OVERVIEW

In Bonker, your goal is to reach the end of the level. Or...is it to get a fast time? The most points? Wait, there's a shop too? What even is your goal? You'll have to discover that too in this 3D Platformer inside a vast cavern. This platformer encourages an exploration of movement mechanics by presenting many paths to take with little explanation of how to reach them. Discover for yourself and find the fastest route to the end...or to the shop... with...the most points... I don't know!

Bonker is a solo-developed 3D Platformer inspired by Slime Rancher and 3D Sonic games. Built in about seven days, this game was made to determine if I enjoyed the top-to-bottom work making a game alone requires! I’d say at the end of it all, I do! I succeeded in making a game that I quite like, while never forgetting what makes my games unique, that being that I made it.

Project Goals

Build a 3D platformer based off of Slime Rancher
Determine if I enjoy programming enough to continue with game development
Focus on the programming and don’t get sidetracked making UI (like I always do)

GALLERY

BLOG

Bonker had such an interesting start, for where it ended up. It started development right after my job as a summer camp counselor ended prematurely. I now had the entire month of July to myself, so I hopped right into making a new game. I was listening to music from Slime Rancher when I decided to recreate the game loop of Slime Rancher as a challenge. Well, after spending a bunch of time working on the character controller and “vacuum gun”, I tried finding alternative ways to improve the player’s obstacles, like breaking blocks or bouncing off of special platforms. The test level I had built all this in looks like this:

Once I handled those two options, I decided I needed a change of scenery (pun not intended) and a change of genre. I decided to make a 3D platformer, similar to a Sonic the Hedgehog level, with multiple routes based on mastery. I built out a linear level and that was that! Or was it? See, instead of just using the two game elements I just built, the Jump Pad and Breakable Blocks, I then began to add more. First up, I added Points Rings that you could jump through to increase your score. Then I added signs that told you how to play the game (with some secret stuff if you bothered to check the back of the sign). Then I added a death plane with a flag that marks your last death so you can recover your lost points, Dark Souls style. Then I added a shop, music for the shop, new sound effects, extra power-ups, an evil shop, a secret exit, a bunch of signs in places the player shouldn’t be able to go…

…and before long, it had been five days. Five days, mind you, without making it possible to FINISH the game. On day six I stared at myself in the mirror and begged me to FINISH THE LEVEL PLEASE. I added a basic timer as a final touch and made a very barebones UI for finishing the level. (One of my goals was to make as little UI as possible to spare the distraction.)

The very last thing I added before leaving it be for a month, was name the game. That whole week it was just called “Nick’s Game” with the most barebones menu I could make. I kept using verbiage like “bonk this to exit” and stuff, so since the “gun” is only used for bonking stuff now, I named the game Bonker. It’s as simple as that.

What ISN’T as simple as that is the programming sins I committed to make this solo project work. But that’s a story for another day.