Byte Wars Gameplay
Game Concept
This game was inspired by the Gravity Wars (published in 1989) game. Then we add online multiplayer features in mind. The in-game screen menus should look clean with a spacey, galaxy feels to match the original theme of the Gravity Wars.
Game Flow Summary
In a match session, each player controls a ship that fires a single rocket at a time (only after the current rocket has been destroyed, then the player can fire again) to defeat each other. The game will end once only one player is left or the time limit is off.
Main Mechanics
- Each player is given 1 ship to control and spawned at a spawn location,
- Players can only rotate their ship and shoot 1 rocket at a time to destroy their enemies, and there is no ammo limit,
- There are planets spawned in between players, and the planet’s gravity will affect the trajectory of the rocket,
- The rocket will be destroyed if it collides with other gameplay objects, ships (the rocket and ship will be destroyed), and planets (the only rocket that will be destroyed). It also has a lifetime limit variable to make sure it does not wander off way too long,
- On destroyed, the shooter will gain scores, and the ship will respawn if the player still has lives points remaining,
- The game will end once only one player stands in elimination game mode, all the opposite team members are defeated in a team deathmatch game mode, or the time limit is off.
Game Modes
The players launch the game from the device/platform launcher of their choice, log in on the menu screen, and the player can choose to play the following modes:
- Singleplayer: Destroy one enemy ship, like a puzzle,
- Local multiplayer: in one machine (one game instance), two players or more, each assigned to one ship on one map,
- Online multiplayer: One player in 1 machine.
The available game modes are listed below:
- Elimination: Free for all, where all players are against each other (max 4 players).
- Team Deathmatch: Two teams, red and blue, competing for the highest score (max 8 players, 4 players per team).
Game Progression
Players earn scores by playing the games. Earning scores will reflect on players’ statistics, leaderboards, and achievements.
Players can also buy items such as cosmetics (ship kit) and consumables (power up) to be used in the game to get the upper hand in the heat of battle.
Controls
| Action | Mouse and keyboard |
|---|---|
| Menu control | Mouse. |
| Rotate ship counterclockwise | Left arrow key. |
| Rotate ship clockwise | Right arrow key. |
| Fire rocket | Spacebar. |
| Adjust the firepower up | Up arrow key. |
| Adjust the firepower down | Down arrow key. |
| Use power up | E key. |
Purchasable Items
- Virtual Currencies
- Hard Currency: the way to obtain it is to purchase the currency using real money
- Soft Currency: can be obtained from player progression and in-game purchase
- Customizations
- Ship Kit: the cosmetics for your ship (durable item type).
- Power up: optional item to improve your chance to win the space battle (consumable item type). Below are the sample of ship cosmetic (shiny white) and power up (space wrap) in action.
