Chasm is a basic lava platformer. The goal is to navigate the character Eyelet, the one- eyed monster, out of the chasm, avoid obstacles (such as the slime monsters and lava) and collect gems. The player is given three tries to attempt before scoring a game over. Upon creating the game, it was my first attempt to use Construct 2 as the game’s engine. It was rather challenging to understand the basics of this new software, especially with utilizing events and actions to the game’s assets. It was also frustrating to work on both the aesthetics of the game and the programming simultaneously, due to lack of teamwork and time constraints. In combination with my lack of experience and lack of teamwork, the whole project was, all in all, a painstaking experience. Despite its hardships, the game overall was playable and colorful, though I feel I could have added more to the game.

              Chasm was modified several times in terms of mechanics and graphics. When it was first demoed, it received moderate criticism. First, some people noticed that the moving fire balls didn’t flip (or rotate 180 degrees) when it descended back into the lava pool. Secondly, many people suggested to add more difficulty to the final level (level 3) of the game, such as adding spikes or falling platforms. Finally, a few people noted a few graphical glitches in the game itself, mainly the character still getting hit by the fireball while playing its death animation. Aside from its problems, the game was a passable platformer to many people. It had a fair difficulty curve and many people were able to understand how it should be played.

              Most of the aforementioned problems have been resolved. The fireballs flip upon their descent and more challenges have been added to the final level (such as the moving slime monsters). In addition, the game’s graphics have changed, such as the background and character itself. Yet, the only problem that hasn’t been resolved is the fireball still hitting the character upon its death. Upon fixing the game, I found it to be a little challenging. Due to time constraints, fixing the game’s mechanics while giving it’s graphics a face lift was too time consuming. Most problems have been resolved, except for the fireball glitch. When reviewing the game in its finished state, its vital components are notably visible, such as the double jumping mechanic, difficulty curve and graphics. By adjusting these elements, the game becomes more interesting in gameplay and graphics; it allowed me to understand the importance of gameplay and graphics, as well as their roles in videogames.

              Finally, as the game is released on itch.io as a playable project, I would not consider pushing the game to the market as it is now. Despite fixing many problems, I feel the game itself needs to be more fleshed out in terms of level design. I want to add more levels, with different obstacles as well as introduce more mechanics, enemies and even power ups. Chasm was my very first attempt in using the Construct 2 engine, and I feel I can make a better, more fleshed out game with the new mechanics I’ve learned with the engine itself.