Zip Zap Zop is the third rapid prototype I developed at FIEA. My team for this prototype consisted of Brian DeSanti (producer), Travis Hawk (producer), Kaitlyn Peplow (artist), Josh Star (artist) and myself. Zip Zap Zop was created using XNA and was developed in two weeks.
Concept
The focus of Zip Zap Zop is emergent gameplay. We created a puzzle game with that runs on both PC and Xbox 360. The puzzles range in difficulty but have the potential to be solved in several different ways. The configuration file for the PC build of Zip Zap Zop can be modified to start the game in a level editor mode. This way, players can create their own maps and then play them in the game.
Gameplay
Zip Zap Zop consists of a grid containing varying numbers of nodes. There are two types of nodes: directional nodes and goal nodes. The player shoots charges at these different nodes. The nodes alternate between activated and deactivated when they are shot. When the player shoots an activated directional node, subsequent charges are created and shot in the directions specified by the node. The objective of the game is to activate all of the goal nodes.
Graphics
Since XNA does not have native support for animation, all of the graphics in Zip Zap Zop, with the exception of the timer bar, were created using still images. To create animations, the images are cycled programmatically.
Note: XNA Game Studio 2.0 is required to play Zip Zap Zop and open the Zip Zap Zop Visual Studio project.
