Character Power Up
This is the document detailing the character assets added to the game by Team 3, covering how the player model is changed from sprint 1 to look more menacing. While also covering the animation and the visualization aspect between the player and the powerups.
The original idea was to have something similar to the star power-up for Mario where the entire character model changes based on the power-up.
Later it was decided to have an icon to display what effect the player is under like this game Slay the Spire, where a simple icon is enough to communicate with the player. (this can simplify the animation process compare to changing the entire character - don't know to take it out if later)
Like in this case, the sword represents attack and the green spiral represents the status effect.
Following the inspirations, an overall direction was decided to have an icon above the player and there will be minimal changes to the character model(e.g. outline and colour) other than movement. For example, the character may have a drastic and faster movement under the effect of speed boost, but its colour and outline will stay the same.
Below, are some examples of mock-ups created. These were made based on the buffs/debuffs that are suggested within the ticket from the power team (https://github.com/UQdeco2800/2021-studio-4/issues/36)
These mockups show the idea of having icons above the player's head to represent the status of the player. The aim of the icons is to be easy to understand so that the player can immediately understand the status effect.
Later on, the mock-up icons were scrapped and it was decided that the same icons that the power-up team designed would be used for the sake of consistency.
To add the different animations, sprite sheets were developed and added into the source/core/assets/images directory. This will then be implemented using their respective atlas file and will be triggered base on the status of the player.
The image below shows the animation stills of the player with the speed increase buff, as an example of how the buff/debuff icons are implemented.
