Journal Entry 5

Date: 12.4.2024

Activity: Making the BreakOut Game More Juicy

Notes: Today's session was dedicated to enhancing the visual and interactive aspects of our BreakOut game to make it more engaging ("juicy"). I followed a tutorial to integrate new visual effects such as changes in the game's background color and the ball's appearance based on game dynamics, specifically entering and exiting slow motion.

I had struggles with:

• Implementing Facial Features on the Paddle:
  • Attempted to add eyes and a mouth to the paddle to have them react during game events like hitting the ball, but couldn't figure out how.
• Adding Particle Effects:
  • Set up particle systems for creating smoke when the ball hits any object and confetti when it hits the paddle.
  • Faced issues with the aesthetic and behavior of the particle effects; they did not turn out as visually pleasing as intended.

My two juicy features:

• Integrated a color change feature where the game's background shifts to a darker tone
• The ball changes to cyan when entering slow motion, enhancing the perception of the slow-motion effect.

Invested Hours: 4

Outcome: The build was moderately successful with some objectives not fully realized. The implementation of facial features on the paddle and the refinement of particle effects require further development. The visual cues for slow motion were implemented successfully and functioned as intended. This development cycle highlighted areas for improvement in particle system handling and sprite animation integration.