UnderscoreGame

UnderscoreGame is a 2D retro-platformer game developed by members of the UnderscoreSquad. Development began on May 3, 2022, before being released in an early access state on May 11, 2022.
==Development==
===Early origins===
On April 24, 2022, Ángel proposed an idea to the members of the UnderscoreSquad about creating a platformer game."You guys wanna make a game" – underscoreangel on Discord, April 24, 2022 (12:04 UTC) Pretty soon after it was decided the game would have a 2D pixel-art style with SID-like music, being created using a custom SDL engine that would be programmed by Mark."pixel art" (...) "2D" (...) "custom sdl engine (maybe if we have time)" (...) "SID music" – xen64 on Discord, April 24, 2022 (20:51 UTC)
For what type of platformer it would be, Ángel suggested a rhythm-based game similar to the likes of Geometry Dash, however the idea was quickly shelved as most members weren't fond of it. Afterwards, they realized it was now time to think of a good name for this platformer and custom engine. For the custom engine, some of the suggestions were: TXNE (The XENON Engine), Euphoria Engine, The Greek Engine, TUSE, Fusebox Engine and a whole slew of others, until it was decided the final name would be UnderscoreEngine. For the game, there were three name ideas commonly brought up: UnderscoreGame, UnderscorePixel and Just A Pixel Platformer, although none were final yet.
Shortly after deciding upon names, the idea of making a custom engine was suddenly scrapped due to being too complicated to design quickly enough. Members agreed that they wanted to be producing the game right from the get-go, rather than spending upwards to 6 months creating an engine that might have already been cancelled by the time they could start work on the game itself. Following that, it was chosen that the game would now be programmed in Python using Pygame. A development team then arose for it appointing Connor and Mark as the programmers, Ángel as the artist and Mr. Long as the composer. Later, a lengthy discussion involving animation emerged for an unnamed protagonist of the game modeled after Mr. Long's persona.
Now able to program in his hometown language, Connor started work on the underlying structure for the game. But after miserably failing to make a square move an inch,"weird" (...) "my code works" (...) "but it only moves a quarter of the rectangle" (...) "what the hell" – contippets on Discord, April 24, 2022 (22:20 to 22:23 UTC) it was finally finalized that the Unity engine would be what the game is created in.
==Version history==
Version	Date 	Name 	Changelog
0.0.0 	May 3, 2022 	Beginnings 	
Additions: 
*Added a new scene with an ultra-basic Title menu.
0.0.0.1	May 4, 2022 	Inception 	
Changes: 
*Changed the default typeface for TextMeshPro from Arial to a Pixel-style one.
*Changed the highlighted colour of the Title menu buttons to blue.
0.0.1 	May 8, 2022 	Genesis 	
Additions: 
*Added a new game logo to the title screen.
*Added copyright and version text.
Changes: 
*Changed the layout of the title screen.
0.0.2 	May 8, 2022 	Improvements 	
Additions: 
*Added an options menu and credits menu. This was taken from Mr. Long's game: The World's Most Possible Game.
*Added new placeholder background.
*Added new placeholder music to test the music volume slider.
*Added lots of new unnecessary scripts because why not.
Changes: 
*Changed the highlighted colour of the Title menu buttons to black.
Fixes: 
*Fixed the Play and Options buttons.
*Fixed the canvas display. It is now properly adjusted according to monitor aspect ratio.
0.0.2.1	May 8, 2022 	Hotfixes 	
Changes: 
*Replaced the music with an "Expanded and Enhanced" version.
*Changed default music volume from 0.25 to 0.69 because haha funny number.
*Changed the version text to correspond to the left. This allows us to freely create a version number without moving it around all the time.
Fixes: 
*Fixed the music not looping once ended.
0.0.2.2	May 9, 2022 	Hotfixes 	
Additions: 
*Added a fading-from-black animation when you open the game.
*Added a fade-in for the title audio.
0.0.3 	May 10, 2022 	Improvements 	
Additions: 
*Added a game logo which appears on the .exe file.
*Added a custom splash screen to the game.
*Added new Title-specific audio.
*Added a Level Select screen. Buttons don't work here. Audio is from the previously used title audio.
Changes: 
*Changed the colour of the fade to the same colour as the built-in (albeit forced) Unity splash screen for a clean transition.
