Warp Traffic Warden

Your goal:

You have 60 seconds left on your shift as a Warp Portal Traffic Warden (WPTW). Once alien spaceships enter warp space, it is the job of the WPTW to override the onboard navigation systems and guide the spaceships into the correct colour-coded warp portal.

Spaceships will enter warp space through one of 4 neutral portals and, based on spaceship colour, will have to be directed into the exit portal of corresponding colour (I.e. Pink spaceships go into the pink portal).

Please do be aware that due to their fragile and highly exlosive nature, spaceships colliding with any of the following will result in spontaneous combustion:

• Other ships
• Hull of entry & exit portals
• Meteors
• Trace amounts of dust
• Space pigeons

Controls:

Hover over an alien spaceship with your mouse and then click and drag to set a path for them to follow. Their onboard navigation system will display the path they will follow, but you can override it to set a new path by, again, clicking and dragging with your mouse.

If a spaceship runs out of a path to follow, it will keep going in the same direction it is currently facing until you give it a new path, or until it hits something and blows up (preferably being given a new path though)

Development:

This was a much more roundabout route than the previous Trijam was. Unlike last jam, I had the base idea veryquickly for what I wanted to do and very little about it changed. However, outside of the game jam time I spent more time than I care to admit wrapping my head around how to get the central mechanic to work. While there are still some minor bugs with the final implementation, I am beyond happy with how it turned out and that my simple noggin could wrap itself around the programming and maths to make it come to life.

I had wanted to have an additional system where meteors would occasionally fly thought the screen (heralded by a warning alarm and flashing in the corner it would emerge from) but as always time was not on my side.

Audio was the big point of feedback I got in the last Trijam, so this time there is background music and some basic visual effects. I have no idea about how the mixing/sound levels work, so I only hope I don't blow the ears off of any of my players.

Credits

All visuals and SFX from Kenney (kenney.nl)

Background music 'Disco Medusae' by Kevin Macleod (https://incompetech.com/wordpress/)