Construct 2 before, so I thought that developing Swaptroid would be a good opportunity to learn that game development environment.  I decided to just make a game in the style of a classic 8-bit platformer.  I decided to use Tiled again for making all of the rooms in the level.  I discovered that it was possible to import TMX maps created in Tiled using the tilemap object.  Unforunately, the only way to change the image of a map was by base 64 encoding each of the spritesheet images.  I also had to create a new animation manually for each sprite sheet for each of the player and enemy characters.  After pre-loading all of the sprite sheet information, I was able to make the game change sprite sheets every five seconds.

The objective of Swaptroid is very simple.  Defeat the enemies and collect the four items.  The enemies just simply move back and forth horizontally.  If I was to develop the game further, I would like to enhance the AI of the enemies and add new enemy types.  I would also like to add various powerups for the player to collect to expand the player’s abilities.

I was disappointed that with the free version of Construct 2, it only allows 100 events to be created.  It really isn’t possible to create much of a game with that constraint.  The personal license is $130 and the business license (required if you make over $5,000 in sales on your game) is $430.  Construct 2 isn’t a bad tool, but it’s hard to pay for a license when you can create 2D games in Unity3D for free.  The only advantage Construct 2 has is the visual scripting tool, however I really prefer Stencyl’s visual scripting interface for creating 2D games.

Swaptroid Developer Commentary

 

Let’s Play Videos

 

Released

TTY GFX ADVNTR


Levi D. Smith presents TTY GFX ADVNTR for Windows 10, a popular role playing game that was originally released on the XBox Live Indie Game marketplace.  TTY GFX ADVNTR puts the player in the role of a hero who must defeat the dragon to save the princess.

The idea for the game was originally conceived through a game jam competition, where the theme was to create a game using a low level programming language in 48 hours.  The game was inspired by BBS DOOR games of the mid-90’s, and it uses a graphical style of games that were played through a computer terminal (TTY).  After receiving positive feedback from the Indie developer community, the original game was ported to the Xbox Live Indie Game platform so that it could be enjoyed by a wider audience.

As the hero, the player must battle monsters across five different lands to gain the experience needed to conquer the dragon.  Long time RPG fans will find the battle system and mechanics very familiar.  While on the adventure, the player will meet various allies who will assist the player in progressing through the story.  Weapons and armor crafted by the blacksmith will give the player the needed power to complete the adventure.

Platforms

PC – Itch.io
https://ldsmith.itch.io/tty-gfx-advntr

Release Trailer

Contact

Website  https://levidsmith.com/games/tty-gfx-advntr/

Soundtrack  https://soundcloud.com/gatechgrad/sets/tty-gfx-advntr

 

Reviews and Other Information

TTY GFX ADVNTR is #1 on Splazer Productions Top 5 XBLIG for November – XBLIG Show

Bradley Metrock – TTY GFX ADVNTR Review

Writings of Mass Deduction

the XBLIG – TTY GFX ADVNTR Review

Splazer Productions: Gameplay video

Knoxville Indies are Taking Over! – Knoxville Game Design

TTY GFX ADVNTR on GameFAQs

Defunct Games TTY GFX ADVNTR Review

 

 

Social Media Feedback

TTY GFX ADVNTR Social Media Feedback

 

Box Art

boxart

 

About Levi D. Smith

Levi D. Smith graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science.  He graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2008 with a master’s degree in industrial engineering.  He currently works in the Knoxville area as a software engineer, and he develops computer games in his spare time.

ttygfx_levidsmith

Previous Titles

Resistor was released for XBox Live Indie Games in September 2012.  The game was praised by numerous Indie game review sites, such as Armless Octopus, Ramble Media (formerly XBox Ramble), Did not Finish, and Indie Theory.

 

Released