In today’s exciting challenge, I’m tasked with creating a game from scratch in just one hour. The rules are simple: I can’t use any pre-made art, but I can incorporate sounds and music if I choose. After the initial hour, I’ll have an additional hour to refine and polish the game. Ready? Let’s dive in!
I kicked off the project by launching Godot, a popular game development engine. My goal was to create a platformer, so I began by setting up a player node and using a classic icon as placeholder art. The first step was to code basic movement and gravity for the player. I added a few platforms and ran the game to test it out. The movement worked well, but I encountered a problem: the player couldn’t jump.
After some troubleshooting, I realized the issue was simpler than I thought. When programming jumps, it’s crucial to apply a negative Y velocity, as this represents upward movement. I had mistakenly set the player to move downward when jumping. Once corrected, I focused on adding a unique twist to the game: rotation during jumps. My vision was a platformer where players must perform flips to ascend without hitting obstacles.
Despite my initial plan to avoid art, I couldn’t resist creating a character with a top hat and designing platform artwork. With only 30 minutes left, I felt the pressure and entered what I call “Game Dev Overdrive.” This phase required rapid development to meet the deadline.
Speaking of overdrive, let me take a moment to mention Squarespace, today’s sponsor. Squarespace simplifies the process of building your dream website, whether it’s an online store, portfolio, or gallery. It seamlessly integrates with social media, making it easy to share your creations. Check out Squarespace.com for a free trial, and use Squarespace.com/Goodgisto for a 10% discount on your first purchase.
Returning to the game, I switched the character to a rigid body for more realistic physics. Instead of jumping, the player would roll down platforms. I added moving platforms, random spawning, and a scoring system that increased with survival time. To increase difficulty, platform speed accelerated as points accumulated.
With the core mechanics in place, I realized I needed a way for players to lose. I implemented a restart feature if players fell out of bounds or ascended too high. After adjusting the window size, I completed the initial version of the game. Although I didn’t have time for sound or music, the game was enjoyable for a one-hour project.
In the second hour, I focused on polishing the game. I diversified platforms by adding coins and spikes, introducing elements that could either harm or reward players. I also created tiles to prevent players from falling or rising indefinitely. To avoid confusion, I changed the player color to blue. Tutorial arrows were added to guide players on movement.
With new platforms and coins implemented, I randomized platform spawning to enhance gameplay. I added sound effects and music, fine-tuning spawn rates and platform speed for a balanced experience. The challenge concluded with a functional game, albeit with some minor bugs.
This challenge was a fantastic opportunity to test my game development skills. If you’re interested in pushing your limits, I highly recommend trying it yourself. Share your creations on my Discord—I’d love to see what you come up with!
Lastly, a big thank you to my Patreon supporters for making these projects possible. Your support is invaluable. Stay tuned for more game development adventures!
Join a hands-on workshop where you’ll use Godot to create a basic platformer game. You’ll start by setting up a player node and coding basic movement and gravity. This activity will help you understand the fundamentals of game development and physics in Godot.
Participate in a coding challenge focused on implementing and troubleshooting jump mechanics. You’ll apply concepts like velocity and gravity to ensure smooth and realistic jumping in your game. This will enhance your problem-solving skills and understanding of game physics.
Engage in a design sprint where you’ll create simple game art and character designs under time constraints. This activity will push your creativity and help you learn how to quickly produce effective placeholder art for game development.
Work on enhancing gameplay mechanics by adding features like moving platforms, scoring systems, and difficulty scaling. This activity will teach you how to refine and polish a game to improve player experience and engagement.
Participate in a session where you’ll test each other’s games and provide constructive feedback. This will help you learn how to identify bugs, suggest improvements, and understand the importance of playtesting in game development.
Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
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Today’s episode is brought to you by Squarespace. So here’s the challenge: I have to try and make a game within one hour. I can’t use any pre-made art, but I am allowed to use some sounds and music if I want. After my first hour is up, I’ll give myself one more hour to polish the game and add any finishing touches. Makes sense? Time starts now.
I started out by creating a project in Godot. I knew I wanted the game to be a platformer, so I created a player node and used a classic icon as placeholder art. After that, I started coding in some gravity and basic movement for the player. I added a couple of platforms and ran the game for the first time to see what would happen. The good news is that the movement seemed to be working fine, but for some reason, I wasn’t able to jump. No matter how many times I pressed that button, nothing was working.
