What Is Simple Side Scroller?
Simple Side Scroller is a 2D side scroller I am currently developing in Unreal Engine 4. I plan to release it on Android and have a web-based version for the initial release of the game with support for other platforms possibly coming later. The initial release of the game will include 30 levels spread across 3 different game modes, "Story", "High Score" and "The Floor Is Lava" with more planned for the future. More information about UE4 can be found on the Official Website and a brief description of it is shown below.
With Unreal Engine, you can bring amazing real-time experiences to life using the world’s most advanced real-time 3D creation tool. From first projects to the most demanding challenges, our free and accessible resources and inspirational community empower everyone to realize their ambitions. – Unreal Engine Website
The initial inspiration for the game came from my daughter, after seeing the insane volume of adverts in most of the games she and her brother play I decided to create my own game for them that is completely free and includes absolutely no adverts. I chose a 2D side scroller to keep the game simple for both the kids when playing it and more importantly for myself while developing it.
What Does It Look Like?
As the game will be free I am trying to keep costs to an absolute minimum so all assets used within the game are open source and freely available from various great websites like OpenGameArt and Itch.io. Thankfully there is a vast amount of great content on these sites which made my job of finding assets much easier. I have kept the look and feel of Simple Side Scroller similar to games like Super Mario with a slightly more modern approach to the assets rather than going for the traditional retro look.
The basic concept for the game is similar to any other side scroller like Super Mario, the player has to complete the level within the time limit, defeating enemies and collecting coins, gems and the key required to exit the level along the way. The player can choose between different characters with different abilities to complete the game, spending the gems they collect while playing to use their abilities. Development is moving along quickly and I expect a beta release to be available soon, stay tuned for future development updates on the blog or check out the project links listed down below.
Project Links
For more information about the Simple Side Scroller project or UE4 check out these links.