ICON

ICON is an asteroids-shooter game. As the first project built via Game Maker Studio 1 - it served as the basis on experiencing what the engine could offer - as a starting developer. The project was built following a simple tutorial as a rough guideline - through experimenting on the side by adding features outside what was listed in the tutorial, the project served as a very fun and insightful development experience.

Gameplay

The game plays as one would expect in a game of its type - you control a ship using your keyboard and aim and fire using your mouse. The objective of the game is to survive the onslaught of asteroids propelling their way around the vicinity of your ship. From the destroyed asteroids, you may be able to salvage ‘WEPAIR’ bots that can be used to fix your ship should you take damage, or weapon ammunition that can be used to fire special weaponry available on your ship.

Much of the above mentioned features outside the basic gameplay was added outside the confines of the followed tutorial. A choice of weapons, repair bots, health and the health UI, and endlessly increasing difficulty for instance - were all added through experimentation. 

Music by Amik Lanfranco

The game also features music by Amik Lanfranco, a local musician. Her music helped bring the game more to life with its arcade-like tunes. 

Her work can be found here, I highly recommend having a look at her work!

Next step

ICON was the basis for beginning game development using Game Maker Studio. However, its simple design and game-play meant that it eventually did become harder to find new learning opportunities. Eventually the project was considered finished - to seek a new project that will provide further learning opportunities. 

The final project prototype can be found below. Please note that there are a number of features that were not added to the game, although they appear to be. A couple of weapon power-ups as well as the Options Menu and a type of 'Adventure' or 'Story Mode' were planned to possible be added - these were however, eventually not added and some assets still remain within the project.