I spent the next few minutes trying to figure out why I couldn’t jump. As usual, the problem was very simple, and I was just overthinking it. If you don’t know, you always want to apply a negative Y velocity for jumping, as that is the up direction. That’s what I was doing every time I pressed Jump—my player was going down.
Now that that was cleared up, I focused on trying to add rotation to my jumps. My idea was to make a platformer where you’re constantly trying to climb up, but every time you move left or right, you would rotate. So basically, you need to do flips to get onto the next platform without hitting your head. But then I got a little sidetracked on creating the player art. I tried to resist the temptation of working on art, but I ended up making a character wearing a top hat. I also quickly made some artwork for the platforms and added both to the game.
Oh my gosh… We only have 30 minutes left, and I still don’t have a game. This is when I started to panic a little bit. I needed to go faster. It was time for me to go into Game Dev Overdrive.
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Remember all that code I just wrote for jumping? Well, I decided to switch my character to a rigid body for more realistic physics. Instead of having to jump up the platforms, I thought, why not just roll down them? Easy. Next, I made the platforms move up and added rotation to the movement. I made the platforms randomly spawn in the map and added a scoring system that increased every second you survived. I wanted the game to get harder as you played, so I made the platform speed up the more points you got.
Everything seemed to be coming together. I realized I forgot to add a way for you to lose the game, so I made it so the game restarts when you fall out of bounds or if the platforms take you too high. I also readjusted the window size. Woooh, all right, I’m done. I felt like I barely had time to add in basic mechanics, and I even forgot to add sound or music, but for a one-hour project, the game is fun.
After the first hour, I decided to spend one more hour polishing the game. I knew I wasted too much time working on art, so I started working on it right away. I thought it’d be fun to add some variety to the platforms, so I made a couple of coins and some spikes. Some platforms could hurt you, while others gave you bonus points. I also created some tiles to show that you can’t fall down or go up in the map. I changed the player to blue to avoid confusion with the spikes and the pit.
I added tutorial arrows, and that was it for the artwork. I implemented the new platforms and coins and randomized which platforms would spawn in. This made the gameplay way more fun. I thought a little tutorial would be nice, so I added arrows showing that you can move left and right.
The last thing I did was add sound effects and music, and I tweaked the spawn rates and platform speed until the game felt good. That’s the end of my one-hour game challenge. I’m really glad I tried it out. Of course, I wish I had time to polish it even more, as there are some bugs and glitches where platforms overlap. But that’s the goal of this challenge: it’s not to make a great game, it’s just to make a game.
If you want to push yourself or test your game development skills, I highly recommend trying this challenge for yourself. If you do, make sure to join my Discord and share your game. I would love to play it and see what you come up with.
I also want to give a huge shoutout to my Patreon supporters for all your support. You make these videos possible, and I appreciate you so much. Thanks for watching the video, and I’ll see you next time for another game dev adventure.
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This version removes any inappropriate language and maintains a professional tone.
Game – A structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool in the context of digital environments. – The game developed by the university students received accolades for its innovative use of virtual reality.
Development – The process of designing, creating, testing, and maintaining software applications, particularly in the context of video games. – The development phase of the game involved extensive collaboration between programmers and artists.
Coding – The act of writing instructions for a computer to execute, often using a programming language, to create software applications or games. – Coding the AI for the non-player characters was the most challenging part of the project.
Player – An individual who interacts with a game, often controlling a character or avatar within the game’s environment. – The player navigated through the complex maze, solving puzzles to advance to the next level.
Platforms – The hardware or software environments in which games are developed and played, such as consoles, PCs, or mobile devices. – Developing for multiple platforms can significantly increase a game’s reach and audience.
Mechanics – The rules and systems that govern the gameplay, defining how players interact with the game world and achieve objectives. – The game mechanics were designed to encourage strategic thinking and teamwork among players.
Tutorial – An introductory segment of a game designed to teach players the basic controls and mechanics. – The tutorial effectively introduced new players to the complex controls without overwhelming them.
Physics – The simulation of physical systems within a game, often used to create realistic movements and interactions. – The game’s physics engine allowed for realistic car crashes and dynamic environmental changes.
Movement – The way in which a player or character navigates through the game world, often controlled by input devices like keyboards or controllers. – Smooth character movement is crucial for maintaining player immersion in action games.
Challenge – An obstacle or task within a game that requires skill, strategy, or effort to overcome, often providing a sense of achievement. – The final boss battle presented a significant challenge, testing all the skills the player had learned throughout the game.
