Castle Crasher: A New Era of Platform Adventures

CMU 24-780 Course Project

Time: Sep 2022 – Dec 2022

Skills: C++, OpenGL

Introduction

In a digitally evolving world, Castle Crasher emerges not just as a vibrant side-scrolling platform game, but as an educational beacon in game development. Drawing inspiration from legendary titles like Super Mario, Mega Man, and Kirby, this project aims to meld captivating adventures with strategic gameplay, offering a unique blend of entertainment and learning within a mesmerizing fantasy universe.

From left to right: The entry level, and two stages of the game.

Design

Castle Crasher has been designed with attention to every detail, ensuring a captivating gaming experience through:

  • User Interface: Featuring a user-friendly start menu, an engaging game running UI, and a comprehensive game-over menu. It also contemplates single-player and potential multiplayer modes.
  • Game Environment: A mix of interactive and non-interactive elements like skies, clouds, ground, and varied environmental obstacles, enhancing the gaming experience.
  • Main Character: Empowering players to control a character capable of movements such as running, jumping, and attacking, with special modes including invincibility.
  • Enemy: A diverse cast of adversaries awaits, each with unique patterns and abilities that require players to adapt their strategies. From ground-based grunts to flying foes and formidable bosses, these enemies enrich the game’s world and test player reflexes and tactical prowess.

Evaluation

The success of Castle Crasher is evaluated through a set of core criteria that measure the game’s overall impact: the degree of user engagement and retention, the learning curve associated with the game controls to ensure accessibility and ease of play, and the overarching gaming experience, which encompasses the game’s ability to provide a satisfying and holistic adventure to players of all skill levels.

Methods

The development process was multifaceted, incorporating both traditional and modern development techniques:

  • Team Collaboration: Task allocation among team members, focusing on different elements like main character design, enemy behavior, UI, and background/environment creation.
  • Programming Approach: The game’s core is engineered using C++ and modular programming, enhancing the ease of understanding and facilitating future modifications. The adoption of OpenGL is pivotal in rendering the game’s graphics, allowing for rich visual experiences and cross-platform performance.
  • Art and Design: Crafting visually appealing graphics and interactive elements to engage players.

Results

The final game product boasts:

  • A dynamic and interactive gaming experience with intricately designed levels.
  • Significant educational value for game development novices.
  • An open-source platform encouraging community contributions and shared learning.

Conclusion

Castle Crasher transcends being just a game. It is a harmonious blend of entertainment and education, meticulously designed to captivate a diverse audience and double as a learning tool for aspiring game developers. Its open-source nature fosters a community-driven approach to gaming and education.