The main level of the game, the kitchen.
Ah, rats!
About the Game
This project was a nearly ten-week-long group effort where we had to create another prototype game. The team consisted of four coders/developers and four artists from Metropolia. Both sides had a to-do list detailing what needed to be done and how important each task was to the game. Both teams did an amazing job, and the outcome was exactly what we wanted.
In this project, I decided to try something new by helping get the multiplayer functionality working with a Photon server. I also worked on the task system in the game, as it was a familiar subject from one of my previous projects. In hindsight, I could have contributed more, but at times I felt unsure about what to do or how to proceed, which slowed me down in some situations. Thankfully, my team was always there to help when needed.
After finishing the game, we considered continuing development after submission, but the idea never fully materialized. The game ended up with a few bugs that significantly impacted gameplay in certain situations. Despite these issues, we were really pleased with our work. We managed to keep the scope of the game realistic enough to deliver a playable prototype, and the end result did not disappoint.
The game can be found here, passcode: metropolia.
In the Game
The human from the point of view of a rat.
The UI in the game.
The trailer for the game.
Details
Here, I have listed the technical details of the game, covering aspects such as graphics and the bugs we encountered along the way.
Graphics 🎨
We already had a clear graphic style in mind: Toy Story. This approach made the game more exciting and fun, softening the seriousness of eliminating rats. Our artists were proactive and seemed genuinely excited to work on this theme—they did not let us down. The graphics became one of my favorite aspects of the game.
Mechanics ⚙️
Our main focus was creating a multiplayer experience, something none of us had coded before, making it a worthwhile challenge.
In my opinion, we made a smart decision to build the server first and integrate the game's core mechanics into it.
We also needed to create win conditions for both sides. For the human, it was straightforward: eliminate all the rats to win. However, finding a win condition for the rats was more challenging.
We decided to add tasks for both sides, with a primary focus on the rats. Completing these tasks increased a meter, which, when filled, would end the game.
We brainstormed many ideas to include in the game. Some of these ideas were implemented because they were either necessary or added a fun twist. One example was the addition of tunnels, which helped the rats navigate the kitchen more efficiently.
Problems ❌
While coding and brainstorming ideas, we encountered multiple challenges related to both coding and GitHub.
In terms of coding, our biggest problem was getting everything to work smoothly on the server side. This caused multiple delays because certain elements didn’t function as intended.
For me personally, the most significant challenge was implementing an audio task that worked via the server and updated the task list properly. Additionally, we faced issues where certain objects or tasks caused the game to end prematurely.
We also encountered a frustrating number of issues with GitHub, especially when merging branches. Merge conflicts were the primary source of errors, but as we neared the end of the project, we became more comfortable managing them.
Our artists were new to GitHub, so they had to be taught how to use it and guided on avoiding merge conflicts. Thankfully, by the end of the project, the number of conflicts was minimal.
List of some bugs/problems
- GitHub merge conflicts
- Getting this working serverside
- UI sometimes not working
Improvements 🛠️
After completing the prototype, we considered improving the game further but ultimately decided not to pursue it. Had we continued development, we likely would have switched to a different server and reworked almost everything from the ground up.
There were several mechanics that required significant fixes, as well as some features we chose not to implement because they were prone to breaking.
Progress ⌛
We had a well-balanced team in both size and personality. Everyone had a clear role and remained committed to their responsibilities until the end. Our project scope was realistic, and we managed to follow it closely without ever feeling the need to rush.