This is an unnamed platformer project simply called “Platformer” for now. I spent about 4 days programming this game to include some basic core elements. This was the first “real” game I developed some number of years ago. There are a few enemy types, moving platform forms, spikes, spinning saws and a boss battle, which will be shown later on. Let’s explore some more.

What’s a platformer without moving platforms?

Every platformer needs at least some form of a moving platform!

One of the first things I sought to create was a moving platform. This turned out to be quite easier than I initially thought. Unity has a beautifully easy way to set this up. Simply declare two public GameObjects called left and right point, then create those objects in the Hierarchy. Drag and assign them to your platform object to the script and write a few lines of code and you’re done!

The scripting portion of this right straight forward. Within the update loop, you’ll want two conditionals: one checking for the platform to move to the right and one for the left. If the platform is moving right, you’ll want to be checking for the right point, and the opposite is true as well. Once the X position of the platform is equal to the right or left point, you’ll then want to reverse that direction. Simple as that!

Time for the boss battle.

This boss has a few mechanics so let’s discuss some of them. First, the boss appears off-screen via an invisible trigger. One this trigger has been activated, it’s boss battle time. The camera then locks into place and once the player runs over the flag, it then sets it as a spawn point for the player, should they die against the might of the boss.

Some serious damage.

After a brief delay, the boss starts to instantiate spinning saws on the players head. Your goal is avoid them long enough for the platform to appear to be able to jump on his head. Once you’ve done this, he will switch sides and drop even more spinning saws for you to avoid. The challenge gets real and the pacing goes fast once you’ve damaged him a few times! Hit four times to beat the boss and clear the level.

Level selection, simplified.

Behind the scenes, after you beat a level, a key is put into a door and unlocked for future use.

Well, ok. Not literally, but you’re free to revisit any level you’ve beaten. On the main menu, select the level select button you’ll be back to playing old levels in no time.

Want to start over? Got you covered there as well. Pressing the “New Game” button on the main menu will completely erase the built up progress. Be careful though! Progress is lost until you re-beat the levels!