The Making of Turbo Frog: Behind the Scenes of an Indie Adventure
Wed, 11 Dec 2024 18:00:00 GMT
Turbo Frog: A Game Born from Passion and Simplicity
Turbo Frog was born with two main goals in mind. Having spent a long time working in other fields like web programming, we wanted to begin creating games. With that in mind, we decided to follow these principles:
Start Simple: Starting simple isn't about a lack of ability to tackle something more complex; it's about learning as you go. It's better to begin in a manageable context rather than an overwhelming one.
Short Session Gameplay: The game should be playable in short sessions, allowing players to enjoy it whenever they have a bit of time. Progress is saved so players can continue later.
We — a developer (that’s me! 😊) and an artist — embarked on the journey of game development with these principles guiding us.
Conceptualizing Turbo Frog
Every game begins with an idea, and Turbo Frog was no exception. The inspiration came from blending a kindergarten game designed by my wife with the classic and beloved Frogger.
Turbo Frog’s storyline adds depth to its arcade-style gameplay. Players take on the role of a brave frog on a mission to rescue his sisters from an evil owl. Along the way, with the help of his loyal companion, Zumbi the Fly, players will navigate treacherous rivers filled with crocodiles, carnivorous plants, bats, and other hazards.
Crafting the Gameplay Mechanics
The core gameplay loop focuses on:
Timing-Based Jumps: Players leap from leaf to leaf, navigating hazards and collecting coins.
Power-ups and Hazards: Strategically placed elements add layers of complexity, keeping players on their toes.
Side-Scrolling Challenge: The screen scrolls from right to left, demanding quick reflexes for survival.
Extensive playtesting fine-tuned these mechanics to strike the perfect balance between fun and challenge.
After defining the core mechanics, we turned our attention to level design. To ensure each session (or stage) was unique and non-repetitive, we decided to generate levels using a custom algorithm.
Here are some images from the level design process:
Designing Turbo Frog’s World
Turbo Frog’s visual style is vibrant and cartoonish. Each level is built using a set of 3D assets tied to specific stages. We created the assets using tools like Krita, GIMP, and Blender.
Building the Game with Godot
Turbo Frog was developed using the Godot Engine (v4.x), chosen for its versatility, developer-friendly features, and open-source nature. We built the entire game using only free, open-source tools.
Our experience with Godot was smooth. If you have a programming background (which is essential for game development), Godot makes the journey as intuitive and easy as possible.
Soundtrack and Audio Design
We composed Turbo Frog’s music ourselves using LMMS, a surprisingly simple tool for music creation—even for beginners like us! For sound effects, we used free assets to provide satisfying feedback for actions like turbo boosts, power-up collection, and obstacle collisions.
Overcoming Challenges
Game development comes with its share of challenges, and Turbo Frog was no exception. We faced hurdles such as:
Balancing Difficulty: Ensuring the game was challenging without being frustrating.
Mobile Compatibility: Adapting the game for various Android devices required optimizing performance, tweaking environments for better FPS, and resolving compatibility issues (some devices/architectures are unsupported in Godot 4.x).
Marketing and Launch: Standing out in a crowded indie game market was tough on our limited budget. We focused on promoting the game through social media (Twitter/X, Reddit, Facebook, Discord) and indie platforms like itch.io.
Turbo Frog on Android
We’ve released Turbo Frog for Android (Play Store) with:
- Levels: 20 auto-generated levels featuring enemies like crocodiles, carnivorous plants, bats, fish, and more—each with unique attack behaviors.
- Story: A simple storyline with a final boss and an ending (plus a bonus!).
- Helper: Zumbi the Fly assists players with power-ups.
- Replayability: Enjoy replayable stages.
- Customization: Combine skins and color potions to personalize your frog.
- Inventory: Keep track of collectibles, skins, and color potions in your inventory.
Conclusion
Creating Turbo Frog was a labor of love that combined creativity, technical expertise, and a passion for gaming. It marked our first step into the world of game development and has been an enriching experience.
We hope you enjoy playing Turbo Frog! As always, we welcome your suggestions and feedback through our Discord or social media channels.
Play Turbo Frog on Play Store
Turbo Frog main page
If you have any suggestion, improvement, proposal, etc, we are glad to read you in our discord server!