**NOTE** I put what I wrote into chatGPT with this exact prompt "could you re write it for me only fixing spelling and grammar mistakes and write it in a good format? (pasted my full DevLog)"

DevLog Reflection & Postmortem

1. Concept Comparison

In my very first DevLog—before I even started building the game—I wrote the following concept statement:

Concept Statement “A blocky parkour game that will be played on one large scene, a strip/maze of parkour. The game will teach you all your controls in the beginning with simple obstacles/challenges that require a particular ability (e.g., double jump for a large gap, wall jump to climb a pillar) to pass. Once all skills are covered, the parkour will slowly progress in difficulty and complexity. Checkpoints will be placed after each area, which you will respawn at after death or taking damage.”

Let’s go through how well the final game stayed true to this original concept.

• ✅ Art Style: The final game maintains a consistent, simple, and blocky visual style as originally planned.

• ✅ World Layout: The game is played in a single large scene—a continuous maze-like strip of parkour, just as intended.

• ✅ Mechanic Progression: Each segment introduces a new mechanic, exactly as described. While the game concludes with a timer and stat screen after this segment, there's additional optional content that extends the challenge using advanced movement techniques. This includes a hidden extra-hard segment accessed by going backward from the start, so in essence, the original vision of progression and increasing complexity was achieved.

• ✅ Checkpoints: Checkpoints are placed after each section, and players respawn at the last activated checkpoint after dying.

Features Mentioned But Not Implemented

In my first DevLog, I outlined the movement abilities I hoped to include—drawing inspiration from Hollow Knight’s Path of Pain:

• Walking ✅

• Jumping ✅

• Double Jump ✅

• Dashing ✅

• Wall Sliding ✅

• Wall Jumping ✅

• Pogoing ❌ – This was the only movement feature I intended to implement but didn’t.

Features Implemented But Not Originally Planned

• Timer: A run timer was added, pushing the game toward the speedrunning genre—something not initially planned.

• Stats Screen: After completing the base level, players receive a detailed list of useful and fun statistics, increasing replayability and competitiveness.

• God of Simple Parkour Achievement: An extra-difficult hidden level becomes accessible if players travel backward from the start. Completing it grants a golden stat screen with the title “GOD OF SIMPLE PARKOUR” and tracks time and stats for the entire run.

• Collectibles: Three collectibles are hidden at the end of the base level. Each showcases advanced movement techniques that may appear buggy at first but are intentionally part of the movement system. These are designed to train players for the God-tier achievement.

• HUD Elements:

  • Jump count indicator with dynamic color changes.

  • Dash cooldown indicator.

  • Real-time run timer.

• Lindsay Mode: Created specifically for assessment purposes. It adds 100+ exaggerated checkpoints to aid evaluation by my marker, Lindsay. This mode was inspired by feedback from my university course and would never have been conceived otherwise.

2. Playtesting Feedback

To collect feedback, I distributed a Google Form to classmates who played the game. Below is a summary of the results.

Survey Results

• Fun (1–5 scale): 4.5 average rating

• Ease of Understanding: ✅ 100% of players said the game was easy to understand.

• Challenge Level:

  • 0% said “Too Easy”

  • 25% said “Too Hard”

  • 25% said “Only the wall jump section was too hard”

  • 50% said “Just Right”

• Playtime: Everyone played for a minimum of 10 minutes. Some players played significantly longer and expressed a desire to continue.

• Would Recommend to a Friend? ✅ 100% Yes

• Would Compete with Friends? ✅ 100% Yes

• Would Replay the Game? ✅ All responses were positive: “Yes” or “Absolutely”

• Would Online Leaderboards Help? ✅ 100% Yes (Note: I was advised not to implement this yet due to complexity, but it's planned for the future.)

Open Feedback

• Most Enjoyed: The game's vibe and the smooth, fluid movement mechanics.

• Least Enjoyed / Frustrating: Some players felt there was a lack of guidance on how to handle certain mechanics.

• Confusion Points: 50% of players were confused, all by the same issue: “Not resetting jumps when standing on top of a wall jump surface felt like a bug.”

