Chowtime

Link

https://jacob-aberdevine.itch.io/chowtime

About

This was one of the smoothest game jam experiences I’ve ever had. As the only programmer on the team, I built a working prototype within an hour. It was already fun to play, which validated our game idea. With no pressure at any point, we even finished the game about an hour before the deadline.

I designed and coded every mechanic in the game.

We created this game during BakedGames Jam 2024, where we secured 2nd place.

Difficulty Scaling

To ensure fair but finite gameplay, I balanced enemy wave cooldowns and speeds by finding an optimal formula using the Desmos graphing calculator. The final model is:

$$S=2^{\frac{w}{20}}$$

where \(w\) represents the current wave count and \(S\) is the speed bonus for enemies in that wave.

Additionally, each wave reduces the cooldown between enemy spawns by bonus_cld.

func _on_stage_timer_timeout():


    # Increase bonus speed if it's below the limit

    if bonus_speed < 20.0:
        bonus_speed = pow(2.0, wave / 20)


    # Increment value

    wave += 1.0


    # Increase cooldown reduction if it's below the limit

    if bonus_cld < 3.5:
        bonus_cld += 0.1


    # Restart the timer
    
    $StageTimer.start()