0.0.4 	May 10, 2022 	Foundation 	
Additions: 
*Added a Level 1 scene.
*Added a working PlayerMovement script. You can run, crouch and... do both at the same time!? Yeah uhh it's not quite complete yet...
*Added some placeholder textures. Key word here is placeholder, they are absolutely terrible as of now.
*Added a cool Win screen with a snazzy tune to go with it.
*Added a very helpful Controls screen to the new Pause menu.
*Added a Pause menu.
*Added grass and stone. No you cannot mine it. This is a platformer not another Minedud clone.
*Added sky, clouds and stars. Pretty. Enjoyable.
*Added liquid. Well really there's only Lava here and it just resets your position.
*Added an adorable black catto to the player model. Maybe too black...
*Added a Finish Mark. That's what they call those things, right?
*Added boundaries so you don't go out of bounds. Haha. Oh wait you'll do it anyway...
*Added some lights. Just kidding, I disabled these because they looked garbage.
*Added an FPS counter and text that says what level you are currently on.
*Added secrets. Seriously, I'm not joking. They are pretty hard to find though. Oh and honestly this is a massive changelog, shouldn't this be a v0.1.0?
Changes: 
*Moved the Level Select screen to Title Menu.
Fixes: 
*Fixed the buggy title screen audio.
Removals: 
*Removed the Level Select scene as it was unnecessary.
0.0.5 	May 11, 2022 	Core 	
Additions: 
*Added an official background to the Title screen.
*Added 'Mauro Fuentes' to the Credits menu. He's important, don't ask why.
*Added an official player model with working animation. I would have said "fully-working" but it's a bit rough around the edges. At least it works though.
*Added official textures for Grass.
*Added dirt. Yay. Best block in the game.
*Added wooden logs. Keep in mind the texture here is unfinished.
*Added a Directional Light. I can't believe it took me this long to realize that's why the sky was dark before.
*Added spikes. I personally recommend to not have too much fun with them.
Changes: 
*Renamed the "Crouch" control to "Special Ability" because crouching was removed when moving over to the new player model.
*Replaced the Title music with an "Expanded and Enhanced" version.
*Changed the colour of the Level and FPS text to light green for contrast.
*Changed the highlighted colour of the Pause menu buttons to black.
*Repositioned the clouds and stars in a better location.
Fixes: 
*Fixed uncentered Level text.
*Fixed positioning of the Save Settings button.
*Fixed the hitbox of the Finish Mark.
*Fixed multiple blurry sprites.
Removals: 
*Removed the old Player model.
*Removed all stones and liquids in the game. Trust me they will come back eventually in a better form.
0.0.5.1	May 11, 2022 	Hotfixes 	
Additions:
*Added a little Michigun tribute to the triple spike found in Level 1.
Changes: 
*Changed the Special Ability keybind to "1".
Fixes: 
*Fixed the SpongeWalk, SpongeSpecial, SpongeIdle and SpongeJump animations.
*Fixed usage of the Special Ability.
*Fixed the Title screen music. I forgot to unmute the Kick sound in the previous update.
0.0.6 	May 12, 2022 	Heart Update 	
Additions: 
*Added a working Lives system. You'll begin with 3 hearts and will lose one when getting hit by an obstacle/enemy. When you reach 0 the level will restart.
*Added an extension and helpful text guides to the new Level 0.
*Added a Level 0 button to the Level Select screen.
*Added saws. They have animation. Have fun!
*Added Terror Teddy. Have a field day!
*Added a Death screen. Gruesome!
Changes: 
*Revamped the old Level 1 and turned it into a "Tutorial Level", in-game known as Level 0.
*Changed the hitbox for the triple spike to be one whole rather than three separate hitboxes.
*Extended the Out of Bounds boundary.
Fixes: 
*Fixed the Controls menu to display the correct keybinds for Forward and Backward. They were in the opposite order previously.
*Fixed the Pause menu and Win screen.
*Fixed the uncentered Level text in the Level Select screen.
*Fixed the colours and opacity for the Win screen.
*Fixed the hitboxes of all blocks so you no longer sometimes get stuck in them.
0.0.7 	August 8, 2023	The Update of a Lifetime	
Additions:
*Added a fade-out transition for when you quit the game, reload a level, enter a level or escape to Title menu. Do note that the audio doesn't quite fade-out as well yet.
