This is the final build for my class, rest assured I do plan on keeping up development over the winter (at least until classes start again) so this is not the last of Archae-Ranger unless of course I spontaneously combust.

Archae-Ranger reflects on me in that I have a bizarre topic/setting, and I, too, am a little bit strange. Dinosaur Cowboys aren't something you see in a lot of media, regardless of the format. They are also two of my favorite things in the world, and while I don't dress up as dinosaurs or cowboys, I do wish to embody them to the best of my ability.

Trough this process I learned that game programming is much harder than I thought it out to be, or maybe I'm just bad at it. My design process I've learned is very… discombobulated to put it simply. I'm not great at following plans or schedules, which definitely put a hamper on my game and what I could create.

My design process is unrefined, but even with it like that, I did manage to get a working product that I'm okay with being public. My start for the process was simply to make an idea and draw it; as such, I came up with "dinosaur cowboys in the mines", as simple as it is, and drew some reference art. Originally, I made something more similar to Cult of the Lamb but ended up going with pixel art as I found line art to be more difficult and not within the theme I wanted. 

From there, I began on the bare bones of making the game, that is, making a working shooter–even if there's only a small amount of things to do–and a small level. This was the prototype, and I just wanted to get a sort of "proof of concept" out there.

After that, I went back to art to refine it and get more of my idea out there; this includes real player/enemy sprites, a HUD, a background, a start screen, an end screen, and a death screen. It was around this point I realized that programming isn't my strongest suit.

I am proud of the art for the most part, and while it didn't make it into the game itself, the story I came up with in the concept document. I think that this game has a lot more potential that I didn't give it properly.

I either had too much faith in myself or too high expectations. I thought I was going to get a ton more done than I did. I had plans and ideas that I hadn't even written down that I wanted to get, but due to familial, life, and other school reasons/obligations, I failed to meet my own "quota." This includes but is not limited to, a system more similar to Binding of Issac, where a door will open when the player kills all enemies in the room that allows access to the next room within the same scene rather than being sent to another level entirely. A gun that follows the player's mouse; currently, it only shoots to the right. More enemy types, as so far I only have one, and more rooms to explore alongside collectables and different types of guns.

There is a lot I would do differently during the process of making this, I wish I was harder on myself and forced myself to work on this more. I did not but I know differently now and I promise to myself that I am going to do better (its why I am going to keep up development on this). But in the end, I do think that I am satisfied with what I made especially taking into account the issues I ran into. I look forward to what I can do with this in the future and I hope that anyone reading or watching this development cycle enjoys it too.