Final Version

"Aberration Trials" was my first entirely solo game project. Although I've been making games for a while, this was the first time I ventured into an exclusively solo endeavor. The game was built around a few simple ideas: tower defense, mutation, power-ups, and a single character. My main goal was to see if I could manage a project alone, and the "Acerolla Game Jam" presented a perfect opportunity.

Starting the project was easier than I anticipated. I aimed to create a game that captured the endgame feeling of "Vampire Survivors"—where you are so powerful that you can stand in one spot, watch the screen explode, and see everything die around you. I envisioned a tower defense game where your power grows as your character strengthens—a straightforward concept. However, as I developed the game and observed people playtesting it, I realized the early stages were dull when you're just starting off and staring at the screen. To enhance player interaction, I introduced turrets. This addition increased engagement but steered the game away from its original vision. Honestly, the turrets were a mistake, yet they seemed necessary as I found no other way to increase interaction without significantly complicating the game or expanding its scope excessively.

Throughout development, I had to create art assets for the game. It wasn’t as easy as I hoped, but it wasn’t too difficult either. I invested the most effort in the UI elements, and I hope it shows, at least to some extent. The monsters turned out okay, although I would have liked to add animations, but time constraints made this impossible. Overall, the art was acceptable, even if not outstanding.

Balancing the game was a significant challenge. I continually gave it to people to test, assessed their experiences, and made adjustments. This led to a repetitive cycle of the game being too easy, then too hard, and so on. I struggled to find a balance that would satisfy players less familiar with the game than myself. Eventually, I had to convince myself to let it go, accepting that I couldn’t achieve the balance I desired, and left it as it was. Unfortunately, the balance wasn’t ideal, as I believe few players reached the 10-20 stage mark.

After completing the game jam version, I considered how to develop the game further. I experimented with different ideas for setting up "levels" and made a version where the player controls the character (without turrets). However, these attempts didn’t work out and seemed to deviate even further from the original vision. Ultimately, I decided to conclude the project with a few bosses and a different level system. This will be the final version of the game. It could certainly benefit from more work and polish, but I no longer see the point. I'm unsure how to realize the original vision, and if I can't, I'd rather start a new project instead of going in circles and diminishing my motivation. I didn’t achieve a "notable" position in the game jam; I didn't have or spend enough time to reach that level, nor do I have sufficient solo development experience. Maybe next time I'll do better.