Project Write-up: Vectrocity
Click here to play Vectrocity, or read on for more information.
Vectrocity is a vector-styled Flash game I created as a final project for a digital media course in my freshman year at RIT. It follows the standard “shoot-em-up” formula: Blast the waves of enemies coming at you, collect powerups, and try not to die. What more could you want out of a 15-minute distraction? (The game has only three levels, but the last one’s a doozy)
The graphical style of Vectrocity is an imitation of the many old arcade games that used single-color vector monitors to draw their graphics. This was inspired by a bullet point in the project requirements: “Use vector graphics.” While in the context of the class this simply meant “don’t use bitmaps”, the phrase called up images of Asteroids and the like. Conveniently, going with this style also meant that it was relatively easy for my art-impaired self to create some half-decent graphics.
Other cool features include a particle system that produces neat-o vector asplosions, and a high score system that saves your best score on your computer so you can try to beat it later.
Make your own levels!
Vectrocity’s level definitions are in the form of a simple XML file. If you know how to edit XML without tripping over yourself, you can easily create your own levels. Simply download this archive, extract it to a new folder, and edit the “config.xml” file (there is an explanation of the format inside). Open “vectrocity.html” in a browser to test your new levels!