*Added new tutorial text teaching the player how to run.
*Added 2 new sections to the Credits menu: Playtesters and Writers.
*Added a new sound effect for when you lose a heart. This is the game's very first usage of the SFX mixer.
*Added crouching to the game!
*Added Deep Dirt, Deep Dirt Edges, Dirt Edges and Grass Edges. Nice.
*Added a custom cursor. Pretty. Just pretty.
*Added a Loading screen when you reload a level or load the menu. Firstly it's inconsistent and secondly it's completely useless, but I don't care.
*Added a Chapter screen. Nifty.
*Added Owen Emile to the Artists section of the Credits menu for their work on enhancing the majority of the sprites.
*Added SuperTiled2Unity to the game's source. It isn't actually used for anything yet, though.
Changes:
*Changed the position of the "Jump with Space" text to be closer where you jump.
*Changed the effects of the "Next" button in the Win screen to reload the level instead of just quitting the game entirely.
*Moved Connor Tippets from the Programmers section to the new Playtesters section in the Credits menu.
*Changed the Credits menu displays of "Connor" to "Connor Tippets" and "Angel" to "Angel Santoro".
*Improved wording of the introduction to Terror Teddy in Level 1.
*Properly centered all the Pause menu text and changed the Pause menu Title text from "PAUSED" to "The game is now paused."
*Sped-up the animation for losing a heart by 2.0x.
*Improved the walking animation.
*Changed the walking animation to be 1.5x quicker when running.
*Reworked the movement code to allow the walk speed, run speed, jump force and jetpack force floats to be changed independently.
*Improved the Log texture.
*Replaced the old heart textures with Official ones.
*Changed the Saw animation to have it be rotating around the Z axis for a better look.
*Changed the FPS text to be centered on the left. Previously regardless of its value it was always in the same place.
*Cleaned up the Splash screen code.
*Increased the size of the "Developer", "Publisher", "Director" and "Producer" text sections of the Credits menu.
*Heavily improved the Log textures, Spike texture and Saw texture.
*Replaced the old Finish Mark with an officially designed Finish Flag.
*Revamped the old Level Select screen and turned it into the Chapter 1 Level Select screen.
*Brightened the Title screen images by 1.25x.
*Changed the hitbox of the top wooden log to be more realistic.
*Replaced the old favicon with an Official one.
*Unity Engine has been upgraded from 2019.3.14 to 2022.3.6.
*Instead of pressing "S" to crouch, you can now alternatively press LeftCtrl to achieve the same result! Similarly, you can now jump by pressing the Up Arrow key, as well as the spacebar.
*The in-game music track "Funky Blues" has been updated from rev.7 to rev.9, now the percussion won't blind you!
*Renamed Level 0 back to Level 1. Yes I know we are very indecisive.
*Heavily improved the Resolution dropdown in the Options menu. There is no longer a million duplicates as it now just automatically picks the current refresh rate of your monitor.
*Sprites are now called from tilemaps/spritesheets rather than from their own. Finally. Optimization.
Fixes:
*Fixed the scaling of the Credits title text, Level 1 tutorial text and Controls title text.
*Fixed the Death screen audio. It now plays exactly when you die rather than later.
*Fixed the uncentered text that appears in the Resolution dropdown from the Options menu.
*Fixed the cursor not auto-locking itself when reloading a level.
*Fixed your lifebar not being properly diminished when dying to Terror Teddy with full HP.
*Fixed a bug where if you had depleted 1 or 2 hearts from your lifebar and you paused and unpaused the game, the animation for losing a heart would play again.
*Fixed the wobbliness of Sponge's animation.
*Fixed the inconsistency of the life-bar when you lose all of your hearts by either natural causes or from Terror Teddy.
*Fixed the glitchy life-bar when beating a level and also losing all of your hearts from both natural causes and Terror Teddy.
*Fixed the UI scaling being broken on any aspect ratio other than 16:9. Glory to those all six 4:3 users who can now finally enjoy the game as it was originally intended!
Removals:
*Removed "Working Title" from the Title screen as UnderscoreGame is now the official game name.
==Trivia== 
*Unlike most games created by the people here, UnderscoreGame is a team-effort cross all members of the UnderscoreSquad.
==References==