Koakanut X Kraken
- 1st crack at building a functional mini-game -
Koakanut Corsairs Pilaf and Prailene have all but patened the art of using a boat oar to smack coconuts into targets. But is this art masterful enough beat down the greedy tentacles of the Koakanut Kraken and claim the island’s booty?
-
1st game project.
I could say that I want to make games some day. Or I could just show up with…something…After almost a year of studying UE and building a library of free assets, it was time to see if I could build a mini game from a blank project. (Not a UE/FAB Asset Template) I wanted to learn how to launch physics based projectiles along an arc and to set up an aiming system that allows the player to move the crosshair freely within the bounds of the screen, similar to the way aiming works in Capcom’s Lost Planet Extreme Condition back on the Xbox 360.
Additionally, I learned universal basics like loading screen transitions and levels, game instance, game mode, UI setup, controller and keyboard support, how to create 2 separate game modes in one game and more. These skills are naturally fundamental to building most games. Learning to build these mechanics from the ground up will come in handy with later projects and ensure each one gets better and runs smoother as my competence grows. -
Way more than I thought! More than I will list below!
Aim a crosshair within the confines of the screen with a fixed camera.
Launch a physics based projectile.
Hit a target.
Learn simple SFX and VFX.
Basic AI, health and damage interactions.
Basic defense function.
Create 2 game modes.
Win/loss conditions.
Basic interface construction.
Navigate from menu to game play.
Load Screens
Save and Load
Sensitivity Settings
Basic UI Design
And much more.
-
Out now!
It’s just a tiny free project you can play on windows PC. Not much fanfare for this one. Just wanted to see if I could make it this far. -
Mini-Game.
You can finish this game in less than 10 minutes. I only wanted to build something that just technically works. The next game will be for real. -
The first one is FREE!
It’s a practice project. It’s probably 5 to 10 mins long. I wasn’t too committed to making it a high quality game. The UI is rough and the tentacles are not guided by any actual AI or even have a team ID.
If you wanna try it out, I very much appreciate your time. Leave your thoughts in the forum!
Challenge everyone around to become the Diamond Duelist of Drawberry.
Best in the West
Now that I can do more than just a mini-game, it’s time to up the ante.
-
Finally grasping the concept of making a game, it’s time to make a better game! This time, I’d like to focus solely upon the aspect of player vs AI in much more depth than in Koakanut x Kraken. I’m going deep into AI behavior trees to create enemies with more dynamism. I also want to learn how to swap characters and to create character select screens and maybe some small scale customization for weapon and clothing meshes. It would be very cool if I could practice body part specific hit reactions...Does that last part sound like too much polish for a practice project? Not for the sake of leveling up my dev skills, right?
-
Character select screens
Basic character customization
AI behavior trees
Player stats and banners
Intro scenes and camera work
Aside from covering more fundamentals for higher quality productions like hardware options menus, mappable key and controller bindings and saveable user settings, naturally I will encounter and overcome more things that I don’t know before I am able to get through developing this game.
-
Currently in active development as of 12/10/2025.
The initial game play concept has been developed, game mode, controller and player character has been created and the first iteration of the character select screen is under construction. I’m just getting started on this one. There’s still everything left to do. -
Small game but longer and more fleshed out than your usual “mini-game.” I’m considering two modes to give this game more replay value than Koakanut X Kraken but nothing is concrete as of yet.
-
$15 dollars or less. Given what all I plan to include in the game, I personally wouldn’t pay more than 15 for it myself…
Zombies ain’t my neighbors!
I got a crazy idea…
The citizens of Slackjaw Lake stick together. No matta what. So don’t leave them for dead! Gather at the strip mall and build defenses to survive the horde… Just know that anyone banging on the gates after sundown ain’t your neighbor!
-
I won’t wait any longer to work with zombies. By this point I’ve put it off as long as possible. I couldn’t even wait to put this game idea on the page! Also, if Best in the West makes enough to where I can afford to run the servers, I want to make this game my first shot at…CO-OP!
-
NPC recruitment and followers
NPC commands and abilities
NPC dialog trees and options
Enemy hordes
Enemy abilities
Defense emplacements and traps
Tower defense mechanics
Multiple characters with different animations and sounds.
Character select
Mesh editing/ customization
As always, I’ll learn more than what I listed, but that’s the important stuff for the next level. If everything goes my way, I’ll even learn multiplayer replication and get some co-op play going.
-
I’ve picked out all the mechanics that I want to implement but I haven’t so much as started on anything else. I’m just excited.
-
Easily longer than Best in the West. The concept I’m throwing around requires at least 3 maps. This one is designed with replay value so the total play time is until you get bored.
-
Under $20. It will be longer and more complex than both Koakanut x Kraken and Best in the West combined and it will (ideally) be co-op. There will be multiple levels, npcs, abilities, weapons, outfits, special NPC interactions and dialog, and I will give my all in making this title the most replayable of them yet…But it’s still a small, very low budget game made by one fledgling programmer using FAB assets.
ability is as fundamental for success as ambition.
Balancing both to this scale may require a grounded approach.
It’s unintended for baby’s first game to be a golden egg. But if you like any of these practice projects and want to see them developed more, consider joining my discord server once it goes live!
by luck or by skill?
I’m building these games in my bedroom after work and on my days off. It doesn’t cost me a fortune. Unless something happens to me, it’s only a matter of time until I develop the skills. However…
YOur support can warp time!
Current screen caps are placeholder shots and are likely to change with further development.
wait,
There’s more!
Maybe if you got a glimpse, you could feel it too?
This is everything I’m fighting for.