The game: Introducing SUPERFLUID
Switching between gas, liquid and solid states makes up the gameplay of Superfluid
Superfluid is a puzzle based platforming game, in which the player takes control of a single character: Superfluid.
Follow the progress of Superfluid over the next 100 days and play it at the Eurogamer Expo
Superfluid is the product of a science experiment by Dynamasplice. The aim of the game is for the Superfluid to complete Dynamasplice’s test chambers, defeating enemies and solving puzzles to escape the clutches of its mad creators.
Superfluid is able to change between three states: solid, liquid and gas. Each state has its own abilities which can be used to solve puzzles and defeat enemies in order to progress through the game.
Levels are navigated through changing the room temperature with a thermostat entity in order to define what state the Superfluid is in. The movement of the Superfluid is controlled through the handset accelerometer: gas will rise, liquid will flow down and solids will slide.
Technical Plans
Superfluid will be written in C++ with Objective-C and Java used for porting to iOS and Android. We will be using four external libraries:
- OpenGL- JUCE
- Chipmunk
- OpenCV
OpenGL will be used for the rendering of character animations (spritesheets), amongst other textures. JUCE will be used for handling the GUI for the game, as well as sound output. Both of these libraries are utilised by the IOEngine, which will maintain all graphical resources and issue them to be drawn as appropriate.
Chipmunk is a 2D physics engine that will be driving nearly all the interactivity within the game. The PhysicsEngine feature will handle all of Chipmunks’ activity by adding and removing meshes to its space, and updating it at regular intervals.
OpenCV will be used during the level Import/Export process. Its job will be to serve as an edge detector for black and white images. The LevelManager will take the edges OpenCV detects, and convert them into a Chipmunk physics mesh for the level.
