• Zack said they were going to make a potential electrical head crab for the mouse ship/cursor.
• Thematic idea - player is the alien, and were are invading the human
• Peter: IF we’re doing aliens, we should just go with that and make the main ship a Mother Ship
  • We ended up not going for it since it would take time to remake/edit assets and we of course only 48 hours
• Audio discussion: Since we’re tying difficulty to length of play, we could also try tying music and audio to increase in intensity as the game progresses
  • Going one step further, we can make the reward the player with more interesting things than just the score, we can maybe make the player want to hear more of the song and the only way to do so is too - get gud at the game

SWOT Analysis

Project Objective - Priority 1 - Ensure that everyone on the team enjoys their time during the jam and gets to contribute something that they can be proud of. Priority 2 - Try and get into the top 100 games of the GMTK Jam

Strengths - A fresh spin on a classic genre, adding a slower puzzley element about surviving but still maintaining key gameplay elements to not alienate fans of the side scrolling shooter genre

• Since we’re tying difficulty to length of play, we could also try tying music and audio to increase in intensity as the game progresses
• I’d like to think that the theme is on point, adding ‘joined together’ from a literal sense to something that is familiar to make something brand new

Weakness - Crazy Audio take will most likely be off putting to players who are expecting an awesome rock or 8bit soundtrack

• Going directly against player expectations can and will most likely disappoint certain players

Opportunity - Creating this game that subverts the expectation of players could be such a fun and comical twist that it shocks players into a high rating.

• I feel like if executed properly, the potential to be a short lived smash cult classic is available.

Threat - Target audience is very very narrow and unfortunately may not be mass marketable when compared to other smash flash hits like “Upgrade Complete.” - Very few games can successfully create levity by bringing a serious game with comical or unexpected rewards that the player might seek.

Marketability 

As an arcadey SNES styled side scroller, the game in its full state will have engaging visuals and challenge players both new and experienced in a fresh take on a classic genre. The game is difficult but in a way that lets the players know where they made mistakes and can become a better player though each play.

If we follow through on our ridiculous human vocals sound design, there is also a whole comedic value to the game that can be tapped into, tapping into this unexpected genre of audio design.

A potential for sequels depending on product success and market demand, - able to save cost reusing the base engine - upgrading graphics / fidelity / mechanics will bring return players of the franchise

Notes after SWOT Analysis

• Obviously, if the goal was to make a safe game in order to maximize revenue, we would opt out of the ridiculous human vocals for sfx and bgm design
• BUT since our team objective is to aim for and be in the top 100 of a game jam, revenue is not an issue! So we are free to aim for making a lasting impression vs making a profit.

Accessibility

Given more time, developers could work on eye track movement to replace the mouse, and since the other controls for the ship are minimal, they can be remapped to fit a larger scope of controllers to increase players access to the game.