Looking Back At Bob’s Space Crusade

Bob's Space Crusade was the first game I ever published, released on Kongregate on December 30th, 2011. This project marked my first venture using Unity3D, serving as an invaluable learning experience in getting my work out to the world. Although it was no masterpiece, the character, Bob, and the core mechanic were promising, and I still have plans to resurrect Bob in future projects.

Initially, I had a single focus: simplicity. I didn't want a complex list of features that would be challenging to achieve. I simply wanted a fun and straightforward core mechanic. This was due to two main reasons: my limited experience in completing large, expansive projects, and the desire to finish the project rather than overcomplicate it. The main objective was to finish the game, which I did successfully.

In hindsight, the project's scope was too restrictive. The initial version of the game didn't play particularly well and would have greatly benefited from additional development time. The core idea was based on the classic game Rock, Paper, Scissors. Initially, I was skeptical about basing a game on such a mechanic, but after some initial prototyping, I found it to be a solid foundation.

The game was quite basic, lacking progression or replayability. It featured a space aesthetic with elemental asteroids and a robot, Bob, tying everything together nicely. Despite its basic look, this theming likely contributed to the game's overall appeal. I was able to port the game to Android devices during development, an impressive feat in 2011 for a novice programmer. The mobile controls were lackluster, as I had never attempted touch device controls before this project.

Bob's Space Crusade provided me with a wealth of knowledge for future projects, and the lessons I learned during this development process still impact me today, 7 years later. The core mechanic in this project is one I would love to revisit, as I feel there is more potential for it now than when it was first developed. However, the most significant lesson from this project is that making games is fun, a lesson I never want to forget and often need to remind myself of.