Paukers
Paukers originated as a student project within the “Game Programming” course at the IT University Copenhagen. Collaborating with two fellow students, we aimed to apply the theoretical concepts taught in class through the creation of a small game utilizing SimpleRenderEngine.
Concept
Paukers revolves around a competitive format where two players engage in a head-to-head contest. Drawing inspiration from games such as Omega Strikers or Hexball, participants partake in a top-down football match. The objective is straightforward: outscore the opponent by scoring more goals. The game introduces a twist by allowing each player to control two avatars. Each stick of the gamepad controls one of those avatars. In the event of a tie after five minutes, the game extends into overtime until either player scores a final goal. This setup generates a thrilling and chaotic experience as it proves challenging to master the simultaneous control of both avatars.
My Contribution
In terms of my contribution to this project, it can be divided into two main aspects. Considering that our game was designed for a local multiplayer experience, using the keyboard for controlling two avatars per player would result in a cluttered setup.
Hence, we made the decision to implement controls exclusively for gamepads. However, since the SimpleRenderEngine did not offer built-in support for gamepads, we had to explore alternative solutions.
Consequently, my initial task involved setting up gamepad controls. To accomplish this, we utilized the GLFW library, which offers reliable support for both Microsoft and Sony controllers. As a result, can be played with Xbox and PlayStation controllers.
Additionally, my second responsibility involved managing the user interface within the game. This encompassed implementing the main menu screen and the in-game overlay, which displays the remaining time and current score. To achieve this, we incorporated the ImGUI library. However, due to our reliance on gamepad input, we couldn’t utilize the conventional pipeline for button clicks in the main menu. Consequently, I also had to set up the controls of the main menu through the gamepad.
Furthermore, we had to provide an additional report for the final hand-in. For that, I assed the game’s performance. This helped me become proficient with the diagnostic tools within Visual Studio Code 2019, which allowed me to identify issues such as memory leaks by monitoring the utilized heap memory.
