Gareth's Dev Log #3: Level 1 Complete

Introduction

Level 1 of Career Quest is finally complete, and it sets the stage for Alex's chaotic and comical journey. Alex wakes up in his apartment, thinking it’s Sunday and ready for a relaxing day before his big interview. But a reminder alert on his computer jolts him into reality—it’s Monday, and his interview is in just 30 minutes! This marks the start of his wacky adventure.

Goals

• Develop and implement the full sequence of events for Level 1 gameplay.
• Integrate the dialog system and ensure intuitive UI controls for player interactions.

Challenges

• We lacked a dedicated system to manage and control Level 1’s sequence of events, such as the intro, sneeze tutorial, and computer reminder alert.
• The dialog system, while functional in a sample scene, was too complex and impractical for real-level integration.

Creating the Level Manager

To address Level 1’s unique needs, we developed the Level Manager. Initially, we considered using the Game Manager, but its role is to handle game-wide systems, not level-specific tasks.

The Level Manager is responsible for:

• Managing all dialog sets for the level.
• Controlling the sequence of events, such as triggering dialog and switching player control schemes.

Simplifying the Dialog System

Our original dialog system stored all game dialog in one place. While conceptually sound, it became unnecessarily complex to retrieve dialog for specific levels or scenarios.

To simplify, we split responsibilities:

• UI Manager: Handles the active dialog set, queuing multiple lines for sequential display.

• Level Manager: Stores all dialog sets for the level and triggers the appropriate set when needed.

This approach isn’t fancy, but it’s straightforward to implement and maintain across levels.

Closing Thoughts

The new Level Manager and simplified dialog system have made managing Level 1’s gameplay smoother and more efficient. These tools should also streamline the development of future levels. Game development often requires adapting systems to real-world use, and this experience has reinforced the value of simplicity and flexibility. I’m excited to see how these systems evolve as the project progresses!