Wiggly Wizards

Description

Wiggly Wizards is a dark fantasy, top-down bullet-hell game where you control a gelatinous cube with arcane powers. In a world filled with mystery and danger, your goal is to survive as long as possible, growing stronger with each enemy you consume. The game features a single, challenging level that you will cycle through repeatedly, each time learning from your mistakes and pushing further.

As you defeat enemies, your character grows in size, altering your abilities and the strategies you must employ to survive. But beware—growing too large may leave you vulnerable, and death is inevitable. However, each death is an opportunity to learn, adapt, and attempt the level again with renewed strength.

Controls

• WASD: Move
• Cursor: Aim
• Left Mouse Button: Shoot
• Esc/Enter: Pause

GMTK Game Jam 2024 - "Built to Scale"

"Wiggly Wizards" was developed as part of the GMTK Game Jam 2024. This year's theme, "Built to Scale," inspired us to create a game where your character's size is integral to the gameplay experience. Starting as a tiny gelatinous cube, your character scales in size as you feast upon your enemies' corpses. This mechanic not only influences your combat abilities but also presents unique challenges as you grow. The more you consume, the larger and more powerful you become—until your size becomes your downfall. Embrace the cycle of growth and decay in this dark and challenging bullet-hell adventure."

Areas of Improvement

We used the full 96 hours in this jam, and while we accomplished a lot, there were more aspirational goals we had in mind to further incorporate the theme of scale into the gameplay loop. One idea was to have the player grow so large that they would collapse into the level below, adding a new layer of challenge and strategy. We also wanted to include power-ups and character progression based on mass (EXP) gain, giving players more control over their growth and abilities.

However, we quickly realized that these features were beyond our ability to implement within the limited time and team size. So, we scaled back and focused on polishing the game in simpler, more impactful ways, such as refining camera effects and enhancing the lighting to create a more immersive experience. These improvements helped us deliver a polished, cohesive game that still stays true to the "Built to Scale" theme, even if some of our larger ideas had to be set aside."

Marketplace Assets

We utilized marketplace assets for the models and meshes in Wiggly Wizards to save time during development. Since we already had a majority of what we needed for the game jam within our Unreal Engine library, this allowed us to focus more on gameplay mechanics, level design, and polish, ensuring a high-quality experience within the limited time frame.