Crash Bandicoot: Kevin & Jack Edition

Meet Kevin and Jack! Together, they work with instructor Andrew as part of Game-U’s Accelerate program. Kevin and Jack are Crash Bandicoot fans, so recently, they’ve been working on a Project Spark tribute game – with some seriously cool results!

One of the pros of Project Spark is its flexibility. Using Kode (that’s Project Spark’s version of computer code) tiles in the “brains” of various characters and props, new game developers can create all sorts of adventures. To build the Kevin & Jack edition of Crash Bandicoot, with Crash’s special spin attack, Kevin, Jack, and Andrew pulled out a new boolean variable called “Spin Attacking.” Booleans variables are a way for computers to test for the existence of certain conditions. A boolean is always valued as “True” or “False.” In this case, if Crash is spin attacking his foes, the boolean variable “Spin Attacking” equals true, and the computer runs attack Kode the guys wrote to detect nearby objects and push them away (or destroy them, if they’re crates). If Crash isn’t spin attacking, the boolean variable equals false, and the computer doesn’t run the attack Kode. The guys also added another boolean variable, Spin Attacked, to Crash’s enemies. This variable checks whether or not the enemy – a Goblin Bruiser – has been spin attacked. If Spin Attacked equals true, the goblins die. If it equals false, the goblins stay alive. Watch Crash blaze through the level to see booleans in action!

Finally, Kevin and Jack spent some time designing their level’s appearance – spacing out sections of objects like crates and enemies, and sculpting walls around the game path. Check out the results! Kevin and Jack, it’s great to meet you, and you’ve created a fantastic tribute game!  We’re looking forward to your next project!