• Requested Features:

  • Sarcastically: “Lindsay Mode didn’t have enough checkpoints, please add more.” 😂

• Bugs or Glitches Found: ❌ Zero bugs reported

• Game Length Opinions: Mixed responses—some said "too short," others "too long," suggesting the game hits a sweet spot depending on player preference.

• Visuals Rating (1–5): 4.5

• Audio/Music Rating (1–5): 4.5

• Did Audio & Visuals Enhance the Experience? Most responses were neutral.

• Who Would Enjoy This Game?

  • Casual players looking for a challenge

  • Speedrunners

3. Asset List

Note: All game art and prefabs were self-created. All scripts were AI-generated using ChatGPT and modified by me. Only music and sound effects were externally sourced and credited below.

Music / Sound FX (Licensed)

• Background Music: Background Music Soft Calm by HitsLab

• Dash & Jump FX: Swinging Staff Whoosh (Strong) 08 by freesound_community

• Death/Respawn FX: Glass Cinematic Hit by LordSonny

• Landing FX: Stone Debris by Liecio

• Walking FX: Branch Drag by TanwerAman

• Wall Sliding FX: Stone Creek by freesound_community

• Source: Pixabay

4. Game Assets Breakdown

Physics Materials

• NoFriction – Applied to the player character to eliminate friction.

Prefabs

• box spike – A square-shaped obstacle made from spikes.

• CheckPoint – Save point for player respawn.

• Collectables – Optional items placed in difficult-to-reach areas.

• DashDust / JumpParticles / DeathEffect / RespawnEffect / WallSlideParticles – Visual feedback systems for movement and events.

• Spikes / Wall with spikes / Wall – Hazardous and interactive level elements.

• PlayerGhost – Displays the location of a player's last death.

Scenes & Hierarchies

MainMenu

• Main Camera – Includes background particles.

• Canvas – UI components:

  • Title, Start Button, Lindsay Mode Button

  • Sound toggle, Menu Manager

• Event System

• GameModeManager / MusicManager / SoundToggleBinder – Backend controllers

SimpleParkourGame

• Main Camera – Follows the player

• Player – Contains all essential movement and state scripts, effects, and detection tools.

• Game Layout Segments – Each segment introduces a new movement mechanic:

  • JumpIntro / DoubleJumpIntro / WallJumpIntro / DashIntro / SpecialMechanics

• Triggers – Start and Finish triggers handle timer and end stats.

• Canvas Elements – Timer, HUD for jump count, dash cooldown

• WorldSpaceCanvas – In-world text for guidance and achievements

• God of Parkour Segment – Hidden level with ultimate challenge and reward

• Challenge Level / Lindsay Mode / Collectable Manager – Additional content and game modes

5. Scripts (Generated by ChatGPT)

• Audio & Visual: BackgroundMusic, CameraFollow, PlayerAudioManager

• Gameplay Logic: PlayerMovement, PlayerStatesList, RunTimer, PlayerRespawnManager

• UI & Stats: PlayerHUD, StatsManager, FinishTrigger

• Checkpoint & Collectable Systems: CheckPoint, Collectable, CollectableManager

• Menus & Modes: MainMenu, InGameMenu, GameModeManager, LindsayModeActivator

• Triggers: StartTimerTrigger, GodOfParkourTrigger

• Miscellaneous: SoundToggleBinder, MoveBetween (unused)

All AI chats I still have access to will be linked below.

https://chatgpt.com/share/68386a27-ae20-8010-be05-ad796fbf0783

https://chatgpt.com/share/68386a74-658c-8010-bac0-f9583af1e03b

Unfortunately I deleted most of my chats where I generated code. The reason for this was because half the time I started a new chat every time chatGPT reached the end of its free limit and it was filling up my chatGPT so I deleted them.... I'm really hoping this is a not an issue as I'm not trying to pretend I wrote the codes myself. I will however create a new chat and give some examples of the prompts I would ask.

https://chatgpt.com/share/68386e37-bdc0-8010-9c07-073493f41a2b