I built Alien Invaders! using the GameMaker Studio game engine. Custom code drives the majority of the actions for more than four dozen in-game objects, using the engine's C-based programming language.
The game features 9 enemy types with unique abilities and behaviors, 3 challenging boss battles, 4 weapon types, 5 power-ups, and 20 levels across 4 distinct zones.
Alien Invaders! is an arcade action shooter in the style of Space Invaders where the player must destroy all of the on-screen enemies to complete the level.
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Each enemy type has unique movements, behaviors, and attacks, all created using the game engine's object code editing capabilities.
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Three boss enemies provide the player with additional challenge, and add more complexity to the game.
Each boss is completely unique and features several different attacks and behaviors to test the player.
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Each of these boss encounters presented its own programming challenges, as the behavioral logic for each was ironed out, and they were balanced to provide the right amount of challenge.
I created this game relatively soon after rediscovering my passion for coding, and the project motivated me to return to school to pursue a second degree in the field.
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It provided me with some very important lessons on Object Oriented Programming and project planning and documentation, as I put it together over the course of several months.
The GamerMaker Studio 1.4 project files for Alien Invaders! can be found in my GitHub portfolio repository, along with the planning documentation and an installer file.
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